In support of two growing parts of the Pomona College curriculum--creative writing and environmental studies--two new endowed professorships have been created, thanks to a pair of endowment gifts from Pomona alumni.
A gift from Roy E. Disney '51, vice chairman of the Walt Disney Company and an English major when he graduated from Pomona, will be used to establish and endow the Roy Edward Disney Professorship in Creative Writing.
While delivering the commencement address at Pomona in 1998, Disney told the audience that he nearly failed his sophomore year of college, but "had an epiphany" and decided to change his major to English and stay the course. "Once you learn the value of learning, it becomes a part of everything you do," he said.
The Edwin W. Pauley Foundation is providing an important endowment gift to establish the Stephen M. Pauley '62, M.D., Professorship in Environmental Studies, in support of a nascent Environmental Studies Program now under development at Pomona. The gift honors the commitment of Dr. Pauley and his family to the cause of environmental protection.
The Pauley Foundation, named for Stephen Pauley's late father and chaired by his mother, Barbara Pauley Pagen, has provided substantial funding for environmental resources, including the Edwin W. Pauley Marine Laboratory and the Pauley-Pagen Science Library on Coconut Island, off Oahu, Hawaii.
Pauley said one reason for his family foundation's gift is that "Many students from Pomona will be making decisions that affect the rest of us. If they think about the environmental impact when they make those decisions, we will have done our job."
