Partnership Initiative Frequently Asked Questions

No. In mid-December 2025, Pomona’s Board of Trustees accepted the invitation of the CGU Board of Trustees to enter into an exclusive conversation that allows both institutions to explore the prospect of such a partnership in greater depth. During the spring 2026 semester, the College will be engaging the Pomona community in this discussion as well as conducting additional due diligence. A final decision about whether Pomona and CGU would enter into a formal partnership will be made by late in the semester, possibly in May 2026, following the completion of this discussion and assessment process.

Pomona is committed to meaningful faculty and community engagement throughout this process. If CGU remains interested in the partnership, the Pomona Board of Trustees would make the final decision about whether to proceed. The Board’s decision will be informed not only by community feedback but also by the perspectives of faculty governance bodies, staff subject-matter experts, and the due diligence findings.

The College will be gathering community perspectives across the spring 2026 semester to ensure broad community input informs the Board’s decision making. Opportunities to participate will include such forums as campus town halls, community webinar discussions, campus working groups, and online feedback submissions. You will find those opportunities listed in the menu on this webpage.

If either Board of Trustees determines that a partnership is not in Pomona’s or CGU’s best interest or cannot be structured appropriately, the partnership will not proceed. Pomona would continue operating independently, and CGU would resume its search for a partner that can support its mission and future.

We welcome your input throughout this process. You can submit feedback or questions anonymously using the form accessible through the side menu on this page. You can also find information about upcoming engagement opportunities—including town halls, listening sessions, and other events—in the menu. We're committed to hearing from our community as we evaluate this potential partnership.

This partnership represents a strategic opportunity to preserve graduate education excellence in The Claremont Colleges while potentially creating new pathways for our students and faculty. A transformed CGU could also provide opportunities for innovation in liberal arts education as we explore new models for institutional collaboration. Those collaborations could include research partnerships, student professional development opportunities, expanded career networking, and many other ideas, including those that we know the spring discussions will help generate.

CGU’s leadership has identified opportunities to transform their academic programs and operations to better serve graduate students and respond to evolving market needs. A partnership with Pomona would provide the institutional stability and strategic support that would enable CGU to pursue these transformation plans while maintaining their graduate education mission and role in The Claremont Colleges.

Pomona is not seeking to become a graduate institution. Rather, we see potential value in preserving strong graduate education in The Claremont Colleges and ensuring the Consortium’s long-term vitality. Supporting CGU as a distinct graduate institution would align with our commitment to The Claremont Colleges model while maintaining our own enduring focus on undergraduate liberal arts education.

No. We did not anticipate taking this step and it has not been part of our strategic vision. However, as Pomona was the founding member of The Claremont Colleges, and given the significance of the decision facing CGU and its implications for the Consortium, we felt we had to enter the conversation to see if we could help maintain the Consortium's strength and stability.

The Claremont Colleges Consortium has been central to Pomona's identity and educational model for more than a century. A thriving graduate institution strengthens the intellectual community and resources available across the Consortium. This partnership could help ensure the Consortium’s stability and allow Pomona to play a role in shaping CGU’s future, rather than leaving that outcome to external parties whose interests might not align with The Claremont Colleges’ values and collaborative model.

Standalone graduate schools across the country are facing financial and enrollment challenges as the higher education landscape evolves. At the same time, liberal arts colleges are exploring new ways to demonstrate their continued relevance and adapt their educational models. This partnership would represent an innovative approach to both challenges: preserving graduate education excellence while creating opportunities for liberal arts pedagogy to inform professional graduate programs in ways that could benefit both institutions and their students.

Nonprofit educational partnerships like the one being explored between Pomona and CGU don’t involve a purchase price the way a commercial transaction would. We are considering a parent-subsidiary structure that would create a formal relationship between the two institutions while preserving each school’s distinct identity and mission. However, no final structural decisions have been made. Such details would be determined as an outcome of our due diligence and community engagement process.

We are still exploring the specific structure and operations of a potential partnership. Any partnership would need to preserve both institutions’ distinct identities and academic missions while creating opportunities for collaboration where it could make sense. Such details would be informed as an outcome of our due diligence work and community input throughout the spring.

No. Under the partnership structure being explored, CGU and Pomona would remain distinct institutions with separate admissions, academic programs, faculty, and degrees. Each school would continue to serve its own students and maintain its own educational mission.

No. CGU students would continue to receive graduate degrees from Claremont Graduate University. The partnership would not change CGU’s degree-granting authority or the credentials their students earn.

These are important questions that CGU’s leadership is addressing as part of their transformation planning. CGU will be engaging with its own community about how their academic and operational plans would affect faculty, staff, and students. We are discussing these plans with CGU leadership as part of our due diligence, but the details appropriately rest with CGU as they work with their community.

No. CGU’s mission would remain focused on graduate education, not on serving Pomona. Both institutions would preserve separate identities and academic autonomy. We would hope to develop collaborative opportunities over time where our complementary strengths create mutual benefits, but any collaboration would be voluntary and designed to benefit both communities rather than subordinate CGU’s mission to Pomona’s needs.

Partnering with CGU would not mean redirecting Pomona’s financial resources to subsidize CGU operations. Rather, the partnership would help CGU explore new financial models and revenue opportunities that enabled their transformation and long-term sustainability. Pomona’s role would be to provide strategic guidance, institutional stability, and partnership opportunities, not ongoing financial support.

Pomona has been strengthening our financial position through a multiyear savings and reallocation program and maintains a top credit rating, as described in President Starr’s November update. CGU’s financial challenges are well-documented and would need to be addressed as part of any partnership structure. Our due diligence will include careful analysis of how a partnership could be designed to protect Pomona’s strategic commitments—including planned investments in additional faculty lines, salaries, and other academic priorities—while supporting CGU’s path to sustainability.

Yes. Pomona’s commitments to our academic departments and undergraduate programs remain our priority. The partnership would only proceed if it could be structured in a way that protects our ability to continue investing in our core educational mission.

No. Pomona faculty would continue to focus on undergraduate teaching and research. We are approaching this partnership guided by our unwavering commitment to our undergraduate mission and academic culture. Any opportunities for faculty collaboration with CGU would be voluntary and would not change core faculty responsibilities.

Most Pomona staff roles would continue unchanged. A partnership would also not lead to a reduction in Pomona staff positions. Because some administrative functions might evolve to support the partnership structure, the due diligence process will focus, among other priorities, on clarifying roles and responsibilities of related administrative offices. Any changes would be designed to support both institutions effectively while maintaining Pomona’s operational priorities.

No. Pomona’s faculty hiring decisions and resource allocations for our undergraduate programs would remain independent.

The partnership is designed to preserve and strengthen Pomona’s undergraduate experience while potentially creating new opportunities over time for students interested in graduate education pathways. We are exploring how, in the years and decades ahead, the partnership might benefit Pomona students, including additional opportunities for internships, research, and career development.

As part of our due diligence, we are conducting an independent facilities condition assessment to evaluate CGU’s physical plant and deferred maintenance needs. If the partnership moved forward, details about how facilities would be governed and managed would be determined through a joint campus master planning process. Any arrangement would need to serve both institutions’ needs effectively.

As part of the due diligence process, we are examining the potential for integrated non-academic operations in areas like finance, human resources, facilities, and information technology. This analysis focuses on how operational integration could improve service quality, reduce redundancies, and strengthen administrative support at both institutions. Final decisions would be made through careful assessment of what arrangements would work best for each institution’s needs.

Faculty at both institutions would maintain their current academic credentials and appointments. The potential partnership structure would be designed to preserve each institution’s academic autonomy and faculty governance.