Academic Institutions
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is an institution unto itself – an individual college that fosters a close relationship between faculty members and students who actively engage each other in the learning process. But CMC also is part of a larger community – The Claremont Colleges. A planned community of five undergraduate colleges and two graduate institutions, each with its own student body, curricular focus, and personality, all located together in Claremont. The seven institutions support and strengthen each other to become more than the sum of their parts. In essence, students at The Claremont Colleges enjoy the best of both worlds: the close, individualized academic nurturing of a small college and the resources of a major university. Because of their close proximity, the Colleges not only share athletic facilities and extra-curricular activities, but also offer joint academic programs and cross-registration in courses. The Claremont Colleges are now nationally and internationally renowned for academic excellence.
Currently the consortium has over 7,000 students and a combined faculty and staff of over 3,300. More than 2,500 courses are available to students in Claremont. The other members of The Claremont Colleges, in order of their founding, are:
Pomona College
Founded in 1887 as a college “of the New England type,” Pomona College is the oldest of The Claremont Colleges and has received a national reputation for excellence in private education. Pomona offers a traditional liberal arts program with majors in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The curriculum aims to prepare students for lives of personal fulfillment and social responsibility in a global context. Pomona has an enrollment in Claremont of approximately 1,550 men and women.
Claremont Graduate University
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU), with an enrollment of approximately 2,250 graduate students, awards master’s and doctoral degrees in 31 professional and academic disciplines through nine academic schools and one independent department. Founded in 1925 as the Claremont Graduate School, it originally housed the graduate-level courses of the consortium; it became the Claremont Graduate University in 1997. Currently CGU prepares a diverse group of outstanding individuals to assume leadership roles in the worldwide community through innovative research, superb teaching, and practical experience.
Scripps College
Scripps College, founded in 1926, is one of the country’s leading women’s colleges. With an on-campus enrollment of approximately 950, the college emphasizes a challenging core curriculum based on interdisciplinary studies in the humanities, combined with rigorous training in other disciplines. From its founding, Scripps College has been one of the few institutions in the West dedicated to educating women for professional careers as well as personal growth. Scripps offers concentrations in the arts, language and literature, philosophy and religion, science, and social studies.
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College, founded in 1957 as a coeducational institution of engineering, science, and mathematics, currently has approximately 750 students. The college aims to graduate engineers and scientists sensitive to the impact of their work on society, and the curriculum places strong emphasis on the humanities and social sciences. Majors are available in engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science. The college has produced one of the highest percentages of Ph.D.’s compared to colleges across the country.
Pitzer College
Founded in 1963, Pitzer College provides undergraduate liberal arts and science education and is regarded as one of America’s most inventive colleges. Its approximately 1,000 students pursue majors across the full liberal arts and sciences spectrum in a manner that promotes intellectual discovery and individual growth through interdisciplinary and intercultural learning, and socially responsible engagement in the wider society.
Keck Graduate Institute
The Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI), the seventh and newest member of The Claremont Colleges, is the first American graduate school dedicated exclusively to developing applications for emerging discoveries in the life sciences and educating leaders for the biosciences industry. Innovative doctoral programs in applied life sciences, computational biology, and systems biology are also available.
Claremont University Consortium
The Claremont University Consortium (CUC) was founded in 1925 as Claremont College. It is a service company that is a national leader in providing academic and business services to meet the needs of the students, faculty, and staff of The Claremont Colleges. Its services and programs enrich the distinctive character and vitality of this mid-sized university cluster of small academic institutions. CUC administers the joint services and facilities of The Claremont Colleges in coordination with the presidents of the colleges. CUC also holds land, and plans for the founding of new educational institutions. CUC aspires to be an international model of the advantages gained through consortial collaboration and planning in higher education.
