Pomona College

Pomona College (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type"<ref name="Rudolph American university" /> in Southern California. In 1925, it became the founding member of the Claremont Colleges consortium of adjacent, affiliated institutions.

Pomona is a four-year undergraduate institution that Template:If this semester approximately Template:Round studentsTemplate:If this semester. It offers 48 majors in liberal arts disciplines and roughly 650 courses, as well as access to more than 2,000 additional courses at the other Claremont Colleges. Its Template:Convert campus is in a residential community Template:Convert east of downtown Los Angeles, near the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Pomona is considered one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country.<ref name="reputation" /> It has a $Template:Format price endowment Template:As of, making it one of the 10 wealthiest schools in the U.S. on a per student basis. Nearly all students live on campus, and the student body is noted for its racial,<ref name="Opening doors JKCF" />Template:Sfn<ref name="Amplified" /> geographic,Template:Sfn and socioeconomicTemplate:Sfn<ref name="NYT 2017 CAI" /><ref name="Amplified" /> diversity. The college's athletics teams, the Sagehens, compete jointly with Pitzer College in the SCIAC, a Division III conference.

Prominent alumni of Pomona include Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award winners; U.S. Senators, ambassadors, and other federal officials; Pulitzer Prize recipients; billionaire executives; a Nobel Prize laureate; National Academies members; and Olympic athletes.<ref>Please refer to the list of Pomona College people article for prominent alumni references.</ref> The college is a top producer of Fulbright scholars<ref name="Fulbright Chronicle 2007">Template:Cite news</ref> and recipients of other fellowships.

History

Founding era

Sumner Hall and Holmes Hall, Victorian-style buildings

An exterior view of the college in 1907, featuring its two earliest buildings: Sumner Hall (right) and Holmes Hall (left)<ref name="1893 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona College was established as a coeducational and nonsectarian Christian institution on October 14, 1887, amidst a real estate boom and anticipated population influx precipitated by the arrival of a transcontinental railroad to Southern California.Template:Sfn<ref name="1887 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Its founders, a regional group of Congregationalists, sought to create a "college of the New England type", emulating the institutions where many of them had been educated.Template:Sfn<ref name="Rudolph American university">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Classes first began at Ayer Cottage, a rental house in Pomona, California, on September 12, 1888, with a permanent campus planned at Piedmont Mesa four miles north of the city.Template:Sfn<ref name="1888 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> That year, as the real estate bubble burst, making the Piedmont campus financially untenable, the college was offered the site of an unfinished hotel (later renamed Sumner Hall<ref name="1893 timeline" />) in the nearby, recently founded town of Claremont. It moved there<ref name="1888 timeline" /> but kept its name.Template:Sfn<ref name="1906 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn Trustee Charles B. Sumner led the college during its first years, helping hire its first official president, Cyrus G. Baldwin, in 1890.Template:Sfn<ref name="1888 timeline" /><ref name="1890 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> The first graduating class, in 1894, had 11 members.Template:Sfn<ref name="1894 timeline" />

Theodore Roosevelt speaking on platform in front of Pearsons Hall to dense crowd

U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt speaking at Pomona in 1903<ref name="1903 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona suffered through a severe financial crisis during its early years,<ref name="1893 timeline" /><ref name="1894 timeline" /><ref name="1895 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> but raised enough money to add several buildings to its campus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although the first Asian and black students enrolled in 1897<ref name="First Asian student">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and 1900,<ref name="First black graduate">Template:Cite news</ref> respectively, the student body (like most others of the era) remained almost all white throughout this period.<ref name="1894 timeline" /><ref name="TSL black legacies">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hong LAT diversity">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1905, during president George A. Gates' tenure, the college acquired a Template:Convert parcel of land to its east known as the Wash.Template:Sfn<ref name="1905 timeline" /> In 1911, as high schools became more common in the region, the college eliminated its preparatory department, which had taught pre-college level courses.Template:Sfn<ref name="1911 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, it committed to a liberal arts model,<ref name="1912 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> soon after turning its previously separate schools of art and music into departments within the college.Template:Sfn<ref name="1913 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1914, the Phi Beta Kappa honor society established a chapter at the college.<ref name="Phi beta kappa">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Sfn Daily attendance at chapel was mandated until 1921,Template:Sfn<ref name="1921 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and student culture emphasized athleticsTemplate:Sfn<ref name="1900 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and academic class rivalries.<ref name="1947 timeline" />Template:Sfn During World War I, male students were divided into three military companies and a Red Cross unit to assist in the war effort.Template:Sfn<ref name="1916 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1917 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mid-20th century

Soldiers standing in formation in groups on an American football field

Reserve Officers' Training Corps soldiers at Pomona in 1942

Confronted with growing demand in the 1920s, Pomona's fourth president, James A. Blaisdell, considered whether to grow the college into a large university that could acquire additional resources or remain a small institution capable of providing a more intimate educational experience. Seeking both, he pursued an alternative path inspired by the collegiate university model he observed at Oxford, envisioning a group of independent colleges sharing centralized resources such as a library.Template:Sfn<ref name="DB Blaisdell">Template:Cite news</ref> On October 14, 1925, Pomona's 38th anniversary, the college founded the Claremont Colleges consortium.Template:Sfn<ref name="Brief">Template:Cite web</ref> Construction of the Clark dormitories on North Campus (then the men's campus) began in 1929, a reflection of president Charles Edmunds' prioritization of the college's residential life.Template:Sfn<ref name="1928 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1929 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Edmunds, who had previously served as president of Lingnan University in Guangzhou, China, inspired a growing interest in Asian culture at the college and established its Asian studies program.Template:Sfn<ref name="1928 timeline" />

