CHOOSING THE DIFFICULT - Daring Mighty Things Moonshots for Unicorns Building a Way Home The Choice I Make - COLLEGE MAGAZINE
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Pomona
C O L L E G E M A G A Z I N E
Winter 2023
CHOOSING
THE DIFFICULT
Daring Mighty Things
Moonshots for Unicorns
Building a Way Home
The Choice I Make
HOMEPAGE
4+7 COOL THINGS
ABOUT THE NEW CENTER FOR
ATHLETICS, RECREATION AND WELLNESS
W
hen the glass doors of the to begin construction on the $57 million correct CRAW. Other efforts to invoke
Center for Athletics, Recreation project in 2021. Yet when the principal the sage grouse have landed on the
and Wellness swung open in donors selected two special interior Nest and the Roost. Still another attempt
1 OAK TREES
October, we heard words like “beautiful,” spaces—the fitness center and the upstairs by students to make the acronym roll off Several large older oaks offer their shade near Smiley Hall, creating a small seating area outside
“gorgeous” and “When can alumni use gym—to name in commemoration, it left the tongue was WARC, as in a place the building’s entrance, and new wooden tables the residence hall and a pleasant, leafy view from
it?” Another question is what to call the the building without a nickname. The to WARC out. For now, we’ll go with and chairs entice people to linger in Rains the fitness center. A subtle architectural reminder
Courtyard. Along Draper Walk on the south of Pomona’s lovely old oaks are the dappled
nearly 100,000-square-foot building acronym—CARW—wasn’t doing it for that big, gorgeous, light-filled building
side of the building, a row of existing mature shadows that fall on the concrete beneath the
in day-to-day use. Generous gifts by Jasper Davidoff ’23, who suggested at the end of Marston Quad between oaks has been enhanced with two newly planted perforated shade panels that line the top part
Ranney Draper ’60 and Priscilla in an opinion piece for The Student Big Bridges and Sixth Street. Hope to young oaks and new benches. A larger oak has of the entry portico, and at night the light
Draper as well as the Bill & Melinda Life it might be better to rearrange the see you there on Alumni Weekend. been planted between the new building and from the building lends a lantern-like effect.
Gates Foundation (facilitated by Libby letters for the new home of Sagehen
Gates MacPhee ’86) allowed Pomona Athletics to a more ornithologically
Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 1
2 SKYSPACE TRIBUTE
Pomona’s familiar campus Skyspace by artist James
Turrell ’65 welcomes sunrise and sunset with varied
hues of light on the other side of Sixth Street. Architect
Tim M. Stevens of the firm SCB added a nod to Turrell’s The mural in Studio 147 is digitally represented above. Painting was in progress.
work in designing the Center for Athletics, Recreation
and Wellness: Look up as you pass through Rains
Courtyard just before the main entrance and you’ll see a 4 AHMANSON STUDIO AND STUDIO 147
rectangle of open sky, often a brilliant shade of blue.
With double the studio space of the previous Each studio features a student-designed mural:
building, there can be two classes in session Nico Cid Delgado ’25 is the artist of the
at once, whether they are P.E. classes, general one in Studio 147 downstairs, and Kaylin
fitness sessions or faculty/staff fitness and Ong ’25 created the one in the Ahmanson
wellness activities. Spin cycling is a new Studio on the second floor. And yes, the first-
offering, along with standbys like yoga, floor studio is literally room number 147.
Pilates and high-intensity interval training.
5 LOCKER ROOMS
Pomona College Project Manager Brian Faber, below, guided construction to With 12 locker rooms—
completion despite the challenges of the pandemic and major supply-chain delays. including day-use lockers
for students, faculty and
staff—the building provides
enough spaces for each of
Pomona-Pitzer’s 21 Division
III NCAA teams to have
its own locker room during
the season. Large, colorful banners with the takes over later in the year. Instead of rooms
sport’s name and one of the team’s Sagehen that were too small or too large for a team’s
athletes of the past make the rooms feel special personnel, they are right-sized—and players
in-season—and the banners can be exchanged love that their names are posted on their stalls.
for a different sport’s when another team
3 REPURPOSED WOOD
The basketball court from the earlier Memorial Gym that existed
before the Rains Center opened in 1989 had been in storage for
6 DRAPER PUBLIC FITNESS AREA
decades. The old maple court has been repurposed to gorgeous Spanning nearly 6,000 square feet just inside the main entrance and
effect in the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness, adding surrounded by windows on three sides, the Draper fitness center is the
a midcentury vibe to an otherwise contemporary space. A feisty heart of the building. A space to nurture the health and well-being of
painted Sagehen on one piece of the court welcomes visitors to students, faculty and staff, it also has become a new place to see and
the front desk. Wood from center court, marked with the PP logo be seen. Indoor joggers, cyclists and stair-climbers can log miles on
in the jump circle, can be found above the hallway leading to machines with a view of the passersby on busy campus walks—and
refurbished Voelkel Gym. And not to be overlooked, an expanse perhaps those passersby will be inspired to come inside and work
of blond refinished wood from the court provides a seating area out too when they glimpse others doing cardio and lifting weights.
along the large central stairway.
2 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 3
7 N&N PRACTICE GYMNASIUM 10 SIXTH STREET COURTYARD
That view. The San Gabriel Mountains are What was largely neglected space along Sixth
striking from many points on campus, but Street is now a gathering place, perfect for
the sight of their snow-capped peaks in winter Sixth Street Rivalry games against Claremont-
from the second-floor recreational and practice Mudd-Scripps or just a spot to pause during the
gym is stunning. The nearly floor-to-ceiling day. An orderly arrangement of sycamore trees,
windows frame the scene spectacularly. Insider’s benches made of wood and concrete, and a
tip on the N&N Gym name: It’s a tribute to central planter create a sense of place. Plus, the
former head women’s basketball coach Nancy metal wall sculpture Four Players by Bret Price
Breitenstein (1969-92) and her longtime ’72 has a new home on an exterior wall after
assistant Nettie Morrison by former player being moved from inside the now-demolished
Libby Gates MacPhee ’86. The teams coached Memorial Gym. Another new gathering place,
by “N&N” included the 1981-82 team that Rains Courtyard outside the front entrance,
reached the Final Four of the first NCAA provides more welcoming surroundings for
Division III women’s basketball tournament another large-scale metal sculpture by an
ever held, along with the string of teams that alumnus, In the Spirit of Excellence by Norman
dominated the SCIAC for much of the 1980s. Hines ’61, which remains in its earlier location
but is more prominent in the new landscape.
