How do you encapsulate 80 years of mission-driven leadership development at Claremont McKenna College—and specifically, the last 13 years of innovation and inspiration—at a moment where finding solutions to the world’s biggest challenges is imperative for higher education?
By bringing the community together and throwing a massive party inside your newest crown jewel building, of course.
Except it couldn’t just be any party—it had to be a CMC-worthy party. For CMC Trustee Laura Grisolano ’86, that was both the challenge and the opportunity that drove her work executive producing three days of CMC Leads celebrations and chairing the first-ever CMC Leadership Summit on April 25, 2026.
Part ideas conference, part community celebration, part leadership tribute, The Summit was an ambitious undertaking befitting this “big moment” at the College—especially as an opportunity to showcase everything President Hiram Chodosh and CMC have accomplished together during his 13 years at the helm, Grisolano said.
“Our alumni roster includes leaders of all ages, in all sectors, in countries across the globe. Given the complexities of this moment in history, we concluded it was a great time to gather leaders to talk about leadership. To consider the very big questions and talk about potential paths forward. We designed every aspect of The Summit program to create impactful conversations,” she said.
Featuring 15 morning and afternoon panels with alumni, faculty, staff, parent, and student speakers sharing their expertise on some of the most consequential topics of our time, The Summit brought generations of leaders together to explore powerful intersections of dialogue and discovery, action and connection. The signature CMC Leads event—a fireside chat with two of the College’s leading alumni, Henry Kravis ’67 and George Roberts ’66 P’93—spoke to the KKR partners’ significant investments and initiatives across campus and within the student body that have transformed CMC.
“Thanks to Hiram’s leadership over the last 13 years, CMC has added new models of student development around our Open Academy principles and the idea of personal social responsibility. We’ve invested in our faculty and doubled down on experiential learning. We’ve built incredible new facilities for growing and learning, most notably our stunning Robert Day Sciences Center,” Grisolano said.
“We dreamed about gathering our whole CMC community in this beautiful, new building. And, of course, we wanted to thank Hiram and Priya for their leadership and for the countless ways they made CMC even better.”
Between all of the scheduled moments were plenty of impromptu conversations, deepening connections amongst friends and strangers, and perhaps most triumphantly, enthusiastic expressions of pride for the College’s peak position in higher education.
“This is just amazing. In any undertaking, there’s the ideas, and there’s the execution. This has been impeccably executed, and the reason for such excellence is largely our students and our alumni. We have an embarrassment of riches,” Jim Bemowski ’76 P’07 P’09M’10 said.
The diversity of experience among the speakers also resonated with Robert Gama ’28, an Economics and Psychology major: “I’ve learned a lot about leadership by noticing the thread running through every panel and conversation. The most accomplished people in the room weren’t defined by a single title, role, or strategy. They are curious. They care about the people around them. And they stay connected to where they came from. That’s something I want to carry with me.”
Grisolano shared that she was filled with happiness and a deep sense of gratitude—“What a warm, lively, and smart community!”—while walking through The Summit spaces and across Parents Field during the networking lunch. Her appreciation even extended back to her own admission to CMC and the accompanying gift of “a lifetime membership in this unique community of humans.”
“It was an incredible honor to chair this special milestone event in the life of CMC,” Grisolano said. “As we watched the registrations pour in—over 900!—we knew that our community was eager to gather. As the world gets more digital and complex, people are leaning into human connections, to friendship, to learning, to conversation, to mutual support, and to investments in our collective future.”
Additional highlights from CMC Leads and The Summit
After a moving tribute video (watch below) and a series of touching testimonials from faculty, staff, students, and alumni, President Chodosh’s official College-commissioned portrait was unveiled at the April 23 Board of Trustees dinner in front of his extended family (including his children, Caleb and Sage; son-in-law, Nick; and granddaughter, Rhea), and members of the CMC community.
The portrait was created by Mattie Ree Neal, a Nashville-based artist who met President Chodosh for the first time on campus in February. Neal said she hoped her portrait captured how inspired she was by the warmth and openness of President Chodosh as students approached him while he and Neal walked through the campus.
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On Friday, it was Priya Junnar’s turn for admiration (and more beautiful art) during a special English Athenaeum Tea hosted by CMC trustee Akshata Murty ’02.The Athenaeum was transformed into an English Garden with beautiful orchestration by Chef Chito Rodriguez, special pastries by Chef Juan Herrera, and bubbly toasts sourced from English vines. With personal descriptions of “warmth, grace, joy, kindness, magic, and possibility” filling the air, the celebration offered the College a chance to say thank you to Junnar for her 12 years of leadership directing the Athenaeum and—as Murty jokingly noted—as a “fellow compatriot in the better half club” as the Wonder Woman spouse of President Chodosh.
