President Bridges met with Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman last week during a trip across the country. In addition to discussing the economy and interdisciplinary studies, the colleagues spoke as part of a conversation about the establishment of a residential college at Princeton that has a name in common with Whitman. In 2007, Princeton debuted Whitman College, a residential college named after Princeton alumnus and former eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman, who donated $30 million for the creation of the college.

“I had a great meeting with President Tilghman and we talked about Whitman College and the origination of the name of their new residential college, which is also named Whitman College,” said Bridges.

Bridges explained that Princeton’s system of undergraduate housing is based on the British organizational model which divides the university into separate “colleges” that house undergraduate students for the duration of their time at the University. At Princeton and about 30 other American institutions that incorporate the system, each residential college is presided over by a master, a dean and a network of academic advisers and directors of student life.

“Depending upon the school, they’re typically residential communities with separate dining facilities and limited academic programs,” Bridges said. “I wanted to learn about the name of Princeton’s college and see first-hand how similar or dissimilar it was to ours. Obviously we want to be knowledgeable about Princeton’s Whitman as we think about how we describe our college.”

Bridges noted that people in Washington state and elsewhere have confused Whitman with other schools because it has a similar sounding name to a number of others. Whittier College and Whitworth College, for example, are small private colleges like Whitman that are also located in the western United States.

“People confuse the name [of Whitman], and they also periodically refer to me as the president of Whitworth,” Bridges said. “Any confusion is problematic because we’re very different schools.”

Nadine McQuarrie is an assistant professor of geosciences at Princeton University who graduated from Whitman in 1993. She noted that Whitman is well-known among members of the Princeton community.

“Where I did my undergraduate degree comes up quite a bit in discussions with students,” McQuarrie said. “Almost all of them know about Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington and many have a brother or sister or friend that either applied to the school or is actually attending.”

McQuarrie commented that in her experience, few people consider the common name to be a conflict, though some have expressed concern over the possibility that Whitman’s rank on Internet search engines has decreased since Princeton’s residential college was established.

“The only people I know who have raised it as a possible name conflict are Whitman College employees who have a key interest in how Whitman is perceived,” McQuarrie said. “The first instance I heard it spoken of as a conflict was through an alumni coordinator from Whitman at an alumni event. He lamented that you can google Whitman College now and the Princeton residential college comes up.”

As McQuarrie noted, however, a search for Whitman College on Google lists Whitman’s homepage and other Web pages related to the College significantly higher on the page than the homepage for Princeton’s residential college.

“Even on a Princeton network, Whitman College [Walla Walla] is still first and second and all but two of the listings,” McQuarrie said.

The Internet has become an especially important resource for high school students researching potential colleges. David Bittner, a current senior at Acton Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Mass. plans to attend Whitman next year as a first-year student. He commented that few students at his high school are familiar with Whitman.

“I definitely feel that the vast majority of my friends here have no clue where Walla Walla is or have ever heard of Whitman,” Bittner said. “I found out about Whitman through my brother. He was interested in small liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest and ended up at University of Puget Sound. He looked at Whitman and I happened to be on the tour with him.”

On the other hand, Bittner noted that he was unaware of Whitman College at Princeton.

“I honestly had no idea of the Princeton Whitman, mostly because I had determined early on in my college search that I didn’t want to be on the east coast for college,” Bittner said. “I feel that more people would know of the Princeton Whitman simply because of the reputation and name recognition that Princeton has.”

John Templeton, a member of the Whitman College class of 1973, currently serves as the assistant dean for graduate admissions at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He echoed McQuarrie’s statement, commenting that he does not believe the establishment of Princeton’s residential college has negatively impacted Whitman’s repute on the East Coast or elsewhere.

“I guess my take on all of this is that the existence of the Whitman residential college might cause more people to be aware of Whitman in Walla Walla,” Templeton said.

Before assuming his position at the Woodrow Wilson School, Templeton worked as an officer in Princeton’s undergraduate admissions department. He corroborated Bittner’s statement that Whitman is lesser-known on the East Coast.

“I would often tell the prospective students and parents that they should know more about the admission officer speaking to them,” Templeton commented about his interviewing process as an undergraduate admissions officer at Princeton. “So I would ask whether anyone had heard of Whitman College. Unless there was someone from the Pacific Northwest, people rarely knew. I would chide them on not searching for the best colleges.”

Templeton observed that Princeton students are largely unaware that their newest residential college has a name in common with Whitman. He commented on how undergraduate students at the university regard Princeton’s residential college system.

“My guess is that not many Princeton students are really aware of the naming conflict or if they are it doesn’t have much of an effect,” Templeton said. “Among students here there is some identity by residential college or the eating club you did or did not join, but that becomes irrelevant soon after graduation.”

McQuarrie expressed a similar opinion.

“Honestly, outside the Princeton community, I am not sure who knows or cares about the individual residence colleges,” said McQuarrie.  “Think about it: Can [Whitman students] name the other residential colleges at Princeton? I just do not see it as a conflict or having any function that will make the Whitman we know more obscure.”

Nevertheless, Templeton believes that Princeton should have taken steps to recognize Whitman when instituting its new residential college.

“When Meg Whitman donated her millions for Whitman College (East), the university should have at least offered some reciprocity to the real Whitman College,” said Templeton.  “If it occurred to them, I have no idea.”