Pomona's enrollment declined during the Great Depression as students became unable to afford tuition, and its budget was slashed by a quarter.Template:Sfn<ref name="1932 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1934 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> The college reoriented itself toward wartime activities again during World War II,<ref name="1941 timeline" /><ref name="1942 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1944 timeline" /> hosting an Air Force military meteorology program<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Army Specialized Training Program courses in engineering and foreign languages.<ref name="1943 timeline" />Template:Sfn

Postwar transformations

Pomona's longest-serving president, E. Wilson Lyon, guided the college through a transformational and turbulent period from 1941 to 1969.<ref name="1941 timeline" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The college's enrollment rose above 1,000 following the war,<ref name="1947 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn leading to the construction of several residence halls and science facilities.Template:Sfn<ref name="1958 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Its endowment grew steadily, due in part to the introduction in 1942 of a deferred giving fundraising scheme pioneered by Allen Hawley called the Pomona Plan, where participants receive a lifetime annuity in exchange for donating to the college upon their death.<ref name="1944 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The plan's model has since been adopted by many other colleges.<ref name="Pomona Plan">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Pomona Plan book">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="LAT 6">Template:Cite news</ref>

Men marching up the Frary Dining Hall steps carrying handwritten protest signs

Men protesting the opening of Frary Dining Hall to women in 1957<ref name="1957 timeline" />

Lyon made several progressive decisions relating to civil rights, including supporting Japanese-American students during internment<ref name="1942 timeline" /><ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and establishing an exchange program in 1952 with Fisk University, a historically black university in Tennessee.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="1952 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> He and dean of women Jean Walton ended the gender segregation of Pomona's residential life, first with the opening of Frary Dining Hall (then part of the men's campus) to women beginning in 1957,<ref name="1957 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and later with the elimination of parietal rules in the late 1960sTemplate:Sfn and the introduction of co-educational housing in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1968 timeline" /> The student body, influenced by the countercultural revolution, became less socially conservative and more politically engaged in this era.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="1941 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Protesters opposed to the Vietnam War occupied Sumner Hall to obstruct Air Force recruiters in 1968Template:Sfn<ref name="1967 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and forced the cancellation of classes at the end of the spring 1970 semester.<ref name="1970 timeline" />Template:Sfn The college's ethnic diversity also began to increase,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="1969 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and activists successfully pushed the consortium to establish black and Latino studies programs in 1969.<ref name="TSL black legacies" /><ref name="1969 timeline" />Template:Sfn A bomb exploded at the Carnegie Building that February, permanently injuring a secretary; no culprit was ever identified.<ref name="1969 timeline" /><ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

During the tenure of president David Alexander from 1969 to 1991, Pomona gained increased prominence on the national stage.<ref name="LAT Alexander obit">Template:Cite news</ref> The endowment increased ten-fold, enabling the construction and renovation of a number of buildings.<ref name="1969 timeline" /> Several identity-based groups, such as the Pomona College Women's Union (founded in 1984),<ref name="1984 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> were established.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the mid-1980s, out-of-state students began to outnumber in-state students.<ref name="About the College">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1991, the college converted the dormitory basements used by fraternities into lounges, arguing that this created a more equitable distribution of campus space. The move lowered the profile of Greek life on campus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PCM frats" />

21st century

View of the Studio Art Hall, a contemporary gray building consisting of modules unified by an undulating roof, illuminated at dusk

Pomona's Studio Art Hall, completed in 2014, garnered national recognition for its steel-frame design.<ref name="AISC">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Studio Art LA Times review" /><ref name="AR Studio Art Hall" />

In the 2000s, under president David W. Oxtoby, Pomona began placing more emphasis on reducing its environmental impact,<ref name="Courier Oxtoby retirement">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="2008 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> committing in 2003 to obtaining LEED certifications for new buildings<ref name="Sustainability timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="2006 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and launching various sustainability initiatives.<ref name="Courier Oxtoby retirement" /><ref name="Sustainability timeline"/> The college also entered partnerships with several college access groups (including the Posse Foundation in 2004 and QuestBridge in 2005<ref name="White House commitments">Template:Cite web</ref>) and committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of students through grants rather than loans in 2008.<ref name="Bloomberg no loan">Template:Cite news</ref> These efforts, combined with Pomona's previously instituted<ref name="TSL need-blind">Template:Cite news</ref> need-blind admission policy, resulted in increased enrollment of low-income and racial minority students.<ref name="Oxtoby black students">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Historical enrollment trends" />

In 2008, it was discovered that Pomona's alma mater may have been originally written to be sung as the ensemble finale to a student-produced blackface minstrel show performed on campus in 1910. The college stopped singing it at convocation and commencement, alienating some alumni.<ref name="2008 timeline" /><ref name="LA Times alma mater">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PCM alma mater">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Pomona requested proof of legal residency from employees amid a unionization drive by dining hall workers in 2011.<ref name="2011 firings">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="2018 firings retrospective">Template:Cite news</ref> Seventeen workers who were unable to provide documentation were fired, drawing national media attention and sparking criticism from activists;<ref name="2011 firings" /><ref name="Firing">Template:Cite news</ref> the dining hall staff voted to unionize in 2013.<ref name="Unionize">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Unionization L.A. Times">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A rebranding initiative that year sought to emphasize students' passion and drive, angering students who thought it would lead to a more stressful culture.<ref name="Rebranding">Template:Cite news</ref> Several protests in the 2010s criticized the college's handling of sexual assault,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> leading to various reforms.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2017,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> G. Gabrielle Starr became Pomona's tenth president; she is the first woman and first African American to hold the office.<ref name="Starr Inauguration TSL">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="LA Times Starr">Template:Cite news</ref> From March 2020 through the spring 2021 semester, the college switched to online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="TSL go home">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2024, the college had 19 demonstrators occupying Starr's office to urge the college to divest from Israel arrested.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This prompted condemnations and protests,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including an encampment on Marston Quad that forced the college to move its commencement off-campus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Campus

