Jennifer (Saltzman) Üner ’86 believes it’s worth mentioning that she applied to Claremont Men’s College but was accepted to Claremont McKenna College.
The school—her father’s alma mater—had gone co-ed in 1976, but the student body was still 80% men in fall 1981 when she applied. And that’s exactly what intrigued her.
“If men were the ones running the planet, I wanted to see if there was a secret sauce,” she said.
By the time she was accepted that winter, the Board of Trustees had already approved a name change. Though she also had been accepted by UC Berkeley and Mills College on early decision, Claremont McKenna College was her first choice.
“I think all the women in my class marveled at the novelty of being a woman in a men’s college. We were all interested in tweaking norms,” she said.
“For a few years before our class graduated, CMC grads could choose either a Claremont Men’s or a Claremont McKenna diploma. That ended our year,” Üner added. “I think it would have been even more fun to have a Claremont Men’s diploma on the wall!”
However, as one of the few women in CMC’s classrooms in fall 1982, Üner was pleased to find that her chosen college was “perfectly not about men.” “I took that as a sign for a more gender-balanced future leadership picture at the top of business and government,” she said.
And while Üner was plenty aware of gender inequality in the world, she never saw it at CMC.
“I remember my mom took me to a few ERA [Equal Rights Amendment] rallies—gender inequality was clearly a societal issue. But at CMC, I always felt supported,” she recalled. “We were all just students, right?”
Final verdict on that special sauce? “There is none,” she concluded. “People are people.”
Humility and community in leadership
After graduating from CMC with a dual degree in International Management and Psychology, Üner went on to enjoy a long career in strategic marketing and communications, with 20 years in fashion, 16 years in tech, and four years in leadership development. Most recently, she served as the chief communications officer for the HOW Institute for Society, where her priority was strengthening existing relationships with corporate leaders and building new ones through a focus on research, thought leadership, media relations, and events.
Some leaders talk about journeys of significance, Üner said. For her, the day-to-day work is more important than external validation. “I am sufficiently validated when I see something I helped create succeed—be it a project, a campaign, a convening, a company, or even the trajectory of a colleague—but I don’t think of that as ‘significance.’ There’s a lot of ego in that word, in my humble opinion. A lot of ego gets in the way of good work.”
Over the decades, Üner has remained active in the CMC Alumni Association, calling it “the best affinity group on the planet.” Previously a board member, she is now involved in the Chicago chapter, where she resides with her husband, film composer Kubilay Üner. She regularly visits campus and was an invited panelist for “C-Suite: CEOs in Action” at the inaugural Summit, a CMC Leads event, in April.
One of the convictions she eagerly shares is that “while tone does come from the top in an organization, leadership happens at every level.”
That’s why Üner embraces the values she learned while at CMC, and beyond: Humility. Community. Hospitality.
“We are on this planet for a very short amount of time,” she said. “If you’re not building, creating, collaborating, and having a positive impact on those around you, what are you even doing here?”
Memorable leadership lessons
Üner explained that CMC prepared her in ways she never anticipated, grounding her education in critical thinking, tenacity, and responsible leadership “rooted in CMC’s culture and history.”
“Tenacity comes from an echo at the podium that replays from day one at CMC: ‘You all are the top of your high school class …’ So, every time I feel overwhelmed or ill-equipped, I lean back into that moment to remind myself, ‘we got this,’ and then just dig in some more.”
Numeorus leadership lessons still resonate. Üner summed up a particularly powerful one in two words: “Jil Stark.”
“She came up at a time when there were fewer choices for women, and she carved a fantastic role at the Athenaeum, one that was stimulating, challenging, fun, and in perfect sync with her wit and sharp intellect, Üner said of the former First Lady of CMC.
“I think I’m always trying to get back to the Ath.”
While a lot has changed since those early days of a co-ed CMC, Üner believes a fully gender-balanced future in business and government is still coming. And she’s optimistic that CMC will play an important role in that future.
“We just need to keep minting more CMCers—the smarties who know how to learn and how to lead—and keep filling those top spots. We got this.”