Dear Sagehens,
Our thanks on behalf of the Partnership Opportunity Working Group to everyone who is participating in the many continuing discussions about the potential partnership between the College and Claremont Graduate University (CGU). As President Starr noted in her latest campus update on Friday, since the first all-campus town hall meeting in January, extended conversations have continued involving all Pomona constituencies. We are grateful for the extensive engagement of students, faculty, staff, alumni, families, and community members as well as the leadership bodies of Faculty Executive Committee, Staff Council, and ASPC in this due diligence process.
The members of our Working Group continue to fulfill our charge to carefully assess whether a partnership would benefit Pomona and its mission as well as benefit the future of CGU. We are examining legal, regulatory, financial, market, and other factors to identify risks and opportunities, and we meet regularly with CGU leadership, outside advisors, and internal subject matter experts as part of this assessment. The questions and insights you have shared in campus discussions and through the online form are also shaping our work in meaningful ways.
One topic that has come up frequently in community discussions is the potential integration of a few Pomona and CGU service operations, if a partnership were to go forward. We want to be clear about two things: these discussions are only exploratory, and President Starr has committed that service integration resulting from a partnership would not result in the termination of any Pomona staff.
Should the Boards vote to pursue a partnership, a thorough evaluation of potential integrations would begin. Service areas would only be integrated if the new operational structure could deliver the same or better level of service than the units currently provide separately. Any planning process would involve the staff whose work would be affected, with careful attention to providing continuity of service and sufficient time and resources to implement any changes.
Our conversations with the community will continue throughout the semester. Next week, we will launch a survey for managers to gather input from specific operational areas of the College. In April, we will participate in the Staff Forum scheduled for the 10th, and we plan to hold another all-campus town hall meeting later in the month. You can find additional information on these and other topics in the FAQs, which we continue to update as new questions from the community arise.
We have thus far assessed and gathered a great deal of information about the pros and cons of a potential partnership. A similar team is operating on behalf of CGU, and each group is hoping to have sufficient information to inform a decision by the respective Boards of Trustees in May. The May timeline is a goal, however, not a deadline. The timing of both Boards' decisions will be guided by the thoroughness of the process, not by a fixed calendar.
We recognize this is a significant moment for our community, and we are committed to keeping you informed as our work continues. We look forward to sharing information about the forthcoming discussions. In the meantime, we encourage you to share your questions and ideas with us via the feedback form or to attend an upcoming Coffee Talk to share your thoughts with us in person.
Sincerely,
Jeff Roth, Vice President, Treasurer, and COO
KJ Fagan, Executive Director of Strategic Innovation