From the President

fromthe president

our future history

Throughout this momentous 75th Anniversary year, we looked back, we learned, we leapt forward—all at once. Stories to tell and retell, honoring our mission. So many intersecting within a single moment. I vividly remember one. On the evening of March 9, Fiona Hill, senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, appeared at the Ath as one of our 75th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers. As the expert on the nation’s front-page news that week, she was interviewed by our very own expert, Hilary Appel, Podlich Family Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow, weighing in on Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, the historical and psychological forces that drove it, and the implications for our future world of affairs.

Disappointingly, I had to leave the discussion early. On that same evening, the city of Claremont architectural commission scheduled its virtual meeting to review our plans for the new Robert Day Sciences Center. With Fiona Hill’s commentary on the Ukraine war in the background on one virtual Ath screen, I listened in to the architectural commission on the other. At the conclusion of that session, one of the commissioners was so impressed by our architectural vision and its legacy contributions to our community, he exclaimed: “this is our future history!” And that was just one packed moment in our 75th. More than 6,000 alumni, parents, and friends participated in an exciting array of CMC programs highlighted in these pages. The acclaimed Athenaeum speaker series, chapter events, archival exhibitions, Family Weekend, and our largest Alumni Weekend in history. The memories. The friendships. The stories. The celebrations. Where we’ ve been. Where we all are. Where we are headed.

National summer recognition. As reported by Forbes, using cost and earnings data, CMC ranked first among all liberal arts colleges for return on investment. The College was also ranked on top of the national college and university list for financial strength by Forbes, and named among the best colleges for career placement by the Princeton Review. Student success. Our first Rhodes Scholar in 28 years. Two Schwarzman Scholars. CMS with four top-five NCAA finishes, eight SCIAC titles, a Women’s Tennis national championship, and an eighth-place finish in the national Learfield Directors’ Cup for Division III. Outstanding recognition of our faculty. Professor Daniel Krauss honored with a national Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award. Professor Jennifer Feitosa recognized with a prestigious U.S. Scholar Fulbright grant. Big announcements. The record-breaking Campaign for Responsible Leadership. The Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences. The new Robert Day Sciences Center as its iconic home. And yes, the go-all-in vision of the expanded Roberts Campus. Yes, we look back and step forward. Back to nourish the roots of our mission.

Forward to write our future history. Our CMC moment at 75. All in.