Berryman Pledges $10 Million Legacy Gift
Pomona College alumna Sue E. Berryman ’59 has pledged $10 million to establish six endowed funds for the areas of humanities, music, scholarships and faculty innovation. Berryman comes from an engaged Sagehen family that includes her late mother, father and aunt.
Berryman earned a doctorate in political economy from Johns Hopkins University before pursuing a range of roles at Harvard Business School, RAND Corporation, Columbia University and the World Bank. As director of Columbia’s Institute on Education and the Economy, she testified before state governors and Senate committees on the economy and education policy. She also traveled the globe with the World Bank to help countries address structural problems in their education systems.
In honor of her mother, the Frances Bowers Berryman ’30 Fund for Humanities Study will help fund programming in “common reads” books, visits to arts and cultural institutions, and alternative spring break experiences. Two new music-minded funds pay tribute to her father: the John Jordan Berryman ’28 Funds for the Glee Club and Musical Instruments will support club performances/travel and instrument acquisition/maintenance, respectively.
Berryman also established two funds for her aunt: the Ellen Evelyn Bowers ’31 Scholarship Fund and Global Student Haven Outreach Fund, which will support scholarships for students with financial need and international students displaced by global crises and natural disasters. Lastly, the Sue Ellen Berryman ’59 Presidential Innovation Fund will support broader initiatives across Pomona’s educational mission, including interdisciplinary research.