Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

A distinctive
feature of social and
cultural life at CMC

 

Students, Faculty, and Staff: 
Please sign up using the “Register for this event” button. This will register you for the reception and meal. 

Alumni and Parents:
Please visit the alumni and parent engagement website to register. 

 

Tue, September 9, 2025
Dinner Program
Hussein Banai

Hussein Banai, associate professor of international studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, will chart the dramatic rise and gradual unraveling of Iran’s regional influence between 2005 and 2025, a period marked by bold strategic expansion and eventual geopolitical recoil, and will examine how Iran leveraged regional instability to project power, only to face coordinated containment efforts by Israel, the U.S., and a shifting regional order. Spanning the 20 years since the Iraq War, Banai explores the interplay of ideology, deterrence, and diplomacy in defining Iran’s fortunes—and what its retreat signals for the future of Middle Eastern geopolitics.

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Hussein Banai is an associate professor of international studies at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington. His research focuses on international relations and political theory, with particular focus on topics in political ideologies, conflict, diplomatic history and practice, and modern Iran and he is currently working on a multi-volume project on the logic and functions of enmity in politics. 

Banai is a distinguished non-resident fellow at the Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania, and research affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. He is the author of several books and peer-reviewed articles on topics in US-Iran relations, Iranian political development, diplomatic theory and practice, human rights, and democratic theory. He currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of International Studies Review

Professor Banai’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies at CMC. 

Photo credit: Emily Wehner

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Wed, September 10, 2025
Dinner Program
Joshua Cohen

Joshua Cohen, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Netanyahus, will speak about fiction and its complicated relationship to history.

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Joshua Cohen is the author of six novels, one collection of short fiction, and one collection of nonfiction. Called "a major American writer" by the New York Times, and "an extraordinary prose stylist, surely one of the most prodigious at work in American fiction today" by the New Yorker, Cohen was awarded Israel’s 2013 Matanel Prize, and in 2017 was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists. The Netanyahus won the 2021 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

After a selected reading from his works, Cohen will engage in a moderated conversation with Leland de la Durantaye, professor of literature at Claremont McKenna College.

Mr. Cohen’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies and the Salvatori Center, both at CMC

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Mon, September 15, 2025
Dinner Program
Mary E. Lovely

The Trump Administration is upending America's post-war role in leading and maintaining a rules-based global trading system. US trade policy is being designed to extract concessions from partners, reduce the trade deficit, and move production onshore. Mary E. Lovely, a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, will examine how are these policy changes might affect the US economy, the design of global value chains, and options for US trading partners.

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Mary E. Lovely is the Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She served as the 2022 Carnegie Chair in US-China Relations with the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Lovely is professor emeritus of economics at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she was the Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar from 2010 to April 2022. She was co-editor of the China Economic Review during 2011–15.

Her current research projects investigate the effect of China's foreign direct investment policies on trade flows and entry mode, strategic reform of US tariffs on China, and recent movements in global supply chains. Lovely earned her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan and a master's degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University.

Lovely is a regular guest on news and radio programs and a frequent commentator on current international and global economic policy.

Dr. Lovely will deliver the 2025-26 McKenna Lecture in International Economics and Trade.

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Tue, September 16, 2025
Lunch Program
Sarah Cannon and Vernon C. Grigg III

It’s all over the news, and it’s coming soon to a ballot box near you! Redistricting is one of the most important politically fraught issues of our moment. In this first of a two-part series, Sarah Cannon, associate professor of mathematics at CMC, in conversation with Vernon C. Grigg III, executive director of the Kravis Lab at CMC, will discuss why our system of government requires congressional districts, who draws them, and how those decisions are made. They will also address the challenges surrounding drawing “fair” maps and the role of the courts when maps are challenged, including gerrymandering. And, importantly, what role does/can math and computer science play in this sensitive, but essential, exercise? 

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Sarah Cannon is an associate professor in the department of mathematical sciences at Claremont McKenna College. Her research focuses on mathematical foundations of Markov chains and random sampling algorithms for problems from discrete geometry, most recently with connections to statistical physics and the mathematics of redistricting.

From 2018-2019, Cannon was an NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, working with Alistair Sinclair. In 2018, she completed her Ph.D. in algorithms, combinatorics, and optimization at Georgia Tech. Her graduate studies were supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, a Simons Award for Graduate Students in Theoretical Computer Science, and a Clare Boothe Luce Outstanding Graduate Fellowship. 

Cannon completed an M.Sc. in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science at the University of Oxford in 2013 and a B.A. in Mathematics at Tufts University in 2012.

Vernon C. Grigg III is the executive director of the Kravis Lab for Civic Leadership and brings to CMC deep experience as a trial lawyer, political actor, and educator. Holding degrees from Yale Law School, the London School of Economics, and the University of Michigan, Grigg has served as CEO & President of Up with People, an international educational nonprofit; as a litigator with clients ranging from government officials to Fortune 100 companies; and as a Managing Assistant District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. He founded and led the Center for Electoral Equity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to voting issues, served on the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa and clerked for the Supreme Court of Israel. He has taught at Golden Gate University School of Law and is a certified Intergroup Dialogue Leader.   

The Civitas Sessions focus on the stuff you need to know before it becomes the stuff you wish you had known…Curated by the Kravis Lab and hosted at the Athenaeum, this lunch series is designed to build real-world civic skills and the knowledge needed to live thoughtful, productive lives as responsible community members and leaders. Each session will deliver practical knowledge and discuss how the subject matter applies to important current issues. 

