CMC 75th magazine

cmc@75 SPECIAL ISSUE

a.

HISTORY OF CMC

leadership • opportunity • innovation

CMC Magazine Commemorative 75th Anniversary Issue EDITORIAL

Thomas Rozwadowski VISUAL

Anibal Ortiz DESIGN

Linda Warren / Studio Deluxe COVER ILLUSTRATION

Mark Smith ARCHIVES

Sean Stanley CONTRIBUTORS

Anne Bergman Jeremy Kniffin Diane Krieger Valerie Ramos Gilien Silsby Mike Sutton ’76 Chris Watts CLASS NOTES

John Faranda ’79 Rebecca Pelén Evan Rutter ’06 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT

Michelle Chamberlain SUMMER 2021 CMC VOLUME 44, NUMBER 1 PUBLISHED BY

Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA 91711-6400 Magazine staff consulted a variety of sources in compiling this issue and are indebted to those research efforts, most notably, Commerce and Civilization, Claremont McKenna College: The First Fifty Years by Kevin Starr, An Idea Becomes a College by Mabel Gibberd Benson, and CMC’s 50th Anniversary timeline. Bill Clinton (p.32) photo courtesy of the Claremont Courier.

This magazine’s 75th Anniversary timeline is meant to highlight a broad range of moments and experiences from various eras, not serve as a complete history of the College. If you have a submission that you’d like to share with us for a future mention or story, please email cmc_magazine@cmc.edu.

Claremont McKenna College, CMC, and Leaders in the Making are registered trademarks of Claremont McKenna College, and all applicable rights to use of the trademarks are reserved. Claremont McKenna College does not discriminate on any illegal basis in the administration of its admission, educational, or employment policies and practices. Claremont McKenna College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

To read online, go to 75.cmc.edu or www.issuu.com/claremontmckennacollege.

Copyright 2021, Claremont McKenna College.

D

Dear Friends, I arrived at CMC during one of the most significant years in its history. Forty years ago—in 1981—the College officially changed its name from Claremont Men’s College to Claremont McKenna College.

As a freshman, I often saw Donald McKenna on campus. I remember hearing bagpipes and reveling in campus celebrations. Coeducation had happened a few years earlier, but 1981 was, in many ways, a milestone for the College. It felt transformational.

At CMC, I experienced my own transformation. I was not prepared for how difficult it would be academically, but I remember taking a political science class with professor Harold Rood and becoming enchanted by his approach to project-based learning. It was a great awakening for how I wanted to learn and how my strengths could be highlighted. My confidence continued to grow with each campus job I took, through a study abroad program in London, and most importantly, by making lifelong friends—some literally on the first day of orientation. When I left CMC and began an investment banking career in New York City, I realized what CMC had done for me. Often as the only woman in a room, I knew how to fit in, how to adapt, how to thrive, and how to be a leader.

I felt comfortable and confident in what I could offer. I belonged.

In the coming year, we will all have the opportunity to celebrate our journeys at CMC. To start, visit our new 75th website at 75.cmc.edu, where you can explore archives, learn about special events, volunteer with classmates, and share your personal piece of the CMC story. Likewise, this commemorative edition of CMC Magazine is a chance to embrace some of our biggest moments, honor the College’s unique liberal arts mission, and acknowledge the transformational foundation— our community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and friends—for everything that happens here.

Like me, I hope you look back at your time on campus—the triumphs and the challenges—and appreciate the difference that it made in your life. This is our year to celebrate, together. I hope you all can find something to share, reflect upon, and give back to during CMC’s milestone anniversary.

Happy 75th, SUSAN MATTESON KING ’85 P’18 CHAIR OF THE CMC 75TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE

History of CMC

02.

› College timeline › My CMC essays › Presidential reflections

Features

› Today's student leaders › Lifelong mentorship › All in the CMC family

46.

60.

Class Notes

› Alumni stories › CMC memories › Through the eras

Claremont McKenna College

1.

{ histo 2.

HISTORY OF CMC

I

In 1923, James A. Blaisdell, president of Pomona College and the Claremont Colleges, wrote to Ellen Browning Scripps, “My own very deep hope is that instead of one great, undifferentiated university, we might have a group of institutions divided into small colleges somewhat on the Oxford type. ... In this way I should hope to preserve the inestimable personal values of the small college while securing the facilities of the great university.”

With that early proclamation, the seeds for Claremont McKenna College’s distinguished 75-year history were planted.

On Sunday, October 6, 1946, Claremont Undergraduate School for Men held its opening convocation. George C.S. Benson P’61, who was to be the new college's first president, acknowledged those who had been involved in its establishment and remarked on “the advantages of the Claremont plan of a group of associated colleges” as a fulcrum for the development of new ideas.

Harvey S. Mudd, chairman of the Board of Fellows, prophesied: “This school is not a plant that has been seeded by the war and that will wither in the first drought. ... In the years to come, its graduates will be found among the leaders of American life.”

CMC, this is our story.

ry of cmc } Claremont McKenna College

3.

Board of Fellows member Donald C.

1946

1945

1927•38

McKenna, anxious to get the men’s college started as World War II comes to a close, pledges $25,000 and convinces fellow Pomona College graduate Russell K. Pitzer to match his donation.

George & Mabel Benson Story House

The Board of Fellows of Claremont

Colleges appoints a committee, chaired by William B. Munro, to formulate goals for a third undergraduate college.

An intercollegiate council charged with

exploring “the general project of a men’s college” votes that it be “heartily approved.”

On behalf of the Claremont Colleges, W. S. “Billy” Ament and Russell M. Story publish nine pamphlets outlining the mission of the proposed men’s college and addressing fundraising issues.

Seven of CMC's original trustees

George C.S. Benson accepts a faculty position at the Claremont

Colleges to serve as director for the men’s college. The purpose was clear: “to prepare future leaders of private and public enterprise through a distinctive liberal arts curriculum.” The intellectual framework was developed by Benson in close collaboration with his wife, Mabel Gibberd Benson, who held a doctorate in literature from the University of Chicago. She also wrote the College’s first catalog and identified its approach to liberal arts for leadership and research—CMC’s Original Idea.

In September, 86 students and seven faculty members open a new

“undergraduate school for men” in Claremont. The approved budget: $88,000. Classes begin even before an official name is chosen.

Three-fourths of the first students, as well as Benson, the College’s first president, are returning World War II veterans, mostly financed by the GI Bill. An old grove house renamed Story House, in honor of Russell M. Story’s prominent role in shaping the new College, is the central residential unit and dining hall. Veterans’ temporary housing units are erected.

The first Student Council—CMC’s earliest form of student

government—is created and immediately develops a constitution, along with proposed social activities, plans for campus improvement, and an intramural athletic program.

4.

HISTORY OF CMC

CMC joins Pomona

as co-host of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, originally inaugurated in 1918.

Did you know?

1949

1947

1948

Early versions of the College Seal featured CMC's year of incorporation, 1947, instead of the founding year.

The school is incorporated by the State of California

as Claremont Men’s College. CMC becomes the third Claremont College, following Pomona and Scripps. CMC’s first residence hall, Appleby Hall, begins construction.

The first Parents’ Committee, which assists in raising $10,000 for an athletic field, is formed. The Mothers’ Club, an important social and fundraising vehicle, begins three years later.

PETER MAN FOO U

The Analyst student newspaper is founded; The Ayer

yearbook is organized.

CMC joins an athletic program in partnership with

Pomona and begins competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) during the 1947-48 academic year.

The CMC Alumni Association is formed when members of the

senior class meet at the home of international relations professor Jacob Anton de Haas. James Wilcox ’48 is elected as its first president. The Association begins by issuing an annual bulletin of alumni news, which President Benson uses as a means of fundraising for scholarships.

Robert J. Bernard receives CMC’s first honorary doctor of laws degree. Peter Man Foo U ’48, a transfer from the University of Hong Kong, is the first student to earn his bachelor of arts degree in February. Seven more undergraduates receive diplomas in June.

Claremont McKenna College

5.

A BRIEF HISTORY

CMC’s original faculty 01

IN HER BOOK An Idea Becomes a College, Mabel Gibberd

» Everett Carter taught English at UCLA as a graduate

Benson wrote that, with regard to faculty, “perhaps

student while earning his Ph.D. He was known for

it was on a wing and a prayer” that CMC came to be.

his deep interest in students as individuals, and

For a nascent College in 1946, that meant forgoing

his literature courses reflected a personalized

the usual protocols for recruitment and finding the

approach. Carter also worked with Mabel Gibberd

best possible professors. Fortunately, these original

Benson, who had a Ph.D. in literature from the

faculty members set a foundation for excellence that

University of Chicago, on two courses.

would follow throughout CMC’s history.

» George C.S. Benson graduated from Pomona

» Albert Clodius taught history at Stanford University as a graduate student before joining CMC. He had

College in 1928 and received his Ph.D. from

recently been released from the armed services,

Harvard University, where he was an instructor in

where he was a cryptographer for the Air Force.

government from 1931-34. He also was a research

» Bertha Howland Ward, a graduate of Mount Holyoke

director for the Council of State Governments in Chicago, a lecturer at the University of Chicago, and a professor at both the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. Upon his arrival as a director (and eventual first president) at CMC, Benson had served on various governmental commissions, published several books in the field of political economy, and had just returned from three years of overseas administrative experience in the U.S. Army.

College, was born in Mexico, lived in South America, and had been a student at the Universities of Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. She came to the College after teaching Spanish in the Army Specialized Training Program. Ward worked on local projects for intercultural relations and was instrumental in promoting the use of audio equipment in the teaching of modern languages. Rebecca Marti, a graduate of Pomona College, served as her Spanish assistant.

» Stuart R. Briggs received his Ph.D. from Brown University and taught accounting at Pomona College. He had extensive experience with leading certified public accounting firms and also served as Dean of Student Counseling and Dean of Administration while at CMC. Daniel Vandermeulen Bertha Howland Ward

» Gerald I. Jordan received his Ph.D. in political science from UCLA and was a former instructor at Stanford University. As a teacher, he was renowned for his dialectical classroom methods. In 1952, Jordan received a Fulbright fellowship for the study of civil-military relationships under the German occupation in the Netherlands, with special reference to the judicial process.

» Daniel C. Vandermeulen received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. While never “popular,” his uncompromising nature gained him a respected reputation from students. Vandermeulen also brought a quiet conviction to CMC as a place with high academic standards befitting the best and oldest academic institutions. His wife, Alice, joined the faculty in 1947, and together they published a respected book on national income analysis.

6.

HISTORY OF CMC

CMC establishes seven majors: accounting,

1953

1951

1950

business administration, economics, fine arts (with Scripps College), government, humanities, and international affairs. A senior thesis requirement is also established and continues today as the capstone of a CMC education.

The first four-year class of

students—which include the Pacesetters, an early group of dedicated alumni and builders of the College—graduates.

President Benson and the Board

of Trustees fear a precipitous drop in enrollment due to the outbreak of the Korean War. While class enrollment initially falls in 1950, numbers steadily climb to 282 in 1951-52 and 326 for 1952-53.

The first Model United Nations student delegation is

established on campus.

At the suggestion of trustee Herbert Hoover Jr., the CMC faculty approves a joint five-year program in engineering and business administration (soon renamed management-engineering), leading to a bachelor of arts degree from CMC in business administration and a bachelor of science in engineering from Stanford University.

Do you remember?

Favorite off-campus hangouts included Stinky's, Di Orio's Pizza, Ed's Coffee Shop, and the Claremont Inn.

Claremont McKenna College

7.

KCMC begins broadcasting recorded music and interviews each evening for students.

Heard on the jukebox

Out-of-state enrollments increase to around 40. Foreign student enrollments increase to around 20, including a program to bring undergraduates from Thailand and Turkey to the campus.

"Johnny B. Goode" Chuck Berry

"All I Have To Do Is Dream" The Everly Brothers

"I Walk the Line" Johnny Cash

1958

1954 •55

The first Alumni Fund is established.

CMC joins Harvey Mudd College to form

CMC-HMC athletic teams with the Stag mascot.

William Arce P’80 GP’22 becomes the first athletic director, serving for 25 years.

TIME CAPSULE

1950s

» Total enrollment 311 (1950); 386 (1959)

WILLIAM ARCE

» Tuition and fees $517 (1950); $1,135 (1959)

» Graduates 100 (1950); 77 (1959)

» Commencement speakers J. Anton de Haas, professor of international relations at CMC (1950); Herbert Hoover, Jr., United States Assistant Secretary of State (1959)

75th online To explore digital archives and learn more about CMC’s early history, visit 75.cmc.edu.

8.

HISTORY OF CMC

my cmc

57

' Russell "Rusty" Grosse EVERYTHING WAS NEW IN THOSE EARLY DAYS. CMC was four years old when I entered as a freshman in 1953. My grades in high school were adequate, but I was certainly not a straight-A student. I met Dr. John Atherton in the principal’s office. Dr. Atherton was a tremendous personality— dapper, buttoned-down, intelligent eyes. He said CMC was a new school and they wanted to develop leaders for communities, business, and government. CMC offered me a scholarship and was the only school I applied to.

Many of the early CMC students were returning war veterans. They had an entirely different view of rules and regulations. The normal mores and rules of college did not apply to them. The Class of ’57, as a group, was like walking through a dog pound of different personalities, ages, and family backgrounds. We are still the closest and most active of all of the CMC classes.

One of my favorite memories was a class in expository writing with Dr. Hal Painter. The class was at his home and his wife always made us hot chocolate.

We would take a paragraph and make every effort to produce the same or better thoughts in the fewest possible words. The class often ran for three hours. I also loved the parties at classmate Ken Jones’ home in Pasadena. After the party was winding down, Buddy Brilhart ’58 would pull out his trumpet (he was first trumpet when Herb Alpert was second trumpet in the Army) and play Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White. Then, of course, there was the infamous “Great Orange Fight.”

Students picked every orange you could possibly find from the Scripps campus and had a huge fight from Appleby Hall to Wohlford Hall, which unfortunately broke thousands of dollars of windows. There was hell to pay after that!

As president of the junior class, I was also responsible for putting on the Starlight Ball. It was a grand event! My wife, Bebe, was Queen of the Starlight Ball, Queen of the ROTC Ball, and the Pomona-CMC Homecoming Queen during the year I was also captain on the football team and ASB President. Imagine how much fun it has been to tell people that I married the homecoming queen and was captain of the football team. Sounds like a storyline out of a 1950’s movie, doesn’t it?

Russell “Rusty” Grosse ’57, a government major at CMC and a graduate of Stanford Law School, is a member of the CMS Hall of Fame (Class of ’01) after lettering in football for three years. The College is grateful for this personal reflection from Grosse, which was submitted before his unfortunate passing in May of this year. Our deepest condolences to Grosse's family, friends, and classmates.

Claremont McKenna College

9.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Coconut Grove

CMC’s earliest buildings 02

IN SEPTEMBER 1946, CMC’s “campus” consisted of Story House and the fifteen acres of land adjoining it. In Mabel Gibberd Benson’s An Idea Becomes a College, she writes that Story House already had “an interesting history as the residence of (writer and activist) Sarah Bixby-Smith for almost 30 years, and it was about the surrounding area that she wrote her book of verse, In a Sagebrush Garden. To CMC students and alumni, however, its real significance

a particular point of pride also was how

would always be “as the heart of their

faculty, administration, and students

original campus.”

would clear sagebrush, poison oak, and

First among the additions to campus were veterans' housing units, available for occupancy in January 1ST DECADE OF CAMPUS

1947. Many of the structures

rocks to make way for new construction— an “esprit de corps that was clearly above and beyond the call of duty,” Benson noted with admiration.

were temporary—and not at

CMC’s first dormitory, Appleby Hall,

all pretty to look at—but they

followed in October 1947 after a generous

“helped furnish the facilities

gift from Jerene Appleby Harnish. With

so sorely needed for the first

the completion of a permanent dorm and

few years of development,”

several temporary buildings, the College

› Appleby Hall (1947) › President's House (1948) › Green Hall (1948) › Parents Field (1948) › Boswell Hall (1949) › Pitzer Hall (1949) › Warner House (1950) › Wohlford Hall (1950) › McKenna Auditorium—including

Benson wrote, adding that one

began to find some physical cohesion—

veteran student commented

and by the end of 1948, a core existed:

that the campus looked

Story House, two dormitories (Green Hall)

“just like Guam.” When some

housing 140 men, and Parents Field for

temporary buildings were

early athletics. The next major objective,

delayed because of electrical

a classroom and administration building,

and plumbing set-up,

came to fruition thanks to support from

administrators had to outfit

Russell K. Pitzer’s family (Pitzer Hall).

a few rooms in the basement

Needs for “an auditorium, a ballroom

the student fountain (1953)

of Bridges Auditorium at

for dances, an attractive lounge, and

› South Field—track and football

Pomona College. Students

an expanded student store,” Benson

decorated their barracks-

wrote, would continue to be addressed

› Pitzer Hall South (1955) › Baxter Science Building (1955) › Ben Smith Tennis Courts (1955-57) › Beckett Hall (1957) › Collins Dining Hall (1957) › Pitzer Hall North (1957) › Bookstore (1957) › Gymnasium (1957)

style surroundings with card

throughout the 1950s. This would cap a

tables, chairs, and potted

first decade of substantial growth for

plants, famously dubbing it

the young College, leading to the Tenth

“Coconut Grove.” During the

Anniversary Building Program—and a

College’s early development,

second expansion boom with nine major

› Story House (1946) › Recreation and library buildings (1947)

› Office and classroom buildings

from Federal Works Agency (1947)

(1955)

10. HISTORY OF CMC

construction projects or improvement projects over five years.

its first victory, 14-12, over Pomona. Basketball and baseball also secure their first wins over Pomona.

wins the program’s first SCIAC title.

1964

Mudd golf team

1962

The Claremont-

football team records

1961

1960

The Claremont-Mudd

Jack L. Stark ’57 GP’11,

The Joint Science

a literature major who served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps, joins CMC as director of alumni relations. He also becomes the chief assistant to President Benson. His wife, Jil Harris Stark, is a Scripps College alumna from the Class of ’58.

Department, operated with

CMC purchases an IBM 1620 computer, the first transistorized

model. Mathematics professor John Ferling recalls recommending the purchase, at a 60 percent discount. President Benson met with Claremont computer experts, who counseled against it.

Asked Benson: “John, what do you think we should do?” “I think we should get it,” Ferling replied. “Order it!”

Scripps and Pitzer colleges as partners, is established.

Faculty numbers grow to 50,

leading to more formalized academic departments. Majors continue to evolve throughout the decade, including business economics, accountingeconomic theory, chemistry, physics, mathematics, literature, history, philosophy, classics, political science, biology, and psychology.

The IBM 1620 weighed about 1,210 lbs., a bit heavier than today's student laptops.

Do you remember?

Two of the College's earliest (and liveliest) social clubs were the Knickerbockers and Tortugateers of Prado Dam.

Claremont McKenna College

11.

"

It is inspiring to think what a great building like this can mean to a college which is in the process of becoming great."

1967

1965

1966

—PRESIDENT GEORGE C.S. BENSON on the development of Bauer Center (1965)

A major gift from Modestus and

A peaceable demonstration at the

Evalyn Bauer finances construction of Bauer Center to house administration and faculty offices, an auditorium, classrooms, and the ROTC program.

Encompassing a formidable 61,753 square feet, the building (actually, two) marks an important turning point for CMC at 20 years old. Bauer Center officially opens in 1968.

Claremont Colleges foreshadows nationwide student protests into the ’70s. The following year, President Benson writes: "It certainly means that some students are no longer apathetic toward political life.” He continues: “It is my hope that the student power movement might help to. ... bring the students back to a role of greater importance.”

Government professor Martin Diamond appears on the cover of Time magazine as one of ten “Great Teachers” at U.S. colleges and universities. The article states that “he learned how to intrigue a crowd” and praised his style, mixing “anecdotes from unlikely sources, G.B. Shaw, Dean Martin, and labor picket lines, with the serious writings of De Tocqueville, Lincoln, Aristotle, and Locke.”

CMC begins its southern extension with

Fawcett and Claremont (later Auen) Halls as tower dorms. “This is the first time in Claremont that anybody has slept above the third floor," notes President Benson. Stark Hall completes the trio in 1997.

Swim & Dive win the NAIA National Championship—the first team in program history to win a national championship title.

Did you know?

At the close of the ‘60s, CMC lost its first true building, as Story House was severely damaged by a fire and razed.

12. HISTORY OF CMC

A BRIEF HISTORY

Research institutes & centers AS EARLY AS 1950, President George C.S. Benson had

Research, study, and experience in art, literature,

an element of pure research to the College. Early

history, philosophy, and other fields as a means to

iterations like the Institute for Studies in Federalism

develop the power and use of the imagination.

in 1957 helped produce scholarly books and promote College-wide seminars and forums. The Public Affairs Forum, which began in 1962, brought heavyweights like Barry Goldwater, Eugene McCarthy, Dame Edith Pitt, William F. Buckley, Edmund Muskie, and Joseph

» Lowe Institute of Political Economy (1986): Knowledge of economics for complex problems in fields ranging from academic research to corporate development to policy consulting.

Knowland to campus for conversations. The Forum

» Kravis Leadership Institute (1994): Promotion

further reinforced CMC’s identity as an academic

and understanding of responsible, innovative

crossroads for public affairs intellectuals and

leadership through the development of

practitioners, and is largely credited for helping to

real world leaders in the public, private,

generate interest and funding for CMC’s first modern

and social sectors, including a leadership

institute, the Salvatori Center, in 1967.

studies sequence.

Today, CMC’s 11 research institutes and centers

03

» Gould Center for Humanistic Studies (1985):

been looking at an institute model as a way to bring

» Berger Institute for Individual and Social

EDWARD GOULD ’65, a CMC trustee

uniquely position students to lead on graduate-level

Development (2001): Understanding

and prominent

research, maximize their academic interests, and

risk and resilience factors and the

philanthropist who

work with peers and faculty in a cohort with access

development of skills that are necessary

was active in gay

to on-campus conferences and national research

for successful adaptation in a rapidly

rights, endowed

presentations. Each maintains an individual mission

changing society.

a number of CMC

and staff, but collaborates on a number of Collegewide endeavors.

» Mgrublian Center for Human Rights (2003): A deeper understanding of

» Salvatori Center for Individual Freedom (1967):

activism, research, and human rights

Political philosophy and freedom as it relates

to help students develop the ethical

to American Constitutionalism and the

commitments and leadership qualities

American Founding.

necessary to identify, prevent, and

» Rose Institute of State and Local Government (1973): Public understanding on issues of state and local government, politics, and policy—with an emphasis on California.

» Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies (1981): International politics, international economics, defense and military affairs, and area studies.

» Roberts Environmental Center (1984): Scientific, economic, and political considerations in the analysis of environmental issues, including environmental and social responsibility reporting and the efficacy of natural resource management projects.

activities, including a political fellowship, scholarship funds, and the Gould Center—which bears his family’s name.

overcome human rights abuses in today’s world.

» Financial Economics Institute (2004): Education and research in financial economics through a unique curricular program, the financial economics sequence, support of state-of-the-art databases, and student-faculty research.

» Randall Lewis Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (2012): Support for entrepreneurial initiatives by providing access to relevant resources, networking with prominent entrepreneurs and investors, and engagement in innovative thinking and create problem solving.

Claremont McKenna College

13.

Heard on vinyl "Hey Jude" The Beatles "Mony Mony" Tommy James and the Shondells

1968

1969

"Love Child" The Supremes

TIME CAPSULE

1960s

» Total enrollment 432 (1960); 820 (1969)

» Tuition and fees $1,135 (1960); $2,019 (1969)

» Graduates

The CMC Committee on Student

A memorial tribute is held on campus

Rights is formed in a push for greater due process.

for Lt. Jesse L. Clark, III '65, who died in 1966 while serving in Vietnam. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Clark is one of five CMC alumni— Charles Rudd ’64, Clifton Robertson, Jr. ’66, Stuart Moody ’67, and William Pedersen ’68—who died while in service during the Vietnam War.

An increasing number of Black CMC students on campus help the Claremont Colleges form a Black Students Union.

In the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April, CMC faculty member Barbee-Sue Mansfield Rodman forms a Committee on the White Problem “committed to the task of either eliminating or nullifying racial prejudice and cultural bigotry within the white community.”

72 (1960); 150 (1969)

» Commencement speakers Raymond Moley, journalist

Raymond Drummond ’68,

(1960); Abraham Ribicoff,

a political science major, accomplished musician, and the first Black student elected as ASCMC president, is pictured with President Benson and other dignitaries at the groundbreaking for Bauer Hall.

U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1969)

14. HISTORY OF CMC

President Benson resigns to become

deputy assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs under President Richard Nixon.

1970

Student protests greeted the short, strife-filled tenure of CMC's second president.

Howard R. Neville, provost of Michigan

Jack L. Stark becomes CMC’s third president. A smart and

State University, becomes CMC’s second president in March. His early months are dominated by student protests and national turmoil related to the Vietnam War—an arrival also preceded by two bombs exploding in separate incidents at Pomona and Scripps colleges.

thoughtful troubleshooter during a number of crises on campus, he and his wife, Jil, make student outreach a top priority. Stark’s tenure lasts until 1999 and features a number of notable accomplishments, including the College gaining recognition as a top-tier national liberal arts institution—a status that continues to this day.

Student protests, sit-ins, and broken windows at the ROTC office in Bauer Center lead to tense exchanges with Neville about potential legal sanctions.

Teach-ins, class cancellations, letterwriting campaigns, and marches by students across the colleges mark the year.

The earliest iteration of the Athenaeum begins hosting meals

and conversations with speakers at the former president’s home at the corner of Eighth Street and Columbia Avenue.

Saturday classes are discontinued.

Neville resigns shortly after commencement to become vicechancellor for business and finance at the University of Nebraska. “It’s not been a living and a life, it’s been an existence” he said of his short CMC tenure, which also included disputes over the College’s ability and commitment to increase the admission of more Black students.

Actor Richard Thomas, best known for “The Waltons,” meets with students at the Athenaeum.

Claremont McKenna College

15.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Athenaeum 04

ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED BY DONALD C. MCKENNA in 1968, the Athenaeum sprouted from two distinct memories of his: Discussion socials held by McKenna’s father at the Claremont Inn in the late 1910s and early 1920s; and the lively conversations hosted by George C.S. Benson at Harvard University’s Lowell House in the mid-1930s. Beyond the classroom, McKenna believed evenings for “refreshment and wide-ranging discussion were the essence of collegiate education.” In an early memo, McKenna described a new institution— already christened the Athenaeum—to “promote learning and intellectual inquiry. … in the loosely structured atmosphere of an ancient Roman academy or a nineteenth-century London club.” He even prescribed the weekly dinner menu: “steak and all the trimmings.”

The Athenaeum began its initial program in 1970 at the former President’s House (then-President Jack Stark already had a home in Claremont)—a full decade before it enjoyed its own building on campus. In 1980, McKenna and his wife, Bernice, donated funds to cover half the cost of a new dedicated Athenaeum space, as programming had outgrown the original location. A gift from trustee Marian Miner Cook helped finalize the project, leading to the building’s construction in 1982. Upon making her gift, Cook said she had enjoyed a challenging and exciting life and “hoped the Athenaeum would help students to experience similar intellectual challenges and excitement.”

The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum—known on campus by its more familiar shorthand, The Ath—has been led by five directors: Michael Riley, John Roth, Jil Stark ’58 GP’11, Bonnie Snortum, and Priya Junnar. Since 1983, students have helped guide events as part of the Ath’s highly visible Fellows program. Students have always been given exclusive priority to sit with speakers at the head table during dinner. Meals are also fundamental to the experience, with the Ath dining and support staff responsible for special lunches, dinners (including the long-running Madrigal Feast), and Rice Krispie platters for the tradition of afternoon Ath Tea. The Ath even has its own cookbook of favorite recipes served through the years.

16. HISTORY OF CMC

CMC names its new

Serious discussion of coeducation at CMC begins.

A subcommittee on admission and academic affairs creates momentum the following year by making a case for expanding the College's talent pool to more highly qualified applicants and adhering to national higher education trends.

1974

1973

1972

gymnasium in honor of Lawrence A. “Ted” Ducey, coach of the Stag men’s basketball and men’s tennis programs, after his death in a flash flood accident.

The D.C. intern program stood out as a rarity for higher education in the ‘70s.

Edessa Rose, founding donor of the Rose

Institute of State and Local Government, is named CMC’s first female trustee.

CMC launches its Washington, D.C. semester program.

The opportunity to study and intern in the nation’s capital, since regarded as one of the best programs in the country, has spawned numerous high-profile careers in politics and political journalism.

CMC signs a study abroad agreement with Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland. Programs expand in 1975 to include Bogota, Cairo, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Dublin, Amsterdam, Lima, and Stockholm.

Claremont McKenna College

17.

my cmc '

77

Timothy Wright III I HAD SEVERAL MAJOR AWAKENINGS AT CMC. Growing up in Compton, college provided me with my first in-depth exposure to living in close quarters with students from different cultures. New experiences were everywhere.

At CMC, I had the chance to both play football and stretch myself as a thespian, an area of my college life that largely went unnoticed.

I’m especially proud of my work with Pomona graduate George C. Wolfe, the Tony Award winning director of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

That controversial moment was all part of my Claremont experience—to open my eyes and connect the dots between what I was seeing on a local, national, and international level in terms of politics and commerce. I was able to analyze slavery and its history in the United States, and make further connections to the policies of Jim Crow, legalized discrimination, and segregation in America’s urban communities.

George and I were in a series of two-man plays

I met friends of all ethnicities and cultures

that we performed at the Claremont Colleges.

at CMC. I created lifelong relationships

My new exposure continued as I navigated an intense academic curriculum. While I had always excelled in the work that was placed before me, I never experienced this level of academic rigor and competition. CMC students had such superior preparation. I quickly realized that my first two years would be spent climbing an academic hill that I should have been perched on before I started.

with classmates, professors, coaches, and administrators that I value today. But there were policies and politics that I did not agree with. I learned a valuable lesson as a student activist at CMC: How to disagree without being disagreeable. This is the awakening that eventually allowed me to go into South Africa and negotiate with the apartheid government for the country’s first free elections, and to work in politics with

Some of my most important awakenings came

multiple Presidential administrations, both

through my involvement and engagement

Democrat and Republican.

with the Black Studies Center. The Center, as it was constituted back then, had some great professors attached to it. Not only was it an important academic resource for Black Studies, but it also offered a lifeline to Black students, like me, who were making the transition to a fully integrated learning environment.

18. HISTORY OF CMC

was generally aware of her legal travails.

While on campus, I especially valued my regular meetings with President Jack Stark.

We spoke almost every week about how I viewed life on campus as a Black student.

While I can’t recall how those meetings started, my relationship with Jack and Jil Stark was—and remains—one of the more intriguing and amazing ones I formed at CMC.

In my capacity as chairman of the Black

I also owe so much to literature professor

Students Union for the five colleges, I was

Ricardo Quinones—an outstanding individual,

part of the decision to hire Angela Davis as

teacher, and friend. If not for him, I would

a part-time professor in 1975. As one might

have never matriculated at CMC. He gave me

imagine, given the tumultuous ‘60s, I certainly

the courage to trust my instincts in academia

knew of Davis before I got to Claremont, and

and to be me as I strove for acceptance and

Heard on 8-track "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen

"Love to Love You Baby" Donna Summer

"Golden Years" David Bowie

it was Rick who assured me of my competence to succeed.

When I reflect on my multiple awakenings at CMC, one thing continues to stand out the

1976

me that I should not be at CMC academically,

1975

understanding. While other professors told

most. I never had the luxury of simply being a student. I was always subjected to more.

A student-opinion survey

One summer, Coach John Zinda helped me get

shows that 73 percent of the CMC student body favors coeducation. The Starks keep the issue of admitting women at the forefront and consider it among the most important decisions in the history of the College, leading to a two-thirds majority vote in favor by the Board of Trustees.

a job delivering meat to local restaurants.

While working, I was stopped by the Pomona police, detained, and checked for warrants.

They wanted to know about my Compton address and why I was in Pomona. When I told them that I attended CMC, they laughed and called me a liar. The situation grew worse from there, including a physical assault by several officers.

Whether it was on-campus as a firstgeneration student from Compton or

Claremont-Mudd joins with

off-campus as a young Black man in a college

Scripps College to form the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) women’s athletic teams. They formally adopt the Athena mascot in 1979.

town, I never had the luxury of just being. Yet I’m also the person I am today because of my CMC experience, one filled with important lessons that would prove to be invaluable throughout my life.

Coeducation is Timothy Wright III ’77, an economics and

established

political science major at CMC and a graduate

with the first women admitted, including 17-year-old Kathleen Evans of Lakewood, Colorado— the first female to send in her commitment deposit.

The College continues to be called Claremont Men’s College for the first five years of coeducation.

of UCLA School of Law, has held several positions in law, government, urban economic development, and theology. He is an Alumni Trustee of the College.

Kathleen Evans Hurley ‘80 P’07 with the Starks.

Claremont McKenna College

19.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Pioneers 05

CMC WASN’T ALONE IN APPROVING COEDUCATION IN THE 1970s, a decade of change and redefinition for many higher education institutions across the country. In fact, several major colleges—Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, among them—were realizing the benefits having admitted women a few years prior.

While the presence of female students brought incredible change to CMC classrooms, residence halls, and athletic fields, it wasn’t easy for those early female trailblazers who became known as the Pioneers. After all, there were just under 40 female students enrolled in the very first year of CMC’s coeducation. The dorms weren’t even ready, as evidenced by the urinals still in place—which, in a now famous response, led female students to place flower pots in them.

75th online To read alumni stories and learn more about the evolution of CMC, visit 75.cmc.edu.

Despite the obstacles and added scrutiny, the Pioneers “were independent and motivated, focused on their goals,” recalled Denise (Trotter) Eliot ’82 in a 2015 CMC Magazine article celebrating 40 years of coeducation. “We didn’t let it bother us. The women were respected. We were doing the same work as the men in our classes. Most of the men were very friendly and welcoming.”

One of CMC’s Pioneers was Megan Scott-Kakures ’81, who founded the first women’s group on campus, Claremont Renaissance, with Kathleen Dennison ’81. The group also included gay members and female representatives from all classes. “They had nowhere else to go and we gave them a place,” Scott-Kakures said. As an undergraduate, Meredith (Uhlmann) Brenalvirez ’80 had the distinction of serving as the first female senior class president at CMC. It turns out that she was a pioneer in student government as well— and she wasn’t intimidated by her prospects of success.

“I intended to win,” she said. “I knocked on every door that I could.”

Brenalvirez said an important factor for the Pioneer women was the warmth and welcoming attitudes of CMC’s President and First Lady at the time, Jack and Jil Stark. “Jil, particularly, was very active in her support,” Brenalvirez said. “She wanted to make sure that no one felt like they were in the corner.” Jack Stark, who pushed for coeducation as a crucial decision in the College’s history, also was adamant that “society had changed very fundamentally.” “This was not a pendulum that was going to swing back,” he said, “and an institution that did not admit women would have had a hard time calling itself a leader.”

Quotes reprinted from a 2015 CMC Magazine article, “Holding Their Own.”

20. HISTORY OF CMC

The City of Claremont approves

1979

1978

1977

the closure of Mills Avenue through campus, leading to major reconstruction of a walkable plaza and fountain area in front of Bauer Center during subsequent years.

The Frank W. Heggblade Center, a 5,000-square-foot facility originally built for the Dean of Students and Alumni Affairs, opens.

The first group of women—six transfers—graduate from CMC:

Barbara Christman, Mary Eiland, Deborah Hasty, Catherine Higgins, Jennifer Jones, and Maria Payne. Longtime registrar Katharine (Lowe) Benson is declared an honorary alumna.

TIME CAPSULE

1970s

The National Association of Business Economists names

» Total enrollment

CMC's economics program the “best program in applied economics” nationally.

» Tuition and fees

Women’s cross country becomes the first CMS women’s sport

to win a SCIAC title. Mary Tracey '81, a cross country and track standout, is the first female All-American for the CMS program.

832 (1970); 849 (1979)

$2,319 (1970); $4,894 (1979)

» Graduates 144 (1970); 195 (1979)

» Commencement speakers Harvey Cox, Jr., theologian and professor (1970); James Q. Wilson, political scientist and professor (1979)

Claremont McKenna College

21.

Heard on cassette "1999" Prince

"Every Breath You Take" The Police

"Sweet Dreams"

1983

1981

1980

Eurythmics

President-elect Ronald Reagan is

Claremont McKenna College

invited to campus by the Rose Institute.

A crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 hears him speak outside Honnold Library.

becomes the official name of the College, recognizing the influence of founding benefactor and trustee Donald C. McKenna. At a Homecoming celebration, McKenna tells the crowd that there are "many names that truly should be associated with CMC—it is too bad that the 'M' on CMC could not officially be for ‘many names.’ May Claremont McKenna College always produce practical dreamers.”

The Ryal A. Poppa ’57 GP’08 Computer

Laboratory, equipped with personal computers, opens for student use.

The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

opens in the space it inhabits today. A broad array of leading intellectuals and artists, heads of state, and prominent authors meet with students, staff, and faculty over meals. The tradition of Athenaeum Tea also begins.

The Office of Career Development

Services opens.

Who else majored in Pac-Man with a minor in Asteroids during the arcade-fueled ‘80s?

22. HISTORY OF CMC

Politics, and Economics—one that would help gain CMC a national reputation thanks to founding professors Gordon Bjork, John Roth, and Ward Elliott—is established.

successful Leaders in the Making campaign, a $60 million fundraising effort that honors the College’s longstanding mission of leadership development.

1989

1986

1988

CMC completes its

1985

A seminar tutorial program in Philosophy,

Philosophy professor John Roth is named Professor of the Year for U.S. and Canada by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Roth’s influential teachings on the Holocaust would go on to inspire “CMC’s conscience,” the renamed Mgrublian Center for Human Rights in 2015.

CMS wins the men’s, women’s, and overall SCIAC

All-Sports trophy for the first time.

The Hub is expanded, improved,

JOHN ROTH

and renamed Emett Student Union after longtime trustee Robert Emett ’50. A central feature of the new complex is the Arden and Richard Flamson ('51) Plaza.

TIME CAPSULE

1980s

» Total enrollment 825 (1980); 850 (1989)

» Tuition and fees $5,500 (1980); $12,900 (1989)

» Graduates 196 (1980); 224 (1989)

» Commencement speakers Paul Conrad, editorial cartoonist (1980); George Deukmejian, governor of California (1989)

Did you know?

By 1989, 67.6 percent of the incoming CMC freshman class was from the Top 10 percent of their high school.

Claremont McKenna College 23.

my cmc

85

'

Maureen Breeze CMC OPENED NEW WORLDS FOR ME. I’ll never forget hearing Elie Wiesel share his story that having a child later in life was his way of expressing a reclaimed faith in humanity. I remember meeting Henry Kissinger at a cocktail party and having lunch with James Fallows from the Atlantic Monthly. What I’d give to attend events at the Athenaeum again!

hadn’t submitted the application. He asked me to take the weekend to reconsider. I remember swimming laps in the Scripps pool while contemplating the decision. A voice bubbled up inside that asked, “What can you give to the role?” This was a different perspective. I had been thinking about the decision from the perspective of what the opportunity could give me. Once I saw it

Being a resident assistant created some of

from this other point of view, I was inspired

my fondest memories. The mid-‘80s was an

to move forward with the application. Being

interesting time at CMC, having only been

an RA gave me so much—far more than I ever

coed for a few years. There was still a strong

gave back. I continue to ask myself this

macho, bravado culture at play, and yet I

question when making decisions today.

found the RA team to be incredibly inclusive, savvy, and able to effectively work through some very delicate and difficult situations.

I learned a lot by watching assistant dean Rena Bever manage her professional life while parenting two daughters. She was a great role model. Most of all, the RA experience was fun. It was a supportive, tight-knit team of smart and kind people. I appreciated getting to know the fellow RAs— including Cole Mehlman ’85, whom I have been married to for 30 years!

The second lesson is invest in your friends. My greatest takeaways from CMC are the lifelong friendships I cherish. I visit regularly with my girlfriends who continue to inspire me with their interesting and thoughtful lives.

Cole and I also enjoy an annual trip with fellow CMCers. As a group, we have gone through marriages, divorces, career changes, illnesses, and deaths, all while raising our children together. There is something sacred about sharing a lifetime of experiences.

Above all, two lessons I learned at CMC

Maureen Breeze ’85, an international management

stand out and continue to serve as guiding

major from Denver, is an executive coach and

principles. The first is asking myself,

trainer, and a professional choreographer.

“What can you give?” This lesson came about while debating whether to apply for the RA position. In fact, I originally decided against

24. HISTORY OF CMC

it. Dean Torrey Sun reached out to see why I

The CMS Hall of Fame is launched with its first class of inductees:

1997

1992

1991

Bill La Rock ’64, Eric Jones ’71, Steve Endemano ’71, and longtime athletic director and baseball coach William Arce P’80 GP’22. They join Pete Welsh ’50, CMC's first-ever individual champion, who was previously honored by the Alumni Association.

Donald C. McKenna, who was

instrumental in turning CMC from a dream into a reality, dies at 90. He leaves a substantial bequest to the College that is used to finance a new international financial aid program.

The Joint Science Department moves

into the new W. M. Keck Science Center at the corner of Ninth Street and Mills Avenue.

Do you remember?

CMS Hall of Fame football coach John Zinda ended his 30-year Stag run following the 1994 season.

Claremont McKenna College 25.

Heard on compact disc "Closing Time" Semisonic

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" Lauryn Hill

1998

1999

"Everlong" Foo Fighters

President Stark retires from CMC

after 29 years serving in the top role.

"My association with this college has been more than a job, CMC has been a fundamental part of my life," Stark wrote in a letter announcing the decision.

TIME CAPSULE

1990s

Pamela B. Gann, dean of the Duke

» Total enrollment 846 (1990); 1,043 (1999)

» Tuition and fees $13,850 (1990); $20,600 (1999)

Enrollment passes 1,000 students

for the first time.

» Graduates 230 (1990); 280 (1999)

» Commencement speakers William F. Buckley, Jr., author and political commentator (1990); Stephen Ambrose, author and historian (1999)

A frequent winner of faculty excellence awards in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Marc Massoud P’89 scored both the G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award and the Glenn R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching in 1998. Massoud has won the latter CMC award a record seven times.

26. HISTORY OF CMC

University School of Law and an active leader in law, higher education, and international policy, becomes CMC’s fourth president.

George C. Benson P’61, CMC’s founding

president and one of its original faculty members, dies at 91.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Famous faces at CMC BEFITTING A COLLEGE WITH A NATIONAL REPUTATION—especially one so close to Los Angeles—CMC has seen its share of notable names

06

grace campus through the decades. Some have been students, if only for a single year like Oscar-winner and all-time funnyman Robin Williams ’73 (see Class Notes for more on his time at CMC). Others have been parents and trustees like James Stewart P’68, another Oscar-winner who narrated promotional films for the College. And, of course, there’s been no shortage of political powerhouses who’ve visited for speeches, conferences, dinners, and forums, including several who have sat in the big chair at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.— BRUSHES WITH FAME

George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and current president

Whether through the

Joe Biden, who quietly visited as a then-Senator in 1983.

Athenaeum, institutes and conferences, or campus social events, CMC has hosted its share of memorable visitors. Rumor has it “wild and crazy guy” Steve Martin once performed a major comedy show in Claremont.

Same goes for intimate “before they were famous” sets from music superstars like Dave Matthews and Norah Jones.

So, who did you get to see and meet? We’d love to know which famous guests you remember the most during your era— especially if there’s a good behind-the-scenes story to share! Email cmc_magazine@cmc.edu with your favorite memory and we’ll compile them for our fall issue!

Memorable commencement speakers have run the gamut, from Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, groundbreaking actor Sidney Poitier, and Pulitzer Prize winning writer David Remnick. Naturally, the best place for students to engage with renowned thought leaders and difference makers has been at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. While the accomplished speakers who have visited as part of Athenaeum programming are too numerous to count, here’s a sample of its variety and viewpoint diversity: STAR POWER THROUGH THE DECADES

› Bono › Ray Bradbury › Gwendolyn Brooks › Anderson Cooper › Laverne Cox › Francis Fukuyama › Newt Gingrich › Temple Grandin › Anita Hill › Dolores Huerta › John Irving › Jesse Jackson › Reggie Jackson › James Earl Jones › Doris Kearns Goodwin › Ken Kesey › Billie Jean King

› Spike Lee › Czeslaw Milosz › Joyce Carol Oates › Samantha Power › Robert Reich › Janet Reno › Anne Rice › Condoleezza Rice › Mitt Romney › Antonin Scalia › David Sedaris › John Singleton › Desmond Tutu › Kurt Vonnegut › Tara Westover › Elie Wiesel › John Wooden

Claremont McKenna College

27.

PRESIDENTIAL REFLECTION

I

A welcome surprise

by Jack Stark

I never got my sabbatical.

Some 53 years later, it still makes me chuckle.

In 1968, I had negotiated a yearlong sabbatical as part of my staying at CMC in roles as chief financial officer and assistant to President George C.S. Benson. Jil and I loved Claremont, but I wanted some more experience in the world and applied to study at the University of Oxford in England.

Just one problem: President Benson left CMC in 1969. His replacement, Howard Neville, pulled me aside upon arrival and said, “Look, you’re doing too much here. I can’t have you leave. Give me a year.” Oxford agreed to defer, and I stayed to help with his transition.

It was a tumultuous time in the country. Unrest on college campuses due to the Vietnam War had exploded, quite literally.

In 1969, there were two scary bombings at Pomona and Scripps’ campuses. When President Neville arrived, there were repeated confrontations, including sit-ins and broken windows, due to student protests at the ROTC headquarters in Bauer Center. The Kent State shootings were fresh in everyone’s mind. It wasn’t something a newly arriving president was prepared to handle.

A day before the annual meeting in June 1970, President Neville called the chairman of the Board of Trustees and said he planned to submit his resignation. It was a huge shock. He had only been there for a year. Me? I was headed to Oxford. Our Claremont house had been leased. I arranged for a new flat in England. Yet much to my surprise, the Board asked me to serve as interim president.

I had been front and center in working with students during the protests. I was also running the business side of the College.

Honestly, I never expected to be the full-time president. I don’t think the Board did, either. But I wanted to help. So, I asked the visiting professor from Pomona to give me my Claremont house back. Oxford would have to wait, again.

My love and appreciation for CMC goes back to my time as a student arriving in 1953—the novel days of crewcut orientation.

I was the first of my family to go to college, and much like my presidency, I didn’t know what to expect. But I was immediately

28. HISTORY OF CMC

drawn to the strong sense of community. We all had a rough and ready attitude about things, and best of all, I met Jil as she was attending Scripps. She was elected their student body president.

When I ran for CMC student body president, I lost to my good friend Rusty Grosse. I’ve always joked that since I wasn’t elected student body president, I decided to marry one.

My partnership with Jil was the key to any bit of success I had at CMC during my presidency. It also helped that I had held pretty much every job on the young campus—in those days, you could fit the College’s administration in one car!—be it chief financial officer, chief personnel officer, career counselor, head of the alumni office, you name it.

In 1970, I didn’t have the luxury to just hold things together as interim president until the cavalry arrived. Jil and I spent a lot of time on campus working with students on problems. We initiated faculty and student discussions, sometimes with guest speakers, over meals—the early Athenaeum. We started the first studentoriented institutes and study abroad program. We made the curriculum more flexible. Both of us knew that student outreach was the key, and we poured our heart and soul into it.

Our dedication to a fair and clear process also helped during the coeducation push in the mid-1970s. It was an important decision for the College, and the Board spent a great deal of time outlining the possible directions. Ultimately, coeducation—which required a two-thirds majority and for the College to initially avoid changing its name—passed by one vote, and women were admitted in 1976.

Four years later, the CMC name change reflected the foundational role Donald McKenna played in our humble beginnings. We could both honor and advance the College’s mission.

Sure, I didn’t get my sabbatical. But over the course of my 29 years as president, I got the community and family I wanted.

I’ve often said that CMC was the fifth child that got all of our attention. What a blessing to see how strong and successful that child has become.

Claremont McKenna College 29.

The Sponsored Internship Program begins with

2003

2005

2006

dedicated funds to allow students to pursue domestic and international summer internships in a variety of settings. The program is an expansion of international, political, and nonprofit internship programs that began in the mid-1970s.

Henry Kravis (left) and George Roberts

Information Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) networking trips—

nicknamed “Bart’s Boot Camp” for founder Bart Evans ’70—begin over spring break in Silicon Valley. The trips are instrumental in opening CMC students to careers in science and technology.

TIME CAPSULE

all-time

» Most popular CMC majors Economics Government and Political Science Accounting Psychology Literature

» Most students by state (non-California) Washington Arizona Oregon Illinois Texas

» Most students by country (non-U.S.) China India Hong Kong Singapore Canada

30. HISTORY OF CMC

Commencement is held at Badgley

Garden for the final time. The ceremony moves to Pritzlaff Field the following year.

Presented and administered by

CMC, the Henry R. Kravis (’67) Prize in Nonprofit Leadership grants its first winner, Landesa, with a $250,000 grant in recognition of its impact in the nonprofit sector.

The George R. Roberts

(’66 P’93) Faculty Challenge, a giftmatching measure for direct faculty support, builds and strengthens the College’s academic environment for exceptional teaching and research.

Faculty numbers eventually grow to 136 in 2011 as a result of 26 new endowed chairs from the challenge.

my cmc

75 Stephen Davis I MISS BEING IN THE CLASSROOM. I came to CMC in 1970 as a visiting assistant professor of philosophy. I then taught for a year at UC Riverside before returning to CMC for four years as a visiting professor. A committee voted me tenure, and except for visiting appointments elsewhere, I was at CMC until 2017, when I retired. My main focus in scholarship was the philosophy of religion and Christian thought.

CMC students keep you young and alert! And it was a joy whenever I saw real learning taking place. Our job in the philosophy department was to move students in the direction of being more intellectually curious—and it was beautiful to see it happen, as it often did. One of my favorite methods was to cast the students as co-investigators with me of the questions we were asking or arguments we were evaluating. “Does this answer to the question work? Why or why not?” I would also occasionally try to get them on board with philosophical questions I was personally wrestling with.

CMC prepared me by being such a great place for teaching and learning. The College always had outstanding faculty, and it was wonderful to get to know and learn from physicists, economists, political scientists, and literature professors, among others.

The ethos of the school is always to be first-rate, to excel at everything—whether faculty scholarship, student learning, athletics, student services, fundraising, or alumni success. It was especially great to be along for the ride as CMC grew. In 1970, CMC was respected, but was small and not nationally known. When I was in the Midwest or on the East Coast, many people had never heard of us. Now CMC is much more eminent, of course. Wherever I go, everybody knows about our school. It is nationally-ranked and universally respected.

Beyond the classroom, one of my great joys was also to serve as the men's soccer coach at CMS for almost three decades. Even better, we had some success! By serving as a coach and mentor, I got to know my soccer players on a deeper level. Those relationships are tremendously special to me.

It was a true honor to teach and coach at CMC. I hope I contributed something to the College’s evolving success story.

Stephen T. Davis is Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus and served in both the philosophy and religious studies departments. He earned CMC’s Presidential Award for Merit and is a member of the CMS Hall of Fame as the winningest soccer coach in men’s program history. He lives in Claremont and can be reached at stephen.davis@ claremontmckenna.edu.

Claremont McKenna College

31.

Heard on the iPod "Single Ladies" Beyonce

"Paper Planes" M.I.A.

"Empire State of Mind"

BONO

2009

2007

Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys

Biszantz Family Tennis Center is

dedicated thanks to support from Gary Biszantz ’56 P’08. The award-winning facility earns a reputation as one of the finest in collegiate tennis, hosting several DIII national championships in subsequent years.

Did you know?

BILL CLINTON

President Bill Clinton speaks in April at Pomona’s Bridges Auditorium as a guest of CMC’s Athenaeum speaker series.

U2 frontman and humanitarian Bono follows in October to deliver a lecture about the importance of giving back.

Robert A. Day ’65 P’12 creates an undergraduate scholars

program in economics and finance and a first-ever master’s degree program in finance. The economics department is renamed the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance in recognition of his donation. “The goal of this program is to identify the leaders of tomorrow and provide an outstanding education that will prepare them for significant roles within the world's top financial firms, corporations, government, and not-for-profit organizations," says Day, an economics major who credits his CMC education for his entrepreneurial success.

32. HISTORY OF CMC

The Kravis Center was designed by worldrenowned architect Rafael Viñoly, whose major works include 432 Park Avenue in New York City, 20 Fenchurch Street in London, and Tokyo International Forum.

The first Women and Leadership

2012

2011

2010

Workshop is held as a way to cultivate more female mentorship on campus.

Due to the workshop’s success, the Women and Leadership Alliance is formed shortly after.

TIME CAPSULE

2000s

» Total enrollment

The Kravis Center academic complex—

CMC launches its Silicon Valley

which includes the all-glass Living Room floating on a Mesabi black granite reflection pool—is dedicated. It is the physical flagship of CMC’s largest capital campaign in liberal arts college history (2008-2013) at $635.2 million. The milestone includes previous significant gifts from Robert Day ’65 P’12 and George R. Roberts ’66 P’93, along with bolstered alumni participation from Steve Crown ’74.

Semester Program, a major breakthrough for developing a pipeline of talent to Bay Area careers in technology, innovation, and science.

CMC Model UN wins its first Harvard

MUN World Championship. Now a national powerhouse, MUN teams have gone on to win multiple titles, including back-to-back victories in 2018 and 2019.

1,003 (2000); 1,210 (2009)

» Tuition and fees $22,390 (2000); $38,275 (2009)

» Graduates 259 (2000); 282 (2009)

» Commencement speakers David Gergen, political

commentator and adviser (2000); Surin Pisuwan ’72, secretary-

general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (2009)

The Living Room

Claremont McKenna College 33.

PRESIDENTIAL REFLECTION

I

Our virtuous circle

by Pamela Gann

In its short 75-year history, I can say with confidence that Claremont McKenna College is the most successful young liberal arts college in the history of American higher education. This history is certainly short in American higher education time, but it is extremely short in higher education time since the Middle Ages.

While some universities and colleges gained in prestige and actual impact and importance, others were diminished from their glory days. One of the most significant examples of the latter was the decline of German universities because of the Nazi period and World War II. The United States gained immensely from the extraordinary out-migration of brilliant talent, but it was the consequence of a terrible time in Europe.

American colleges and universities cannot take their stature and success for granted. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic about CMC for many reasons, not least of which is our robust understanding of academic freedom, where we provide safety for ideas, debate, and discovery, but also for our model of alumni engagement. Alumni serve on the College’s exceptionally strong Board of Trustees, in our alumni national and regional alumni organizations, on the advisory boards of our research institutes, as mentors for students’ professional development, and as employers of our graduates. Our alumni community is among the most generous in higher education when measured in dollars raised per graduate.

So, why? Our community believes in what we do, our mission to educate leaders through the liberal arts. Through a CMC education, we change the lives of our students; we enable them to solve real world problems in the service of humankind; we inspire them to achieve significant leadership positions in our global society. We live daily within the creative tension between liberal arts and some pre-professionalism. We live daily as a member of the Claremont Colleges, in which each student can learn and experience that each college has its own special mission and emphasis, including its own distinct personality and campus climate. Daily, we cultivate the liberal arts of a

34. HISTORY OF CMC

civilized debate with a range of courses and course content, with our Athenaeum programming, through conversations within residence halls and on the playing fields, and even within our demonstration policy and interactions with the other Claremont Colleges.

As a young college, CMC had to be entrepreneurial since its founding. It did then, and continues to this day, to out-perform its financial resources. Yet, it embraces the fact that it is an in-perpetuity institution that builds for the long run. It purchased 40 acres of land to the east of the core campus, and it approved its first master plan and began its implementation through the Kravis Center, the North Mall renovations, and the new Roberts Pavilion, along with Crown Hall and the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. At the same time, because CMC has only 10 academic departments, resulting from its focused mission within the Claremont Colleges, it invested heavily in its faculty in every one of these departments to be the very best in Claremont and among liberal arts colleges.

This investment creates a virtuous circle between excellence in our teacher-scholars and excellence in our student body. That virtuous circle creates powerful relationships between the faculty and students and is an important reason why CMC students love their college. Although CMC is far from perfect, it tries to pursue and cultivate those virtues that make for a worthy and happy community, such as intellectual curiosity, fairness and justice, integrity, and courage.

CMC may be a small College, but it has attained an important place in the world among the very best institutions of higher education. It worked hard to attain this justifiable recognition in such a very short period, but it is a place that it richly deserves.

I genuinely believe that CMC is a special place, and I can think of no other liberal arts college with which I would rather be so strongly associated.

Claremont McKenna College 35.

Welcome Orientation Adventure (WOA), led by First-

2015

2014

2013

Year Guides (FYGs), becomes an integral part of CMC’s formal Orientation program. The trips are an expansion of a mid-1990s wilderness initiative for new students.

Hiram E. Chodosh, dean of the University

The Student Imperative launches, raising more than $200 million to support

of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and a scholar in comparative and global justice reform, becomes CMC’s fifth president. His wife, Priya Junnar, joins CMC as Athenaeum director the following year.

financial aid, provide focused research and internship experiences, and cultivate leadership through residential and student life experiences. The Imperative lays the foundation for CMC’s Opportunity Strategy in the years to follow, which includes the creation of the Scholar Community program, the CARE Center, the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, and the Kravis Opportunity Fund.

Enrollment expands to 1,300 students

Final CMS games take place in Ducey Gymnasium.

and, as a result, faculty expands to keep the faculty-student ratio at 8:1 and 85% of classes taught with fewer than 20 students.

With a ceremony honoring Ted Ducey closing out its regular season in the longtime gym, the CMS men’s basketball team beat Redlands 74-63.

Did you know?

The Sixth Street Trophy, awarded to the winner of the annual CMS Football-Pomona rivalry game since 2014, is constructed from an old street sign that separated the two campuses.

FOLLOW THE LINES FOR CMC'S OPPORTUNITY STRATEGY CONNECTIONS

36. HISTORY OF CMC

THE STUDENT IMPERATIVE (2014)

A BRIEF HISTORY

The public art initiative THE INTEGRATION OF PUBLIC ART ON CAMPUS serves to enrich the cultural, intellectual, and scholarly life of CMC and the Claremont

07

community. Through the Public Art Initiative, CMC’s collection has been significantly enhanced in recent years with the addition of several major installations across campus. Six outdoor sculptures and an indoor mural—created by some of the world’s most renowned artists— are available for the public’s enjoyment, and are accessible to everyone.