8 OLSON FAMILY TERRACE
Pass through the Athletics Department
conference room at the back of the building
on the second floor and you’re suddenly in an
unexpected space: The Elizabeth Graham Olson
and Steve Olson Family Terrace is a spacious
shaded balcony with views of Merritt Field and
Alumni Field. It’s a lovely spot for a small special
event, a prime stop for visiting recruits and a
very sweet perch to take in a football game,
which comes in handy: Liz and Steve Olson
are the parents of Sagehen football players
11 ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE CENTER
Graham Olson ’23 and Matthias Olson ’26. On the first floor with a wide view of Merritt Field, the nearly 5,000-square-foot
strength and conditioning center is a cavernous space where varsity athletes train,
9 HALL OF FAME along with other users. The equipment includes a dozen new Olympic lifting platforms
painted in Sagehen blue and orange, plentiful free weights and a three-lane indoor turf
A silver platter won by Darlene Hard ’61, a Wimbledon strip. It’s as impressive as some NCAA Division I facilities and an enticing stop on the
singles finalist who won the U.S. Open and French Open tour for athletic recruits. “I’m obviously biased but it’s probably a top-five Division III
championships, is among the memorabilia in the new facility,” says Athletic Performance Coach Greg Hook PZ ’14.
Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Hall of Fame display, centrally
located on the first floor. Other items include the historic
drum from the old Pomona-Occidental football rivalry,
an 1893 silver teapot trophy and the 2019 and 2021
NCAA Division III national championship trophies
won by the men’s cross country team. A large mural
features recent Sagehen athletes, among them Pomona’s
Conor Rooney ’19, Sophia Hui ’19, James Baker
’17, Caroline Casper ’19, Sam Gearou ’19, Danny
Rosen ’20, Vicky Marie Addo-Ashong ’20, Jessica
Finn ’18, Andy Reischling ’19, Genevieve DiBari ’23,
Ally McLaughlin ’16, Tanner Nishioka ’17, Nadia
Alaiyan ’17, Aseal Birir ’18 and Liam O’Shea ’20.
4 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 5
STRAY THOUGHTS
Pomona
C O LL E G E M A G A Z I N E
Winter 2023•VOLUME 59, NO. 1
EDITOR
CHOOSING
Robyn Norwood (robyn.norwood@pomona.edu)
ART DIRECTOR
Eric Melgosa (eric.melgosa@pomona.edu)
BOOKS EDITOR
THE DIFFICULT
Lorraine Wu Harry ’97 (pcmbooks@pomona.edu)
CLASS NOTES EDITOR Cover: Photo illustration of what the view might
Catherine Gaugh (pcmnotes@pomona.edu) look like from inside a lunar cave if it were explored
by the Axel rover. Rover image is courtesy NASA/
CONTRIBUTORS JPL-Caltech. Illustration is not to scale.
Atsuko Koyama ’96 (“The Choice I Make”) is a pediatric
Echoes from A Different Era emergency medicine physician and abortion provider. She
also is a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health and
a Doctors for America health justice and equity committee
leader.
Almost everyone who comes to Pomona College learns that Theodore Roosevelt gave a Mark Kreidler (“Moonshots for Unicorns”) is a California-
speech in front of Pearsons Hall in 1903, the only visit by a sitting president in Pomona
history.
based writer and broadcaster and the author of three books,
including Four Days to Glory. FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
George Spencer (“Building a Way Home”) is a writer
In one of the stories in this issue of Pomona College Magazine, there’s an allusion to based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. A former executive
a theme in some of Roosevelt’s more famous addresses. Though the exact phrase “dare
mighty things” comes from his 1899 speech “The Strenuous Life,” the better-known
editor of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, he writes for
numerous alumni magazines including those at Princeton, 4+7 Cool Things 1 Letter Box 8
speech is “The Man in the Arena,” itself part of a longer address called “Citizenship in a
Republic” that Roosevelt delivered in Paris in 1910.
Brown, Notre Dame, the University of Virginia, Georgia Tech
and the University of North Carolina. When the glass doors of the Center for Athletics, Recreation Milestones 9
and Wellness swung open in October, we heard words like
A popular figure at the time, Roosevelt is more controversial today for certain
imperialist and racist views. And the famous speech is mostly spoiled for me anyway by
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Lorraine Wu Harry ’97
Jeff Hing, photographer
“beautiful,” “gorgeous” and “When can alumni use it?” Pomoniana 12
Richard Nixon’s use of it as he resigned the presidency in disgrace in 1974, still believing Marilyn Thomsen
Book Talk 14
Daring Mighty Things 23
Kristopher Vargas, photographer
he was being persecuted.
What draws me in isn’t the “It is not the critic who counts,” part, though granted, that SUBMISSIONS AND CHANGES
For class notes, address changes, photos and birth or
Bookmarks 15
might have something to do with my background in journalism. Instead, it’s the words No one has ever explored caves in another world.
at the end about being willing to fail in striving for a worthy cause. Like poet Robert
death notices, email pcmnotes@pomona.edu or phone
(909) 607-8129. For consideration for book publication
notices, email pcmbooks@pomona.edu. For other editorial Laura Kerber ’06 has set out to change that. New Knowledge 17
Browning’s idea that one’s reach should exceed one’s grasp, it encourages aiming for more
than we might be able to achieve, along with accepting that we may be judged for it.
matters or submissions, email pcm@pomona.edu or mail a
letter to Pomona College Magazine, 550 N. College Ave., Teamwork 18
That willingness to try, not blindly but with a clear understanding that they might not
be able to do the thing they set out to do, is at the heart of several of the stories in this
Claremont, CA 91711. Magazine policies are available at
pomona.edu/pcm-guidelines. Moonshots for Unicorns 28 Artifact 20
issue. Jessie Berman Boatright ’98 and Laila Bernstein ’04 work intently in Boston with Racing against time for a cure for their daughter’s rare
Notice Board 42
POMONA COLLEGE MAGAZINE
is published three times a year. Copyright 2023 by Pomona College,
their teams in the Mayor’s Office of Housing to try to end homelessness, even though 550 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711. genetic disorder, Zach Landman ’08 and his wife Geri,
it often seems like every time 100 people find homes, another 100 appear in the streets.