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Tue, September 16, 2025
Dinner Program
Joseph Saba

Enforcement of International Human Rights Law (IHRL) is under siege—due to weakened institutional capacity, authoritarian resistance, threats to civil society, and shrinking political will. Core values and norms of justice, human dignity, the rule of law, and human rights for which there was a consensus in 1948, are now in question. Yet, wars, forced displacement, state sponsored human rights abuses, and climate change driven natural disasters remind us daily that the debate on IHRL is not abstract. The daily practice of IHRL affects millions of often unseen, unheard individuals, shaping their experiences, prospects, as well as our common security. In this context, Joseph Saba, chairperson of ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) will evaluate what actions can be taken now to maintain human rights protection and resilience.

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Based on his recent firsthand experiences in Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza, Joseph Saba will suggest practical ways and means to reinforce the practice, visibility, and efficacy of International Human Rights Law (IHRL). Drawing on cases of assistance to the displaced and advocacy for the rule of law, he will present examples of resilience and a people-oriented human rights practice. These offer practical strategies, ways and means for dynamic constructive activism that have immediate impact on peoples’ lives.

Saba is currently chairperson of ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid), a non-profit organization that delivered over $200 million in humanitarian and development aid last year to displaced people and vulnerable communities in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, and Jordan. Previously, for thirteen years he was the regional director for the Middle East at the World Bank, leading programs in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank/Gaza, and the GCC states. He co-led drafting the Holst Fund for Palestinians and multilateral trust funds for Afghanistan and Iraq, and co-chaired conferences for Lebanon, Libya, and UN-World Bank Iraq efforts. He resided for four years in Jerusalem and part-time in Beirut for another eight years. Finally, as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago Law School, Saba has designed and instructs a course on rule of law, conflict, and development for the university’s PROLAW program in Rome, Italy.

Before joining the World Bank in 1991, Saba was a partner in Jones Day, for which he established an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, residing there for 4 years. In addition to his law practice, he was a founder and editor of International Executive Reports, which published professional journals focused on law and doing business in the Middle East, East Europe, and East Asia.

Saba has co-authored and edited publications on development practice, donor finance, modalities, and governance reforms. Between graduate and law school, he served three years as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer assigned to the Middle East region, residing for two years in Kuwait.

Saba holds a JD from Yale Law School, an MA in Middle East Studies from Harvard University, and a BA from King’s College (PA).

Mr. Saba’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College.

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Wed, September 17, 2025
Dinner Program
Christine Porath

Incivility is prevalent, and it’s getting worse. In addition to personal discomfort, the tangible costs of incivility are rising too. Christine Porath, professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of “Mastering Community,” “Mastering Civility,” and co-author of “The Cost of Bad Behavior," will discuss the varied ways incivility wrecks performance, affects mental health, and decreases overall personal and societal well-being. By contrast, she will expand on what civility offers us and how to actively and effectively craft a mutually respectful community where people thrive.

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Christine Porath is a professor at Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Previously she was a faculty member at Georgetown University and at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on how to help people and communities thrive. 

Her speaking and consulting clients include Google, United Nations, Microsoft, World Bank, World Health Organization, International Monetary Fund, Genentech, Ford, Marriott, National Institute of Health, Cleveland Clinic, AT&T, 3M, Verizon, Southwest, Salesforce, MD Anderson, Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, and National Security Agency. 

Porath is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. She has taught in various executive programs at Harvard, Georgetown, and the University of Southern California. 

Before getting her Ph.D., she worked for International Management Group (IMG), a leading sports management and marketing firm. 

Porath received her Ph.D. from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from College of the Holy Cross where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the women’s basketball and soccer teams. 

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Thu, September 18, 2025
Dinner Program
Duncan Scott and Ryan Patel, in conversation

Duncan Scott, senior vice president of Strategic Sourcing & Quality at New Balance and Ryan Patel, William F. Podlich Distinguished Fellow at CMC, will discuss how to lead a brand that is globally recognized and built to last. From navigating factory floors and geopolitical tension to balancing authenticity with innovation, they will explore the real-world decisions and leadership strategies to power a global company.

 

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Duncan Scott is senior vice president of Strategic Sourcing & Quality for New Balance Athletic Shoe, a leading manufacturer of branded athletic footwear, apparel and equipment since 1906. 

Currently based in Boston, Scott started his career in the industry in 1986 and has held global leadership roles in footwear & apparel sourcing and manufacturing in Korea, Taiwan, China, Brazil, and Hong Kong. He was Country Manager of China for Reebok, Head of Social & Environmental Compliance at Adidas, and subsequently Head of Global Footwear Sourcing for Adidas and VP of Sourcing for Sportswear at VF. Scott also served as Head of Latin American Sourcing for adidas, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil before joining New Balance in 2010. 

Scott has been active in corporate social responsibility forums and organizations during his career and has represented New Balance since 2017 in the Industry Summit initiative, a coalition of 13 global brands focused on social and environmental issues. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Global Labor Institute, which drives new conversations about work in global supply chains powered by quantitative research and action. Scott also serves as Vice Chair of the ESG Committee for the World Federation of Sporting Goods

He is a 1981 graduate of Cornell University, where he was an English major in the College of Arts & Sciences and ran for the varsity Cross Country & Track Teams.

Ryan Patel is currently a William F. Podlich Distinguished Fellow at CMC. Patel is an expert in scaling businesses and has served both startups and publicly traded firms. Listed as one of the “Creators to Follow” by LinkedIn Editor in Chief and recognized as a “Top Voice” on Linkedin, Patel is a news commentator Board Director. Patel also hosts "The Moment with Ryan Patel," featuring conversations with top innovators and executives. 

 

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Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

Claremont McKenna College
385 E. Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711