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Claremont McKenna College plays a significant role in addressing public policy questions of importance to society through ten nationally recognized research institutes. The institutes serve to enrich the curriculum and provide timely research opportunities for students working closely with faculty scholars. They also attract distinguished scholars and lecturers to the College, provide students with a variety of internship experiences, and produce scholarly research valuable to the community, the state, and the nation. The institutes in the order of their founding are:
The Henry Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World
The Salvatori Center was founded in 1967. Through the conferences it holds and the research it conducts and sponsors, the Salvatori Center seeks to understand the relationship between individual freedom and the economic, social, moral, political, and legal conditions essential for its preservation. Within the general study of individual freedom, the Center’s work focuses particularly on the American Constitution - its founding principles and consequent judicial construction - and on questions of applied ethics. Professor George Thomas, Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions, serves as the director of the Center.
The Rose Institute of State and Local Government
The Rose Institute is a public policy institute that focuses on state and local government issues, especially in Southern California. In addition to conducting the annual Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey, the Institute’s professional staff and student teams conduct research in four major areas: survey research, fiscal and economic analysis, geographic information systems (GIS) and demographics, and legal and regulatory analysis. The Institute educates students by involving them in policy-oriented projects that result in scholarly research of value to the community, the state, and the nation. Professor Andrew Busch, Crown Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow, serves as the director of the Institute and Professor Kenneth Miller, Associate Professor of Government, is the associate director.
The Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies
The Keck Center’s main goals are to engage students in the sophisticated analysis of contemporary international and strategic issues and to encourage and support students and faculty to conduct research on critical issues in world affairs. The Center’s activities include support for students’ research, extracurricular activities and practical experiences, student fellowships and awards, oversight of summer internships, curriculum development, public lectures, visiting professors, scholarly conferences and workshops, faculty research, and library collections. The Center offers four student fellowships in international strategic studies and Asian studies. Professor Minxin Pei, the Tom and Margot Pritzker Professor of Government and Roberts Fellow, is the director of the Center.
The Lowe Institute of Political Economy
The mission of the Lowe Institute is to promote undergraduate education in economics and to enhance the public visibility of the College and its sister institutions. Founded in 1986, the Institute offers a variety of programs to provide learning opportunities for students outside the classroom including: a faculty-student research program, a public lecture series, and a public policy focus on forecasting in the Inland Empire. Research results are published in professional journals. Professor Marc Weidenmier, William F. Podlich Professor of Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow, is the director.
The Roberts Environmental Center
The Roberts Environmental Center (REC) is closely associated with the Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP) major. The major pursues an interdisciplinary approach equipping students with the skills to manage environmental issues and opportunities for the real world. Recent REC projects include an analysis of the CPUC Net Energy Metering Tariff 2.0, CMC’s first Sustainability Report, a report to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education for a prestigious STARS rating, reports on videos on ballot measures, introduction of climate change curriculum in the Claremont Unified School District, paid consulting contract with Paintcare to assess multiple strategies for promoting responsible paint purchases and disposal, a report card on the LA River for the Council for Watershed Health, an assessment of water uses, rates and governance in CA, a fracking workshop, an annual Green Careers Conference, research and conference on partnerships between NGOs and corporations, a sustainability report for Pilgrim Place and an energy audit for Mt. San Antonio Gardens. Professor William Ascher, the Donald C. McKenna Professor of Government and Economics, is the director of the Center.
The Family of Benjamin Z. Gould Center for Humanistic Studies
Established in 1985, the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies examines the major forces that have gone into, and are still at work in, the formation of the modern world: science, capitalism, and industrialization. Its researchers are also concerned with the great changes in attitudes that accompanied the growth of the world. Distinguished visiting fellows are brought to the Center, summer research fellowships are awarded to faculty, and six Dunbar Fellowships actively involve students in faculty research and course design. Additionally, the Center promotes the arts and humanities on campus by organizing concerts and exhibitions and arranging excursions to local cultural venues. Professor Amy Kind, Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, is the director of the Center.
The Kravis Leadership Institute
The Kravis Leadership Institute (KLI) administers the Leadership Studies Sequence , including psychology, government, history, literature, philosophy, economics, and military science and leadership courses, including entrepreneurship courses focused on both business and social venture models. The Institute also administers a wide range of co-curricular student leadership development programs in addition to the oversight of the student-led nonprofit consulting program, SOURCE. Students work with KLI faculty on research projects studying leadership dynamics. The Institute also pursues numerous interdisciplinary research projects on leadership performance, entrepreneurship, and organizational effectiveness. The Institute presents the annual Kravis-deRoulet Leadership Conference and publishes a newsletter, Illumine, as well as sponsors an annual speakers series. Professor Jay Conger, the Henry R. Kravis Research Chair in Leadership Studies, serves as the institute chair and Visiting Professor Sarah Smith Orr serves as the institute executive director.
The Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children
The Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children was established in 2001 to be a leading source of research on significant issues impacting the intersection between work and family. The Berger Institute focuses on quantitative research impacting business practices and families; supports high-quality interdisciplinary research by talented CMC professors, which will lead to publishing opportunities; provides challenging and stimulating educational experiences for CMC students from their first year through graduation, resulting in high-quality student work and publishing opportunities; and connects with the wider CMC community, including alumni and parents of students to provide practical information about significant work/family issues. Professor Tomoe Kanaya is the director of the Institute.
The Mgrublian Center for Human Rights Leadership
With study of the Holocaust as its foundation, the Center promotes research, publication, teaching, internships, and academic travel programs that explore not only the causes of genocide and human rights abuses but also the ethical commitments, economic policies, political processes, and leadership qualities that are necessary to oppose those destructive conditions. Through its program of visiting scholars, conferences, academic travel opportunities, and student grants, the Center particularly encourages interaction among undergraduates and leading scholars in the field. Professor Wendy Lower, John K. Roth Professor of History and George R. Roberts Fellow, serves as the director of the Center.
The Financial Economics Institute
The Financial Economics Institute (FEI) administers a unique curricular program, the Financial Economics sequence, which affords a rigorous educational opportunity for CMC students that is distinguished both by its liberal arts emphasis and quantitative orientation. The Institute provides databases and other resources to support faculty and student research, and sponsors conferences, workshops, and other events intended to bridge theory and practice. Each year, the FEI sponsors a trip that allows CMC students to visit some of the leading financial institutions in New York City. Professor Joshua Rosett, Curb Family Associate Professor of Business and Law and George R. Roberts Fellow, is the director of the Institute.
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