Laura Kerber ’06 works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where virtually every shot
POMONA COLLEGE
is an independent liberal arts college located in Claremont, California.
both physicians, try to help other families too. The Alumni and Family
is a long shot. And Zach Landman ’08 and his wife Geri, both physicians, are bringing Established in 1887, it is the founding member of The Claremont
Attitude Survey 44
to bear all their training, talents and connections to try to find a cure for their daughter
Lucy’s rare genetic disorder. Even if they can’t, they’ve launched a foundation to try to
Colleges.
PRESIDENT
Building a Way Home 34 Alumni Voice 46
G. Gabrielle Starr
discover therapies that might help cure other children with single-gene disorders. While other cities struggle to make headway against homelessness,
There’s another story in this issue that reflects a different type of persistence and CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Mark Kendall Jessica Boatright ’98 and Laila Bernstein ’04 have helped reduce Class Notes 48
conviction. It’s an essay by physician Atsuko Koyama ’96 about why she has chosen to be
an abortion provider. I ask you to hear her out to better understand why her professional NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
Pomona College complies with all applicable state and federal civil
the number of people without housing in Boston by 28%.
In Memoriam 62
and personal experiences have led to her decision, and to respect her readiness to explain it.
These Pomona alumni exhibit a boldness some educators believe is diminishing among
rights laws prohibiting discrimination in education and the workplace.
This policy of non-discrimination covers admission, access and
The Choice I Make 38 Time Out 64
high-achieving students: the willingness to fail. When getting a B feels like failure for service in promotion, compensation, benefits and all other terms and
conditions of employment at Pomona College.
students trying to gain admission to highly selective colleges or graduate schools, it can lead When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion
to not attempting courses or projects beyond ones they’re confident they’ll master. When laws became a shifting patchwork across the country. But where
a student at another college once told me she had failed an engineering course in statics, I
you live and who you are have always determined the health care
remember being surprised she didn’t change her major. She took the course again, passed
it, won a six-figure federal grant for her technology startup and completed her degree. you receive in the United States. A physician tells her story.
So here’s to trying, and to trying again.
—Robyn Norwood magazine.pomona.edu
6 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 7
LETTER BOX MILESTONES
Kudos to the Remembering William Irwin Thompson ’62 Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity
School. Alumnus Thomas McDade ’91,
Pandemic Graduates I noted with sadness the passing of William maverick. The professor said, ‘We’re allowed
elected to the academy in 2021, is a
biological anthropologist specializing in
Irwin Thompson ’62 (Spring 2022). Thompson one oddball a year. I will make you my oddball
I came home from summer vacation to find the human population biology and is the Carlos
was one of the formative writers of my early for this year if you go back and finish your high
Summer 2022 edition of PCM had arrived. Montezuma Professor of Anthropology and
20s. I read two of his books—At the Edge of school diploma.’” I thought, Hey, that’s me! I
What a joyful read! I love the beautiful Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy
History and Passages About Earth—before I too had a checkered high school record and
graduation photos for all three classes. They Research at Northwestern University.
even knew I would be transferring to Pomona, a vexed relation with educational institutions
fought hard these past few years and I’m New inductees signed the academy’s
which I eventually did in fall 1975. Those books generally. My first semester, Chemistry Professor
overjoyed to see them celebrating together. Book of Members, which already includes
offered a heady brew of history, philosophy, Wayne Steinmetz told me I was the very
I admire the members of the classes of numerous Sagehens. Among them are
religion, literature, art and anthropology, all last applicant the admissions committee
2020, 2021 and 2022 so much. While they scientists Jennifer Doudna ’85, Sarah
in the service of nudging what Thompson saw decided on, hinting that his doubts persisted.
couldn’t spend their years together the way Elgin ’67, J. Andrew McCammon ’69
as a nascent planetary culture into being. But I stayed on despite having my own doubts
anyone would have imagined, they’re linked and Tom Pollard ’64; author Louis
in a new and different way. I think they’ll
find power in remembering what they’ve
For someone coming of age in the early ’70s,
they offered a vision of culture more grounded
about Pomona that first year. And though my
life has followed a very different path than President G. Gabrielle Menand ’73, art historian Ingrid
Rowland ’74, artist James Turrell ’65,
overcome as individuals, and together.
I also loved the “Heart to Heart” article
and hopeful than the unhinged and rapacious
one we were instead coming to inhabit. I have
Thompson’s, I’m grateful Pomona saw fit to take
a chance on us both and that it was the kind Starr Joins Academy of journalist Joe Palca ’74 and developmental
psychologist Henry Wellman ’70.
with my classmate Roxanne Ruzicka Maas
’94 and Elisa Louizos ’96. They didn’t just
continued to collect and read his writings over the
years, and while my older, more pessimistic self
of place that offered us the means to find our
footing and flourish in our own distinct ways. Arts and Sciences The academy is led by Oxtoby, inducted
in 2012 and named president in 2018. He
may not have found them quite so intoxicating, —Rick Penticoff ’78
survive something frightening. They chose Moscow, Idaho served as president of Pomona College
they still provoked and stimulated as well as
to renew their friendship, and renew their There was a distinct Pomona College Elected to the academy in 2020, Starr from 2003 until 2017. Starr became
introduced me to writers (Francisco Varela,
commitments to living with love and meaning. P.S. Your notice makes it appear as if At the Edge of presence at the induction ceremonies was inducted in a ceremony in Cambridge, the third Pomona College president
James Lovelock, Lynn Margulis, Evan Thompson)
I always feel a little restless in the fall, like I History and Passages About Earth are one book. of the American Academy of Arts and Massachusetts, along with influential to join the academy. The late David
and ideas (embodied minds, Gaia hypothesis) They are two—Edge was published in 1971;
should be starting a new academic pursuit. So I’ll Sciences in September, as College artists, scientists, scholars, authors and Alexander, Pomona’s president from
that at the time were outside the mainstream. Passages in 1974.
take this renewal and inspiration with me as I President G. Gabrielle Starr formally institutional leaders from the classes of 2020 1969 to 1991, was inducted in 2006.