Pathway on North Campus that leads to Frary Dining Hall entrance in distance

Pomona's buildings are connected via a network of visual axes, such as this one on North Campus.<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" />

Pomona's Template:Convert campus is in Claremont, California, an affluent suburban residential community<ref name="Leafy spotlight">Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Convert east of downtown Los Angeles.<ref name="Brief" /> It is directly northwest of the Claremont Village (the city's downtown commercial district) and directly south of the other contiguous Claremont Colleges.<ref name="Claremont maps">Template:Cite web</ref> The area has a Mediterranean climate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and consists of a gentle slope from the alluvial fan of San Antonio Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains to the north.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" />

In its early years, Pomona quickly expanded from its initial home in Sumner Hall, constructing several buildings to accommodate its growing enrollment and ambitions.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Starting in 1908, development of the campus was guided by master plans from architect Myron Hunt, who envisioned a central quadrangle flanked by buildings connected via visual axes.<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" /> In 1923, landscape architect Ralph Cornell expanded on Hunt's plans, envisioning a "college in a garden" defined by native Southern California vegetation<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan">Template:Cite web</ref> but incorporating global influences in the tradition of the acclimatization movement.<ref name="CGLHS Eden" /><ref name="Trees PCM">Template:Cite magazine</ref> President James Blaisdell's decision to purchase undeveloped land around Pomona while it was still available later gave the college room to grow and found the consortium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many of the earlier buildings were constructed in the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles, with stucco walls and red terracotta tile roofs.<ref name="1916 timeline" /> Other and later construction incorporated elements of neoclassical, Victorian, Italian Romanesque, modern, and postmodern styles.<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" /> As a result, the present campus features a blend of architectural styles.<ref name="Campus love letter" /> Most buildings are three or fewer stories in height,<ref name="Map" /> and are designed to facilitate both indoor and outdoor use.<ref name="Campus love letter">Template:Cite news</ref>

Dialynas and Sontag residence halls, contemporary buildings

Dialynas and Sontag residence halls, built 2011, are LEED Platinum certified.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Template:Panorama link

The campus consists of 88 facilities Template:As of,<ref name="Campus facilities catalog">Template:Cite web</ref> including 70 addressed buildings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is bounded by First Street on the south, Mills and Amherst Avenues on the east, Eighth Street on the north, and Harvard Avenue on the west.<ref name="Map">Template:Cite web</ref> It is informally divided into North Campus and South Campus by Sixth Street,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with most academic buildings in the western half and a naturalistic area known as the Wash in the east.<ref name="Map" /> It has been featured in numerous films and television shows, often standing in for other schools.<ref name="Film PCM">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Sfn

Pomona has undertaken initiatives to make its campus more sustainable, including requiring that all new construction be built to LEED Gold standards,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> replacing turf with drought-tolerant landscaping,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and committing to achieving carbon neutrality without the aid of purchased carbon credits by 2030.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education gave the college a gold rating in its 2018 Sustainable Campus Index.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

South Campus

Circular fountain with paths radiating out to academic buildings

The Stanley Academic Quadrangle is home to many of Pomona's humanities departments.
Template:Panorama link

South Campus consists of mostly first-year and second-year housing and academic buildings for the social sciences, arts, and humanities.<ref name="Map" />

A row of four residence halls is south of Bonita Avenue, with Frank Dining Hall at the eastern end.<ref name="Map" /> Sumner Hall, the home of admissions and several other administrative departments, is to the north of the dormitories.<ref name="Map" /> Oldenborg Center, a foreign-language housing option that includes a foreign-language dining hall, is across from Sumner.<ref name="Oldenborg about">Template:Cite web</ref>

Green lawn framed by California sycamore trees with early autumn foliage

Marston Quadrangle forms the center of Pomona's campus.
Template:Panorama link

South Campus has several arts buildings and performance venues. Bridges Auditorium ("Big Bridges") is used for concerts and speakers and has a capacity of 2,500.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn Bridges Hall of Music ("Little Bridges") is a concert hall with seating for 550.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the western edge of campus is the Benton Museum of Art, which has a collection of approximately Template:Round Template:Wikidata including Italian Renaissance panel paintings, indigenous American art and artifacts, and American and European prints, drawings, and photographs.<ref name="Collections">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Newest LA Times">Template:Cite news</ref> The Seaver Theatre Complex has a 335-seat thrust stage theater and 125-seat black box theater, among other facilities.<ref name="Seaver Theatre official">Template:Cite web</ref> The Studio Art Hall garnered national recognition for its steel-frame design when it was completed in 2014.<ref name="AISC" /><ref name="Studio Art LA Times review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="AR Studio Art Hall">Template:Cite news</ref>

Pomona's main social science and humanities buildings are located west of College Avenue. They include the Carnegie Building, a neoclassical structure built in 1908 as a Carnegie library.<ref name="Map" /><ref name="1908 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Several historic Victorian houses line the southern portion of the avenue, including the Queen Anne–style Helen Goodwin Renwick House, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:AnchorMarston Quadrangle, a Template:Convert lawn framed by California sycamore and coastal redwood trees, serves as a central artery for the campus, anchored by Carnegie on the west and Bridges Auditorium on the east.<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" /> To its north is Alexander Hall, the college's central administration building,<ref name="Map" /> and the Smith Campus Center (SCC), home to many student services and communal spaces.<ref name="SCC">Template:Cite web</ref> East of the SCC is the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness (Pomona's primary indoor athletics and recreation facility) and Smiley Hall dormitory, built in 1908.<ref name="Map" />

Template:Anchor<section begin="gates"/>

The Pomona College gates

The college gates historically marked the northern edge of Pomona's campus.