Near the end of the Tea, Murty and Grisolano presented Junnar with a signed print by Mary Weatherford entitled, “California.” Weatherford is also the artist behind “From the Mountain to the Sea,” the iconic painting that adorns the wall near the Ath podium. Murty expressed her hope that the gift will enable “Priya to always remember the Ath … and always remember us.”
“I am so moved by the love, the care, and the friendships in this room,” Junnar said. “This job, I say this all the time, does not exist in the world … and I am so grateful to each and every one of you for making suggestions, for coming to the Ath, for being my friend, for being my guide, and making this possible for me.”
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Later that evening, an Open Academy-sponsored panel on pluralism and constructive dialogue set the tone for Saturday’s main event: The Summit, with its 15 panel discussions spanning an ambitious variety of critical topics. From AI, Media, and Business Disruption; Innovations in Healthcare and Wellness; and the U.S. Role in the Global Order, to Democracy, Civic Leadership, and the Rule of Law; Creativity: Arts, Film, and Storytelling; and the Future of Learning and Education, CMC experts across the entire community shared valuable insights and perspectives. With so many students in attendance, speakers also offered important life lessons and what best prepared them at CMC for their leadership roles.
“No matter where you are in your life … you don’t have to figure this out by yourself,” said Stella Ho ’97, a speaker on the Women in Leadership panel. “There are people around here who have already done it, who can help you navigate the process … and you need that person in your life who's going to push you beyond your own limits … what you don't see in yourself.”
For John McDowell ’79, arriving to The Summit was particularly exciting because it meant time with friends and familiar faces while offering a chance to better understand how CMC is preparing responsible leaders for the future. That the majority of Saturday’s activities were held inside the Robert Day Sciences Center—a new building to him—was also a perfect way to visualize and appreciate the College’s recent momentum.
“This has been great because it’s really showed the broadness of the CMC experience. We’re talking about democracy, international relations, leadership, art, AI—everything. With professors and alumni and others on the panels, it all came together so well,” he said.
While attending the Trust in Society and Institutions session, David Dreier ’75 took the optimism and solutions found at The Summit a bold step further.
“I’m here to provide a three-word elixir (for society’s problems) … Claremont McKenna College,” said Dreier, a CMC trustee and former Congressman. “That’s not a laugh line. I’m being deadly serious, and it’s the main reason that I am here. I am here because I believe that this institution … is, in fact, one of the best hopes for the future.”
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By Saturday evening, there wasn’t a dry eye inside the Robert Day Sciences Center as The Summit concluded in the most fitting way possible—by celebrating President Chodosh once more in front of the entire community gathered at the aptly named Chodosh Social Stairs.
In honor of his 13-year tenure, 13 speakers across the CMC community shared favorite memories, valuable life lessons, and the deepest appreciation for all President Chodosh has done to—in the words of his wife and final surprise speaker, Priya Junnar—masterfully guide the College to “this beautiful shore.”
Stories ranged from Antonio Melendez ’25 emotionally recalling how President Chodosh arranged for his mom to fly in from Houston so she could surprise him at a scholarship lunch where he was emceeing for the first time, to Antoine Grant ’07 fondly remembering his first meeting with President Chodosh as one that went beyond the “standard pleasantries” he might have expected, instead transforming into a personal conversation that “made me feel like I mattered at Claremont McKenna, made me feel like I was at home.”
There were plenty of jokes and light moments. References to piercing stares and dazzling eyes. Professor Wendy Lower even got President Chodosh to share his best attempt at a Russian accent. Not to be outdone, President Chodosh kept the humor flowing with the cinematic play-by-play of one of his favorite memories at CMC, the trust building (and possible near-death experience) of his 2013 birthday “ponding” at the Flamson Plaza fountain.
President Chodosh acknowledged the past few days as incredibly special to him and his family (with many of his siblings also in attendance), thanking Grisolano, CMC Board Chair Ken Valach ’82, and so many others across the College for making a one-of-a-kind effort like The Summit possible.
“I know all great stories come to a certain end. But (this one) doesn’t end. Because the lesson of just knowing that … that’s what we carry with us every day. What Priya and I will carry from you, in us, every day,” President Chodosh shared.
“This is the most rewarding intersection of our personal and professional lives. And we are more grateful to all of you than we can ever express.”
—Additional contributions from Brenda Bolinger
Read more and view video from the Kravis-Roberts fireside chat.
Watch the tribute video to President Chodosh and CMC’s leadership mission below.