Claremont McKenna College

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For other uses, see CMC.
Claremont McKenna College
Motto: Crescit cum commercio civitas (Civilization prospers with commerce)
Established: 1946
Type: Private
Endowment: US $674 million (September 2007)[1]
President: Pamela Gann
Faculty: 128
Undergraduates: 1,135
Location: Claremont, CA, USA
Campus: Suburban, 50 acres (4 km²)
Nickname: CMC, Claremont
Website: www.cmc.edu

A member of the Claremont Colleges, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a private, highly selective,[1] coeducational, liberal arts college enrolling about 1,150 students with a curricular emphasis on government and economics. CMC is located in Claremont, California, 35 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles.

Contents

[edit] History and Reputation

Bauer Center, with the San Gabriel mountains in the background. Money Magazine recently voted Claremont the 5th best place to live.
Bauer Center, with the San Gabriel mountains in the background. Money Magazine recently voted Claremont the 5th best place to live.[2]

Claremont McKenna College was founded in 1946 soon after World War II ended as Claremont Men's College. CMC was founded with the mission to foster leadership in its students in the fields of government, business, and international affairs. The school became coeducational in 1976 and was renamed after Donald McKenna, a founding trustee, in 1981. Its mission has stayed the same, as reflected in the College's motto, "Crescit cum commercio civitas," or "civilization prospers with commerce."

Despite its newness, the College ranks among the top colleges in the country under numerous categories:

  • In 2003, The Atlantic Monthly ranked Claremont McKenna as the 22nd best undergraduate college in the nation based on admission rate, SAT scores and rank in high-school class.
  • In 2007, 16% of applicants were admitted to Claremont McKenna - the lowest acceptance rate in the college's history, and one of the lowest college acceptance rates in the country. Claremont McKenna is one of 46 undergraduate institutions that practices need-blind admissions.
  • In August 2007, Newsweek ranked CMC as one of the "25 Hottest Colleges" in the nation, naming it "Hottest for Election Year." [4]
  • According to quality-adjusted publications, CMC has the top-ranked economics department among liberal arts colleges.[5]
  • The Wall Street Journal has listed it as the eighth best liberal arts feeder school into elite graduate universities for law, business and medicine.[6]
  • The Princeton Review lists Claremont McKenna among the nation's top twenty schools for the "Best Quality of Life," "Happiest Students," and "Most Politically Active Students." In addition, the Princeton Review ranks Claremont McKenna in the top twenty for having a "School that runs like butter," "Professors who make themselves accessible," "Best Campus Food," "Dorms like Palaces" and "Students Happy with Financial Aid."
  • Beginning in the 2008-09 academic year, Claremont McKenna College will increase spending on financial aid and replace all packaged student loans with scholarship grant aid.[8]

[edit] Campus life

[edit] Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum hosts more than one hundred dinner and lecture events with distinguished speakers each year, serving as the College's central intellectual and social hub. Students enjoy getting to know their professors at wine and cheese receptions and formal dinners preceding lectures by such eminent visitors as former President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, authors Gore Vidal and Salman Rushdie, cybernetics expert Kevin Warwick, former Attorney General Janet Reno, filmmaker Spike Lee, environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, U2 frontman and activist Bono, and award-winning CNN journalist Anderson Cooper. The Athenaeum hosts speakers four nights a week, and also serves daily afternoon tea in its library, featuring chocolate-covered strawberries and pastries. Afternoon tea, like all Athenaeum meals and events, is free to students, faculty, and staff.

[edit] Housing

As a residential community, student life is centered on campus and four years of housing is guaranteed. Claremont's dorms are divided into 3 regions: North Quad, Mid Quad, and South Quad. In addition, the student apartments sit on the East edge of campus, and are occupied primarily by seniors. All dorm rooms are attended to by housekeeping staff every week.

