Dear Pomona College Community,
Since Pomona’s founding, the life of the College has been rooted in global engagement. Sixty years ago, this essential commitment took on new strategic focus, through the development of the Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations, which has helped Pomona establish itself as a leader in residential language immersion and spurred seminal programming, curricula and concepts that have been replicated at peer institutions across the nation.
It is with this enduring commitment in mind that we are pleased to share with you this update on the progress toward the Global Pomona vision and new Center for Global Engagement (CGE), a dynamic space where the College’s commitment to residential, interdisciplinary work on global issues will expand access to life-changing opportunities for generations to come and firmly position Pomona as the national model for transformative, immersive global education.
We know that global learning today must equip our students and community to confront pressing and complex challenges—from climate change to forced migration, artificial intelligence to geopolitical unrest—that defy solutions from a single discipline, linear methodologies and solitary creativity. Meeting these challenges requires collaboration across boundaries of every kind. That is why we launched Global Pomona to develop a focused strategic plan in 2021-2023 and now to carry us forward to the CGE.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, whose extraordinary commitment to the College was noted in our first presidential update of this school year, we are making significant progress toward our CGE fundraising goals. At this critical juncture, we will move forward on two parallel paths:
- First, we will continue to build out the vision for Global Pomona and CGE, rooted in the Global Pomona 2023 Strategic Plan and focused on interdisciplinary and experiential immersive opportunities. As the vision for CGE has taken shape, the strengths and promise Pomona brings to this endeavor have only become clearer. We will confront the world’s most complex issues, tackling work that is both local and global. We will wrestle with that interconnection through collaboration, creativity and deep partnerships from across our community and far beyond that amplify the expertise of our faculty and bring in vital perspectives from all corners.
As this work goes forward, we are grateful to the newly formed Global Pomona Council (GPC), whose membership and charge you will see here. These colleagues will provide vital guidance as we advance Pomona’s global and interdisciplinary strategic priorities as progress on the CGE continues. - Second, and simultaneously, we will continue formalizing the plans both to initiate CGE construction and meet related deadlines and, during construction, to provide sufficient housing for our students while maintaining the academic programming currently offered in the Oldenborg Center and through our International and Domestic Programs Office. Pomona’s Board of Trustees has approved every phase of this construction project to date. Trustees will consider final construction approval this coming May guided by financial metrics that are designed to ensure the durability of capital projects like this one. If we meet those goals, construction is scheduled to begin May 2026 with CGE opening in August 2028. Now that the plans for construction are complete and donors are investing in CGE’s possibilities, we can share at this time that features will include:
- A 60,000-square-foot resident hall that will house 200 students and nine visiting scholars, helping students build meaningful interpersonal connections, navigate challenges collaboratively and, ultimately, forge bonds that last far beyond their time at Pomona.
- Nine immersive living-learning pods that build on Oldenborg’s legacy. They will include seven pods focused on language (including Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish) and two or more on thematic topics tied to complex global challenges, each led by a post-baccalaureate CGE residential or language scholar housed in the CGE.
- A 10,000-square-foot office and classroom component in the conference center that supports experiential learning, community dialogue, and exchange with local and global leaders.
- Advanced technologies integrated through the building that will foster student-faculty partnerships and work with experts from around the world.
- A 24,000-square-foot dining forum and conference center that supports experiential learning, daily language tables and community dialogue, exchange with local and global leaders, community-wide lectures and symposia.
- Welcoming outdoor spaces that promote engagement, connection and well-being for all members of our community, in addition to our goal of earning LEED Gold Certification for sustainability.
The CGE will enable Pomona to chart new paths. More than replacing the physical space of Oldenborg, which is nearing the end of its useful life, the CGE will provide a living, immersive laboratory in which the liberal arts, global study and research intertwine. It will embody a campus-wide commitment to engage beyond our Gates with our local community, state, region, country and world. It will provide creative, collaborative pathways for teams of faculty and students to work together. It will reflect our commitment to help faculty and students transcend borders to tackle real-world problems across majors and backgrounds and to restlessly pursue curricular innovation and evolution.
We look forward to providing further information on this comprehensive work as it continues to progress. For many months, faculty and staff colleagues across units have been working diligently to develop plans and explore options for our construction period. Going forward, you can expect:
- Regular updates to our website and emerging FAQs;
- Communication from offices including Housing and Residential Life, Facilities and Campus Services, the Oldenborg Center, International and Domestic Programs, and Global Pomona;
- Invitations to share stories commemorating Oldenborg and its legacy across our community and Pomona’s history; and
- Forums for discussion and information sharing.
We encourage you to contribute your questions and ideas through the Global Pomona website or by emailing Kara Godwin, assistant vice president and chief global officer, directly at kara.godwin@pomona.edu.
We are deeply grateful to all those making this ambitious vision and construction undertaking possible and to our donor community for their generous investment in the future of Pomona’s leadership as a global education leader.
G. Gabrielle Starr, president, Philip and Gertrude McConnell Professor Departments of English and Neuroscience
Brent Carbajal, interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College
Kara Godwin, assistant vice president and chief global officer