At the intersection of Sixth Street and College Avenue are the college gates, built in 1914, which mark the historical northern edge of the campus. They bear two quotes from President Blaisdell. On the north is "let only the eager, thoughtful and reverent enter here", and on the south is "They only are loyal to this college who departing bear their added riches in trust for mankind". Per campus tradition, enrolling students walk south through the gates during orientation and seniors walk north through them shortly before graduation.<ref name="1914 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="TSL Through the Gates">Template:Cite news</ref><section end="gates"/>

Template:AnchorThe less-developed Template:Convert<ref name="Pomona 2015 Master Plan" /> eastern portion of the campus is known as the Wash (formally Blanchard Park<ref name="Campus facilities catalog" />),<ref name="1905 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> and contains a large grove of coast live oak trees,<ref name="CGLHS Eden">Template:Cite journal</ref> as well as many of the college's athletics facilities,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> an outdoor amphitheater, an astronomical observatory, and the Pomona College Organic Farm, an experiment in sustainable agriculture.<ref name="Map" />

• Error creating thumbnail:
  Harwood Court
  Template:Panorama link
• Error creating thumbnail:
  Bridges Hall of Music
• Error creating thumbnail:
  Bridges Auditorium
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  The Carnegie Building
• Error creating thumbnail:
  The Wash
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  Path to Marston Quad
• Mason Hall
  Mason Hall
• Lebus Court
  Lebus Court
• Crookshank Hall, a Mission Revival building
  Crookshank Hall

North Campus

The Prometheus mural, depicting the Greek Titan gifting fire to humanity

Prometheus mural in Frary Dining Hall

North Campus was designed by architect Sumner Spaulding, and its initial phase was completed in 1930.<ref name="Missing Clarks">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It consists primarily of residential buildings for third- and fourth-year students and academic buildings for the natural sciences.<ref name="Map" />

The academic buildings are located to the west of North College Way. This area includes Dividing the Light (2007), a skyspace by Light and Space artist and alumnus James Turrell.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Turrell LAT">Template:Cite news</ref>

The residence halls include the Clark halls (I, III, and VTemplate:Efn) and several more recent constructions.<ref name="Map" /> The North Campus dining hall, Frary Dining Hall, features a vaulted ceiling and is the location of the murals Prometheus (1930) by José Clemente Orozco, the first Mexican fresco in the U.S.,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Genesis (1960) by Rico Lebrun.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

• Walker Hall
  Walker Hall
• Benches and trees with red autumn foliage in a courtyard
  Norton-Clark III courtyard
• Granite benches and fountain inside the skyspace canopy illuminated blue with an aperture in the center
  Dividing the Light skyspace
• Arcade along Bixby Plaza Template:Panorama link
  Arcade along Bixby Plaza
  Template:Panorama link
• Aerial view of Walker Beach lawn, with the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance
  Walker Beach, looking north

Other facilities

The college owns the Template:Convert Trails Ends Ranch (a wilderness area in the Webb Canyon north of campus),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Trails End Pomona website">Template:Cite web</ref> the Template:Convert Mildred Pitt Ranch in southeastern Monterey County,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Halona Lodge retreat center in Idyllwild, California.<ref name="Halona website">Template:Cite web</ref> The astronomy department built and operates a telescope at the Table Mountain Observatory in Big Pines, California.<ref name="Table Mountain Observatory Pomona website">Template:Cite web</ref>

Along the north side of campus are several joint buildings maintained by The Claremont Colleges Services. {{#section:Claremont Colleges|library holdings}} The consortium also owns the Robert J. Bernard Field Station north of Foothill Boulevard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Organization and administration

Governance

G. Gabrielle Starr, an African American woman, delivering a speech wearing a white-and-black suit and pearl necklace

President G. Gabrielle Starr in 2023

Pomona is governed as a private, nonprofit organization by a board of trustees responsible for overseeing the long-term interests of the college.<ref name="Bylaws">Template:Cite web</ref> The board consists of up to 42 members, most of whom are elected by existing members to four-year terms with a term limit of 12 years.Template:Efn<ref name="Bylaws" /> It is responsible for hiring the college's president (Template:Wikidata since Template:YEARTemplate:Wikidata), approving budgets, setting overarching policies, and various other tasks.<ref name="Bylaws" /> The president, in turn, oversees the college's general operation, assisted by administrative staff and a faculty cabinet.<ref name="Bylaws" /> The college has Template:Wikidata total employees as of the Template:Semester Template:YEAR semester.Template:Wikidata Pomona operates under a shared governance model, in which faculty and students sit on many policymaking committees and have a degree of control over other major decisions.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Campus life catalog">Template:Cite web</ref>

Academic affiliations

Honnold Library

Honnold Library, a shared Claremont Colleges resource

Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges (colloquially "7Cs", for "seven colleges"), a consortium of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges ("5Cs")—Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer—and two graduate schools—Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute. All are located in Claremont. Although each member has individual autonomy and a distinct identity,Template:Sfn there is substantial collaboration through The Claremont Colleges Services (TCCS), a coordinating entity that manages the central library, campus safety services, health services, and other resources.<ref name="TCCS home">Template:Cite web</ref> Overall, the 7Cs have been praised by higher education experts for their close cooperation,<ref name="Tough CHE">Template:Cite news</ref> although there have been occasional tensions.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Sfn Pomona is the largest undergraduateTemplate:Sfn and wealthiest member.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pomona is a member of several other consortia of selective colleges, including the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Oberlin Group,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Annapolis Group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, which reaffirmed its status in 2021 with particular praise for its diversity initiatives.<ref name="Reaccreditation">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Accreditation">Template:Cite web</ref>

Finances, costs, and financial aid

Sumner Hall, a Mission Revival building

Pomona's office of financial aid is in Sumner Hall.