North Quad comprises Appleby, Boswell, Green, and Wohlford dormitories, which were the campus's first dorms. In north quad, every room opens to the outdoors instead of opening to an interior hallway. North quad rooms are all doubles grouped into suites of four rooms that share a bathroom. North Quad is the center of the social scene at CMC.

CMC's Mid Quad is home to Beckett, Benson, Berger, Marks, and Phillips Halls, which feature long interior corridors, double and single rooms, large shared-bathroom facilities, and all-dorm lounge areas. Adjacent to Mid Quad is Badgley Gardens a green space just south of Beckett Hall, where commencement was previously held. Due to the construction of a new dorm on Badgley Gardens, commencement has been moved to Pritzlaff field, behind Bauer Center, on the east end of campus. Claremont Hall, completed in 2008, is the newest dormitory with space for 109 students. The three story modern building is the first LEED Silver-rated dormitory on campus and will include a computer center on the first floor.

The tallest buildings in Claremont are "The Towers," Auen, Fawcett, and Stark Halls, which make up South Quad. Each tower has seven floors with approximately twelve students per floor. Each floor has a common area and a large shared bathroom, and there is an all-dorm lounge area on the ground floor. Stark Hall, the newest of the South Quad dorms, is substance-free. Auen and Fawcett are currently undergoing complete interior renovations (Summer 2008).

[edit] Senior Apartments

The Senior Apartments lie to the east of the college's athletic facilities and to the west of Claremont Boulevard, and are divided into four buildings numbered 651, 661, 671 and 681. Each apartment is divided into four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and an apartment application must have four names on it. Until recently, half the apartments were reserved for men and half for women, and apartments were allotted based on credits. However, in 2005 the college abolished the 50/50 male/female ratio and began to assign apartments strictly on credits, which has had the effect of skewing the ratio slightly toward the female side. In any given year, most of CMC's 260 - 300 seniors can live in the apartments, though due to limited space some must live in the dorms.

Living in the apartments is considered highly desirable amongst CMC's senior class. Seniors get the chance to live with three friends of their choice, and do not have to worry about potentially obnoxious underclassmen. They also have the option to stay on a meal plan and eat at one of the 5-C dining halls, or cook for themselves. Apartment dwellers do not get the maid service of the dorms, but they do get a cable hookup, which the dorms don't have. Noise levels are more manageable, and tend to be quiet during much of the week and in the days leading up to thesis, and loud from Thursday to Saturday. Most parties and social events at the apartments take place between buildings 661 and 671 or on the "dunk hoops" (a small basketball court with hoops that are 7 feet high).

[edit] Traditions

  • Many incoming freshmen participate in W.O.A.!, or "Wilderness Orientation Adventure." W.O.A.! is a student-run preorientation program. Options include backpacking, camping, and rock-climbing at Yosemite, canoeing down the Colorado River, and beach camping at Catalina Island. Each trip is led by current students and a member of the faculty or alumni. W.O.A.! allows incoming students to develop friendships and get a sense for the college community before the formal beginning of their college careers.
  • The "Madrigal Feast" is an annual dinner held in the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. Both current students as well as alumni typically attend. Guests are treated to a medieval-themed feast, complete with wassail, and a spirited musical performance put on by other students in medieval dress.

Several of Claremont McKenna College's traditions are water-related:

  • Unlucky students get ponded (thrown in to one of the two fountains located on campus) by their peers on their birthday.
  • At noon on the due dates of senior theses, the students turn in their theses to the registrar, after which they are given a bottle of champagne by the class president. The students spend the remainder of the afternoon in the fountains at the school, drinking, singing, celebrating and enjoying the warm California sun.

[edit] The Consortium

All five colleges are part of the Claremont University Consortium, also known as the 5 C's. Together the campuses cover over 300 acres and enroll 6,000 students. In addition there are over 3,500 faculty and staff and more than 2,500 courses available. Student life revolves around the five colleges as they all interact socially and also share seven dining halls, four main libraries, and other facilities spread throughout the campuses. Notable facilities include:

Students attending Claremont McKenna can enroll in up to 2/3 of their classes at the other four colleges, and can also major at any of the other colleges if the major is not offered at CMC. This is the general academic policy at all five schools, and is meant to give students the resources of a larger university while still maintaining the qualities of a small, liberal-arts college.

