THE COLLEGE

On-Campus Commencement Resumes

Three classes of graduates celebrated on campus in May, with the Class of 2022’s Commencement Exercises followed the next weekend by more informal cap-and-gown festivities for the Classes of 2020 and 2021, whose initial ceremonies were held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna ’85 and Stewart Smith ’68, chair emeritus of the Board of Trustees, addressed the Class of ’22.

Refugee Scholarships

A $1.2 million gift from Florence and Paul Eckstein ’62 and a $1 million gift from the Fletcher Jones Foundation helped Pomona join the Global Student Haven Initiative for refugees. The program will provide a pathway for students affected by worldwide crises to apply to U.S.-based colleges and universities and receive scholarships and other support when they arrive. Pomona joined Bowdoin College, Caltech, Dartmouth College, New York University, Smith College, Trinity College and Williams College as initial members of the consortium, which was created in response to the war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Institute for Inclusive Excellence

Pomona launched the Institute for Inclusive Excellence, a new program devoted to greater inclusion in the classroom and the full campus experience. Led by co-directors Travis Brown and Biology Professor Sharon Stranford, the institute is the focus of a six-year $800,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s national higher-education inclusion initiative.

CAMPUS

Beloved Trees Felled in Storm

A fierce January windstorm brought down trees across Claremont, including 17 on the Pomona campus. Five soaring oaks dating from the early 1900s were felled, largely destroying the canopy above the west end of Stover Walk. Clark I residence hall sustained minor damage from a falling pine but there were no injuries on campus.

Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness Opens

Pomona-Pitzer’s much-anticipated Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness opened in October after pandemic delays. The $57 million construction and renovation project created a facility to match the excellence of Sagehen Athletics and support health and wellness for the campus communities of both colleges. Among the highlights are the Draper Public Fitness Area—a vastly expanded fitness center for students, faculty and staff—and the N&N Practice Gymnasium, the upstairs recreational gym with views of the San Gabriel Mountains that is named for former women's basketball coaches Nancy Breitenstein and Nettie Morrison.

LEADERSHIP

Starr Inducted into Academy

Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in a pandemic-delayed ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Elected in 2020, Starr was inducted with a group that included singer Joan Baez and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Dean of the College

Professor of Computer Science Yuqing Melanie Wu, an expert in data management and query optimization whose love for teaching drew her to the liberal arts, was named Pomona’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. Wu arrived at Pomona in 2014 and served as chair of the Computer Science Department from 2017 to 2020. In addition, she was recognized with a Wig Award for excellence in teaching in 2021.

Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer

Jeff Roth, an innovative finance leader with experience at UCLA and the New York Public Library system, joined Pomona as vice president, chief operating officer and treasurer. Roth previously was associate vice president for academic planning and budgeting at UCLA, where he worked to increase transparency in allocation decisions for the $10 billion annual operating budget and developed a multi-year budget approach to strengthen the university’s finances.

ATHLETICS

Another National Title

Pomona-Pitzer claimed a third national title in the same academic year for the first time in program history, as the women’s water polo team won the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III Women’s National Championship in April. Men’s cross country and men’s water polo claimed titles in the fall.

Football Makes History

Pomona-Pitzer won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) football title for the first time in program history. The Sagehens officially tied with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps but earned bragging rights and an NCAA postseason berth by virtue of their victory in the Sixth Street Rivalry. In addition to being the first SCIAC title in Pomona-Pitzer history, the conference football championship was the first for Pomona since it teamed with Claremont Men’s College for the 1955 title.

PASSINGS

Professor of Anthropology Dru Gladney, a leading expert on the peoples and cultures along the past and present Silk Road, died unexpectedly in March. In addition, Emeritus Professor of Theatre Jim Taylor died of complications of cancer in November, only months after his July retirement. Bob Tranquada ’51, a diabetes researcher and prominent public health advocate as well as chair emeritus of the Pomona College Board of Trustees, also passed away in 2022.

ALUMNI

Fusion Breakthrough

Alex Zylstra ’09 was principal experimentalist for the team of scientists that achieved fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The major scientific breakthrough decades in the making is expected to lead to advances in national defense and the future of clean power.

Pitzer President

Strom C. Thacker ’88 was chosen as the next president of Pitzer College, becoming the first graduate of The Claremont Colleges to lead the neighboring campus. Thacker had been chief academic officer at Union College in New York and was appointed to begin his term on July 1, 2023.

Acclaimed First Novel

Tom Lin ’18 was awarded the prestigious 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for his debut novel, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu.

ELSEWHERE

• Russia invaded Ukraine, encountering stiff resistance and sparking the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
• The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving individual states to decide the legality of abortion.
• Queen Elizabeth II died after a 70-year reign as the British monarch.