Dr. Chastity Shaffer Whitaker ’99 and Matthew Whitaker ’99 met at the beginning of their first year at Bridgewater College and the rest, as they say, was history.
“Everyone was meeting everyone else in the first few weeks on campus,” Matthew recalls. “Chastity and I started dating right away, and we never stopped.”
When the couple were married at the Bridgewater Church of the Brethren after graduation, several BC professors attended the ceremony. The Whitakers say those lifetime connections formed on the Bridgewater campus are among the reasons they continue to give back to their alma mater with both their time and financial contributions.
“The small school atmosphere meant that we had the ability to have a relationship with our professors,” Chastity says. “They were invested in our lives as well as our academics.”
Both Chastity and Matthew grew up in West Virginia and came to Bridgewater to study in the sciences. Chastity double-majored in chemistry and biology and served as President of the Pre-Med Society and as a Resident Assistant. Matthew double-majored in physics and chemistry, served as President of the Physics Club and sang in several of the BC choirs.
Each of them spent a summer conducting research on a National Science Foundation-funded program and speak of that as a life-changing experience. They both went on to pursue graduate degrees, with Chastity also earning a law degree. Matthew now works for a government contractor where he does research in lasers and optics. Chastity is Associate Counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of the Air Force.
Both Whitakers speak about how important it is for students in the sciences to have a research experience during their time in college.
“You learn what it is like to be a scientist,” Chastity says. “Research projects teach you how to do background research and build a hypothesis and carry out real research.”
“Having a big research project and working on it full time gives you an experience that you can’t get in a classroom,” Matthew adds.
So, when BC launched The Research Experience @ Bridgewater College, the Whitakers were particularly excited to support it. They also give to the Heisey, Nehr, Ulrich Endowed Fund which provides funding for students to attend academic conferences and is named, in part, after Dr. Dale Ulrich who Matthew recalls was particularly impactful on him during his time at BC.
“Dr. Ulrich taught a wave motion class during an interterm our first year,” Matthew says of the late BC physics professor. “That class got me interested in lasers and optics,” which led to Matthew’s summer research project and the work he does today.
They have also given to the Joseph M. and Jane A. Crockett Award Endowment to honor their former chemistry professor, Dr. Joe Crockett, and his wife.
“We spent many hours in labs with Dr. Crockett, even playing pranks on each other,” Chastity recollects.
When asked why they have stayed engaged with Bridgewater over the years, they both speak about wanting to provide the opportunities to BC students that they were given during their time on campus.
“We started donating not long after graduation,” Matthew recalls.
“People before us made contributions to the College, and we want to help pay it forward,” Chastity adds.
-Heather S. Cole
6/23/2025Â