These notable pieces include:

» Mary Weatherford’s monumental From the Mountain to the Sea (2015), a painted and neon tube abstract mural, located inside the Eggert Dining Room at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.

» Chris Burden’s Meet in the Middle (2016), a circular arrangement of streetlights and benches located in front of Roberts Pavilion.

The sculpture was designed as part of Burden’s work with vintage street lamps.

» Ellsworth Kelly’s Totem (2017), one of the last works created by the celebrated sculptor, painter, and printmaker. The 40-foot whitepainted, stainless steel sculpture was installed at the site of the original Story House.

» Carol Bove’s four pieces near Collins Dining Hall—two created for CMC in 2019 and two previously exhibited to great acclaim. Four Loops, a particular visual standout, is a white tubular glyph with loops that appear to float in space.

COMING SOON: Three new, exciting works will be installed over the next 18 months to weave more public art into the campus fabric and scholarly life of the College.

Claremont McKenna College

37.

2016

Roberts Pavilion Free Food For Thought

Roberts Pavilion, a state-of-the-art athletics and

Faculty and student research

events center, opens—the culmination of more than two decades of planning to create a “beating heart” campus recreation space.

achievements are displayed at the inaugural Community Celebration of CMC Faculty Publications and Grants.

The event highlights research and scholarship from professors, who on average, produce more than 330 books, articles, creative works, and grant awards annually.

The student-led, Athenaeum-hosted Free Food for Thought podcast launches as a way to amplify the diverse voices of visiting academics, writers, policy makers, thought leaders, and alumni through a conversational series meant to feel like a “gathering around the head table at the Ath.” Responding to campus needs, the Dean of Students

Do you remember?

The Appel Fellowship (2016) launched as a way to encourage first-years to explore self-discovery through writing and travel.

initiates a series of new engagement and self-authorship strategies. Student-led groups like 1Gen, ¡Mi Gente!, Asian Pacific American Mentoring Program, and the College Programming Board help with peer-to-peer outreach and inclusive activities in the years ahead.

The CARE Center (Civility, Access, Resource, Expression) opens to promote programming, training, and workshops to help students learn through and across differences and experiences, identify across social barriers, and facilitate student leadership on issues of inclusion, collaboration, and empathy.

CARE Center

DEAN OF STUDENTS INITIATIVES (2016)

38. HISTORY OF CMC

CARE CENTER (2016)

"

We needed to make a vitally important value statement for higher education: one that values open, incisive questions over conclusory reactions; independent, critical thinking over homogenous group think; respectful debate and active listening over ad hominem attacks; and the resolution of conflict over its mere amplification."

2017

2018

—PRESIDENT HIRAM CHODOSH on forming the Open Academy (2018)

CMS women’s volleyball wins

the NCAA Division III national championship, a first for women’s athletics. The victory also marks the start of the landmark “Year of the Athena,” which includes national titles in women’s tennis and golf (along with several individual titles) during the 2017-18 academic year.

The Kravis Opportunity Fund

The Open Academy, a renewed

(KOF) is established by Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis ’67 to help students with summer internships and various costs beyond attendance, including kickoff grants for clothing, supplies, and technology; food support and application fee waivers; removal of home equity from the financial aid calculation; and travel and emergency funding.

set of educational and institutional commitments to freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and effective dialogue, launches in response to national and higher education challenges. The initiative reinforces intellectual and social development to combat growing ideological threats to our national discourse.

CMC Army ROTC celebrates its Institutional Excellence Award (2019) from the Heterodox Academy

Centennial with a campus celebration featuring alumni across the eras. Dating back to its shared history with Pomona College, the ROTC program is one of the oldest in the nation.

The newly renovated Soll Center for

Student Opportunity—named for Bruce Soll ’79 P’12 P’15 P’17—opens as the expanded home for Career Services, Sponsored Internships and Experiences, and the Scholar Community program.

SOLL CENTER EXPANSION (2017)

KRAVIS OPPORTUNITY FUND (2018)

OPEN ACADEMY (2018) Claremont McKenna College 39.

Heard on Spotify "Juice" Lizzo

"This Life" Vampire Weekend

2018•20

2019•20

"Bad Guy" Billie Eilish

significant investments in integrated sciences and computation, which will raise the technical and scientific fluency of all students and ensure their ability to lead within a modern economy.

The strategic expansion points to the promise of a new interdisciplinary science department and an iconic facility to anchor as a “front door” to the redeveloped northeast end of campus.

TIME CAPSULE

2010s

» Total enrollment 1,253 (2010); 1,335 (2019)

» Tuition and fees $39,995 (2010); $56,190 (2019)

» Graduates

The Murty Sunak Quantitative

296 (2010); 327 (2019)

» Commencement speakers Henry Kravis ’67, founding partner

at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (2010); Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute (2019)

and Computing Lab (QCL) opens as CMC’s centralized hub for integrating data and computer science into all fields of study and research. The QCL builds off CMC’s growth in computer science majors, a pathway created by a partnership with Harvey Mudd College a few years earlier, and the expansion of a data science major (fall 2020) to complement an already successful sequence.

INTEGRATED SCIENCES AND COMPUTATION STRATEGY (2018)

40. HISTORY OF CMC

The CMC Strategy Report calls for

75th online To learn more about CMC's opportunity strategy and future plans for science, visit 75.cmc.edu.

my cmc

75 Jil Stark I HAVE RECEIVED THREE GREAT AND SPECIAL HONORS FROM CMC. These are serious awards for which I am so grateful.

In 1999, I was awarded an honorary doctorate from the College. This was indeed a huge honor. Then in 2018, the CMC Parent Network named a special award after me—the Jil Stark Parent Volunteer Award. The parents of students at the College always meant a great deal to me. When Jack became CMC President in 1970, I was in my early 30s, and we had four young children. The parents group adopted me as a member of their family. Then in January 2020, a lovely bronze sculpture by Bruce Wolfe was placed outside the Athenaeum by the Class of 1957, along with others connected to the College. It is a wonderful tribute to my happy years being part of this amazing community.

Then there’s my fourth and least prestigious award, one that may not be as widely known to the CMC community. But it’s the one I want to highlight here, as I’m quite proud of it.

I would attend all the CMS soccer games with numerous children in tow, our four plus their friends. Soccer was a big youth sport in Claremont, so our own kids played. Sometime in the ‘80s, during a very close game with the University of La Verne, I saw an LV forward spit right in the face of my CMS player. I leapt—I could do that then—right out of my seat, grabbed that LV player, dug my fingers in his arm, and drew blood! I was furious.

The whistle blew, the game stopped, there was dead silence. My children pretended they had no idea who I was. Our coach, a professor of religious studies at CMC, bowed his head. The referee ran over to me with a bright yellow card—why I will never comprehend. That big, naughty LV player should be the one in trouble, I thought, as he stood there bleeding, surrounded by LV paramedic types. But no, the ref was actually mad at me, heavens only knows why.

“This is for you. You are mighty lucky it is not RED,” the ref shouted. The best part of this Yellow Card Award—I am sure I am the only President's spouse to get one—is that the naughty, big, mean, La Verne player had to sit out of the rest of the game.

But we would have won anyway!

Jil Harris Stark '58 GP'11 is an honorary member of the CMC Alumni Association. She served as Athenaeum director from 1987 to 1992.

Claremont McKenna College

41.

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Today's campus profile 08

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS brings a lot of changes to a college. What does CMC look like heading into the 2021-22 academic year? Here’s a quick glance at how far we’ve come.

» Enrollment •Roughly 1,300 students

» Financial aid • More than $20 million in institutional dollars have been awarded to students every

» Geography • Represent 47 states/territories and 46 countries

» Identity • Roughly 50/50 gender balance between male and female-identified students •38% students of color •21% first-generation students

year for the last five years • Average debt less than $25,000 for the last five cohorts of graduates

» Internships • 90% of seniors participate in at least one internship • More than 60% of students have participated in a summer internship or

•16% international students

» Majors

experience over the last three years • Record 526 internships funded in

• 33 CMC offerings and 11 sequences, along with additional options through the consortium • Roughly 35% of students graduate with dual or double majors

summer 2020

» Research • 11 research institutes and centers • 75% of seniors work on advanced research with faculty

• More than 80 courses in the CMC catalog related to leadership studies

» Classes • More than 80% of courses have less than 20 students; 8:1 student to faculty ratio • More than 70% of courses are taught by

» Post-graduate success • Average salary for CMC graduates: $86,0001 • More than 50% of graduates earn advanced degrees after CMC • Roughly 84% of alumni are employed fulltime, part-time, in a service program, or

tenured or tenure-track faculty

serving in the military—with over 12%

» Community, purpose, and play

enrolling in graduate programs—six months

• 21 CMS Athletics varsity teams—

after graduation

11 women’s, 10 men’s

• Mobility rate 60% higher than the average

• On average: 90 Scholar All-America

for other elite private and public schools

selections, 300-plus SCIAC

in California2

All-Academic selections

42. HISTORY OF CMC

• More than 70 CMC student life clubs

1

and organizations

2

Payscale.com Income Segregation and Intergenerational Mobility Across Colleges in the United States, Quarterly Journal of Economics

Did you know?

The American Talent Initiative

2020•21

2020

CMC was named a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Students in 2021, the 10th time since 2009.

Though away from campus, CMC sent Class of 2020 seniors a special ‘Mark the Moment’ box and video tribute to toast their accomplishments.

recognizes CMC for its work as a national leader in building academic success and opportunity, particularly among firstgeneration students and Pell Grant recipients.

In response to persistent patterns of

anti-Black racism and a summer of widespread national protests, President Chodosh launches the Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and the Black Experience in America.

The COVID-19 pandemic forces a shutdown of campus in

March, leading to commencement being postponed and virtual semesters for fall 2020 and spring 2021.

Seniors from the Class of 2021 return to campus in May 2021

for a student-only, modified graduation ceremony on Parents Field. It is the first time that students are allowed to be back together at CMC since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVE ON ANTI-RACISM AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA (2020)

CAMPUS MASTER PLAN EXPANSION (2021)

Claremont McKenna College 43.

44. HISTORY OF CMC

PRESIDENTIAL REFLECTION

O

Challenge & opportunity

by Hiram Chodosh

On my long first day of college soccer practice tryouts, we had to run up a long, steep cemetery hill. It was brutal. I grew to love it.

This is what CMC does. We face the steep challenge. We push ourselves to the top.

I remember the moments, the inflection points at the bottom, or midway up when the terrain suddenly shifts. The hard work sprinting uphill. We never rest at the plateau. We are always climbing in search of the next, new summit.

I savor the moments doubly charged with structural challenges holding us back and audacious ideas that push us forward.

A board meeting at the Athenaeum in December 2013. We were talking about the negative impact of the rising cost of attendance, and the need to raise more for scholarships. Nancy Falk P’14, president of the Parent Network Board at the time, said: “it’s an imperative.” And that moment led to the framing of the Student Imperative, a $100 million commitment, now a $200-plus million achievement, as the first pillar in our Opportunity Strategy.

Scholar Communities, Soll Center for Student Opportunity, Sponsored Internships and Experiences, Kravis Opportunity Fund, universal access to WOA Orientation Trips, First-Year Guides, and Romero Success Coaches. Our higher levels of entering students (20 percent Pell-eligible and first-generation college students), recognized by the American Talent Initiative for proving the possible and leading by example.

A conversation with Chris Walker ’69 in spring 2014 about the student arts council we’d just created. Chris started the board committee on public art a year earlier. We shared our perspectives on the power of the arts in creating joy, stimulating our imagination, enriching our human experience, and our shared commitment, in a phrase “to put some arts into the liberal arts.” With Chris’ leadership and the generosity of our Board, the early guidance of professor Bob Faggen, and effective direction of Kimberly Shiring, we are on our way: Weatherford, Kelly, Burden, Bove, and several to come.

A discussion with George Roberts ’66 P’93 in 2015 about Roberts Pavilion. I recall telling him how excited we were to have a facility that would match the prowess of our competitive CMS program, leverage the power of the scholar-leader-athlete model, allow us

to recruit student-athletes who would learn leadership from their dreams to win a national championship. George said: “That’s right, Hiram. Keep repeating that and you will find everyone will start saying the same thing.” Then, suddenly, it started to happen: men’s tennis, men’s golf, and then in one year, three women’s national championships in volleyball, golf, and tennis, and three individual women’s championships in golf and track and field. That year, we received an overall national ranking of 3rd in NCAA Division III. A meeting with two students in December 2015 after the national movement of fall protests on college campuses across the country, including CMC. One student was liberal; the other conservative.

They expressed concern that we do everything possible to learn through the moment and keep the entire community together.

The commitments they expressed—not only to speak up but also to ensure that everyone could do the same; to listen and learn from diverse viewpoints; to seek a deeper, common understanding through effective dialogue—epitomized the work we have done through the most challenging moments. The CARE Center and our transformational student development programs. The Open Academy and the extraordinary learning power of the Athenaeum.

The Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism and the Black Experience in America. All honor and draw on the CMC commitments.

A conference call with colleagues in 2016 about the emerging curricular demands for computer and data science and how best to integrate them into our CMC strengths. A board plenary session followed on the need to double our investment in integrated sciences. This all led to our current, ambitious vision. One department, a computational core, multidisciplinary bridges to and from the social sciences and humanities. Twenty-five world-class teacher-scholars organized around the major scientific challenges and opportunities of our time. An iconic facility that triggers the improvement of the eastern part of our campus. A $360 million project that we are close to launching.

These are the moments. The inflection points. The steep hills we have scaled. The many still in front of us.

We climb.

This is what I love most about CMC. What CMC does best.

Claremont McKenna College 45.

CMC’s founding principles of leadership are creating powerful pathways for today’s students PROFILES BY THOMAS ROZWADOWSKI

Carrying THE

torch

I

In CMC’s first catalog from June 1946, two words from its original mission statement proved foundational to the nascent undergraduate men’s college.

Leadership and responsibility.

The same two words continue to guide CMC as one of the country’s top liberal arts institutions.

The framework for CMC’s “original idea”—penned by Mabel Gibberd Benson, who helped write the catalog with her husband and the College’s first president, George C.S. Benson P’61—also emphasized “broad fields of human knowledge” through a diverse liberal arts curriculum that would prepare students for “the political, economic, social, and cultural needs of. … tomorrow’s world of affairs.”

Seventy-five years later, CMC’s commitment to responsible leadership continues to flourish with new generations.

How are today’s students building off lessons from the College’s history and preparing for a future where they’ll be tasked with leading and shaping the world around them? We spoke with three CMC students about their personal leadership journeys and, how in the spirit of honoring CMC’s original mission and expanding opportunities in the future, they plan to make a difference beyond campus.

Jordan Venglass 46. FEATURES

WHILE on stage at the Kravis Leadership Institute’s 25th Anniversary in March 2020, Jordan Venglass ’21 shared how he applied for 100 internships as a sophomore.

All 100 companies turned him down.

Deflating? Sure. But turning rejection into opportunity has been Venglass’ charge since arriving to CMC as a transfer student. Yes, even the College he grew up on (“I have baby pictures on the CMC track,” HOMETOWN he said) didn’t accept Venglass the first time RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA he applied—another tough pill to swallow.

MAJOR But when the big lecture halls at UC-Berkeley GOVERNMENT (FOREIGN weren’t working for him, he found his way back AFFAIRS CONCENTRATION) WITH A LEADERSHIP to his first choice.

STUDIES SEQUENCE

After all, real leadership comes from dusting yourself off and persevering, Venglass said.

Or, as he learned as a U.S. Army ROTC cadet, humbling moments can help identify weaknesses and lead to improvement.

“Sometimes you don’t get a straight path toward your goal.

But I have tried to embrace my challenges,” Venglass said. “I definitely struggled coming in to CMC. At a bigger school, I knew I could just be a face in the crowd.

Now, I had to have a voice and know what I stood for and where I could fit in. It was a lot to overcome.”

With a deep family legacy of military service dating back to his greatgreat grandfather, Venglass was drawn to ROTC’s

servant leadership style—”serve others before serving yourself; lead for others, not for personal gain,” he said.

Most important of all: People are your most valuable asset. “You learn quickly by leading a battalion that you cannot accomplish a mission if the left and right side aren’t working together to achieve a common goal,” Venglass added.

Coupled with his ROTC tool kit, Venglass said his leadership studies sequence at CMC has helped him develop and improve upon a personal style that can adapt to multiple situations. Part of the magic, he said, is how the coursework encourages vulnerability and selfgrowth through real examples. Venglass recalled one of his favorite leadership seminars with Professor David Day from his junior year, a roundtable-style class largely led by students. Discussions sometimes lasted three hours. The more peers opened up about their personal hurdles and triumphs, the easier it became to adapt those same lessons to everyday life, Venglass said.

“It’s been a unique intersection for me: I can take several courses on leadership philosophy, gain perspective through the classroom work with my peers, and then apply it directly to leadership through ROTC, where I’m tasked with leading others,” he said. “It’s gone so much further than following a simple chain of command. You get to really see the impact on a personal level.”

And about those 100 internship rejections from his sophomore year? Venglass hasn’t forgotten them, either.

During the pandemic, he partnered with students from CMC and other colleges to launch the Kampus Group, a networking resource to bring together peers virtually to learn more about internships and job opportunities.

Students seeking real world experience were paired with small businesses affected by COVID regulations—for example, those needing technology services to adapt to the new service climate.

“I remember my rude awakening moments, but I also know what it’s meant to be at CMC and have so many opportunities open to me,” said Venglass, who coupled his Kampus Group mentoring with a full-time Goldman Sachs internship. “I felt a calling to do my part. It was an opportunity to utilize all the leadership lessons I had learned during my time here and give back.”

Claremont McKenna College

47.

Jennifer Bernardez ’22 didn’t think of leadership as a topic you could study before she arrived at CMC.

While her high school career was filled with impressive credentials, it wasn’t until she arrived at Kravis Leadership Institute (KLI) that the combination of theory and practice pushed her to be more introspective about leading others.

“I’ve begun to think of myself as a leader more in the past year or two,” said Bernardez, who has worked with KLI since she was a first-year. “Because of CMC, I know what leadership means to me. I know what I want to see in leaders. I know how they should act. I’ve even written a paper about leadership development frameworks.

Leadership is not just about what you’re good at, but what you need to improve and develop in yourself and others.”

HOMETOWN MERCER ISLAND, WA MAJORS PSYCHOLOGY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Whether at CMC or while working for a company, Bernardez wants to use the power of leadership to “lift others voices up,” a principle of inclusive leadership that she’s learned through KLI. On campus, she has served as a KLI lead, CARE Center lead, Admission tour guide, FirstYear Guide, Asian Pacific American Mentor, and Residential Technology Assistant. The

intersection of leadership learning with liberal arts has further placed Bernardez on a path to fuse her primary passions—psychology, computer science, and diversity, equity, and inclusion—in ways she didn’t anticipate at CMC. Summer roles as an agile operations specialist at SAP Concur and a diversity and inclusion intern at Russell Investments, both in the Seattle area, showed her how she could help educate workplaces to be more inclusive. She credits her computer science major— specifically, data science courses—for teaching her how to harness the power of data by displaying and measuring demographics and surveying how equitable a company can be. Bernardez’s goal is to be a liaison between coders, sales and marketing teams, and executives so they can understand the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion on productivity, retention, and overall job satisfaction.

“In a way, data science is all about communication—it’s clarifying a message through millions of data points. But someone needs to simplify that message. That’s also how diversity, equity, and inclusion work needs to be made more accessible,” Bernardez said.

“I really want to appeal to both the head and the heart in my leadership work. It’s a powerful combination: Do you understand people and can you tap into the heart of who they are? But also, here’s the data, statistics, and research that shows how a diverse workforce will increase output. I think that approach can really make a difference with companies.”

Bernardez’s interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion stems from her multi-ethnic background—and in what feels like a rarity these days—a household comprised of opposing political and religious viewpoints. Growing up, Bernardez said it was common to hear numerous opinions and perspectives on a variety of important topics, particularly from her parents.

The ability to work through difficult discussions and walk away with “a level of respect intact, even if the other person doesn’t agree with you” motivated her to be a better listener and understand why people think and feel a certain way.

“When I came to CMC, I knew I wanted to work as a CARE fellow for that reason. The mission resonated with me right away,” Bernardez said. “My leadership skills have only continued to grow from there, because I know I can draw on my prior experiences to empower others and navigate tough situations. I try to channel everything I’ve learned through the lens of leadership.”

48. FEATURES

Jennifer Bernardez

Janise Waites

ASK Janise Waites ’22 about leadership and she’ll come prepared

with a list of values.

Kindness. Relationship-building. Striving for success. Humor. And at the very top: Authenticity.

“I will always be myself in every single thing that I do,” Waites said.

“When I lead, I lead with authenticity.”

So far at CMC, that’s led Waites to serve as a First-Year Guide, a CARE Center fellow, a Career Services mentor at the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, and a research assistant for both the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies and Keck Science Department. It’s been a gradual process to find HOMETOWN her authentic leadership voice, Waites said. For SAN DIEGO, CA much of her freshman year, she listened and MAJOR observed. Where did she want to have the most GOVERNMENT WITH A LEADERSHIP impact? She eventually found herself drawn to STUDIES SEQUENCE the CARE fellow role and becoming secretary for the Black Student Association.

“It took a bit of advocating for myself, and really feeling more comfortable by communicating with others. I had to build some confidence and put myself out there more,” Waites said. “But most importantly, I learned that you have to be willing to make connections and have conversations—especially at a smaller school like CMC. And the camaraderie will develop.”

As Waites has grown more comfortable with being a leader in highly visible campus spots like the Dean of Students office, she’s extended her values list into a career path—specifically, a changemaking role in politics. With an eye on relationship building and “making democracy work for everyone,” she’s excited to apply her authentic interests in foreign affairs, education, LGBTQ rights, and mentorship to a political campaign. Waites got her first taste of the election grind while working for CMC alumna, Candace Valenzuela ’06, as a campaign fellow during her congressional run in Texas this past fall.

“When I worked on Candace’s campaign, we had to do so much phone banking—600 calls a week. We also did data entry, engaged in finance prospecting, and attended meetings with field organizers. It was such an eye opener to see how it all worked behind-the-scenes, how much you need to reach people with your story,” Waites said.

“But one thing I’ll always remember is that a big goal for Candace was to treat everyone with kindness and teach through the campaign. For instance, she wanted all of the fellows to gain the skills to become field organizers. I really appreciated that.”

This year, Waites went “full force into politics,” she joked, by joining the Washington D.C. Program during the spring semester. Being in the nation’s capital—even with virtual restrictions—further solidified the goal she wants to continue working toward. She spent the semester studying in D.C. and interning for Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas. Whether routing mail, subtitling videos, or compiling social media reports, Waites said she loves being at the center of a fast-paced learning environment that connects people with policy. Her goal is to work on a campaign again, and perhaps one day, be a chief of staff.

“At CMC, I’ve learned that there are different kinds of leaders and different ways that leadership can work,” Waites said. “But I always seem to come back to the idea of having core values, which is why authenticity is so important to me. In order to know others, I truly believe you have to know yourself first.”

Claremont McKenna College 49.

50. FEATURES

STORY BY DIANE KRIEGER ILLUSTRATION BY MARK SMITH

cycle of support What's the secret to CMC? A special community that makes sure everyone gets a boost to the top

Tejas Gala ’09 M’13 remembers that feeling of absolute certainty. The knowledge that he could walk into any room on campus—any random social situation—and be fully included and welcome, even if it was a room full of strangers.

He calls it CMC’s “secret sauce”—a collective will to “bring everyone along.” And he knows it has profound consequences.

“Literally all the jobs I’ve ever gotten were through CMC connections,” said Gala, an Apple executive.

He points to economics professor Janet Smith, who took him under her wing as a research assistant, then became his thesis adviser and finally passed him on to Alan Delsman ’68, who gave Gala his first job as a risk manager at Deutsche Bank in New York.

Another CMC connector is basketball coach Ken Scalmanini, whom Gala calls his “second dad.”

“We probably talk every week,” said the 6’6” former Stag forward. Gala and his teammates have a running joke: if they ever get in trouble, their first call will be to “Coach Scali.”

“He’ll be there to help, no judgment, and always have our back,” Gala said.

Mentoring happens at every college, but at CMC, it happens not by administrative fiat, but by some unspoken pact. Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, a communal spirit lifts all CMCers—it’s almost a healthy competition among alumni, faculty, and staff to see who can be most helpful.

The positive-sum game effectively leaves no CMCer behind.

“We’re all in this together,” Gala said. “At CMC, we aren’t told we can only do better at the expense of someone else. We’re taught that doing better means bringing everyone up, which I think is unique.”

Today, as Apple’s director of corporate finance and investor relations, Gala manages the tech juggernaut’s capital debt and quarterly earnings calls. In his free time, Gala enjoys giving back to CMC students, most notably through the Soll Center for Student Opportunity and the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance.

“I have a rule that if a CMCer reaches out to me, I’ll respond and make time for them,” he said.

A few years ago, Gala helped build an internship pipeline into Apple’s finance division. Before that, he created pipelines for CMC interns at Deutsche Bank and Piper Jaffray.

Claremont McKenna College

51.

The Apple program is making waves. “After our first CMC intern, Riley Hall ’17, knocked it out of the park,” Gala said, the pipeline became a fire hose. CMC is now a “target school” for Apple’s finance development program. In 2019, the program hired four CMC interns; in 2020, it brought on 10 more.

There’s nothing new about the mentoring culture at CMC. It’s part of the intrinsic fabric of a small, liberal arts college built on unique social warmth, personalized academic attention, and deep alumni engagement.

"

THEY WERE WONDERFUL, CARING EDUCATORS WHO TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN MENTORING YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN."

That it can lead to intergenerational friendships long after a student’s time on campus, however, may come as a surprise.

Ret. Maj. Kevin Smith ’80 fully experienced it under longtime political science and international relations professor Harold William Rood, his lifelong mentor and friend.

“Dr. Rood inspired me to take a strong interest in the national security establishment,” said Smith, a retired Air Force intelligence officer who is now a Joint Fires Element planner with the U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, Neb. In 1992, Rood and his young acolyte had an unforgettable reunion. Smith was on his way home from Saudi Arabia, where he’d been deployed during the First Gulf War. Rood was in Europe delivering a conference talk.

Meeting up in Copenhagen, the two men embarked on a road trip across East Germany intent on witnessing the end of the Cold War. In Rood’s intense courses at CMC, Smith had closely studied the delicate balance between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. Here was a once-in-alifetime chance to see Soviet forces in retreat.

Over several days, Rood and Smith explored multiple still-active military bases. They struck up conversations with Russian soldiers standing guard. They even had a close encounter with a Soviet tank.

52. FEATURES

“We were driving through a field,” Smith recalled, “and all of a sudden, this T-72 is coming down the dirt road in our direction. We could see the gun. If they had a misfire, it would have destroyed our rental vehicle.”

Years later, after Rood had retired with his wife, Juanita, to Spanish Creek in Plumas County, Smith was a frequent visitor. He would make the 100-mile trip to the Rood ranch when he visited his own parents in San Jose. A couple of times, Smith brought along his wife and four kids.

“They treated us like royalty,” he recalled.

Smith also built a special bond with Bill Arce P’80 GP’22, the architect of the CMS athletic program, its founding director, and longtime Stag head baseball coach.

A top player on coach David Wells’ basketball team, Smith was good enough to be invited to the NBA Summer League tryouts. With no place to stay, Smith called Arce’s office for help. The athletic director and his wife, Nancy, personally welcomed the 22-year-old alumnus in their home. Not only that, they loaned Smith a car so he could drive every day to Cal State Dominguez Hills, where the tryouts dragged out over two weeks. Smith made the final cut and competed in the 1980 summer season, which led to his being recruited by professional teams in Austria and the Philippines.

After three years playing hoops in international leagues, Smith joined the Air Force. The past 20 years, he’s lived in Omaha—which also happens to be home of the College World Series. Every summer, Smith and his baseballloving sons would meet up with Arce to watch championship games at Rosenblatt Stadium and later, TD Ameritrade Park.

Smith cherishes these lifelong relationships, memories made even more special since Rood passed away in 2011, followed by Arce in 2016.

“They were generous with their talents,” he said of both. “As World War II veterans, they were tremendous inspirations to me. And they were wonderful, caring educators who took great

pride in mentoring young men and women at Claremont McKenna College. They enjoyed it, and they were very good at it.”

Jenny Taw is also very good at it.

“I talk to my former students every single day,” said the CMC associate professor of government.

She’s in steady contact with about 200 CMC alumni through email, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It’s not just to say “happy birthday” once a year. “We really talk,” said Taw, who has even received emergency calls from students on study abroad trips.

During an ordinary Monday in mid-March, she hears from three former students—two need letters of recommendations. Taw happily obliges.

Another calls to ask for advice on preparing for the foreign service exam. Taw connects her with two other CMCers who are now diplomats. A LinkedIn page Taw created identifies more than 360 CMC alumni working in government and international relations who are eager to connect with students.

Mentoring current CMCers is a high priority for faculty and staff. Of course, Taw writes dozens of letters of recommendation for graduate school admissions. Sometimes when a more personal touch is required, she rolls out the welcome mat.

In March, Taw treated two seniors to an impromptu “spa day” at her La Cañada home. It was a particularly tough time for them in their final semester.

“I just said, ‘Come over. You can ride our new electric bikes, which are super fun on the hills.

I’ll turn on the jacuzzi. You guys can just relax, and I’ll provide lunch,’” Taw said.

Taw is famous for her hospitality, including an open invitation to crash her family Thanksgiving. Most years, a handful of students will show up at the feast she puts on for 50-plus guests. One year, Emily Forden Calderbank ’10 arrived with her parents in tow. When her dad

Claremont McKenna College 53.

turned out to have national security experience, Taw enlisted him as a guest speaker in her class.

Now that Taw’s three children are grown, there’s always a vacancy in the home she shares with husband, Steven, who works at Capital Bank.

Good thing the Taws live a 40-minute drive from campus, or they might need to install a revolving door at the front entrance.

“We have students come and stay all the time,” she said. “We’ve had a few stay over breaks. One stayed with us for a few months after graduation.”

Taw chokes up a bit as she retells the story of Massoud’s gesture.

“That was 14 years ago,” she said, “but I can still remember what I was thinking—that this is the kind of impact I want to have on students’ lives.”

Her husband actually enjoys the bustle.

Dianna “DT” Graves ’98 has been on both sides of the CMC mentoring relationship.

“He loves it when the students come,” she said.

“He's always happy with a full house. Our kids?

Now, they think it’s crazy.” Two of the Taw offspring attended large research universities, where they never experienced anything remotely like their mother’s mentoring style.

As a three-sport scholar-athlete, she drew emotional strength from pioneering women’s basketball (now women’s golf) coach Jodie Burton and her husband, athletic director David Wells ’72.

Among CMC faculty however, Taw is hardly unique. Within her own department, colleague Roderic Camp is famous for inviting students to his house to gorge on fresh-baked brownies.

Another government professor, Hilary Appel, regularly hosts an authentic Russian meal in her home.

“Everybody does it,” Taw said. “We meet students for lunch. We take them out to dinner. We bring them home and feed them. The school encourages it. They actually give us a lunch stipend so we can meet students in Collins Dining Hall.”

One of CMC’s longest-serving faculty mentors at 40 years, accounting professor Marc Massoud P’89 calls his students “my sons and daughters.” Though he’s known to be intellectually demanding and a tough grader, Massoud all but guarantees an internship to any student who wants one.

When Taw joined the CMC faculty in 2007, one of the first events she attended featured Massoud as the speaker. She vividly recalls the anecdote he told that day, about a student 54. FEATURES

who had no suit to wear for his interview with a major accounting firm. Massoud took that student home to give him one of his son’s suits.

When none fit, Massoud pulled out his wallet and helped pay for a new one.

Graves struggled mightily with guilt and homesickness her first year. “I didn't know what I was doing in college,” she admitted. “In all of my childhood pictures, I always had a kid on a hip.”

The oldest of five siblings, Graves desperately missed her brothers and sisters, “and Jodie could just feel it. She would ask me about them, knew them all by name. She became such a powerful figure in my life,” she said.

Though Wells was battling cancer that ended his life far too soon in 2001, he and Burton welcomed Graves into their family. She became a fixture, and the coaches’ three boys “became like little brothers to me,” she recalled.

Over the past 20 years, Graves has returned the kindness in hundreds of ways at CMC—first as head women’s volleyball coach, then as director of academic planning, and now as associate vice president and dean of students. Graves still makes time for any student who knocks on her door, even if that means working late into the night or on weekends to meet her administrative responsibilities—as it often does.

*

THANK YOUR CMC MENTOR When you look back at your time at CMC, was there someone who made a difference in your life?

Took a personal interest in you? Guided you through a tough moment?

CMC would love to share a thank you with that individual—or if they’re deceased, a member of their family—on your behalf as part of a 75th Anniversary year project.

It’s easy: Send us an email at cmc_magazine@cmc.edu with a short, personal thank you message to the individual who provided mentorship.

Big gestures, small gestures— we’d just love to connect our community during this special year.

Let us know who they are and why they made a difference to you. Please include your name, class year, and contact info so we can let you know about next steps—then we’ll take it from there!

“She made a huge impact for me at CMC,” said Betzy Perez ’19, former president of ¡Mi Gente!

At a time when Perez desperately craved institutional support for her fledgling Latinx student club, Graves provided it unstintingly— attending more meetings than Perez can count.

The entire Dean of Students office was a safe haven for the homesick Chicago native, who despite being a high school salutatorian felt beaten down by sky-high academic expectations at CMC. She recalls hitting bottom in David Bjerk’s intermediate microeconomics course.

“I literally had a day where I was ready to drop my economics major. It was my sophomore year. I was crying. I didn’t know what to do,” Perez said.

She went to see Vince Greer, associate dean of students for diversity, inclusion and residential life, as well as director of the CARE Center. A proud native of the Southside of Chicago, Greer had already bonded with Perez over their Windy City roots.

“We had a lot of connections and similar backgrounds,” she said. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know. … He walked me through that whole situation. He really helped me.”

Afterwards, Perez met with Bjerk to discuss dropping his class. He also pushed back.

“I was struggling with a specific concept,” she recalled, “and he explained it to me in three different ways. He was very patient with me.

That’s something so unique about CMC: no matter what, I knew I could go talk to professors and be open with them.”

Perez completed intermediate microeconomics and finished with dual majors in economics and government, along with a minor in leadership studies for good measure.

After spending last year with AmeriCorps, she’s now a business development rep with e-learning platform Bench Prep in Chicago.

Exactly where she wants to be: on the career path she marked out for herself with the help of many CMC mentors.

So, is Gala right about CMC’s secret sauce?

Graves thinks so. “At CMC, when other people win, we all feel the win,” she said.

Another key to CMC’s mentorship culture, historically and today, is “hanging in there” through the good and the bad, Graves noted.

It’s not about solving a student’s problems, but instead, encouraging self-authorship so they can listen and learn for themselves.

“What story do they want to write?” Graves said.

“If I’m going to ask students to make meaning of their experiences and to take conscientious risks, then as a mentor I’d better be there to help dust them off when they miscalculate, when they fall, when they crash—because all of those things are going to happen.”

Graves believes a few additional tenets set apart CMC’s close-knit mentoring culture. She points to: › a very intentional approach to building networks. “People are trying to connect dots here all the time.” › the absence of cut-throat competition found at most elite institutions. “There’s a sense here that we have enough to go around. Enough mentors, enough people to connect with who share your interests.” › a commitment to breaking down silos. “We don’t segment our community as they do at many schools. First-years, sophomores, juniors, and seniors live together all over the campus. Students really appreciate and feel that.” › and lastly, a shared feeling of goodwill among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents toward every CMC generation. Or as Taw put it, a “bottomless well of support and giving back. It’s just this constant cycle of everybody helping everybody.”

Taken together, Graves said, “that’s a pretty exciting community to be a part of.”

Claremont McKenna College 55.

All in the Family From the College’s earliest days to the most recent graduating class, three generations of the Poy family have called CMC home

STORY BY THOMAS ROZWADOWSKI PHOTOS BY ANIBAL ORTIZ

56. FEATURES

S

Standing in the shadow of Kravis Center on a sunny April afternoon, Henry Poy ’50 P’90 GP’21 can only marvel at the dramatic transformation of campus since he graduated seven decades ago.

Though buildings may change, the heart of Henry’s CMC story remains visible as ever.

It’s right there in the face of his granddaughter, Annie ’21, who—together with Henry—form a unique bridge between CMC’s first-ever four-year Class of 1950 and the College’s most recent cohort of graduates in May. CMC has served as a second family room to the Poys—grandfather/father Henry, husband-wife and parents Rob ’90 P’21 and Becky (Butler) ’88 P’21, and granddaughter/ daughter Annie—offering a front row seat to decades of life-changing, life-shaping mentors, moments, and memories at the College.

This is where Henry gained maturity and life skills; for military service during the Korean War, a JD degree at UC Hastings College of Law, and a 58-year career in private practice.

Where Rob and Becky randomly met in a racquetball class and began their courtship while roaming campus to post movie flyers.

Where the family walked its guide dogs in training, attended ice cream socials, and drank wassail at Madrigal Feasts inside the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.

And most recently, where all four returned—together—for the first time during an unpredictable pandemic to recount the ways CMC has remained an important fixture of their Claremont family life, starting with Henry’s arrival on campus in 1948, two years after the College’s historic founding.

Claremont McKenna College

57.

F

FIRST IMPRESSIONS HENRY: “When I graduated from high school,

I had a B-average. And anyone with a B at Berkeley High automatically got accepted into the University of California, Berkeley. I was raised there, and I liked being at home.

But a year later, the college had become so crowded, with classes overflowing. It was not the college life that I envisioned.

“My 1938 Dodge Convertible brought me to Southern California to look at a few colleges.

I ended up at Pomona and was told by the interviewer there that a new college was opening just north of campus, and I might be able to get immediate acceptance. He told me where to go, I knocked on the door, and an elderly gentleman came to greet me.

We had an interview, he looked over my so-called credentials, and accepted me right away. It was only later that I learned that the person who interviewed me was Dr. George C.S. Benson.”

BECKY: “Like Dad, Rob and I both had large

school experience before CMC. Rob came from UC Berkeley, too. I was at UC Davis and UC Riverside. Big class sizes. Not much interaction with professors. So, to have teachers who knew you by name? Who cared about you and asked about you? That was a big change.”

ANNIE: “I was very shy when I started at CMC. I was not one to ask for help. If I was confused about something, I preferred struggling to figure it out on my own to seeking out resources that could help me understand it faster. But coming here, being in this environment that pushed me to be better without ever feeling overly competitive, really helped me step outside of my comfort zone.”

“I was not comfortable going to office hours during my freshman year. I had Professor (Nick) Warner for my Freshman Writing Seminar, and he repeatedly extended the invitation to come see him, even if we didn’t need help. To be personally invited really gave me the push I needed to confidently 58. FEATURES

ask for course work help and life advice. I really appreciated that. My acceptance of that initial invitation ended up shaping my subsequent years, helping me become the much more self-assured individual that I am today. Now it is no longer a big deal to go to office hours, walk up to professors at Collins, or talk to strangers in the Stark elevator!”

BECKY: “I remember coming here and knowing how important it was financially that I work. I went to the financial aid office and needed to figure out a plan for work study, so I had all of these questions. And by the time I left, I walked out with a job from them! They really cared about me. I’ll never forget the people that I worked with.

Sure, the classes were a highlight during my time at CMC, but I’ll always remember that campus job and getting to know everyone in the admission and financial aid office. They were very special to me.”

C

CLOSE CONNECTIONS HENRY: “I personally enjoyed CMC because

of the faculty. The student body at that time, half of them had been in the service.

These were veterans who had seen life and death. I was 19. So, while we knew each other through classes, the difference in age and life experience had an impact on our social camaraderie in those earliest days.

“Really, professors were the ones who participated in our activities and went out of their way to know us on a first name basis.

They were always available. Invited us to their home occasionally. We could talk about social and personal situations with them.”

ROB: “That strikes me most as what has

continued to carry through to Annie’s time.

At a smaller school like CMC, you could just see the desire from professors who have chosen to teach here. They really want to get to know students and have an impact on their lives. It was definitely true when Becky and I were students. Professor (Marc) Massoud. Professor (Ronald) Teeples.

Professor (Gerald) Eyrich. All amazing

people who influenced my life. Classmates often spoke of professors—John Roth, Jack Pitney, Ward Elliott, Gordon Bjork, and many more—in the same way.”

HENRY: “It really was like a home. We

respected the professors. They respected us. I remember one of my favorites, Professor Jacob Anton De Haas. He had a Dutch accent, a great sense of humor. He remembered your name, wanted to know if you were happy, if you had any concerns.

You could just be walking on campus and a professor would tap you on the shoulder to talk, or share a funny joke. That made the school for me.”

ROB: “Before the days of email, if you missed

a class because you overslept, you might get a note from a professor in your Story House mailbox: ‘Hey, missed you today. Hope you’re OK.’” BECKY: “I get the sense from Annie that it’s

very similar today, the amount of care the faculty and staff have for students.”

ROB: “(President) Jack Stark would have

some of his meals in Collins. We’d all point out Jack’s very nice sweater vest. Jil, the same thing—she was always walking around campus or at the Ath, and if you didn’t call to them, they would call to you. They were visible and approachable. I remember thinking, ‘What could be better?’”

HENRY: “When I was at Cal, there were times when we would sit outside on the steps and listen to a loud speaker for class, never even being able to see the professor! You had to make an appointment to talk, and it might take them two months to get to you. By that time, you’d just forget the whole thing. What a difference.”

ROB: “We’re in the middle of Gann Quad

like it’s our living room. And when we were in classes, it was like being in the teacher’s living room. They opened their homes.

Treated us like peers. Those are the things that you look back on and say, ‘Wow, that was pretty special.”

F

FAMILY FOUNDATIONS BECKY: “I met Rob in Ducey Gym, waiting for

our racquetball instructor. We introduced ourselves and talked a bit. Throughout that semester, I saw him walking to class—which was up the street at the Claremont Club racquetball courts—with his friend, and I had a car, so I picked them up. The following semester, we started hanging out more.”

ROB: “We used to show movies on campus—

Friday night at McKenna Auditorium and Saturday night at the School of Theology. It was for a CMC club, Playbill. I asked Becky to help me hang flyers on the campuses. And it gave us a chance to walk the 5Cs together.”

BECKY: “When you walk the 5Cs every week,

you really get to know someone.”

ROB: “You definitely have to have something

to talk about!”

ANNIE: “I grew up coming to campus. We’d

walk the dogs here almost every week.

We attended CMC events. I was already so familiar with CMC when it came time to apply to colleges. I wasn’t sure what coming to school here would feel like after living in (the city of) Claremont for my entire life. It turned out that living on campus is actually a very different feeling from just visiting campus as a Claremont resident.

I wasn’t expecting that. I thought it might feel just like being at home. But being in a community with people my own age, who are doing the same daily routine and dealing with the same problems that I am, revealed to me a different side of CMC. “And, of course, having parental guidance nearby was a really helpful thing. They have been such a nice support system to have just a short ride away.”

ROB: “Sometimes we’d even stop by and

have a meal with Annie in Collins.”

ANNIE: “I’m not good at using all of my flex

dollars each semester. So, there were some family steak dinners at Harvey Mudd. Some taco dinners at Collins.”

BECKY: “It was fun to see students wonder

who the old people were with Annie in Collins. I’m grateful that we were, at least, alumni!”

ROB: “Hey, it was fun to be out of the house.

S

To me, it was like date night.”

SPECIAL REFLECTIONS

“No matter the decade, I could sit down with alumni from any era and we could pick up a conversation about common experiences with faculty, meeting best friends, or staying in touch after. And we’d all know what we were talking about. It’s like a CMC DNA, this thing that carries on after us. And it really strikes me how special it is.”

ANNIE: “I have a special spot for the CMC

HENRY: “It really is amazing to look around

Alumni Association-hosted new student ice cream socials at The Hub that I grew up coming to as a child. I had my teeny tiny CMC apron. I remember wanting to know more about these fun college students, and they were so eloquent and easy to talk to.”

and think about then and now. I started the Northern California chapter of the CMC Alumni Association in 1954. When I would get together with my classmates, we’d talk about our families and the changes we experienced in our lives. But the changes at CMC—just how respected it has become nationally and internationally—that is truly something. To visit campus nowadays, you see students from all walks of life, from all over the world.

BECKY: “I loved the Madrigal Feast at the

Ath. We came many times before Annie was born, then with Annie, too. Those are great memories for us. We still use our Madrigal wassail mugs!”

ROB: “I’ve really valued my involvement with the Alumni Association, especially because it gave me a chance to work with alumni from across the CMC decades. I got to know people like Eugene Wolver ’51, others from my Dad’s time, and become friends. I even heard some stories that I didn’t hear directly from Dad.

“That, to me, is amazing. This little college in California. I’m very proud to be an alumnus.”

Claremont McKenna College 59.

ILLUSTRATION BY JACK MOLLOY

60. CMC CLASS NOTES

{ class

I

Influential classes & professors.

Treasured friends & roommates.

First impressions & lasting memories.

For our 75th Anniversary issue of CMC Magazine, we asked you to dig back into your College vault and share favorite recollections for this special edition of Class Notes.

You responded with a record number of submissions—reflected in the pages ahead as a personalized time capsule of the rich, foundational past that influences the present and future of CMC. Read in full, Class Notes shows just how much has changed at CMC through its sevenplus decades. And yet, so much has stayed the same thanks to the spirit, energy, and people who help bring the College to life for each new generation.

That human touch, more than anything, defines this 75th Anniversary compilation of Class Notes. In fact, it defines CMC. It’s in your whimsical anecdotes and inside jokes, your formative experiences and heartfelt appreciations, your willingness to share a small piece of the CMC story that matters to you. Through the good times, the hard times, and the carefree fun times (maybe too much fun, for some), you have kept the College going through all that you do, and all that you give back.

CMC alumni, this is your story.

notes @75 } Claremont McKenna College

61.

D

Dear CMC Family, I have long found myself fascinated by institutions and organizations—how they make decisions, create culture, and adapt to stay relevant. Paying attention to these developments has been something of a hobby for me since arriving at CMC and staying engaged as a volunteer for the last ten years. Reflecting on important moments in CMC’s 75-year history, I am struck by how we have evolved as an institution while staying true to our core mission.

We became a broader, better community when we elected our first Black, female, and gay Alumni Association Presidents. John Poer ’58 served as president in 1975 and recalls spending all of his time on a major step forward for the College, the crucial decision to admit women. “I discussed it with my wife and two daughters. It took me about 24 hours to realize what a good idea it was,” he shared of 1976’s move to coeducation. Poer led the process of asking alumni for input, making the decision a truly collaborative effort between the administration and alumni.

Later, Cary Davidson ’75 became our first gay alumnus to serve as president. He recalls support from members of the CMC community, particularly from Jil Stark ’58 GP’11, in how they treated his partner (not yet husband) at official functions. It was during Cary’s tenure that the Association began the practice of recognizing its volunteers through awards. And the summer internship experience, which is now a part of the CMC ethos through the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, had its beginnings in Cary’s law office as he hand-paired students with alumni.

Lorraine Bains ’88, both our first woman and woman of color to serve as CMCAA President, overlapped with the College’s first female president, Pamela Gann. Lorraine shared with me what it was like to lead alongside President Gann: “She had such energy, she was bold, and she wanted to see that everyone was included.” Among the similarly bold moves during Lorraine’s tenure were increasing the class size and revising the master plan. I also loved learning that it was John Allen ’73, the first Black CMCAA President, who mentored Lorraine and convinced her to stay involved with the College. And what’s more, this emphasis on relationships and community has been part of our culture since the beginning. Marvin Drew ’51, our oldest living past president of the Alumni Association, told me that hands down, it’s the enduring friendships that have been the most rewarding aspect of staying close to CMC all these years.

As we kick off our 75th Anniversary celebrations, I encourage you to connect with CMC, our students, and each other. Whether with our on-campus or virtual programs, in-person regional programs, or through the new engage.cmc.edu platform and the 75.cmc.edu anniversary website, getting involved and staying connected is easier than ever before.

Yours in service, EMILY MEINHARDT ’10 PRESIDENT CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

62. CMC CLASS NOTES

*

Missing your class?

Go to page 127 to learn more.

48, 49, 50 Pacesetters Phillip Marshall recalls, “My favorite day at CMC is graduation day. As a

married veteran, as were all of my class friends, we all lived off campus, with kids, eager to graduate and make up for lost time due to military wartime life.

I am now 94 years old and have outlived class memories as well as my class friends. Too many professional experiences since 1950—of high authority, responsibility, events, etc. have usurped so much of my younger days. I am always looking for a new ‘tomorrow.’ CMC gave me a ‘road map.’”

JIM STOESSEL ’50 JHSTOESSEL@COMCAST.NET

1955

Tom Nathan has too many memories to cover all, but here are some highlights. His favorite professors where John Atherton and John Dunbar, both of whom inspired him toward his career as a very successful New York advertising creative director. Among his many CMC memories is the night Mrs. Cooke served tongue for dinner at Story House. Won’t go into details, as there are many versions of the incident. “I was lucky, being on the swim team, I ate at a training table and got served better meals. There was the time Mike Forrest hauled up cast-iron manhole covers and spun them on the concrete balcony of Appleby and shook the whole building, or the stuffing of Al Gilbert’s room, top to bottom, with wadded newspapers, and the dismantling of the Austin Healy of Tony Bennet ’54 and parking it his room.”

Tom was one of the co-authors, along with Bob Howard and Ted Burnett, of the infamous, sleaze-gossip column ‘Cesspool’ that appeared in the CMC Analyst weekly newspaper and involved in publishing the Ayer annual yearbook. He also was one of the freezing-cold winter night orange grove smudge pot tenders. “I remember them coming back to campus in the morning, covered in black soot. That’s why I got a job at Mt. Baldy’s ski chalet when I needed extra money. Tom’s numerous friendships included Bert Mouron, who became a judge and raced sports cars; Bill Leishman of Rose Parade fame; and Frank Colson, who waterskied to Catalina and was a famous sculptor in Florida.”

Frank Tysen arrived at CMC in 1952, hitchhiking across the country after

spending a year at Wesleyan University on a Fulbright grant. Being Dutch, he travelled on wooden shoes, carrying a sign: “Dutch Student PaciNic.” Here are his CMC remembrances. “When I walked into the Hub, it caused somewhat of a stir. That night there was a reception at Scripps College in one of those lovely Andalusian courtyards. I thought that I had gone to heaven. Everything was so beautiful, including the surrounding orange groves, the scent of which became intoxicating during spring. During my two years at CMC, I loved everything, including the students who were a lot of fun and full of pranks. A student nicknamed Winky* was in the habit of shooting arrows across campus, which he aimed at the doors of friends—with a message: ‘The Phantom Has Struck.’ I got used to seeing President George Benson in his pajamas at midnight trying to stop excessive partying. One time when I was studying at the Honnold Library, some of my classmates came by and swooped me up and threw me in their car, saying ‘You are going to Las Vegas.’ I was allowed to stop at Stinky’s for a hamburger and a beer. I became vice president of the senior class and was in charge of raising money for the class gift by having to organize a smoker at the American Legion Post, in a San Dimas eucalyptus grove. All went well, but next day there was a strong complaint to the president’s office about the state of the Post as it was left by the ruckus of the several hundred students who had participated in the event, many of whom were just returning from Tijuana where they continued celebrating after the smoker.

“Despite the nonstop festivities, I managed to get a good education, graduating magna cum laude. After this I received a full fellowship at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs). I will always maintain that those Claremont days were some of the best of my life.” *Winky was Chuck Madary. Robert ‘Fritz’ Ameluxen, my junior roommate, came up with odd, goofy nicknames for a lot of our class. Doug Pruessing was ‘Cuddles,’ Bill Woods was ‘The Toad,’ Bob Howard was ‘Gordon Good Guy,’ Ted Burnett was ‘Pig Head,’ and I was ‘Flanders.’ There were probably more, but that’s all I remember.

“Starting in 1951, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted numerous Atom Bomb tests in the Nevada desert 65 miles north of Las Vegas. They were highly publicized and even became a tourist attraction. So, in 1953, my suitemates, Gary Smith, John MacAuley ’53, Richard ‘Dick’ D’Evelyn ’53, and some other, older, GI Bill vets, whose names I can’t remember, decided to witness one ourselves and go on to a famous club just outside of Las Vegas.

We took off after midnight in two cars and listened to a radio count down to the explosion. Sure enough, at 4 a.m. the world lit up brighter than daylight for five or six seconds and went back to total darkness. Since we were still in the mountains near Las Vegas, we didn’t hear a loud noise, see a mushroom cloud, feel turbulence or, hopefully, get exposed to any nuclear radiation. When we arrived at the entrance of the famous club at dawn, we were greeted by several burly men who asked to see our draft cards. Everyone in our car showed one, but the guys in the other car being WWII veterans didn’t have draft cards and we were emphatically asked to leave. So, we spent part of the day in Las Vegas and drove back to campus in the afternoon. The trip was quite an experience.

“Other fond memories include Spring Breaks in the rotunda atop Stan Agar’s summer home in Corona del Mar and at Neale Bradway’s bunkhouse/garage at Shaws Cove in Laguna Beach. One year, Gary Smith and Neale Bradway got to spend an extra week there, courtesy of Dean Stuart Briggs. Our senior year, Don Smith and I rented a house off campus in the middle of Claremont.

We built a large pyramid of empty beer cans on the back wall of the kitchen.

The night after our final exam, I think they were called comprehensives, we had a big class party at the house and some of the attendees strung the empty cans on wires and made them into a large 1955 banner. At around 4 a.m., they attempted to hang it in the middle of the campus. Somehow, President Benson found out and appeared, in his pajamas, and made them take it down. There are many other classic stories that may or may not be printable. One thing for sure, the class of ’55 kept Dr. Benson and Dean Briggs very busy.”

TOM BERNSTEIN ’55 TLBERNSTEIN@EARTHLINK.NET

1956

Mike Holmes writes, “Story House was where I ate my first meal and spent my last night at CMC.”

CHUCK BATTERSON ’56 NEREUS2006@SBCGLOBAL.NET

1957 We’ll let our Class Vice President

John Devereux start off this reminiscence where most of us started in the late summer of ’53… “Imposing ‘Big’ Ernie Smith ’56 and his sophomore classmates gave our new class the business, barking commands while keeping us up all night at the traditional Throne’s Ranch indoctrination. The intent was to get us to know and support each other, to become a close and cohesive group. It worked, resulting in many lifelong friendships, even more so as we continue to have frequent reunions.

Claremont McKenna College 63.

the really important thing that came to mind were the friendships that have been a part of my life for over 60 years. So, these comments are really a note of gratitude to all of you. Over the years, you have reached out with unconditional compassion, caring, and kindness. Not many people can say that friendships have lasted as long as ours. But I can. All of you, in your own special way, are so easy to celebrate because you have all left my world so much better. Thank you for being my friends.”

Burt Corson picks up the thread from there, “The experiences that were significant for me included 1. bonding with, and continuing for over 60 years, some of the finest men I have ever known. Maybe I was there at the ‘right time’ or just lucky. Those young men turned out to be the finest collection of friends imaginable. Sadly, some have passed, notably Jerome ‘Jerry’ La Dow and Reid Shannon, two of the most outstanding. I became, perhaps, a better person as a result of knowing them and the collective classes of that era.

“2. The quality of professors at CMC in the ‘50s was outstanding; they didn’t ‘indoctrinate,’ but rather observed how well we were learning the valuable skill of thinking for ourselves and defending our positions. They didn’t care whether we regurgitated their ‘lecture presentations,’ but how clearly we presented our ideas. That concept was behind the ‘Comprehensive Testing’ in our senior year. Orme Phelps announced prior to those tests that he was not necessarily interested in hearing our ideas about his position on a subject, but rather OUR position, and how well we presented it. It was a valuable four years with the faculty’s philosophy and George Benson’s vision and experiment with Claremont Men’s College. I was fortunate, indeed!

“CMC and Pomona freshmen ‘guarding’ the Pomona bonfire, a gigantic candle of tires stacked over a tall wooden pole, was a tradition held the night before the Pomona-Claremont vs. Occidental football game. As we enjoyed the festivities, a car made a screeching U-turn near the field, occupants yelling ‘Yea Oxy’ and waving Oxy banners. We freshmen football players and others ran to the six-foot chain link security fence. I climbed over knowing others would follow. However, none did. As I ran up to the car and knocked the hat off the driver as he got out with three others—all larger than life first string varsity players. Tried to stand my ground as they ‘muscled’ me up against the fence in a ‘friendly’ way. I was unassisted except for my cheering ‘buddies’ safe behind the fence yelling encouragement. I told the four guys ‘wait until we get on the field’—referring to an upcoming freshman-varsity scrimmage. From there, I was a marked man: ‘fresh meat!’ The result was four exciting, successful years, including making some lifelong friends from Pomona.

“My roommate during our last three years was my football teammate Russell ‘Rusty’ Grosse, leading the way in keeping me involved and enjoying new

experiences. Most meaningful were the many times I was treated like family, invited to stay at Rusty’s and others’ homes during weekends and holidays, too many to mention.

“As I was putting on my tie for graduation on the deck outside our upper corner room of Appleby, a big white car came sliding over the lawn toward me. Out came my parents, a total surprise, having just arrived from Hawaii, although they had told me they couldn’t be with me. That special day concluded four years of a wonderful, memorable experience.

“The bottom line was the meaningful involvement with all my classmates and especially Dr. George C.S. Benson and his comfortable leadership and courage to help establish a unique and enjoyable Men’s College, with exceptional professors such as Orme Phelps—and Mrs. Cook’s Story House meals and food fights! We were there during CMC’s young age, collecting rocks from between the dorms to help this remarkable college get off the ground. Thanks, CMC!” Dick Hausman contributed a moving message to our collection of memories,

“When I was asked to send along my greatest memory from the time at CMC,

64. CMC CLASS NOTES

“3. The independence fostered at the Men’s College in those years was outstanding and very ‘forward.’ Keep in mind that we had a student body comprised of men from 18 to at least 26 years of age (many were Korean War and prior veterans); and that mix contributed to an education in itself.

