CMC In The News

President Hiram Chodosh was interviewed about results of the 2021 College Free Speech Rankings, which placed Claremont McKenna the nation’s No. 1 college for free expression. “At CMC, we respect and engage in robust discussions around diverse viewpoints, including those with which we most strongly disagree,” Chodosh said. “We seek to examine the underlying basis for those disagreements, including any about the proper protections and limitations of free speech. This is how we can learn from disagreements and reach stronger levels of shared understanding. This is how responsible people serve and lead others, not through the sheer exercise of power, but through the power of persuasion.”

The story highlighted CMC’s commitment to free speech noting that dialogue and debate are central to CMC’s culture. The school sponsors The Athenaeum, a public-affairs program that brings a range of speakers to campus to meet with students and discuss important political and cultural issues. It dedicates several pages on its website to affirming and explaining the school’s commitment to free expression. According to the Free Speech Survey, 54 percent of CMC students surveyed felt it was “very” or “extremely” clear that the administration protected free speech on campus,” according to the story.

CMC Profs. Ken Miller and Andy Sinclair appeared on KPCC’s “Air Talk” to discuss the findings of their Rose Institute poll comparing political attitudes in California and New York states leading up to the recall challenge of Governor Gavin Newsom and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation amid a sexual harassment scandal. Both states are large, Democratic-leaning, with a significant divide between urban and rural voters, and governors in trouble with some voters.

LAist also covered the results of the poll.

City Journal interviewed Prof. Michael Fortner, about Black attitudes on crime and policing. Fortner is the author of Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment. “Today, we see a similar gap between what many white experts and liberal elites want for African-Americans and what many black folks want for themselves,” Fortner said. “Last summer, after cities burned in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, elite media, attentive to the claims of Black Lives Matter and radical activists and academics, made it seem as if most African-Americans wanted to abolish the police. While devastated by instances of state violence, most blacks wanted police reform instead of the dismantling of policing agencies.”

Professor Emily Pears appeared on C-SPAN with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood to examine the political debates that surrounded the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

In a Nikkei Asia opinion essay, “China should take steps to reassure its private entrepreneurs” Prof. Minxin Pei wrote that Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for common prosperity is causing “China's entrepreneurs to lose sleep.”

In the run-up to California’s gubernatorial recall election, the Los Angeles Times interviewed Prof. Jack Pitney, who said a recall victory over Larry Elder would be “almost a perfect result for [Gov. Gavin] Newsom in 2022.”

Since the 9/11 attacks, “The sorting of the parties, which was under way in 2001, is now complete,” Prof. Jack Pitney, told The Independent. Pitney added that the party has become far more conservative: “There are no liberals in the Republican Party.”

Sophomore move-in day was covered by NBC News. More than 300 students moved into the dorms after zooming from home for their first year of college. “It feels really surreal to finally be here in person,” said Miller McCraw ’24. “I’m really excited.”

CMC’s move-in day was chronicled by ABC News. "I am absolutely thrilled," said first-year student, Jasmine Tan, of Chicago. Dianna Graves, CMC dean of students, described several precautions, including vaccine and mask requirements, weekly testing, and limits on big gatherings and parties.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education shared the news that Dr. Muriel Poston has joined Claremont McKenna College CMC as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.

In an interview with New York Times about how the wedding business is picking up after a pandemic slump, CMC Economics Professor Jessamyn Schaller said, “My instinct, immediately, is: This is not a marriage boom; this is a wedding boom.”

In an interview with Bloomberg, Prof. Minxin Pei weighed in on how Chinese regulators will punish ride-hailing startup Didi Global after its U.S. initial public offering. “It’s hard to guess what the penalty will be, but I’m sure it will be substantial,” he said.

Prof. Jack Pitney was interviewed by the Washington Examiner about how President Biden should counter anti-vaccine groups to get Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. “Public officials and pro-vaccine groups need to … drive home the point that breakthrough cases make vaccination even more important,” he said.

In his Forbes essay, “Is Bigger Better in Higher Ed? Or Even Cheaper?” Richard Vedder writes: “…in my judgement probably the best learning experience, both for me and my students, was teaching at Claremont McKenna College.” Vedder, an economic historian focusing on higher education, taught economics at CMC and formerly administered Forbes' Best Colleges rankings.

Prof. Jack Pitney was interviewed by the Northern California Record about a judicial decision related to the California gubernatorial recall election.