After I learned of Thompson’s death, I ran
head back to work, and take my daughter Bailey joined the distinguished academy led and 2021 after delays due to the pandemic. Chartered in 1780, the academy has
across an online interview he gave in 2008.
to first grade. by David Oxtoby, who preceded her Others inducted included singer Joan C. counted Benjamin Franklin and Thomas
This passage caught my eye: “And I didn’t like
—Christina Caldwell Lobo ’94 as Pomona College president. Baez, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Jefferson among its members, as well as
high school, I had A’s and F’s. So I couldn’t
Ballwin, Missouri Starr, a national voice on access to H. Holder Jr. and author Ann Patchett. 20th-century luminaries such as Margaret
get into UCLA or a conventional school, but
college for students of all backgrounds as Other Sagehens entered the academy Mead and Martin Luther King Jr. The
I was able to talk my way into Pomona as a
well as the future of higher education, was alongside Starr. Alumna Adela Yarbro current membership includes more than
selected for her role in educational and Collins ’67, an internationally renowned and 300 Nobel laureates, some 100 Pulitzer
Recent graduates make the academic leadership. Also a literary scholar respected scholar of the New Testament, also Prize winners and many of the world’s
traditional exit through the and neuroscientist, she took office as the was elected in 2020. She is the Buckingham most celebrated artists and performers.
College Gates during the May
2022 delayed Commencement 10th president of Pomona College in 2017. Professor Emerita of New Testament
celebrations for the pandemic
Classes of 2020 and 2021.
A Grant for Inclusive Excellence
Pomona’s
Contributions Pomona’s newly created Institute for Inclusive Excellence
to Diplomacy will benefit from an $800,000 grant from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The six-year grant is
I was thrilled to read in the summer issue
part of the HHMI Inclusive Excellence initiative, which
“Partners in Prague” by Doug Morrow ’01
incentivizes four-year colleges and universities to build
and Erik Black ’95, relating their efforts in
capacity for inclusion on their own campuses, especially
Prague and elsewhere to “share and strengthen”
in the sciences. Pomona is one of 108 schools across
our democratic values there. It is heartening to
the country that were invited to take part in HHMI’s
read that these two Pomona grads recognize
current Inclusive Excellence 3 initiative. Most of the
the importance of constant vigilance in this
grant will go directly toward supporting programming
respect. Even in our own country, we need
through the College’s new institute, which is co-directed
reminders of the significance of these values.
by Travis Brown and Professor of Biology Sharon
Thank you for publishing their story.
Stranford. Pomona’s initial focus is on faculty and staff
—Jane Barnes ’58
Julian, California professional development in inclusive teaching and mentorship.
Travis Brown Sharon Stranford
8 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 9
MILESTONES
New Eckstein Scholarship for Refugees
Whether displaced by war, political upheaval or natural
On Board: 3 Distinguished Alumni Join
disaster, students fleeing crisis could soon find refuge at
Pomona College through the new Dr. Albert Eckstein
and Liese Bendheim Eckstein Scholarship.
the College’s Board of Trustees
Established by Pomona College Trustee Paul Eckstein ’62
P’92 GP’26 and his wife Florence P’92 GP’26 in memory John Gingrich ’91 is the office managing Jim Valone ’85 is a retired emerging
of Paul’s parents with a gift of $1.2 million, the permanently director for Accenture in Northern
Wei Hopeman ’92
markets investment professional who is
endowed scholarship will provide students with refugee status California, leading more than 5,000 actively involved in nonprofit work. From
and financial need a chance to continue their education. people who work out of the company’s San 1999 to 2021, he worked at Wellington
Paul’s father, Albert, born in 1908 in what is now Romania, Francisco Innovation Hub and San Jose Management, where he founded and led
immigrated to America with his family as a teenager to escape the rise offices. He is responsible for Accenture’s the firm’s emerging markets debt (EMD)
of anti-Semitism in Europe. Encountering quotas on Jewish students talent development and recruiting as well effort. During his tenure, he built out
in U.S. medical schools, Albert returned to Europe to attend medical as growing the business and maintaining a suite of EMD products, led a team of
school in Germany, where he met Liese Lotte strong client relationships. He also works to 35 professionals and grew assets under
Bendheim. With Hitler in power by the time Albert deepen relationships with local community management to over $35 billion. Prior to
earned his degree in 1936, the couple left Germany organizations, nonprofits, higher education joining Wellington, Valone was a portfolio
for the U.S. ahead of the horrors of the Holocaust. institutions and government entities. manager at Baring Asset Management and
Paul said his father often spoke about the Gingrich returned to Accenture in 2020 an analyst and portfolio manager at Fidelity
extraordinary waste of human talent caused by the from Bay Area startup Humu, where he held Management. In retirement he continues
Holocaust, other wars and political upheaval. Both the position of chief revenue officer. Earlier to invest in emerging markets through
Flo and Paul know his parents would be proud the in his career he spent nearly three decades his private investment fund, 4747 LLC.
endowed scholarship carries their names. Thinking at Accenture. Gingrich is a board member Valone’s nonprofit work is concentrated in
of future recipients, Paul says, “Who knows if they and past board chair of the San Francisco youth education and sustainability causes.
will be Nobel Prize winners, great senators, or Chamber of Commerce. He also is a director He serves on the boards of the Wellington
wonderful writers or musicians? I like to dream and for the Elizabeth V. Sanderson Foundation, Foundation and Empower. Valone also is
think this gift will in some way help facilitate that.” Liese and Albert Eckstein, top left, in a family photo at son Paul’s 1962
which provides animal rescue resources and a board member of the Emerging Markets
graduation from Pomona, along with images of their U.S. citizenship papers.