Pomona has an endowment of $Template:Format price Template:As of,Template:Wikidata giving it one of the 10 highest endowments per student of any college or university in the U.S.<ref name="endowment per student">Template:Cite report</ref> The college's total assets (including its campus) are valued at $Template:Format price.Template:Wikidata Its operating budget for the Template:YEARTemplate:Nbnd{{#expr:Template:YEAR+1}} academic year Template:If this academic year $Template:Format price,Template:Wikidata of which roughly half Template:If this academic year funded by endowment earnings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2023 fiscal year, 43% of the budget was allocated to instruction, 2% to research, 1% to public service, 13% to academic support, 17% to student services, and 24% to institutional support.<ref name="IPEDS file">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Update after In 2024, Fitch Ratings gave the college a AAA bond credit rating, its highest rating, reflecting an "extremely strong financial profile".<ref name="Fitch rating">Template:Cite news</ref>

For the Template:YEARTemplate:Nbnd{{#expr:Template:YEAR+1}} academic year, Pomona charged a tuition fee of Template:US$,Template:Wikidata with a total estimated on-campus cost of attendance {{#ifeq:Template:YEAR|Template:YEAR||in Template:YEAR}} of Template:US$.Template:Wikidata In 2024Template:Nbnd2025, 55% of students received a financial aid package, with an average award of $67,027, including 42% of international students, who received an average award of $79,064.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> The college meets the full demonstrated need of all admitted students, including international students,<ref name="International FAQ">Template:Cite web</ref> through grants rather than loans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It does not offer merit awards or athletic scholarships.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" />

Academics and programs

Bridges Hall of Music interior, with elaborate wood paneling and a pipe organ

Bridges Hall of Music hosts a variety of performances by the college's musical ensembles.

Pomona offers instruction in the liberal arts disciplines and awards the Bachelor of Arts degree.<ref name="Academics at Pomona">Template:Cite web</ref> The college operates on a semester system,<ref name="1902 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> with a normal course load of four full-credit classes per semester.<ref name="Enrollment Policies">Template:Cite web</ref> 32 credits and a C average GPA are needed to graduate, along with the requirements of a major, a first-year critical inquiry seminar, at least one course in each of six "breadth of study" areas,Template:Efn proficiency in a foreign language, two physical education courses, a writing-intensive course, a speaking-intensive course, and an "analyzing difference" course (typically examining a type of structural inequality).<ref name="Degree requirements">Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona offers 48 majors,<ref name="Academics at Pomona" /> most of which also have a corresponding minor.Template:Efn<ref name="Majors and Minors">Template:Cite web</ref> For the 2023 graduation cohort, 21% of students majored in the arts and humanities, 39% in the natural sciences, 24% in the social sciences, and 16% in interdisciplinary fields.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 19% of students completed a double major, 29% completed a minor, and 2% completed multiple minors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college does not permit majoring in pre-professional disciplines such as medicine or law but offers academic advising for those areas<ref name="Academic Life">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Pre-Professional Education">Template:Cite web</ref> and 3‑2 engineering programs with California Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, and Washington University in St. Louis.<ref name="Cooperative Exchange Programs">Template:Cite web</ref>

Courses

Individually, Pomona offers approximately 650 courses per semester.<ref name="Fact Sheet">Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, students may take a significant portionTemplate:Efn of their courses at the other Claremont Colleges, enabling access to approximately 2,700 courses total.<ref name="Enrollment Policies" /> The academic calendars and registration procedures across the colleges are synchronized and consolidated,<ref name="The Claremont Colleges">Template:Cite web</ref> and there are no additional fees for cross-enrollment.<ref name="About the College" /> Students may also create independent study courses evaluated by faculty mentors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Contemporary interior hallway and lounge in Estella Laboratory

Estella Laboratory, opened in 2015, houses Pomona's physics, astronomy, and math programs.

All classes at Pomona are taught by professors (as opposed to teaching assistants).<ref name="Curriculum">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn The average class size is 15;<ref name="Fact Sheet" /> for the fall 2024 semester, 91% of traditional coursesTemplate:Efn had under 30 students, and only four courses had 50 or more students.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> The college employs Template:Wikidata faculty members as of the Template:Semester Template:YEAR semester,Template:Wikidata approximately four-fifths of whom are full-time,<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> resulting in a Template:Ratio ratio of students to full-time equivalent professors.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> Among full-time faculty, 38% are members of racial minority groups, 51% are women, and 96% have a doctorate or other terminal degree in their field.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> Students and professors often form close relationships,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and the college provides faculty with free meals to encourage them to eat with students.<ref name="Campus life catalog" /> Semesters end with a week-long final examination period preceded by two reading days.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college operates several resource centers to help students develop academic skills in quantitative tasks,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> writing,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and foreign languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Research, study abroad, and professional development

More than half of Pomona students conduct research with faculty.<ref name="Fast Facts" /><ref name="Research">Template:Cite web</ref> The college sponsors an annual Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), in which more than 200 students are paid a stipend of up to $5,600 to conduct research with professors or pursue independent research projects with professorial mentorship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Pomona College Humanities Studio, established in 2018, supports research in the humanities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pomona is home to the Pacific Basin Institute, a research institute that studies issues pertaining to the Pacific Rim.<ref name="PBI about">Template:Cite web</ref> {{#section:Claremont Colleges|Hive}}

Approximately half of Pomona students study abroad.<ref name="Fast Facts">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, the college offers 68 pre-approved programs in 37 countries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Study-away programs are available for Washington, D.C., Silicon Valley, and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, and semester exchanges are offered at Colby College, Spelman College, and Swarthmore College.<ref name="Cooperative Exchange Programs" />

Alexander Hall exterior, showing the entrance to the Career Development Office

Pomona's Career Development Office is in Alexander Hall.