I probably learned as much about ‘responsible thinking, attitude, and, yes, drinking’ from those older fellows as from the daily classwork at Pitzer; the areas of learning were more comprehensive than simply the areas of ‘Business and Public Policy’ might suggest.

“4. As for ‘finding my identity,’ after spending my high school years in Newport Harbor, Calif., I was very accomplished in marine subjects—seamanship, etc. and I had been all over Southern California offshore waters, so I had no problem with ‘identity,’ or so I thought. CMC involved a new group of young men who didn’t necessarily share my devotion to the water, but were good and interesting men in their own areas. They shared my interest in surfing and the water, and I learned to enjoy and participate in their interest in fast cars, and TGIF’s (not a bad trade-off); some even studied with dedication, which was a good influence! All of this proved valuable in my adult life, as I felt equal to people away from the water, as well as on it. My takeaway from CMC was the ubiquitous phrase ‘well-rounded,’ which I benefited from by being thrown in with an outstanding group of young men and an excellent faculty along with President George C.S. Benson. I still sailed the waters of various exotic locations, but was able to be at the helm of a career in Mortgage Banking and Commercial Banking as well—all to the credit of my CMC experience.”

Lou Knafla tells of one case in which individual faculty members played a major role influencing classmates’ career choices: “‘What is Liberty?’ was the question given to us one Saturday morning in a government class by Gerald Jordan (several classmates had slept in). A few eager beavers up front raised their hands, and Jordan took them on one by one, demolishing each. I sat in back, trying not to laugh so I would not be called. I had read about the ‘Socratic method,’ but had never seen it in real-life action. Being a maverick myself, I was hooked, and it was stamped on my mind for the rest of my personal and professional life. I would also practice it in succeeding years on the fledgling CMC Debate Club. I took all of Jordan’s classes and marveled at his intellectual acumen, dispassionate demeanor, and probing inquiry. It also brought me to a life in academia, where I thought I could fit.

“Then there was Golo Mann, one of the most wonderful professors I ever met. His sense of history was different from our other Humanities professors.

He envisioned history from the bottom up, not from the top down, which appealed to my working-class background. History was the life of society—and of all the different people who comprised it and served as the background and context of major events. He was also disarming, belying his background in the German underground, the Swiss and U.S. armies, Allied intelligence, reporter on the Nuremburg trials, and poet-author-correspondent. He held late afternoon sessions in his largely furniture-bare home with wine and conversation. I related well to this person who was also a workaholic, had a similar enjoyment of culture, hiking (he with a bad knee), and his own and my grandparents’ origins in Bohemia.

“Golo also kindled my desire to become a historian. He left Claremont in our last year to write what would become the best history of modern Germany.

This left me with a conundrum for my senior thesis, resolved by merging history with law and ending up with Gerald as my thesis advisor. I spent months in the Honnold Library researching the history of the writ of selfincrimination in English and U.S. law. In the end it was Gerald who convinced me to unite the two and become a legal historian—which was unusual in those years. Personally, and professionally, thanks to them, I have never looked back.”

Dean Painter is another who continues to have a great appreciation of Gerald Jordan’s law courses, in particular Constitutional Law. Dean also recalls that he, Lou Knafla, and Lawrence ‘Larry’ Hammett traveled together, in Larry’s Porsche Speedster, to San Francisco to be CMC’s representatives at the first Model U.N. Conference. Thoughts of the Speedster trip caused Dean to recall the fun he had playing road tag in the lemon groves around Base Line Road— Larry and Tom Smith in the Speedster with Dean and Lou in Dean’s ‘47 MG TC roadster. They never got caught, Dean says, but had some narrow escapes.

And here is Scott Evans to tell of a different, but equally distinguished, college and career arc: “Had it not been for my miracle workers (Benson, Briggs, and Alamshah) who believed in me more than I did in myself, chances are I wouldn’t have survived a rather rocky freshman year. They deserve credit for giving focus to my college years and direction to much of what followed.

“With some interest in jazz, I became deeply involved in promoting and presenting three seasons of CMC jazz concerts that brought the likes of George Shearing and Mel Torme to capacity audiences at Bridges Auditorium. Great fun, too, was my DJ gig hosting a weekly program of West Coast jazz on radio station KCMC. Jazz became, and remains, a passion. Thank you, CMC. “ROTC was hardly a passion when I drew Infantry, definitely not my first choice. I served as a Basic Training Company Commander for two years and, much to my surprise, seriously considered making a career of the Infantry.

Instead, I extended my Reserve obligation to 12 years. I am passionate about the military. Thank you, CMC. “Studying art (at Scripps) under world-famous Millard Sheets, History under world-famous Golo Mann, and English under marvelous Hal Painter somehow logically added up to a 30-year career with major L.A. advertising agencies, initially as a writer and later as an account supervisor. I am passionate about advertising, Thank you, CMC. “And one more: my lifelong very best friends are Class of ’57 brothers, not just the Wohlford warriors, but so many others I’ve become close to over these past 65 years. Thank you, dear classmates still with us and those always remembered. THANK YOU, CLAREMONT MEN’S COLLEGE!” And now, Jack Stark GP’11, “My greatest experience during my college days at CMC was meeting and falling in love with my wife of 63 years, Jil (Harris) Stark ’58 GP’11. My favorite professor was John Dunbar. He was willing to offer an extra literature course to a small group of students, and we would meet at his home. I also remember the ‘dive’ Stinky’s, where we could get really good hamburgers, and later in my college years, beer. It is now a shutdown Bank of America parking lot. I am not sure if that is progress!”

Right you are, Jack, on all counts. Stinky’s was the first thing we (Peter and Bernie) both thought of when given this assignment. Stinky’s was one of those classic stone houses scattered through the lemon groves of the Pomona valley, and had been converted to a beer bar, operated by owners, Jack and Reenie.

Many a fine evening was spent there under their tutelage.”

Peter Keady says, “I learned at CMC that I needed ‘Structure, Goals and Discipline’ to succeed in life! As a new student, I was introduced to ‘Stinky’s’—a hamburger joint run by Jack and Reenie, ex-cons. We went there to have a beer and hamburgers at the end of the week!”

Tom Ussher set the tone for some of our respondents when he observed, “Our class is ‘a cast of characters.’ We did a lot of crazy things, but got an excellent education regardless. I’m thankful I went to a small college like CMC. The professors were great. I made some lifelong friends and love to get together with them periodically.”

Galen Young “reluctantly” submitted the following memory. “During our

sophomore year, two students proceeded from Wohlford to the library one evening; one was carrying an AWOL bag with an iron inside. On the second floor of Honnold, tri-college students were waiting for an event publicized by word of mouth. Sitting at a table, one student removed his trousers showing long red underwear. The iron was plugged in and the trousers placed on the table and he began to iron them. Lots of noise erupted and soon the library was shut down as announced on the P.A. system. Campus police arrived in short order. The companion of the perpetrator carried the AWOL bag with the iron inside down the stairs to leave while the perpetrator told the police coming up the stairs that a crazy guy was on the second floor. Who was the accomplice? None other than our good buddy, Stuart Ho.” Did Galen Young just submit that whole recollection without telling us who the perpetrator was?

From Stuart Ho, we received the observation, “My four years at CMC were fun, perhaps too much fun. After a freshman semester pursuing serious grades, my mind suddenly opened to the joys of bridge, Scripps, ‘age-dated’ beer, skiing Baldy, the beach, the Tortugateers, 181 proof Purple Label Ron Rico rum, Shannon Flats, and more, not necessarily in that order. One memorable highlight: Professor Gerald Jordan’s Constitutional Law class.

It was my first encounter with Socratic teaching and the shock of circular answers, an experience so strange and yet so satisfying that it sucked me into law school for more self-flagellation. The same with Orme Phelps’ final in labor economics. Before he passed, I wrote to thank him for teaching me that memorizing the holdings or dicta of 100 cases in a single night can be done if you set your mind to it. I treasure his reply; I think it was that, and not labor law, that was the point the great teacher was trying to make.”

Well, then we heard from Greg Wright in ‘always sunny’ Naples, Florida. “Fine dining at Story House was always an experience, and on Fridays Mrs. Cook’s entreaty of ‘meat or fish’–well, leave it at that. On a personal note, I remember springtime and water fights. One time, late in the evening with a wastebasket full of water and stalking a shadowy figure who turned and said to me: ‘Hello, Greg.’

Who else, but Dr. Benson? That’s it. Always great to recollect my years at CMC.” Fritz Delbrueck adds to this collection: “Here are three events that I clearly

remember to this day: Perhaps the most outlandish undertaking I participated in was the well-planned transfer of Richard ‘Dick’ Hausman’s room. We took the complete room and set it up in the quad. Even the electric lights were hooked up. This was done on a Sunday, as Dick was always away for the weekend. His arrival back to CMC on that dark Sunday evening was a real treat! He found his dorm room empty and on display in the quad.

“On my second evening as a new freshman, I was taking a walk and soon heard loud music and laughter from a dorm. Following the sounds, I noticed a man in full military-style uniform, complete with firearm: “Sarge” our night officer, in deep conversation with a student (Korean War veteran). Both had things to say, and as it heated up, I saw the vet reach over, remove Sarge’s revolver from its holster, open the chamber and take out the rounds. He said, ‘You won’t be Claremont McKenna College 65.

needing these tonight, Sarge.’ Just then, Dean Atherton and Dean Alamshah came running toward the ruckus. What happened next, I don’t know. I beat it back to my room fast.

“One semester I was enrolled in Business Law (required for business majors) which was held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays—a horrible experience. One spring morning, the last person to appear for class was the law professor, who looked a little rushed and disheveled. Upon closer observation, all the students were amused to notice red lipstick on the professor’s shirt collar. There were lots of giggles and whispers that morning.”

That leads us to memories related to Walt Parry: “On my first date with Karen, at the Throne Ranch party, we found a quiet location and I was successful in kissing her. My greatest achievement was earning A’s from both Jordan and Phelps without cheating. Gregory Wright was my roommate for two years and he loved ROTC. I was invited to Dr. Benson’s home on campus for a little gettogether for new students, and in retrospect that was pretty special.”

We turn to Kenyon Jones who says “Lots of great memories at CMC— there were good and bad profs—Don Sammis’s dad was one of the best. I remember orange fights, food fights, Tortugateers, Peggy ‘Neatza’ Constance’s smooth and soothing piano playing in the Hub, Scripps students, and many other fun things. I do remember my years living in Story House and Dean Alamshah asking me to move off campus because he spotted me, can you imagine, carrying a six pack across the quad. My education was the best, but I remember most all the friends I made, some of them for life.”

Bernie Marshall recalls: “The reference by Kenyon Jones to living in Story House triggered my own memories of life in that beautiful building where I made my home for my first two years at CMC. Story House was a beautiful example of early twentieth century southern California Craftsman architecture. The three-story residence with three screened-in sleeping porches on the second floor served as a dorm for sixteen students on the upper floors. The ground floor contained the original parlor, as well as the students’ post office and the kitchen. At some point, a wing was added to provide the new college’s dining hall. The upper floors in our years housed a motley, but most congenial crew, including a couple of vets as well as a few of us ‘second chancers.’ One vivid memory is of the fellow student who decided to experiment with home brew. His approach was ‘learn as you go’—and how he went was to let a few bottles explode, permanently staining the walls and ceilings in the core of the dorm area. Eventually, he got it ‘right,’ but never became a serious competitor of Stinky’s.

“One of the early traditions at CMC was Monte Carlo Night—a big Saturday night bash with dancing and gambling, held in the Hub. John Devereux and I either volunteered or were delegated to obtain the gambling equipment, which we did in a wonderful road trip to Palm Springs. After a successful Monte Carlo night, somehow all the gaming gear—craps tables, blackjack tables, roulette wheels, etc. ended up on the second floor of Story House in one of the sleeping porches. The festivities went on nightly for a few days or so, as I recall, before John and I made the return trip. What was done with the proceeds, I cannot recall, but I’m sure they went to a worthy charity.

“One memory which I hold dear, along with classmates Rusty Grosse and John Devereux, is having had the privilege of playing on two of the three consecutive Pomona-Claremont SCIAC Conference championship football teams from the mid- 1950s. Along with those championships, we were able to boast of never losing to archrival Occidental. More important than the wins and the championships were the experiences and values we took away: lifelong friendships and what hard work, teamwork, and sportsmanship could produce.”

66. CMC CLASS NOTES

“Howard Beazell, original president of the Class of 1957, was responsible for keeping our “Class of 1957 Claremont Men’s College” banner—the last known photo of Beazell with his classmates (3rd from right, front row). The banner, still in existence, keeps alive our memories of Claremont Men’s College, thanks to Howard, who was truly our ‘leader’ beyond whatever official position he held. Howard passed away in February 2013 and is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, CA. As an officer in the U.S. Navy, his memorial service included a full-dress ceremony, including rifle salute, playing of Taps, and the release of white doves.”

PETER KEADY ’57 BOSCAR123@ME.COM BERNIE MARSHALL ’57 BERNIEMARSHALL@VERIZON.NET

1958

Jerry Withrow writes: “Nice to hear from you again. Sadly, I don’t guess there are too many more of us old guys still around. How I made it this far is beyond me.

“Anyway, a couple of thoughts for you about those days. One, I did meet a girl from Scripps so long ago and we ultimately married and had four children.

Unfortunately, we ended up parting ways but not after many years. The second great thing I remember was the adventure that Pete Brown ’61 and I engaged in when one day we decided that the campus needed a local radio station devoted to happenings on campus and providing some good music. A good many hours were spent getting things set up so everyone could tune in. Sadly, we ended up interfering with certain broadcast rights of a station many miles away which was a no-no. We finally realized we were in trouble when a couple of ‘suits’ showed up and forced us off the air. Oh, well. Fun while it lasted.”

Ron Higgins writes, “One of my most memorial experiences at CMC was the ‘Orange Fight,’ which occurred toward the end of the spring semester just before finals. At the border of the CMC and Scripps campuses, just behind the Hub, the Scripps gardeners had “harvested” all the oranges from the ornamental orange trees planted along the street. There were piles of thousands of oranges. Some residents of Wohlford Hall, apparently bored waiting for finals to start, ‘trucked’ the oranges to their dorm rooms. On someone’s signal, the Wohlford residents started throwing the oranges at Appleby Hall. The Appleby residents picked up the oranges and threw them back at Wohlford Hall. This proceeded until there were no more oranges to throw. I recall that the Appleby Hall residents being on the wrong side of orange supply improvised with other missiles such as long-play phonograph records and coat hangers. Hours later, the fight subsided about the time dinner was served at Story House—no one wanting to miss dinner. The repercussions of the fight were fines to pay for broken windows and stained walls on the facing sides of the two dorms. The RAs had been taking names and most of the dorm residents received bills to pay for the damages, but no one had any other consequences to my knowledge.

“In the category of best lesson I’ve carried with me over the years was the never-to-be forgotten saying of one of my professors, ‘Know what you know and know what you don’t know.’ Those words have served me well over the years.”

Jil (Harris) Stark GP’11 writes, “Dear gentlemen, do you remember your first Sunday at Claremont Men’s College? Well, I remember mine very well. That is when your class appeared at the Scripps dorms to take the new Scripps students off to college church. Here you all came, all shined up with your nice new haircuts, from those sophomores the day before. You were led by that cute, U.S. marine to be, the so-sure-of-himself sophomore class president.

Do you remember that you were ordered to pick a ‘guest’ to escort to church?

Well, the cute sophomore president picked first, just to show you freshmen

how to do it. And he chose the prettiest ‘guest’ there, Nancy McCorison. I was never picked by ANY of you. I got to join that sophomore guy and pretty Miss McCorison, (walking quietly behind), and as I recall, neither spoke a word to me. Miss McCorison married Frederick ‘Fritz’ Delbrueck ’57, and I married that sophomore class president, after we had graduated, of course. And we all lived happily ever after. Always, Jil Harris Stark, honorary ’58 which I love.”

Gordon McKinzie remembers, “Freeman Bovard, professor of chemistry, was my closest link to CMC after I transferred to Stanford for the last two years of my five-year management-engineering program. The workload and discipline of squeezing what amounted to three full-curriculum Stanford engineering years into two was extremely strenuous, especially since I had to maintain a high-level GPA to retain a scholarship. Looking back, I am certain that my health and mental outlook suffered through this time. Professor Bovard sensed the danger signals, calling frequently and even flying up to Palo Alto to offer encouragement and fresh perspectives that served me well on the road ahead.

If ever there was an Angel with a Human Touch Amidst the Turmoil, he was it, and CMC was the conduit.”

John Baker writes, “You mentioned that you might like some reflections as we

approach the 63rd anniversary of our graduation. I usually try to avoid any ‘Remembrance of Things Past,’ largely because our memories are often the first to go. Certainly, the impact of technology on our lives is something that we did not anticipate in 1958. The two of us are driven by two iPhones, two iPads, a MacBook, and two iMacs. We also have lights, door bells, security cameras, a range, and various other devices that are controlled electronically.

“Another matter of note is the progress we have noted in the student bodies of our alma maters. Every time that we return for reunion activities, we are amazed by the intelligence and maturity of the current students. We have both been out of the education business for over twenty years. That separation often makes us forget that progress has been taking place.”

“Finally, time has taken its toll. There are not many of us remaining. We truly are, to quote Shakespeare’s Henry V, ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...’ We can but remember fondly those who are no longer with us.”

laugh at how much we paid for gas then, ($.27 a gallon), and you could get a really nice steak dinner, with dessert, at a good restaurant for $7.50.

“There are certain things that I remember very well. Freshman basketball, combined with Pomona College; freshman initiation from those mean and nasty sophomores; intramural sports; Saturday classes—I only wish that I had worked harder; dining at Story House with the occasional food fight that was more of a protest about the food that was being served; the golf team, along with my roommate and fellow competitor, Bob McCrary P’92; President George Benson, the first time he said “Hello, John,” as we passed on campus. I didn’t think he even knew my name! It’s true that you meet and make friends for life. I did.

“And finally, visiting CMC when our son Tony Poer ’90 was admitted as a freshman in 1986. And of course, when he graduated in 1990.”

Pete Adams GP’21 dropped out of CMC in 1956 and spent three years in

the Army Security Agency in Germany. He returned in 1959 and graduated with the class of 1961. He married Becky Barber (Scripps 1961) and they have two daughters and four grandchildren. One of his grandkids is Hank Snowdon ’21. Pete served on the Advisory Board of the Keck Center for 28 years, and was also a board member of the Profile magazine for many years. He is a proud member of the Tortugateers. He founded Quadrastat Corporation, a manufacturer of work vehicle control systems, and directed it for thirty-five years. In 1986, he took over the family business, Adams Rite Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of architectural hardware, and ran it until 2006, when he sold it and retired to Santa Barbara. He has been active since then with the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang, his church, and various other nonprofits. He established the Adams Legacy Foundation in 2006 with the proceeds from the sale of Adams Rite. Its mission is to support non-profit organizations who work to get young people out into nature. He wants to address Nature Deficit Disorder by getting kids away from their electronics and out into the wilderness. It supports a dozen or so groups each year through a rigorous grant application process.

Mark Carter remembers, “In 1952, after graduation from the Pasadena City

UCLA) were in line with Phisit Pakkasem ’60 (from Thailand). Phisit (whom we called ‘Fit’) spoke broken English and asked us how to greet President Benson, to which we replied, “How your ass?” When this transpired, President Benson looked at Bob and me and said, “You have anything to do with this?”

College, the draft board decided I was 1-A. So, I spent two years in the U.S. Navy by choice, rather than be drafted. Having arrived on campus in the fall of 1956 with the GI Bill in hand, I was ready to go to work to gain a college education.

From the outset at orientation, the CMC senior class members welcomed us with, what I still think, is the most important definition of college: ’You are here to learn how to think and ask the right questions.’

“Sharon and I were transferred with our company from Madras, Ore. to Denver, Colo., where we had the opportunity to set up a CMC chapter. That is when I met George Hutton-Potts ’57, whom I didn’t know while at CMC. We became best friends with George and his wife, Diane, from the contact and setup of the chapter.

“High on my list of great teachers was economics professor Walter Buckingham Smith. In class, he was always ready with some unusual comment of a radical nature. He knew how to keep us awake during Saturday morning lectures by walking to the classroom door opening it about a foot and saying ’Come in Karl.’ His glib reference to Marx always kept us alert.

“While I was at CMC, Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 was our dorm proctor at Beckett and in the mid ‘60s, my wife, Sharon was faculty secretary at Scripps where she had regular contact with Jil Stark ’58 GP’11. We became friends for the many, many years since. Years later in 2019, we were at a reception at President Hiram Chodosh’s home and while relating memories with Jack, he said they were married on June 14th and we said that we were too, in 1958—the same year! Jack got overnight leave from the Marines to get married; I graduated on Wednesday and got married that Saturday.”

Orme Wheelock Phelps, whom you had to pass if you wanted to graduate, had written the textbook on political economy used by more than 80 colleges across the country. Needless to say, you really had to pay attention in his class or you were in a heap of trouble.”

Don Rowson remembers, “At a reception at President George Benson’s home, Robert ‘Bob’ Houghton ’59 (a transfer from Colorado and I, a transfer from

John Poer P’90 recalls, “I remember so very well what the CMC campus looked like when I first walked on it with my dad in the spring of 1954.

Something just clicked in me and I didn’t have to visit any other colleges after that moment. I walk the campus today and can only shake my head in amazement at all of the beautiful buildings, classrooms, dorms, landscaping, athletic facilities, etc. I was proud then and I am even more so today, being a graduate of a school with the national reputation that CMC has attained. I

BOB MCCRARY ’58 BIGMACBOB@AOL.COM

1959

Omer Long writes: “Herb Horstman and Hobie Smith left us too soon! I’m gimping around!” The class was also saddened by the death in Hawaii of our friend and favorite beach volleyball player, Dave Porteus. We are getting to that age where these sad occurrences are getting too close together.

BOB BEASLEY ’59 BOBBEASLEY38@GMAIL.COM

Claremont McKenna College

67.

CMC MEMORIES

Tribute to Coach Arce '64

Eleven years later, my life at CMC started when he picked me up at the San Pedro docks. My American President Lines freighter arrived four weeks early from the Far East because of a scheduling change.

The next year, I arrived in San Pedro six weeks late due to a dock strike in Australia.

Again, Bill picked me up. In 1963, Bill wrote my recommendation letter to UC Berkeley where I attended law school.

BILL ARCE CAME INTO MY LIFE IN 1960.

Bill’s roommate at Stanford was the athletic director at my high school. He was trying to persuade me that I would have a difficult time in a Division I program.

His answer was CMC, and he would call Bill Arce P’80 GP’22 on my behalf. He did, I flew to Los Angeles, Bill picked me up and we drove to Claremont, the land of orange groves and snow on Mt. Baldy. Thus began my life with Bill Arce.

Bill introduced me to Jesse Cone, a former Stanford lineman, and the CMC football coach. Both gave me the tour of the athletic facilities (not great) and then took me to the administration building.

There I met Bob Rodgers, a real sports guy.

After Mr. Rodgers gave me the academic presentation, he asked me whether if admitted I would plan to attend CMC. A little flustered, I remember saying, ‘probably.’ He then asked me whether I took chemistry and if so, what grade I received.

I answered him, and his response was, ‘Congratulations, you are admitted.’ A little stunned, but excited, especially because I thought I could play two sports. Of course, I had no idea how hard I would have to study and also that I was not really very smart to begin with.

At that time, I did not realize that Coach Arce would be a major part of my life, nor did he realize that he would be stuck with me for the rest of his. He would be a lifetime mentor for me. Very few students, however, knew his life story. His generation did not talk about their heroic activities.

Bill was shot in his frozen leg during the winter of 1944-45 during the Battle of the Bulge. The Army soldier next to him was killed. When they liberated the dead soldier, they took Bill also. He was fortunate that his leg was not amputated.

After his Army release, he attended the College of San Mateo before transferring to Stanford. There he was captain of Stanford’s 1949 baseball team.

68. CMC CLASS NOTES

"

He would be a lifetime mentor for me. Very few students, however, knew his life story."

After the cultural revolution in China ended, Bill introduced baseball to China.

Shortly thereafter, I met Bill in Beijing.

He was there to commemorate a baseball stadium in Tianjin as a representative of the Los Angeles Dodgers. We rented a 1930’s car with a driver and drove there in a sea of bicycles on the road.

Bill was a humble human. He detested my idea in 1998 to create a CMC endowed scholarship in his name. He was fearful he would have to ask somebody for a donation. He only acquiesced after he was double teamed by Nick Frazee ’61 P’92. For years, Bill was also an ex-officio member of the Tortugas, a disorderly group of students not particularly appreciated by the administration. Bill and Nancy annually attended our summer reunions and observed with amusement at our adult but juvenile behavior. Bill also helped me, along with Nick Frazee, with the idea of a Tortuga endowment fund.

I have many Coach Arce stories. He loved all students not just his ballplayers. He mentored many up until his final days.

I was scheduled to have lunch with him several days before his passing.

He was a surrogate parent to many students and his time and love was unconditional.

—Steve Hallgrimson

1962

Marshall Sale reports, “We lost Read Redwine on January 2,

2021. I still keep a picture of him from our 1958 freshman year, and then memories from our rooming together, in our senior year. He was a mentor— or should I say moderator—during our senior year that was filled with my impulsive conduct that will not be listed here. He leaves his wife Harriett (Scripps), his son Kent Redwine ’93, son Chris, and one grandson, William. Bill Hollingsworth called in speaking about his high experiences with Read, then John Sprouse and then many other friends. He made important contributions to our lives in so many ways.

MARSHALL SALE ’62 M_SALE@MSN.COM

1964

Orley Ashenfelter remembers, “Orme Phelps was a remarkably successful teacher of mine and of many others. He was also a mentor, and in later years, a friend.

“Most students remembered his admonition to clear and compact writing, enforced by weekly papers that could be no longer than one page. Others may remember his corn cob pipe and buzz cut. However, I remember him for pushing me into graduate school, where I ended up spending a life working in the same area of scholarship, labor economics, as he had. I wasn’t the only one, Pete Feuille ’65 (no longer with us) was a suitemate of mine and spent his life as a distinguished professor in labor relations at the University of Illinois, as did Paul Hartman ’56. Thomas Aldrich Finegan ’51 spent his career at Vanderbilt.

“Phelps was a realist and had many good words to describe the world that I still often use. He described labor economics, in his satirical voice, as a ’field that was a mile wide, but only an inch deep.’ When asked about the motivation of those who prescribe public policies for others, he would often remark that many positions are best explained by the rule that ‘where you stand depends on where you sit.’”

Larry Berger writes, “CMC shaped a lifetime of professional and intellectual

interests for me. Professor Harold Rood alerted me to the complexities of international relations, as we explored the historical and cultural factors that shape how countries govern themselves and relate to other sovereign nations.

Over the past fifty years, I have spent more than 25 years in East Asia, which has been a laboratory for exploring and understanding international relations.”

Bill Dawson writes, “My time at CMC was most influenced by the Western

Civilization courses that we experienced during our first two years, ideas from which most of our religions, ethics, and politics have evolved. It was a shock to find out, as someone has notably summarized it, that ‘ideas have histories.’

This was something of a revelation to me. Working through the Greek, Roman, Middle Age, Renaissance, and Enlightenment philosophies had an electrifying effect on my 18-year-old mind. Others in our class have expressed the same. It is a shame that this ‘canon’ of education has for the most part been eliminated.

My own thoughts on the subject cannot change that. However, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have experienced these courses in small classes, with committed professors, in a quiet and charming location. (A college with lovely coeds nearby was an added bonus). I don’t reflect on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, or Locke’s theory of the social contract, every day, but these and other ‘Western Civ’ tools learned in these courses are what I invariably measure other people’s thoughts and ideas by. Helping me along the way were Larry Berger, Bryan Strong, Marshall Jarvis, John Tyndall, Bill Wainwright, Doug Noble, Steve Hallgrimson, and many, many others, including our various and excellent professors. Their insights opened an otherwise closed mind, in ways for which I will always be extraordinarily grateful.”

Gil Ferrey P’03 recalls, “I remember organizing a ski club trip to Mammoth where we made reservations in a June Lake hotel to save some money. Well, the pipes froze a couple of days prior to our departure from CMC/Pomona, and we drove there anyway. Scripps students and some of us from CMC slept in the

same beds. Nancy Bachman and I shared one, and we all skied the next day.

Good thing we had an inclement weather schedule plan to follow, right?”

Tom Hartnett writes, “CMC in the mid-‘60s—fond memories and reflections— great memories abound. From big to little. Things such as:

“Establishment of the Claremont Investment Club - $25/month, bad start but good lesson with buying El Paso Natural Gas, good fellowship with Henry “Hank” Watson, Joseph Zerboni, David Moffett P’93 P’94 GP’24, Lawrence Eppenbach, Scott van Linge, Paul Giuntini and others.

“Mental health exercises: Water balloon and orange aerial bombardments from/to Harvey Mudd, mooning the flyby for CMC video promotion, trips to Tijuana (what? we have someone in the trunk?). Oh, how we loved Jan’s laugh, special Watson et al bent-coat-hanger for ‘free’ pay phone calls, exploding Zerboni’s model aircraft carrier, weekends with Richard C. Smith to Laguna Beach, weather balloon in returning senior’s dorm room, stage performance for freshmen by Patrick St. Lawrence O’Toole—your tassel expert, did someone really start a BANK? Did Hank really take delivery on his commodities order?

Tell us again how Kellogg’s wheels came off?

“Academic life: Really, only seven students in Ferling’s second year math class?

Ladell Payne and the Schubert’s Mass in G Major ‘In egg shells seas day OH,’ Janet Myhre - Non-Parametric Statistics? What the heck is THAT? How many books are we required to actually read for Humanities? Econ final ‘so what!’

“Mail: ‘You have mail’ Story House at its finest, along with the pool tables.

“Friends: So many. Too many to recall, wonderful memories all.

“Finally, rest time. Stinky’s and Catalina weekends. Thanks for the transportation and friendship Mr. Giuntini!

“CMC: preparing one for real life! Great place indeed.”

John Heaton remembers, “I was not an academic star, and changed majors late in my sophomore year. I finished with an accounting major with only fifteen hours of instruction. George Gibbs and Stuart Briggs were outstanding professors who complemented each other very well. With what I learned at CMC, plus training by my (then) Big Eight employer, I was able to pass the CPA exam with relative ease. I relied heavily on my education and auditing experience throughout a successful career.”

From Rex Heeseman P’95, “When Eisenhower was president, my CMC memories started upon arriving as a resident at Music Hall (soon torn down).

My student years led to learning and experiencing much at CMC—for which I am quite grateful. But those memories did not end with my graduation in June 1964.

“For instance, while president of the CMC Alumni Association, I ‘presided’ over the name change to Claremont McKenna, next I spent four interesting years on the CMC Board of Trustees, I then ‘helped’ my daughter Nicole Heeseman ’95 with her CMC graduation, and followed by my service on the Rose Institute’s Board.

“All in all, CMC has been a very key and critical part of my life and career. Thanks!”

Ken Henderson recalls, “It was an honored tradition in CMC’s earlier days that the junior class would sponsor a jazz concert for the benefit of The Claremont Colleges and the public as a whole. In early 1963, the Class of 1964 negotiated, staffed, and produced for a packed house at Bridges Auditorium at Pomona College an unforgettable event showcasing the ‘First Lady of Song, the Globally Renowned Jazz Singer, Miss Ella Fitzgerald, Live and in Concert,’ sponsored by Claremont Men’s College! Ella gave true meaning to the now hackneyed term, ‘awesome’! Hard work for the Stags concert team, but extremely rewarding fun for many of us ‘64 classmates! Another building block in the CMC Legacy.”

Dennis Higman writes, “What I remember most vividly about my time at CMC

is not the school but the romantic surroundings for this is where I met my wife of 57 years, Lee, who went to Scripps. The orange groves, quiet streets of

Claremont McKenna College 69.

Claremont, foreign films at the local theatre, breakfasts at Walters, dinners high on Mt. Baldy, seeing some of the best musicians of the day in small, intimate Los Angeles night clubs, these things will always be with us.”

“As for academics, CMC is where I developed my writing, reasoning, critical analysis, and decision-making skills, which enabled me to earn a good living while never having to let the job dictate where we wanted to live—Bainbridge Island, Washington, Sun Valley and a high mountain ranch in Idaho—or go— Nepal, Bhutan, kayaking to Alaska. I even found time to write a few novels along the way.

“And while Coach Red Williams did his best with me, I was privileged to play football at CMC with some very talented people, Steve Hallgrimson, William Sparrow, Robert Ellis, and Terry Spragg ’63 among others. Playing for the Stags was where I had my five seconds of sports glory when I was lucky enough to fall on a fumble and we beat Pomona. I like to think that I won that game, but given my penchant for romantic fiction, I very much doubt it.”

Marshall Jarvis recalls, “My years at CMC were transformative both culturally

and academically. I felt lucky to be at Claremont. My reason for choosing Claremont was based on my allergies. A dry climate with less pollen and mold would benefit me. My New England allergies greatly improved, but I unfortunately I discovered that I was allergic to Eucalyptus trees. Leaving New England for college also provided me with a great opportunity to be in a different part of the country and participate in California’s more informal and relaxed lifestyle. For classes and meals, sportscoats and ties were out.

“I was surprised by some things. During my freshman year, I dated a girl from Girls Collegiate High School who lived on the west side of Indian Hill Boulevard. With no car, I had to walk to and from her home at night. One night, I was stopped by the Claremont Police and taken to the police station for violating Claremont’s curfew law. I did not realize that anyone under age 18 could not be out after 10:30 p.m. without parental supervision. Dean MacLeod vouched for me. Since it happened a few times, we became good friends. When I turned 18, that problem was solved.

“During one Spring Break, Laurence Berger, Stephen Kay, Steve Hallgrimson and I drove the Golden Flash (Larry’s Chevrolet Impala) to Mazatlan, Mexico.

It was over a thousand miles south of the Mexican border. Larry has a memorable picture of the car at the Tropic of Cancer. The two-lane roads were poor and most bridges were only wide enough for one vehicle. In our lodging overlooking the ocean, Steve Kay promptly identified two American fugitives from justice who were wanted for white collar crimes in California. Decades later Mazatlan is where El Chapo was finally caught.

“I learned from Larry Berger the cruel fate that awaits countless home owners in the West from forest fires. Larry’s grandparents called from Europe to ask him to check on their home in Bel Air. As the circuitous road was closed to vehicular traffic, we hiked up the hill. A fire had indiscriminately destroyed.

Approximately every third home. It was a very sad sight to see that his grandparents’ home had been leveled.

“I learned so much from friends such as Thomas Kennedy, Bill Dawson, Larry Berger, William ’Bill’ Wainwright, Steve Hallgrimson, Steve Kay, Doug Noble, Richard ’Stork’ Ross, Robert Goss, Mike Martin, Fred Baker, and many, many others. They all helped shape my understanding and view of the world.

“I also visited many of my friend’s homes. I especially enjoyed visiting the Dawson family. Their home in Los Altos Hills was secluded in a large apricot orchard on a plateau overlooking South San Francisco Bay. With large glass windows, it was an incredibly beautiful home with extraordinary views. It was from his parents (who were early and ardent environmentalists) that I learned about Hetch Hetchy and Wilson’s betrayal.

“Academically, I was amazed with the quality and personal involvement of our professors. If you needed help, they made time for you. They taught us how to analyze problems, isolate the variables, and think analytically. I thoroughly

70. CMC CLASS NOTES

enjoyed Professor George Gibbs. He taught us the reasoning behind the general accounting principles. He prepared us well for the AICPA exams. He shared many stories of his business accounting experiences. Professor Jim Rogers brought Sino-Soviet history to life. His classes covered a part of the world that I had missed. His insights are even more relevant today. I also enjoyed Walter Buckingham Smith. He left an indelible imprint on my interest in Economics. When Doug Noble and I were in Edinburgh, we had to visit the birthplace of Adam Smith.

“When I was a freshman in Appleby Hall, I needed better radio reception, so late one night I climbed up to the roof of Appleby and installed a wire antenna from Appleby across the lawn in front of Collins Hall to the faculty offices on the other side. When you were dining in Collins Hall and looking at Mount Baldy, it was the only wire visible in that incredible view. It was still there over ten years later when I returned for a class reunion.

“When the Claremont Colleges decided to field a soccer team, I joined and played defense. I was not very good, but it was great fun. We played colleges such as UCLA, U.S. Air Force Academy, and others. We had extraordinary players, many of whom were foreign exchange students and wanted to study at the Claremont Colleges. It was a melting pot of different nationalities.

“For me, Claremont was a great choice. I was lucky to be a graduate and make great lifelong friends.”

Tom Kennedy writes, “There are so many but here are a few recollections

which particularly stand out: “1. Arrival: I arrived at Claremont on Labor Day weekend, 1960. I had never been to California. All was new to me. Came through LAX, took a bus to Pomona (temperature was 102!), a cab to Claremont gym (more like a concrete bunker!) ready to start freshman football. I wore a blue cord jacket, neck tie (prep school influence) and loafers. Bill Arce greeted me at the gym with a curious look: Where did this guy come from (I was a Connecticut Yankee!)? Everyone else was in shorts, tee shirt, and flip flops. Bill made me feel right at home. Little did he realize I had left the love of my life back in Connecticut (but more on that later). The heat and smog were stifling. The smog was horrendous—never experienced anything like it! Ah, you may sweat a little, but take a handful of salt pills, that will fix you up! We ate them by the handful. Meeting Bill Arce was the beginning of a lifelong relationship—he was freshman football coach and varsity baseball coach; but he was a mentor.

Still remember his pep talks with one foot on the top step of the dugout, hand on top of dugout. He lectured us on decorum and treating the opponent with respect. He taught, not only athletic, but skills for life. What a godsend he was for me—a man’s man, but gentle loving spirit. He was the one faculty member I remained in touch with until the day he died.

“2. Freshman Football Party: Freshman football ended with a breakup party somewhere in the orange groves in a shack (someone called it a house, generous description). Many arrived with dates from the local high schools.

Beer was flowing, keg in the bathtub, loud music. Things began to get out of hand. Someone had loaned me a car. My date, who I had just met, seemed to be more interested in others. I saw a Scripps student who had come with a football teammate. She seemed pretty uncomfortable. I said: ‘Let’s leave! I’ll drive you back to campus.’ Left my date in the midst of chaos! Ungentlemanly of me! Next day, heard the “house” had been destroyed. I do not know who was called to the dean’s office. All I know is that freshman football parties were banned forever. In today’s environment, we all probably would have been kicked out of college!

“3. Starlight Ball: I lived all four years in Appleby Hall. My junior year (Spring 1963), my roommate was Richard C. Smith. He became very tired of hearing about ‘the girl back home.’ Joanna was attending Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Dick came up with a plan. He decided he would solicit my classmates and others collecting airfare to get Joanna to come to the ball—unbeknownst to me! Since he only raised half the airfare, he called

Joanna’s parents and asked them for the remainder. How could they say no to such a wild scheme? The ball came at the end of the baseball season; final exams were looming. On the stated night she was to arrive, I was in Honnold Library preparing for my physical science exam (I was really struggling with that course!). Curiously, people were betting me $5 I would not stay in the library that evening. Easy money, I thought. Dick Smith met her at the airport never having seen her before. He told her he would be identified with a palm frond. Off they head to Claremont. About 10 p.m., a woman tapped me on the shoulder. She asked what I was doing. Pretty forward, I thought. I turned and said, ‘Studying.’ However, then I did a double take—there was Joanna! I said, ‘You are supposed to be in New London, Connecticut! Not California! Let’s get out of here!’ Waiting for me at the door were several classmates saying: ‘Pay up Kennedy!’ Fortunately, they never collected. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing!

We went to the ball in Palm Springs. Joanna spent the weekend in a dorm at Scripps College—the students were very accommodating! It is a date I will never forget!

Joanna and I have been married since 1964—the Starlight Ball clinched the deal with Dick Smith behind the curtain! Zaner Faust, the PR guy for the colleges, wrote a press release on the event. Made the local papers. I have the pictures to prove it! What a weekend!

From Rick Lazarus, “Some 60 years ago, I came to CMC from my home in Ohio. I had never been to California and everything was new. My flight took me through LAX to Ontario. En route to CMC, I recall driving past orange trees and asking the cab driver what they were. When I arrived, I met my roommate, a surfer from San Diego. I seldom wore shoes. One Friday, I was putting skis on a car to go to Mammoth and a friend was putting a surf board on his car to go to the beach. In spite of the temptations and thanks to a great faculty, I learned so much.”

Phil Mann remembers, “When Larry Berger asked for contributions that

might be used in a celebration of the 75th anniversary of CMC, I started to search my memory for specific events that stand out. I found that memories of individuals and friendships are much clearer in my memories than events. It is difficult to narrow down the list, but here are a few.

“Upon early arrival in 1960 (as a potential member of the freshman football team), I roomed for one week with John ‘Jack’ Ritchey. While his athletic experience and skills far exceeded mine, we shared a fondness for anything automotive. Jack, in our sophomore year joined the Mara Togas and I joined the Knickerbockers, so our social interaction was limited but I always appreciated that first week when we shared a common interest.

“Another talented football player and future Mara Toga was Evan Porteus, my first exposure to the friendly island approach. I remember volunteering to cut his hair when it was a bit long for his liking—he was gracious enough to not hold it against me although he had every right to for the butchering I inflicted.

Over the years, I don’t think I remember ever seeing Evan without a smile on his face.

“Second semester of freshman year brought mandatory PE which consisted of boxing and wrestling. Naturally, I decided to join the shorthanded freshman baseball team to avoid that. We were a very talented group—nine players who were very good and two of us who comprised the ‘Pine Brothers.’ I played in one game and established an unbeatable college baseball batting average, 1.000, going one for one, but was thrown out trying to stretch my bloop single into a double.

“In our sophomore and junior years, I roomed with the late Charles ‘Charlie’ Rudd. Charlie was a natural athlete—basketball and wrestling and an all-

around good guy. When he wasn’t in class or involved in team sports, he was probably in Story House shooting pool. Our friendship continued after CMC and we had several occasions to get together with Chuck and his wife, Lynn, an energetic, pretty blonde from Louisiana. It was heartbreaking that, after Navy

OCS, flight school, and two tours of unarmed photo-recon in Vietnam, he lost his life during a training exercise near the Farallon Islands.

“Richard ’Stork’ Ross—we shared many common interests: beer at The Shanty (unlimited peanuts in the shell and 50-ounce buckets of beer for $1) and jazz music being among them. We heard that Mose Allison was appearing at a jazz club in Los Angeles one week night during our senior year. Oblivious to the neighborhood where the session was to be held, we made the drive to John T. McClain’s It Club on West Washington Boulevard in L.A. We two were a definite minority (along with Allison) in an overwhelmingly diverse audience but, of course, the music was great. Another indication of our questionable common sense was a day trip drive to San Luis, Mexico (across the border from Yuma) to acquire ‘cheap’ Mexican rum in anticipation of an upcoming Knickerbocker Toga Party. Of course, the Knickerbocker membership has been a source of many friendships many of which are still close. Several of us are members of the highly regarded Turlock Temperance Society (TTS), which has held gatherings for fifty-one consecutive years until COVID-19 blocked us in 2020. Esteemed members: John Taylor, Ralph Nichols, Marty Brantley ’65, Bob Campbell ’65, Stan Hahn ’63, and departed Knicks Russ Ahrens ’63 and A. Michael McCarthy ’63. Non-Knick TTS members: Ken Henderson and the departed Ernie Doud ’63.

“Ken Henderson and I were what I would call nodding acquaintances at CMC. We happened to be assigned to the same U.S. Army Field Artillery Officers’ Basic Course in the fall of 1964. Together, we drove to Fort Sill and roomed together for the two-month course rooming at the Western Trails Motel in Lawton because there were no quarters available on post. Following OBC, Ken was assigned to an artillery unit on the DMZ in Korea and I stayed at Fort Sill, waiting for assignment to flight school. To shorten my three plus year commitment to the flight program, I chose the option to withdraw and was promptly issued orders to the same post in Korea as Ken. The close friendship we developed in Oklahoma and Korea has continued to this day. Ken was best man at our wedding and we optimistically look forward to future annual gatherings of TTS.” Steve McClintock recalls, “At the beginning of our sophomore year (around

September 1961), Stephen Kratz, myself, and several others had to go through an initiation. One requirement was that our group had to secure a small pig to go with us wherever we went. We borrowed an upperclassman’s car and the little pig promptly relieved itself in the trunk. Very bad start. Living in a second story room in Green Hall, we quickly learned while a pig will walk upstairs, it won’t walk downstairs. We had to find a place to keep the pig and one of the showers—with a closed door—seemed perfect. We closed the shower door. The pig had water and some grainy food that reminded one of large birdseed. The pig made a giant mess—surprise—in the shower. Daily, someone had to go in the shower and wash down the shower, pig, etc. A real disaster. Several weeks after the little pig was gone—somehow returned safely to the farmer—we had little green shoots coming out of the drain pipe as the result of the grain, pig poop, water, etc. Our future success at CMC was in doubt.”

Doug Noble writes, “I spent my Freshman year at UCLA, thinking I wasn’t

ready to go away to college. A month of social isolation as a commuter student ended that delusion. My high school friend, David Petersen, was already ragging on me about going to CMC, although he told me grades would be harder than at UCLA (not true as it turned out). So, at Christmas break my parents and I visited Dean Emory Walker, who assured me I would get in and suggested I take Psychology and Statistics at UCLA in the Spring to get those CMC requirements out of the way. Fortunately, I already knew David and met some of his friends on arriving at CMC in the Fall of 1961, because I was once again in some measure of social isolation, being housed at Harvey-Mudd along with two junior transfer students (Roger Nelson ’63 and Darryl Wold ’63) and a freshman (John Saffron ’65), but no one from my sophomore class.

Claremont McKenna College

71.

“I soon got involved in activities I never would have experienced at UCLA. In order to avoid the Phys Ed requirement, I became a cross country and track manager under Vince Reel, and later basketball under Ted Ducey and baseball under Bill Arce. Through Darryl Wold and Bob Walker, I became involved in re-chartering the moribund campus Young Republicans, an association I later tried to explain away after I had moved decidedly to the Left—a shift proving that you really can get a “liberal” education at conservative CMC. (As we graduated in 1964, Dr. George Benson told me I ‘would regret’ voting for LBJ over Goldwater). And in my last two years, I began and chaired the CMC Dorm Bowl competition, an intra-dorm competition version of TVs College Bowl. I also served on the Student Court, an august body that determined such weighty issues as how far ajar dorm room doors were open during women visiting hours on Sundays.

“Another memorable event was when I was selected to be a Resident Assistant (Beckett Hall) under the leadership of Clifford MacLeod, who was the Dean of Students if my memory serves me correctly. My recollection of events during my term is that I had very few issues; there were a really great group of fellow students.

“I loved CMC. Apart from great academics, the small school setting allowed me to develop socially and gain self-confidence that never did happen or would have at the big school atmosphere of my high school or UCLA. My only regret is only having CMC for three years instead of four.”

From Joe Ulloa, “My memory of my CMC experience is a multitude of vignettes. A few of them follow: The Resident Assistant stakeout in the upstairs Green Hall suite as we caught the ‘cherry bomb’ culprit in the act as he lit a fuse right below us; the annual steamroll over the Pomona Fraternity by the Boswell Flag Football team juggernaut as CMC retained the prized ‘Toilet Bowl;’ the frivolity in Collins Hall on Friday at dinner as the Pilgrims returned from the weekly soiree to the Mt. Baldy wash and the liquid sunshine; the challenge and torture of a Saturday morning 8 a.m. chemistry class after a Friday night date; the patience of Orme Phelps as he eased his Labor Economics class to the realization that labor unions were relevant; the small frosh evening gatherings at Dr. George Benson’s house as he passed on the essence of CMC that was created mostly by WWII veterans with their enduring patriotism, courage, and ambition; and the everlasting bonds of friendship with classmates that can be dormant for years or decades and spring to life when an opportunity arises.”

Ralph Nichols writes, “For the 1962-63 school year, the late Dr. William “Bill” Arce took a sabbatical from his duties at CMC to live abroad in the Netherlands to lay the groundwork for a sports outreach program to that country. At the time, Coach Arce was the athletic director and baseball coach at the college. His hard work paid off in the following year with a phenomenal opportunity for a number of CMC students, as well as the college itself.

“The program was launched in June of 1964, and basically involved taking a group of 23 collegiate baseball players to live, coach, and play exhibition games in Holland. The bulk of the players were from CMC and spent the entire summer living with individual families in the country. Their time was spent coaching local club sports teams in baseball, as well as reuniting two times each week to play games against the best of the Dutch players and the Dutch national baseball squad. The program’s success was a testament to the work of Dr. Arce and the maturity of the players selected to represent the values of CMC and the U.S. “Put into historical perspective, this program commenced almost 20 years to the day of the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II—a long time ago! Those students who went were very well received by the local communities in which they lived and coached. The individual friendships that were formed during this period lasted a long while. The cultural exchange going both ways was an outstanding experience, and the success of this venture resulted in another Dr. Arce led group returning to Holland in 1966.”

Rich Rosin remembers, “Reflecting on my years at CMC I recall fondly three

professors who shaped my future: Walter Buckingham Smith in Economics 101. Not sure how I ended up in his class. Only freshman. He opened my eyes to the world of economics and business. John Ferling. He expanded my mind into the abstract world of mathematics and reasoning. Remember number theory, that after you finished all the other courses you went back to a 0 and a 1 to prove everything you had learned. Finally, Janet Myhre. Words can’t do her justice. She combined math and economics. Still remember type 1 and type 2 errors. All three made you reason and think. Precursors to a career in law. How fortunate I was.”

Barry Swayne remembers, “The first memory that comes to mind is from my freshman year when I became a member of the varsity tennis team along with three other freshmen, Robert Goss, Dave Moffett, Joseph Zerboni, and two upper classmates, coached by Ted Ducey. Ted did not have much of a tennis background (he was a fantastic basketball coach) so the tennis team was pretty much on its own to practice and improve. Redlands was always the tennis powerhouse in the SCIAC so it was a thrill to defeat them one year in the conference tournament.

“CMC has come a long way since its beginning in 1946. I saw recently that CMC is ranked as the 6th best small liberal arts college in the country. I was blessed to have attended CMC. My education prepared me well for law school.”

John Taylor writes, “I think my main takeaway from CMC would be the

friendships established at the College; and the fact that I keep in contact on a regular basis with so many of those close friends after 57 years. Unfortunately, that group is getting smaller—a tough thing to handle.”

Lance Vinson writes, “One of my first semester freshman courses was

American Government (or something like that), taught by a gruff, redheaded professor—I think his name was Jordan. At any rate, very early in the course, Professor Jordan handed out a two-page essay at the end of class; our assignment was to identify every assumption, explicit or implicit, in the essay, and be prepared to discuss our analysis at the next class session. I remember nothing about the essay or the specifics of the class discussion that followed, but I’ve always remembered the exercise itself. I’d never done anything like that before, and it made a huge impression on me. It was my introduction to critical thinking. I don’t remember encountering that term until much later, but this exercise gave me the single most valuable skill I learned in my CMC career.”

Joe Zerboni recalls, “Just off the top of my head, here are some incidents

which impacted me. 1. My roommate in Wohlford Hall, Thomas Hartnett, who became a great friend of mine and my family. 2. Freshmen initiation outside in the cold, doing calisthenics, and ’bonding’ 3. My freshman roommate who arrived in a new car, promptly linked up with a girlfriend and flunked out in the first quarter. 4. Our genius Patrick, one year ahead of us, who took CMC to the top of the College Bowl TV show. His line, ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’ continues to resonate. 5. Sadly, losing my mentor and our wonderful basketball and tennis coach, Ted Ducey, a few years later. 6. Ladell Payne getting Tom and I into the choir, where we sang with Scripps students. 7. Becoming the campus barber (50 cents each) to all who wanted to escape the penalty during Initiation. 8. I could go on and on with stories of the great men I met, like Steve Hallgrimson, Dixon Howell, and Dave Moffett with whom I played tennis and visited his family at their Snoqualmie resort in Washington. 9. Taking my girlfriend to the Wash. 10. My first motor cycle ride in the parking lot. Did not end well.”

BILL DAWSON ’64 BILLDAWS@COMCAST.NET LARRY BERGER ’64 LAURENCEWBERGER@GMAIL.COM STEVE HALLGRIMSON ’64 SLH@BERLINER.COM

72. CMC CLASS NOTES

1965

Greg Smith contributes, “My first day at CMC, I arrived on campus

to learn that I had been assigned to Story House as my dorm. It was not what I had expected. My view of a college dormitory was a sleek, modern building.

Instead, I was to live in what resembled a very old and charming—house, with all of the accompanying plusses (a family-like home) and minuses (walls with little insulation). Even the minuses turned into plusses, providing an opportunity, for example, to drop a buzzer through the wall into the room below, where it could be activated to the surprise and consternation of the occupant. My roommate, Stuart Young, was my opposite in almost every way.

I remember, on entering my new room, seeing his many pairs of shoes all lined up like soldiers, his closet neatly arranged. My side of the room was always the opposite, but we became good friends.

“In later years, in a more conventional dormitory, I met Tibor Machan, of blessed memory. Tibor and I had very different political views—he was a follower of Ayn Rand, an objectivist. We disagreed on virtually every philosophical and political issue. We became good friends, and started a school magazine together that we called Contrast. This was a time when those with opposing political and philosophical views could be friends and actually enjoy discussing our different viewpoints. Tibor became a prolific author, and he and I remained lifelong friends.”

Pete Wells writes, “Professor John Ferling and the IBM 1620 computer he brought to CMC in 1962 set the course of my life. I entered the computer industry after graduation in 1965. Even after law school (1974-1977), my life was closely tied with computer applications.”

Keith Nightingale recalls, “Two professors and a coach made the deepest

impression on me, Martin Diamond, Ervin O’Connell, and Jim Williams.

“Diamond taught me the necessity of an insightful mind who could parse words, nuances, and meanings. He taught me to actually listen and read/absorb what it said and then develop the surface and the deeper meaning. Using The Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, he gave me a gift I have used throughout my life. The discipline of the mind.

“O’Connell taught me, using the ostensibly boring, Roman and Greek histories, the power of the mind to transport oneself to that period or person and see what they saw and think how they thought. His ability to actually teach ‘thinking outside the box’ was supremely enlightening and useful. His animation, transformations and verbal images lit passages into the mind. His persona and lack of interest in titles or decorum made his classes even more entertaining and likely to ignite parts of the mind that had lain dormant. Both were extraordinarily gifted and I am forever thankful I sat at their feet.

one sitting. While I couldn’t match his skills, he helped me immensely. With term papers so integral to nearly every course at school, you either adapted or transferred out. As I recall, our class started with over 200 bodies and ended with just over 100 at graduation. 50 percent attrition! And if endless term papers didn’t get you down, comprehensives were there for one final whack.

You’d proven yourself repeatedly through four years, and yet here you were, days before graduation, facing more silly exams. Nobody liked them, but I believe most everyone passed them. In truth, the comprehensives constituted a demanding, exacting, and worthwhile exercise that distinguished CMC from most other colleges at the time, and ironically from CMC today. You felt pretty good about yourself afterwards, confident you could take on anything. It’s a pity today’s students no longer face them, but given the incredible cost of a college education, I suppose it’s understandable.”

Wallace ‘Wally’ Dieckmann recalls, “In the weeks leading up to graduation in June, 1965, I was invited to dinner along with another six of my graduating classmates to Professor Arthur Kemp’s home. I had taken Dr. Kemp’s class, Money and Banking, a popular offering with a reputation for being a ‘cake’ class. He was well known on campus in as much as his recently published book, The Role of Gold, had been quoted in Milton Friedman in his seminal book, Capitalism and Freedom. Dr. Kemp and his wife provided a table of epicurean treats, sophisticated conversation and a first, wine from the professor’s ‘cellar.’ Quite a departure from Collins Hall.

“Fact checking to make sure my memory hadn’t strayed, I discovered before joining the faculty at CMC in 1953, Dr. Kemp was an editorial and research assistant to former President Herbert Hoover for ten years in New York City. He continued to teach at CMC until 1981.”

Larry Maas checks in with, “The one thing that I came to appreciate over the years (ignoring how many years that is) about CMC is that it was a campus of only 400 students. In addition to being a CMC student, there were so many levels of camaraderie: Green Hall, freshman basketball, intramural sports, the Knickerbockers, Management Engineering program, working in the dining hall, and especially the professors whose only focus was the undergraduate students. My introduction to this camaraderie came during freshman orientation. I vividly remember when about to get my head rendered hairless, the guy several people ahead of me in line, recoiled from the razor, left the patio and was never seen again. A shaven head, an unexpected ordeal that clearly labeled me a freshman, also made me a proud member of the class of ’65—on day one!”

“Coach Jim Williams was special for me as he appeared when I was searching for myself. Using football as the forum, he taught me discipline, purpose, and self-confidence. All qualities I was heretofore lacking. In sum, he made what I became and I owe him more than I could ever repay.”

Howard Sohn writes, “Among the more vivid memories from those early ‘60s

years at CMC: Learning of President Kennedy’s assassination over the radio in the bookstore, then climbing the nearby stairs to my room in Wohlford Hall while the news sank in. Ever since then, any reference to the assassination brings up an image of that small store and the southwestern stairs to my second-floor room.”

Mac White remembers, “Written English. Writing is what I learned at

Claremont. Most assuredly it didn’t come from Gwen Boardman’s starchamber of a classroom our first semester of freshman English. With apologies to Wallace ‘Wally’ Dieckmann, who suffered through an entire year of her, it got better when I escaped to Hal Painter’s class second semester. Ultimately it was Leopold ‘Rick’ Schmidt ’63 who saved me. Rick had real talent. He knew how to write, and he imparted many of those skills to me over time. On that ‘Olympia’ typewriter of his, he could pound out page after page of well written final copy effortlessly. He’d simply hand in his work, completed flawlessly at Claremont McKenna College 73.

Joseph Bradley recalls, “Dr. Gibbs was my favorite professor of accounting. In

addition to taking several of his accounting classes, I worked in his accounting office in downtown Claremont and was his lab assistant for his beginning accounting classes during my senior year. The hands-on experience gave me confidence in my major and in a career which began with an international accounting firm. My favorite economics professor was Dr. Harold McClelland. I loved his classes. I remember one class was so small (five students) that we had oral finals.”