[edit] Academic programs

[edit] General education requirements

Although its specialty is public policy and economics, Claremont McKenna College requires students to complete courses in natural and social sciences, humanities, and foreign language. Generally, most CMC students take introductory government and economics courses, calculus or discrete math, a course in both physical and biological science, physical education or participation on a team sport, a third or fourth semester equivalent of a foreign language, and at least several other humanities couses including literature, philosophy and religious studies, as well as other social science classes in psychology and history.

[edit] First year requirements

Literature 10 - Composition and Literary Analysis

This introductory literature class covers all the major literary genres and is designed to improve each students critical thinking and writing skills. The specific works studied and course format varies depending on professor. There are plans in the Literature department to eventually phase out this class as a requirement and for the first year in 2006, students with an appropriate AP score in English may substitute any literature course for their Literature 10 requirement.

Civilization 10 - Questions of Civilization

Question of Civilization was designed to provide a unifying experience of Claremont McKenna students while fostering the exploration of universal thoughts and ideas. Directed by Prof. Robert J. Valenza, each year a core set of text is chosen for all section of Civilization 10, with each professor free and challenged to add his/her own insights or works to the course. Although not common in all sections, Prof. Valenza encourages the Civ faculty to provide interaction through discussion. Many students, though far from most, find this one of their most cherished CMC experiences. The course will be discontinued beginning Fall 2008.

[edit] Study Abroad

Nearly half of CMC students study abroad. Another popular option for off-campus study is The Washington Program. According to the program's website, "CMC's program is rooted in a full-time internship and a serious discussion of contemporary political issues."[10]

[edit] Majors

Claremont McKenna's curricular emphasis is on its social sciences, particularly economics, government, international relations, and organizational psychology. Two in every five CMC students majors in either government or international relations. Also well known is its version of the Oxford-style Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major. Other multi-disciplinary majors include management engineering, philosophy and public affairs, science and management, econ-accounting, biology-chemistry, and environment, economics, and politics (EEP). CMC also offers the Robert A. Day 4+1 BA/MBA, in which students receive both their BA from Claremont McKenna and their MBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in 5 years. Claremont McKenna announced in September 2007 the biggest gift ever to a liberal arts college: $200 million donated personally by alum Robert A. Day, to found a program on campus known as the Robert Day Scholars. The program consists of undergraduate courses as well as a fifth year MA in finance, though the undergraduate program would consist of economics, finance, accounting and psychology courses.

CMC's science program is offered through the Joint Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges. The Joint Science Department has been offering a new double year-long introductory science class [2] to allow more flexibility than the former 3 year-long introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses that most science majors must complete.

For a complete list of CMC's majors, visit the CMC catalog at the Office of Registrar's Website.

[edit] Sequences

Claremont McKenna College does not offer traditional minors. Instead, CMC offers a group of sequences, which are minor-like groups of courses on a particular interdisciplinary theme.

CMC's sequences include:

[edit] Research institutes

CMC sponsors 11 different on-campus research institutes and centers. They seek to produce new research and publications while involving undergraduate students in rigorous academic work. Many are named in honor of the college's donors.