The Pomona College Career Development Office (CDO) provides students and alumni with career advising, networking, and other pre-professional opportunities. It runs the Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP), which provides stipends for completing unpaid or underpaid internships during the semester or summer; more than 250 students participate annually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The office connects students with alumni for networking and mentoring via the Sagehen Connect platform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the 2015Template:Nbnd2016 academic year, 175 employers hosted on-site informational events at the Claremont Colleges and 265 unique organizations were represented in 9 career fairs.<ref name="CareerReport">Template:Cite web</ref>

Outcomes

Pomona alumni eating on Marston Quad at round blue tables with plastic chairs under a translucent tarp with string lights

Dinner at a Pomona alumni weekend

For the {{#expr:Template:YEAR-1}} entering class, Template:Percent of students returned for their second year,Template:Wikidata giving Pomona one of the highest retention rates of any college or university in the U.S.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the Template:YEAR entering class, Template:Percent of students graduated within four years (among the highest rate of any U.S. college or university<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>) and {{#ifeq:Template:YEAR|Template:YEAR||in Template:YEAR}} Template:Percent graduated within six years.Template:Wikidata

Within 10 years, 81% of Pomona graduates attend graduate or professional school, according to a 2017 alumni survey.<ref name="Fast Facts" /> The college ranked 11th among all U.S. colleges and universities for doctorates awarded to alumni per capita, according to data collected by the National Science Foundation for 2013 to 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The top destinations between 2009 and 2018 (in order) were the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; the University of Southern California; and Stanford University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A 2025 analysis of the schools that send the most students per capita to the highest-ranked U.S. medical, business, and law schools placed Pomona 17th for medical schools,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 22nd for business schools,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and 14th for law schools.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Update after

The top industries for graduates are technology; education; consulting and professional services; finance; government, law, and politics; arts, entertainment, and media; healthcare and social services; nonprofits; and research.<ref name="After Pomona">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pomona alumni earn a median early career salary of $73,700 and a median mid-career salary of $146,400, according to 2023 survey data from compensation analytics company PayScale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona ranks among the top producers of recipients of various competitive postgraduate fellowships, including the Churchill Scholarship,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fulbright Program,<ref name="Fulbright Chronicle 2007" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Goldwater Scholarship,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Marshall Scholarship,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Rhodes Scholarship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reputation and rankings

Pomona is considered one of the most prestigious in the country.<section begin=reputation reference/><ref name="reputation">Characterizations of the reputation of Pomona College:

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite news
• Template:Harvnb
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</ref><section end=reputation reference/> However, among the broader public, it has less name recognition than many larger schools.Template:Sfn<ref name="Forbes 2015 ABC">Template:Cite news</ref>

The 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking places Pomona tied for fifth in the national liberal arts colleges category out of 211 colleges.<ref name="Rankings_USNWR_LA" />

Pomona has rated similarly in other college rankings.Template:Sfn In 2015, the Forbes ranking placed it first among all colleges and universities in the U.S., drawing media attention.<ref>Media coverage:

• Template:Cite news
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</ref>

People

Admissions

Pomona offers three routes for students to apply: the Common Application, the QuestBridge application, and the Coalition Application. Applicants who want an earlier, binding decision can apply via early decision I or II; others apply through regular decision.<ref name="Application overview">Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, the college enrolls two 10-student<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Posse Foundation cohorts, from Chicago and Miami, in each class.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona considers various factors in its admissions process, placing greatest importance on course rigor, class rank, GPA, application essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent, and character. Test scores, first generation status, geographic residence, volunteer work, and work experience are considered. Alumni relationships, religious affiliation, and level of interest are not considered.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> Admission is need-blind for students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, DACA recipients, undocumented, or graduates of a U.S. high school, and need-aware for international students.<ref name="International FAQ" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college is part of many coalitions and initiatives targeted at recruiting underrepresented demographics.<ref name="White House commitments" /><ref name="NYT affirmative action">Template:Cite news</ref>

The college admitted Template:Percentage of applicants for the Template:YEAR entering class{{#ifeq:Template:YEAR|Template:YEAR|,Template:Wikidata Template:Percentage of whom|;Template:Wikidata in Template:YEAR, Template:Percentage of admitted applicants}} chose to enroll.Template:Wikidata The number of transfer applicants admitted has varied by year; in 2024, Pomona admitted 44 of 509 applicants (8.6%).<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" />

Student body

Template:As of, Pomona's student body Template:If this semester of Template:Wikidata degree-seeking undergraduate students and a token number of non–degree seeking students.Template:Wikidata Compared to its closest liberal arts peers, Pomona has been characterized as laid back, academically oriented, mildly quirky, and politically liberal.Template:Sfn

The student body is roughly evenly split between men and women,Template:Wikidata and 91% of students are under 22 years old.<ref name="College Factual Diversity">Template:Cite web</ref> Approximately 65% of domestic students are non-white and 14% of students are international,<ref name="Registrar student body spring 2025" /> making Pomona one of the most racially and ethnically diverse colleges in the U.S.<ref name="Opening doors JKCF">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Niche diverse">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Diversity Singapore">Template:Cite book</ref> The geographic origins of the student body are also diverse,Template:Sfn<ref name="College Factual Diversity" /> with all 50 U.S. states, the major U.S. territories, and more than 60 foreign countries represented.<ref name="Accreditation report">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Who goes">Template:Cite web</ref> Students from California make up 31%, with sizable concentrations from the other western states.<ref name="Who goes" /> The median family income of students was $166,500 Template:As of, with 52% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 22% from the bottom 60%.<ref name="NYT mobility index">Template:Cite news</ref> The college has been increasing its enrollment of low-income students since the early 2000s,<ref name="Oxtoby black students" /><ref name="Historical enrollment trends">Template:Cite web</ref> and was ranked second among all private institutions and eighth among all institutions in The New York TimesTemplate:' 2017 College Access Index, a measure of economic diversity.<ref name="NYT 2017 CAI">Template:Cite news</ref> Various religious and spiritual beliefs are represented among students, with many leaning secular.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Among students in the 2024 entering class who submitted test scores, the middle 50% scored 740Template:Nbnd770 on the SAT evidence-based reading and writing section, 750Template:Nbnd790 on the SAT math section, and 33Template:Nbnd35 on the ACT.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" /> Among students with an official high school class rank, 90% ranked in the top tenth and 99% ranked in the top quarter.<ref name="CDS 2024–2025" />