Dean Davidge remembers, “Lacrosse got its start in Claremont in the winter of 1958-1959. I was a student at Webb School at the time and Mac Fish, one of the teachers there, had been an All-American at Princeton. He organized a league with first-year teams from Webb, Claremont, UCLA, and UC Riverside.

He coached the Webb team and played on the Claremont team. It was weird playing against your coach and having him stop everything to tell us what we should be doing to beat them. I played for Webb for three years then came to CMC after graduating. I was disappointed not to be playing my old teammates the next year. My last year was Webb’s final year which ended with too much success. We beat every team except a new team from Camp Pendleton that had three former All-Americans on its roster. Too much success resulted in CIF hearing about it and telling the school they had no problem with the high schoolers playing against college and adult club teams as long as they did not play against high school teams in other sports.

“The equipment was nothing like the present Claremont Cougars use now.

Gloves were hand-me-downs from East Coast teams with the palms missing.

Helmets where football helmets with face guards that let balls and sticks through. I remember blocking a shot with my eye brow one day. Knocked me to my knees. The sticks we all wood and if someone stepped on your stick while you were picking up a ground ball, you spent the next few days unstringing the net, making a fiberglass repair then putting the net back on.

“Our coach was Dr. Gabe Smilkstein, a local doctor who had played at John Hopkins. He had been one of the founders of the club. I remember him playing occasionally my first year or two on the team before just coaching. He would accompany us on local away games, but I don’t remember him travelling with us to Stanford or Arizona. Those trips were always fun, as we were hosted by our opponents and slept in their dorms. I remember carpooling to Tucson to play University of Arizona. We were hosted by the lacrosse club team there and they treated us to a kegger the night before the game. No one noticed that most of the second and third stringers stayed to encourage their guests to finish the keg. Needless to say, a hangover was not conducive to playing well.”

JOE BRADLEY ’65 JBRADLEY2004@VERIZON.NET

1966 In Memory of

John Bruns (1944-2020)

Remembrance by Coop Cooper: “John and I reported for the beginning of our freshman year at CMC in the extremely hot, late summer of 1962, both having attended public high schools nearby. John was a math major and I studied humanities and economics. We stayed in Boswell our first two years and then had single rooms in newly opened Marks Hall for our final two.

“John was a true polymath, as interested in and as good at math and science as he was in the arts. He enjoyed a lifelong love of novels and short stories.

While working for IBM, he formed a literary group and devoted much of his spare time to writing essays and short stories, as well as a novel. John’s wife, Joan Trimble Bruns (Scripps ’67), advised that John was working on the second volume of his novel when he died last May. “Since John and my family lived in different parts of the country, we had trouble staying in touch over the years but exchanged letters and emails from time to time. He always had a different take on life, which was invariably very funny. Of course, we reminisced about the many nights we spent at CMC discussing big things until the wee hours. Physical distance and time

74. CMC CLASS NOTES

may have separated us, but we never drifted far from being great friends.

Bob Dylan captured John’s essence in the last verses of Dream: How many a year has passed and gone?

Many a gamble has been lost and won And many a road taken by many a first friend And each one I’ve never seen again I wish, I wish, I wish in vain That we could sit simply in that room again Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat I’d give it all gladly if our lives could be like that Rick Poplack writes, “My junior year was spent at the London School of Economics (LSE) in a flat with four other Americans. Four additional Americans were in the flat above and one of those was Mike Jeffries.

“My fondest memories from CMC are of two professors with distinctly different personalities and political persuasions: Professors Martin Diamond and Harry Jaffa. Jaffa was a well-known speech writer for Barry Goldwater. He wrote several famous lines for Goldwater’s campaign. At Claremont, he taught a course on Abraham Lincoln’s political philosophy and I still have his book, Crisis of the House Divided. At the time I hadn’t thought much about Lincoln’s philosophy, so the course was enlightening, and it contributed to my future interest in Lincoln.

“Dr. Diamond was a specialist in The Federalist Papers, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Democracy in America. As a rare book collector, I collect in both areas because of the courses I took at CMC. Dr. Diamond was also my college advisor and recommended me to attend LSE and later for law school at Berkeley.

When I returned from school in London, where foreign students didn’t get grades or have to take tests, but only attend classes, I knew that I would have to take some tests to prove that I hadn’t spent the entire year skiing and traveling throughout Europe. Which, in fact, I did!

“I had considerable trepidation about the test because Diamond was very bright and experienced and had been on the cover of Time Magazine as one of America’s top ten professors. Upon return to CMC, I spent considerable time studying for the expected tests in addition to taking my senior courses. On the appointed day, I went to Dr. Diamond’s office as prepared as possible. He greeted me and asked how I liked London and whether I learned anything.

I answered that I loved the experience and thought that I learned a lot. He responded that I had just passed the test and he gave me passes for all the courses I took. No further tests were administered. Although no grades were associated with the passes, I received full credit for graduation. What a relief. I still have fine memories of the man.”

Peter Armstrong Hall remembers his African Journey. In the early 1960s, the

African States were becoming independent and the United States following JFK’s lead, embraced the new government’s independence movements.

“In 1965 I applied and was accepted to Operation Crossroads Africa, led by a unitarian minister from New York. This was the progenitor of the Peace Corps in which Americans and Canadians spent their summers teaching and working on self-help projects and getting to know their hosts.

“In my case, I was selected to go to Kenya along with six others to build a maternity clinic. We taught and got to know our counterparts in rural Kisi, near Lake Victoria. I crowd funded at the local Rotary in Claremont, attended orientation at Rutgers University (where I met my future Fletcher School classmates), and was off to Nairobi for three months. We slept on a church floor, worked with the locals, got bogged down in the mud, danced in the church, went on safari to the Mara, and tracked big game. I benefitted from getting to know the locals, many of whom could not speak English. I tried to learn Kisii but without success. While in Kisii, I met the local MP, the Minister of Justice, who became a close colleague. I gathered case studies, which, on my

return, were published in the Claremont Journal of Political Economy. I also gave a presentation to a surprisingly interested group of students in Collins Hall.

The vigorous Q&A at the end was inspirational.

“Thanks to CMC’s encouragement, my visit to Kenya was a game changer. I was accepted to the Fletcher School and returned to Nairobi to do my doctorate and dissertation on Land Reform and Customary Law at the Institute of Development. It was published in the East African Law Journal. I also had the opportunity to meet other economists who became colleagues at the World Bank.

“The CMC and Kenya experience offered me the opportunity to develop my potential and find my professional calling at the World Bank. Later, I returned to Kisii as the World Bank Health and Population Officer. It was wonderful to see the results of our efforts—a working clinic funded by the Kenya Population and Health Project. During our 50th Claremont Reunion, I was honored to give a presentation to my ’66 classmates, students, faculty, and the President titled The Journey and Possibilities for Collaboration in Africa.

“Altogether, I spent some 55 years working and living in Africa, I learned more than I contributed. Together with Central Bank Governors from 10 countries, I received an award for excellence in user driven, collaborative sustainable results. The award was presented by the World Bank President, James Wolfenson, who is also a CMC Board Member. CMC was, from the beginning, a lasting influence. The journey was worth it!”

Armstrong Hall also writes about his Winning Match for a Winning CMC Tennis Team. “Tennis was my sport. I loved the game and played at Chadwick, CMC, the Fletcher School, and in Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Liberia. I enjoyed the many friends I met and the socialization that resulted. Tennis was my entree to many of the places I visited throughout my journeys.

“I lettered at CMC as a freshman and was on the varsity team in my sophomore year. Our varsity team was exceptionally good, and we were on track to be league champions; Bob Groos ’67, Joseph Zerboni ’64, Dave Moffett ’64, George ‘Barry’ Swayne ’64 P’92, and Jack Breslow were on the first team. Then at the last minute, the unexpected happened when Barry Swayne withdrew to pursue academic studies. I was chosen to replace him in the last singles match of the season against Pomona.

“The year had gone well for CMC with wins against the all-powerful Redlands and La Verne. This match was do or die—and I realized that my opponent was much better. What’s more, my Pomona girlfriend had just jilted me, a devastating setback to my morale and self-esteem. And to top things off, my father came in from L.A. to watch me play, the first time he had done so.

“I decided that I just couldn’t lose. I developed a strategy in the third set of just keeping the ball in play no matter what. After three hours of play, my opponent began to wither. With my CMC teammates cheering me on and father closing his eyes, I won the match, seven to five! I was exhausted and I couldn’t believe it, and neither could my Pomona opponent. (If only he knew the real reason he lost.) The Associate newspaper heralded my accomplishment and that of our team. I proudly wore my CMC letterman jacket everywhere. The following year, I concentrated on my studies.

“What I valued most from my time at CMC was my friendships with Roger Fosdick, John Hasenjaeger, Mark Schappee, Richard ‘Rick’ Poplack, and

members of the winning tennis team (Allan Wentworth, Bob Groos ’67, and others), as well as time spent with Professors Harry Jaffa and George Benson, the later both on campus and at the Pentagon, when he was Deputy Secretary for Education.

“Claremont Men’s College was founded in 1946 to welcome returning soldiers from World War II,’ wrote Richard Morris. “I was admitted having been a combat medic in Korea from 1959-60. CMC taught me the value of hard work and daily application. I logged five hours of study daily, seven days a week, and graduated cum laude in 1966. Dad paid the bills, but I did the work. It was a

great combination that worked. After graduation, I entered Loyola Law School in downtown Los Angeles. My dad and his two brothers were lawyers, but I dropped out after seven weeks. It wasn’t for me. I continued with a fine arts degree (BFA) from the Old Chouinard Art Institute, now known as CalArts.

I started my own small business with some tailors in New York and sales in California. After 50 good years in the business, I’m now retired at age 80.

But I frequently look back at CMC fondly and the value it imbued in me. Call me grateful.”

Jack Edwards contributed with three brief memories: “(1) Frequent discussions at the Hub with professors who spent more of their time at the Hub than in their offices, with topics that ebbed and flowed as did the audience, but everyone always felt welcome, and their thoughts were always welcomed by the profs. (2) Listening to the radio in late 1962 as the Cuban issile Crisis unfolded and we began to speculate if we might all be called up if we went to war. But then someone said the war would end quickly—and so would all of us because it would be a nuclear war, so we relaxed and went to Collins for dinner. (3) The sudden and complete quiet which came over the entire campus on November 22, 1963, when word quickly spread of President Kennedy’s assassination.”

David “Coop” Cooper, always eloquent, contributed the following. “The prism

of time often distorts our memory. I beg forgiveness in advance for any errors or distortions regarding the half century old events related below.

“I arrived at CMC in late August 1962 to submit to the required freshman orientation and hazing. Our 1966 class was pretty small then, permitting all of us to be housed in Berger Hall before being assigned to our first-year dorms.

In those days, orientation consisted of some modest hazing by the sophomore class on the field below Green Hall. The next year, when most of our class had become sophomores, we returned the favor to the new class of 1967. I recall that, this time, the festivities were conducted inside McKenna Auditorium, with the hazing just as anemic as what we had been subjected to a year earlier. CMC then was all male, and decidedly naïve. For example, we were required to teach the newbies the CMC “Song of the Seal.”

“In any event, we soon learned that hazing was conducted under the auspices of either the Knickerbockers or the Mara Togas. What were these strange ex-officio social groups? Well, the Mara Togas, aka ‘The Tortugateers of Prada Dam,’ were kind of a would-be biker gang, largely sans Harleys and sans club house. The Knickerbockers sported a Playboy, Esquire, Yalie, Whiffenpoof vibe, but also, like the Togas, had no club or frat house. So, motel parties served for their off-campus festivities. If you think that CMC’s mid-‘60s social scene presaged Animal House’s 1978 version of the same period, you would be correct. Can there be any doubt that our beloved Dean “The Silver Fox” MacLeod served as the model for the movie’s Dean Wormer?

“Not all the Greekish activities of the Knicks and Mara Togas tended toward bacchanalia. One or both groups sponsored the ‘Little Miss Smiles’ fundraiser in my junior in which the guys conducted a weeklong 24-hour bicycle riding marathon around Honnold, which raised a good bit of money for a worthy cause.

“I often wonder if the Class of 2025 can look forward to the great teaching we testosterone fueled denizens of the ‘60s at Claremont Men’s College enjoyed. I can honestly say that I never, in my four years, suffered a bad or even mediocre professor. They were all great, each in a distinctive way. They are all gone now: Langdon Elsbree, Orme Phelps, Harold Rood, Ricardo Quinones, Proctor Thompson, and yes, even Dean MacLeod. But I would wager that when the class of 2025 writes its memoirs 50 years from now, they will feel the same way about dear old CMC as I do today.”

John McGuire wrote that he has so many lasting memories from CMC. First to

mention would be how well-rounded (not fat) our 1966 classmates were. T here were no real eggheads, nerds, or arrogant members. We had some great professors like McConnell, Thompson, Elsbree, Briggs, Phelps, Smith, Rood, and more.

Claremont McKenna College

75.

CMC MEMORIES

A (brief ) history of Stoughton Court '67

OVER THE YEARS, I assumed the unofficial title of amateur Stoughton Court historian simply because I have spent some time trying to reconstruct who lived there and what happened in the Fall of 1963. I found out that few of my fellow Stoughtonites could remember basic things about their experience, to include names of roommates!

My ‘research’ has been unscientific, superficial, and basically nothing more than conversations at reunions. With that in mind, the following is some of the story of a remarkable time and place.

Location, Location, Location: In September 1963, about 200 young men arrived in the smoggy hamlet of Claremont to begin their CMC college education only to learn that the class size was larger than available housing on campus. “Nineteen of us would require ‘special treatment.’ This turned out to be housing at Stoughton Court, a last-minute acquisition by the college to accommodate the overflow. The administration assured us that this was a ‘temporary solution’ and would prove to be better than it looked as all that was needed was ‘a little fixing up.’

Per Steve Rudd, “Dean MacLeod stated that there was no rush to move our stuff in right away, but if we wanted to sleep indoors that night, we should use the paint, pails, brushes, and ladders CMC supplied to improve our Suites” (better known as motel rooms). We got to know our Suite mates quickly. This regal sounding residence facility turned out to be an abandoned, dilapidated motel court straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It surrounded a courtyard filled with brittle gray bushes and dead brown grass.”

As Steve Griffith remembers, “Rudd is correct. The place was a dump and in a horrible location.” Stoughton Court’s site fit few of the needs of an incoming freshman student. Situated about five blocks south of what is now Ducey Gym in the Roberts Pavilion, it was the farthest CMC dorm from the library, dining hall,

76. CMC CLASS NOTES

classrooms, and Story House by a factor of at least two.

"

The friendships we made. ... were ones of mutual respect and support.

Our relationships are lifelong and deep."

Orientation: Day Two: Day Two was, if anything, more eventful and stressful than Day One. Steve Rudd remembers that, “Some of the sophomore class orientation committee arrived at Stoughton Court to lend us missing-from-campus freshmen some much needed support. They took us up to Scripps College where some coeds gave us free military-style buzzcuts.

Then, around 3:30 a.m., the same committee sent a delegation to the Court to wake us up, drag us out into the courtyard, and have us trim the dead grass with fingernail scissors to improve the overall dismal ambience.”

“I also remember when we were ‘invaded’ by the sophomore hazing crowd,” recalls Bill Slavin. “This group of unknown screaming sophomores roused us out of bed and proceeded to harass us unmercifully. Rob Linsmayer was the first to realize it was a big joke. I was clueless and more concerned about our safety. Rob and Bill Bartoletti set the example and we relaxed and played our parts. Rob and Bill were without question the most memorable characters at Stoughton.”

“In the afternoon, there was a mandatory assembly at McKenna Auditorium with Dean MacLeod as the speaker. His remarks are indelibly etched in my memory. MacLeod itemized the achievements of the incoming class of 1967, CMC’s largest and most promising. He recited statistics such as number of National Merit Scholars, student body presidents, class presidents, valedictorians, etc. Then he dropped his bombshell message: ‘Each one of you, look at the person on your right and the person on your left. At the end of this first semester, one of you three will leave this institution solely because of its academic standards.’ That powerful and unexpected statement told me that the ‘temporary’ nature of our assignment to Stoughton Court meant that after one semester those

of us who remained would be assimilated into the CMC dorm community. And that is precisely what happened.”

Daily Life: Stoughton had eight usable units: three studios (one of which housed our RA), two, one-bedroom units housing three people each, and three, two-bedroom units housing four each. As far as anyone can remember the occupants were: Paul Bamford, Bill Bartoletti, Ronald Doutt, Mead Greenberg, Kirk Gresham, Stephen Griffith, Stephen Haselton ’64 (our RA), Ed Marshall, Michael Johnson, Russell Jones, Stephen King, Joseph Lester, Robert Linsmayer, Stephen Martin, Gary Obyabashi, Stephen Rudd, William ‘Bill’ Slavin, James ‘Jim’ Stansell, Stephen Ty, and one more no one can recall.

Steve Rudd remembers: “My suite was composed of quiet introverts including Steven King, Russell Jones, Gary Obyabashi, and me.” (Author’s note; Steve is being modest in his description. They may have been quiet, but they were very smart. Two of his roommates graduated cum laude and he was summa.)

A Finals Prank: Bill Slavin remembers his roommates as being Stephen Griffith and Jim Stansell. “Jim Stansell was easily the most dedicated and conscientious scholar in our suite. While the rest of us procrastinated, he had his head down concentrating despite all the distractions.

He was also the earliest to go to bed—long before the rest of us. It was not unusual for me to pull an “all-nighter” before a test, trying to discover what I would have learned if I had actually gone to class. Jim would always wake up fresh and prepared for the day.

“One night during finals week, when several of us were studying, we decided to pull a prank on Stansell. We reset his alarm for 2 a.m. and stayed up pretending it was a normal morning. Jim got up and prepared for the day, even complimenting us for being up early. Linsmayer, Bartoletti, and I played supporting roles. We all agreed that if we wanted Jim to believe that it was

actually 7 a.m., we had to take care of a slew of little details. This included cleaning the living area, our all-night study den, of soda cans, cigarette butts, and Frito bags; changing out the light bulbs to ones of higher wattage to give more of a daytime feel; shaving and changing clothes to look like we were ready to be off to take our finals; bringing a car to the compound’s courtyard and shining the headlights toward the closed window blind of Jim’s bedroom, turning them on at the appointed hour to simulate the sun rising; and making a pot of coffee to simulate normal morning smells. It took some time before we revealed the charade. Looking back, it was a stupid thing to do and I’m regretting it as I type this! Jim took it with dignity and did not hold a grudge. He was the adult in the room. (If Jim reads this: please accept my apology!)

Transportation: At the start of our stay at Stoughton, we had only two cars for the 20 of us. “One was my VW bug and the other was our often MIA RA’s. On one night when the weather was problematic, and nine Stoughtonites needed a ride to Collins Hall, we filled my car to capacity and then some with two standing and leaning out through the sunroof, two standing on the rear bumper, and one sitting on and leaning out the passenger window. We proceeded at a snail’s pace never getting out of first gear, not only because of the heavy load, but with all the arms and legs, I couldn’t find the gear shift knob. With the heavy load, we scraped the car’s undercarriage, lost a tailpipe and somehow someone’s shoe, and busted off the turn indicator. Thereafter, I limited seating capacity to a total of five including myself.”

The three other modes of transportation were as follows. Griff bought a used cheap bicycle which soon gave out on him.

He later bought a 25 percent share in a banged-up, unregistered 1954 Ford for $25.

Outside of that, he generally would hoof it around campus. Slavin was immensely proud of his Italian bicycle, but it was

stolen from outside the science building, so after that he had no other wheels until his junior year. Rudd recollects, “I had my trusty two-wheeler, a Schwin Grand Touring bicycle, with modern safety features like plastic streamers hanging off the handlebar grips and a loud index-finger push bell to warn pedestrians. The bike was so cool I could never understand why I struggled getting dates.”

We Beat the Odds: In January 1964, the first semester survivors said goodbye to Stoughton and were dispersed among the other eight CMC dorms. As I recall, 14 out of the original 19 made the cut.

A semester later, that number dropped to 12 and, despite a rocky start, we all subsequently graduated after four years.

Within the dozen who graduated, two became dorm presidents, two became RAs, and nine went on to complete graduate studies. The process of navigating our way through the hurdles of freshman year at Stoughton Court had a lot to do with strengthening our character and improving our self-confidence. The friendships we made because of that experience were ones of mutual respect and support. Our relationships are lifelong and deep.

Lessons Learned: Our Stoughton experience was a balanced blend of intellectual stimulation, physical exercise and wholesome, as opposed to mean, pranks.

Thinking we were on the way to being housed in relatively new on-campus dormitory facilities, and finding that the intersection of reality and fantasy was upended, could have set the stage for a dismal college experience. The fact that it did not—and that it became a positive experience—is testimony to the quality of our Stoughton classmates and how we bonded instead of feeling sorry for ourselves.

—Ron Doutt, with remembrances by Steve Rudd, Steve Griffith, and William ‘Bill’ Slavin

Claremont McKenna College

77.

“I recall lots of memories of tough times with a smile, like being forced to wash dishes in public view at Stinky’s, all because I didn’t have the money to pay for that second burger that my buddy was supposed to loan me. I was also stupid enough to visit the Midway Bar on my 21st birthday after being a steady patron for three to four years previously, and a good friend of Ethel, the owner.

I fondly remember caravanning to Mazatlán in Harold W. Griggs’ new VW (along with Richard Poplack and Roger Fosdick). We hit and killed a horse at 2 a.m. in a blinding rainstorm outside of Hermosillo. The car was a wreck with the windshield smashed, the roof crushed, and the doors blown outward, but we were OK. We drove to the police headquarters and I spoke with the Alcalde and in my first cop bribery encounter, I talked him into writing a letter stating we were not liable for the accident and had reimbursed the owner for the horse.

During the encounter with Mr. Alcalde, he would pound on the table and I would slide him another $20 bill. Finally, all my vacation cash was gone ($100).

It was an exceptionally good thing I had learned to speak Spanish (thanks Professor Smith) as we were stopped by police in every town on our way toward Mazatlán and put up against the wall, but were let go when we handed over the letter together with a $10 (my classmates never reimbursed me!).

“A few more smiling memories come to mind. I remember sitting across from a foxy, latter-to-be actress, Anne Archer, daughter of actress Marjorie Lord in Collins Hall. She completely ignored me. I also recall being asked by Dean MacLeod, perhaps after a TGIF, if my roommate Alfred Lucky ’67 and I were responsible for covering the bookstore roof with our empty beer cans—tossed from our upper end room in Wohlford Hall.

“My favorite memory belongs to only me. Ellen Jones, a vibrant and pretty Scripps student who was a couple of years younger and Mac Kiefer’s girlfriend, used to come find me at the dorm on mornings after a rain. We would walk down to The Wash and talk and drink fresh rainwater out of the buttercups and other flowers. That’s a special memory. I last saw Ellen on Broadway in NYC. My future wife, Mary Anne, and I drove down when I was attending Harvard Law School to see her starring with Eve Arden (of Our Miss Brooks TV show fame) in a play called Butterflies Are Free. Afterwards, we got to meet the cast and chat with Ellen. It was an honor to see her name in lights. Later, Ellen wrote me a genuinely nice letter thanking us for coming to see her and wishing us both the best together. After our over 50 years of marriage, this has turned out to be true.”

Tony Wain’s fond memory of August 1962 is of freshman football practice in 90-plus degree smog among the orange groves. He asks, “Were we crazy?” It was not uncommon for players to lose 10 lbs. in one practice. “Thankfully, we had an In-n-Out Burger a short drive away to regain those lost pounds.”

George Roberts offered the following memory of his education at CMC (from a speech given at the groundbreaking of the Roberts Pavilion, February 2014).

“One of the best things that has happened in my life was that I was rejected by a school in the East that started with a “Y” and I got accepted at Claremont.

When I think about the education I received—not just what I learned out of books or from professors, which was quite good, but the liberal arts education that I got—it has enabled me to enjoy my life to the fullest. It has allowed me to meet people from all over the world and have an intelligent conversation with them. It all really stems from the education that I got at CMC and have built on in my lifetime. So, thank you, Claremont!”

Doug Campbell wrote about his experience with orientation week at CMC. “In

the late summer of 1962, the freshmen in the Class of 1966 met for ‘orientation week.’ At that time, hazing was a common approach to integrating new students at many schools, but particularly at CMC because of its post-WWII military tradition roots.

“After a quick introduction, we were turned over to the sophomore class.

We were shaved bald, weeded fields with bare hands and spoons in 90-plus degree temperatures (see yearbook pictures), were locked in our rooms in the evening, awakened and dragged outside at regular intervals throughout the night, performing silly tasks in the dark. Then it was up for exercises early the next morning and being disciplined throughout the day for trumped-up rule infractions with a variety of imaginative punishments.

“Then, after two-and-a-half days—halfway through the traditional ordeal— the Class of 1966 changed a fragment of CMC history. We’d had enough.

We rebelled! Climbing through windows, avoiding our sophomore guards, classmates from different dorms met and arranged a sit-down strike the following morning. A group of us snuck off to President Benson’s house, rang the doorbell, and invited ourselves in for coffee.

“We explained to a stunned Dr. Benson that the show was over before the curtain was scheduled to fall. The Class of 1966 agreed to work together with the sophomores to finish off the week in tug-of-wars, water balloon fights, and any serious orientation activity, but the hazing was over for the class.

Orientation week began a transition in 1963 and the Class of 1966 jelled in its own way in record time (the object of the hazing). In retrospect, it would be another year before hazing died of natural causes at CMC, and the college moved a step closer to a new era.”

ROBIN BARTLETT CLASS LIAISON, ’66, ’67, ’69 RBBARTLETT01@GMAIL.COM

1967 In Memory of

Paul Bamford, who passed on Sept. 8, 2020. For three years, Paul fought a heroic battle against pancreatic cancer. Many of his most cherished memories were created in Cannon Beach, Oregon where he spent a lot of happy times with his family, enjoying the glorious beauty of the West Coast and the adventures of a small, seaside town, including leading guided tours on horseback. Paul graduated from Grant High School in Portland, Oregon and eventually earned a B.A. degree from Claremont McKenna College. He accepted a scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy and met his future wife. A life-long learner, Paul also received an M.S. Degree in management from NC State University. Although Paul had a keen intellect and was a ferocious reader, he enjoyed the simpler things in life: every kind of sports, especially UNC-Chapel Hill’s men’s basketball; playing bridge; attending the theatre, museums, and concerts; relaxing at the beach (his ‘happy place’) and traveling. His favorite destinations were Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, and Alaska.

78. CMC CLASS NOTES

While Paul had a satisfying career as a senior-level human resources executive, he most cherished the volunteer work he did for area nonprofits. Most importantly Paul was a treasured mentor and role model to many men who in turn enriched his life and affirmed goodness in all humankind.

In Memory of Eric Eggen. A close friend said this of Eric, “This world has lost a man of stature whose many talents contributed significantly to the common good and endeared him to all who knew him.” Eric grew up in Simi Valley, California. An excellent student and competitive runner, he graduated from Claremont McKenna College, then served as a naval officer on nuclear submarines. He went on to law school at Emory University of Atlanta where he met wife, Julie. They moved to Pensacola, Florida in 1975 where Eric worked as a lawyer and hearing officer until he retired in 2011. In Pensacola, he was also elected and served eight years on the Escambia County School Board. In retirement, he gardened and loved taking long road trips, attempting to visit all the National Parks. In 2014, Eric and Julie moved to north Georgia. Eric continued to garden around his mountain house. He was an avid reader known by friends and family to own six kindles and read upwards of ten books at a time.

Remembering Eric Eggen by Gary Clark, “I was saddened to learn that Eric Eggen passed away January 27th, of pulmonary fibrosis. Eric was a serious and focused student, and a serious bridge player of Green Hall. He went on to become a naval officer, attorney, Escambria County School Board member and a committed citizen, in the traditional sense, who worked to improve his community, his church, and his government.

“I was Eric’s suitemate for a year in Green Hall. I visited him while he was still associated with a nuclear submarine on Mare Island near Vallejo. I also had lunch with him a couple of times within the past three years as he was passing through. Writing this has given me occasion to think of an appropriate description for Eric. He was serious, thoughtful, and embraced and accepted what he viewed as his obligations, and for his part improving his community.”

Ronald Doutt contributed this eloquent memory of two classmates. Stoughton Court was home to 20 of us for the first semester of our Freshman year. With unanimous agreement, two people stand out as our dorm’s most unforgettable classmates: William ‘Bill’ Bartoletti and Robert Linsmayer. I roomed with Bill and formed a lifelong friendship with Rob.

Bartoletti hailed from Anaheim and was a surfer in every sense of the word.

I was a so-called pseudo-surfer in that I adored the music and even had a Fender guitar that I didn’t know how to play. But try as I might, I could never stand up on the board. Bill introduced me to Harmony Park and the magic of Dick Dale and the Deltones. Blessed with a ready smile, a Robin Williams ’73 wit, and a devilish twinkle in his eye, Bill made friends easily, although with a biting wit could occasionally catch the uninitiated off guard.

“Linsmayer was the ‘ski bum’ from Minnesota. He let us know he would only be at CMC for a year as he planned to enter the Air Force Academy. Rob had an engaging smile and a big heart. He made friends easily, but what set him apart was that he worked to nurture close friendships and expand his universe.

He was always interested in your well-being. My lasting impression of Rob was his sunbathing ritual at Stoughton Court. He would take apart his bed and reassemble it in the courtyard parking lot to get the best sun exposure.

He applied copious amount of the coco butter specifically chosen for him by Bartoletti. (This was only after confirming that he didn’t have to eat the coco butter to achieve a great tan.) Then he would bring out his trusty hi-fi, crank up the volume of ‘Victory at Sea,’ fall asleep, and soak up the rays.

If Bill’s comedic side was like Robin Williams, then Rob’s was more like Jack Benny, especially his facial expressions and conversational pauses. Together the talents of these two men seemed to mesh into something akin to Cheech and Chong. Rob and Bill hit their stride immediately and became fast friends

and foils for each other’s eccentricities. Their silliness provided a pressure relief valve for all of us living at Stoughton Court.

“Tragically, they both died young—Bill at about age 20 because of a car accident in Orange County, and Rob at age 46 because of a skiing accident in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Rob’s memorial services were held at the Air Force Academy. William ‘Bill’ Slavin and I attended to honor our friend.

Godspeed Bill and Rob. We know that everyone in heaven has a big smile on their faces right now.”

Dennis Mann tells us he was a “Green Weenie” for all four years at CMC. “A sophomore in our dorm, the year before I arrived, had the single room next to the then-existing dorm lounge at the west end of the building. If memory serves, his name was Jenkins (or something similar), and he was not well liked (an understatement). He had a girlfriend in Pasadena and visited her often. He came home one weekend night, a little the worse for wear, opened his door and turned on the light.

“Big Mistake Number One. At that time, the dorm rooms had overhead light fixtures with two bulbs inside a glass cover. The glass cover and lightbulbs had been removed. The sockets for the bulbs were mounted on a flat, u-shaped metal bracket that was anchored inside the concrete ceiling; in other words, the bracket wasn’t going anywhere. Hanging from the bracket this night was a 100-pound bag of flour along with two M80 firecrackers fixed in the middle of the bag. Long wires attached the firecrackers to the electrical connections inside the empty light sockets. Turning on the light = igniting the firecrackers.

“The prospect of the forthcoming mayhem had been communicated to all dorm residents, who were hiding in nearby rooms, in the bushes on the north side of the dorm, in the student lounge (with its lights out, but crowded with students) and other locations where they could observe the forthcoming explosion. Dozens of people were waiting, more or less quietly, for this event, and many had the privilege of watching a billowing white cloud come rolling out the front door to the room when the bag of flour detonated. At first, Mr. “Jenkins” went to turn on the bookcase lights in the center of the room, but those lightbulbs had also been removed. He eventually found a bulb or two, turned on some lights, shook the flour off his bedspread, desk, desk chair, etc., and went to perform his evening toilette before going to sleep.

“Big Mistake Number Two. Propped against the bathroom door was a 55-gallon drum filled with water. Open door = Ka-Woosh. Water everywhere, and the flour on the floor turned to instant library paste. (The room’s carpeting went out the door the next day.) Jenkins was tall, and consequently he had one of the few 7-foot bed sets available at CMC. Some of the exploding flour sifted inside the mattress.

“When I arrived at Green, I was given this bed (I was the tallest guy at CMC in 1963-64). Our dorm attendant, Virginia, told ‘Moley’ (Gary Clark) and me this marvelous story (among many others, like the Korean War veteran who went around the bend one night and tried to toast his poor roommate with a flamethrower. The roommate recognized the nozzle for what it was when it shattered the window glass and made a dive for the bathroom door. He got it closed just before becoming a crispy critter). We’d inevitably told her that we didn’t believe these tall tales, until she had us scrape the paint in the closet and we could see the scorch marks from the flamethrower. Well, the proof of the flour story was easily established; bounce up and down on my mattress, and some dirt would appear, along with white flour dust (clearly different from ordinary dirt). The story was also confirmed by upperclassmen who were present in Green for the event like Bob Walker ’64 and Ben Lientz ’64.

“I came back to CMC in 1982 with my first wife, Eleanor. We visited my old room in Green (top of stairs, north side, Mills Avenue end of the dorm). Our suite was now an all-female room. Somehow, during our discussion with the residents, the topic of RFs came up (they had somebody in mind, but hadn’t come up with a good way to perform mayhem on the perp). They asked for advice, so I told them this story. One of the girls in that room was on the Claremont McKenna College 79.

CMC MEMORIES

Why I chose CMC '67

Robin Bartlett: “I came to CMC sight unseen

having taken a train from Seattle and a bus out of L.A. The bus let me off near Pomona College and I huffed it over to McKenna Auditorium carrying two heavy suitcases.

I made my decision to come to CMC because I was sick of the Seattle rain. When I saw the inside cover of the CMC catalog with a photo of Dr. C.L. Payne outside, teaching a class with kids wearing shorts, T-shirts, and sandals, I said to myself, ‘That’s where I want to go to college.’ I never looked back, and those four years were some of the happiest of my life with many fond memories.

“After a faulty start as an Economics and Political Science major, I became a Comparative Literature major. I believe I hold the distinction of being the very first student to tackle this brand-new field at CMC. It was hard reading all of those books and writing essay after essay after essay.

Dr. Payne became my advisor and took a personal interest in me. I would not have graduated without him. At graduation, I gave him a desk set engraved: ‘Thanks for the Payneful Experiences.’

“I was also raised in a military family.

My grandfather, father, and brother all attended West Point. I had enough of Army life. I attended 13 elementary schools and four high schools. I had never stayed in one place longer than three years until I came to Claremont. I loved it—the school, my classes, my dorm, Scripps students, and more. But the Vietnam War was starting to escalate, and 18-year-olds were being drafted every day, so ROTC was an easy choice and second nature.

“After graduation came the Army. I was feeling very cocky at 21 years of age, so I volunteered for Infantry, Airborne, Ranger School, and the 82nd Airborne Division.

I got everything I asked for—and more.

80. CMC CLASS NOTES

After training at Ft. Benning, Georgia, I jumped out of airplanes and helicopters at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina with the 82nd.

Then it was off to Vietnam where I was an Infantry Platoon Leader leading 28 men through the jungle in I Corps along the DMZ with the 1st Cav Division.

"

My happy CMC memories became a warm and safe refuge in my mind that I often retreated to."

“My CMC education and leadership training did not prepare me for the experience of war. Nothing could. But my happy CMC memories became a warm and safe refuge in my mind that I often retreated to after times of stress, fear, and violence.

“If you meet a Vietnam veteran like me, one friendly request: Please do not say ‘Thank you for your service.’ Rather, say, ‘Welcome home.’ That is so meaningful to us as veterans.”

Steve Rudd: “Having received a California state scholarship that would pay my tuition at any California college or university, I was at liberty to select my undergraduate educational institution from any school that would admit me, which narrowed my selection down to UCLA, USC, Occidental College, and CMC. I played singles and doubles varsity tennis at Canoga Park High School in the Los Angeles area, and participated in several amateur tennis tournaments from Griffith Park to Beverly Hills, so I focused on the college that would give me the best tennis opportunities.

“I considered UCLA’s tennis team first, but there were two major problems: first, Arthur Ashe played singles on the varsity team, and second, the muscleman who trounced me 6-0, 6-0 at the Pacific Southwest Open Tournament played singles on the JV team. I also considered USC’s tennis team, but again there was a major problem: Stan Smith, who had endorsed my Wilson (Woodie) tennis racquet, not only played singles on the varsity team, but was

ranked as the number one singles tennis player in the USA. Occidental College looked like a promising, small college, with excellent professors, top academics, good athletics. But I found the tennis courts in sad shape: plain cement, white stripes, aging nets, construction wire fence; and even worst, cement poured in 8’ x 8’ slabs with huge cracks in-between.

classes. That said, I feel we worked a hell of a lot harder than my buddies at SC, Cal, or Stanford. Our class size usually meant two papers, a midterm, and a final where the big schools generally had only one paper and sometimes a midterm. I often look back with fond memories on my days at CMC and enjoyed them very much.”

“In sharp contrast, CMC not only was a small college with excellent professors, top academics, and good athletics, but had tennis courts that compared well with any L.A. Country Club: green in-court cement, red out-court cement, green wind screens, and most impressive, bleachers with a seating capacity for at least two dozen cheering fans. My due diligence in selecting CMC for my undergraduate educational institution served me well.

While tennis team rankings changed weekly with intra-team challenge matches, I played No. 2 singles on the frosh team, and No. 6 singles on the varsity team. My CMC tennis team friendships with teammates

non-unique reason that I wanted to go to a premiere college or university close enough to the Bay Area so that I would be able to go home for the major holidays, but far enough away that I would not be expected to be home for weekends and other in-between dates. CMC fit the bill. When I arrived in Claremont for freshman orientation in September 1963 and suffered through hazing with a record-breaking heat wave taking place in Southern California, I had my doubts. But it all turned out well in the long run.

Bruce Bean and Robert ‘Bob’ Novell have endured 56 years.”

Edwin “Ed” Stanton: “My memory isn’t

getting any better. I thought CMC was great but not initially. I had heard so many stories about college life from my parents and grandparents, especially the frat parties and football games. Claremont wasn’t like that. Later, I realized that in comparison we were able to participate in so many more activities being a small college. I was able to play basketball as a freshman and that wouldn’t have happened at UCLA. I was in three school plays (with limited theatrical talent!). We did have the Togas and Knicks, and while they weren’t the same as the SC frats, we had some damn good parties. In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t mentioned any of my

Arthur Formanek: “I chose CMC for the

“My student life at CMC progressed through the usual collegiate phases. I was the awe-struck freshman terrified of flunking out; the arrogant, all-knowing, selfassured sophomore; the studious junior worried about grad school; and finally, the blasé senior waiting to move on. The CMC experience for me was the same as it was for all of us, demanding but mindexpanding. The professors and fellow students who had a major impact on my life are too many to name.

“First semester probably made the greatest impression. I will remember and be thankful to my first professors, including Chester Jaeger, James Doyle, Douglas Eldridge, Ricardo Quinones P’88, and Madame Smith for their ability to teach and their emphasis on excellence and attention to detail. My first-year roommate, Arthur Reeder, was a good friend and we wondered who in housing had the sense of humor

to put two Arts together as roommates. It worked out.

Many of my classmates became good friends and had a formative impact. A few are: Peter Schoettle, Gary ‘Chip’ Moon, William ‘Bill’ Bowers, John Percy, Stephen King, James ‘Jim’ Stansell, Bruce Bryson, John Wentworth, Aaron Fuller, Duane Quaini, and Robert Lewis. Also, I respected and admired several upper classmen; three are Orley Ashenfelter ’64, Tibor Machan ’65, and Perry Lerner ’65. As far as I know, all these CMCers had distinguished careers and not one ended up in jail.

“The biggest event of that first semester, and probably the entire four years at CMC, was the assassination of President Kennedy and then watching the murder of Jack Ruby on television in November 1963.

I recall learning about the Dallas shooting as I was going from Professor Jaeger’s algebra class to Professor Doyle’s Western Civilization class. Professor Jaeger had just given us an impromptu lesson on artillery spotting in WWI and then we sat with Professor Doyle listening on the radio of the announcement of Kennedy’s death.

“I could go on about the many memorable people I met and significant events that occurred at CMC while I was there. I will close with one. During my senior year at the height of the Vietnam War and the related civil unrest, I talked with registrar Katherine Lowe. She emphasized the merits of going on with my education as I could better serve my country in whatever capacity as a well-educated citizen. It’s advice I have passed on to my children.”

Claremont McKenna College

81.

volleyball team (about 6’1 tall), and she had an elongated mattress/box spring set up as the top bunk of a well-constructed bunk bed in the room. We all wondered whether it was the same mattress, until she started bouncing on it and we all watched as white flour began sifting onto the bed and floor below.

Shrieks of laughter followed, along with some earnest planning for an RF (at which point, Eleanor and I took our leave).”

Alexander “Sandy” Mackie’s first impressions of CMC, “During registration

being told I did not have to sign up for a foreign language class as four years of Latin satisfied my foreign language requirement (many boos and hisses from those standing in line to register for German or French.)

“On day one, learning Professor Thompson’s two rules of economics: ‘the larger the island of attainment, the longer the coastline of desire,’ and ‘it is at the margins that all of the interesting changes occur.’ Those nuggets have served me well in examining many apparently complex situations.

“Also, on day one, searching for an answer to Professor Rood, who looked me in the eye during the first five minutes, called on me by name and asked, ‘Mr. Mackie, what do you think about that?’ Made me realize that education at CMC was not about facts, but what you did with them once you learned them. We were in classes with full professors and less than a dozen students. We faced challenging and exciting times. I knew right away I had made the right decision to go to CMC rather than the much larger University of Chicago.

“On impact: my CMC majors in Economics and Political Science were geared to the practical rather than theoretical. Win Fisk introduced me to the world of administrative law and encouraged me to go to law school in Washington D.C., which was at the centerfold of that activity. I did, and attended George Washington National Law Center.

“My 40-year career in land use and environmental law at the local government level put me at the intersection of economics, constitutional law, social policy, and functional (and at times dysfunctional) administration on the ground where people’s lives were actually and directly affected by policy decisions made by others.

“The analytical and academic tools learned at CMC were at the heart of my understanding and successes in that endeavor.

“On sports: Winning 17 straight basketball games as a freshman and taking league and division titles in our junior and senior years respectively with a trip to the national playoffs in Kansas City were certainly highlights.

“Changes: The change to coed made the school different but certainly inevitable.

It adds a degree of distraction, but also provides a better-rounded environment.”

Bob Groos writes, “Some of my favorite memories

at CMC revolve around the pranks we played on our dormmates. Pennying the door shut was extremely popular, as were taking beds and dressers apart and dumping clothes on the floor, buckets of water poured from 2nd floor on people walking below, and of course our famous water balloon fights. Gary Clark and I were frequent pranksters in Green Hall, but the prank I remember most was the one performed by Chris Morton, my first semester roommate.

“The guys in the room next door to us were inconsiderate about noisemaking after 9 p.m. They frequently played loud music into the wee hours and refused to turn down the volume. So, one afternoon while they were in class, Chris drilled a small hole through the baseboard of the wall into their room. Through that hole, he threaded wires which he attached to the stereo speakers in their room. The other ends of those wires were attached to Chris’ phonograph. A few days later, on a night when the neighbors had made lots of noise and refused to tone it down, Chris got up at about 2 a.m. and put a Chubby Checker record on his stereo. He turned the volume up to full blast. The song was Pony Time, with starting lyrics of: “It’s pony time, GET UP ... Boogety, boogety, boogety shoo.”

82. CMC CLASS NOTES

The guys were blasted out of their beds. It was hilarious to see them scramble around trying to figure out where the music was coming from. There was never a dull moment in Green Hall.”

William “Bill” Steuben fondly remembers “as a freshman, crossing paths with Dean MacLeod in the Quad on the first day, which was most memorable. Why? On approach I perceived kind of a flickering in his eyes and as he drew closer, he greeted me by my first name. What kind of mind can recall one of over 100 names that quickly? That was our first face-to-face. It was a personal touch that remains in my mind to this day.

“As any other alumni will recount, there is such a mix of events that pop up into one’s memory. Probably the most impactful for me and others was the sudden crushing news of the loss of our President in Dallas. Regardless of political leanings, death of a charismatic leader was both painful and shocking; even for me, a Republican. I remember that ‘Camelot lost’ created a ‘mourning after’ that was later captured for me in Don McLean’s American Pie. I didn’t have a Chevy and the closest thing to a levee was “The Wash” that occupied a tract close to Pomona’s football field. Members of the class will remember, that was the field where we hung a Pomona football player in effigy before the big game.

“CMC brought such a wide range of outside thinkers to our campus. The appearance of William F. Buckley Jr. comes to mind. In the Q&A segment of Buckley’s presentation, a brash student challenged him to defend what the student said was as a feckless response to the Soviet Union’s crushing massacre of tens of thousands of revolutionaries in Budapest. How could President Eisenhower allow this to happen? The result was the Soviet occupation of Hungary. Buckley’s response to the horrific event was not satisfying to anyone, particularly to the questioner. Recognizing the U.S. was also embroiled in a Suez crisis at the same time, Buckley related his answer to healing a wound after it had gone beyond a simple fix. As unsatisfying as his answer was to the questioner, the drama of the confrontation reminds me how easy it is for students to seek complex resolution to burning issues in public forums and expect simple yet exquisite answers. Buckley’s response did not satisfy, but it brought applause from those present for his ‘putdown’ of the student. Unfortunately, all too often that seems to be the way public discourse can end.

“On a lighter note, we had a yearly float contest leading into the Homecoming Game. Boswell Hall had a long-standing, proud reputation for coming in last each year (if we even entered). A group of us decided we were going to make history by working through the night to make a creation that would change our image. The result the next day was a beautiful rendering of the theme (no, I don’t remember what it was—but it was an amazing effort. And it worked perfectly). Other competitors would not accept that Boswell had created the entry. One person suggested we had hired some Cal Poly engineering students to deliver our work. We did not win the contest and I have often felt the judges agreed with that theory from envious competitors. That’s my story and it will not change.”

Steve Rudd comments on being a Senior Year RA. “Like other work-study scholarship students, I worked up the ranks of CMC’s on-campus jobs, starting as a freshman Collins Hall dishwasher, a sophomore Collins Hall brussels sprouts dispenser, a junior Collins Hall coconut ice-cream snowball waiter, and culminating as a senior Resident Assistant in Boswell Hall, the highest pinnacle of work-study endeavors. At the very first RA meeting, Dean MacLeod assigned me to interview a couple of the many screwballs who lived in Boswell Hall. He was concerned over reports that these roommates were seen inhaling their pasta in Collins Hall to gross out the Pitzer College coeds. Having just completed my abnormal psychology class the preceding semester, including personally conducting a series of mental telepathy experiments on Scripps College coeds, I felt well prepared for the challenge. I decided to visit these two knuckleheads in their dorm room, to see if their native surroundings

would inform my psychological investigation. After having an afternoon beer or two with these two fine gentlemen, with their dorm room decorated in 1960’s gothic and futuristic grunge décor, I determined that their Collins Hall psychosexual behavior was their social norm, that neither student was particularly lonely, depressed, or psychotic, and that their psyches fell well within the Boswell Hall inmate’s standard deviation.

the time, to a class assigned movie date in downtown Claremont so I had a bulletproof alibi. I was not guilty of romantic enticement. Nevertheless, PB did not speak to me for the rest of my sophomore year, but as they say, silence is golden. Was Dean MacLeod correct? I’m not sure, but I know that I never had to spend another weekend studying all by myself in the Honnold Library stacks. Dormmate solidarity!”

“My first real challenge as an RA came when some Boswell Hall Mara Toga Social Club prospects conducted a rush party event in their dorm suite. They donned their fashionable Roman Togas and jumped up and down on their unmade beds. All went well until one Toga prospect landed on a headboard and seriously injured himself. Thank God for Mara Toga discipline. They rushed the injured prospect to the campus medical center before I had to administer first aid.

John Mazza wrote about his big road trip to Tijuana with three other classmates. “We had to be back at school by Tuesday to take a statistics test.

We drank far too much tequila, and no one was in any shape to take the test on Tuesday. So, we all called the professor Monday night with the same lie saying, “While on a road trip, we goßt a flat tire and can’t make it back in time to take the test on Tuesday. Could we please take the test on Wednesday?” The professor responded saying, “Yea, sure, stuff happens, I understand.”

“The highlight of the Boswell Hall Social Calendar was Spring Sing, when the Boswell lads competed against the Wolford wannabes for the Red Piano Trophy, signifying a coveted last place finish. Tensions ran high in Spring 1967, so the lads tied on a few to calm their nerves before they stumbled out or were carried onto the concert stage. It was an afternoon long remembered.

The Wohlford wannabes came out in drag and gave a high-pitched rendition of Uptown Boys, trying to upstage the other dorms carefully choreographed American Songbook tunes. The Boswell lads easily trounced them, repeatedly singing the audience favorite, Ebb Tide, and throwing P&G’s top-selling detergent into the crowd.

“So, the four of us walked into the stats class on Wednesday morning ready to take the test and incredibly happy that our lie had worked. The professor put us in four separate rooms to protect against cheating. No one had a problem with that.

“Yes, Boswell Hall was always low key, and I had little to do to keep it that way.

Yes, one of the social clubs did ‘borrow’ our lounge furniture to furnish its offcampus house, and yes, some of the lads did allow ladies to sleep overnight in their dorm rooms until their hangovers cleared, instead of returning them in poor shape to their residence halls. No problem, Dean MacLeod.”

Steve Rudd also wrote about Roommate Compatibility. “Dean MacLeod told us

during freshman orientation that learning to live with your assigned roommate was one of the hallmarks of getting along and growing up. This was no real problem for me the first year, because my three suitemates, were all very considerate. My challenge came at the start of my sophomore year. The love of my freshman year (MM), a smart attractive, artistic, and creative Scripps student (with whom I was so enamored that I rejected the summertime advances of my high school sweetheart), dumped me. To make matters worse, my sophomore year roommate, a Larry King lookalike journalist from the South (PB), started dating my freshman year true love. While I was drowning in sorrow, my roommate invited MM to our dorm room every weekend.

Accordingly, having been evicted from my dorm room, I spent weekends in the fall of 1964 in the Honnold Library stacks, studying whatever homework had been assigned that week, instead of cavorting with MM. My stalwart Marks Hall dormmates took notice and took pity.

“In an amazing show of solidarity, my Marks dormmates decided to make every effort to ensure that MM and PB had an excellent weekend visit in my dorm room before Thanksgiving. So, while I was out on a class assigned movie date with my roommates’ sister, my dormmates first cleared my dorm room of all furniture except for one bed and one lamp, and then placed the excess furniture in the Marks first floor shower. To make my dorm room even more inviting, they proceeded to turn down the bed covers and decorate the room.

My dormmates then set out my roommate’s polka dot pajamas on the bed, placed a red-light bulb in the bedside lamp to set a romantic mood, placed a Playboy centerfold on the bed for good measure, and turned the record player on playing The House of the Rising Sun. My dormmates reported that when PB brought MM over that weekend, PB first went up to the Marks top floor to register MM and MM entered my dorm room by herself, took one look at the romantic enticements, screamed loudly, and fled the room.

“Now some of this story is hearsay because I was not there at the time. As stated before, I was escorting PB’s sister, who was dating PB’s best friend at

“The test was worth 100 points. The first question was worth five points and was: ‘What is 10 divided by 2?’ Really? The answer, of course, was 5. The second question was worth 95 points: ‘Which tire was flat?’

“I must confess,” wrote Jim Carson, “that coming to CMC from the social isolation of a rural, all-boys boarding school, academics were not exactly a priority for my first two years. Rather, I fully engaged in extra-curricular and social activities. I sampled everything the Claremont Colleges had to offer from singing in the glee club, DJing on the college radio station and joining the Siddons drama group. After two years, amongst a plethora of Cs and a few mostly gratuitous Bs, my only true academic success was in Military Science (ROTC), Psychology (I crammed for 24 hours, nearly memorizing the textbook and aced the final), and in my first class with Professor Harold Rood.

“That class (I can’t remember the title), was a game changer. He was by far the most fascinating (and frightening) of all my instructors. Rood was a man who challenged me to think and who taught me how to write, largely through the generous application of red ink on my term paper drafts. I credit him with turning me into a student of international affairs and policy and starting me on the path to a career in intelligence analysis. I well remember his notation on one of my papers that ‘you would make a good federal government analyst.’ To this day, I’m not sure that was a compliment.

“In the 1960s, Claremont was known by many as the ‘little Oxford of the West,’ a unique institution where CMC students could cross-register at Scripps, Pomona, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd (for those with much more academic competence that mine), and even the graduate school. My last two years I took advantage of this opportunity, taking an ‘easy A’ sociology course at Pitzer (I got a B) and an equally ‘easy A’ oriental philosophy course at Pomona (I eked out a C). My senior year I was able to take a couple of seminars at the graduate school, where one of the professors, Merrill Goodall, graciously agreed to serve as one of my thesis advisors. My other advisor was Professor Orme Phelps, who was even more terrifying than Harold Rood. These gentlemen set me on a good path, and I am forever grateful.”

Steve Rudd also addressed his Junior Year Resurrection. “My junior year at CMC started off well. After a sophomore year dating drought, which taught me that I was not well paired with many coeds, I finally met the love of my CMC upper class years at a campus protest student discussion group. I hit it off well with a Pomona College coed (SK) who was smart, attractive, tall, athletic, and passionate about English literature. I suddenly developed a keen interest in English literature too. I enrolled in C.L. Payne’s English literature class, and before I knew what hit me, Professor Payne had a mid-term test on Charles Dickens’ Dombey and Son, an 850+ page thriller. The problem was that I had been campaigning for student body office and had not read a single word. Never one to give up easily, I proceeded to write down answers to all

Claremont McKenna College 83.

CMC MEMORIES

Memorable CMC experiences '67

William “Van” Wolbach: “My happiest

experience at CMC was immediately after the senior year comprehensive oral exams.

As a literature major, I had managed to avoid Professor Quinones, but he was one of the three professors at my oral exam.

The other two being Poynter and Paine.

Professor Quinones asked me ‘to compare and contrast Richard III and Henry IV.’ When I replied that I hadn’t read Richard III, he said, ‘No one should graduate from this college with a degree in literature who hasn’t read Richard III.’ I had already been accepted at law school and, of course, the Vietnam War was constantly in the forefront of our minds. So, it was a happy moment when the vote was two to one favoring my graduation!”

Bob Novell, 50th Reunion organizer: “I

applied to three schools, but CMC was the one I wanted. Things I remember most: Freshman initiation by the sophomore class resulted in shaved heads for all my classmates. I started out as a ME major, but was killed by the physics and chemistry classes. I had a C- average after my first semester at CMC. My father was not upset, but told me there was always the Army waiting for me. Freshman year was spent in Becker with Richard Baumer and William “Van” Wolbach. I learned that ‘all-nighter’ did not work for me. I found that I had a good short-term memory and would try to finish studying two days before an exam. I would drink both coffee and tea at Collins Hall before taking an exam to stay wired. I learned that I was not as smart in comparison with many of my classmates and I learned that I had to study hard to keep up. I found I could not type without my hands cramping. As a member of the Ski Club for four years, I finally learned how to ski. I played No. 3 on the freshman, sophomore, and junior tennis teams and traveled during the summer to Europe with a tennis teammate for 80 days.

“Upon returning to NYC, I found I had to hitchhike back home to California. I

84. CMC CLASS NOTES

"

Certainly, the longest lasting impact of the CMC experience was the numerous lifelong friendships that were fostered on campus."

decided on a double major in economic theory and mathematics. I took classes at Harvey Mudd, Scripps, and Pomona, like many classmates. I studied at Honnold Library late into the night, usually hidden in the stacks. Attended ROTC summer camp in Ft. Lewis the summer before my senior year, and afterwards worked at Mt. Rainier. I developed a love for hiking in the mountains and started to learn about gambling. In my senior year, I decided to not play tennis and try to have some fun.

I dated a little but spent many evenings at the Poker Palace, an off-campus house used by college students to play poker. I was a novice in the group, but learned to play the game very well, which would help me financially while in the Army. I was commissioned an officer in the Army on the same day as graduation and was eventually deployed to Germany. I did not realize until 10 years later that I had gotten a fine liberal arts education at CMC which would prepare me for my life in the future. I have been fortunate to have a wonderful group of classmates. Thank you, CMC!” Stephen Martin: “I was faculty editor of

our yearbook as a junior. We set up tables with lots of professor photos and asked students to come up with captions that could have double meanings. We published what we liked. In my senior year, I was called into the office of the Dean of the Faculty and read the riot act. My section was all pictures—one of each professor, each with a caption. Perhaps the most suggestive was an English professor who had a reputation for Freudian analysis. I remember the Dean told me he was “looking for the editor of the faculty section.” He said he had received negative comments from several of the faculty over their portrayals in the book and he had the authority to expel the editor who prepared the section. I didn’t identify myself or engage further, but exited his office without responding. I was left alone after that.”

Stephen Griffith: “I have many wonderful memories of CMC and our class—most of all, the lifelong friendships I have developed.

Three great years in Berger Hall. Who can forget Bunjar’s (John Pettit) dorm discussions senior year?”

Doug Campbell: “I still remember my first

week on campus as a freshman, settling into dorm life with a roommate (John “Jack” Davant ’68 from Minnesota, who transferred in our sophomore year to Montana), eating in the cafeteria, getting my course schedule, and finding classrooms. One early experience was gathering with the other Management Engineering majors and having the professor tell us to look at the person on our right and our left and saying, ‘only one out of three would complete the curriculum” (I didn’t).

“I also remember one evening when students from the neighboring colleges were drawn to an outdoor gathering at Scripps for a big welcoming party. A band was playing the hit tune Gloria by Them and it sounded better than the original.

For some reason that made a big impression and has stuck with me all these years. Oh yes, less we do not forget— our freshman haircuts!”