  • The Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children
  • The Financial Economics Institute
  • The Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights
  • The Family of Benjamin Z. Gould Center for Humanistic Studies
  • The Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies
  • The Kravis Leadership Institute
  • The Lowe Institute of Political Economy
  • The Reed Institute for Applied Statistics
  • The Roberts Environmental Center
  • The Rose Institute of State and Local Government
  • The Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World

[edit] Athletics

IM Soccer on Parents Field
IM Soccer on Parents Field

Athletes from CMC, Harvey Mudd College, and Scripps College compete under one program - CMS Athletics. The men are the Stags, and the women are the Athenas. The 19 teams participate in the NCAA's Division III and in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Ducey Gymnasium has been slated for a complete overhaul beginning in 2009, with new fitness facilities including a weight and cardio room overlooking Zinda Field.[11] Opening Fall 2008 is the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. The facility offers locker-rooms, offices, restrooms, an adjacent parking lot and a "championship court". It is located south of Sixth Street at Brooks Avenue.[12]

Over the years, a rivalry has formed between the opposing sports teams CMS (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) and PP (Pomona-Pitzer). These teams, however, mostly consist of students enrolled at Claremont McKenna and Pomona, which has intensified the rivalry between these particular neighbors. Recently, the rivalry has spread off the field and into classrooms and parties, making the rivalry not just athletic, but social and academic as well.

The Claremont McKenna golf team ranked first among NCAA Division III teams according to Golf Digest, and 17th overall. The rankings are based on the "Balanced" category which is "for students who place equal emphasis on school and sports."[3]

[edit] The Campaign For CMC

  • Claremont McKenna is currently undertaking the largest campaign ever initiated for a liberal arts college. The Campaign, officially announced in March 2008, aims to raise $600 million by 2012. Plans include a 100,000 ft² campus center designed by Rafael Viñoly, as well as renovations to dormitories, new athletic facilities, an expanded faculty and enlarged student body.
  • The Campaign for Claremont McKenna calls for commitments in five priorities:

• $110 million for students: need-based financial aid and merit scholarships, internships, research, speaker series, and other experiences

• $110 million for faculty: chairs, research, and new curricula

• $100 million for facilities: new buildings, renovations, and master planning projects

• $200 million for the Robert Day Scholars Program[13]

• $80 million for The Fund for CMC: operating costs [14]

[edit] Controversies

  • In 1998, five CMC students -- David Ehrich '01, Matt Grossman '01, David Alvillar '01, Devin Erhardt'01, and A. J. Prager '01, registered Claremontmckenna.com as an internet domain name. The students allege that President Jack Stark and later Pamela Gann threatened them with legal action and judicial boarding for violating the college's trademark rights. Administrators demanded that the students turn over the domain name in exchange for a reimbursement of the $150 domain registration fee. The students discovered that the college did not have a trademark on its name and refused. After a 2 1/2 year battle, officials agreed to pay $120,000 to fund a series of fellowships to foster entrepreneurship and civil liberties. Gann also signed promises to fund the fellowship annually and to pay $50,000 over ten years for the student-operated http://www.cmcstudents.com. It is unclear whether Gann followed through on these promises.Read more here
  • On the evening of March 9, 2004, after attending and speaking at a campus forum concerning a recent spate of racist and racially-insensitive incidents, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Kerri F. Dunn reported that her car had been vandalized and painted with racist, sexist and anti-semitic slurs. In response the Claremont Colleges cancelled classes the next day (after 9/11, classes were not cancelled, critics point out), and a series of demonstrations, candle-light vigils and community meetings were called to address the threat posed by an alleged and previously unknown group of violently intolerant students. Subsequent investigation by the City of Claremont's police department and the FBI revealed that Dunn had, in fact, slashed her own tires and applied the insulting phrases to her own vehicle. She was subsequently found guilty of filing a false police report and attempted insurance fraud. She was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a fine of approximately $19,000 in restitution.
  • On September 27, 2007, the College announced a $200 million gift from alumnus and trustee Robert A. Day '65 to create the Robert Day Scholars Program and a masters program in finance.[15] CMC literature professor Robert Faggen sent a letter signed by several other literature professors to President Gann, saying they are concerned that the gift will "distort the college into a single focus trade school."[16]