The QR code at right links to a Pomona video of the family’s story. land preservation grants to help protect the Investors Alliance, which promotes good
environment. Born in Pomona and raised in governance and sustainable development
Claremont, Gingrich majored in international in emerging markets. After majoring in
relations at Pomona. His wife, Christine economics at Pomona, he went on to earn
New COO and Treasurer Jeff Roth Geology Department Currie ’91, is a Pomona alumna. Their son
Gus Gingrich ’24 is a current student.
an MBA from the University of Chicago’s
Booth School of Business. He and his
Wei Hopeman ’92 is a co-founder and
Jeff Roth, an innovative finance leader with experience at top higher Turns 100 managing partner of Arbor Ventures, a wife, Lisa Valone ’96, live in Wayland,
education institutions and the nation’s largest public library system, leading Asia-based fintech-focused venture Massachusetts, and have two grown children.
joined the College as vice president, chief operating officer and treasurer Founded in 1922 by A.O. Woodford, John Gingrich ’91
capital firm founded in 2013. Arbor uses
in September. a 1913 graduate of the College its global vantage point, extensive network
He previously was an associate vice president for academic planning better known as Woody, the and deep sector knowledge to identify key
and budgeting at UCLA, where he worked to increase transparency in Geology Department has marked its trends and partner closely with leading
allocation decisions for the $10 billion annual operating budget and centennial year. So did Woodford, entrepreneurs to build transformational
developed a multi-year budget approach to strengthen the university’s a one-man department for 30 companies. Hopeman previously was
finances for the future. Before years who died in 1990 at the managing director and head of Asia for
joining UCLA in 2016, age of 100. A great-nephew of Citi Ventures, chief China representative
Roth served in a series of Pomona co-founder Rev. James for Jefferies & Co. and a technology
key leadership roles over 15 Harwood, Woodford majored investment banker at Goldman Sachs in
years at the New York Public in chemistry before earning a Silicon Valley. She currently serves on the
Library, directing finance Ph.D. studying soil science at UC Berkeley. board of directors of Booking Holdings
and strategic planning for the In addition to his research, Woodford was and numerous private technology firms.
92-location system, largest known for developing scientists. Among After graduating from Pomona College
in the U.S. He earned a them was Roger Revelle ’29, an early with a major in international relations,
bachelor’s degree from the predictor of global warming. UC San Hopeman earned an MBA at the Jim Valone ’85
University of Massachusetts Diego’s Revelle College bears his name. Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Amherst and an MBA
from Rutgers Graduate
School of Management.
10 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 11
Taylor Swift performs in Bridges Auditorium on October 15, 2012.
Photos courtesy of Frank Micelotta for VH1 Storytellers
POMONIANA
A Mufti Revival Sagecast, the
There’s talk lately of strengthening connections between generations podcast of Pomona
of Sagehens through the College’s traditions. One that has been
missing in action was known as Mufti, a secret society whose members College, is back.
used to post anonymous paper messages laden with puns and other Recorded in the studios of KSPC 88.7
word play on buildings around campus. Often, the messages had to FM, Pomona’s campus radio station, the fifth
do with campus controversies of the moment that are indecipherable season offers a chance to listen in on vibrant
years later. In recent years, Mufti had gone silent. But in September, a intellectual conversations with Pomona
message stuck to campus spots that included College professors and hosts Patty Vest and
a bench, a lamppost and a few buildings Marilyn Thomsen. Featured faculty include
provided commentary on the heat, drought
and college rankings and concluded, “Fear
not, comrades, for MUFTI is near/To bring
you all some meager cheer….” It also included
Were You There? Rosalia Romero (art history), Gary Kates
(history), Ellie Anderson (philosophy),
Pierangelo De Pace (economics) and
Rose Portillo (theatre). Listen at
a QR code. Very 21st century. If you’re Taylor Swift’s upcoming 2023 tour sparked The Bridges concert even led to a pomona.edu/sagecast or look us up on the
ready to spill some tea about Mufti past or
present or tell us about your favorite Pomona
Vintage Mufti messages courtesy a frenzy that turned into a fiasco for Pomona College
wedding. Tyler Womack ’15 and Vicente podcast sites of Apple, Google or Spotify.
of Kristen McCabe Romero PZ '92, unprepared Ticketmaster. Robles ’16 met at Pomona and became good
tradition, write to us at pcm@pomona.edu. Advancement Communications
Remember when she played Bridges friends after Robles gave Womack the Swift
and Events
Pomona College
SAGE
Auditorium? tickets he won in a lottery. After a 10-year
It’s been 10 years since Swift’s live courtship, the couple married on campus in
acoustic concert on the Pomona campus on Richardson Garden next to Seaver House.
CASTSAGE
Band’s Name Is No Typooo October 15, 2012. The 22-year-old played
for about 3,000 of her millennial peers at
“You Belong With Me,” was part of the early
romance that led to the couple’s wedding on
The Claremont Colleges, thanks to Harvey campus on June 18, 2022.
Last winter, a brewery near campus was musicians from Pomona’s jazz ensemble Each performance since has reflected the
CAST
Mudd students who leveraged strategy and Swift is scheduled to launch her tour in Pomo
looking for a band to play as an opening invited by keyboardist Alex Arguelles PZ ’24 quirkiness and versatility of the band. na Co
llege
social media to tally the top score in the March and wrap up in the Los Angeles area in
act. A group of Claremont Colleges
musicians quickly pulled one together
to join the impromptu group. “We looked at
it, we looked at each other and we nodded.”
“We’re not afraid to try songs we’ve
never played before live, take audience
“Taylor Swift on Campus” contest sponsored August with multiple dates at SoFi Stadium. SAGE
and gave the event’s organizers the band Tea Rooom became the official name, recommendations or remix songs that already
by Chegg, the textbook rental and edtech
company.
Never ever getting back VARIATIONS
together? Ms. Swift,
it’s a mere 45 miles to Marston
CAST
PomonaQuad.
College Pomona College
name “Tea Room” as a placeholder. though the bandmates joke that they exist,” says drummer Jeremy Martin ’25,
“They spelled ‘room’ with three o’s,” says should add another extra o after every show. adding that the bandmates try to have a
SAGE SAGE
VARIATIONS
saxophonist Dylan Yin ’23, one of several sense of humor in everything they do. Pomona's Sontag Hall
Pomona College Pomona College
“We’re serious musicians who don’t
The Sontag Legacy CAST CAST
SAGE SAGE
take ourselves too seriously,” he says.