Van Webster: “I served as a staff

photographer for both The Ayer and The Associate, documenting campus life and activities. I have attached an image (at right), scanned from The Ayer, of an interior shot from Stinky’s with 1967 classmates Robert “Bart” Kimball, Richard Julian ’66, and myself, all seated at the table. Another image I took of a dance, first published in the 1964 Ayer and later in Kevin Starr’s Commerce and Civilization: Claremont McKenna College, The First Fifty Years, captured some of the transitional energy from the stolid inertia of the early ‘60s to the rebellious mood of the later ‘60s.

“It was also decided by the 1966 Ayer staff that an aerial photo of the campus (at right) could be used for the inside front and rear cover pages. I rented a Cessna,

high wing aircraft with a pilot and took several loops over the campus, shooting along the way. The image was shot with a 4x5 Speed Graphic camera on Kodak color negative film. It turned out that the aerial view didn’t fit in with the rest of the graphic layout of the yearbook, so this image has never been previously published.

Unfortunately, most of my CMC photo images, along with the college’s archive of nearly fifteen years of student history, were destroyed in the suspicious Story House fire of 1969.

“I played guitar in dance bands for three years, providing rhythms for dorm, school, and qua-college events. DJs with big sound systems were at least a decade away, so live bands were the musical entertainment of the day. 1963-1965 was a time that represented the tail end of ‘The Great Folk Music Scare of the Sixties.’ The soon to be lamented ‘beer-drinking-banjo-players’ of CMC’s founding years plunked their last twangs in dorm rooms across the campus. Rock music would soon take its place as the soundtrack of the later years.

Playing music at school turned out to be a foreshadowing of my future forty years in the music business.

“Although I, as many other college undergraduates, ended up in fields that were divergent from our college majors, the CMC experience was a strong foundation upon which to build a career. Certainly, the longest lasting impact of the CMC experience was the numerous lifelong friendships that were fostered on campus including with Richard Julian ’66, Bart Kimball, Lawrence Gordon ’66, Jay Knight, Robert Summers ’65, Ross Deleray ’65, and Mike Etchison ’65. Some have passed on and others remain close after more than 55 years.

“As I look at the senior pages of the Ayer from 1964-1967, the faces staring out from the photographs are from another era.

While the admissions office did a great job of creating academic classes of top-quality individuals, such homogenous groupings

continued on page 86

Claremont McKenna College 85.

Experiences, continued could never happen today. We, of the class of 1967, were privileged men. We were also about as diverse as two slices of Wonder Bread.

“Living in our academic enclave, we were largely isolated from the civil strife of the outside world. We got our news through the newspaper and the radio so conflicts beyond the borders of Claremont were not personal to us. That complacency on campus would change in the years following the graduation of the class of 1967. It would take a decade before women were included in the campus student roster, and even longer for racial and ethnic diversity to add an important complexity and richness to the CMC campus portrait. In my own opinion, the students, and the college are better off for the change.”

Stephen Woodworth: “My first and only dorm, for all four years at CMC, was Boswell. I lived there, on both the first and second floors—and loved it! A broad swath of people, interests, proclivities, and perspectives pervaded this ‘unkept’ NE corner of the campus adjacent to a parking lot. It was one of the oldest and most basic of dorms, but once you settled in, you never left. Everyone left a mark! Names resonate Joseph Ulloa ’64, Dennis Perler, Bob Novell, John Cosgrove ’66, Tony Childs ’65 P’02, Peter Yedida ’65, Peter Feuille ’65, Lee Livingston ’65, Harold Bennett, Quentin Mitchell, Gary Awad, John Brandon, Eric Harrington, and more. Yes, a formative place and I remember it well.”

Frank Petterson: “I’m challenged to remember past the first haircut, my trips to the In-N-Out, those marvelous little Blue Books and ‘the debits by the windows and the credits by the door’ that formed the basis of a liberal education.

“I can however recount a more recent enduring-memory. Let me set the scene.

About an hour past the conclusion of our 50th reunion celebration, my wife and I were standing at the SW corner

86. CMC CLASS NOTES

of the elegant pond that surrounds the glass house/lounge that Henry Kravis’ amazing donation created. We were lazily standing there in the post party afterglow, refractive phase, when what unfolded directly in front of us was a seven second, one-act play.

“Out of the east came a cyclist, racing hard, and it seemed like he was aiming directly at the glass house! Both my memory and visual acuity fade a little here, but the rider had on a dark jacket, perhaps a bomber jacket. He sported a ‘Snoopy-like,’ WWI flying ace, aviator’s headgear; and of course, the requisite book bag was strapped to his back (perhaps this was a student bomber pilot!)

“As he approached, the cyclist picked up speed and made a course correction to miss the glass house but aimed closer to where we were standing. Afterwards, I realized he was navigating directly toward the tunnel opening at the corner of the intersecting building to our left. So just as our ‘Mechanized Moses’ plunged into the pond, he jerked his bike back into a perfect wheelie. The water parted off his back wheel in an elegant spray—and he traveled this way the entire length of the pond!

Upon reaching the other side, and without missing a beat, he calmly dropped the front wheel to the pavement and steamed out through the tunnel, never to be seen again.

“Wow! Our minds went from shock to fascination and to awe. After a while, my pondering mind began to ask, ‘What just happened and what did it all mean?’(another harbinger of a liberal arts education). ‘Where did the rider come from?

What did he have for lunch? Where was he going? Was his major surfing? What was in the book bag? Is his name Goose?’ (The devil made me say this.) And ‘would the bomber teach me how to fly or merely kick up his heels and be gone?’

“This may be a daily occurrence for current CMC generations; and it was apparent that

the bomber was practicing in a completely foreign medium to any I have ever known.

Maybe this was today’s example of flagpole greasing in a younger generation.

Perhaps either our founding fathers or the significant funder would have wet their rompers at observing the cyclist’s desecration of the august house on the pond, or, maybe not. I part this message with a hearty ‘Hi Ho Silver!’ Rise up and breach the pond, Snoopy! Ride the wave to the far side and go find those longer coastlines of desire.’”

Van Smith: “Thinking back on our time in

college brings back all sorts of memories, some accidental. Recently we’ve been watching Guys and Dolls, the Sam Goldwyn extravaganza starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine, all written and directed

by Frank Mankiewicz.

“There was tremendous friction between Brando and Sinatra. Brando was just coming off On the Waterfront, and was known as ‘The Man.’ Sinatra, then and always, was known as ‘The Chairman of the Board.’ The Loessers and the Mankiewiczs made frequent trips to Vegas to see Frank’s performance at the Sands, ‘a master at work.’ Lots of jokes and laughter about Frank having to listen to Brando sing!

“And all this all put me in mind of one of those lost college moments which is so delicious and evocative when it suddenly strikes. Just before Christmas vacation of my senior year, pals Rhodes Martin ’68, on his way to a major ownership stake in Orange County, and John Frankenheimer ’68, on his way to a great career at Loeb and Loeb, with maybe a nudge from Phillip Pascoe ’68, came up with a very Chairman-of-the-Board idea, ‘Why don’t we head up to Vegas and catch the show at the Sands? I think it’ll be Sammy Davis.’ So, we all piled into Rhodes’s Mustang, probably about 5 p.m. for the fourto-five hour drive, and without a care in the world headed up the highway. This was testimony to our iron-clad determination

to feel capable of doing anything that popped into our heads. And for this we were richly rewarded. We arrived just at showtime, as I remember 11 p.m. Remember this was Vegas before its Disneyfication, when nothing much really happened before midnight.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage a show business legend, pivotal member of the Rat Pack, and, in all modesty, the greatest entertainer in the history of the planet.”

Lots of whistles, yells, rambunctious applause, and there was Sammy. He had an orchestra behind him, but he hardly needed it, as he filled an exceptionally large stage with his tiny physical self and enormous stage presence, jokes, songs, lots of dancing, and just soaring around in a complete victory over normal gravity. It was an enchanting, astounding performance, which had its effect on us.

WE were now in the Rat Pack; WE could fill a stage with great presence; WE also had arrived.

“File out in a daze of blissed-out euphoria and pile back into the Mustang and float back to Claremont, as I remember it, greeting the dawn with a huge protein soak at Stinky’s. Yes, college had some great moments. In the filming of Guys and Dolls, Frank would star at the Sands, carouse all night, then fly down to Burbank and be whisked over to the studio for the day’s work, somewhat the worse for wear, but always up to one great take. He seldom liked to do more, but Brando, ever the prankster, loved lots of takes, and fumbled lines just to keep the needle going with Frank. Seeing the recounts of the production and details of this filming, I thought, ‘Damn, we were there … once.’”

Paul McConnell: “I had a hard time picking a particular event, at least one which might be suitable for a family publication, but on reflection it seems best to try to convey an overall retrospective impression of those four years.

"

I’m challenged to remember past the first haircut, my trips to the In-N-Out, those marvelous little Blue Books. ...."

“As a place for going to college, I thought Claremont was rather good—the town was flat, so you could get around easily on a bicycle (no cars for freshmen in 1963), and the scale of CMC itself was not large and impersonal as some of the other universities I knew about. I was in Berger Hall the first year but after that I moved to Green—one of the four original concrete ‘egg carton’ dorms, but which I much preferred for their less centralized layout and views over the playing field and the Quad. The academic environment at CMC was demanding, but I always appreciated the wide range of classes available from the association with the other Claremont Colleges. The opening of Pitzer College made a big difference. The Pitzer students shared our dining hall, so we were able to meet them with much less difficulty than, say, girls from Scripps, and the whole social atmosphere was greatly enhanced.

Many relationships blossomed. I have fond memories of Frisbee sessions in the Quad with fellow Greenies. Also of note were the mysterious ‘Green Comets’—sudden nocturnal eruptions of flaming TP in the playing field and flying kites out the windows of the upper rooms while enjoying a game of cards and a few illicit beers.

“Most people worked hard on the academic side and there was clearly a lot of attrition as the years went by—the graduating class was a lot smaller than the 1963 freshmen intake. However, it was not all work and no play. I remember the offsite keggers and trips to Mexico in the VW bus I eventually acquired, and much more. My brother ended up going to UCLA, and on my visits to him I could see the attractions of life in a big university, but I always appreciated the advantages, as I saw them, of life in Claremont. I have not been back for many years, and no doubt the student experience in these times is quite different, but I am glad I was at CMC back in the old days.”

Claremont McKenna College 87.

20 questions, thinking that my answers, while fabricated, were nevertheless creative. Professor Payne was not impressed. However, no one else had read Dickens’ treatise either, so everyone flunked the mid-term. As luck would have it, Professor Payne gave the whole class two weeks to read the tomb and then re-tested us. My gamble on getting behind on just one class while campaigning for student body office had paid off. Most of the class improved the second time around.

“So, English literature became my junior year passion, as did SK. I continued to read Professor Payne’s assigned English literature books and even enrolled in Professor Quinones’ Medieval Literature seminar, ‘The Origins of Romantic Love.’ One bright, sunny, spring day, Payne held English literature class outside, under a large tree on the academic quad lawn. Payne read us excerpts from his just completed Stanford Ph.D. thesis, Dickens and Mammon: Character Corruption in The Novels. At one point during the reading, Prof. Payne was comparing a couple of Dickens’ female characters in Dombey and Son, which by now was our favorite English literature novel. While many classmates were simply enjoying the sunshine outdoors, or dreaming about their coed dates later that night, my SK inspired interest in Dickens led me to listen to Payne.

At one point, I had the audacity to interrupt Professor Payne and to point out a mistake. One of two Dickens’ female characters from Dombey and Son had been mis-identified in the thesis, as Mrs. Drool, instead of Mrs. Bumbles, and I pointed out the error. Professor Payne promptly terminated the class, and hastily retreated to correct the mistake. I passed the class!”

Fred Merkin reflected on how his CMC education (1963-1967) has affected his life. “Looking back, I am grateful that the first-year curriculum included a class on American government that gave considerable attention to America’s founding. I see that class as having been instrumental in shaping my view of America and its place in the world. The autumn of 1963, we learned, was a special time: The Second World War ended fewer than two decades before, the Cold War with the Soviet Union was raging at full throttle, and the Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred the prior October. As I took the class, America was rightly seen as the most powerful nation on earth, the savior of civilization, and the unquestioned leader of the free world.

“The class was taught by an authority on the subject, the charismatic Professor Martin Diamond, who was to pass away at the age of 57 in 1977. On the day of his passing, the New York Times reported that ‘Mr. Diamond was lauded by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, as ‘a distinguished scholar’ who ‘almost singlehandedly established the relevance of the thought and doings of the American Founders for this generation.” Much of Professor Diamond’s thinking on the subject can be found in a classic textbook he co-wrote with Professor Winston Mills Fisk of CMC and Herbert Garfinkel of Michigan State University, The Democratic Republic: An Introduction to American National Government. That government class and some others taught by Professor Fisk (on American politics and constitutional law) instilled in me a deep appreciation for the genius of the American founding and the nation that then came into being.

“After CMC, I went to law school, became a lawyer, and practiced law for more than four decades. Looking back, I have good reason to believe that my course in life was greatly shaped by the government classes I took at CMC, beginning with Professor Diamond’s inspirational introductory course.”

Ray White’s fondest memory is, “When Margaret Mathies described me as ‘not as dumb as you look’ when I pointed out that two different forms of Mendelian inheritance would yield the same ratio of progeny. The course was S143 Classical Genetics, fall 1966. Dr. Mathies was a particularly good instructor, I had taken her micro course and I think she is still listed as emerita of the Joint Sciences Department.”

Joe Johnson’s favorite course occurred during his senior year. “It was a course

in historiography. There were about 15 in the class, and it was held upstairs in Story House. The focus was on how history is written. We read source

88. CMC CLASS NOTES

material and then wrote our own history of the event. My favorite night that semester was when we wrote about the 1830 French Revolution and how it started. We read newspaper articles, diaries, personal accounts, and eyewitness recollections. Each student presented our version of how the event started. We all had different versions using the same source material. It was fascinating. I have used this experience as I try to understand what is going on in the world.

Never rely on one source of information and remember that all of us using the same facts can come to different conclusions.”

Jay Knight tells us that he wishes he could have had a class from John Israel who left at the end of his junior year. “I was sure he would have been a great professor based upon the notice he posted on the bulletin board at Story House in an attempt to sell his car: ‘This is your only chance to buy an Israeli Volkswagen.’”“Do you remember the Homecoming parade held each year?” asks Guy Baker. “Harvey Mudd’s three dorms always took first, second, and third place, leaving CMC to bring up the rear. During the 1967 Homecoming, our senior year, Benson Hall decided to put a stop to their dominance. A plan was made to design and build a float that would unseat them. Our goal was to place at least third. The Benson Hall team gathered to plan their strategy.

Our team was given access to an offsite garage so we could work in privacy.

We also borrowed a flatbed truck from Griswolds. We knew the only way we could move up to third place was to build a float with mechanical motion.

The engineers went to work and developed a plan for a football player to kick the ball through the goalposts. This was going to take some money, a lot of hard work, and total commitment. The dorm took up a collection and raised enough money to buy the materials needed to make the float work.

“Volunteers showed up with the beer and pretzels and we set out on our noble challenge. It took several days of hard work, along with lots of trial and error. But finally, we were able to get the float working. When the big day arrived, we drove the float to campus and took our rightful spot in the parade. As the parade moved forward, we proudly activated the float and watched the ball sail through the goal post, exactly as planned. Our engineers were so proud. Several thought about transferring to HMC. As it turned out, our goal was achieved. We won third place, proving once again CMCers are quite capable of setting a BHAG and accomplishing it.”

Robert Maggs tells us that the most important thing that happened to him at

CMC was meeting Debbie Eisenhart (Scripps 1967). “We have been married for almost 54 years. We met at the dance sponsored by sophomores for incoming freshmen. I think she liked my car, a ‘64 Porsche 356. We dated throughout our last three years and were married August 5th, 1967 in Rochester, New York.

While at school, I taught Debbie to drive a stick shift by taking her to a hill on Mt. Baldy and stood behind the car and said, ‘Let out the clutch slowly while giving it some gas and don’t break my legs!’ It worked, and she borrowed the car regularly for the next three years. Still love Debbie, but miss that Porsche.

I’ve had a few more since then, but still …”

For William Thompson, the memories of his CMC years have faded, blurred, and blended into a sense of good times had by all. “I enjoyed the ‘work hard, play hard’ lifestyle on and off campus. I recall challenging classes, a succession of Wohlford roommates, working at Collins Hall, the arrival of Pitzer students, keggers at the rockpiles, parking in The Wash, Knick and Toga functions, table shuffleboard at The Midway, and all with no regrets. I gained a solid liberal arts education, good friends, and enjoyed good times. Best of all, I married Leslie Allen (Pitzer 1969) soon after graduation. We will celebrate 54 years together this August.”

“I’ve been trying to find the perfect memory to send in,” wrote Mike Donovan.

“I took three years of calculus, but that doesn’t really seem like a good memory.

Then I thought about my time playing rugby. That was the most fun I had in the four years I got to play. Those were some of the best times that a young athlete could ever experience. They were the ‘glory years.’ But they still were not the best times I enjoyed.

“In our first required mathematics course, we were given a few weeks of computer programming. I fell in love with computing. This experience led to me to a career spanning 45 years where I got to do what I loved almost every day. This is something that lots of people never get a chance to experience: the perfect job that they love doing every day. Thank you, CMC. I wouldn’t be where I am today without this experience.

“My parents were always reading. They were thrifty New Englanders. We mostly entertained ourselves at home, playing cards or reading. I am so happy to have passed these reading traits on to my daughter and she has done so with our grandchild, as well. Books are very often the gifts that we give. My wife reads almost as much as I do, but she has a couple dozen authors she really likes, and she’ll read all their books and then start on another author.

Over and over. We probably have 10,000 books in our house.”

Van Webster tells us the more things change, the more they remain the same.

“As several older friends of mine were already students at CMC, including Michael Anderson ’65, and Ross Deleray ’65, Claremont Men’s College was top on my list of college applications. However, during my on-campus interview with Dean Rodgers, I felt I had not presented myself very well. A second interview with Dean Walker went much better and they let me in. It is possible that my father’s ability to pay the full tuition, room and board was a thumb on the scale in my favor for admission.

“In the fall of 1963, the group of men that would become the class of 1967 gathered for the first time in McKenna Auditorium for our freshman orientation meeting. Fortunately, I had been warned of the hazing rituals that would commence on that evening. Ours was the last class to endure the full scope of the CMC initiation, a legacy of the military boot camp experiences that the GI founding classes no doubt felt that all CMC students should endure to become part of the student body.

“While I was no fan of early morning Saturday classes, CMC courses were well designed and effectively taught. In looking through the yearbooks from that era, most of our instructors were Ph.D’s with no teaching assistants. Often the professors at the front of the classroom were the authors of our textbooks in hand. The class that had the biggest impact on me going forward was freshman English, where I learned to write a complete sentence. Writing a complete paragraph, let alone a full essay, is another matter with which I still struggle. Other classes with content that later proved to be useful included economics, accounting, physics, and chemistry. After switching majors for my second two years from Management-Engineering to Architecture, classes in design, drawing, and sculpture were important. It turned out that I was one of the few CMC students at the time who graduated with a degree in Fine Arts.

“I found I learned as much from my fellow students as I did in the classroom.

Dinner and dorm discussions included a wide range of topics and opinions that would fill the evenings with lively conversations. It was a time to test ideas and convictions in a relatively safe place. Some themes stuck and others did not, but the informal debate process was invaluable.

“Lastly, before there were social media apps, the photo books allowed students to identify each other and seek personal connections. In the Class of 1967 book, I was one of three students who not only went to the same high school, but also started their academic life in first grade at the same elementary school. We ended up, one each, at CMC, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd. Who knew at the time that the Harvard version of our ‘Look Books’ (i.e. ‘Facebook’) would evolve to become one of the largest international companies ever founded?”

Gary Clark wrote about having many good memories of Claremont. “How do I describe it? Rather than a single incident, it is like a tapestry which

joyously unfurled as the days proceeded. My first memory, of course, is being summoned down to the football field at 2 a.m. by a siren and screaming upperclassmen. Then commanded to do pushups in our undies, with shaved heads, by sophomores. It was an exercise repeated several times that night. It theoretically created camaraderie, but it also communicated a sense of social structure, in which the freshmen were at the bottom.

“I was pleasantly surprised to experience an Orientation Week afternoon that consisted of being driven up into the foothills to an undisclosed location and being met by about 100 fellow classmates, a few sophomores with a couple of kegs of beer. Later, with study, more learning and maturity, Green Hall would arrange ‘Revivals,’ a Friday evening ritual with serious religious overtones that took place at the dusty bottom of one of the local quarries. There was a bonfire, popcorn, sermons, and a couple of kegs of beer. One could be on top, 20 feet from the edge of the quarry, and hear nothing, while down in the dust below there were 60 reveling Green Hall-ites and guests enjoying the festivities.

“I was exhilarated at having to read 300 pages a week of classics in Professor Israel’s Humanities class, and by the rapid broadening of my literary and historical perspective of civilization. Professor Proctor Thompson’s Laws are with me still, and Professor Stokes taught me how to look at governments in new ways. Calculus with Professor Janet Myhre was simply great.

“My CMC experience was flavored and textured by taking place in a landscape of native California chaparral which was used to landscape the campus. We had Cleveland Sage, Coast Live Oaks, Laurel Sumac, and some other plants around our dorm. Sometimes one could watch the birds around the dorm while studying. A couple of years later, a couple of my dormmates would jump over the second-floor balcony into the bushes below, sometimes with bayonets. I once climbed Mt Baldy with a friend from Harvey Mudd who, on the hike up, explained how to build an atom bomb with the materials in Harvey Mudd’s science lab. I enjoyed many Sunday mornings studying at the Harvey Mudd Student Union and Lounge.

“The people I lived with in Green Hall were great people. Robert ‘Bob’ Walker began with water-fighting strategy lessons, which were implemented after 10:30 p.m. generally. Naturally, he was later attracted to politics. Brian Barnard ’66 had lots of wisdom, always delivered in a quiet, insulting yet helpful monotone. Fred Merkin had a great intellect, as did Douglas Ford, Michael Donovan, and William ‘Tom’ Moore. The parties at John ‘Jack’ Funk’s off-campus residence (“the Funk-Outs”) were legendary, and fun!

“I will always remember the way the air felt in October, and the scent of the breeze that wafted over bridge games on the deck in April. There were several drives up Mt. Baldy Road after dinner in Collins Hall. The first-time climbing Mt. Baldy was with Jack Funk, and later we climbed other local mountains.

I even spent a night on the side of Mt. Baldy. Sarah Wiley, William ‘Bill’ Swahlen, and I later climbed Mt. San Gorgonio. And on one semester break, a Green Hall contingent (with C.B. Karlsgodt, John McWilliams ’66, John Ishikawa ’69, Randy Kraft, Mike Donovan, R. Thomas Ryan ’68, et. al.) hiked down the Grand Canyon and back up.

“There are things that happened that one later realizes were a product of the age, but we didn’t know it then, thinking it natural. We studied in Story House, we drank 75-cent pitchers at Willie and Ethel’s Midway with increasingly insightful discussions. Andy Choka Day existed in 1967, but it would not exist at CMC today. And we heard about such things from others of a prior age. The four years at CMC were a great tapestry of experiences.”

Bill Bowers wonders, after 50 years, how he still retains some of these

memories of Claremont. These are mostly momentary snapshots, reinforced in memory by daily experiences. Some of the more recent classes will still experience them.

“The college was 17 years old when we entered as freshmen, and we were, in retrospect, a transitional class for the college as it moved from its founding

Claremont McKenna College 89.

classes to build on its reputation. We still had freshman year hazing, which began with buzz cuts (Army style). I think we were the last class to have to go through that. A common occurrence, given the many former returning veterans, was the annual blood drive with large participation. Everyone said that since you had one pint less blood, the beer had more punch. Since I did not have a car until my senior year, I rode a bike. I still remember what my legs felt like climbing stairs to the second floor of Appleby after biking uphill from downtown Claremont. You learned soon that when you go east-west, the contour was flat; north-south was uphill or down.

“A daily view while exiting class and looking east was Mt. San Gorgonio in the distance (alas, this view is now lost due to newer buildings to the east of the upper quad), though Mt. Baldy still looms to the north. For my last three years, I roomed on the south side of Appleby on the second floor, looking out on the original Story House, built of stones washed down from the San Gabriel Mountains (dating back to the 1920s, when they used what was available for construction.)

“There was one telephone on each floor located in the middle of the dorm on the upper quad. The student with the most calls was often at the end of the floor. There was a six-foot shrub by the east entrance to Story House, which was very fragrant when in bloom. Usually each fall, Santa Ana winds blew, and the relative humidity dropped to less than .5 percent—drier than the Sahara Desert, not to mention the dust and grit from the east on the wind.

The dryness caused perpetual nose bleeds. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, I wondered why the curbs on Mill Street were 12” high, until I went through my first rain and saw the runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains. At the end of my senior year, in the interim between finals and graduation, my roommate, Albert Carpenter, and I took a quick overnight drive to the Grand Canyon. I still remember coming upon my first view of this big hole in the ground, and the hazy light in the Canyon in mid-morning.

“CMC was entering the computer age, and I wrote FORTRAN programs on the old 1620 computer by keypunching cards, then running the punched deck through the compiler to get a compiled program deck, and then running the program. Several of the tricks I used where useful whenever I needed to code in the future. You also learned to think of all the outcomes or inputs.

“I roomed at Appleby all four years, on the sunny side. I still remember the texture of the walls by the stairwells, and the steam heat radiators clanging at 7 a.m. Of course, the Vietnam War was a constant background awareness with the increasing demonstrations at home but protests at CMC were just beginning.

“Looking back on the courses I took was the realization that most technical studies became obsolete over time, but that some things remained constant.

Despite all our increasing computerization, beware of GIGO—garbage in, garbage out. Now with behavioral economics and financial analysis in full mode, beware of confirmation bias—seek and ye shall find. I think the mark of success for a college education is the test that if you have a problem, you can find an answer, and then to be able to evaluate the answer you find.

“A sense of curiosity will let you do well in most areas. But my definition may be because I was a mathematics and economics major. While well trained, I think some improvements could have been made that I wish I had learned to practice. One was how to write a single page memo: how to face the blank page; add some thoughts; and structure a recommended course of action. This is a skill everyone needs in his career. Second, learning how to do a research project could have been better. Thinking of my senior thesis, I could write a much better one now. Lastly, now with COVID shutdowns, I remember a brief discussion with my aunt, who was in grade school during the Spanish Flu. The flu was not a primary memory for her. She was young, and still had the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, WWII, Korean War, men on the moon, and satellites orbiting Mars to come. Who knew then, or now what will happen? Despite the present, the future is still before us, an unknown territory, yet to be explored.”

90. CMC CLASS NOTES

“I vividly remember moments from November 21st and 22nd, 1963,” cites Marty Kaplin. “On November 21st, I was in the first-floor head in Berger Hall washing up for lunch. Michael Stone was also there. He knew I was from Texas and jokingly said something like ‘you crazy Texans are probably going to kill Kennedy during his visit.’ I’m sure we laughed and went to lunch. On November 22nd, Mike and I happened to be in the head again, getting ready for lunch. I can’t remember the exact sequence of events when we heard that Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. Given that we had joked about it the day before, we shared some banter and I remember Mike said something like, ‘yeah, you really did it!’ Little did we know at that moment that the news wasn’t a joke!”

Al Carpenter said it best, “It’s a simple thing, but we all remember where we

were on the day Kennedy was shot. I was walking alone outside of Collins coming back from Honnold Library when I heard the news.”

Peter Schoettle added the following retrospective. “Change is constant, but a strong case can be made that the social, economic, technological, and political changes since our time on campus have been overwhelming, perhaps more than in any other 50-year span. Here are some of my before and after recollections.

“Communications: Do you recall our dormitory phone system? In the upper quad, each floor had one phone for twenty-five students, one on each floor on the north side, another on the south side! The unlucky freshmen in the middle room had to answer the ring, and then holler to find the recipient. We’d listen when guys made calls to try to get a date and learned the technique of those who were successful. Compare that to today’s ubiquitous cell phones. We also beat Facebook by 50 years by having our own ‘Look Book,’ a paperback copy with photos of all the incoming freshmen. No phone numbers, no hot links, no 24-hour online news, and weather. Pity the guy or gal who submitted a fuzzy, casual photo not realizing how that could mar their chances for dates for months.”

“Computers: Many of us struggled through a class which taught us a bit about those newfangled calculating machines called computers. To make it work, we had to feed it punch cards, each with a line of code, in a language called FORTRAN, which is harder than Chinese. Most of the time was spent trying to find those pesky bugs or errors. Today’s computers fit into the palm of your hands, log on with face recognition, and can tell you instantly what loony conspiracy theory some nut halfway around the world is propagating.

“Technology: Xerox was an invention, not yet widespread. In Honnold Library, if you wanted to make a copy, the machine spit out a negative, blackwhite shrunken copy, which you then had to copy a second time to reverse the image into a positive. Forget about color! I didn’t know anyone who had an electric typewriter. Most everyone used clunky manuals, and for their senior thesis one had to hire an expensive secretary to type and pay by the page.

“Budgets and Tuition: We paid about $2,500 per year to attend CMC, including room and board. By working during the summers and vacations, and with a little help from one’s parents, most could afford that. Today, the tuition approaches $50,000; There is no way anyone can meet today’s annual cost by working during summers and vacations, plus a little parental help. Instead, some students are crushed by thousands of dollars of loans for years to come.

“Sex: We all (or almost all) know how difficult it was to get dates. Recently, while trying to apply to the VA to receive a COVID vaccination, the clerk asked, ‘Now I have to ask you this question, and don’t laugh, but what was your first sex?’ She did not inquire about my first time!

“Politics: The public’s assessment of the federal government was highly positive, with favorable ratings in the mid 80 percentile. That has steadily plummeted and now hovers in the mid-teens. We’ve lived through all the events and disasters that have led to this erosion. Few of us could have imagined the magnitude of changes overwhelming us.”

Pete Wilkinson provided a retrospective of his experience at CMC. “I begin

from the fact that my people, those on my mother’s side, were Mennonites. We arrived here in the U.S. in 1700 or thereabouts, and we were pacifists from the start. I lost an uncle on my mother’s side in a ‘friendly fire’ episode in 1944, and I have since tried to imagine my grandmother receiving the familiar telegram.

My paternal grandfather served during WWII, rising to the rank of Colonel. So, my family history is not without at least some knowledge of war.

“I was born with club feet, which were surgically repaired to very, very flat feet.

Thus, when I arrived at CMC, I had no intention of signing up for ROTC. And indeed, given my background on my mother’s side, there wasn’t the slightest possibility I would do so. Throughout my time at CMC, I thought the Vietnam War was a very bad decision. I remember that one night Professor Israel and his wife led a small group of protestors against the war, and I remember that they were hooted at from the sidelines by the crowd. I wish I could say that I marched with them, but I did not. Rather, I watched. And ever since, I have considered that a failure on my part, a moment of cowardice. I should have spoken up, but I did not.

“When I arrived that very first day, it was to find that my roommate was Kenneth Cox, a Black man (as far as I know, the one and only in our class). My

father, who had grown up in the South, asked me whether I wanted him to protest to the Dean of Students about the assignment. I said no. You would probably like to think that was the beginning of a beautiful racial harmony story, except that it was not. Kenny did not return for his sophomore year, and I’m sure that decision had to do with the choice of roommates he had suffered through from his freshman year.

“No one denies that today is a more complicated time than the time when we passed through and graduated. But what I think is that a lot of us, myself included, were stupid then, and a lot of us are stupid still today. CMC wasn’t the Magic Kingdom. You had the power to make your time there meaningful, and my own attempts at it circled around Ralph Kimball, my very dear friend, Van Smith, with whom I had many discussions about how history played backward from the place where you thought you had it figured out. Professor Brad Blaine was my adoptive father.

“Looking back on it, CMC was where I needed to be, except for the one night on Mt. Baldy, where my date went home with someone else, because I couldn’t speak in complete sentences. We are what we are, and what we have made of ourselves. I’m not sure I would choose CMC again, given the opportunity, but overall, my years there were incredibly important ones in my life. And I rather think that is the best anyone can say.”

Henry Kravis commented on his CMC education (from a speech given at

CMC Commencement, May 2010.) “As I reflect upon my own graduation in 1967, I assure you that I never thought that someday I might return to Claremont, stand before a graduating class, and give the commencement address. I had been a good but not a perfect student. I achieved reasonably good grades, but the library did not monopolize my free time. I played competitive golf on the college team, and I was often at the beach or dancing to the music of the Beach Boys.

“I led what I called a ‘balanced’ life. At times, my professors and parents held a different definition of balance but, well, you get the picture! Today, I return to CMC as someone whose deep attachment to the school has made me an assiduous visitor and supporter. I value the school’s liberal arts curriculum and its small size which allows for close interaction between students and teachers.

“I am happy to see CMC’s student body becoming more international and diverse, and I feel fortunate to be able to support many of the school’s initiatives, such as the Kravis Leadership Center, the Kravis Leadership Prize, and the new education building.

“CMC will always be home for me and, in the words of Bob Dylan, part of a never-ending tour. I mention Bob Dylan, not only because I love his music

but also because he symbolizes the counterculture and social effervescence which prevailed in the ‘60s when I was a college student. It was a decade of tumultuous social, political, economic, and cultural change. We were in the midst of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis very nearly upended the fragile nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Vietnam War raged. China detonated its first atomic bomb and pursued a cultural revolution that sent many intellectuals and suspected dissidents to farms, labor camps, or death. Many African countries fought wars of independence against colonial powers. The Arab-Israeli conflict escalated into the Six-Day War which set boundaries that are disputed to this day. The success of the Soviet Sputnik program triggered America’s quest for the moon, leading to the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

“At home, anti-war protests, civil rights movements, and race riots dominated our internal discourse. Feminism flourished, and the advent of oral contraceptives further advanced women’s liberation. Motown, the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, all products of the ‘60s.

Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, Bob Rauschenberg—three boys form the South— began to transform art in America. Great Society programs and a general mood of experimentation defined public policy. Political violence also scarred the land as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy were lost to America.

“All this marked the turbulent decade of my youth. Rather than frighten me, the change invigorated me. I saw the opportunities that change afforded. I welcomed the open-mindedness that change demanded. I recognized the flexibility that change required. I understood that these rapid and disruptive changes could help me look at who I was and who I should become. For me, change gave birth to a personal challenge. Today’s changes, although vastly different, more rapid and more global, call for nothing less.”

ROBIN BARTLETT CLASS LIAISON, ’66, ’67, ’68 RBBARTLETT01@GMAIL.COM

1968 “My most memorable experience at CMC,” wrote

John Power, “was marrying Happy Verity (Pitzer ‘68) and it has lasted for 53 years. I met her at a CMC/Pitzer mixer. I knew I was headed to Vietnam as a Marine Infantry Officer, so we had a Marine wedding and we agreed I had to return with all my body parts functioning before having kids! That was a smart plan, as it was close. Halfway through my tour, I found myself recovering from wounds in the Da Nang hospital. This was the first time I experienced sleeping in sheets in six months. My commanding officer called and wanted to cancel my R&R because I was recuperating, so I recovered fast. And with all my fingers and toes intact, Happy and I enjoyed a wonderful time in Hawaii. Early on in my tour, I tripped a mine, but it didn’t go off. I have felt lucky all my life.”

Thomas Humphrey comments that one of his most memorable events was

a football game in the Rose Bowl where the ROTC drill team was invited to perform. “I don’t recall who the Stags were playing. Anyway, when we marched onto the football field, there were a few jeers and snickers (remember this was the height of the Vietnam War), but when it came time for our ‘Queen Ann Salute’ when we fired blanks from a kneeling position, the mood changed as people were not anticipating a volley of gunfire. The jeers then turned to cheers and polite applause. The ROTC cadre was a bit concerned about the possibility of protests at the game and someone attempting to disarm a member of our team, so we had to have a safety briefing on what to do if someone tried to take a weapon or put a flower in a muzzle. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, but that certainly added to the drama of the event.

“I also recall a major food fight in Collins Hall that was epic. Desserts and salads aligned the entire row of windows overlooking Mt. Baldy with lots of yelling and laughter, as well. I also recall buying the worst looking madras shorts I could find to thwart the dining hall dress code.

Claremont McKenna College

91.

CMC MEMORIES

Before he was Mork '73

ROBIN WILLIAMS’ TIME AT CMC only takes up six pages in the 529-page paperback version of Dave Itzkoff’s bestselling biography, Robin. Which makes sense, given that Williams ’73 spent a lone year on campus. But in that year—and as he would later do as one of the biggest TV and movie stars on the planet—he made quite an impression.

In Williams’ admission application to CMC, he cited his “talent for humor” in a special skills entry, writing, “It is my ability to laugh and spread laughter to others that allows me to adapt to new environments.

I enjoy being with people and sincerely believe people enjoy being with me.”

When he arrived to CMC in the fall of 1969, Williams planned to major in political science and become a foreign service officer. As a freshman, he lived in Berger Hall and played soccer, where he delighted others—including his CMS Hall of Fame coach, Stephen Davis—with random antics as the team’s right fullback.

“Once, we were playing Whittier. For some unknown reason, Robin got it into his head to shout things the whole game in a Cockney accent,” said Davis, who called Williams the funniest person he ever met. “At the end of the game, the Whittier coach asked me, ‘Where did you get the Englishman?’”

According to Itzkoff’s book, the most significant decision Williams made while at CMC was to choose an improvisational theater elective at nearby Scripps. The course eventually led Williams—who also went by the nickname “Ralph” at CMC—to join Claremont’s earliest improv group, Karma Pie, where twice a week he and 18 others would perform free, unscripted shows at the Strut’n’Fret Theater on Scripps’ campus. “I didn’t know Robin until I saw him perform at Strut’n’Fret. He was playing a game of verbal tennis with a Scripps student and I was really impressed,” Paul Beninger ’73 P’09 shared in a 2014 edition of CMC Magazine Class Notes following Williams’ death. “A few years later, when I saw the TV show Mork and Mindy, I saw how his verbal bantering had morphed into a wonderful gift for all.”

“He discovered that you could make something of this energy he had,” Bob Davis ’72 told Itzkoff of Williams’ improv comedy awakening. “And he had a lot of energy.

92. CMC CLASS NOTES

I used to say I knew him for six months before I found out what his real voice was.” Ken Gilbert ’73 remembered the time he, Ken Downs ’73, and Robin were sitting at the Hub, casually cracking jokes and trading one-liners. “Both of us Kens thought we were pretty good, but Robin was light years ahead of us,” Gilbert also shared in Class Notes.

Williams’ talent eventually got the attention of Al Dauber ’71, who was organizing a comedy show with Dick Gale ’71 at McKenna Auditorium. The duo was impressed by Williams’ treasure trove of voices and characters. “Do a bohemian priest. Do an Orthodox rabbi. Do a peasant out on the farms with his crops,” Dauber told Itzkoff. “You couldn’t keep up with his mind, it was going so fast.”

On Feb. 21, 1970, the trio put on what was officially billed as “An Evening with Al Dauber, co-starring Dick Gale & Rob Williams.” The 90-minute program featured parodies of To Tell the Truth and The Ed Sullivan Show, among other sketches. “When Robin came,” Gale said about the event, “it brought about a holistic change—this became actual entertainment.”

Unfortunately for his CMC career, Williams probably spent too much time performing and not enough studying or attending class. Williams claimed that his final paper in a CMC macroeconomics course contained the single line, “I really don’t know, sir,” and that his professors had no idea who he was by year’s end. Because so few people on campus knew why Williams didn’t return for his sophomore year, a legend even spread that he had been kicked out after driving a golf cart through a dining hall.

Of course, by the end of the decade, Williams would guest star on Happy Days as the alien Mork—launching his own breakthrough sitcom and a long, successful film career in numerous beloved roles. Though it was the briefest of detours on a rocket ship ride to Hollywood, Williams remembered his time in Claremont as a personal turning point.

“It was this weird catharsis,” the Academy Award winner said in Itzkoff’s book. “Everything opened up. The whole world just changed in that one year.”

—Thomas Rozwadowski

“Finally, in a ‘get even mode,’ I recall moving our RA’s entire room outside between the four dorms. We took his carpet and put it on the ground, set up all his furniture on the rug, turned on a light, and even turned on his radio. What a treat to see his reaction!

my 25th reunion, staying in a dorm room with my wife, and not having to put wrap a towel on the door knob.”

“And of course, who could forget taking tires and placing them on the Sagehen flagpole as a salute to our ‘frenemies.’ This was accomplished despite my position on the Student Court to provide ‘justice’ to students who violated the student code.”

RBBARTLETT01@GMAIL.COM

James Cameron reports that his fondest memory was playing on the CMC

baseball team and spending a summer with the team in the Netherlands, where each attendee lived with a Dutch family. “My family lived in Eindhoven.

The head of the household worked at a factory not far from his home. Each weekday afternoon and weekend we would drive to a local baseball field to teach the local youth how to play baseball. On workdays, I would borrow the family bicycle and ride for hours crossing a totally flat land or watch the World Cup soccer tournament on TV being played in England. This got me interested in soccer, and later in life, I became a certified U.S. soccer referee. At summers end, the baseball team traveled to Amsterdam, where we played and won a multi-team tournament against a U.S. military team based in Germany. We then returned to the United States and to CMC with a fond memory that stays with me to this day.”

John Andron briefly added this memory, “Oddly enough, the first thing

that came to my mind were the girls. There were so many, and they were so much fun.”

On the topic of memorable professors, Roger Nelson listed Orme Phelps with his corn cob pipe and frequent comment, “doncha see?” An archetypal, straight-shooting Oklahoman, he put 20 essay questions on the board the first day of class. He pointed to them and said, “I will pick some of these for the mid-term and some for the final. I see that some of you are wondering why I would give you the questions in advance. The answer is simple. If you can write knowledgeably and answer these questions, I will have done my job as a teacher and you will have done yours as a student.”

“I chose CMC over Occidental and UC Santa Barbara,” wrote John Ahorn, “because I was kind of pre-law/international relations. By the end of my freshman year, I changed my major to theatre. I had a personal interview with George C.S. Benson over the fact that CMC had no major in that field. I pointed out that we could pursue courses at any of the four northern colleges. We finally agreed on a literature major with a theatre minor. All of this was due to Jesse Swan, who taught at both Scripps and CMC. He changed my life.

“I am now a retired member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity. I also teach literature at Santa Monica Emeritus College for seniors over 55 (Shakespeare, the American Novel, as well as a History of Comedy class). I still evoke Ricardo Quinones (who of that era does not?), Durward Pointer (great seminar on Arthurian myth), and Ladell Payne as mentors. I have close friendships from those salad days of the mid-late ‘60s, including Ray Drummond, from whom I got a roommate’s lesson in jazz, and two actors from Pomona College, Randy Craig, and Walker (Time) Ryan.

“I became very liberalized while at CMC, enjoying the artists, poets, writers, light shows, and the thrill of new learning with my classmates. There were trips to Mt. Baldy in the snow, Stinky’s and the Midway Inn, a place where I spent so much time carousing. Fond memories abound. As I turn 75 this year, I salute CMC as it does the same.”

John Carl added this note, “Harold Rood’s courses on international relations taught me to ‘think critically,’ which has been a blessing throughout my life, both professionally and personally. My favorite memory of CMC was attending

ROBIN BARTLETT CLASS LIAISON ’66, ’67, ’68

1969

Gene Hewett proudly remembers, “Before the end of my senior year, several of my poems, including ‘Notes from an Angry Black Man,’ ‘Dark Shades,’ and ‘Who Am I?’, as well as a short story titled ‘Soul Set Number 5,’ were published in The Collegian.”

ROB BLY ’69 ROB.BLY@GMAIL.COM

1970

Glenn Waring remembers, “I recall the entire suite’s effort to get a certain student’s senior thesis in on time. We had guys writing, re-writing, and typing. Happily, on the stroke of 5 p.m., the senior raced down the quad and caught Orme Phelps just as he was leaving. Phelps said, ‘Hello, Mr. X. I didn’t expect to see you today.’ Ta-da! Twenty years later, I was associated with a fellow student from the class of 1970, but I’d never met him at CMC. He noticed my writing style matched his and gave me a call. Ha! In those years CMC students ground out eight pages an hour 24/7, we calculated—I hadn’t realized we had style!”

Neil Yeager remembers, “Water fights in Green Hall. This was, of course, when Green Hall was still a concrete pillbox and virtually indestructible, instead of being the dolled-up place it is now. In those days, the floors were cement (uncarpeted), and if you lived on the second floor, you could pump water into the room below through cracks in the floor, effectively making it ‘rain’ and requiring the occupants to exhaust their week’s supply of towels. This was done with the use of surgical tubing filled with water from the nozzle-like shower heads we had in those days. Surgical tubing and a dog dish were also useful in making three-person slingshots to lob water balloons over the dorm roof, mortar-style, onto Parents Field during intramurals. Ah, many were the times when waterfalls ran off of the second floor!”

Bob Zobel recalls, “I remember a bar—something of a dive—that was about

five minutes from campus called The Midway. The Midway had 75-cent pitcher nights (yes, 75 cents!). We would sit in a large group around a couple of tables, and whenever we were out of beer, we would pass an ashtray around the table so people would throw in quarters. We bought as much beer as we had money in the ashtray.”

John Flegel writes in, “I am happy to add a few notes. These are some of the

entries I made to our class of 1970 50th Reunion book. (Unfortunately, with COVID, we never had a reunion.)

“I attended CMC, then a men’s college between 1966 and 1970. During my freshman year, my roommate and I opened a poster shop in downtown Claremont, selling black light posters advertising many of the popular rock ‘n’ roll groups at the time. Other students invested in the store, and though it never made money, we were able to pay the rent and have fun selling posters.

During my sophomore year, along with Walt Brown and Jon Duncan, I organized a ‘gimmick’ car rally which we advertised as the BFD rally.

“During our junior year, Richard Landers and I spent our year in Vienna, Austria as students at the University of Vienna under the auspices of the Institution of European Studies (now just IES.) It was a most memorable experience.

“My favorite professors at CMC were Martin Diamond and Harry Jaffa. I was in Professor Jaffa’s freshman Political Science class, and then again as a senior, I took a course he offered, the Politics of Shakespeare. There were only three other students in the class. I took a class from Professor Diamond as

Claremont McKenna College 93.

a sophomore on political philosophy, and while a senior he was the advisor for my senior thesis. I also remember seeing Professor Diamond in 1974 on a PBS program commenting on the state of our country after Nixon resigned.

Although the late 1960s and early 1970s were filled with many marches and protests, Professor Diamond commented on how the country was able to handle the change of power in a peaceful manner. How times change.”

CLASS POSITION OPEN ALUMNI@CMC.EDU

1971

Dick Gale writes in, “Yes, it’s true that renowned comedian Robin

Williams attended CMC during the 1969-70 school year. What’s not as well

known is that the 18-year-old freshman from Redwood High in Marin County was merely a sidekick to one of the college’s MOST well-known personalities, Alfred Dauber.

“The story of their collaboration centers on one awesome evening of comedy and debauchery at McKenna Auditorium in the spring of 1970, when a packed house was entertained by a comedy show called ‘An Evening with Al Dauber.’ I know because I was there. I was on stage with both Al and Robin, performing skits that we had written and rehearsed over the previous months in the dorm rooms of Boswell Hall. Alfred Dauber is a legend, and not just in his own mind.

After arriving at CMC in the fall of 1967 as a sophomore transfer student from Arizona State University, Dauber (that’s what everyone called him within 10 minutes of making his acquaintance) did what he did best—socialize and tell jokes.

“I know this is true, because as a resident of the northern most dormitory, Boswell Hall, Dauber would usually stumble into my room after 10 p.m. and declare that it was too late to go to the library. Once there, he contributed to an overall party atmosphere. There were jokes to be told, satire to be invented, and skits to be created.

“Several friends had suggested we do a comedy show, and it seemed like the right way to send off Dauber as he prepared to graduate in June. As one of his longtime comedy partners, I believed we were up for the challenge. Also, I had met a CMC freshman at an improvisation class I was taking that semester at Scripps. He was funny and quick and wildly original. I knew him by the name of Rob (but we often called him “Ralph” Williams).

“With the infusion of this kind of talent, we made reservations to book McKenna Auditorium for the evening of February 21st. Advertisements were posted around campus. A full-page ad was placed in the all-campus newspaper that was published from 1966-1977. We had no idea if anybody would show up, except perhaps a few friends who strongly wished to see us make fools of ourselves.

“But, word-of-mouth had spread, and hundreds of students and faculty from several colleges packed McKenna to see whatever was in store. According to historical records, the evening began with a stirring rendition of “Be True to Your School” by the Beach Boys. That was followed by a “To Tell the Truth” parody where three students wearing Groucho Marx noses and glasses each stood to announce that they were Al Dauber. Then, the real Al Dauber entered to a thunderous ovation and we were off to the races.

“How to Remove a Rhinoceros from Your Bed. Ed Sullivan and Topo Gigio. Take it Off, Take it All Off. Man-on-the-Street Interviews. Whipping Prisoners. A live version of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ (featuring a band called “The Fish ... live from the Marks third-floor shower stall”). On and on it went for over 90 minutes.

“It is not a stretch to say that the show was a big hit. Everybody who attended felt the need to describe it in detail to friends who had not joined in the fun.

Dauber, Robin, and I were famous celebrities for a few days and, considering what was happening in the real world (Nixon, Vietnam and Cambodia, Kent State), it was a nice diversion.”

94. CMC CLASS NOTES

Harry Wright remembers, “The 1970 CHM Stags Football Team won the program’s first title in the sport. The team has held several reunion celebrations over the years, even remotely via Zoom in 2020. Despite the passage of 50 years or so, teammates invariably request I recount the following embarrassing episode.

“One expletive, one shout of joy. The two of us were both looking downfield, voicing our first, core emotion. A tangled, two-body pretzel prone on the damp turf below Whittier’s dim, antiquated stadium lights. Lights that might have served as a decent perch for resting pigeons, but inadequate for actual illumination. The football had taken an odd, unintended trajectory, nearly straight up and only a few yards past the line of scrimmage rather than toward the quarterback’s intended target, an open wide receiver, in full sprint toward the end zone. Instead of the Poets tying the score, reasserting their decadelong dominance of the conference, the Stags middle linebacker had an easy interception. We were going to win.

“Championships had been rare for the Stags, like never. My play to that point was unremarkable, just the usual, calling the defensive assignments, barking encouragement, nothing print-worthy. Late in the fourth quarter, their offense had an opportunity to take the lead. On impulse I initiated a blitz, a hard rush from the left edge. Blitzed all the time the year before, as a junior, but we had to gamble a bit more that season. Our defense wasn’t dominant like it was in ’70, playmakers at every position. It was my last collegiate game, what could Coach Zinda do to me, bench me for next week? There was no next week. We had one loss and chances were slim for a bid to the NAIA Division II Playoffs.

The action appeared to be a handoff. Instead, it was a fake to the running back into the line away from my rush. The quarterback retreated further to pass. He never saw me, had no chance to scramble, to sidestep or even duck. With a bit of luck anticipating the snap count, I burst into the Whittier backfield full speed and unimpeded. I launched myself, driving full force into the quarterback’s throwing shoulder and head. He was just able to get his arm going partially forward with enough momentum to release the errant pass. Wayne Estabrook, the Whittier quarterback, wasn’t hurt. He completed a stellar career at Whittier College over the next two years and was even drafted in the 17th Round by the NFL Cincinnati Bengals.

“It was a pretty good small college crowd, perhaps 3,000, and they were drifting out onto the field. We won it! A championship! The Stag’s first. “Life is fair after all,” I thought to myself. Well-wishers converged, classmates, family, girlfriends. “Damn!” Girlfriends: my view narrowed to Barbara, my high school girlfriend. What is she doing here, she goes to UCSB? I thought in panic, as my championship euphoria from an instant before, quickly began to circle the drain. With Barbara walked Billy, my ex-teammate and roommate, who left school the year before, then moved to Isla Vista. He actually brought her down for this game? A telephone call would have been nice, unless he was trying to mess with me.

“Hi, wow, you’re here,” I lamely stammered. At that moment Jean, my current girlfriend, attending Scripps, joins the expanding group at midfield. Should I run? No, I go ahead and introduce them. Even in the face of disaster manners are good, aren’t they? “Great game huh?” I sputter in an octave slightly above my normal voice. I’m aware of a widening circle of onlookers, I’m descending from minor hero to laughingstock, everyone knows, and the sharks are circling for the kill. It was wrong and hideous, but I did love them both. “Barbara, this is Jean, Jean this is Barbara,” I said. A momentary tight smile between the two, then all eyes back on me. I once took a bad fall from a tree as a kid, landing hard on my side, gasping, as the wind was forced from my lungs. This felt the same. The moment crystalized, I’ve lost my grip on the limb, desperately flailing for another handhold, but helplessly I plummeted. Barbara and I had shared those exciting moments endemic of a first high school love. It was only a hundred miles between our schools, did I really think this couldn’t happen?

Over the last two years of our relationship Jean had saved me. I was at the brink of academic expulsion, but she intervened, persevered, supported me in

changing my entire academic focus when the wiser path clearly would have been to find a different boyfriend. Of course, she finally did.”

DAN “COOP” COOPER ’71 DCOOPER@COOPERUDALL.COM

1972

Donald Hildre remembers his favorite CMC memories involving, “Being on golf team under Dean MacLeod, aka The Sheriff, and going to a match in Las Vegas, and going to see Elvis at the Hilton, scraping up 50 dollars with a loan from the Dean.”

Penn Fix writes, “Most of my memories of CMC settle around Wohlford Hall, a

post war concrete bunker built for a bunch of rowdy ex-GIs. Of the four North Quad dorms, Wohlford was the newest built in 1950, but by the time I opened my door on its second floor in 1968, it was well worn. Many freshmen who were assigned to Wohlford lasted just one year, fleeing to what was then known as the South Quad featuring dorms like Berger and Benson, having been built just five years earlier; and later, these students as juniors and seniors fled further south to the newest dorms Fawcett and Claremont towers built in 1967.

But for those who stayed at Wohlford, we developed a fierce loyalty to the old two-story structure and to the community that persevered there.

“The first thing I noticed about Wohlford was that it was filled with sophomores and upperclassmen. I hadn’t thought that anyone would want to be in one of the oldest dorms on campus. Two events during freshman orientation gave me a better understanding of how Wohlford might be different. Led by upperclassmen, including some who actually had dropped out but were still hanging around, we participated in a sing out contest coupled with a Scripps dorm. Not only did we learn the song, ‘Blue Moon,’ but we also were taught choreography. Unfortunately, we came in second place, upended by a group singing ‘Proud Mary.’ To this day, I hate that song! Wohlford is on the boundary between CMC and Scripps. In reality, we were on the front lines as we led the battle against the other ‘boys’ school, Harvey Mudd. Often the battlefield was Scripps. Skirmishes involved water balloons. Under one onslaught, Wohlford upper classman Jeff Hudelson led the charge against the Mudders only to be carried off by his captors to have his head flushed in a toilette.

“The Vietnam War affected all of us at Wohlford. Everyone remembers where we were when draft numbers were being drawn. I was in the locker room between basketball halves. I will never forget the screaming throughout the dorm later that night as the unlucky found out their numbers. I also remember demonstrations that occurred in the North Quad over the Cambodian bombings. These kinds of demonstrations spilled over into other issues including Cesar Chavez’s grape boycott. Craig Gilmore would always turn over his grape filled Jell-o onto the dining room table.

“I think I surprised a lot of my dormmates when I decided to run for dorm president. Up until then I had my face in the books or participating in sports.

Under my leadership, Wohlford sponsored several five-college events including two folk concerts co-sponsored with a Scripps dorm, as well as a dance featuring a Wohlford based rock ‘n’ roll band. The highlight of that evening was our RA, Richard Reed, on stage doing a rendition of the high leap associated with his favorite musician Pete Townshend of The Who. That year, we also secured Wohlford uniforms for our league winning basketball team that included Carter Mullen, Richard Reed, Dwight Monagan ’73, Ed Tewes, Jim McElwee ’74 P’12, and myself. A final event featured Dr. Stuart Briggs playing his ukulele and leading sing-alongs in a retro tribute to Claremont in the ‘50s.

“But the greatest memories are about those who lived and breathed Wohlford.

Some of us stayed all four years. Most of the core were there for two or three years. This stretched over five different classes. My roommate for four years: Carter Mullen. Craig Gilmore and Ed Tewes, Kenneth Hardie, Christopher Drouin, Rev. Pat Conroy, Wayne Akiyama ’74, Reginald Tenney ’71. Peter Davis, Kent Keigwin, Stanley Linde, Christopher Runco ’73, Mark Hathaway ’71, Robert Davis, Paul Tepper, Jeff Hudelson ’70, Robert Kawaratani, Wayne Meyer, William ‘Bill’ Morishita, Ron Berenstain,

“The winter of 1968-69 brought snow, and the Northwest students led Wohlford to a resounding victory in the ensuring snowball fight in the North Quad. These same students found themselves alone during the January term break; with the campus services shut down, we often ate together at the Village Grill.

“We always supported our fellow dormmates, resulting in great memories surrounding sports and theater. Participating in the kazoo marching band at football games; cheering for basketball stars John McKniff and David Wells, who left the soft surroundings of the South Quad to join rowdy Wohlford for their senior year. We all had a good laugh watching them moving so slowly as a result of the modern dance class they took at Scripps thinking it would be a breeze for their final semester. None of us will forget the improvisational theatre, Karma Pi, held on the Scripps campus twice a month. Led by Wohlford’s funniest guys, Paul Tepper, Robert Davis, and Rev. Patrick Conroy, they along with Boswell’s own Robin Williams, provided us with the funniest moments of our lives. And Wohlford’s Peter Davis was the able stage manager for the theatre, too. We can’t forget Conroy’s amazing three-mile-long distance run to win the SCIAC championship at the wire.

“We studied hard and played hard at Wohlford. Long hours at the library were rewarded with frequent late night food trips to El Tepeyac in East Los Angeles and Tommy’s in Hollywood led by foodies, Craig Gilmore, J.E. ‘Ed’ Tewes, Ron Berenstain ’73, and Jim McElwee ’74 P’12. Ron graduated top in his class; Gregory Breen ’74 left President Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 shaking a prosthetic at the graduation podium. At Wohlford, we had favorite professors; perhaps the most popular was Dr. Ward Elliott. Many of us took his inaugural class, Politics of Population.

Claremont McKenna College 95.