Noted alumni and faculty

Alumni

scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" |Name	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" data-sort-type="isoDate" |Class	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" class="unsortable" |Notability	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" class="unsortable" |Template:Reference heading
Template:Sortname	1894	Anthropologist, educator	<ref name="1894 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1920	Chinese social scientist	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1928	Westerns film actor	<ref name="1928 timeline" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:01932‡	Avant-garde composer	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1930 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1933	Film actor	<ref name="1933 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:01936‡	U.S. senator (Template:USpolabbr)	<ref name="1936 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1937	World War II ace pilot	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1938	Choir conductor	<ref name="1938 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:01943‡	Stop motion animator	<ref name="1943 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1951	Disney executive	<ref name="1951 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1956	Film actor, singer	<ref name="1956 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1956	New Hollywood screenwriter	<ref name="1956 timeline" />
Template:Sortname	1958	Outlaw country singer	<ref name="1958 timeline" />
Template:Sortname	1965	Light and Space artist	<ref name="1965 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Turrell LAT" />
Template:Sortname	1968	Civil rights activist	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1968 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	1970	The New York Times editor	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="1970 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:01974‡	Self-help author, activist	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1985	Biochemist, Nobel laureate	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1994	U.S. senator (Template:USpolabbr)	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
colspan="4" style="Template:NCAA secondary color cell; text-align:center;" |‡ Did not graduate from Pomona

Faculty

scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" | Name	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" | Active tenure	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" class="unsortable" | Notability	scope="col" style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle; color: white;" class="unsortable" | Template:Reference heading
Template:Sortname	1957–2014	Kabuki scholar	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1960s	U.S. ambassador	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Circa	Cultural critic	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1974–2021	Jazz musician	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Circa	Journalist	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1979–1988	Basketball coach	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	1983–present	Historian	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	2002–2008	Essayist, novelist	<ref name="2008 timeline" />
Template:Sortname	2006–2015	Poet	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Sortname	2011–present	Novelist	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Sortname	2013–2015	U.S. ambassador	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Student life

Residential life

Room in Dialynas Hall with sofas, a coffee table, a refrigerator, and plants. There is light streaming through two open windows, a warm earth-toned color palette, and an exposed concrete column.

Common room in a Dialynas Hall suite
Template:Panorama link

Pomona is a residential campus, and nearly all students live on campus for all four years in one of the college's sixteen residence halls.<ref name="Residence halls">Template:Cite web</ref> All first-year students live on South Campus, and most third- and fourth-year students live on North Campus.<ref name="Residence halls" /> Housing is offered in various configurations, including singles, one-room or two-room doubles, and "friendship suites" consisting of a cluster of rooms, often around a central common area.<ref name="Residence halls" /> All incoming students are placed into a sponsor group, with ten to twenty peers and two or three upper-class "sponsors"<ref name="Voices sponsor groups">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sponsor groups official">Template:Cite web</ref> tasked with easing the transition to college life but not enforcing rules (a duty given to resident advisors).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Not equipped TSL">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Atlantic">Template:Cite news</ref> Sponsor groups often share activities such as "fountaining", a tradition in which students are thrown into a campus fountain on their birthday.<ref name="Fountaining steps">Template:Cite news</ref> The program dates back to 1927 for women and was expanded in 1950 to include men.<ref name="1927 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="1950 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona's social scene is intertwined with that of the other Template:Abbr, with many activities and events shared between the colleges.Template:Sfn The college's alcohol policies are aimed at encouraging responsible consumption and include a strict ban of hard liquor on South Campus.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Dedicated substance-free housing is also offered.<ref name="Residence halls" /> Overall, drinking culture is present but does not dominate over other elements of campus life,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn nor does athletics culture.<ref name="Amplified">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Violations of the student code are typically handled by the student-run Judicial Council, known as "J-Board".<ref name="Student code">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Interior of Frary Dining Hall

Frary Dining Hall on North Campus is the largest of Pomona's three dining halls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Panorama link

Pomona's dining services are run in house.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All on-campus students are required to have a meal plan,<ref name="Dining policies">Template:Cite web</ref> which can be used at any of the Claremont Colleges' seven buffet-style dining halls.Template:Efn The menus emphasize sustainable and healthy options, and the food quality is generally praised.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Every night Sunday through Wednesday, Frary Dining Hall opens for a late-night snack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Meal plans also include "Flex Dollars" usable at the various campus eateries, including the Coop Fountain, Coop Store, and sit-down Café 47 in the Template:Abbr.<ref name="Dining on campus">Template:Cite web</ref>

Campus organizations

Some extracurricular organizations at Pomona are specific to the college, whereas others are open to students at all of the Claremont Colleges.Template:Sfn In total, there are nearly 300 clubs and organizations across the Template:Abbr.<ref name="5C clubs Engage">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) is Pomona's official student government.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Composed of elected representatives and appointed committee members, ASPC distributes funding for clubs and organizations, represents the student body in discussions with the administration, runs student programming (such as the Yule Ball dance<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ski-Beach Day<ref name="PEC Engage">Template:Cite web</ref>) through the Pomona Events Committee (PEC), and provides various student services such as an airport rideshare program.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ASPC positions">Template:Cite web</ref>

