Claremont McKenna College Announces $140 Million Gift for Campus Expansion

A $140 million gift from Alumnus and Trustee George R. Roberts ’66 will allow Claremont McKenna College to realize its Master Plan and double its campus footprint to over 150 acres.

Roberts’ gift provides funding for infrastructure and leverages further investment by creating matching grants to attract additional donors.

“I hope this gift enables CMC to ensure its place as the college for the future and provides the education and experience to help deserving young people contribute and compete in the world of the future,” said Roberts, who is co-founder and co-executive chairman of the global investment firm KKR & Co.

The gift will build improvements in the central and eastern areas of the CMC campus as envisioned in the CMC Master Plan. This includes 75 acres east of Claremont Boulevard across from the new Robert Day Sciences Center. This new development area is bounded by Foothill Boulevard on the north, Arrow Route on the south, Claremont Boulevard on the west, and Monte Vista Avenue on the east.

This expansion creates the opportunity for CMC to realize all its future academic, social, and residential opportunities. Initiatives supported by the Roberts gift include:

• Development of eight athletic and practice fields, a new aquatics center, golf practice range, and recreational area, as well as a pedestrian bridge across Claremont Boulevard;
• Three pedestrian malls created to encourage interaction, engagement, and public art; and
• Construction of academic and administrative buildings, expanded student apartments, and a Commencement Green.

Reflecting on his selection of Claremont Men’s College in 1962, Roberts said his decision to attend CMC was “one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

To honor Roberts’ gift, the Board of Trustees has designated the entire CMC campus east of Mills Avenue “The Roberts Campus.”

“Throughout its 75 years, CMC has continually endeavored to raise expectations. Whatever plateau we may have reached today, it is not about the hill we just climbed; it is about the next mountain we are about to ascend,” said CMC President Hiram E. Chodosh.

By providing the infrastructure and seed funding, the structure of the Roberts gift encourages other participants at all philanthropic levels to position CMC for continued leadership for generations to come.

“By investing in CMC infrastructure, George is providing leadership that encourages others to follow,” said David G. Mgrublian ’82, Chair of the CMC Board of Trustees. “To my knowledge, no other donor to a liberal arts college has done this. But then again, there also is no other donor like George and no other liberal arts college like CMC.”

Along with support from nearly 11,000 donors at all giving levels, this gift brings the Campaign for CMC: Responsible Leadership to $916 million. The Campaign funds the priorities of the 2019 CMC Strategy Report: honoring our leadership mission, preparing future leaders through integrated sciences, and expanding transformative student opportunities.

“The Campaign is already having an exponential impact on the future trajectory of the College: from new faculty chairs to the Open Academy commitments; from the launch of the Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences to the construction of the Robert Day Sciences Center this summer; from financial and social support for emerging young leaders to take full advantage of the CMC experience, to expanded opportunity, and elevated success for our alumni,” Chodosh said.

“The greatest gift that someone can be given or earned,” Roberts said, “is the gift to be able to help others, which is the recipe for happiness.”