A 2022 Tea Rooom performance with saxophonist Dylan
Trumpet player Nico Santamaria ’25 The name Sontag is a fixture on campus, purchased a small aviation components
CAST CAST
Yin ’23 at the mic. Photo by Lillian Visaya PZ ’24
attributes their improvisational tendencies and Pomona said farewell to a benefactor business, Unison Industries, that they built
to the group’s jazz background. Vocalist whose generosity and spirit inspired many into a company with 1,500 employees and
Cece Malone PZ ’24 and guitarist when Susan Thomas Sontag ’64 P’95 nearly $200 million in annual revenue before
Amya Bolden PZ ’24 appreciate that the died in September, more than 28 years selling it to General Electric in 2002.
spontaneous approach doesn’t focus on after being told she had terminal brain The couple became extraordinary
technicalities. It’s a constant learning cancer and only a few years to live. supporters of education, particularly
experience, personalizing performances The Sontag legacy at Pomona is immense, with gifts to Pomona and Harvey Mudd
and interacting with each new audience. but a guide to the family tree may be helpful. College. Each college has a residence hall
“Music is all about expressing Philosophy Professor Frederick E. Sontag, named in their honor. (Pomona’s LEED
yourself and seeing if other people known as Fred, influenced generations of Platinum Sontag Hall was completed in
will relate to that emotion,” Arguelles students in his 57 years at the College. It is 2011.) The couple also established the Rick
says. “We can be whatever people for him that the Sontag Greek Theatre in the and Susan Sontag Center for Collaborative
need us to be. That's quite lovely.” wooded area known as the Wash is named. Creativity, popularly known as the Hive, to
A year later, the band is still playing gigs Fred’s nephew Frederick B. Sontag serve The Claremont Colleges, providing
and has added guitarist Aden Cicourel HMC ’64, known as Rick, met Susan both initial operating expenses and an
’26 as Bolden takes a more part-time role. Thomas while growing up in Long Beach endowment to ensure its longevity. “Their commitment to a greater cause
Says Martin: “I wish I could give you and reconnected when she transferred Beyond campus, they established serves as a reminder of our community’s
a better idea of how many o’s we’re on, from UC Berkeley to Pomona when he the Sontag Foundation for brain cancer enduring mission,” says Pomona College
but I think we may have lost track!” was a student at Harvey Mudd. They research and the Brain Tumor Network to President G. Gabrielle Starr.
—Oluyemisi Bolonduro ’23 became inseparable, married and eventually help patients affected by brain tumors.
12 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 13
BOOK TALK BOOKMARKS
Uncommon your true purpose will help you make better
Purpose
decisions as you go forward that are not
about your fame or about money but about
doing the right thing that helps achieve
something lasting. You could talk about
prizes or tenure, but there’s nothing quite
In Saving Ryan, physician-scientist Emil Kakkis like talking with Ryan or meeting him,
’82 chronicles the 30-year journey to develop a finding out how he’s doing and realizing that
first-ever treatment for the ultra-rare genetic disease you’ve changed the course of his life and the
lives of many other kids with MPS I. There’s
mucopolysaccharidosis, known as MPS. At the center a real purpose to what you can get done in
of the story are Ryan Dant, who was diagnosed research if you find that purpose. And if you
Dreaming of Space
with potentially fatal MPS type I at age 3, and his adhere to it, then you can have a career that’s
without regret and achieve great things. In this children’s book, Grant
Tanum: A Story
parents, who started a foundation to support the Seeding the Tradition: Collier ’96 combines photos
PCM: What has been the of Bumping Lake
development of the treatment. Dant is now in his reception to your book? Musical Creativity in
with illustrations to tell the
and the William O.
story of a boy who dreams
30s, a college graduate and recently married. Kakkis: The reception has been really good. Southern Vietnam that aliens take him on a Douglas Wilderness
I’m happy I got it done because at least Alexander Cannon ’05 journey across the universe. Susan Summit Cyr ’85 P
PCM’s Lorraine Wu Harry ’97 talked to the story is down on paper. The truth is, explores southern Vietnamese ’13 recounts the history of
Kakkis—also founder, president and CEO of like any movie or writer, there are always traditional music while suggesting the little-known pocket of
imperfections you wish could be better, but revised approaches to studying Bumping Lake in Washington
the biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx— I do feel it captures the story enough that creativity in contemporary state and the conservationists
about the book, his time at Pomona and advice others can relive it and maybe draw from ethnomusicology. who fought to preserve it.
for young people today. The interview has been it what it takes to do the impossible and
how gratifying and exhilarating it can be.
edited and condensed for length and clarity.
PCM: I could see it becoming a movie.
Kakkis: That’s right. I’m going to be
PCM: What was your impetus for writing had memos and letters that helped me place It was a really important piece of learning. lobbying for George Clooney to play me.
the book? Who do you hope will read it? things in time. What the book does is jump The science training was, of course, He was a great pediatrician on ER; he needs
Kakkis: One impetus was to capture the from moment to moment in time. I was excellent. As an undergrad I was running to be a pediatrician in the movie. He’s done
challenge of getting a treatment for rare really writing about the things that were the research; there wasn’t a grad student. everything else. He’s been a lawyer and other
disease developed from a policy perspective, memorable. Things like an FDA meeting. Therefore, you had to learn and organize the things. It’s time for him to be a doctor again.
to highlight the requirements the Food That meeting I remember very, very vividly. research yourself and conduct experiments
and Drug Administration has put that and plan what you were going to do. It’s a
PCM: Any last things you’d like
PCM: Tell me about your time at Pomona: to share?