{{#section:Claremont Colleges|Media}} Pomona's yearbook, Metate, was founded in 1894 and discontinued in 2012.<ref name="Metate">Template:Cite news</ref> The college's official magazine, Pomona College Magazine, is published three times per year by the communications office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona has numerous clubs or support offices which provide resources and mentoring programs for students with particular identities, including female, non-white, Asian, South Asian, Latino, black, indigenous, multi-ethnic or multi-racial, international, queer, religious, and undocumented or Template:Abbr recipient students.Template:Efn<ref name="5C clubs Engage" /><ref name="Diversity resources">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The college's first-generation and low-income community, FLI Scholars, has more than 200 members.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Campus Advocates and EmPOWER Center support survivors of sexual violence and work to promote consent culture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

{{#section:Claremont Colleges|OTL}}

The Pomona Student Union (PSU) facilitates the discussion of political and social issues on campus by hosting discussions, panels, and debates with prominent speakers holding diverse viewpoints.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other speech and debate organizations include a mock trial team, model UN team, and debate union.Template:Sfn<ref name="5C clubs Engage" /> Pomona's secret society, Mufti, is known for gluing small sheets of paper around campus with cryptic puns offering social commentary on campus happenings.<ref name="Mufti Pomona">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Mufti hidden">Template:Cite podcast</ref>

{{#section:Claremont Colleges|Performance groups}}

Pomona's music department manages several ensembles, including an orchestra, band, choir, glee club, jazz ensemble, and Balinese gamelan ensemble.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All students can receive free private music lessons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{#section:Claremont Colleges|A capella}}

Group photo of four Pomona students posing next to a tree sapling in Sheldon Arleta Park

Students on Alternabreak, a week-long community engagement trip held over spring break, care for trees in a Los Angeles park.

Template:AnchorThe Draper Center for Community Partnerships, established in 2009, coordinates Pomona's various community engagement programs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These include mentoring for local youth communities, English tutoring for Pomona staff, and volunteering trips over spring break.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It also operates the Pomona Academy for Youth Success (PAYS), a three-year pre-college summer program for local low-income and first-generation students of color.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Pomona has two remaining local Greek letter organizations, Sigma Tau and Kappa Delta, both of which are co-educational.<ref name="TSL frats">Template:Cite news</ref> Neither have special housing, and Greek life is not considered a major part of the social scene on campus the way it is at many other U.S. colleges.Template:Sfn<ref name="TSL frats" /><ref name="PCM frats">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Traditions

Forty-seven reverence

Ramp descending toward Bixby Plaza, with the Smith Clock Tower at right

The Smith Clock Tower (right) has been set up to chime on the 47th minute of the hour.

Other traditions

As part of Pomona's 10-day orientation, incoming students spend four days off campus completing an "Orientation Adventure" or "OA" trip. The OA program began in 1995, and is one of the oldest outdoor orientation programs in the U.S.<ref name="OA Pomona">Template:Cite web</ref>

Every spring, the college hosts "Ski-Beach Day", in which students visit a ski resort in the morning and then head to the beach after lunch. The tradition dates back to an annual mountain picnic established in 1891.<ref name="1891 timeline">Template:Cite news</ref>

Since the 1970s, Pomona has used a cinder block flood barrier along the northern edge of its campus, Walker Wall, as a free speech wall.<ref name="1972 timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> Over the years, provocative postings on the wall have spawned numerous controversies.<ref name="NYT Walker Wall">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="LA Times noose">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Transportation

A westbound train at Claremont station in 2025

Claremont's train station is directly south of campus.

Pomona's campus is located immediately north of Claremont station,<ref name="Claremont maps" /> where the Metrolink San Bernardino Line train provides regular service to Los Angeles Union Station (the city's main transit hub)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Foothill Transit bus system connects to cities in the San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Valley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Pomona's "Green Bikes" program maintains a fleet of more than 300 bicycles that are rented free to students each semester.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Non-first-year students are allowed to park on campus after registering their vehicle.<ref name="Campus safety handbook">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The college has several Zipcar vehicles on campus that may be rented and owns vehicles that can be checked out for club and extracurricular purposes. Template:Abbr and Template:Abbr off-campus events are usually served with the college's "Sagecoach" passenger bus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Athletics

Template:Main {{#section:Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens|table}}

Pomona-Pitzer football game on Merritt Field

A Pomona-Pitzer football game

Pomona's varsity athletics teams compete jointly with Pitzer College as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.<ref name="PP landing" /> The 11 women's and 10 men's teams participate in NCAA Division III in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).<ref name="PP landing" /> Pomona-Pitzer's mascot is Cecil the Sagehen, a greater sage-grouse, and its colors are blue and orange.<ref name="Cecil style guide">Template:Cite web</ref> Its main rival is the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas (CMS), the other sports combination of the Claremont Colleges.<ref name="Choosing the right college">Template:Cite book</ref> {{#section:Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens|recent ranking}}

Club and intramural sports are also offered in various areas, such as dodgeball, flag football, and surfing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The physical education department offers a variety of activity classes each semester, such as karate, playground games, geocaching, and social dance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Athletics history

An American football team preparing for a snap on a dirt field

Members of the Pomona football team from the class of 1907

Pomona's first intercollegiate sports teams were formed in 1895.<ref name="Athletics history">Template:Cite web</ref> They competed under several names in the school's early years; the name "Sagehen" first appeared in 1913 and became the sole moniker in 1917.<ref name="Cecil history">Template:Cite web</ref> Pomona was one of the three founding members of the SCIAC in 1914.<ref name="Athletics history" /> In 1946, it joined with Claremont Men's College (which would later be renamed Claremont McKenna College) to compete as Pomona-Claremont.Template:Sfn<ref name="Athletics history" /> The teams separated in 1956, and Pomona's athletics program operated independently until it joined with Pitzer College in 1970.<ref name="Athletics history" />

Bibliography

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External links

• Template:Official website
• Website of The Student Life, the Claremont Colleges newspaper
• Accreditation information at WASC Senior College and University Commission
• Template:College-navigator