Dear Pomona College Community,
Welcome back to campus and the first day of classes. We begin the new semester with an overflow of good news.
The excellence and ingenuity of our alumni drew international attention recently as Alex Zylstra ’09 played a key role on the team responsible for a breakthrough in developing fusion energy.
Just last week, ASPC President Vera Berger ’23 received a prestigious Churchill Scholarship providing for a year of research at Cambridge University, where Vera plans to study scientific computing before going on to doctoral work in astronomy.
Shifting to Asia, Solomon Olshin ’23 and Qingjie (Bob) Zeng ’18 were selected as 2023-24 Schwarzman Scholars, allowing them to pursue one-year master’s in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing starting in August.
As we pursue academic engagement around the globe, Pomona’s commitments to opportunity also will reach beyond U.S. borders. At the close of 2022, Pomona joined with seven other U.S. institutions to launch the Global Student Haven Initiative, offering a path for students affected by worldwide crises to apply to U.S.-based colleges and universities and get support while they are here.
Here in the U.S., Pomona will build on its longtime role as an engine of opportunity in higher education, as we seek to recruit and enroll more students from families at the middle of the income spectrum to create a campus that truly reflects the nation. At the same time, we will continue to build on our progress in recent years in enrolling more students from lower-income households.
On campus, we will push forward with the work of building a community in which everyone can flourish. Please mark your calendars for one of the first large events of the year: On February 21, the annual John A. Payton '73 Distinguished Lectureship will bring to campus Professor Anita Hill, lawyer and advocate for equality and civil rights, for a conversation with Professor Kyla Wazana Tompkins.
It is wonderful to see everyone back on campus, and I look forward to the semester ahead.
With best wishes,
Gabi