Randall Lewis ’73 P’10 P’11 P’13, Rick Reed, John McKniff, David Wells,

Mark Rosenthal remembers he “found CMC very friendly and collegial, not

Dwight Monagan ’73, Jim McElwee ’74 P’12, Richard Shatzel ’69, Nat Baumer ’71, Joseph Moore ’70, Wylie Drummond ’71, Rob Gleeson ’70, Frank Hobbs ’74, and many more.”

snooty like the Ivy League. It was incredibly special to have such small classes and close interaction with faculty. It was a great place to learn, with many fabulous professors allowing me to attend the second-best medical school in the country after graduation. I also appreciated the diversity of classes at the other Claremont Colleges. Highly important for me was the terrific athletic opportunity I had all those years to be able to swim at the small college national level.”

BOB BILLS ’72 RDBILLS@AOL.COM

1973 Interesting what people remember over fifty years later. As you would imagine, it’s a spectrum.

Steve Pocock starts us off by commenting on his first day on campus, one

of the prompts for memories of CMC. “Upon arriving that day, I was assigned a roommate who turned out to be a very enterprising entrepreneur of a suspicious substance. A notable start. One of my favorite experiences for the first two years involved beer busts down at the Wash. And then there were dorm football games that ruined both knees. I am, however, grateful for the experience. And I don’t think I would have changed a thing.”

Lowell Sears continues: “One experience sticks with me over the years—

Proctor Thompson’s economics courses. Proctor asked you a question, pointing his long fingers directly at you with that look of inquisition. There was no hiding in his classes, so you had better be prepared. In addition to supply and demand curves, he taught me the value of the Socratic teaching tradition. I have used his approach in my time as an instructor over the years. It works.”

Chip Allen recalls his most notable athletic experience. “After three years

eschewing extracurricular activities in favor of studies, I decided in my senior year to join the Claremont ‘ski team.’ It was more like a club, but when we accepted an invitation to a meet for California schools at Mammoth, the calculus changed. I had never skied competitively, but this promised to be a big adventure. We drove up after Friday classes, got to our hotel late, and I expected everyone to retire early. Rather, it was the weekend, we were college students, and our “team building exercise” went well into the wee hours. The next morning, we learned our opponents were schools like UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal State L.A. It was David and Goliath.

“The day’s key race was the giant slalom. Two of our guys were good, and they were holding positions in the top five finishers when my number came up.

“I had not really acquired proper racing apparel. My stretch pants were reasonably aerodynamic, and my billowy parka made me look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. “I pushed tentatively through the starting gate. The good skiers skated to acquire speed. I snowplowed to avoid it. By the middle of the course, I had picked up a fair amount of speed—more than I knew how to deal with. If only I had a parach... wait a minute. I opened up my arms and let the wind fill up my parka like a spinnaker. It held me to a speed I could handle, and I stayed on my feet and finished the race.

“Now, the wait for the results. How our team did depended on how high our third finisher placed. And I was that finisher in 22nd place overall. We won!

“After graduation, I spent the next two winters ski bumming in Snowmass, Colo. I got to be a better skier, but learned enough about myself to stay away from racing. I also got skiing out of my system—I skied 100 days the first winter, 50 the second, and a couple dozen since.

“So, my record in the Grand Slalom stands unblemished. One race, one podium.”

Chip also relayed that roommate Don Waddell reminded him that it was 50 years ago to the day of writing this memory (February 9) that they woke up around 6 a.m. to their dorm room shaking due to the San Fernando earthquake. “How quaint that we just lay back in our beds and waited for it to pass.”

96. CMC CLASS NOTES

Rich Esterkin prefaces his note with what many of us would agree with— “some of my most vivid memories are not fit to print.” And, yes, he and I agreed not to print one. Other memories per some of the idea prompts that did pass the “printable test” are:

“Professor who changed my life: That’s easy. Leonard Levy’s full year class on constitutional history. An amazing perspective on our Founders and how this country is supposed to work. His class led me to law school and what is now a more than 40-year career as a lawyer.

“Favorite Seal Pond experience: Also easy. The evening during Bonnie Lofgren’s cooking classes at the old president’s house when Peter Gastaldi and I made up a story about you (Ken Gilbert) being engaged and then throwing you into Seal Pond. (Ken’s comment: Yes, it was the coldest, slimiest, most stagnant water around.)

“Favorite athletic experience: This is best remembered in person. It involved a trip to the NAIA National Swim Meet. I’ll tell more at our 50th reunion. Those of you who were not there are free to speculate.

“Second favorite athletic experience: I arrived at CMC as a swimmer. Once I got there, Dez Farnady, the swimming and water polo coach, suggested I try water polo—which I had never played before—as a way to get into shape for the swim season. At my first polo workout, Dez asked me to try out as a goalie. He started by lobbing some shots close in and then shooting harder and further away. After 15 or 20 shots, he rifled a shot that hit me in the head. He apologized, continued with some more shots away from my body, and then threw a screamer at my head. Having now figured out that getting hit in the head by a polo ball was not all that fun, on the next shot, I instinctively covered my face with my arms. At that point, Dez told me that I did not have what it took to be a goalie, and he put me on the JV team as a field player. I played all four years at CMC. After a 20-year break, I started playing Master’s polo again in 1997. Since then, I have played at U.S. Master’s Nationals every year and at FINA World Masters tournaments in Morocco, Italy (twice), Australia, Hungary, Korea, Montreal, and Stanford. I have also acted as USA Water Polo’s main outside legal counsel for the last 15 years. A huge thanks to Dez for introducing me to something that incredibly enriched my life and gave me an incentive to stay in shape all these years.”

Some CMC memories start after graduation, as Lee Fawkes points out. “My wife and I went to Japan for our honeymoon in 1984. We stayed in a Tokyo hotel that catered to foreign academics, partially because the staff spoke English and especially because it served an American breakfast. On our first morning at the hotel, we were jet lagged and went for an early breakfast.

Looking around the uncrowded dining room, I saw a familiar face. My former professor, John Roth, in Tokyo for a conference, was eating breakfast at a nearby table! We had a great catch-up conversation. CMC is everywhere.”

Joe McNaught reminds us that Robin Williams was not the only colorful or unforgettable character in Berger Hall during our freshman year. As Joe says, “the line-up included ‘Beef,’ ‘the Foreigner,’ ‘Coop,’ ‘Bumpy,’ ‘Ozob,’ ‘Pruz,’ ‘Jarvis’ Jutovsky, ‘Peach’, ’Kabuki,’ a couple of campus-wide entrepreneurs of a suspicious substance, and the inimitable Sam Bonacorso ’71 with his combination of Tijuana knife scars and 750 LSAT score. Rob (as he preferred back then) was in good company.”

Mark Milker has some reflections about what CMC means to and did for him as well. Highlights of his thoughts are below.

“When I first read the request for memories and thoughts about CMC, I began recalling funny incidents and stories, most of which would be deemed ‘inappropriate’ in polite society. Then I recalled incidents and stories that were, perhaps, somewhat less humorous but certainly more compelling. After a while, I recognized there was no simple answer or single story that could encompass the breadth of the subject. It became obvious that there was no way in which my life had not been altered for the better by my time at CMC. “For myself, I learned life at CMC. I learned who I was and how I related to others. I learned there were people everywhere who I could learn skills from and that every person, no matter how otherwise incomprehensible to me, seemingly superior or obviously different, held a valuable lesson for me.

“I learned that life is a series of complex problems to be solved, that there are limited resources of time and energy available to each of us, and that our choices as to allocation of those resources determines who we, and others, perceive us to be.

“I learned that we can’t control the world around us, much as we might feel a need to, but we can control our responses to that world. I learned that failure is just another form of success, another step on the path to resolution, if you allow yourself to learn from it. I learned that we must each learn to forgive ourselves, if we ever hope to not repeat our errors. I learned that I am responsible for my world, every aspect of it. I learned that people are kind, if you let them be. I learned that the unobtainable is only so if you decide that it is so. I learned that all complex things are made up of simple parts. And I learned that life is far too important and interesting to be taken seriously.

“I experienced so much more at CMC than I had ever conceived I might.

And, of course, there are those stories—those things that make up a life, that happened at CMC that I had never before been exposed to and likely would never have done or seen were it not for that special place. Some were funny, most were inflection points. I could not possibly have become who I am today without them.

“And, finally, and perhaps most importantly for this exercise, I learned at CMC that all of the rules of writing, grammar, and punctuation were ultimately social conventions and tools subject to the author’s whim to utilize or reject. A valuable life lesson indeed!”

Paul Fisher’s reflections seem to be a good way to finish. “Many, if not most, of us would say the most enduring and endearing things about CMC are the friends and relationships we forged during our time there. They are special. For those with whom I am still in contact regularly, not so regularly, or now only in special memories, I am most grateful. Really.

relationship with any of my CMC professors. I did not take advantage of a key reason that I chose to attend CMC and certainly one of its greatest opportunities. Yes, I had small classes, some from which I gained a great deal (Hal Painter’s Freshman English, James Rogers’ Marx, Darwin & Freud, Stuart Briggs’ Accounting). But not taking advantage of professors and gaining from their guidance significantly lessened my experience there. It clearly altered the path I would eventually pursue.

“Even with all this said, I will always treasure my years at CMC. I acquired better thinking, reasoning, and writing skills, and I enjoyed classes on subjects I had never dreamed about. Most of all, I feel I got a great education.

“Hopefully, this note will answer many of the questions that Harvey Goldhammer will ask after dinner at future reunions.”

With thanks from our whole class to the faculty and college staff, especially the dormitory attendants, who made our college experience what it was.

KEN GILBERT ’73 KPGILBERT@SBCGLOBAL.COM

1974

The class notes “ask” yielded some good updates as well as some campus memories as we begin the celebration of CMC’s 75th anniversary.

Greg Breen wrote in an update, “Frank Hobbs has initiated bi-weekly Zoom

calls with me, Chuck Crouch, Jeff Hudson, Bob Trujillo, Brian Buchanan, and Phil Koen. Phil and Frank both have grandkids, so the fall of Western civilization is assured as their genes propagate. After spending the first few Zoom meetings catching up, Phil suggested that we have a seance and try to channel old chums from CMC. Jeff was the first to try. He wanted to contact Kathy Lowe to ask her why she put him in Langdon Elsbree’s class, the only B he got at CMC—but we couldn’t contact her, we kept getting George C.S. Benson.”

Responding to campus memories and photos to celebrate CMC’s 75th, Riley Atkins and Kim Ledbetter responded by submitting some great photos

(those that don’t make it into the CMC Magazine, I’ll save for my next letter to the class).

It was great to hear from Dick Archibald-Woodward. “My first memory of CMC was walking into my dorm room to find my new roommate, Terry Baruch, trying to perfect card tricks as he waited to find out who this dope from Oregon was—and that he would have to share a room with for the next year.

For the sake of full disclosure, 50 years later he is still one of my best friends in the world.

“How CMC impacted my view of myself started during my freshman year. I came in with a good high school record and a false sense of confidence in my academic capabilities. After studying reasonably hard during my first semester, I ended up with a 2.75 GPA. I was now quite average. So, I decided to see what I could do with one more semester, and if that didn’t work out, I would transfer.

What I learned about myself during the ensuing three and one-half years was that if I buckled down and focused on something, I could compete and succeed. I ended up graduating Cum Laude, and I consider doing that at such a great school to be one of my significant life accomplishments.

“There were a few professors who influenced me, but none more profoundly than Art Rosenbaum, who gave me the best advice anyone could have a few months before I left to study abroad. He told me to remember that most of my learning and experience would come outside the classrooms, so I should immerse myself in the culture, the people, and the adventure. While I didn’t spend a year in Japan, as he had tried to convince me to do, I took his advice while studying in England. Separated from CMC students, immersed in an English university, and free to travel throughout Europe, I discovered much about others’ views of the world quite separate from those I got at home in the US. And I learned a great deal about myself: my views on life and the world, my own fears and doubts, as well as my strengths and deep interests. That year was, without a doubt, the best year of my college career.

“A disappointment for me at CMC was the relatively segregated social life.

I had come from a multicultural youth and treasured that. Right away, I found the only racial social integration was in the dorms. In Collins, white and Asian Americans would sit together and African Americans would sit apart. That always bothered me. No doubt it was a sign of the times. I know multiculturalism is now a strength of the school, and thank heaven.

“Of course, I do have to note that year abroad, while it influenced me in many ways throughout my life, was a major reason I connected at the beginning of our senior year with a beautiful Pitzer student who recently had returned from studying and traveling in South America. Now, 48 years later, Harriet and I have been married for 45 years. If that isn’t college success, I don’t know what is!”

“My greatest regret of my experience at CMC was not establishing a strong

Claremont McKenna College

97.

CMC MEMORIES

The John Faranda collection '79

me by Ronald Paz Vargas ’01 when he graduated. Ronald was an international student from Bolivia who became my friend through International Place. Someone in his family was into gold, and the CMC pin was made of solid gold—not the “golden” pins that I was used to having!

Finally, I have a rectangular CMC pin given to me (and to hundreds of other alumni and students) by Bart Evans ’70.

Bart designed these pins and would distribute them at the Information Technology Advisory Board networking trips and other events.

EVERYONE AT CMC KNOWS JOHN FARANDA ’79.

Whether as a classmate, friend, mentor, tour guide, sailing coach, lacrosse adviser—or in his official College role as ambassador-at-large—Faranda has been a fixture at his alma mater for 40-plus years. In that time, he has attended a lot of CMC events. And as one of the College’s biggest supporters, he has accumulated a lot of CMC “stuff.”

We asked the keeper of one of CMC’s best collections to share a few favorites for the 75th—including several items that appear in this very magazine.

It does trace the recent history of the College—from Men’s College items to the new Auen Hall T-shirt that we gave the residents when Claremont Hall was renamed in 1990 to the recent gear sold by the Claremont Women in Business group. I also have a lot of CMC ties, with my favorite being one I bought at Huntley Bookstore as a student, though it is getting pretty tired now. I even helped design some with Robert Talbott up in Carmel. They provided CMC with many beautiful customized, handmade British-silk ties.

What are the items in your CMC collection that evoke special memories?

Anything you wish you still had that you know once existed in your CMC collection, or that you never got a chance to have?

The sentimental favorite would be the Claremont Men’s sticker that I have on a leather pencil cup. I remember buying the sticker at Huntley Bookstore my freshman year and, after much consideration, sticking it on my pencil cup. It sort of was my internal realization that I was part of the CMC community now. And evermore.

I suppose that the big gap in my gear is CMS items. I have lots of things from the men’s lacrosse and men’s rugby clubs, but only a few CMS items. The Stag football team once gave me one of their special T-shirts. It was size XXL, which I hope reflected the stature with which they regarded me, and not the actual size of the clothing I wear!

I also think of three of the lapel pins in my collection with special stories. One of the CMC pins was given to me by the Admission Office staff when I graduated. I was an admission tour guide for many years, and sort of hung around the Admission Office, which was then in the main part of old Pitzer Hall. As a political science major, most of my professors were upstairs, so I spent a lot of time in Pitzer Hall. I was touched that the wonderful Admission staff would give me something when I was departing CMC. A second CMC lapel pin was given to

98. CMC CLASS NOTES

Clothing, mementos, trinkets, logos—it’s all part of the College’s 75-year history. Do these items tell you anything about your time at CMC as a student to now?

Has your CMC gear sparked any interesting conversations for you through the years?

It is definitely fun to wear CMC gear in public and see what reactions one gets. Years ago, I was in a crowded train in Shanghai. I had a cool laptop bag with the CMC logo emblazoned on it. The woman next to me pointed to it and said, “In China, if students want to go to a big school, the parents want them to go to Harvard. But if they want to go to a small school, parents prefer Claremont McKenna College.” Needless to say, I was blown away—and made sure to carry the case proudly with the logo visible for the rest of the day.

Kim Ledbetter shared this reflection, “At the time I

entered CMC as a freshman, I planned to major in political science and attend law school after graduation. After my first semester, I decided that a political science major was not the best direction for me. I eventually settled on a math and economics double-major. Perhaps the most important moment in my college career was the day I noticed a poster at the entrance to Collins Hall. The poster said, “What? Me be an actuary?” and advertised two actuarial science classes to be offered at Harvey Mudd. After doing some research, I decided to enroll in the first class. That class and that decision turned out to me a pivotal moment and set me on the course for a career as an actuary, and ultimately a role in senior management for a national insurance company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. I also met my wife, Barb, at work and we have been married for 43 years. Our son, Jonathan, lives nearby in another suburb of Portland. My double-major from CMC and the education I received there were a perfect fit for my career. I believe the technical skills I learned studying actuarial science plus the writing and speaking skills I learned during my four years at CMC were vital to whatever success I achieved during my career.

“Since graduation, I have remained close friends with three classmates I met and got to know at CMC—Riley Atkins, Dave Kitch and Alan Rappoport.

All three ultimately moved to the Northwest. Riley and Dave moved to the Portland area (where I went to high school and worked after graduation) and Alan to Seattle. Their presence in my life has been a real blessing. They have been and remain some of the best friends I have. Unfortunately, Alan passed away in 2019 after being ill for a number of years. During that time, we all got to spend time with Alan and let him know how much we cared for him and his family. Riley, Dave and I have all retired and are enjoying being free (pre-virus) to travel and have taken some trips together.

“Sometimes, I think about how my life would have unfolded had I not attended CMC. I’m sure I would have had a very different life. I always conclude that I have been very lucky. Attending CMC, the opportunities the college provided and the lifelong friends I made were all part of that luck.”

A memory from Skip Weiss that still makes him smile.

In the early ’70s when CMC was still Claremont Men’s College, one of the biggest issues pushed by the student body was having co-ed housing on campus (that is, official, school sanctioned co-ed housing).

“One evening in the spring of 1974, the administration convened a meeting at the Athenaeum (then situated at the old President’s House) that consisted of students (with apologies to those I leave out … or to those I mention that were not actually there: my fading memory recalls Tim Donahoe, Jeff Hudson, Eric Hansen, Steve Golan, David Roth, Mario Mainero ’75, Brandy Birtcher ’76, and Jeff Taylor), CMC Board members (COB Jon Lovelace and others) and administrators Jack Stark ’57 GP’11, Deans MacLeod, Gray, and O’Neill, among others to discuss the issue.

“The students made an impassioned argument. By the end of the evening, as we students met standing in a circle as a group, we felt we had been heard.

That is, until we noticed that Jeff Taylor’s fly had been unzipped (God knows for how long) and the tail of his bright red dress shirt was hanging out of his pants.

Co-ed housing? Hmmm. Perhaps that evening the CMC leadership noticed the “red flag,” and concluded that co-ed housing was not the best solution, and a spark was lit that led to the initial consideration for CMC ultimately going co-ed.

“It’s an interesting theory, no?”

SKIP WEISS ’74 P’15 SKIPWEISS@AOL.COM

1976

Mark Roque writes, “It started with Angela Davis and ended with Bebe Rebozo. In between we saw the end of the Vietnam War, the beginning of Saturday Night Live, and the beginning of personal computers (also known as word processors). There were trips to the Seal Pond (the infamous one with the Bucannon brothers), streaking (Charlie Speelman, anyone?) great soccer games on the field between Green and Claremont Tower and gross-outs. My freshman year, I had to listen to my dorm mates (you know who you are) play “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” over and over again.

“We had the first dorm Olympics. Many, many poker games where I toted around a plastic toy full of quarters. Saw the first Rocky movie in downtown Claremont. Trained a rat to dunk a marble in a fruit cup basket under Harvey ‘the Rat Man’ Wichman.

“Took two years of modern dance, where the highlight was watching Bob Mennis do his required dance routine which consisted of walking to the center of the dance floor, pausing, then wave and say ‘leaving,’ then walk out the door.

“Then there was the event on the lawn at Scripps where Norm Richards, Martin ‘Marry’ Hayburn, Layne Burdick, and myself performed as the four fat men.

“Intramural flag football (which I wasn’t supposed to play, as I was on the baseball team) and four years being coached by the legendary Bill Arce.”

MARK LAURIA ’76 P’08 MARKWLAURIA@GMAIL.COM

1977

Al Hartunian III recalls, “CMC used to have a ‘college carrier current’ AM radio station, KCMC. When my class arrived on campus in 1973, the station (located across the hall from the Hub snack bar) had long been dormant. A couple of students were Air Force veterans who had radio experience in the military. They had the technical background to fix the broken station equipment, and organize an interested group of students into reviving the station. I became the Program Director, in charge of scheduling our ‘disc jockeys.’ My ‘on air’ moniker was the cringe-worthy ‘Al Hart, the Hart of Rock.’ College ‘carrier current’ radio stations were not regulated by the FCC, because they did not broadcast over the air. Instead, they broadcast through the college electrical system. This is a horrible way to send out a radio signal, resulting in a weak and static-filled broadcast. Your only chance of hearing the station was if you were in a dorm, and even then, on a good day, it sounded like the broadcast was coming from Nova Scotia. Since people tended to listen to AM radio only while driving, we rarely had any listeners at all. One of our DJs once offered $50 to the first person to call, and heard from no one. It was easy to tell when a DJ needed a restroom break: we would play a side-long live album (I favored Yessongs by Yes) to give us a chance to lock the empty studio behind us while we ran to the bathroom across the hall. Occasionally we would miscalculate the time, and arrive back in the studio to find silence as the needle circled the album runout groove. Yet, despite all the problems, it was so fun to pretend we were real DJs with people really listening to us. We had a blast.

AL HARTUNIAN III ’77 ALBERT3SD@YAHOO.COM

1978

Craig Bentley remembers, “It was the beginning of my sophomore year living in Benson Fire Dept (BFD) in ’75. Our RA, Ted “Action” Jackson ’76, was new to the job and new to our dorm. Some seniors from the third floor, who after four years in BFD felt like they were in charge and that any new RA would need to pass their inspection, had been at the beach the day before school started and saw a dead seal. They brought the seal back and stored it on the dorm roof.

“The next day one of the seniors lured Ted out of his room (“I’m locked out of my room” or some such ruse), and while Ted dealt with that, the other seniors carried the seal into Ted’s room and laid it out on the bed with its head

Claremont McKenna College 99.

After so many years (and missed opportunities) how wonderful it was to have completed such a great circle and meet again.”

Mark Schwartz writes, “One of the many favorite memories from my CMC

experience was a class in the second semester of my senior year which was inaugurated by Professor Gordon Bjork. Gordon had extensive ties to the mortgage banking industry (he helped me obtain a summer job at Sutro Mortgage before my senior year). He was the first college professor to utilize the novel teaching tool based on computer simulation technology. In the spring of 1978, he taught the first Bank Sim course. Subsequently, Bank Sim was taught for many years to undergraduate and graduate students throughout the U.S. and in executive education programs. There have been many derivatives created from Bank Sim. Professor Bjork and CMC had the first.

“Students formed their own commercial bank teams. Each class the banking teams worked on strategic inputs that were fed into a computer model. At the next class you got a large printout on green and white computer paper of the financial results from the inputs submitted in the prior class.

“We named our bank ‘Bert’s Bank,’ after Bert Lance, a small-town Georgia banker who became a pre-eminent adviser and tennis-playing confidant to Jimmy Carter, who was forced to resign after eight months as director of the Office of Management and Budget. I am still close with two of my Bert’s Bank teammates, Bruce Soll ’79 P’12 P’15 P’17 and Soll Center benefactor, and Joel Susel ’79.

propped up on the pillow. They put reading glasses on the seal and laid a halfopen book on its chest, as if it died while reading. The book was Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, and on the chalkboard on Ted’s door they wrote “You have our ‘seal’ of approval.” Ted was totally freaked out by having a large dead animal in his bed. Truly one of the greatest pranks I have ever witnessed.”

Dan Goldzband writes in, “Just about anyone who had a positive college

experience has special memories—the outstanding professor, a remarkable class, great friendships that have lasted. I had all those, and more, at CMC (unfortunately no gratifying romantic relationships—ah, well). So what was uniquely special about my experience? I have always thought it was best typified by the Contemporary British Politics course I took as a sophomore in 1976. Taught by Dick Wheeler, then chair of the Political Science Department, it consisted of only six CMCers and a graduate student. We even presented much of the material ourselves, like a graduate seminar. No other experience so clearly delineated the difference between a small college like CMC and a major university.

“Naturally, the competition to generate the highest returns and profitability ran deep in that class, and Bert’s Bank was determined to win. We figured out how to generate the most interest income by purchasing high yield bonds (instead of making lower interest yielding mortgages)—and this is way before Michael Milken and Drexel were household names. It worked great for eight classes or eight quarters, until Professor Bjork threw us a curve and raised interest rates by 500 basis points the next quarter. We suffered terrible losses that quarter and thereafter adopted a more conservative conventional lending strategy.

“There were so many lessons learned from Bank Sim beyond how to manage a bank and devise a profitable funding and lending strategy: collaborating as a team, understanding how to make decisions, debating issues effectively, efficiently and respectfully. This was experiential learning at its finest hour and a half. I remember as time was running out in one class and we had to finalize our inputs, Professor Bjork would tell everyone to stop focusing on small issues like $5,000 advertising expenses. I thought: $5,000 is a lot of money—that is the total annual cost of attending CMC.” FRANK CHMELIK ’78 P’18 FCHMELIK@CHMELIK.COM

1979

“The icing on the cake was a visit from Mr. Patrick Duffy, a Labour MP (member of Parliament), whom Dick had befriended on his annual summer sojourns in London. Mr. Duffy was a fairly new MP, a backbencher as they say, and extremely affable and eager to speak with us. We had dinner with him at the Athenaeum, and sherry beforehand. I recall sitting next to him, and feeling amazed that this was happening at all. I could not have gotten anywhere near such a visitor at UCLA.

Remember when we were freshmen in 1975, and being 75 years old seemed as far away as the year 2031? Imagine how our dear college must now feel in its 75th year. (But to put it into perspective, Harvard is 385 years old.)

A whole lot has changed at CMC since the college was founded, and almost as much since we first stepped foot on Sixth Street. Heck, even the school’s name changed. But in consideration of our limited intellectual capabilities, it was nice of the College to maintain the initials CMC.

“I recall that Mr. Duffy was an ardent European Union supporter and that he wished he could have been a member of the first British delegation to the European Parliament, but he didn’t have the seniority. I don’t recall much else he said, but the impression was made, and remained. Another class member, Nat Lord, visited Mr. Duffy in London the following year, and how I envied him.

But in 2018, my wife and I dined with the now-retired Sir Patrick at his home in Yorkshire. From a Labour backbencher he had risen to become Minister of the Navy and President of the NATO Assembly. I do remember more of the conversation at that delightful luncheon, and it was another singular event.

Remember how important birthdays were when we were toddlers? Well, birthdays and anniversaries should be of increasing importance to us again, since we are older and have seen how fragile life can be in this pandemic world. Like the roaring 1920s, post-vaccine America will be living it up like it was 1979. Just think how great our 50th reunion will be in 2029.

100. CMC CLASS NOTES

Joel Susel wrote that for the next issue, as President of the Claremont

Economics Association (CEA) when we were students, he will have some special things to share that will enhance CMC’s 75th Anniversary celebration.

Joel, the pressure is on. Also on the case for some good stuff is Ford Frost (who was busy relocating to Austin, Texas.)

Steve Trenholme (my Berger Hall roommate for freshman and sophomore years) wrote, “We were asked about friends made at CMC. Jon Lehman ’76 and I have been close friends for decades. We have been there for each other in good and happy times, sad and bad times. We talk on the phone several times a week. We have remained friends even though he is an absolute conservative, and I am a tree-hugging liberal. He has a friend who is a counselor who has told him that it is rare for men to have real friends, much less to have a friendship that lasts for decades. Some other men I met at CMC have also been my friends for decades. They include Clint Greenbaum, Kevin White ’80, and Mike “Greyhound” Gabriel. I don’t talk to them as frequently as I talk to Jon, but they are all important to me. When my home in Paradise California burned down in 2018—along with the rest of the tow—Clint offered to fly my wife and me to New York to relax, and Greyhound offered to give me suits to wear as all my clothing had been destroyed.

“Regarding pranks, here goes—I grew up with my just my mom. She did not have much money, she was afraid of driving, and thus we did not have a car. Those circumstances made learning to drive very difficult. I didn’t get a driver’s license until I was a freshman at CMC. Jon Lehman played a big role in my getting the license. The night I obtained my license, Jon and the other members of the cross-country team told me we were going to go to a party at Scripps. We started walking together to Scripps. Suddenly they grabbed me, carried me to Seal Pond, and threw me into it. They did this to “celebrate” my getting a license. No one was ever as happy to be thrown into Seal Pond as I was that night. My friends cared enough to pond me! Here’s a shout-out to the members of the CMC ground crew—especially a man from Greece name Yiannis. His name was the same as the Greek restaurant in downtown Claremont. One summer, I worked with the ground crew. I will just say that these men were unsung heroes at CMC, who deserve a ton of praise for keeping the campus looking good. It was very good getting to know them.”

Eric Weber says that his “mentor was Professor Jerry Eyrich. He is still my friend and mentor today. I think the world of him because he always thought that everyone of us could do more and better than we thought we could do. He helped me get into the University of Chicago and provided consulting services to my start-up pet food company. Gerry is the reason that doors opened for me at the right time and place during my CMC journey and into grad school.

“The one prank I can remember was the one that Torrey Sun didn’t throw me out of school for—and probably should have. I’m not sure what the reason was, but Appleby and Wohlford (where I lived my fresh and soph years) were having a gross-out that turned into some kind of water balloon fight. Somehow, I thought it was a brilliant idea to fill one of the old-style fire extinguishers that you could pressurize with a tire pump, with water-based latex paint and water it down and pressurize it at the local gas station. I specifically remember spraying some unsuspecting fellow from Appleby who was about to throw a water balloon at me, and he turned completely white from the paint in the sprayer. I know I ruined his clothes, and I should have been disciplined for this, but thankfully it all blew over. Whoever you were, I apologize! My best friends have all come from CMC. Many of us still get together via Zoom on a weekly basis for a Stag session.”

Over the course of the past several months, I’ve received emails from classmates like Mary Gerard, who reported that she has a son named Clint (I like this guy), and he lives in the Omaha area and graduated from UNLV. John Becker checked in from Texas during their tragic winter storm. Thankfully, he wrote that his family was in a fairly good situation, but many, many others were not as lucky.

Earlier this year, the Class of ’79 joined the rest of the world and had a Zoom call. The call was well attended and a lot of fun. At least Jack Steinhauser wrote me that it was. Thanks John. And David Goetsch even wrote that he

was sorry he missed it. We missed him, too. While the invitation asked that the participants wear a costume, I was the only one who did (actually two: A takeoff of the Bernie Sanders meme and a Capitol rioter wearing a horned fur hat—very bipartisan.)

Finally, unlike most major news organizations, I am willing to admit that I made a mistake. In the last Class Notes, I wrote something about Cody Smith that should have not been attached to him. As he writes, “I can report that I am well! I retired from Goldman Sachs after 23 years in 2007, and subsequently moved from NYC back to my home state of Colorado. I am the proud “bonus Dad” for Jack Brown ’18 and Henry Brown ’21. Their mother, Virginia Brown is my guiding light.”

CLINT GREENBAUM CGREENBAUM@AOL.COM

1980

When we started at CMC in 1976, the school had just turned 30, a mere infant in a world of well-established colleges and universities. And here we are, nearly 45 years later about to celebrate CMC’s 75th Anniversary. I am so grateful to those of you who submitted your memories and reminiscences about your years at CMC. It’s evident that CMC was, and still is, a special place, virtually unrecognizable from 45 years ago and yet so very familiar.

From Wayne Slavitt: “I was fortunate to be a member of the first four-year co-ed class at CMC. (I believe the Today Show was on campus for the first day of classes in 1976). Those pioneering women—several of whom I communicate with regularly still today—proudly asserted themselves and contributed in and out of the classroom without ever making gender an issue. In my freshman year, I lived on the dark side of Wohlford, one of the few co-ed dorms in that inaugural year and lived with Steve Naylor, with whom I am still friends.

I have fond memories of my four years at CMC, including gross-outs, Seal Pond, Monte Carlo Night, water balloon fights, Tower parties, the politicallyincorrect Pimp and Whore Night (at which my girl-friend at the time wore just a sportscoat), dinners at the old Athenaeum (especially with Professor Bjork, who challenged, educated, and guided me for my four years at CMC and beyond), taking Professor Lofgren’s Constitutional Law class in my freshman year (what was I thinking?), avoiding reading Democracy in America by having Howard Kroll ’78 lecture me about the tome for three entire days, helping to restart the Collegian newspaper (thanks to the leadership of Scott Wolff), to starting the Appleby Economics Society (a study group that was so successful we had to meet secretly to prevent a crowd from crashing our study sessions), and being forced to take Econometrics with Jerry Eyrich P’83. Lots of great memories, especially my senior year with Allen Lantor ’81 and Pablo Nathan, with whom I am still close. I was so happy that Scripps was adjacent to CMC. I became friends with so many Scripps students, including my wife of almost 39 years, Joanne Ratner.

“One final comment on my female classmates at CMC. In the second semester of our senior year, several of us were invited to a black-tie, CMC event at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where Henry Kissinger was speaking. The men in my class who were invited were instructed to go into Clareville to a formal wear store to rent a tuxedo for the event, with CMC picking up the tab. Not to be discriminated against, the women in my class marched into the office of President Jack Stark ’57 GP’11, pled their case, and left with an agreement to be compensated the dollar amount of the tuxedo rental for them to apply to the cost of a formal dress. Equality in action!

“I have often wondered if the great memories of my four years at CMC were unique to CMCers or also experienced by people who went elsewhere. I like to think it was unique to us, so lucky to have lived in that wonderful bubble for four years.”

From Jay Tremblay, “Without a doubt, one CMC person who made a difference in my life was Jerry Garris P’91 P’01. Without his encouragement, I never would have graduated. I still think frequently of his course on legal writing

Claremont McKenna College 101.

(especially on how to write statutes—much harder than it sounds). He once told me that, in college, he repo’d cars. While I am not sure that I was encouraged to stay only by that one thought, I did stick around to graduate. I was quite saddened to learn of his death last summer. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.)”

From John Bolmer: “T is for Turabian and her method; H is for the hours that you took; E is for the eighty-five revisions; S is for the stack of research books; I is for your “interest” in the topic; S is for the sleep you didn’t get.

“Put them all together, they spell THESIS, that 100-page piece of... your mind.

To the extent I have a quick wit or a colorful vocabulary to call upon when needed, these characteristics are more attributable to my participation in gross-outs than to my participation in any formal course.”

From Paul Nathan. “After all these years, I still can remember my first days at CMC. What I recall the most was not the excitement of being on campus, the upcoming classes, or the freedom that I never before experienced growing up in Argentina, but instead it was so many of you telling me over and over again that there were mountains just north of campus. Sure, I was a foreigner, but I was not that naïve. Lo and behold, several weeks later the Santa Ana winds kicked in and proved all of you right and educating me on the meaning of the word ‘smog.’

“We all know the great education we received, but it was more in the execution of that education—professors who cared about the students, shown by their warmth and friendly attitude. Most of you may not be aware of this, but Jack and Jil Stark used to host Thanksgiving at their home for the very few foreign students on campus. Forty plus years later, I remember those evenings fondly.

Prior to COVID, I was lucky enough to return to campus several times per year. While many of the faces have changed, the warmth and care towards the students is very much present. For me, returning to campus always feel like going home. In addition to my world class education, it is the lifelong friendships I made as a student who to this day I cherish. Wayne Slavitt, Professor Gordon Bjork, Elaine Rossi ’83, Allen Lantor ’81, and Gary Carson ’78 among many others. To this day, I am grateful to have chosen CMC for my education and for them to have chosen me.”

From Ron Levin, “A COVID weekend led to cleaning out old boxes in the basement. I came across some old CMC related stuff. It was a bit worn and yellowed, but brought back some fond memories. These included a photo of my freshman roommate, Pierre Viergutz Dunod from Venezuela, who had a habit of wearing my clothes; Cliff Gookin ’79, who decided to steal my girlfriend a week after I showed up on campus; a few members of the CMC Jewish Mafia, Russ Greenberg ’79 P’18, Scott Wolff, and Clint Greenbaum ’79, who always found good food off campus; lots of good photos from the Buffalo Inn, which I and several members of Appleby Hall literally and legitimately put on the map (is it still there?); my college friends David Dinsmore and Tim Stanford (where are you guys?), Stag Soccer and Tennis Team photos (including Derek ‘Rico’ Werner), and lots of photos of my first step into the nonprofit world, LET’S DANCE, where we held a 24-hour dance marathon on campus and raised $25,000. Lots of photos of people who helped, and in particular my co-founder, Alex Crutchfield (who I would love to catch up with), and articles on the Student Investment Club, which partially helped launch my career at Goldman Sachs (38 years).

“Now that I am 62, I think I can safely mention one other thing I found: a warning letter I received from the Dean of Students after the Appleby Hall upperclassman took me out for a night on campus, and encouraged me to consume too much cheap beer. Rest of the story is history, but let’s just say I never told my parents about the warning and it was not part of my business school applications.

“Forty years have gone by too quickly. Lots of great memories from CMC. It was a wonderful part of my life. I learned a lot inside and outside of the classroom, and always enjoy sharing moments with my wife (38 years),

102. CMC CLASS NOTES

two daughters (married with four kids between them), and good friends.

My parents were generally against me going “all the way to California” from Chicago in 1976, as they thought I would never come back. Well, I did come back, but going to California was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Wishing everyone in the CMC community—and the Class of ‘80 in particular— happiness and good health in the years to come.”

From Jim Dunstan, “I transferred to CMC as a junior. Since I spent a semester in D.C. with the Washington Intern Program, that meant I only spent three semesters on campus. Ward Elliott desperately wanted me to take one of his classes, so I took his Constitutional Law class second semester of my senior year. After the midterm, I went to his office to tell him that I would be exercising the tradition of seniors skipping the final paper and taking my mid-term grade. After all, I’d been accepted to Georgetown Law, my writing hand was in a cast from a Stag baseball injury, and, well, I was a senior! Ward listened intently as I pleaded my case, then opened the drawer to his desk and pulled out my mid-term paper. He stared at it intently, then pulled out a pencil and erased the plus sign after the B on the page: ‘You willing to take that.’ When I nodded in the affirmative, he flipped the pencil around and drew a minus sign next to the B. ‘How about now?’ I responded, ‘If I say yes, the B is going to go away, isn’t it?’ He smiled and said, ‘You learn quickly.’ So I wrote the paper, which analyzed several cases making their way up to the Supreme Court related to immigrant rights. Probably the best prep I could have had going into law school. But the key lesson I learned was: Never trust a professor who grades with a pencil!”

From Bill LeBlanc, “I chose CMC in large part because of their 3-2 Management Engineering program, where I’d transfer to Stanford after three years. I recall the scary first meeting of all the freshman who were interested in that program: it was scary because 60 people showed up, and I knew that Stanford would not accept that huge number. But as the years went on, our numbers dwindled, and by the time we had sophomore physics, the 25 or so remaining had become an extremely familiar group, and our friendships were growing strong. By the time our junior year arrived, and we hit the Theoretical Mechanics course, we were down to about 14, and I believe all of us made it to Stanford from there. But that group was really tight, studying together, commiserating about problem sets, and concerned about getting all our classes complete in three years. But our bond endured that year and beyond at Stanford. I will forget some names, but I’ll start with Carl Kowalski ’81 and Gordon Wittmeyer, who were my best buddies in our semester in Copenhagen, my freshman roommate Dave Laybourn, and Paul Miller (still a great friend, we bought a house investment together and see each other every year, including going on a great weeklong bike trip in Spain last year), Kathy Fitzpatrick (who I see occasionally in our home state of Colorado). Also on this great list are Erik Anderson P’23, Scott Fritz ’81, Mark Stiefel ’81, Bev (Hom) Chong, and Charlie Bishop ’81.

I also have strong and fond memories of my first dorm, Benson, which housed about half of the women who entered for the first time in 1976. The upperclassmen were mesmerized by the sight of women, but our class took it in stride. My floor was full of highly entertaining juniors and seniors: John Fish ’77, are you out there?, Gary Bean ’77 P’11 (who was the chief resident for my wife in med school!), Dave Twichell ’77, and Rich Dorman ’79 P’20—all were constantly fascinating. And people from outside our dorm kept pulling our fire alarms, supposedly so they could see us all (mostly the women?) head outside in our ‘nightwear’ and wait until the fire department arrived. Thanks for the great times!”

From George Davis P’07, “The class or professor that changed my life: Ward Elliott. The best experience of my college career: Meeting my late wife, Nancy (Nelson) Davis, in Professor Petersen’s Social Psychology class my senior year.

What I miss or appreciate most about CMC: Great atmosphere, wonderful combination of educational excellence, sports/competition, and a small school where you can make great friendships. Favorite CMC bonding experience:

Perspective hour with Steve Roth at 10 p.m. to share a beer and talk about life. Best friends and lifelong friendships (how we met, etc.): Scott McFarlane ’79, Augie Nieto P’08 from our college start-up, Torrey Sun, Eric Affeldt ’79, John Snider ’77 and many friends from Scripps ,as well. Finding my voice or identity: Working with two great entrepreneurs, Scott McFarlane ’79 and Augie Nieto P’08. CMC couples who met on campus: Married Nancy Nelson, also class of 1980. Our son, Christopher, was class of 2007 and joined Kathy (Evans) ’80 P’07 and Kelly Hurley’s ’79 P’07 daughter as first double legacies.

From Cheri Strelow, “There are so many memories that it’s hard to pick just one or two. But since I shared the unique experience of being in the first class of women with only a few other women, I’ll focus on that aspect. I met my husband, Peter Soelter ’78, and many lifetime friends in Wohlford during my freshman year and we had a lot of fun during ‘gross-outs’ since Wohlford was the only dorm in the North Quad that had women during that first year. The other experience happened at the start of classes in fall 1976. The freshman class had been on campus for orientation for about a week before upperclassmen came back to campus. I recall walking into the seating section of Collins with several other women from my class and the entire cafeteria fell silent as we entered. Everyone just stared at us as we looked around for a place to sit. I think that’s when it became obvious that we would have experiences that most CMCers would never encounter.”

From Jeff Arce, “My first day… moving in. I grew up in Claremont and knew the colleges well. But this was the day that I ‘moved away from home’ so to speak. I literally loaded up a bunch of clothes and supplies in the back seat of my car and drove all of a half-mile down Mills and parked in the lot next to my dorm, Boswell. An underwhelming 1949 two story, concrete bunker. My roommate had already moved in, chosen his side of the room, filled the closet, had his desk already organized and a stereo set up. I noticed a sticker on his stereo tuner (remember what those were?) that said ‘Do Not Touch’ or maybe it actually said ‘Keepa Youra Hands Offa My Stuff,’ or something like that.

Hmmm. I met my roommate a few hours later, Erik Anderson, who was truly and still is) a wonderful and generous guy. I honored that little sticker for quite a while, and about a month after rooming together, Erik asked me why I never used the stereo. I pointed to his sticker. He laughed and said he didn’t even realize it was there as it was a carryover from his home life.

“Impactful professors: Oh my, so many had direct or indirect influence. I was a math major as a freshman and Jerry Bradley was my counselor and my professor for calculus. We played tennis a few times and I really enjoyed his classes and his wit. I truly struggled through linear algebra one year with Bradley (he wrote the textbook actually, as I recall) and so I asked him what sort of career I might pursue with a math major. We talked about actuarial sciences, and engineering, and some other fields. I ended up switching to accounting since all the Big 8 (now Big 4?) were hiring just about anyone back then, and I wanted surety. Worked out great. I really appreciated the approachability of and ease of conversation with Gerry as well as many, many other professors at CMC. These stories I shared with my middle daughter about the professors at CMC ended up being one of the factors that led to her applying to CMC. She’s Class of 2022 and is loving it, of course.

“Bonding experience: A few dormmates and I got a bit restless and into some mischief a few times during my senior year. One involved the Pomona campus and their locker rooms, another one resulted in many classes being held outside the next day, and one overly risky one where we got ratted out, which resulted in a heavy fine that we paid off with Susan B. Anthony silver dollars.

No details to be provided, but a big shout out to Dr. John Lubetich! Hope you are reading this, John.

“Best experiences: The study abroad program. I spent a semester at University of Copenhagen. FYI, Jeg learte at snakke dansk, men har nu glempt mit dansk.

One of my favorite classes was a European history class where we learned historical context from a non-U.S. perspective. Example: It’s fascinating how some Europeans viewed the U.S. vs Russia after World War II. Who should you

trust back then? And a big shout out to Larry Gonzales and Bill Anderson, who were also in Copenhagen at the same time. Some amazing adventures we had.”

From Jeff Hotchkiss, “That first week on campus I learned that all of the accolades I earned in high school paled beside the honors that others had attained. First English paper received an F-plus, a grade I had never experienced. My only thought was that I was failing with hope. Went from a triple to a single by Thanksgiving as my roommates dropped out. Hell of a start, but older classmates and great professors saw me through. Professors Jerry Garris, Ward Elliott, and Kevin Mulcahy provided the enthusiasm about what community service could be. Ed Haley, Sue Mansfield, and Charlie Lofgren expanded my views and made me work hard. Lifelong friendships with Dirk Dunfee ’78, S.J., Patty (Harper) Wilmink, Linda (Page) ’81, Dave Schneider, and the late Mark Ozawa. Became a card-carrying member of the ACLU after dinner with one of the founders while organizing a James Madison lecture. As part of the Athenaeum staff, I watched Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 work the room in gatherings of big donors. Gave me insight for my fundraising career. Remember the debates at Beckett Hall and bloody dorm football games. Expanded my love of music in the four-college choir getting to perform with the Atlanta symphony, and singing some barbershop when we dueled with Pomona College. Thank you Dr. Lamkin! Late nights at JoJo’s, midnight basketball, quality time at the Buffalo Inn, romances, and a first love. Life forming experiences!”

From Doug Peterson P’14 P’15, “CMC provided me with the knowledge and skills to pursue my international career while enjoying life. Spending a year abroad in Latin America opened up a new world to me, as well as giving me the gift of learning another language. And my knowledge of the Federalist Papers has come in handy the past few years as we navigate new debates about the U.S. Constitution and democracy.

“As a history and math major, I had two very memorable professors: Jim Rogers in the History department taught me not only how to write, but how to conduct and document deep research. His classes were structured as seminars that culminated in a mini-thesis; his most famous class being Marx, Darwin, and Freud. To prepare your project, you had to conduct extensive research, prepare a cogent thesis, subject to his scrutiny, and defend a set of suppositions. He required an annotated bibliography for every citation and work that was used to support the thesis. To this day, I appreciate what goes into high quality research and writing. There was a myth floating around Professor Rogers: That he was independently wealthy and was only paid $1 per year from CMC and donated his time as a tax write-off.

And as a math major, I took classes in probability, statistics, and operations research with and inspired by Janet Myhre. She was a formidable mathematician and worked with us to apply theory to practical problems, like measuring how long it took to reach a cashier in the lines at In-N-Out Burger in our quest to learn about Queueing Theory. I still use bell curves and correlation analysis on data sets to help solve business problems or compare options. The myth around Dr. Myhre was that she worked for the CIA as one of the first mathematicians to analyze meta-data.”

From Patty (Harper) Wilmink, “One part of my college experience that stands out for me is the Athenaeum. I worked at the Ath all four years of college. It was a great job with outstanding benefits. I got to eat at the Athenaeum every week and the food was good! I served faculty wine and cheese parties every Friday afternoon and so I got to see the professors in a different light. I made several lifelong friends that also worked at the Athenaeum, Jeff Hotchkiss and Nancy Enzminger. I learned about cuisine, entertaining, and wine from Margo (Ryan) Peck, the director. The Athenaeum was used by the President for entertaining back then, and I got to know personally President Jack Stark ’57 GP’11 and Jil Stark ’58 GP’11. I loved working there and I loved the strawberry tarts.”

From Kevin Smith, “My first day at CMC was a recruiting visit hosted by Coach David Wells and my future teammates. My junior college team had just

Claremont McKenna College 103.

through the eras

75

Athenaeum fellows Alumni across the decades reflect on their special bonds at CMC’s venerable venue for social and intellectual engagement

W

Why did you want to become an Athenaeum fellow?

What was the most memorable Ath speaker or discussion during your time as a fellow?

Glen Kraemer ’84, the first Ath fellow in 198384: When the concept of the Athenaeum was announced, it generated tremendous curiosity and excitement. There was a palpable feeling on campus that this could be transformative.

The goal of bringing together an extraordinary collective of intellectuals drawn from every discipline was the essence of a liberal arts education given form, function—and now, forum.

I had to be a part of it!

Henry Taylor ’94: I shared a profound moment

LaTanya Wright Channel ’91: I loved going to the

Ath, especially in the afternoon for treats and tea (those lemon bars!) Anytime there's thoughtprovoking, nuanced conversation about the “world,” I am there. I wanted to be an Ath fellow to get even closer to that dialogue, particularly closer with the speakers to engage in “world talk.”

Paige Costello ’12: I wanted to

expand my horizons, learn about new domains, and practice public speaking. Being an Ath fellow increased my curiosity and desire for conversation and debate. It also made me comfortable with a wide range of ideas and people.

104. CMC CLASS NOTES

with Leah Chase (known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine), a famous African American chef from New Orleans. I brought her to the Ath to share her wisdom and culinary skills with the CMC community. The day before, we had lunch in downtown Claremont, and Mrs. Chase talked tearfully about losing her daughter one year before. I was raised by my grandmother because of my parents’ struggle with drugs, and I tearfully shared the impact of that on me.

Mrs. Chase responded by quoting the Bible, Exodus 20:12, “Honor your parents, so that you may live long.” She said “that’s about you, not about them.” Her words provided a cathartic moment that lifted my long-held feelings of estrangement. After that, my relationship got better with both of my parents.

Kraemer: The juxtaposition of consecutively

hosting Bruno Bettelheim and Elie Wiesel in a short period of time will always stay with me. I was very familiar with Wiesel’s seminal works, and his time with us confirmed his keen intellect, his resilience, and the unyielding strength of his advocacy for human rights informed by an extraordinary capacity for compassion and empathy. Dr. Bettelheim was, of course, also a titanic figure in intellectual circles, but an extremely controversial one. I had heard of his theories suggesting that Jewish victims of the Holocaust had demonstrated weakness, but was nonetheless shocked when

he made these statements in the calm environs of the Athenaeum.

Wright Channel: When Civil Rights leader

work that I do now in support of responding to and preventing workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying (“violence to the spirit”).

Julian Bond spoke across the way at McKenna Auditorium. I felt so small standing next to a historical giant (he was also very tall). But the most interesting speaker was author Shelby Steele. I sat at the head table with him, but also stood up and made a statement of concern about his controversial views on how we, as Black folks, experienced racism. We did not agree, and I don't ever recall an Ath fellow speaking up to an Ath speaker while also hosting them. Afterwards, he did thank me for hosting him.

Taylor: The Ath helped me become a better

Costello: From RuPaul to U.S. Poet Laureate

Wright Channel: Being an Ath fellow helped me continue to be gracious to those with different views. At the head table, I was often seated with classmates who never agreed with me.

On anything!

W.S. Merwin to economist Steven Levitt to evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll, fall semester alone was a treat! My most memorable speaker, however, was Ingrid Jordt, associate professor of anthropology at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee. Let's just say no one who signed up expected to learn that her first job was teaching sign language to gorillas or that her friends bought her a meditation trip to Burma because they joked that she had a crazy job. On that immersive trip to Burma, she fell in love with meditation. When she returned to the U.S., she divorced her husband, gave away her material possessions, and returned to Burma to study meditation full-time. Her insights on religion, politics, and Burma were astonishing. I'll never forget it.

What life and leadership lessons from being an Ath fellow have stayed with you?

Kraemer: My Ath experience schooled me in the pragmatic and the idealistic. On the practical side, there was no road map to follow. The dreamer in me, admittedly an impractical literature and political science double major, quickly figured out that the theoretical wonders of the Ath could only be realized if invitations were sent, meals were planned, and cookies made their way into the library for afternoon teas. College seniors are not often schooled in the art of hospitality, and I had to become a quick study to ensure that the practical needs of our esteemed guests were met.

More profoundly, hosting Dr. Bettelheim was very challenging for me in the moment, but reflecting on the experience, I am certain it informs the

person, a more thoughtful person. I look at things from other perspectives and am willing to ask myself tough questions about what I believe.

It also pushed me to listen more intently and encourage others to hear the voices of people different from themselves. CMC and the Ath elevated the normal experience of college.

Only students can sit at the head table with the speaker. To me, that demonstrates CMC’s commitment to students—and makes us unique.

What was your favorite Ath meal?

Taylor: Always the election day meal. The year

it was George H.W. Bush, they served lobster from Kennebunkport. I often went to the kitchen and helped prep food, too. The food was always fantastic.

Costello: Excellent soups were the big secret.

Kraemer: The Madrigal Feast! And I am still proud of the invitation I wrote for the feast. It allowed me to channel my inner Shakespeare.

Wright Channel: Anything they served. I never

had a bad meal at the Ath! Glen Kraemer ’84, a literature and political science major from Santa Monica, Calif., is a founding/ co-managing partner at Hirschfield Kraemer LLP. LaTanya Wright Channel ’91, a literature and psychology major from Washington, D.C., is state director-Tennessee at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Henry Taylor ’94, a government and religion dual major from Berkeley, Calif., is a senior director of development at Agnes Scott College.

Paige Costello ’12, an international relations and literature major from Patagonia, Ariz., is a product leader at Asana.

Top to bottom: Glen Kraemer ’84, LaTanya Wright Channel ’91, Paige Costello ’12, and Henry Taylor ’94

Claremont McKenna College 105.

suffered a heartbreaking loss in the California Community College basketball championship game in Long Beach on a buzzer beater. Coach drove me from Long Beach for a campus visit. I appreciated his brutal honesty that the program had not won a lot of games, along with his energy and vision for building the program. I selected CMC because Coach really wanted me to be a part of his program, and because I valued the superb educational opportunity I was offered, rather than trying to force myself into a Division I program. Under Coach Wells, we had a winning couple of seasons and lots of fun, which our team considered a success, though a far cry from the multiple championships his teams ultimately earned. I appreciate returning to CMC, playing in alumni games, and how Coach Ken Scalmanini and his teams—and fellow alumni— still make me feel part of the program, despite 40 years of separation. The conservative era at CMC was special because many faculty and alumni made major contributions to President Reagan’s economic and national security policy successes, a real accomplishment for such a small college. Through a lot of hard work, some behavioral interventions, and some generous professors, I experienced graduation with my parents and grandparents making the memory extra special.”

From Art Dodd, “CMC proved a good fit. Thus, a good decision to apply, made fall 1975, and the decision to attend, made Spring 1976.”

From Bill Morris, “What I remember about CMC is freshman year at Phillips, off campus after that, wonderful friends, too many to mention, and really good professors and classes. Of the latter, Davis (Religious Authority), Fossum and Roth (American Dream) and Stubblebine (Econ 52 and 101) all stand out.

Sunday breakfast at Betsy Ross on Foothill.”

From Neil Brown, “I am reminded that on February 12, 1977, at a dance at McKenna Auditorium, I met Karen Hochman (Pitzer 1979) and we have been a couple ever since! At the height of the disco era, this was a ‘Rolling Stones’ dance, ideal for a couple of rock fans to meet. We have been married for the last 37 years and counting!”

From Kathleen Fitzpatrick, “Ours was the first four-year class of women at CMC. It was 1976, the bicentennial of our country, and we arrived from all over the country: smart, ambitious, bold, funny, serious, crazy, adventurous, intelligent, thoughtful. We were products of the women’s movement and Title IX. We saw ourselves as equal to our peers and to the men who had come before. There were a few upperclassmen that may not have thought we belonged, but the ones that mattered welcomed us. I was among the group of first female ‘north quaders.’ We were determined to fit into and then break the mold that had been cast. North Quad ‘gross-outs’ (the tradition of shouting obscenities across the quad) to the all-male Appleby dorm across the way was an interesting tradition. I’m not sure how it was determined, but our dorm, Wohlford, the one with the women, always ‘won.’ The ‘WFBs’ (a term of endearment, which has an indecorous meaning, but in polite company means ‘Wohlford Foxy Babes’) included my suitemates Carol Kazmer and Cheri Strelow; sophomore year roommate, Carol Metzger; Carrie George P’14 P’16, Bev (Hom) Chong, Mari (Baumgarten) Adam, Kathy (Tro) Reimer, Beth (Pagel) Serebransky, and sweet Bridget McCallister, who passed away a few years after graduation.

“My freshman roommate, Lynn (Fulton) Kurn, didn’t know what to think of me. I had been a very serious student and competitive figure skater in high school and very shy. That changed at CMC—at least the shy part! I found a way, as many of us did, to ‘study hard and party hard.’ I did regular all-nighters on Thursdays, napped after classes on Fridays, then awoke ready for whatever adventure the weekend held: dorm parties, beach trips, Vegas trips, ‘Pint night,’ ‘P&W night,’ Monte Carlo night, Seal ‘ponding,’ Rocky Horror at the Roxy, beers at the Buffalo Inn, brunch at Walter’s, 2 a.m. Foster’s donut runs.

“One fond story worth sharing was my history with Torrey Sun. Before he was our beloved Dean of Students, Torrey was a graduate student at Claremont Graduate School, and before that he was a figure skater. Torrey and his sister

106. CMC CLASS NOTES

had trained under the same skating coach as I did back in Colorado. My sophomore year, I was walking back to my dorm from Joint Science and ran into Torrey, having not seen him for several years. He was teaching ice skating at a nearby West Covina skating rink. We agreed that in order to help him attract more students, he would treat me to a nice, non-Collins dinner and in exchange, I would pretend to take lessons from him, doing a few spins, a double axel or two, acting as his shill. Well, it worked! Torrey developed quite a student following, helping to pay his graduate school bills. I am still close to Torrey and his charming wife, Katie, and see them whenever I visit southern California.

“I attended CMC for two-and-a-half years and was part of the Management Engineering 3-2 program. I spent the last half of my junior year in Vienna, Austria studying abroad and then, went on to Stanford to get my BS and MS in Industrial Engineering. I was only at CMC for a short time compared to my classmates, but the experience looms large in my memory for the lifelong friends, wild adventures, amazing education and self-confidence that I gained to face the world ahead. I am forever grateful!”