[edit] Presidents

[edit] Notable People

[edit] Notable Faculty

  • Martin Diamond - renowned scholar of the Federalist Papers and American government
  • Ward Elliott - researched market solutions to Los Angeles smog problem
  • Eric Helland -- Professor of Economics, Senior Staff Economist, President's Council of Economic Advisers (2003-2004)
  • Harry V. Jaffa - professor of political philosophy, scholar of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Aristotelean virtue, and the American founding
  • Charles Kesler - editor of the Claremont Review of Books and noted conservative scholar
  • Orme Phelps - (taught from 1947 to 1974), former dean of the faculty and professor of economics. His "Introduction to Labor Economics" has been required reading at over 80 colleges.
  • John J. Pitney - frequently quoted in the media, former congressional staffer, and opposition researcher.
  • Ralph Rossum - renowned scholar of Originalism, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, author of Antonin Scalia’s Jurisprudence: Text and Tradition. He is also a specialist in Indian tribal laws, affirmative action/reverse racism, and juvenile detention.
  • John Rutledge - former professor, chairman of Rutledge Capital. He "was one of the principal architects of the Reagan economic plan in 1980-81 and has been an advisor to the Bush White House on tax policy." See his biography at Rutledge Capital.
  • Procter Thompson - professor of free-market economics. Before he died, he
  • Michael Uhlmann - former Assistant Attorney General to President Gerald Ford and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan
  • Diane Halpern - former president of the American Psychological Association
  • Ron Riggio - president elect of the Western Psychological Association, director Kravis Leadership Institute

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Politics

[edit] Business

  • Michael Arrington '92 - Internet entrepreneur and founder of Techcrunch
  • Robert A. Day '65 - Chairman of the W.M. Keck Foundation and founder of the Trust Company of the West (TCW)
  • Michael S. Jeffries '66 - Chairman & CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
  • Henry Kravis '67 - Founding partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)
  • Patrick Lencioni '87 - Bestselling management book author, corporate speaker
  • Robert J. Lowe '62 - Loew Enterprises, Inc. CEO, trustee of Claremont McKenna College
  • Ashwin Navin '99 - President and co-founder of BitTorrent, Inc., founder of The Claremont Independent
  • Robert Nakasone '69 - President, CEO of Toys "R" Us (1998-1999), NAK Enterprises, L.L.C., a family-owned investment and consulting company, (2000-present).
  • Augie Nieto - Founder of Life Fitness and Augie's Quest
  • George R. Roberts '66 - Founding partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)
  • Brad Morrice '78 - Founder and former CEO, New Century Mortgage Corporation
  • Jonathan Rosenberg'83 - Google Senior Vice President of Product Management and Marketing
  • Paul K. Scripps - E. W. Scripps, VP Newspapers (1997-2001)
  • Daniel W. Yohannes - President and CEO, M&R Investments LLC, formerly Vice Chairman of US Bank for Consumer Banking, and President and CEO of Colorado National Bank.

[edit] Academia

[edit] Other

[edit] Dropouts and transfers

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. News: America's Best Colleges 2008
  2. ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/
  3. ^ "America's Best Colleges 2008", U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved on 2007-04-11. 
  4. ^ "25 Hottest Universities", MSNBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. 
  5. ^ Marc Weidenmier. Liberal Arts Colleges Econ Department and Professor Ratings. Claremont McKenna College. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
  6. ^ "Ranking the Colleges: The Best Feeder Schools", The Wall Street Journal, 2007-04-06. Retrieved on 2007-04-10. 
  7. ^ Henry Luce Foundation: Luce Scholars Program. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
  8. ^ http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/finanaid/
  9. ^ http://voxlibris.claremont.edu/
  10. ^ http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/washington/
  11. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGbs0hq17uk
  12. ^ http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/pressreleases/article.asp?article_id=996
  13. ^ http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/rdscholars/
  14. ^ http://cmc.edu/campaign/
  15. ^ "Claremont McKenna Gets $200-Million Donation", Chronicle of Higher Education, 2007-09-27. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
  16. ^ "Claremont McKenna receives $200-million gift", Los Angeles Times, 2007-09-27. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 
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