Academic support services provided by CUC include the Library of The Claremont Colleges, the Bernard Field Station, and the Huntley bookstore, the Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Center, the Office of Black Student Affairs, the Office of the Chaplains, Campus Safety, and Students Health and Counseling Services. Some of the business services provided by CUC are Central Mail, Claremont Card Center, Benefits Administration, and Financial Services. As a member of The Claremont Colleges, CMC shares the use of these many facilities and services. CUC and intercollegiate programs include:
Library System
Most notable of the shared resources of The Claremont Colleges is the Claremont Colleges Library. Honnold/Mudd Library holds collections in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. The Ella Strong Denison Library at Scripps College specializes in the humanities and fine arts. Each of the libraries has individual and group study spaces, and each provides network connections, including wireless connectivity, for students who bring laptops. Both library facilities are open to all students at The Claremont Colleges.
The library partners with The Claremont Colleges in learning, teaching, and research. Librarians and staff provide assistance with locating and using traditional and electronic information sources. Librarians and staff provide assistance with locating and using traditional and electronic information sources. The library also offer research assistance via email and instant messaging. One of the major activities of the library is teaching students how to find, evaluate, and effectively use information. Research instruction for classes and other groups, as well as individual appointments for instruction and research assistance, may be scheduled with any of the librarians. Classes in Honnold/Mudd Library are held in the Keck Learning Room or Keck 2, the library’s hands-on classrooms.
The library’s large collection of electronic resources provides ready access to a wide variety of bibliographic, full-text, and multimedia information. Online resources include Blais, the online catalog, or any of hundreds of databases including services such as Lexis-Nexis Academic and ISI Web of Science. Full-text resources include electronic books and journals, as well as specialized resources such as the ACM Digital Library, CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Library, and Oxford Art Online. Digital collections, such as Early English Books Online and North American Women’s Letters & Diaries, make available thousands of additional primary source materials. The Claremont Colleges Digital Library (CCDL) provides access to a growing number of digital collections from The Colleges as well as from the library’s Special Collections. Most of these resources are available via the internet to students, faculty, and staff of The Claremont Colleges in their dorms, labs, offices, and homes, as well as in the library.
Library collections include over 1.5 million print volumes and extensive holdings of journals, magazines, and newspapers: currently the library provides online electronic access to articles in over 65,000 journals. Honnold/Mudd Library is a depository for publications issued by the United States government, and has extensive holdings of publications from the State of California, Great Britain, the United Nations, and other international agencies. The Asian Studies Collection at Honnold/Mudd has a large collection of Asian language materials. The library also holds extensive special collections.
The Interlibrary Loan service and partnerships with other libraries provide access to books, articles, and other materials not held in the collections of The Claremont Colleges Library. These partnerships include LINK+ and the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago.
Students also have access to several nearby affiliated libraries, including the George C. Stone Center for Children’s Books, a division of Claremont Graduate University’s Center for Developmental Studies in Education; the botanical and horticultural library of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden; and the library at the Claremont School of Theology.
Bookstore
Huntley Bookstore provides essential services to students, faculty, and staff of The Claremont Colleges. Established as the bookstore for The Claremont Colleges in 1969, Huntley Bookstore is the source for all course textbooks and academic materials used at the Colleges. Huntley also carries many academic trade and reference titles, new releases, Best Sellers, academic study aids, school and office supplies, clothing and gift items, as well as snacks and soft drinks, and other sundries. Huntley Bookstore provides both Apple and PC computer hardware and software at academic discounted prices, and carries computer supplies and peripherals.
Huntley also has copyright clearance, course pack production (a special order services for items not found in the bookstore), textbook reservations, and mail order services. The website of the store includes a Faculty Resource Center and an on-line textbook purchasing feature. The bookstore also offers a selection of rental textbooks each semester. Huntley Bookstore is located in the heart of The Claremont Colleges at 175 East Eighth Street, on the corner of Dartmouth Avenue. The store is open year round and is open to the public.
Biological Field Station
The Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station of The Claremont Colleges is an outdoor field station located on the grounds of The Claremont Colleges. The station provides facilities and ecological communities for teaching and research opportunities in the biological, environmental, and other sciences to students, faculty, and staff of The Claremont Colleges. The facilities of the station are also made available to members of the community, and to faculty from other academic institutions, with approval of appropriate educational uses.