From Austin Lee, “Classes that made an impression on me: Philosophy tutorial in freshman year and Math 121 ‘Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics’ in senior year. What I liked most about CMC: Small class size. Living through major events while attending CMC: In 1978, we heard the news of the massacre at Jonestown, Guyana. While in CMC, I gradually got experience using computers.”

From Karen (Rosenfelt) Blancato, “In reading Wayne’s prompts. I found it hard to distill my CMC experience to one or two paragraphs. I believe my time at, what was then Claremont Men’s College, informed and informs my personal and professional life every day. I fondly remember the all-nighters and vowing each time, never again. The ritual of the all-nighter was less about studying, but the common experience of procrastination and wondering what Prof.

Bjork would ask us. And sure, we all started researching our thesis at the top of the semester, but the weeks ticked by fast. I remember our Econ study groups in the Quad and how for Carol Kazmer, Cheri Strelow, and Carrie George P’14 P’16, it all was so easy. Were we going to have a snack break at The Hub or venture up to the Motley at Scripps? And how could we get ourselves to the Athenaeum events on a regular basis? I often look back on my time at CMC—it allowed me to find the confidence in my voice and to have conviction in my opinions and creativity.”

From Carrie George P’14 P’16, “My grandparents drove me from Seattle to Claremont, with a stop in Reno because my grandmother loved to play the one-armed bandits. I remember arriving at my room, bottom-floor, north side of Wohlford, and nervously going inside to meet my roommate, the wonderful Bev (Hom) Chong (hi, Bev!). We shyly introduced ourselves, my grandparents and I unloaded the car, and that was it. Independence from my family! Much as I loved them, I was ready for the next phase of my life.

“I had some trepidation about joining the first class of women at CMC. It was reassuring on that first day to know that I wasn’t really one of 35 women with about 750 guys; Scripps was right there with all those women. I could see it (well, actually the south wall that hid it) right from my dorm room! In fact, I quickly came to realize that that wall didn’t just separate buildings; it separated worlds. Before I knew it, I was heading up there with my dormmates—men and women—singing silly, presumably dirty (although I honestly don’t remember) songs at Scripps students. I look back and think, ‘Why in the world would I participate in that?’ Answer: because it was what the dorm did!

The guys in my dorm were warm and welcoming to us freshman women. (No, they were not among the men who, several years later, had a lot of fun with their offensive t-shirts claiming that women weren’t welcome on campus—and no, despite the offensiveness, I wasn’t terribly offended or fazed at all.) In fact, most of my lifetime friends were from that dorm. Not all—in fact, I met my husband my sophomore year, when he was living in Claremont dorm (one of

the towers at that time) and I was in Appleby. But Wohlford freshman year is what I remember the most fondly of my four years. There’s so much more (yes, Professor Bjork – thinking of you here!), but that’s all I have room for, so, ‘Yo, Claremont!’ I could not have asked for a better four years.”

From Carol Kazmer, “At the risk of courting Joel Covelman’s ’77 worst fear (to which, fortunately, I am immune), being asked to share a reminiscence for the CMC Magazine brings to mind registration for the fall semester of freshman year. Marching to the Registrar’s Office as a bloc (as with so many activities during Orientation Week, from Scripps parties to square dancing at Pomona) with Cheri Strelow, Kathy Fitzpatrick, Lynn (Fulton) Kurn, Carrie George P’14 P’16 and Bev (Hom) Chong, I realized that I hadn’t given much thought to what I was planning on studying at college. On a whim, I decided to join what seemed to be the entire freshman population of Wohlford Hall and sign up for Economics 101 with Professor Gordon Bjork. From the basics of macroeconomics to riffs on random walks (thanks, Alex Crutchfield), that class and the people I met during it, including Wayne Slavitt, Pablo Nathan, and Tom Cornwell, influenced not only my next four years of college, but my post-college experience as a Watson Fellow, graduate studies at The Fletcher School and the Law Building at UC Berkeley, and my career as a securities, corporate, and tech lawyer—not to mention providing me with a lasting prism for every news article I read on business, the economy, and politics.”

Quad, intramural sports, debating everything over a meal at Collins, dorm barbeques, ‘pimping’ each other, and of course, ponding at Seal Pond bring back a flood of memories—and importantly the process of maturing and growing in understanding what kind of person I was and wanted to be. The other important experience for me was to study abroad and experience the independence that goes with traveling to another country—in my case, Germany—and trying to communicate in a different language within a different culture. It literally changed my life and led me down a path that wanted to maximize a global perspective in my career. In my case, I also happened to fall in love and get married to another CMCer, which lasted more than a decade, but ultimately resulted in each of us going in different directions. What I think I realized at a very early stage was that the women who attended CMC at the time were very unique. I was attracted to their drive and belief in themselves, which honestly then, very few of the co-eds on the other campuses had. CMC women were special. I moved on and have been very fortunate and grateful for everything that has happened in my life. Now, 40 years removed from CMC and experiencing so much of a life that I imagined as a student, I can say that, while I wouldn’t want to live over anything, I would like to go back to the age of 18 and be a freshman today to experience that time of discovery, camaraderie, and imagination that was my time at college!”

Charles Berry writes, “I have applied advice given by Professor Smith of the

From Alan Eades, “What stands out for me is the freedom and irreverence of a freshman year at Wohlford Hall on the north quad. Dorm bowling, P&W night, and weeping are among many events that I flash back on periodically. I’m surprised I told my parents about them. Well, some of them anyway. A shout out to roommates Rod Tingley ’79 and George Blanco ’79 P’17. What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

philosophy department throughout my life. Instead of finding fault with an intellectual position, he suggested, why not search it for truth, for ideas, for propositions that you can use going forward? So, my cup of ideas has always been (at least) half full, not half empty. I tend to see grays rather than black and white. While this is not the perspective du jour, I have found it rewarding in every respect.

WAYNE SLAVITT ’80

“A second recollection that has influenced me came from Harry Jaffa of the political science department. He helped with the cycling team, and after a fall from my bike, he and his wife had me stay overnight in his house. The next day was Sunday, and I was surprised to see him reading the Sunday comics over breakfast, before anything else. If this titan of political thought could be so unpretentious and unassuming, then so could I.”

WAYNESLAVITT@GMAIL.COM

1981

Liz Matthias writes, “Many of my fondest CMC memories center around dorm life in Wohlford, fall 1977-through spring 1979. I met three of my closest friends to this day (Teri Vieth, Debbie (Strauss) Samuels, Janelle (Hobbs) Blanco P’17) in Wohlford. But really, everyone there felt like a friend.

The upperclassmen (and they were all men, in those days) were wise and kind and helpful. Our dorm-only parties were frequent and fun. Great North Quad water fights. I think Mudd joined in late spring 1978, with a water cannon? Pint night 1978 gave me a lifelong aversion to tequila. And I will always fondly recall stealing Appleby’s lounge furniture and setting it up on top of the maintenance shack that was the precursor to Heggblade. Not the most audacious prank, but I remember feeling very smug and having a great time. I’d love to have a Wohlford ’77-’79 reunion someday.”

KEN WECHSLER ’81 KENWECHSLER@GMAIL.COM

Ken Wechsler writes in, “There are endless memories over the years, from getting to know classmates, to classroom challenges (with many great profs!), conversations over drinks and food (at the Buff!), campus-wide parties (P&W Night), and my soccer teammates. Yet, if I had to choose only one influential memory, it was Steve Davis, our beloved soccer coach, who provided me some personal insights via his theology courses, that to this day still influence me significantly! It was a wonderful, eye-opening four years for a relatively inexperienced boy at the time. I hope to reconnect and expand some of those friendships from our short time on campus!”

Shaw Wagener writes, “The first thing that comes to mind about my

experience at CMC is how great it was to be independent and in ‘glamorous’ California with the unbelievable climate compared to my life growing up in Boulder, Colorado. That independence led me to try many things. I was lucky to be in great suites in Appleby as a freshman and Green as a sophomore, and made friends that to this day I stay in contact with. When we speak, we takeoff as if we’ve been together all along. The shared experiences include going to the Hub for a chocolate shake and pinball, gross-outs in the North

Claremont McKenna College 107.

CMC MEMORIES

Tribute to Professor Riley '83

MY LIFELONG LOVE OF FILM AND LITERATURE can be traced back to Professor Mike Riley.

My thesis—to my father’s chagrin and my mother’s delight—was on Western film and how the contemporary Western killed the genre of the traditional Western. It seems that Americans wanted to view the myth of the Great American West where anyone could reinvent themselves and where settlers, the Iron Horse, and society tamed a wild, untamed wilderness and turned it into the fertile Garden of Eden full of possibilities.

The contemporary Western (think of The Searchers or more recently Unforgiven) depicted the West as a Garden of Eden that was corrupted by the arrival of civilization and the white man. Heroes were complex and often damaged protagonists that lived with constant moral ambiguity. Contemporary heroes were not romantic figures but a roster of characters and nobodies whose accomplishments were often dusted with a thin patina of nostalgia. It seems that the Native Americans were not savages,

Professor Michael Riley stands behind Academy Award-winning director Delbert Mann at a CMC event

but victims of our civilized society and a uniquely American imperialistic vision simply termed ‘Manifest Destiny.’

These films were critically acclaimed, but often unpopular at the box office. It seemed this distant mirror did not sit well with those who longed for simpler times and who romanticized our ancestors and their journeys to reinvent themselves in a vast West that lay beyond the Cumberland Gap. It seems we still struggle with our checkered past, and as I see the sad consequence of COVID on Native Americans and those who don’t enjoy the privilege of control, we are witnessing a persistent and uneven access to a new and better life for many whose American heritage predated many who might argue on behalf of our moral authority.

My thesis (and Mike Riley’s provocative challenge for me to look behind the veneer of the Myth) proved prophetic as history is a distant mirror. Professor Riley was a complicated and brilliant person. I was privileged to have known him and was the beneficiary of his genius and love of narrative. Like a modern protagonist in a Western, he had his demons and his blind spots, but was a hero—moving through the lives of many tenderfoot undergrads like a sage Mountain Man who knew how hard life could be. And how much mythology and the myth of many things had kept our fragile sense of self-worth together, but stunted our awareness of life outside our bubble.

RIP Mike. And yes, I still agree that Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch or Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller captured the essence of the modern anti-hero—someone whose strengths taken to excess would eventually destroy them. Only the thin line of a personal code, a sliver of integrity struggling in a Darwinian world where there was no law, was the redeeming lodestar for people to follow.

In the end, the victors wrote the history, but the iconoclasts and academics pushed to find the truth buried in the detritus of our gilded pasts.

—Mike Turpin

108. CMC CLASS NOTES

1982

Debbie (Lundergan) Starr remembers, “Our

years at CMC are nearly 40 years in the rearview mirror, but the friendships that started there still bring incredible joy. Debbie Barrett-Pfeiffer, Brenda (Burns) Carlson, Pauline Calande, and I get together twice a month on Zoom. We span the country—Bay Area, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C.—and have found a silver lining. We talk old times, new times, and the times in-between. Carolyn Gazeley ’81 and I talk relatively often as well, and I love getting letters from Dawn Coda ’81. My work is focused on mentalization and reflective function in families, and these times have really tested families and students. The Buddhist phrase, ‘May we be safe, may we be healthy, may we be happy, and may we live with ease,’ has become my mantra for getting through the tough parts of this year, and I wish it for all of us.”

Anne Ames writes, “Greetings from Malanda, Queensland, Australia. We have

retired to the Atherton Tablelands, where we are reforesting our property to restore it to rainforest for the native wildlife including tree kangaroos, cassowaries, padymelons, and platypus. Recently, I met Cate (Safranek) DaPron and Suzy Parker in Cardiff by the Sea. Both are fit and happy and it was fantastic to catch up. I have recently heard from Mike Abbott and Hugh Clary P’16. And send a hello to Archie Zellick, Dan Marconi ’83, Kim Reason and Professor Santangelo! All the best for 2021!”

Alicia (Hall) Gold writes, “The pandemic has impacted everyone and I’m

no exception. In March, my husband of almost 33 years died after a battle with COVID-19. He was one of the earliest cases in Washington state. So, I’m adjusting to life as a single person again. But, 2020 also had some highlights— my oldest son/middle child, Andrew, married his college sweetheart and they now live in Florida, with a move to Maryland. My youngest, Matt, is a junior at Chapman University majoring in finance. My oldest, Becky (Scripps 2015) is an Athena and is in her final months of medical school. I still work as the athletic operations manager at a fantastic 5-12 independent school in Redmond, Wash.

I also coach volleyball, basketball, and ultimate frisbee. This past fall, one of the young women that I coached in high school basketball became an Athena!

Even with the world being turned upside down, I still feel fortunate to have so many wonderful family members and friends who never fail to be there when I need them, especially Wenona (Smith) Strafford P’18. Can’t wait to see CMS back in action—I’ll be tuning in!”

Nohemi (Gutierrez) P’17 and Frank Ferguson P’17 both report, “Before

the pandemic, we were fortunate to host our dear friend, Cheong Yong, at our home with all our kids. Last May, we took part in a fun ‘Zoom Happy Hour’ organized by Rick Starratt. Several classmates joined in for the fun, virtual reunion. I may forget some of you, but I believe the call included Dave Mgrublian, Alan Spivey, Jim Gervang, Carl Howell, Chris Townsend, Gigi Birchfield, Cindy Schwartz, Amie (Friedlander) Yehros, Jon Stott, Ken and Janie (Parker) Valach, and Mike Seder. Hopefully, we will all get together in person at our 40th reunion in 2022” Jim Gervang writes, “The prompt to share a first-week memory at CMC and the lifelong friendships developed at CMC struck a chord—and helped me think of a favorite memory I have to this day. First day at CMC—in fact, first thing I did when arriving on campus—was to walk into Coach David Wells ’72’s office to check in. Sitting in his office, and the first three class of 1982 classmates I met, were Carl Howell, Dave Hettler, and Steve Snarr. I had no idea the lifelong, close friendships that would develop from the first three people I met on campus that day, or that five years after graduation all would be a part of our wedding party. We lost Dave far too soon, and we think of him often. I have tried to embrace life through that loss and believe I have appreciated my life more than I might have otherwise in honor of him. Carl and Steve remain close friends I count on, and are there for me, to this day.

“After graduation, Dave and I moved in with Dave Mgrublian to share a townhouse, and eventually Ken Valach joined in for some great times, as well.

They are another two amazing lifelong friends that have been there for me in many ways—and it’s been great keeping in touch with them on a regular basis.

“I would have never thought 40-plus years ago while at CMC that I would be fortunate to have trusting friends who would be there to help me when needed through their chosen professions, but that has been the case this past year with Bruce Colin and Nohemi (Gutierrez) Ferguson. Always figured going to CMC would come in handy someday! This year has been an interesting year in many ways. In our COVID world, I reached out for some support from all listed above, and other CMC classmates including my old roomie (still don’t know how he put up with me) Chris Townsend, Meggan Knott, Mike Seder, Dave Yasukochi P’22, Dan Debevec, and Joel Jones. Nice to have friends when needed—and all have been there for me in several ways this past year. Funny thing, I just missed meeting up with Joel on a couple trips to New York, and it has taken him being in Istanbul for us to really connect again! A nice plus out of all this.

“One last CMC connection for me that happened not long before COVID was meeting up with Steve Singleton at a Stags game up here in the Bay Area. It had been way too long, Sing. You only have so many backcourt mates, after all.

We’ve kept in touch since, and when we are able, look forward to continuing that friendship in person.”

NOHEMI (GUTIERREZ) FERGUSON ’82 NOHEMI.FERGUSON@GPHLAWYERS.COM

1983 Hello class of ’83! Only one of you answered my question of

desperation: what did you have for dinner last night? (Sushi, thank you Ed!) I did get some nice updates for CMC’s 75th Anniversary issue. I asked for pranks, and CMC asked for college memories, mentors, and lifelong friendships. My friends, the editors may take liberties with your submission for brevity. It wasn’t me.

I’ll start with Larry “Chip” Andre who writes, “As for CMC memories, Professor Harold Rood comes to mind. His emphasis on specific, detailed facts over ideological considerations in determining foreign and security policies has stuck with me throughout my career. As for CMC friends, I will always be grateful to Noah Mesel for taking me in when I washed up on his doorstep immediately after my Peace Corps tour (’83-’85). Noah was working for a congressman and living in a group house in Northern Virginia. He gave me a place to stay while I was job hunting. Thanks, Noah!”

Ed Eger writes, “As to lifelong friendships from CMC, I would point to three.

Dave Deeds, who ended up as an unlikely freshman roommate and has been

a friend for all these years as we both have moved around the country/world.

Jonathan Rosenberg, who I shared many classes and adventures with, also

has been a great mentor, advisor, and friend when I moved back to the Bay Area a decade ago. Finally, Gordon Bjork, who was my thesis advisor at CMC, also has been a lifelong friend, and really demonstrates the wonderful value of a CMC education as you build a relationship with a professor well beyond a lecture in a classroom.

Tammie (Calef) Krisciunas, “Stunned to discover age 60 isn’t really different from age 59, 49, or 39. Still am myself and, thankfully, still healthy. Am still tight with my CMC pals—you know who you are. There are so many classes I wish I’d had time to take while at CMC. Can I come back? And I even took an extra class every semester (it was free—I still can’t resist a good value). CMC gave me the tools to go whichever direction I wanted to, to be able to think, evaluate, and learn. Going part time this summer—can’t wait, but not ready to retire fully, yet. Pranks? The usual pondings, sneaking into Collins through the roof somehow (fuzzy memory), swinging on the flagpole at Pitzer. All mild stuff.”

Claremont McKenna College 109.

Tahir Khurshid notes, “I actually represented CMC (and Scripps, if you believe

me) at the Model UN in 1982 and 1983. Roy Frey was a teammate as we represented Singapore at the event in Anaheim. CMC punched above its weight with strong party participation and superb sources of information on global peace, warfare, and economic policy (both Playboy and Penthouse had some nice op-eds and stories, which were much appreciated by the delegates). What an event, so much better than when I represented Libya for the University of Rochester at Harvard MUN the year earlier.”

Danilo Gurovich remembers, “My senior year, Anthony Marx ’85 and I stayed up all night and moved all the chairs and tables in Collins Hall into the Green Room so in the morning there was no place to sit in the main area. We watched from the bench outside. Time well spent with friends.”

Noah Mesel reports, “Even though COVID restrictions have meant fewer

face-to-face visits with classmates, I’m still in regular touch with Skip Sanzeri and Jonathan Rosenberg by text and email (although I try to keep those guys apart if I can—Jonathan is still sore about Skip’s role in his conviction for ‘malicious belching’). I also see Scott and Suzanne (Schork) Graeser around the neighborhood—usually when they’re out walking their dog. In mid-January, I spoke with the Bart Evans ’70 CMC 2021 Silicon Valley (Virtual) Networking Trek participants. Twenty-six students spent a week connecting with tech titans, and I was flattered to have Andrea Neves (Bart’s widow) ask me to share ‘Bart’s Rules,’ a great collection of etiquette, dress code, and other helpful tips for students to present their personal brand when meeting Silicon Valley execs. Lots of fun and great feedback. But the biggest thrill of the season was having my youngest, Rachel, accepted (early decision) to the CMC Class of 2025! Looks like I’ll be spending a little more time on campus these next few years.”

Well kids, that wraps it up for this time—stay healthy and enjoy your relative youth!

Your devoted class liaison, TAMMIE (CALEF) KRISCIUNAS ’83 TAMMIEKRISCIUNAS@MINDSPRING.COM

1984

Rod Streeper recalls, “It was 1981 and the end of my freshman year. I was on the swim team—that was my social group—and many of my buddies were in Wohlford Hall. For those of you who date back to 1980 and before, Wohlford was the sponsor of Pimp and Whore Night, a very non-PC event in the days where we didn’t know better. CMC was on the cusp of becoming Claremont McKenna—my class was the last they allowed to order the Claremont Men’s College mug. The powers that be dictated that, though Wohlford could hold its annual party, the name had to change. They held it as P&W—now ostensibly as Pure and Wholesome Night. With my buddies lamenting the name change, and the moral evolution that would inevitably follow, I took it upon myself the following week to host an event that would demonstrate our right to party under any name—and (amazingly) got ASCMC funds to help pay for it. The name I picked to show that words don’t really matter—that we should be free to name any event what we liked—was the White, Elitist, Sexist Student Party Night.

I secured the Marks lounge as the location and put posters up to that effect.

My plan was to have a keg and supply cups—and that was about the extent of where I was by noon the day of the event, which was advertised as starting at 4 p.m. By 1 p.m., the posters had caught the attention of the CMC administration.

By 2 p.m., I had been summoned to Dean Garris’ office. By 3 p.m., I was sent back to Marks to announce it had been canceled.

“It took years for the lesson of this attempted event to sink in. P&W has long since ceased to be, even the thought of having an event like this being sponsored by a respected educational institution is beyond what most people can comprehend today—and that is all to the good. My bringing this to an absurd extreme was, of course, deliberate, and though it may not have caught

110. CMC CLASS NOTES

the attention of many people, it has had a lasting effect on me. They say that most of what you learn in college is from outside the classroom. It seems silly and obvious to me as I’ve gotten older, but words really do matter.”

From Paige (Keene) Bingham and Mike Bingham, “What makes CMC so special? The obvious answer for Paige (Keene) and me is it’s where we met. I think 34 years of happy marriage is a wonderful payback for tuition paid!”

Roberto Angotti reports, “Maryum Khwaja ’24, director of specialty cinema for the College Programming Board, has invited me to CMC to screen my documentaries, Italian American Baseball Family (winner of the Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum Award at the National Italian American Foundation 42nd Anniversary Gala in Washington, D.C.) and Introducing Team Italy Manager Mike Piazza (finalist in the 2020 Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs Worldwide Championship of Television, Cinema, Sport, Culture and Communication in Milan, Italy). I will be accompanied on campus by Grammy-nominated recording artist Pato Banton, who worked on the motion picture soundtrack for my new film. We hope to present a live concert in conjunction with the movie screenings, as it has been over three decades since I brought Pato Banton and Tippa Irie to Claremont for a dancehall reggae party in conjunction with fellow CMCer James Roppo ’87 (current Universal Music Group/Republic Records executive vice president and general manager).

“As the former CMC social affairs chair and KSPC 88.7 FM program director, I was fortunate enough to jumpstart my music career by promoting concerts with Missing Persons and the Greg Kihn Band. Immediately after graduating from CMC, I promoted Catalina Splish Splash on Descanso Beach in Avalon.

Musical guests included Ranking Roger (The English Beat/General Public), Mikey Dread (The Clash/UB40), The Blue Riddim Band, The Untouchables, The Rebel Rockers, and Haile Maskel (The Rastafarians). The sacrifice of giving up Friday night parties on campus in favor of hosting ‘Roberto, Rock, Reggae’ on KSPC in the bowels of Pomona College’s Thatcher Music Building paid off big time as I got my first commercial radio deejay job at KNAC in Long Beach after my sophomore year and later moved on to KROQ in LA and 91X in San Diego.

As a film studies major at CMC who wrote his senior thesis on reggae after interviewing the likes of Peter Tosh and UB40, I am deeply indebted to the Claremont Colleges for fostering the growth and development of my creativity.

Thank you!”

Liz La Manna recalls, “It’s funny how back then I wasn’t enthusiastic about the

name change. Now, almost 40 years later, it seems silly and should have been a non-event. BTW, how can it possibly be 40 years later! I still have such crystalclear memories of great friends and a great education.”

Bill McColl remembers, “In the spring of ’81, I remember the CMC Forum

(CMC’s student newspaper) April Fools edition announcing the name change of our college to Claremont Mobil College. In the satirical article, Mobil Oil Corp. had outbid Donald McKenna for naming rights.

“In the fall of ’81, Wohlford was an all-male dorm. During Homecoming weekend, I was enlisted into the Wohlford Men’s Choir organized by Mike Turpin ’83 and John Temple ’83. I was still in my football uniform after our home game victory and joined 15 or so of my dormmates who had dressed up as manly men (various costumes—we looked kind of like the Village People) and sang to Mr. McKenna, the Starks, and other dignitaries. “’It’s great to be on a ship with men, and sail across the sea oh, we don’t know where’ll land or when, it’s great to be with men. Men, men, men, it’s a ship all filled with men, so batten down the ladies’ room, there’s no one here but men, men, men, men …’ It’s been 40 years and I can’t get the song out of my head. ‘There’s Butch, and Spike, and Buzz, and Biff, and one guy we call Sally …’

Laurie Lane notes, “A favorite CMC photo of

mine helps convey the value I place on the friendships created there, starting with my computer designated freshman roommate who is still my dearest friend, Susan (Strong) Moyle; constant companion Alyssa Lutz, who with her husband, Mark Thomas, are my husband Dave’s and my closest “couple” friends; our all-things-Boston enabler Janice Shiroma Gould, and travel buddies Carolyn (Black) Muci and Martha (Cobb) Shanks. Have lost touch with Kathleen (Garrett) Camp and Julia Patrick, but would love to change that! These close friends, along with so many other friendships made at CMC, impacted my life more than all of my classes. Because Claremont MEN’S is what brought us together, I am forever grateful to it!”

From Shari Weintraub, “When I arrived on campus in August 1980, I was both keenly aware that I was a female on what had only just recently been an all-male campus; and that it was both extraordinary and completely ordinary. I think the alumni, the administration, and some upperclassmen likely had their own ideas, but because I had been raised by parents who made me believe that I could achieve anything that a man could, I never questioned that this was my college. I look back and I think, wow, that was very likely a bit naive. I did not see myself or my female classmates as pioneers, but I do now believe we were.

And I appreciate it—I was always going to work as a professional in a ‘man’s world,’ and as it turned out I went into two careers dominated by men. I was even the first female lawyer in my first firm after passing the bar—it was only then that I started to realize they did not know what to make of me; while I just saw it as an extension of my time at CMC and that without my time at CMC, I might not have felt as comfortable. CMC is and will always be a part of me in that way.”

Jerome Haig recalls, “Even though I lived 40 miles away, I was the first person from my high school to even apply to Claremont Men’s College. I only found out about it from one of my teachers. I checked out the CMC catalog and liked what I saw. Remember those catalogs? Didn’t we all love reading them! After getting admitted, I visited—to check out the school and ask for more financial aid. Both boxes getting checked, I was excited to start.

“A few months later, we all joined together for the first time for freshman orientation. (Having a kid who went through CMC orientation a couple of years ago, I can tell you how different our experiences were). In 1980, we were co-ed but still male-dominated—by population and by attitude. I think now how difficult it must have been for our female classmates. But then, as an 18-year-old kid away from home for the first time, it was just a good time of partying and getting to know each other. During those early days in Claremont Tower (now Auen), I thought I recognized someone from high school tennis. He recognized me, too. It was Jeff Gamer, and we became best friends (and accomplices) right away. Forty-one years later, we still enjoy bugging each other.

parts. It was not just a place to live, learn, and play tennis. It was great at all of those things. But it was so much more, and I cannot imagine another college experience providing me a more enriching and positive experience.”

Andrew Gordon writes, “My best memories of CMC are not academic. They are of the invaluable education I received outside of the classroom. How to live in a close environment with a lot of different personalities. How to make good use of a 25-foot slingshot, water balloons, and a bag of chicken heads. The pranks and tomfoolery. Stealing the Pomona Sagehen (twice). Nude soccer.

Orientation serenading. Dorm sports. Bottle bowling in the halls of Berger and Benson. Whiffle ball. Late nights playing hearts or backgammon. How to argue and disagree with people civilly (a talent that is in short supply these days).

And friends that have lasted a lifetime (so far). Good times.”

Glenn Rippey remembers, “Each passing year makes me appreciate all the

more the great class of 1984 and my CMC freshman year experience. That year was exceptional—a great dorm (Benson), a great roommate (shout-out to my pal, Dave Armstrong!), excellent classes, and the chance to make so many wonderful friendships. CMC’s small size made those relationships even more meaningful. The faculty that taught me that year were amazing, each one: Warner, Heslop, Bradley, Fucaloro, Sadava, Lofgren, Davis, Sweeney, Guthrie, and Feldmeth. Sunday brunch and steak dinner at Collins. The old Ath outside the old Pitzer Hall. Soccer on Parents Field. Foster’s donut runs. Seal Pond.

Launching water balloons off the Benson roof at the Pomona football field.

Just such an extraordinary time in a young person’s life, and with our own daughter halfway through her freshman year now, I’ve really been re-living a lot of those moments. I think the thing I treasure the most is how warmly you all welcomed me back when I started coming to reunions, even though I left CMC to finish college here in Colorado. The ’84s are a special group. The independence I gained away from home, the solid academic offerings, and the hilarious, spontaneous, FUN social life are a real gift that CMC gave me.”

John Galloway updates, “I would like to add this

piece of wisdom to my CMC brethren: As we see daily in our lives, our nation is struggling to affect changes in justice and equality that have been long ignored. If you want to play a role in its transformation, then I would say this: It is better to live it, see it, feel it, and get dirty with it, then it is to simply discuss it. Immerse yourself and be an active player in change.

“These days of isolation have been buffeted with the ongoing relationships of my Benson brothers of 1984. Our group has held steady through 37 years now, meeting regularly, sharing, harassing, fighting, arguing, laughing, and beating the hell out of Whiffle balls. There was clearly something magical added to the Benson punchbowls, as we are tied at the hip. The rewards of college life.”

“There were other CMC ‘buddies for life’ I met that first week, including Joe Martinetto, Frank Muci, and Bill Hogan ’85, to name a few. By the time we finished our stint at CMC four years later, that list of lifelong friends had grown and solidified, mainly as we all lived together in Benson Hall during senior year. Benson was the last of the all-male dorms. It was a real dump in 1984, and we made sure that it stayed that way! Benson was seniors, some juniors, and lots of freshmen. We had the best parties in 1983-84 and the best themes!

For those unsuspecting freshmen—and you know who you are—we did all we could to torment you. In addition to Joe, Frank, and Jeff, Benson Hall’s 2nd floor had Andrew Gordon, John Galloway, Eric Swanson, Mitch Gold, and Paul Martinez. All of us keep in regular contact via Zoom, texts, emails, or actually hanging out. We have done exciting and different things in our lives, but our time together at CMC created bonds that have endured.

From Jeff Gamer, “It was only a year ago last February that I flew into Phoenix to link up with Benson Hall buddies Andy Gordon, Jerome Haig, Joe Martinetto, and John Galloway to enjoy a few Spring Training baseball games, play Whiffle ball, and catch up. It was a fun reunion and we were fortunate to have enjoyed being together before the pandemic arrived and locked us all down. Like everyone else on the planet, we watched our normal lives disappear and struggled to find ways to cope with the uncertainty and isolation. We suffered the loss of family members, pets, and businesses, and watched our once vibrant neighborhoods and communities struggle to survive. It seemed that each time the ground seemed ‘solid’ underfoot and that we might stop holding our collective breaths and exhale, the rug would be pulled out from under us again. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche had a saying that aptly describes this: ‘The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang onto, no parachute. The good news is, there’s no ground.’

“I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t attend CMC. I’m sure I would be ‘fine.’

My experience at CMC was not perfect. But it was more than the sum of its

“One bright spot in this swamp of impermanence has been the friendship and camaraderie of my CMC friends. We held our first Benson Hall Happy Hour on

Claremont McKenna College 111.

Zoom last summer as a way for us (Andy, Jerome, Joe, and John) to reconnect.

For the inaugural session, we were joined by Mitch Gold, Frank Muci, and a cameo appearance from Carolynn (Black) Muci. Mitch presided over the session and kept order with the Tire Buddy. These sessions have now become a quasi-semi-demi monthly ritual and Paul Martinez, Bob Lewis, Dave Orlando, and Tim Howett ’83 have been able to join in the fun. I look forward to these sessions as the pandemic continues. It’s a nice respite, if only for a few hours each month, to suspend the freefall and enjoy a little humor and camaraderie.”

John Hinson thinks back, “For reasons that now escape me, on a spring afternoon during my sophomore year, I happened to be staring at various posters advertising study abroad programs on the economics department bulletin board just outside Professor Gordon Bjork’s office.

“Seeing me there, he called me in and asked if I might be interested in a special exchange program with the University of Buckingham in England, one where you were admitted as an individual student, not as part of a group. ‘There won’t be many Americans there,’ he said (correctly it turned out, there were only two others!). ‘But you’ll be able to take any of the classes offered, and experience life as a true international student for a couple terms. Assuming you’re keen to do this, I’ll write you a recommendation and I’m sure will get you accepted.’

“Fast forward a few months and I find myself in a small village in the Midlands, writing essays for tutorial sessions with renowned professors, living in an old converted monastery with students from all parts of the globe, and playing as a starter for the University’s rugby team (a sport I had never played before).

“One class I took there on Soviet-style economics ultimately served as inspiration for my thesis on that topic. On a visit to York, I was able to establish connections to some ancestors from the 14th century. Several months in England also developed my ability to decipher the accent, which has frequently proved helpful in my nearly 30-year marriage to a wife raised in Brighton. And to this day, I count among my dear friends a fellow Buckingham student who traveled with me all over the Isles, as well as a London gal I met on the flight over, whose family basically adopted me during my stay.

“All this would be quite enough for me to be eternally grateful for Gordon’s impact on my life, but there’s more. Returning to college the following year, I was bumming a ride with fellow CMCer Ken Morris ’85, when his fuel pump failed in the middle of nowhere on the I-5 corridor in central California. Shortly after we nursed the car into the only service station for dozens of miles, who should show up at the next pump but Gordon (with his wife, Susan), driving a huge blue Cadillac. Talk about serendipity! We went from being hopelessly stranded to enjoying a luxury ride with friends straight to our destination, with ample room for both us and our considerable gear.

once. They also introduced me to the habit of taking the door that opens to adventure. I followed these lessons to Washington, D.C. to work in my first post-college job for the Reagan-Bush ’84 campaign; they initiated my love of my local government activities in Tempe, Arizona, where I served on the City Council and as two-term mayor; and they inspired me to work in foreign lands, from Mexico to Kazakhstan, in the latter case where I helped found a university immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union, one that continues its service to thousands of students in Central Asia. All this I credit to my friends and classmates having given the ‘geek’ a chance to lead.

“But Bill Rood, the storied international relations professor, taught me the lesson that sticks with me and captures the CMC of my soul. It fell from the infamous ‘terms’ final, which required that students find the meanings of 25 obscure words and phrases in original (not secondary) sources. One that stumped me for a year, ‘Moritz Schiller’s Delicatessen Appel Quay,’ had its answer revealed by the news coverage of the run-up to the 1984 Winter Olympics. (Sure, you can Google it now, but much of the material is false and what fun would that be?) The lesson’s point: small actions can trigger significant, world-altering consequences. That is the meaning of CMC to me.

Sure, there were a handful of significant events, but most of CMC’s impact on my life comes from the ‘mundane’ interactions with so many classmates, friends in the immediately preceding and following class years, professors, and administrators.

“Rarely a day passes that I am not drawn to think of one of this cast and be reminded of something that I use (or, only occasionally, avoid doing) in my life. So, in short, thank you all for granting me a better career, a greater appreciation of the gifts I have been given and that CMC enhanced, and a more robust, full life. I cannot repay any of you.”

Lisa (Balk) Paul notes, “I moved back home after graduation and have been living in Portland, Oregon ever since. I worked for a few years, then decided to go to medical school, so I got a second degree, BS in basic science, at Portland State, then on to OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University). I completed my residency in internal medicine and have been working for Providence Medical Group for over 20 years. Primary care in the middle of a pandemic is, uh, interesting to say the least.

“I’ve seen Esther Saidman a couple times, but not nearly enough. I keep in contact with a few via social media, but otherwise I’m in my own little (now forced) bubble.

“Oh, a few good memories: watching soccer games on the lawn, coaching the men’s club volleyball team (ha, that was a kick!), writing weekly papers for required senior philosophy class (for majors) at 2 a.m. every Thursday night.”

“So, many thanks to Professor Bjork for his incredible contributions to my CMC experience. Not only for affording me an overseas opportunity, which continues to enrich my life even now, but for so amazingly bailing me out of a serious jam!”

From Esther Saidman, “I have so many special memories, but now that I’ve had one son finish college and another who is in his junior year, I have come to appreciate even more all of the many ways CMC challenged me to learn and grow.

Hugh Hallman writes, “Hard to imagine that the class ‘geek’ and ‘nuclear

“I traveled back to CMC a few years ago when my youngest son was looking at schools. I had the great opportunity to see Torrey Sun and Professor Nick Warner. Professor Warner and I shared a memory of the time when I asked him about grad school, and he asked me ‘do you have a passion for it?’ Though it was a simple question, I recall leaving his office a bit off-kilter. It was his support as a mentor that helped me really think about what I wanted to do (and perhaps what I didn’t want to do)—spoiler here, I did not become an English professor. But I often ask myself (and others) that same question!

Moments like these were what made our educational experience so special. It was the value placed not just on studies and grades, but on helping us navigate young adulthood.

powered-tool’ was elected to Student Body President, but it happened in the spring of 1983. A friend’s campaign tagline must have clinched it: ’You want better parties? Elect the geek and he’ll be sure there’s enough money to fund them.’ Rising from the dull neighborhood of Appleby Hall, where occupants satisfied ourselves by observing the antics of our northern neighbors, I still wonder whether that win isn’t the basis for my life’s most interesting tales.

Those elected to run student government during the ’83-’84 term jelled from an eclectic, fractious group into one that provided solid delivery of the college life services students really wanted. And we took on the ‘Stark Administration,’ reaching an agreement that students fees be paid to the student government organization, resulting in a well-endowed treasury that provided support for such activities for many years. These folks (and my suitemates) helped me learn to lead and developed my ability to see multiple perspectives at

112. CMC CLASS NOTES

“So, a quick update on me: I’ve spent the vast majority of my career in financial services marketing and most recently in operations technology/ transformation. My husband, David, (landscape architect) and I live in

Alameda, California. We have two wonderful sons, 24 and 20, and a crazy Australian shepherd whom we adore (even though he drives us crazy). I look forward to hearing about classmates near and far!”

Mitch Gold remembers, “Dorm life and the friends I made, especially the two years I spent in Benson with a great group. You form special bonds with people in a smaller college setting, where nearly everyone lives on campus. So much fun, so many great memories. Dorm parties, soccer and softball on Parents Field, floor hockey in the hall, endless backgammon games, burgers at the much-missed Buffalo Inn. Thirty-five plus years later and I still keep in regular touch with a number of them and with friends from Scripps, as well.

“I also appreciate—much more now than I did then—how beautiful the campus setting is, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains. Waking up every day and seeing Mt. Baldy in the distance, snow on top during the winter, pretty amazing. The school has done a great job of developing the campus in the years since.

“And the professors. Political philosophy with Professor Nichols and international relations with Professor Rood stand out in particular. More than any experience since, those courses and professors really shaped my perspective on the world.”

Tricia Knott updates, “During COVID, I have been keeping up inconsistently

regularly on Zoom calls that started last April with Martha (Cobb) Shanks and Madeleine (Estey) Clyde from our class, along with Sandy (Goodnow) Jara ’85, Karen Imbernino Calhoun ’85, Beth (Kirscht) Billig ’85, Laura (Gilbert) Russell ’85, and Patti Chamber Kohler ’85. Karen and Beth are the only ones with kids still in graduate school. My daughter, who graduated from college last May, is currently working for Townsend Public Affairs (Chris Townsend ’82). Just like to keep things in the family.”

From Eric Swanson and Debbie (Serbin) Swanson, “Debbie and I met the very first day at school just outside our freshman dorm, Phillips. Little did either of us know that … yada yada yada … forty-one years later we would be happily married (35th anniversary in 2021!) with four amazing adult sons and a daughter-in-law to be! Thank you, CMC, for having a part in that.

We’re happy and proud to make it a family affair—our oldest son, Jacob Swanson ’15, attended CMC and our youngest, Noah Swanson, also will as a member of the Class of 2025 (after deferring this past year). Our second oldest, Joshua, is attending Claremont Graduate School.

“CMC was an idyllic place to be in the early 1980s. I cannot imagine a better college environment for growing up and forging lifelong relationships—looking at you, freshman Phillips dormmates and Benson Boys—while learning a few things along the way. It was a more relaxed era, in which those of us who may or may not have stolen the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehen and painted it CMC colors for Homecoming were merely slapped on the wrist, not expelled. Are gross-out competitions still allowed in the North Quad? I hope so, I learned anatomical terms I had never heard of. Thank god phones with cameras and social media did not exist then. What happened in Benson stayed in Benson!

“We appreciate that CMC has helped us keep in touch with the class, especially through reunions. Our class had particularly good attendance at our—gulp— 35th reunion, and it was so much fun to reconnect with many of you who we had not seen for years. The Benson Boys made a strong showing as usual— Andy, John, Jerome, Jeff, Frank (shout out to Mitch Gold and Paul Martinez, who had to miss it) as did our friends from Phillips and elsewhere—Paige and Mike, Karen and Curtis, Debra, Sue, Alyssa (Lael had to miss it, though we’ve seen her recently). It’s amazing how old friendships and acquaintances can be rekindled easily after so long. That reflects the strong connections CMC engenders. Also, at this age now, we seem to have more in common than not!

Looking forward to seeing you at our 40th!

JEROME HAIG ’84

1985

Rick Wentzel recalls, “My first day at CMC was before the typical freshman arrival, as I played football, so we had to arrive early for ‘hell week.’

My mom cried (as we all knew she would), even though I was only moving six miles from home (La Verne). But I was excited to start a new adventure.

Breakfast would typically be a couple of glasses of OJ and a bowl or two of Frosted Flakes.

“The folks with the biggest impact on me were Professor Massoud, as he encouraged me in the field of accounting and continued to encourage me even after I graduated—and also after I made partner at PwC, and then at Grant Thornton. Coach Zinda also had a big impact as he continued to push me to my physical limits.

“My first and second years were spent living in Wohlford Hall in North Quad.

During the CMC years, I was enjoying the music of Journey and Pat Benatar. A stag as a mascot was also pretty unusual and had to be explained, at times, to others. Stags are not usually related to an aggressive animal bringing out the fear in others, but then the football teams during my years were not very good and we probably did not instill much fear in our opponents, so it appears to have worked out fine.”

From Peter Otte, “My first day at CMC, my mom and dad dropped me off and I felt liberated. I was ready for it, man.

“What did you have for breakfast at McConnell? For breakfast every day I had this disgusting mix of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and refried beans. Oh, and two glasses of Minute Maid OJ. It was a culinary world war, and it got me through the day.

“The teacher who inspired me most—it’s a tie between the late Professor Michael Riley because of Film and the Novel and Professor Michael Dean Lamkin, who conducted the choirs.

“What dorm were you first in? My freshman year dorm was Appleby.

“I tried tennis, but I was more into music.”

PETER OTTE ’85 PETER@POPSB.COM

JEROMEHAIG@ME.COM

Claremont McKenna College 113.

through the eras

75

CMS athletes & coaches Alumni and staff across the decades reflect on their special bonds as highly accomplished, competitively driven Athenas and Stags

W

What is your fondest memory of athletics while at CMC? Darrell Smith ’74 P’00, football: Winning! it was a

thrill to be part of a team that was climbing the ladder to become a champion. Every week, we collectively surprised ourselves. And our wins were not squeakers; we started to win in record fashion, resulting in a SCIAC Championship. It is still special and memorable 50 years later.

Margaux Arntson ’18, volleyball: Competing for

a National Championship title. When I reflect on that experience, it wasn’t just about the final match. For me, it was about the entire experience: seeing our competition, teams who had repeatedly been to the Elite Eight; the pre-match chats we had with each other where everything finally seemed “real”; the feeling of stepping onto the court, knowing everyone’s eyes were on you. I loved watching us come together for a larger purpose. We all showed immense mental and physical strength, and I had never been prouder to be a part of a team.

Joseph Busch ’70, swimming and water polo:

Being trusted by Coach Dez Farnady to anchor the 4x200 free relay at Nationals each year.

That was especially true in 1967, as that was the last event of the meet when we won the NAIA Championship. Gary Niemeyer ’69 also dubbed us the Bossabean Tigers. The group that was there when I swam—essentially the classes of 1967 through 1973—still stays in touch.

Lea Crusey ’03, lacrosse: I am so proud of the

camaraderie of the women’s lacrosse team over my four years, which started as fivecollege, evolved to CMS club, and then CMS varsity. As we worked toward establishing

114. CMC CLASS NOTES

ourselves as a NCAA DIII team, we knew we were working toward something bigger than ourselves, toward something that would outlast us.

Jodie Burton, women’s golf coach and longtime women’s basketball coach: The National Championship in golf, and SCIAC Championships in both basketball and golf, are exceptional moments in my life. This does not compare with the journey you take with each team to be the best you can be. As a coach, you are only one part of what makes a team. For me, it does not get any better than learning, struggling, experiencing a variety of emotions, and sharing that journey with beautiful people. Also, watching my third son at four-weeks-old being passed through the huge crowd with his bottle. His destiny was Jil and Jack Stark on the top row. I was watching Jil feed Michael while coaching a championship game.

What makes the CMS program special? What stands out from your time on campus?

Busch: The camaraderie. To have Scott Campbell

’66—later to be the Danish Olympic coach—as a senior take my freestyle stroke apart and put it back together is just one example. That’s the way it was. The upperclassmen instructed the

Left to right: Darrell Smith ’74 P’00, Margaux Arntson ’18, Joseph Busch ’70, and Lea Crusey ’03

freshmen on how to survive—academically, socially, and athletically.

with teammates flourish in their lives. That’s really the greatest reason to coach.

people and work continuously with the Alumni Association.

Crusey: There was a strong athletics presence across the whole student body and school culture. When I play the “name game” now, asking what sport someone might have played is still one of the fastest ways to narrow down recognition. Even more than major or dorm, which may be an easier identifier at other schools!

Crusey: My experience as an athlete gave me a sense of structure and belonging that complemented my friendships and my studies.

That helped set the pace for what has been a busy and satisfying personal, professional, and civic adult life ever since. There’s real joy in working hard toward something bigger than yourself with a high level of expectation and accountability to continuously learn, improve, and deliver. In particular, I earned top recognition my senior year, and what stood out to me from my stats was the high number of assists I had. I remind myself often of the value of the assist—and not just scoring the goal— toward team achievement.

Busch: I swam and played water polo all

Burton: It has always felt like family here. My

sons grew up in Ducey Gym. They were ball boys for football and basketball—fans of all our teams. More specifically in the athletic department, I have enjoyed being supported and given the opportunity to win. In my early years, I cherished working with both Bill Arce and John Zinda. They gave me the ability to speak up and be heard without worrying about my job. I could be direct and honest in my approach. Other women in my profession did not have that luxury.

Arntson: I loved how integrated my athletic career was with my academic one. The mental toughness I built during lifting sessions and long practices became pivotal to my success when it came time to work through long reading assignments or complicated fact patterns in class. I would not have been as academically successful without the skills I built playing for CMS. Smith: CMC allowed me to grow as a man who wanted to earn his way in this world. Nothing was set aside for me while on the football team.

I had to earn it.

Is there a life lesson that stands out most from your time with CMS Athletics?

Burton: I am exceptionally pleased with the growth of our women’s program—proud of those female athletes who stuck with us as we grew to be the strong programs we are today.

I am especially proud of watching the women I had the honor to coach grow as people once they left CMC. I enjoy seeing their friendships

Arntson: If you do not advocate for yourself and your abilities, no one else will. The volleyball team came into the National Championship as a clear underdog. In order to compete, I knew I had to shake off my personal feelings of inferiority and stop questioning my place in the tournament or my ability to perform when it meant the most. I carry that skill with me today as a first-generation law student at Boston University. Also, to have the matchwinning kill in the championship game was an honor. It was one of the first times where I truly dedicated myself to something and the hard work paid off. I try my best to remember that feeling as I face new obstacles as a grad student and young professional.

Smith: Life is a series of mountains and hills.

We all can use some help along the way. The leadership at CMC made a real difference in my life—especially Coach John Zinda, who always encouraged me to succeed at the things I was attempting to do. Throughout my time at CMC, I was married and had a child. I worked several part-time jobs, played four years of football, and graduated on time. When I entered CMC, there were 14 Black students in my class— only three graduated with the class. This is why I commit myself to mentoring young

four years. I also did intercollegiate debate for my entire freshman year and the first semester of my sophomore and senior years.

I couldn’t have done that without learning how to properly manage my time. That meant starting the research on a paper when it was first assigned, and having at least a first draft completed well before the final product was due. That carried over into my career as a lawyer, where I was always confronted with deadlines. Also, I am now an assistant swim coach at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano. It’s an honor to pay it forward.

Joseph Busch ’70, a political science major and graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law, is a member of the CMS Athletic Hall of Fame (Class of ’97). He was first-team All-SCIAC and a first-team All-America from 1967 to 1970.

Darrell Smith ’74 P’00 managed his own firm for 19 years, including time spent running an NGO, Save Africa’s Children. A running back and defensive back for the Stags, he was part of the program’s first SCIAC Championship team as a freshman.

Lea Crusey ’03, a double major in history and government, is co-founder and president of Invest America in Washington, D.C., which sets out to eliminate the student loan default crisis. She helped spearhead lacrosse’s move to varsity and earned first-team All-Region as a senior.

Margaux Arntson ’18, an international relations major from Puyallup, Wash., is a JD candidate at Boston University School of Law. She was firstteam All-SCIAC, SCIAC Player of the Year, and first-team All-America.

Jodie Burton was inducted into the CMS Hall of Fame in 2012 for her work as a coach and athletics administrator. She served as head women’s basketball coach for 32 seasons, amassing more than 500 wins, and has been the women’s golf coach since 2012.

Claremont McKenna College 115.

1986

Paul Novak remembers, “Three professors made a huge impact on

my time at CMC: “Professor Ross Eckert influenced me more than any other professor. He taught me that one could ‘dabble’ in something, truly enjoy it, but not have to major in it (economics). He was a class act, a gentleman, and always generous with his time and advice. He was taken from us too early.

“Professor George Benson P’61. I was one of the last students who not only took a class with Dr. Benson, but also received a diploma from him (my favorite graduation photo is Dr. Benson handing me my diploma). How many students ever get a chance to take a class from the founder of their college? He was a legend, truly a larger-than-life personality who I was fortunate to know.

“Dr. Ward Elliott was one of my favorite professors, but he taught me even more outside of the classroom. When I was a stress case over my thesis, he would crack a joke to put me at ease. When I wanted to be a dork and study on a weekend, he’d rope me in to a sing-along at his house. He is a serious intellectual, yet one who never took things too seriously. He taught me and others a lot about how to enjoy life, whether it was reading a book or strumming a guitar.

“Finding your voice, identity or inspiration: The ‘Beckett Experience’ taught me to be more open to trying new things. Several inspiring seniors (Elaine Rossi ’83, Karen Jacobsen ’83, and Ken Cheuvront ’83), as well as a diverse group of freshmen (Suzanne Audiss, Jim Godfrey ’87, John-Michael Lind, and John Hussey) made my first year at CMC particularly memorable. This diverse group of people—among the finest people I’ve known before or since— were able to show a know-it-all, immature, self-centered, and sheltered punk (yes, me at 18) a ‘lifetime worth’ of lessons in an academic year. I am forever grateful for that time I spent with them and other dormmates.”

Kevin Tan recalls, “Like most of us, I applied to Claremont Men’s College, and was admitted to Claremont McKenna College. As an international student, I arrived about a week early, to be greeted by Charlene Martin of International Place. It was my first extended stay in America, and coming from staid Singapore, it was ... an experience.

“I remember going to the bathroom on the 1st floor of Marks Hall, and mistaking the trough there as a laundry sink (I soon found out it was a urinal).

I was so glad to be in one of the few dorms that had air conditioning! When the freshmen moved in soon thereafter, I was delighted to get to know Karl (my roommate) and Kaiser, Bassam (neighbors), Yvette, and so many others. Lou played on the soccer team, Brian sang in the choir, and Diana ran track.

“I loved going to the baseball games, even though I did not know what I sometimes was yelling for ... ‘Nuke ’em Pete!’ ‘Get an eye, Ump!’ (when he called a strike when the Stags were pitching), and even the big (football) losses on Stags Field. I remember being completely befuddled when I caught my first fly ball in intramural softball (I had never played before) as I stood in left field and hearing the Marks Morgue Team yell for me to throw it back to the infield. I remember tackling the person I was supposed to guard in my first intramural basketball game. I remember asking my first lab partner if I could borrow her ‘rubber’ (her eraser was sitting on the table between us) and she gave me this disgusted look and said, ‘I don’t have one!’ I remember going to the beach on the bus during freshman orientation, food fights in Collins, and Dr. Bradley’s game nights. I pulled all-nighters with the help of Foster’s Donut (now renamed Donut Man) runs in Dr. Lattinville’s English class; groaned each morning for 8 a.m. classes, and was dunked in Seal Pond. And all of this in just my freshman year!

“We are thrilled that my daughter, Jasmine, will be part of the CMC class of 2025! She will be the seventh member of my extended family to attend CMC!” Tom Whittemore thinks back, “As for one of my favorite CMC memories, how about a shout-out to the inaugural (and to my knowledge only) Super Stag Competition? What started out as just a lazy Sunday turned into a great day of Stag pride and camaraderie as a relatively small group—maybe 15 or so in total—took part in a variety of feats of athletic prowess to see who was the ultimate Stag. I am not sure who organized the event, or exactly who participated. Some of the participants were likely Dave Toomey, Larry O’Brien, Joe Caponetto, Dave Neault, Brad Loula, Jeff Ross, Mike Gibson, Mark Sisson, John Gusiff, Tom Whittemore, Dale Jackson ’88, Mike Lang ’87, Mike Carroll ’87, and Jeff Sullivan ’87. Events included, 100-yard swim, softball throw, free throw shooting, some type of running event, bench press (won

by Jeff Ross, of course), and finally a three-beer chug. As we moved over to a keg out in front of Ducey Gym for the finale, more CMCers had gathered.

At first, I thought they were there to cheer me on, but now I realize they were drawn to the keg. We were coming to the end of the beer chug portion of the competition when an unnamed contestant, who was on world record pace after his second beer, knocked over his third beer, and then lost it all against a nearby tree. As we relaxed by the keg after the competition, I’m not sure if anyone actually knew who won, and it didn’t really matter. We were all Super Stags. It was just an awesome CMC day!”

From Brent “Duke” Hill, “My first day at CMC, my parents helped moved me in. Exciting because I roomed with my good friend, Ronald Ratcliffe, from my high school. Professor Ralph Juhnke was my psychology professor and he changed my life. The CMC lesson I have carried with me is: passion, integrity, teamwork. The best experience of my college career was winning the NCAA DIII Soccer Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina during my sophomore year. My favorite bonding experience of my time at CMC is the soccer team travel. My thesis experience was challenging but rewarding, especially discussions with Professor Rosenbaum.

“What I miss or appreciate most about CMC is the camaraderie. Here are some important mentors, CMC people that made a difference in my life: Andy Turek ’85, coach my freshman year: Andy gave me my nickname, Lemonhead.

He said I looked like the character on the Lemonheads candy box; I didn’t like the nickname at first, but warmed up to it! Steve Davis, soccer coach: gave me the nickname Duke (which has stuck while Lemonhead has passed) because in my first time in the goal (soccer goalkeeper), he said my posture looked like John Wayne’s. Finally, I wish I knew that four years pass quickly; enjoy every moment of the learning and the college experience.”

116. CMC CLASS NOTES

Jennifer (Saltzman) Üner reminisces, “CMC has always held a special place

in my heart. I was born about as close to CMC as you could get—Pomona Valley Hospital—because my dad, Tom Saltzman ’64, was a senior at CMC at the time. Mom was his Downey High School sweetheart. After a short stint at Chico State, she returned south to get married, and attended Pitzer as its first sophomore. My attendance at CMC as an ‘Alumster’ was indeed a privilege.

There weren’t too many of us next-gens in those days because the school was still so young. My parents separated when I was 12-years-old, but my mom did end up marrying another CMC alumnus, the inimitable Dick Smith ’64, about five years after I graduated.

“The three of them had a blast showing up to reunions together. My dad became a legend amongst my own campus cohort when he showed up with beer to do some recruiting for his accounting firm. I recall the impromptu party at Marks where a group of us played drinking games with him; it was only mildly cringy. I did get to leave my own small legacy at CMC: When I started as student manager of the Athenaeum, the beer was accessible after hours, but by my senior year that tap was under lock and key. Administration had caught on. Yes, those were the days! I cherish the lifelong friendships I made at CMC, the fun and silly times we had (just today I was talking about a sheet cake fight outside of Berger), the serious studies and critical-thinking skills we accumulated together, and the fact that I still connect with one Claremont friend or another most days. Cheers to CMC, its 75th Anniversary, and to all of us still here making it past the 100th!”

Michael Gamer writes, “With hopefully the worst of the pandemic behind us,

I find myself taking a longer view on things—35 years back to our graduation and nearly 40 since we met one another. I’m currently looking out on a rainy evening in London, fully aware that I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for the teaching I received and the evening conversations playing darts, eating pizza, listening to Prince. I don’t mind the teaching online from my end, but I can’t help but know that students learning remotely are missing the most formative part of a college education. Raising a glass to you all and sending my best.”

Sharon Mayo remembers, “My CMC experience was hard—really hard.

Growing up in a small town on a small island, there wasn’t much academic competition. Without working too hard, I made it to the top in high school.

Claremont was a rude awakening. It felt, for several months, like I was dropped onto another planet. It seemed everyone wore pastel Lacoste shirts, khakis, and Sperry topsiders, listened to music I wasn’t familiar with, and had so many cultural references that were foreign to me.

“Women mentors were in short supply. CMC was still very much a ‘Men’s College’ even though the name had just changed. The second floor of Phillips Hall was almost entirely filled with freshman women; there was only one freshman on the all-male first floor, because some of the rowdiest senior men all wanted to live together and the upperclass women were smart enough to stay away. And nearly everyone on campus was so freaking smart. It felt like it was ‘sink or swim,’ and so I swam, paddling as hard as I could to stay afloat.

“But CMC was also incredibly fun. I still crack up when I think of some of the really stupid, outrageous, and funny things we did—the snarky underground newspaper we put together, pranks like stapling hundreds of paper Dixie cups together on the carpet of a friend’s room and filling them with water, the ‘ransom note’ style letters mysteriously left in certain senior administration offices complaining about no heat in the dorm, and so many more that are just not suitable for publication. Usually fueled by alcohol, a need to burn off some stress, and competition for who had the most wicked sense of humor and craziest idea.