are quite difficult, near impossible. While what you studied, how it shaped you, good test for your ability to organize and
we succeeded, it was so close to being execute, which serves you well later. You’ve
Kakkis: You always wonder what you can do
how it prepared you for your work. with your life. I’ve run into students lately,
missing. It shouldn’t have been because it’s Kakkis: I spent my time at Pomona as a done it before, as opposed to being a helper
especially post-pandemic, that feel like there’s
straightforward science. I intended the book biology major. I took a lot of chemistry, on someone else’s project where you’re just
nothing that they want to do or nothing
to help with the FDA and Capitol Hill on biochemistry and a fair amount of philosophy following along. Having to do it yourself as
great, no place to go. The truth is, there are
the policy issues regarding the regulation too. I took a course with [Professor Fred] an undergraduate researcher challenges you
incredible projects that are waiting for them
of these rare disease drugs. At the same Sontag when I was a freshman. I thought to think harder, deeper and to be able to plan
that they’ve never heard of, that they can
time, I wanted to capture for families out I was a good writer, and then I discovered and execute an actual research program. Bibliophiles,
find, that will give their life great meaning
there that the impossible can be achieved, that I was not a good writer. Sontag had a PCM: Would you have any advice for Preserving Whose Boundless: An Abortion
that you don’t have to be a scientist—Mark
and purpose. They should keep searching Murderous
great policy. You wrote your first paper; he Pomona students who are either aspiring for that thing and find that passion and that Bookmen, and Mad City? Memory, Doctor Becomes a Mother
Dant was a police officer, and his wife was a graded it and he graded it thoroughly. If you physicians or scientists, or both?
programmer—that you can come together
purpose and do great things. You may not Librarians: The Story of Place, and Identity Through weaving her personal
rewrote the paper based on the comments, Kakkis: The important thing that I put have any idea what it is—I certainly had no
and figure out how to treat your kid. It was Books in Modern Spain in Rio de Janeiro narrative with stories of her
then he would grade the new one too and in the book is the discovery of your true idea when I was in college, but it came out, it patients, Christine Henneberg
a story for inspiration for those families. average it with your first draft. I ended up purpose for your career. It shouldn’t be Robert Ellis ’77 examines Geographer Brian J. Godfrey
was found. I hope people get the inspiration ’05 deals with the complexities
PCM: Did you keep journals along the rewriting every single paper. What he was about money, or fame or prizes. It should be, how books are represented in ’74 describes preservation of motherhood and choice.
to seek that mission and find their purpose. modern Spanish writing and how projects undertaken in Rio de
way? There are so many details you doing was encouraging you. It started me what do you want to do that’s going to be Even though you have no idea what it is Spanish bibliophiles reflect on Janeiro since the 1930s and the
remember from the last 30 years. thinking about how to express yourself meaningful, that will last and be important? now, it will come, and then you have to see role of memory in placemaking.
the role of books in their lives.
Kakkis: Some of them were seared into my and how to edit yourself. How to think In college, you have a lot of reasons why it in front of you and know when it’s time
brain. I remember them very specifically. I ahead, how things sound, how they read. you might become an M.D.-Ph.D. Finding that this is the thing I need to do.
14 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 15
BOOKMARKS NEW KNOWLEDGE
Kenneth Gonzalez ’24, Simon Heck ’22 and Liz Johnson ’24 work with Anthony Clark , assistant professor of computer science.
Applying Lean Six Sigma Wishbone Behind the Evading the Patronage
A Midnight Train to
in the Healthcare Setting Scenes Trap: Interest Representation
Everywhere in Mexico
Scott Lisbin ’77 advises healthcare Denise Noe ’81 goes behind the
professionals on improving access, This paranormal fantasy novel by scenes to show how this educational Brian Palmer-Rubin ’04
quality, safety, service and affordability Ryan Mims ’99 takes readers on children’s TV program starring a unpacks how reliance on
HOW TO TEACH A ROBOT
in the healthcare environment. an adventure through the afterlife Jack Russell Terrier was created. economic interest organizations
and across the multiverse.
undermines interest representation
in developing democracies.
by Marilyn Thomsen
Someday, when a storm downs trees and on the Oldenborg Center because it have larger amounts of diverse environments.
power lines on campus or elsewhere, “was potentially confusing enough for a We don’t want it to get confused if it’s
emergency workers may turn to autonomous robot trying to drive around,” with one going down a hallway and all of a sudden
robots for help with immediate surveillance. hallway, for instance, leading to stairs in there’s a new painting on the wall.”
“Maybe you want a robot to roam one direction and a ramp in the other. Clark says that once the group has
around campus, because it’s safer for them Machine learning, Clark explains, is a models that work in virtual environments
than for a human,” says Anthony Clark, subset of artificial intelligence. “It is basically and transfer well to the physical world, the
assistant professor of computer science. an automated system that makes some team will make the tasks more challenging.
“Maybe you have 10 robots that can take decisions, and those automated decisions One idea is to create autonomous robots
pictures and report back, ‘Hey, there’s a are based on a bunch of training data.” that fly rather than roll. “It’s pretty
tree down here, a limb fallen there, this To generate the data, the team created much the same process,” Clark says,
looks like a power line that’s down,’” he an exquisitely detailed schematic of the "but it’s a lot more complicated.”
says, and technicians can be dispatched Oldenborg interior, down to a water fountain The goal, Clark says, “is a better way
immediately to the correct location. in a hallway. Kenneth Gonzalez ’24 took to make machine learning models transfer
That day may not be too far off, thanks to 2,000 photos and used photogrammetry to a real-world device. To me, that means
research being conducted by Clark and three software to determine how many images it’s less likely to bump into walls, and it’s
Pomona computer science majors. Right now the robot would need for correct decision- a lot safer and more energy efficient.”
they are working on computer simulations, making. Liz Johnson ’24 created another What keeps him up at night is training
The Traces To Be Enlightened Disrupting Corporate exploring how to train autonomous robots to model with the flexibility to change a machine and then, for example, a person
McKenzie Rising: navigate the campus using machine learning. various elements—from carpet to wood taller than those in the dataset enters the
In this memoir, Mairead Small
This fantasy novel by Alan
Culture An American Frolic
Staid ’10 draws on the fields of By spring, they hope to test their methods in or even grass on the floors, for example, field. The robot mischaracterizes what
J. Steinberg ’79 passes on David G. White Jr. ’83 uses actual robots, prototypes of which are already or rocks on the ceiling. Simon Heck they are and runs into them. “I’m hoping
physics, history, architecture and Miles Wilson ’66 satirizes
lessons on meditation and cognitive science research to provide
cartography to explore the nature contemporary America and its under construction elsewhere in Clark’s lab. ’22 worked on the back-end coding. the big takeaway from this work is how
enlightenment by following the a guide on how to sustainably change
of happiness and memory. institutions in this novel about The group scoured the campus last “The reason why we want to modify the do you automatically find things that you
life of a fictional philosophy culture in the business world.
