CMC Magazine, Spring 2006

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Orme Phelps. Jacob Anton de Haas. Golo Mann. Harold McClelland. Langdon Elsbree. John Zinda. Sue Mansfield. Arthur Kemp.

You all know these names. They are CMC, they and dozens of other faculty members who have shaped your lives and mine. The strength of Claremont McKenna College is faculty engaging students, and since the days of George Benson, CMC has sought to attract and keep the best faculty in the country.

Keeping that strength is crucial to our future. The Trustees and I have been thinking about how to ensure that tomorrow’s CMC is even stronger than today’s for the next generation of classroom legends and their students. There will be more to tell you about the fruits of our discussions in months to come.

We have also been thinking about the quality of student life. Alumni tell us that the life they enjoyed outside the classroom was at least as important as their academic experience. We recognize the enormous importance of not only maintaining, but also enhancing, the vibrant residential life of the Claremont McKenna College community.

Community-Building

As discussed in updates to the community earlier this year, the Trustees voted at their October meeting to increase the targeted on-campus enrollment from 1,040 to approximately 1,100 students. This decision reflects a number of positive factors, including the ability to accommodate an increasingly excellent applicant pool and also to allow strategic additions to the faculty.

At its November meeting, the Trustees authorized the College to continue its preliminary work toward a new residence hall to accommodate student growth, pursuant with the College’s master plan adopted in 2002. Several meetings have been held with the College’s architects and all sectors of the CMC community to seek input on the proposed residence hall design, with the current timeline set at fall 2008 occupancy.

Discussion participants included a joint meeting of the Buildings and Grounds and Alumni and Student Affairs Committees of the Board of Trustees that involved their student representatives as well as others from ASCMC. In addition to the physical aspects of the proposed new residence hall, we also will continue to seek vital input regarding co-curricular programming and community-building activities.

Enrichment Opportunities

In addition to discussion of bricks and mortar, the continued enhancement of CMC’s robust connections with the world remains a priority. This semester alone, our students will have the opportunity to attend conferences on such diverse topics as the changing realities of work and families, hosted by the Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children; the boundaries of SEC regulation, hosted by the Financial Economics Institute and the Journal of Corporate Finance; or the interesting new notion of “followership,” the focus of the Kravis Leadership Institute’s 16th annual Kravis-de Roulet conference, bringing together top scholars and practitioners to examine leadership from the other side of the equation.

The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum also continues to set the pace in bringing outstanding speakers to campus each season. Spring semester guests include Victor Navasky, editor of The Nation; Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large, National Review Online; Temple Grandin, Animals in Transition: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior; Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses; and Wangari Maathai, Green Belt Movement founder and recipient of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Plans are also well underway for the inaugural Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership on May 6, honoring bold, visionary leadership in the non-profit sector. Established through the generosity of Trustee Henry R. Kravis ’67 and Marie- Josée Kravis, the Prize carries a 0,000 award and forges new links for the College with leaders throughout the corporate and civic arenas.

Whether presenting research findings alongside a favorite professor, or engaging in discussion with a Nobel Laureate, access to unforgettable experiences is a hallmark of a Claremont McKenna College education. I look forward to sharing our ideas about this in the coming months. In the meantime, the Class of 2006 will have its own unforgettable experience on Saturday, May 13, with the College’s fifty-ninth annual commencement ceremonies. Featuring remarks by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney—as well as a timing change, Saturday, and larger venue, Pritzlaff Field—this already special day promises to be even more memorable for students, families, and friends.

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Pamela B. Gann, President