“Surviving CMC made everything that came after it so much easier. Most of my law school classmates did not have the experience of multi-hour essay exams; I was a veteran. Even the bar exam seemed less daunting because of my CMC experience. Prospective employers were always impressed when they saw I went to CMC. Thirty-five years have somewhat dulled the edges of how

difficult it was to get through those four years. And the passage of time also has allowed me to recognize how much my CMC experience has made my life better. I am tougher, more nimble, more competitive, funnier, and more successful than if I had walked away from the challenge.”

From Jennifer Tsang, “I have been looking forward to our 35th class reunion in 2021 since I attended the 30-year shindig in 2016. It was just coincidence that I was back in California at the time, accompanying my mother during her three weeks of radiation therapy, so my ‘bestie’ Penjalee Kennedy ’86 and I decided to attend. It was the best evening of an otherwise heart wrenching and difficult trip. Made me realize how much I missed CMC and the classmates I enjoyed and held so dear, people with whom I had lost touch when I moved down to Santiago, Chile in the mid ’90s. Thankfully, technology has provided us the means to connect easily, and in the past five years, I have managed to reconnect with some of you, especially since taking on the role of class liaison.

“So many fond memories: I met three amazing women during freshman orientation, Jen (Saltzman) Üner, Joanna Kishner, and Tish Detterman Gowgiel. We stayed together for the four years, between Claremont and Fawcett towers, and even took our final senior trip together (an awesome week in Pacific Beach). Those three special ladies, in addition to a handful of others— Bill Tarkanian, Kevin Finigan, Dave Toomey, Nick Bagatelos, John Hussey, Carol (Oliver) Hartman, Ophelia (Wong) Weiss, David Suguro ’84, Dave Orlando ’84, Steve Hardy ’85, and Daren Hengesbach ’88—made the college experience magical.

“When our class of 1986 arrived at CMC, I believe our male/female mix was about 80/20. So, it was not unheard of to end up in a classroom as the only female. That was pretty weird, as I had previously attended an all girls’ ‘college prep’ high school. But I got used to it, and it has served me well, living in Latin America and working in male-dominated industries—beer and wine, copper, pension funds, and automotive! The small, private-college atmosphere that CMC offers is a unique one, and I loved it—class size, close relationships with the faculty and administration, on-campus housing and parties, Collins Hall, and the other four colleges. Favorite professors: Marjorie Charlop, Harvey Wichman, Granville Henry, Ron Teeples P’91, Lynn Miller (Scripps), and Lew Ellenhorn (Pitzer), who inspired me to enroll in a Ph.D. program in industrial/ organizational psychology (that did not work out for me, by the way!).

“I’m sorry that the 35th class reunion will unlikely occur in the way that I had envisioned, but I hope we are all motivated to return to Claremont for the big 40-year reunion—when CMC will be celebrating its 80th! Look forward to seeing you there, and hopefully here in Chile before that; the invitation always stands.”

JEN TSANG ’86 JTSANK@GMAIL.COM JANE KAUFMANN SANKER ’86 JANEKSANKER@YAHOO.COM CAROL HARTMAN ’86 P’19 COHARTMAN1@GMAIL.COM

1987

Barry Finkelstein remembers his graduation, “After returning the night before from a ‘dead’ week vacation to Hawaii, we were enjoying a pregraduation celebration at Fawcett Hall. Roughly 60 minutes from graduation and Coach David Wells ’72 shows up at Fawcett to let me know I could not graduate without passing my CMC swim test, an event I had been avoiding all semester. So, off to the pools we went, Coach Wells with whistle in hand, and me—a slightly inebriated, soon-to-be graduate, maybe …

“The test required one lap of each of the basic strokes followed by three minutes of treading water. After successfully completing the stroke portion of the test, Coach Wells called me over for the treading. He instructed me to begin

Claremont McKenna College 117.

and he would let me know when I was finished. Well, this was Coach Wells’ chance to exact a bit of revenge for the full semester of missed opportunities I had to take the swim test previously. My treading went a lot longer than three minutes, in fact, as I could easily view the large lane timing clock, it was clear that three minutes was just a euphemism for ‘when I say it’s three minutes, that will be three minutes.’ Well, Coach Wells got his revenge, and after 11 minutes of treading and with but 10 minutes to spare, I was off to don my cap and gown and become a graduate of the class of ’87. Clearly a day I will always remember!”

Erin McKenna recalls, “My strongest memory is showing up in 1983 to find

I was the only ‘freshman’ woman in my dorm (Claremont Tower). While I bonded with my classmates, I was also very happy to meet my floormates— most from the class of 1985. They took me into their fold and made my college experience everything I could have hoped—late nights in the library, food fights in Collins, food runs to In-N-Out. After they all graduated, I found more connections in my own class. Except for the bonds of my fellow PPE class, though, they never matched those of my first year at CMC.” Scott Lammers shares his favorite CMC memories, “Basketball NCAA playoff

games, Monte Carlo parties, late night Phillips shower converted into a huge bath, Green Beach softball games, late nights at the Buffalo Inn, late-night Domino’s deliveries, Vegas all-nighter runs, Mt. Baldy day trips, smoggy, hazy days with no air conditioning.”

FRED DELLOVADE ’87 FREDD@HULLANESTHESIA.COM

1988

John Teeples writes, “My friends and I were on the Food Services Committee under the leadership of Rena Bever. We were responsible for adding cheese to the salad bar. You’re welcome!”

CAM TREDENNICK ’88 CAM.TREDNNICK@GMAIL.COM

1989

From Joe Massoud, “My favorite memories are going to Stag soccer games and watching Coach Steve Davis’ juggernaut just rolling over seemingly every opponent for four years. We were a loud, sometimes unruly, crowd—joined in most cases by Jil Stark ’58 GP’11, the wife of President Jack Stark ’57 GP’11. And then going to Professor Steve Davis’ philosophy of religion class the next morning. A true CMC experience. Also, the Banking Simulation course with Professor Gordon Bjork, lacrosse road trips with Professor/Coach Jerry Eyrich (especially the road trip to Stanford and Sonoma State when we had NO reserves), Appleby Around the World, Appleby Airband, P&W, and being frustrated when party entrance fees moved to $3 from $2.50 at some point during the four years.”

Derek Emge remembers a quintessentially pre-internet memory, “In 1987 I

was taking one of Dr. Rood’s poli-sci courses along with about 10 devotees to his teaching style. Dr. Rood handed each student a small segment of a colored map and instructed us to identify the location, era, and historical significance of the region contained in the map. My recollection is that my two-inch square contained a stream (named), two unnamed roads, and a few foreign looking words. So, down to the bowels of the library we went where, under the greenish glow of iridescent lighting, there was an amazing map room with large pullout drawers full of ancient maps. This process, which today could probably be completed on Google Maps in an hour, was an amazing task where I learned as much from resolving mistakes and false leads as I did from finally solving the map puzzle. Dr. Rood never disappointed!”

Miemie (Winn) Byrd writes in with her favorite CMC memory, “Rappelling off

Fawcett Tower for Army ROTC training.”

TODD THOMAS ’89 TODDTHOMASAZ@YAHOO.COM

118. CMC CLASS NOTES

1990

Tracy Sullivan Prock remembers, “I have fond memories of Professor Pitney’s and Professor Roth’s lectures, playing basketball with the Athenas, life-changing Athenaeum speakers, and endless laughter with friends to name a few. I truly couldn’t get enough of CMC and all of the Claremont Colleges. I am grateful for the lasting impressions and friendships made. And so, thanks to my parents’ sacrifice and generosity, my fondest memory is just the opportunity to attend.”

Faye (Karnavy) Sahai writes, “Thankful to CMC for the wonderful memories,

friends, and ever-evolving learning. It has been amazing to see how CMC has changed—from the few to 11 research institutes, Ducey Gym to Roberts Pavilion, and how CMC has stayed the same with amazing Athenaeum speakers and afternoon tea, and great professors with engaging discussion.

Professor Massoud has been a lifelong mentor—from the times taking his accounting class and championing his students to be their best in debits and credits to every time I am on campus—I always look forward to his sincere smile, listening, and advice. Amazing how he remembers all the students’ names over his 40 years of teaching, and even now their families. He also taught and inspired my son, who took his accounting class.”

Greg Cullison thinks back, “I miss the old dirt track and the gray smog sticking

around like a bad hangover, with its power to make Mt. Baldy magically disappear. But most of all, I miss the people. CMC was small enough then that you felt like you knew everybody, even if just by sight.”

FAYE KARNAVY SAHAI ’90 FAYESAHAI@GMAIL.COM

1992

Michelle Guerra Madruga writes, “Professor Jack Pitney left a lasting impression on my college academics. By taking his Government 20 class my freshman year, Professor Pitney not only inspired me to become a government major, but truly taught me how to write. He required his students to become familiar with The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and then apply those principles to class assignments. It was an enormous lifetime gift that helped me with future CMC papers, the senior thesis, and my banking career. I now try to teach my children the value of writing well. Thank you, Professor Pitney!”

Big thank you to Deborah Apodaca, who has helped connect the Class of 1992 for years through Class Notes, and will now step down. If you would like to be the Class Liaison for the Class of 1992, please email alumni@cmc.edu.

1998 The Class of 1998 had a few lifelong memories to share for the 75th Anniversary.

Stephanie Carlos meets up with Maria Fitzpatrick, Esther (Velasquez) Sibal, and Claudia Escobar every year each holiday season. Traditionally, they gather in Claremont each December for an hours-long brunch, coffee, lunch, happy hour, dinner, and dessert, but this year it was an hours-long Zoom call.

As your Class Notes Scribe and former roommate to a few of these ladies, I can attest to the brilliance and hilarity of this crew—and to the gift of my life-long friendship with Stephanie. I was stationed in Sacramento this fall and got to spend a wonderful afternoon in the Bay Area with Stephanie, Brian Lambert, and their little boys.

Matthew ‘Kansas’ Schmidt went into academe in part because of his Claremont professors. He thought that teaching, learning, and writing seemed like a pretty good way to spend a life. Of the many great teachers he had, he mentioned Jack Pitney, Bob Faggen, and Audrey Bilger. From the first day he stepped into his own classroom, he confesses to ripping off Professor Pitney’s simulations! Jack’s methods have helped him guide and coach students to understand politics every day of his career. And whenever he’s on Los Angeles media, he secretly hopes Jack is listening.

He had Professor Bilger for Intro Composition and was mad because he didn’t think he should have had to take Intro. Ahem. Turns out that class opened his mind to a canon of work he simply hadn’t known existed. And when he was invited to take her 19th Century British Women’s Literature class, he was shocked. Did she not know his name was ‘Kansas?’ A farm kid from Kansas was not compatible with such a class! Well, as ever, it was a brilliant course.

And it’s Professor Bilger he has in mind when he tells his own students, ‘Take the professor, not the class.’

And then there’s Faggen. What to say? Once a month he wants to throttle some commentator who misapplies ‘The Road Not Taken.’ But once a day he grounds himself reciting, ‘The way a crow shook down on me/the dust of snow from a hemlock tree ...’ And that has made all the difference.

Michael De Simone shared the significant impact that Professor Carney made

on his life. Professor Carney was a tremendous human being, wonderful literature professor, and trusted advisor. He noted the irony of the difficulty in concisely summarizing his feelings about her. He has a special place in his heart for Professor Carney, and he was especially emotional about the recent loss. The world is not as good without Professor Carney; we need more people like her.

KRISTAL DEKLEER ’98 KDEKLEER@YAHOO.COM

2001 When asked to reflect on her time at CMC,

Jessica Lopez-Huskey

contributed, “The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, affectionately nicknamed The Ath, is a place with special significance for me. Throughout my entire four years at CMC, I spent countless hours inside the original ’80s building as though it were my own home. I remember visiting the Athenaeum for the first time in 1996 to hear the American author Richard Rodriguez. Although I’ve heard countless speakers over the years, including my own father on the topic of culture and mental health, the memories I cherish most had nothing to do with the speakers. In fact, I felt somewhat out of place amidst the cluster of students wearing identical outfits of khakis and navy blazers, the quiet murmurs of conversation, and polite clinks of china. Rather, the Ath was my second home because of the crescendo in the kitchen, the culinary repertoire of Chef Dave Skinner, and the friendships I made while working there.

“Not only did I learn how to crack an egg with one hand and properly set a table, but I deepened friendships during brief interludes of hot chocolate service and late nights of folding maroon napkins. My friendships with Brian, Hillary, and Jacob grew while we watched countless episodes of Friends, passed kissing oranges during Madrigal, and heard snippets of wisdom from each speaker.”

Arjun McAvoy writes, “Personally, CMC made a profound impact on the

trajectory of my life. I loved how the small nature of the school made it necessary for each student to play a larger role than just taking in scholarly studies. So many students participated in multiple activities on campus, from student government to International Place, planning parties and scoring points on sports teams. I had many great professors that left lasting impressions on me, but I would have to say that Coach Mike Sutton ’76 and my time on the Stags water polo and swim teams particularly stands out. My wife gets tired of hearing me say, ‘Coach Sutton always used to say ...’ I have two bits of wisdom from Coach Sutton fit to share: First, the immemorial ‘3 = 10.’ This is in reference to drinks—if you go to a party, you can have one or two drinks, but if you have three, it turns into 10. A life lesson in moderation for sure. Another bit of wisdom imparted at my 10-year reunion during the Pirate Party, with students jumping off the Green Hall roof onto an inflatable slide: ‘This is a bad weekend to become famous.’ Too true. Thanks, Coach!”

ARJUN MCAVOY ’01 ARJUN.MCAVOY@GMAIL.COM

2002

Melissa Crowley remembers, “The Ath is the center of what makes CMC special. From amazing speakers, better dinners than the dining hall, and memories of relaxing with friends during Ath Tea. Who can forget the Rice Krispies treats? Every Reunion Weekend, my friends and I make Ath Tea and those Krispies treats our first stop and we always run into other 2002 grads when we do. Even though at least five years have passed since last seeing most of these faces, it feels like no time at all. We slip right back into that campus life. I’m looking forward to 2022 and seeing many of you over a treat!”

David Brock ’01 and Charlotte (Kelly) Brock met for the first time while at

CMC, though not on the CMC campus. Instead, they met for the first time on Catalina Island on a freshman/sophomore retreat sponsored by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. There were about 20 people on the retreat and in the evening, they climbed to the top of a cliff that had a cross on it. The group sat up there and talked, and everybody else left, leaving just Charlotte and David up at the cross. Three-and-a-half years later, in the same place, David asked Charlotte to marry him, and two months later they were married with dozens of CMCers in attendance. Charlotte and David finished a tour in Moscow in 2019 and returned to the D.C. area. They were in D.C. for a year, where they were able to complete the adoption of their son Xiaokang “Kangkang” Brock.

David also completed his master’s degree in strategic intelligence. They were supposed to head to Beijing, China in the summer of 2020, but the pandemic threw off their plans. After a complicated journey, they finally arrived in Beijing in September of 2020. They are excited to be back in China, and are scheduled to be in Beijing until 2024, so if anybody is coming to Beijing for the Olympics or any other reason, let them know!

From Bob Donlan, “I could write and share a lot about my time at CMC (can’t we all!). Here are a couple stories that I frequently share and tell: I’ll never forget the day before moving in at CMC. I walked from the parking lot into North Quad with my parents. The very first person I saw walking across the lawn was a senior who I had met the prior year during a recruiting visit.

He remembered me, came over to say hello, and introduced himself to my parents. I was immediately relaxed and truly felt at home in a special place.

“My second truly memorable freshman year story was early second semester.

I slept through my alarm clock after a late and grueling basketball practice and missed my 8:20 English class. Later that day, I got a voicemail message from Professor Carney asking me to call her. I was terrified, as she was my favorite teacher and I never missed class. I found the courage to return the call. ‘Bob, I didn’t see you in class and was worried about you. Are you OK?’ Of course, she was just calling to check on me! That type of phone call is not one that takes place at many institutions, and admittedly, it’s not what many people would like as part of their college experience. For me, it was indicative of my time and experience at CMC and one of the many reasons I’m proud to call myself an alumnus. CMC is a unique and special place.”

KAITLIN WATERSON ’02 KAITLIN.WATERSON@GMAIL.COM

2004

Katy (Trenholme) Lee remembers, “I have many fond memories of my time at CMC, but the one that comes to mind is turning in my senior thesis, receiving my bottle of champagne, and toasting with my friends in the fountain. Campus security eventually made us get out of the fountain, but they couldn’t dampen our spirits!”

MIKE AVENT ’04 MIKE.AVENT@GMAIL.COM

2006

Nick Demarest writes about, “The CMC Lesson I’ve Always Carried with Me: So many lessons to choose from. Market equilibria of supply and demand curves, the delicious wickedness of Austen or American Poetry, or lines from great films, ‘It’s no trick to make a lot of money … if all you want to do is make a lot of money.’ But one of my favorite stories from CMC took

Claremont McKenna College 119.

through the eras

75

ASCMC presidents Alumni across the decades reflect on their special bonds as the thoughtful, problem solving leaders of student government

W

Why did you run for ASCMC President?

Christine Wight Huddleson ’91: I wanted to

represent the students’ perspective on key issues affecting CMC at the time and in the future, such as campus safety, alcohol policies, faculty and curriculum decisions, and enrollment growth. I wanted to explore options to enhance the student experience, such as being able use our meal cards at the Hub in addition to Collins Hall. And overall, I wanted to continue to promote a fun culture, with a variety of parties, events, clubs, and other ways for students to get involved and connect on campus.

Hugh Hallman ’84: I was involved in political

activity at a very young age—I licked stamps for the “Goldwater for President” campaign when I was two. My interest in people and problem solving continued at CMC, and I became involved in ASCMC for three years. Becoming president of the organization seemed to be a natural step. And when you are a geek who lacks any athletic skill, it was a nice extracurricular activity to get out of the day-to-day focus of studying!

Johnson Lin ’21: Having served three consecutive

terms as Class President already, I was able to observe the leadership styles and dynamics of three different boards. I already had the experience, and I especially wanted to work with affinity groups to make CMC’s campus a more inclusive space.

Top to bottom: Christine Wight Huddleson ’91, Hugh Hallman ’84, Johnson Lin ’21, and Ashumi Kothary Shippee ’03

120. CMC CLASS NOTES

Ashumi Kothary Shippee ’03: I chose to run for president so I could give back to CMC and be involved in something more on campus. Being ASCMC President, and my overall involvement in student government since my freshman year, ranks as one of my best experiences at CMC.

What was the biggest or most interesting issue on campus when you were president?

Lin: Where to begin? Less than two days into my term, I caught word of plans to vacate campus due to the pandemic and managed to talk my way into attending the emergency faculty meeting— something that no student had done before. In that first week, I quickly became acquainted with CMC administration, and even skipped midterms to make sure every aspect was being addressed.

On my busiest day that week, I remember taking 37 phone calls and sitting in nine meetings. It was totally insane.

Kothary Shippee: One of our key issues was

developing a more robust social calendar of activities that were non-alcoholic. I created a Vice SAC chair position whose sole responsibility was to develop a non-alcoholic social calendar and a budget to support and drive participation in these activities. For the student body—and the ASCMC leadership team—it was critical to create more variety in student body-funded activities that were non-alcoholic.

Wight Huddleson: The proposed expansion in

student enrollment—at that time from 850 to 1,000—was one of the more significant issues.

As students, we had questions about how this might affect academics, facilities, and our sense of community. For example, we were greatly concerned about whether this might lead to two dining halls and a divided campus culture.

Would this also mean a change in academic focus? Where would new dorms be placed?

Would financial aid be less generous if more students required support? However, we also considered the benefits of expansion. With a larger student body, could we also realize the benefits of a more diverse student body from multiple perspectives—including gender, race/ ethnicity, geography, academic interests, and athletic focus?

Hallman: It was clear that student government

was always short of resources. When I became president—with Lee Leong ’84, the student treasurer—we began looking at intended sources of funding and discovered that, years before, the student fees originally intended to support the student government were not all flowing to its coffers. Lee and I—and then the rest of the student government board— pushed the CMC administration to reexamine the allocation. Eventually, we reached an agreement that CMC would make a one-time payment for back fees and pay the full amount of the student fees to ASCMC. That gave ASCMC a good nest egg to support student services for years to come.

What is your favorite memory or life lesson from your time with ASCMC? Kothary Shippee: I focused on listening to the

needs of the student body, selected a diverse group of presidential advisors by asking students who were not normally involved in student government to help, and made a few calls that were the right decision for the long term. Even today, my leadership style is a blend of listening, collaborating, and making the tough call when necessary.

Hallman: My favorite memories are the bookends to my service as ASCMC President.

I was “ponded” when I won election. On the night I “retired” from the position, the fabulous RA of Beckett Hall (who was “retired” from

that position the same week) sat with me and, together, we sipped wine and reminisced about the interesting people we’d met at CMC. I got a position at the Reagan-Bush ’84 campaign as I was leaving CMC. That carried me through a year off before I headed to law school at the University of Chicago. Both of those steps only occurred because of CMC, which served as my launchpad. I cannot thank my classmates, friends, faculty members, and administrators enough for their influences on my life.

Lin: Always make yourself accessible and

listen to the needs of students—especially those from marginalized backgrounds who may not be able to speak up for themselves.

It was very important for me to elevate the conversation around anti-racism and Black Lives Matter during my term. Even though ASCMC usually goes quiet over the summer, this was something we had to get involved in.

I’m especially proud of hosting a “We Stand with You” event where our (Diversity and Inclusion Chair) Diana Hernandez ’21 and I taught around 300 students and staff how to be good allies to the Black community. We also initiated an unprecedented amount of 5C collaboration, working with the other student governments to raise $56,000 for five racial justice organizations.

committee that evaluated the ramifications of CMC becoming coed—and ultimately recommended the admission of women.

While I certainly appreciated that decision, I also loved hearing that the administration had consistently included student voices in these major decisions, and that he remained so engaged and supportive of women in our campus community.

Hugh Hallman ’84, an economics/accounting and political science major from Tempe, Ariz., is married, has three sons, and not-so-quietly practices law.

Christine Wight Huddleson ’91, an economics and government major from Phoenix, Ariz., is a managing director at a national consulting firm.

Ashumi Kothary Shippee ’03, a history and economics dual major from New Jersey, is the CFO of HAUS Laboratories by Lady Gaga, a DTC beauty brand backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Johnson Lin ’21, a philosophy, politics, and economics major (with a sequence in data science) from Portland, Ore., is a consulting analyst at Accenture in Chicago.

Wight Huddleson: One benefit to being the

first female ASCMC president was the chance to help overcome some of the lingering stereotypes about CMC as a male dominated campus. The year that I was elected, we also had all female class presidents.

There was even a small spotlight article in the Los Angeles Times on women leaders at CMC. I also appreciated the letter of congratulations I received from Timothy Donahoe ’74. He had been student body president and a student representative on the Board of Trustee

Claremont McKenna College 121.

place in the freezer of the Athenaeum kitchen. Having worked a variety of work-study jobs on campus, I spent a semester as an assistant cook to the well-known Chef Dave Skinner. It was a great experience, and taught me some of the real-life skills that my other educational experiences too rarely had.

(A light salting for baked chicken breast is all the seasoning that’s required…)

One day, Chef came running into the kitchen waving his hands in the air with a look of sheer terror. He had just learned that the California health inspector was on campus for a surprise checkup. Frantically, he barked orders and sent me into the freezer to cover sauces and organize the shelves. Sensing his fear at the thought of losing our beloved and sustaining institution, I went to work.

About 30 minutes later, the freezer was in good shape, but I was getting pretty cold, and starting to grow curious about the situation. Around then, my fellow worker peon (Chris Frantz?) opened the door. ‘Are you still in here?’ he said nonchalantly. The health inspector had come and gone. We had passed, and Ath life would resume as normal. Preparations were again underway, and the chicken was baking in the oven at 350 degrees. Breathing a sigh of relief and registering only slight frustration at being a slight blue purple, I returned to the warm California late afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, and before long a hot dinner and a glass of wine would revive my spirits. We would begin our familiar CMC routine of delicious food, pleasant conversation, and good cheer. Here’s to hoping the Athenaeum is soon able to return to its full nonpandemic purpose of providing the College with the highest quality academic and material sustenance.”

Roger Murry remembers a CMC friendship, “I had only met Byron Koay in

passing before I emailed him over the summer of 2004, ahead of a semester in Washington, D.C. to ask if I could surf on his couch while I looked for an apartment. He immediately agreed. We would end up sharing a house for three years after graduating. I don’t know why he lived out of his suitcase that entire time, but who am I to judge someone as genuinely nice as Byron. We are good friends 16 years later.”

Kevin Blair writes, “I, myself, have many fond memories of the little things: eating the horrible yet delicious Mix Bowl late-night deliveries, negotiating with Dave Edwards that the Ath should have a ‘meat soup’ alternative to the three vegan/vegetarian soup offerings, being on a first-name basis with Ruben the Roundtable delivery guy, slingshotting water balloons across campus, building giant Slip ‘n Slides, throwing parties with Mike Karp with a disastrous mechanical bull and a much-loved Motown cover band, playing twelve-player Halo matches, striking tennis balls around campus in campus golf matches, going to Mudd only for steak night, and thoroughly loving suite life in Appleby.”

KEVIN BLAIR ’06 KEVINBLAIR@GMAIL.COM

2007 Hello Class of 2007, it’s been a while! It was great as always

hearing from you folks, especially about stories of ongoing CMC friendships through a global pandemic

Starting closest to Claremont, Allison Westfahl Kong writes from SoCal, “Fitting the prompt of ongoing CMC friendships, since the start of the pandemic, the ladies of Auen (Tracey Katz, Miki Hashimoto, Carey Tan, Joyce Qi, Allison Laygo Enriquez, and me) have been doing weekly virtual happy hours as a way to stay connected and support one another. And, of course, my former roommate Joyce Qi is my best friend, daily texting buddy, and go-to person for advice on everything from parenting tips to Netflix recommendations. I’m very grateful for my CMC family!”

Meanwhile in NorCal San Francisco, Jonathan Neumann writes, “I am doing well, all things considered. Still healthy, still employed, and living in California where it’s still warm and where we can avoid cabin fever by getting outside.

Just last week I caught up with Reed Lyon for a bike ride in San Francisco and Sheila Bhardwaj ’10 at Dolores Park for a catch-up.”

122. CMC CLASS NOTES

Just east of SoCal, Derek Whorton is a full-time graduate student at the University of Arizona studying polymer chemistry applied to materials science engineering and 3D printing technology. He writes that he has reconnected with an abundance of CMCers, even a few that he was not close with back in the day yet still created a strong friendship. “If you’re reading this, you know who you are. Also, I still don’t give a [expletive].”

A little farther, on the East Coast, Jennie Miller is amused to share that after 13 years of chasing tigers, camera trapping lions, and bucking conventional CMC work culture, she’s finally “come home” to a new job that’s more aligned with it than ever: working as a policy/diplomacy specialist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on combating wildlife trafficking. Turns out those social science and leadership classes were good for something! She’s stoked to return to traveling internationally for work (whenever COVID-19 subsides), although she’s also loving indoor cycling, teaching meditation, and binging 30 Rock while based in Washington D.C. with her previously-long-distance hubby, Sahas, and cat, Idli. Before COVID-19, she relished in-person visits from West Coasters Abby Stopper (Scripps 2007) and Kathayoon Khalil. She sends us all her love and hopes to see us on the Hill!

In the Middle East, Susanna Ingalls writing from Doha also mentioned the connection with Jennie. “Jennie Miller and I were roommates in college and have kept in touch all these years. During the pandemic, she started a new role at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington D.C., where she continues her work as a wildlife conservationist. Around the same time, I began getting more involved in animal rights and welfare where I live in Qatar because many animals are being dumped, including exotic cats, which was alarming because the ownership of such animals is illegal in Qatar. Jennie spent part of her Ph.D. tracking wild cats in India and now works to combat the illegal trade of wildlife, including that of wild cats. We have been coordinating with one another to support our mutual efforts in protecting animals from abuse, illegal trafficking, and poaching.”

So glad to see the CMC connections stay strong over the years. Feel free to write us any time with updates, and we’ll be sure to include it in the next set of notes!

EMILY FERRELL ’07 EMILYGFERRELL@GMAIL.COM TAUSEEF RAHMAN ’07 TAUSEEFRAHMAN@GMAIL.COM

2008

Brad Walters recalls, “In 2005, CMC held a dodgeball tournament in North Quad. I entered with a group of friends dubbed the ‘Bohlfords,’ because we’d met as Benson residents freshman year and moved into a suite in Wohlford as sophomores. We were mostly pretty small, and a few of us—including me—were clumsy and useless. Despite this, we won our first match. And our second (against the baseball team). And our third (against the track team). We entered the finals (against the water polo team, who threw balls that size in competition all the time). We won, and completed a classic underdog story. And I forgot to mention: this was a costume event, and I vaguely recall us being dressed as the Village People. Moments like these cemented strong and long-lasting friendships; my five teammates would be the groomsmen at my wedding almost a decade later.”

KIRTHI NARASIMHAN ’08 KIRTHI.NARASIMHAN@GMAIL.COM

2009

Camilo Cuellar remembers, “CMC gave me so many great memories that it was hard to select one. I do have to say one of my fondest memories at CMC is taking on a lead role in the Zoot Suit play at Pomona College. I reprised the role of El Pachuco, the breakout role

for Edward James Olmos. We were also fortunate enough to have one of the original actresses in the play, Alma Martinez, directing us. It was such an incredible experience! I have such amazing memories rehearsing with such an incredible cast and performing in front of sold-out crowds. From the sets, makeup, and costume design, the whole production was top notch. The experience was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—especially for someone who had never acted before. I was also fortunate enough to receive an Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship from the Kennedy Center for my reprisal of El Pachuco. My CMC castmates were Elias Rangel, Rafael Elizalde, Christian Aparicio, and Eric Trujillo ’10.”

From Nick Warshaw, “I miss the ‘long walk’ to Harvey Mudd for steak night!”

Tejas Gala writes, “The professor who changed my life is Janet Smith. She took a risk and hired me as a summer research analyst and helped me get my first job! She was then my thesis reader, and since, has always been a great support and voice of reason as I’ve made my way through my career.

“What I miss most about CMC is how everyone was so close by and always down to hang, Stags basketball, and of course, Collins. My favorite CMC bonding experience was WOA—met some incredible, lifelong friends and was such a great way to break into a new environment.

“One of favorite dorm stories is blasting Leona Lewis’ ‘Bleeding Love’ during the middle of the day when everyone was between classes and having impromptu dance parties because of it. I also remember stealing a wood board from the Hub and taking it up six flights of stairs so we had a beer pong table on the 6th floor of Fawcett. Finally, who can forget our epic Halo battles in Boswell. I loved that our suite was an open door with all welcome to hang and play games.

“In terms of CMC mentors, for me, I feel fortunate to have so many. I’ve gotten every one of my jobs through an alum—starting with Alan Delsman ’68 at Deutsche Bank and then Chris Innes ’92 at BNP Paribas. I was then fortunate to be connected to Brian Smith ’99 at PCG who really took a chance on me thanks to Coach Scali. Finally, I stumbled into my job at Apple because of none other than my teammate and co-big man Patrick Lacey ’10. Outside of this, I feel grateful to have such incredible mentors around like David Mgrublian ’82, Beth Omar ’04, Michelle Chamberlain, Brian Dennis ’97, and the list goes on!

we were supposed to share about our backgrounds. But I just knew we were destined to be friends and she would bring lots of laughter to my life. Miyabi, Emily (Brister) Steinbarth, and I have kept in touch over the years, meeting up in exciting places like Hawaii, Mexico, and Singapore, sometimes with other Claremont Colleges folks involved, like Shawn Steinbarth, Stephen Parry (Pomona 2011), and Alison Ryan. But the most amazing experience was when our five rambunctious toddlers/babies met and played together in Seattle! It has also been great to keep in touch with Nathan Barrymore on his annual visits to go hiking in the Pacific Northwest. Nate always shows up with no gear or plan (one year he came with only one pair of pants—blue jeans), but he still manages to complete these epic multi-day backpacking trips. And of course, meet ups with Camilo Cuellar (not Berger crew, but still awesome) are always fun. The man is the life of the party.”

Freya Hurtado reminisces, “My favorite dorm story is being a proud Stark Hall

resident for two years. The dorm funds were spent on lots of really fun events, like a dim sum outing in the San Gabriel Valley, movie viewings, and talks with Professor Eric Helland on the economics of Firefly and Professor Amy Kind on the philosophy of Battlestar Galactica.

“I met my matron of honor, Danielle (Peebles) Richards, down the hall on the sixth floor of Stark on day one: she was listening to Broadway showtunes with her door open. Our now 15-plus year friendship started when I barged in, asking, ‘Excuse me, are you listening to Aida?’”

Sara (Roberson) Rubin salutes Berger Hall, where she met lifelong pals Olivia Bevacqua and Marya Husain. “A favorite memory: a month into school, Olivia finally removed a box of tampons from our mini fridge and expressed her disappointment that I hadn’t asked her about them, because she’d been planning on telling me that she kept them chilled because they’re more ‘refreshing’” Olivia Bevacqua sends a special hello to her freshman year roommate Sara (Roberson) Rubin. Sara proved her worthiness as a lifelong friend by regularly

“I could certainly give some incriminating RA stories, but I’ll leave that one to you and all my friends that knew my antics as an on-duty RA.

applying medicated lotion to Olivia’s back. Way to go, Sara! “My second hug is to the Mariachi Serrano family, including CMCers Nate Barrymore, Mario Avila, and Carey Tan ’07. I LOVE YOU GUYS. And finally, shoutout to Noah Goldberg, who I had an agonizing crush on during our sophomore year Melville class. Still haven’t finished Moby Dick, but I’ll always remember your angelic singing and piano playing. What a ladykiller. Abrazos a todos desde Brooklyn!”

“Last, but most importantly, I found the love of my life at CMC—Divya

CAMILO CUELLAR ’09

Vishwanath ’11 and I are fortunate to have crossed paths at CMC and now we

are getting ready to start our family and welcome a little one in June!

“It’s the most special place in the world and I feel grateful to have such wonderful lifelong friends from our Brocation crew, to the Stags Basketball family, to RAs, to RDS, and the list could go on!”

Kourtney Underwood thinks back, “A favorite memory from freshman year

was meeting one of my roommates, Starr (Plummer) Fleming. We did not click right away (not enough closet space or ethernet cords set up), but in an effort to figure out what happened to a missing pair of shoes, we hilariously solidified our friendship. We lived together two more years and have stayed close friends since. I was her maid of honor in 2014, and she was my maid of honor in 2018, and we try to have brunch and movie nights every month or two!”

Heather Parry remembers, “Twelve years later and I am still hanging out

with some of the ‘Berger’ crew! I’ll never forget my incredibly awkward first encounter with Miyabi (Yu) Leu (Meeps) during an icebreaker activity in the lounge. When it was Meeps’ turn to introduce herself, she giggled uncontrollably for what seemed like an eternity. I don’t think she actually ever successfully got around to sharing her name and whatever other thing

CAMILO.A.CUELLAR@GMAIL.COM

2011 Hello CMC! Kathryn and Divya here. We have the immense pleasure

of being a part of The Great and Indomitable Class of 2011 (we’re trying to make that name happen).

As we head into what would be our 10-year reunion, we find ourselves jogging down nostalgia lane. What a four-year stint our class had! The first freshman class to use Gmail/Gchat (V.v.V). The first Wedding Party. The last Madrigal. The 2008 Presidential Election. The beginnings of the Kravis Building construction, and the opening of what was then Claremont Hall (now Crown Hall).

We have so much love for our class and memories while at school. Divya has the best memories of PPE cookoffs, a cappella snack concerts, and countless warm evenings chatting with everyone—sporting those infamous tanks—on the North Quad lawns. Also, meeting Tejas Gala ’09 was pretty neat. Kathryn remembers feeling excited before WOA, being a RA alongside fellow committed associates, and choosing dining halls based on their strengths for various meals throughout the day.

All that said, the real magic of CMC starts with you. We’ve made lifelong friendships that enrich our lives. We could not be more grateful for our cohort

Claremont McKenna College 123.

of unique, kind, and all-around A-plus classmates. How better to celebrate than hearing from you: Michelle (Harvey) Martin recalls, “Having all my favorite people within walking distance in a one-block radius was the best—and being able to have a school-wide, everyone-welcome party every Saturday night was an amazingly unique aspect of CMC. Lifelong friendships and memories both on and off the softball field!”

From Emily Hirano, “One of my favorite CMC memories is forming a team of friends from across the various colleges and competing in Beer Scavy one night. Whenever I think about running all over the Claremont Colleges, laughing, having fun, and doing ridiculous things like editing the Pomona College Wikipedia page, I can’t help but smile.”

Chris Jones writes, “I miss constantly running into people you know from all

walks of the CMC community in common areas like Collins, North Quad, areas outside of classrooms, the walk to South Quad, etc. I am also really appreciative of the lifelong friendships that came from the luck of being assigned to the 6th floor of Fawcett freshman year, including Greg Sanford, Andrew Bluebond, Andrew Yeh, Joseph Chang, Alexander ‘Zandy’ Chanock, Linden Schult, Aly Stark, and Katherine Wernet; and later, Chloe Cotton ’12.”

Cori (Williams) Takkinen recalls, “The Fall 2009 Washington, D.C. Semester

was epic! From living in the big city with Sam Bastien, Andrew Grimm, and Jesse Blumenthal, and in the same building as Laura Sucheski, Victoria Din, Abby Woodruff, and Carly Graber, from late night study sessions at the SEC, to safety training by a Navy Seal, to midnight monument walks, and being ponded in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, to Christmas at the White House, dressing up as Elmo and Cookie Monster (Sam Bastien) for Halloween at the Capitol, and recreating all the CMC parties in Washington D.C., it was an incredible semester and one that I will never forget!”

Henry Lyford remembers when 4Loko was still allowed to have a bunch of

caffeine in it and everyone went kind of insane for a few months.

Heather Bricker wrote, “Thesis party! I will never forget spraying champagne

and dancing in the fountain to celebrate finishing (while classes were taking place around us)!”

From Milan Reed, “On the first day, I met Ryan Kristensen in the line at Story House waiting for my room key. I remember seeing his hat and sunglasses and thinking ‘this guy is too cool for me.’ A couple of days later I found out he was also a swimmer. We spent the next three years training together, roomed together, and became lifelong friends. I am so grateful to Professors Amy Kind and Paul Hurley for helping me chose to become a philosophy major. Every day, I’m indebted to the whole department for teaching me how to think more clearly. In spring 2008, the men’s swim team was entering the championship meet after a very close dual meet loss to Redlands and a couple of years of championship upsets. When we finally won that meet, the party back on campus was like nothing else. We were feeling so good, I think we even let some Pomona-Pitzer swimmers join in the celebration.

“When we started college, iPhones were not a thing, the Blackberry was the coolest phone to have. Those were also the days Abercrombie and Hollister were cool. Kanye West shutter shades were a statement.”

Katerina Yale submitted, “It’s so hard to choose just one memory, but all my

favorites circle around the softball team and Gizelle (Pera) Farenbaugh, Michelle (Harvey) Martin, Chelsea Baker, and Kara (Mantani) Curtis. When

we weren’t practicing or playing on the field, we were together talking about softball. That is just how much we loved our CMS softball experience!”

Jill Fu wrote, “Something I appreciate about CMC is the air of easy confidence

that the student body possesses. Even though I find overconfidence obnoxious in general, it’s so refreshing to see it in college women. And even now, I think I more commonly see the women around me, women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, downplaying their achievements in order to maintain a pleasant

124. CMC CLASS NOTES

social atmosphere. I think we do it so often that we forget our professional qualifications. What CMC represents is (two? three? four? five?) years of reprieve from this culture. I am so grateful to have lived on campus at CMC, complaining about the meal plan, but being part of this culture every day.”

Nikki Holzberg said, “I remember arriving at CMC my freshman year for WOA orientation. Courtney Dern ’10 and Kelly Grimes ’10 picked me up from the Ontario Airport, waiting at the bottom of the airport escalator dancing around with big welcome signs. Getting to CMC’s campus was like checking in for an extended summer camp. We had a big welcome event and dinner in the McKenna Auditorium, and it was so sunny and hot. That was the first day of some of the best memories and years and friends of my life! I have the most warm, fond feelings toward Claremont and my time in that special oasis.”

Kelli Maltsbarger remembered, “An O-line Sunday kegger, followed by a sweet, multi-table group a cappella rendition of ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ in Collins, including some of the staff!”

Carlton Rueb recalls, “Marks bros freshman year! What a great group of people

in that dorm (and honorary Marks bros). Our RA, Evan Hirsch ’08, was a saint.”

Gizelle (Pera) Farenbaugh thinks back, “Our softball game-time warmup

routine is the one consistent memory that comes to mind. It was always the same, like a ritual: run, ladders, dynamic warm-up, throw, hit, team fielding, introductions, stand together with our cleats touching for the National Anthem. We had the timing perfected, and our energy and excitement would grow throughout the sequence. We honored, celebrated, and practiced it like a religion. I’m sure the other teams laughed at us for how seriously we took it.

But we didn’t care. It was so powerful to witness, game after game, season after season, a group so intensely focused and unified on getting ready to perform.

I’ve never experienced anything like it since, and I’ll never forget it.”

Joseph Chang writes, “My favorite memory was living with my three dearest friends Andrew Bluebond, Andrew Yeh, and Greg Sanford and the time Bluebond made a vat of homemade 4LOKO for a gathering on our front yard in the Senior Apartments. To this day, whenever I see 4LOKO at my nearest convenience store, I am reminded of the sheer ingenuity and insatiable desire to innovate that largely defined my CMC experience.”

Jacinth Sohi writes, “1) Taking shots out of trophies with the mock trial team during a Sunday night impromptu party in North Quad when we returned to campus from tournaments! 2) Rose BOG pre-games and many more bottles of wine at Walter’s. 3) Ward Elliott singing parties!”

Yoshi Churnac submitted, “What I appreciated most about CMC was having the opportunity to learn in such a beautiful environment. I loved stepping out onto my North Quad balcony each morning, and seeing the bright sunlight shining through the trees. Far off in the distance were snowcapped mountains.

It always put me in a great mood, excited to tackle the day and see what new things I would learn in classes. It was always such a pleasure to walk around Claremont.”

DIVYA VISHWANATH ’11 DVISHWANATH@GMAIL.COM KATHRYN MGRUBLIAN ’11 KMGRUBLIAN@GMAIL.COM

2015

Śeșa Essie Bakenra-Tikande co-founded the first Black Student Union at Claremont McKenna College (2014) with Jeremy Porter and Sophia Kobus-Pigg. Later that year, she hosted one of Black Lives Matter’s founders, Patrisse Cullors, at Pomona College on a panel with the Trans Women of Color Collective. She went on to lead the charge to CMC’s first multicultural resource center, the CARE Center. After a movement Śeşa spearheaded—in collaboration with the other Black organizations of the Claremont Colleges including Pitzer BSU and PASA—the CARE Center was born in 2016.

Abby Michaelsen wrote, “Lindsey Davidson and I became friends before freshman year even started by meeting through our class’s Facebook group.

Now years later, we’re both in Los Angeles and launched businesses within weeks of each other during the summer of 2020. We’re both solo-founders navigating through the challenges of entrepreneurship and lean on each other for support!”

ABBY MICHAELSEN ’15 ABBYMICHAELSEN@GMAIL.COM

2016

Celia Flinn writes in, “My favorite CMC memory was meeting my lifelong friend, Shane Griffee. We developed a friendship on such a spiritual level that we even contemplated transferring to the Claremont School of Theology. Shane is still one of the most spiritual people I know, and I look to him as an example for how to lead my life in an intentional and indie way.”

Annie Jalota remembers, “One year some of the students from the other

dorms wanted to show those of us in Stark Hall how to have a bit of fun.

Someone decided to camp out in the elevator with their laptop blasting some music and some lights, and turned the elevator into a little dance floor for an evening. It was funny to hear the music as the elevator was going up and down—brings a smile to my face when I think of it!”

Nicole Orozco writes, “One of the best memories I have of my time at CMC involved participating in a hot wing-eating contest with my now-best friend, Karissa Muñoz. We’d just met (and braved) the Colorado River on our canoeing WOA trip, and we were both trying to be involved in CPB events at the beginning of our freshman year in an effort to meet new people. Neither of us had ever entered a food-eating contest, and we both love chicken wings, so it seemed like a natural fit!

“We made it all the way to the third round, but ultimately got eliminated when I tried too hard to make sure I was cleaning the bones thoroughly enough, which slowed us down Following the contest, we went to the Hub, bought ice cream sandwiches, and bonded for hours over our WOA trip and our cultural backgrounds, which were surprisingly similar.

“On my birthday years later, she gave me a framed photo of us with the plate of hot wings, which was taken right before the contest. To this day, we’re best friends and have made countless other memories, but we’ll still consistently get together and go out for chicken wings to commemorate the first.”

Jay Chung recalls his first day at CMC, “I got ponded by President Chodosh while he was still in a Convocation ceremony robe because it also happened to be my birthday” Adele English writes about a CMC lesson she’s always carried with her,

“Someone at CMC once told me, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’

This statement can be viewed in many ways, and often it’s used to describe succeeding professionally without really trying. But at its core, it’s about the profound impact our relationships have on our lives. The CMC Class of 2019, and the people with whom I engaged during my four years, are my go-to network, my closest friends, and the people I most admire and respect. CMC taught me the value of the network, and I am so pleased to have continued to build upon those personal relationships even during this COVID-19 pandemic.

S/O to the Willises, the Loofs, the CPB, and CIEers, and the Pura Vida crew.”

Luke Horton shares, “I’d have to say that popping bottles of champagne at thesis party senior year with my best friends has to be an alltime memory for me. CMC was an amazing place and I hope that the students can return to in-person attendance very soon.”

Josh Guggenheim said, “It’s no secret that the CMC community is vibrant, but sometimes it’s easy to forget just how incredible it is. The other day, I was speaking with my parents, and they reminded me how I used to leave extra early for lectures in anticipation of all the conversations that would arise with peers as I made my way to the classroom. I would also try to use the quick commutes to give my folks a brief ‘hello,’ letting them know I survived TNC, made it back from Joshua Tree, or narrowly avoided having to retake Accounting 086. But only recently did they tell me how frustrating those calls were on their end, as I was repeatedly pausing our conversation to catch up with friends. My parents now joke, ‘It was always good to hear your voice, even if it was just you saying ‘hey, what’s good?’ to your peers.’ But it’s during times like this pandemic, when social circles are limited and spontaneous interactions are infrequent, that I realize how special the opportunity to easily engage with CMCers truly was. I miss randomly seeing all of your faces and can’t wait for the next encounter!”

COLE MORA ’17

Malka Kausar says, “Community is everything and the folks you’re surrounded

COLE.MORA17@GMAIL.COM

by truly impact not only your success, but also the way you view yourself and the world. Although certain situations may seem daunting, the people you depend on make anything seem possible. CMC, in many ways, forced me to embrace the fact that life would not always go my way, but reaching out to those reliable, trustworthy, folks can make a world of difference. It’s not to say I don’t doubt, well, life. It’s that CMC taught me that reliability and compassion

ANNA BRITO ’16 ANNACBRITO12@GMAIL.COM EVAN MOLINEUX ’16 EVANJMOLINEUX@GMAIL.COM KELSEY GOHN ’16 KELSEYGOHN@GMAIL.COM MADISON GEBHARD ’16 MADISON.GEBHARD@GMAIL.COM

2017

2019

Patricio Aguilar submitted two CMC memories, “Dodging the

pandemic! Walters.”

Corbin Bethurem remembered, “My first day at CMC, I met my roommate for

2015/2016 and now housemate for 2021/2022.”

Claremont McKenna College 125.

within your community, and the community at large, mean everything while we all attempt to make sense of the chaos that is life. Thank you, CMC. I genuinely miss you.”

From Ellery Koelker-Wolfe, “Many of my closest friends from CMC—then and now—are people whom I knew before I ever stepped foot in a classroom: my roommate, my WOAmies, my basketball teammates. It’s tempting to say that ‘I found my people’ at CMC, but the truth is that it didn’t require much searching.

They were given to me from the start, and I am grateful every day for the gift of their kindness and wit.”

Justin Law writes, “The Sophomore Leadership Experience in Malibu changed the course of my CMC career for the better. I loved how we were thrown together to make new friends all over again beyond our classes, clubs, and existing social circles. There were so many opportunities to bond with each other. The tough questions we discussed in our groups. Sneaking out at night to go to the beach. Our campfires. The meals. Through SLE, I found close friends in the class of 2019 that I would never have crossed paths with.”

Patrick Myers submitted, “I met Corbin Bethurem on the first day of college. I

feel like I could’ve referred to him as ‘Mr. SoCal’ with the beach blonde hair and tank top. After three years of colleges as roommates/apartment mates, we both moved to different cities after college for work. We had always talked about eventually reuniting back in Los Angeles. Although this pandemic has been tough on many fronts, it’s also opened a lot of doors. Reunited and back at it again, we found a house in Los Angeles and are (safely) enjoying the sunshine and palm trees.”

Nolan Rajakumar asked, “Am I allowed to say Frary’s Sunday Brunch?”

Justin Rodriguez submitted, “Helping get 1Gen off the ground was one of my proudest moments at CMC. The initiative was so well-timed given the College’s newly added priority of DEI, and needed for the current and future first-generation college students. I am grateful that it exists, continues to grow, and that there is a community for us to lean on for support. CMC really pushed me to the next level both personally and professionally, and without 1Gen, DOS, and the CARE Center, I would not have been able to be the person I am today. I hope to see the College continue to advocate for student well-being—because happy, healthy, and prepared students have the best chance at being successful.”

Kimberly Tuttle wrote, “My first day on campus was technically before the

academic calendar year started. I was in the athletic building walking to the trainer’s room when I locked eyes with my assigned roommate, Adele English.

We immediately ran into each other’s arms and cracked some jokes. The rest is history. We lived together all four years at CMC and now together we are taking on post-graduate life in Venice, California. I’m very glad that CMC brought us together, as well as so many amazing friends, professors, and lifelong connections.”

Kai Vogel remembers, “One of my best experiences at CMC was being a part of

the After School Specials!—a 5C a cappella group. During the spring semester of 2017, our group competed in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) and made it to the finals on Broadway in New York City. While it felt great to be ranked in the Top 10 of 400 a cappella groups nationwide, what I loved most about my time singing with the After School Specials! was making lifelong friendships. I did a cappella with some of my closest friends at CMC, and we share so many fun memories of traveling and performing across the country, practicing in study lounges on CMC’s campus, and performing at student admit days for our friends and the greater Claremont community.

CMC allowed me to do it all—learn alongside smart peers, forge lifelong friendships, and perform at a high caliber. For that alone, I am forever grateful.”

ADELE ENGLISH ’19 AENGLISH19@STUDENTS.CLAREMONTMCKENNA.EDU

126. CMC CLASS NOTES

2020

Alan Hernandez remembers, “During my WOA trip, on the very first day of being on campus at CMC, I met a freshman in my orientation group who had a really funny Twitter account. Five years, 28 classes, 15 FIFA games, 12 performances, 10 catchphrases, and 46 food runs later, he’s still my very best friend.”

Naveen Shastri writes, “One of my favorite CMC memories is walking

frequently with my best friend at the school, Chiara ‘C.C.’ Schwab and her dog.

The dog is a chocolate labradoodle, and was known across campus for being very approachable and loving for anyone to pet.”

Biniyam Asnake writes, “Since graduating, I’ve come to appreciate the warmth

and vibrancy our close-knit campus offers. Oh, and of course, Roberts Pavilion!”

Tanisha Sheth writes, “My CMC experience is synonymous with my relationship with my best friend. I met him for the first time during freshman week’s TNC, and then realized we were together in Professor Olfati’s Econ 101, and Professor Huber’s Calculus II, and that he lived just the floor below me.

And just like that, everything changed. With him, I experienced a spectrum of spectacular firsts and nostalgic lasts. I never before had met someone this selfless, intelligent, and good. He propped me on his shoulders so that I could reach further, expecting nothing in return. Before he could even offer me a shoulder to cry on, somehow, he managed to make me smile. He was there for the good moments, the bad ones, but also just the OK ones. Thank you, Alex McKenna, for always pushing me to grow and being my best friend!”

Max Kirsch writes, “I miss the camaraderie of Snack at Collins! From Irene’s warm welcome, to the productive procrastination of connecting with friends, there’s no replication for it in the real world.”

From Julie Tran, “No matter how far away from CMC I go, I carry with me the two most important things that I learned from my four years there; that failure is usually a sign of success, and that no matter how busy you are, you always make time for the people you care about. Keeping those two things in mind have given me confidence during times of risk and friends during times of fear.”

Mitre Athaiya writes, “My first day at CMC was during the international

student orientation. I had never visited the campus before, so when the Uber dropped me (and my dad) off at the intersection where 9th Street meets Keck, right next to the Bauer Center, I was blown away. I just tried to absorb most of the beauty as I struggled to get over my jetlag and engage in the day’s activities.

The rest of the day went by fast, but I remember that towards the end, my dad and I sat down and started talking. I had previously told him that I felt uneasy about giving up on my life in India and coming all the way to the United States.

After the day I spent on campus, I was now sure that I made the right choice. I felt an instant connection with the place and all my worries went away. What remained was sheer excitement to live out my college life on CMC’s beautiful campus, with the snowcapped mountains overlooking from the north and a hint of downtown L.A. on the horizon towards the west.

“The class that changed my life was Neuro 95 at Keck. It pushed me to explore neuroscience as a path. I am so glad I took that class, because after doing so, I switched my major to neuroscience and now I am at a neuroscience Ph.D. program. So, I guess it all worked out for the best!

“The CMC lesson I’ve always carried with me is to be open and accepting to be proven wrong. Only when you accept that you do not know something, can you grow as a person. One other lesson that I have learned is to assimilate multiple disciplines when tackling an issue, academic or otherwise. When you use this multidisciplinary approach to problem solving, you will always come out better at the other end.

“What I miss or appreciate most about CMC is the close proximity I had with my friends and how I could just go to a friend’s dorm room at, like, 1 a.m. if I felt hungry and we could just drive off to In-N-Out or Mix Bowl Cafe to have a meal together. I miss the close-knit community that CMC had to offer and the diversity of thought I got to see among my friends. It definitely changed me for the better and I am glad that happened.

“The lifelong friends I made at CMC are Mohnish Shah and Richy Chen. I met Moh and Richy in my freshmen year. Moh was my freshman year neighbor in Auen, while Richy was living at Berger at that time. I had talked to both before, but we didn’t really hit it off until our sophomore year. It was a gradual change in the first semester of sophomore year when Moh, Richy, and I started to somehow grow closer, partly due to the presence of Annika Mammen (Moh’s girlfriend then, and more surprisingly, even now!). This ultimately culminated into rooming with Richy in the second semester of sophomore year, living down the hall from Moh and Annika. It’s been three years since then. I am still friends with all of them and I talk to them almost daily. We have gone through many ups and down together. Professional rejections, emotional conflicts, happiest moments, not-so-happy moments, emotional breakdowns, bringing Masala (Annika’s new puppy) into our lives, and much more. We have gone through it all together. I cherish these friends very much and I hope to have them in my life for a very long time. I look forward to having many more adventures with them in the future.”

Submissions

To send a Class Note to CMC, please contact your Class Liaison.

Is your class missing? Contact ClassNotes@cmc.edu to submit or volunteer to become a Class Liaison. A full listing of liaisons is also available under the Contact tab at online.cmc.edu.

CMC does not accept engagement, pre-birth, or legacy application announcements, fundraising or solicitation notices, obscenities, libelous, defamatory, or harassing statements. All submissions to Class Notes are subject to editing for style, clarity, context, length, and strict adherence to content guidelines.

Please be advised that the editorial staff neither guarantees the validity of any Class Notes information in this magazine nor is responsible for the appearance of any inaccurate or libelous information. This edition of Class Notes also includes historical recollections from various eras of the College, including perspectives, behaviors, and language reflecting the time when they were experienced by alumni. CMC does not endorse all of the views or activities expressed.

LALEH AHMAD ’20 LAHMAD@CMC.EDU

Bold history. Bright future.

Visit our new 75th Anniversary website, your gateway to CMC’s yearlong celebration! » Share your story: Inspired after reading the timeline and Class Notes? Submit a new or favorite memory through the site! » Explore exhibitions: Celebrate CMC’s history through treasured documents, images, and reflections from our storied past.

A new theme will be unveiled each month. » Showcase your pride: Gear up from the CMC Supply Shop with exclusive Retro Line merchandise—hats, shirts, sweatshirts, commemorative pins, mugs, and more! » Volunteer, stay connected, and learn about special events— including the all-class Alumni Weekend 2022 reunion during Memorial Day!

75.cmc.edu Claremont McKenna College 127.

A bond stronger than time As Bob McCrary ’58 P’92 is quick to point out, there were “no cell phones, emails, or social media” in his era of CMC. In-person communication mattered most, especially when it came to making friends on a new college campus.

So, when McCrary met John Poer ’58 P’90, something immediately clicked. They both played high school golf and had 1950s-era Fords. They shared the same sense of humor.

And above all, McCrary loved that Poer displayed a “what you see is what you get” attitude with his new classmates. “He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Just an honest, genuine guy,” McCrary says of Poer, nicknamed “Cactus” because of his Arizona roots. “We’ve always gotten along with each other. Always a great deal of respect,” Poer adds. “This was true when we were roommates for our last two years at CMC. And it has carried forward all of these years.”

128.

Something else that’s carried forward for the two lifelong friends: A desire to give back to CMC. Both McCrary and Poer are two of the longest consecutive givers to the College’s Annual Fund. This year, during our 75th Anniversary, they see giving back—whether through time, talent, or treasure—as a natural and important extension of CMC’s story for future generations.

“Today’s students are attending a nationally ranked, fine liberal arts college. It became that over time thanks to wonderful leadership, imaginative thinking, strong alumni support, and a campus that just makes me shake my head in admiration,” Poer says.

“I really believe that giving is a state of mind— and it starts early,” McCrary affirms. “The College helped me become who I am, and I want to return those favors.”

Read more about McCrary and Poer’s friendship and share your own CMC story at 75.cmc.edu.

CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE 500 EAST NINTH STREET CLAREMONT CA 91711-6400 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED