Welcome Message from President Gann

I look forward to an outstanding fall semester, personally pleased to have everyone returning from our various activities over the summer months. I want to provide a few updates about the College and our activities and programs over the summer and this fall.
I first want to extend a special welcome to the incoming Class of 2016 and our new transfer students. By just about every measure, we had our finest admission outcomes in the history of the College. New students are composed of 294 new freshmen, 35 transfer students, and 37 students in the Master's Program in Finance at the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance.
Several new faculty members are joining us in Modern Languages, the Robert Day School, Psychology, History, Keck Science, and Literature. Our tradition of faculty who are engaged teacher-scholars is tied to our success as a leading national liberal arts college, and we have once again worked hard to recruit new professors who will carry on this tradition. We also welcome new coaches for women's tennis and women's basketball who will mentor CMS student-athletes and continue our winning legacy in Division III sports. Finally, we welcome a new Lieutenant Colonel to chair the Department of Military Science and Leadership.
We have also completed reorganizations in the offices of admission and student affairs. Vice President Jeff Huang's portfolio has been expanded to include admission and financial aid to that of student affairs. Georgette DeVeres will serve as our Associate Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. In student affairs, Mary Spellman will have an expanded role as Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students. She will now have supervision of the Center for Civic Engagement and the College's recreational, intramural, and club sports programs.
Under the auspices of the Dean of the Faculty, the Kravis Leadership Institute and the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance are launching a joint initiative this fall to support student entrepreneurship activities at the College. Last spring, CMC student entrepreneurs, interested in both for-profit and non-profit entrepreneurism, approached all three partners to explore the possibility of formalizing a program with a site for innovation and entrepreneurship. As a consequence, a new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been established, and Professor Janet Smith has agreed to lead this new Center. The new Center will house a multi-dimensional program that includes a student club, alumni as advisors and mentors, co-curricular programs, speakers, as well as a hub of innovation located on Mills Avenue.
You will easily notice many of the changes occurring on the CMC campus to benefit students, faculty, and staff. The North Mall has been significantly reconfigured, including a new fountain in Flamson Plaza, and the reflecting pool has been completed at the Kravis Center Living Room. We are now working to revive The Hub as a social center on campus. The Hub makeover will include comfortable new furniture and a new floor plan that has been reconfigured to focus on flexibility and sociability. We hope to see these renovations for The Hub completed by October, allowing our students to have a central place to gather on campus.
Directly across from The Hub, our recently remodeled Athenaeum, often referred to as the "jewel" of The Claremont Colleges, has a spectacular lineup planned for the fall semester, with guests including Hedrick Smith, Tom Daschle, Robert Massie III, Chris Hughes, Anita Hill, Jon Huntsman Jr., and Joseph Lelyveld.
Beyond campus, CMC's new Silicon Valley Program will offer students considering careers in technology full-time internships at technology firms, coupled with two seminar courses and a research paper. The new program, administered by the Robert Day School, is open to all undergraduate students at The Claremont Colleges and truly captures our commitment to real-world experiences for CMC students.
Given everything that will be happening, this promises to be a wonderful fall semester. And, as always when our students are here, CMC will hum with life and energy.
Best wishes to everyone for a very successful and enjoyable fall semester.
Pamela B. Gann
President