Student Health and Counseling Services
CUC offers a range of health services to students at the Robert E. Tranquada Student Services Center located at 757 College Way which houses Health Education Outreach, Student Health Services, and Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services.
Stressing the value of preventive medicine, students are encouraged to use the services of the Health Education Outreach program. This program is dedicated to helping students find the most appropriate health and wellness information and support available.
The Student Health Service is open when the colleges are in session. Staffed by two full-time physicians and a team of nurse practitioners and a nurse, services are provided on weekdays and some evening hours. Appointments are free, but there is a charge for walk-ins. Students are also charged for medication, x-rays, and lab tests. After-hours emergency care is available at nearby Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and Doctors Hospital. If a student needs specialized treatment, consultation can be arranged with specialists in all fields. Outside consultation, hospitalization, and surgery are arranged by the health services staff but not financed by the College; payment for these services is the individual student’s responsibility.
Students from The Claremont Colleges have access to counseling and mental health facilities through the Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services, including short-term therapy, group counseling, crisis intervention, and consultation. All counseling services are provided confidentially and are available to any enrolled student at no charge when the Colleges are in session. The staff also conducts workshops and presentations on a variety of topics, including stress management, self-esteem, problems with self-control, interpersonal relationships, gender and diversity issues, etc. Students and faculty may request workshops.
Religious Opportunities
The Interfaith Chaplaincy of The Claremont Colleges at McAlister Center for Religious Activities serves Claremont McKenna College and is staffed by three full-time chaplains from the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant traditions who oversee the multi-faith religious life on campus. The Chaplaincy fosters the spiritual life of the intercollegiate community through cultural and educational events, fellowship, and worship.
At McAlister Center the Buddhist, Catholic, Christian Science, Hindu, Jewish, Latter-Day-Saints, Muslim, Prayers about Gods and Nature (P.A.G.A.N.S.), Protestant, and Unitarian Universalist communities offer events and programs throughout the year. The Center is also available for use by other on-campus religious groups. McAlister Center also houses a meditation chapel, a fireside lounge, a library/conference room, a Hillel Center, and the offices of the chaplains.
The chaplains maintain liaison with local religious institutions and social service agencies, and manage the Community Service Center that links students to volunteer activities in the local area. The chaplains are available for pastoral counseling and spiritual conferences.
Services for Underrepresented Students
The Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA) works to support students of African descent. The office has a special interest in helping students to strengthen their cultural understanding, and to support their social and emotional development. Programs and activities of the office provide academic support through peer mentoring, writing workshops, academic advising, and leadership development. The office also sponsors a variety of cultural programs, academic award ceremonies, and other events that foster personal growth and multicultural awareness throughout the academic year.
The Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Center (CLSA) is an educational support service that enhances the student experience through academic, social, and cultural programs. CLSA offers services and activities that celebrate the history, heritage, and culture of Chicanos and Latinos. CLSA seeks to build community through on-going activities and events designed to bring students together on a five-college basis. The programming provided by CLSA is designed to enrich student cultural identity, promote social awareness, and develop leadership in the college community. Specifically, the new student retreat, Latino heritage month, Día de la Familia, monthly lunches, study breaks, movie series, guest lectures, and César Chávez Commemoration Program help students to network and form bonds of friendship and support. Every new student is mentored through the CLAS sponsor program.
International Place (I-Place), located on the CMC campus and supervised by CMC, is an intercollegiate center that sponsors social activities, educational, and cross-cultural programs, and other programs of interest to both foreign and U.S. students. I-Place sponsors weekly luncheon presentations on international topics, and holds a popular International Festival in the spring. All international students are welcome to use the services offered by I-Place, including a home-stay program for new students.
In addition to these services, the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) of Pomona College provides support services for Asian American students and the general college community through educational programs, cultural events, and a library. Scripps and Pitzer College also offer Asian American resource programs. And the Queer Resource Center (QRC), a 7-college student organization also located on the Pomona campus, offers support, advocacy, and social opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students.
Other Educational Resources
Other affiliated educational resources in the community are the Claremont School of Theology and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. |