MegaMax Corporation’s venture summer to find a building with an environment, like having different lighting weren’t necessarily looking for?”
professor at Pomona College. to turn the McKenzie Valley into interior that would present challenges and changing textures, is so the robot is able
an upscale development.
to the autonomous robots. They settled to generalize,” says Clark. “The dataset will
16 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 17TEAMWORK
AFTER 67 YEARS Pomona Claims Another
SCIAC Football Championship
Story by Robyn Norwood
Photos by Carlos Puma
W hen students rushed the field after
Pomona-Pitzer’s Sixth Street Rivalry
win over CMS for the first SCIAC title and
Emotion was flowing along with
champagne spray after a hard-fought 28-
14 victory over CMS (7-2) on November
It has been a long climb. When Walsh
arrived at Pomona-Pitzer in 2013 as defensive
coordinator and associate head coach, the
culture here. This was a team that hadn’t
won games in a long time. It had been 60
years at that point since Pomona had won a
first NCAA playoff berth in the program’s 12. Officially, the two teams shared the Sagehens had won only two games over the league championship. I really was inspired
history, a few of them already had bottles SCIAC title with one conference loss each, past three years, making them one of the by the people he recruited to come in.”
of bubbly ready to spray in celebration. but the Sagehens earned the automatic least successful programs in the country. The game was played in front of an
Figuratively speaking, the champagne had NCAA berth and bragging rights by virtue “It needed to be rebuilt,” Walsh overflow crowd at Merritt Field, with
been on ice for 67 years. Pomona had not of their head-to-head win over the Stags. says. “We took some time and solidified spectators leaning on the fences outside
won a SCIAC football title since 1955—so A week later, Pomona-Pitzer bowed the infrastructure and then brought the stadium after the stands filled.
long ago that Pitzer College had not yet out in the first round of the 32-team in the right coaches and the right “When I came in, I had no clue how Will Radice ’22
been founded and Pomona and Claremont NCAA Division III football playoffs in a players. That’s how you do it.” big a rivalry this really was,” says Collins.
Quinten Wimmer PZ’24
played together on a combined team. loss to undefeated Linfield University on Since Walsh took over as head coach “It means a lot because this rivalry
“It means the world. You imagine this, November 19 in McMinnville, Oregon. But before the 2017 season, the Sagehens have between the two teams has been a huge
and now it’s a reality. Nothing beats it,” this Pomona-Pitzer team left its mark with gone 27-20 and had only one losing record. part of my time here. As much as you
says defensive back Vaish Siddapureddy an 8-3 record—the most wins in program “When I first came into this program, want to beat the other guys, the reality
’22, one of the Sagehens’ fifth-year history—with two of the losses in overtime. Coach Walsh had only been here for a is, it makes both teams better. Both these
seniors already taking classes at Claremont “It’s a lot of hard work that coaches, few years,” says offensive lineman Michael teams, CMS and ourselves, have pushed
Graduate University while playing players and staff have put into this, and Collins ’22, who graduated with a degree each other in these tight rivalry games.
their final seasons after the COVID-19 we finally did it. We finally did it,” says in economics in May and will earn an MBA “I think it’s a real testament to not
pandemic canceled the 2020 season. John Walsh, head football coach and from Claremont Graduate University’s only what Pomona and Pitzer have
assistant professor of physical education. Drucker School of Management this spring. going on, but all the 5Cs.”
“He made a real point to change the
18 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 19ARTIFACT TEAMWORK
THE LAST CHAMPS NCAA Championships:
Cross Country Teams
The object below is a game program from The title-clinching win was a dramatic pandemic canceled the 2020 season, inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Hall
the crucial contest of Pomona’s 1955 season,
the most recent time the Sagehens were part
14-13 victory over Whittier College in
the Poets’ homecoming game, where this
going 0-18 over the last two seasons.
Whittier’s coach in 1955 was George
of Fame. The name of a certain 165-pound
sophomore end might also ring a bell. Take 5th, 11th
of a SCIAC football championship season. program sold for 20 cents. The two met late Allen, who went on to coach the Los Pomona-Claremont’s final game of the 1955 The three-peat was not to be, as the two-time defending
Pitzer College, Pomona’s current partner in the season as the only SCIAC teams that Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins. season was a 29-13 victory over rival Occidental in national champion Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross country team
in athletics, had not yet been founded. remained undefeated in conference play. Pomona-Claremont was coached by front of 6,000 fans in Claremont. Oxy’s standouts finished fifth at the NCAA Division III championships November
Pomona and what was then Claremont Men’s The recently completed 2022 season Earl “Fuzz” Merritt ’25, for whom included quarterback Jack Kemp, who went on to 19 in East Lansing, Michigan.
College—now rivals as Pomona-Pitzer and marked a poignant milestone for Whittier. Pomona-Pitzer’s home field is named. play professional football and serve nine terms as a With patches of snow on the ground, gusting winds and
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps—played together The college dropped its football program The Pomona-Claremont roster included U.S. congressman. In 2020, Occidental announced temperatures in the 20s, conditions were challenging. The No.
on a combined team known as Pomona- after 115 years, along with men’s lacrosse end Bill Schultz ’56, tackle Ken Wedel it would discontinue its football program, ending 1-ranked Sagehens were knocked off by MIT, which won its
Claremont that claimed the third of three and men’s and women’s golf. The decision ’56, halfback Herb Meyer ’57, guard/ the rivalry. Six remaining teams will compete for the first national championship. Pomona-Pitzer was led by Lucas
titles in a row. was primarily for financial reasons. tackle Hugh Martin ’57, and halfback/ 2023 SCIAC football title: Cal Lutheran, Chapman, Florsheim ’24 in 16th place and Derek Fearon ’24 in 24th as the
Whittier had not won a game since the quarterback Jim Lindblad ’58, all later CMS, La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands. pair earned All-American honors.
The Pomona-Pitzer women finished 11th, led by
Abigail Loiselle ’23, who earned All-American honors with her
21st-place finish.
Photo by Aaron Gray
20 Winter 2023 Pomona College Magazine 21You can also read
