This fall I have come back to campus after an energizing and much appreciated sabbatical. I’m looking forward to working with the entire community as we begin this new academic year together.
Sabbatical leave is one of the important ways Pomona encourages great scholarship and, in turn, the exceptional teaching for which we are renowned. It is a gift of time to study intensively and keep the light of learning glowing brightly.
During my sabbatical I had the opportunity to work on my next book, which is about why human beings need beauty. I don’t think that beauty is icing on the cake of human experience; it is part of who we are and how we learn.
Beauty leads us on in our explorations of the world around us. The products of our creativity—from paintings and poems to buildings and even tools—are records of what we have learned about the world and how we have learned it. Our symphonies are explorations of the world of sound; they are products of feeling, too, but they are also markers of collective yearning, loving and living.
It is easy, as a college president, to be fully caught up in pressing day-to-day issues, and I truly love serving the College and our community. I’m glad to be back on campus, living and loving our collective life. But, having an opportunity to focus for a time on my intellectual curiosity connected me closely once again with the heart of Pomona—our commitment to lifelong learning.
Students choose Pomona because they, too, are curious. So many elect to double major because it’s simply too hard to narrow their attention to just one discipline. And our faculty come here because there is no place better to discover, create, imagine and learn alongside each other and our incredible students.
I am grateful to the Board of Trustees and to Bob Gaines, who stepped in as Acting President, for this period of time to once again experience the life of scholarship and strengthen my kinship with our learning community. Bob’s steady, thoughtful and optimistic leadership was wonderful to see. I appreciate so much his willingness to take on the role and the expert way in which he guided the College toward the fulfillment of our mission.
Now, as we begin a new academic year, it is important that we as a community find ways to be a place of calm amidst the winds of discord and division that are currently buffeting our nation and our world. Pomona brings together people with different backgrounds, cultures, worldviews and passions. We have so much to learn from each other, ideas and imaginings that can enrich each of our lives. The key is learning to listen, not just with our ears, but with our hearts and our full attention.
On the first day of orientation I walked, as is tradition, through the gates with our newest students. When I met with them later in our beautiful Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness, I encouraged them to look around at their classmates. These are the people, I reminded them, who will become their teammates and friends, not just for now, but perhaps for life. I encouraged them to pay attention to and care for each other on the journey they will share at Pomona. I ended with a quote from Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart that I think is apt for us all: “We’re not passengers on Spaceship Earth,” he said. “We’re the crew.” (And then, of course, I said it again in Klingon.) Whatever languages we speak, whatever creeds we hold dear, and wherever we go, we Sagehens will shape our future together, and that makes me very proud.
Pomona College has been making an outsized contribution to Spaceship Earth for more than 100 years because of the strength of our community. I eagerly anticipate building on that in the year ahead.
—G. Gabrielle Starr
President