Originals: The Campaign for Pomona College

When Pomona College was founded nearly 140 years ago, our founders imagined something new: a college in a garden, rooted in the traditions of the liberal arts but alive to the possibilities of a changing world. That willingness to imagine what might be possible has carried Pomona forward ever since, from President James Blaisdell’s audacious vision for a community of distinctive colleges to our continuing commitment to finding extraordinary human talent wherever it may be.

Original thinking is our inheritance. At Pomona, students learn to think differently and broadly, to take intellectual risks and approach the world with curiosity, humility and care. Our originals are not rugged individualists striking out alone. They understand that ideas flourish in community—and that our greatest possibilities emerge when we learn from and work alongside people whose experiences and perspectives differ from our own.

The world needs those qualities now more than ever. It needs people who are unafraid to question assumptions, who can turn knowledge into understanding and who believe deeply in our capacity to work together. It needs Sagehens.

Originals: The Campaign for Pomona College is our commitment to ensuring that Pomona continues to prepare them. Together, we will expand access for extraordinary students, invest in transformative teaching and emerging fields of knowledge, deepen both global learning and collaboration, strengthen the ties that connect us across lifetimes and nurture the health and well-being that allow every member of our community to flourish.

Generations before us made this Pomona possible. Now it is our turn to imagine and make possible the Pomona that generations to come will need.

Gabrielle Starr, President

Making the Invisible Visible

“I’d never taken an economics class before,” says Rachel Nguyen ’26. “The only economics experience I had was helping my mom with the books at the nail salon.”

At Pomona, Rachel discovered economics as a tool for understanding communities like her own. Her pioneering econometric research on Vietnamese nail salons and technicians documented a workforce often overlooked in official datasets, laying groundwork that could inform labor policy and protections for immigrant workers. “It begins with the data,” she says.

Pomona also opened doors beyond the classroom. A fellowship in California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office gave Rachel firsthand experience in public service, while Pomona-funded study abroad took her to Vietnam, where she became the first in her family to return and reconnect with relatives.

Rachel’s first stop after Pomona? Graduate study in economics at the University of Chicago, where she will confront new datasets and new questions with the same instinct to look beyond the obvious.

Reaching Beyond Our Gates

For generations, Pomona students have learned that some of the most consequential education happens when they cross boundaries—between disciplines, cultures, communities and ways of seeing the world. The new Center for Global Engagement will create a home for that kind of discovery.

Now under construction, the $125 million Center is Pomona’s most ambitious capital project to date. Designed as a living-learning “liberal arts laboratory,” it brings together residential life, dining, classrooms and collaborative spaces, housing 200 students and welcoming the entire community for global and interdisciplinary learning.

Its promise is being realized through extraordinary philanthropy with $50 million in support from the Pomona community helping move the center’s construction and programs forward. Among the transformational commitments are a $10 million gift from Board Chair Janet Inskeep Benton ’79 and a $10 million commitment from Trustee Emeritus Ranney E. Draper ’60 and his late wife, Priscilla. Their generosity builds on decades of leadership and investment in the College, reflecting a shared belief in preparing Sagehens to engage meaningfully with a changing world.

That spirit of exploration extends to many others who support the Center and related programs. The philanthropy of Karen Q. Wong P’29 and Kelvin Huang P’29 honors Karen’s father and his lifelong belief in education. Their fund will support study away in China, giving future students opportunities to learn through language, culture and firsthand experience.

Together, these gifts and many others demonstrate what the Center makes possible: not simply a new building, but an enduring ecosystem for curiosity, connection and learning across borders.

Nurturing Our Whole Community

A truly transformative educational experience engages the whole person—and the whole community.

Original thinking requires more than intellect. It requires confidence. Resilience. Belonging. It requires the freedom to take risks, pursue ambitious questions, recover from failure and begin again. No one does that alone. Pomona’s commitment to student, faculty and staff success extends beyond the classroom to encompass wellness, mentorship, belonging, athletics, residential life, leadership development and the many experiences that help people discover who they are and what they are capable of becoming.

This campaign will strengthen the conditions that allow all to flourish. It will expand access to wellness resources, deepen mentorship and community-building opportunities, enhance student life and athletics and create an environment where every student can participate fully in the life of the College. Great communities do more than support achievement. They make achievement possible.

Philanthropy will strengthen the foundations of a thriving Pomona community. Campaign investments will support the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness as a hub for movement, connection and well-being; expand access to health insurance so students can get the care they need; and advance health and wellness initiatives for students, faculty and staff, including efforts to build a thriving workplace culture. Together, these investments recognize a simple truth: people do their best thinking, learning and creating when they have the support to thrive.

470,000—and Counting

Since opening its doors, the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness (CARW) has welcomed more than 470,000 visits, a powerful measure of how philanthropy can transform daily life at Pomona. More than a place to exercise, the CARW has become a crossroads for the College: a place where students, faculty and staff gather, recharge, compete and connect. Its extraordinary use demonstrates what the campaign is already achieving—investing in spaces that strengthen well-being, belonging and community for everyone at Pomona.

Connecting Across Lifetimes

A Pomona education does not end at Commencement. It grows and deepens over time.

One of Pomona’s greatest strengths is the willingness of Sagehens to invest in those who follow. Through Originals, Pomona will double alumni engagement while creating more opportunities for graduates to mentor students, create internships, share expertise, return as teachers and open doors to careers and experiences.

These relationships help students test ideas in the world, discover new paths and imagine futures they may never have considered. They also give alumni meaningful ways to stay connected and give back.

Campaign investments will expand the Return to Pomona Scholar program, extramural research opportunities and career development, creating more ways for students to learn from alumni and gain experience beyond the classroom.

When Sagehens invest in Sagehens, everyone benefits.

A Network that Opens Doors

“One trait you’ll see among Pomona students is that whatever they do, they do it in an original way,” says Sebastian Fish Mathurin ’26. He sees that same spirit in alumni: “the passion, the drive, but also the curiosity and the ability to remain a student throughout life.”

Sebastian experienced that connection firsthand through Trustee Aditya Sood ’97, president of Lord Miller and executive producer of films including Deadpool and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Their mentorship led to a summer internship at Lord Miller—and Pomona funding helped make it possible.

A stipend from the Career Development Office and Pomona College Internship Program enabled Sebastian to remain in California and take advantage of an opportunity he otherwise might not have been able to pursue. The experience showed Sebastian what can happen when generations of Sagehens invest in one another: alumni open doors, Pomona helps students walk through them and new possibilities take shape.

When Sagehens invest in Sagehens, everyone benefits.

Ensuring Pomona Endures

Pomona’s defining strengths are the result of generations of vision, generosity and leadership.

The strongest institutions do more than endure. They evolve. They adapt. They lead. This campaign will ensure that Pomona remains among the world’s most influential liberal arts colleges while expanding its capacity to shape the future.

That future will be built, as Pomona always has been, gift by gift and generation by generation. As Vice President for Advancement Maria Watson says, “At Pomona, generosity has always been an act of optimism: a belief in students we may never meet, discoveries we cannot yet imagine and a College that will keep evolving long after we are gone.”

The Pomona Annual Fund, the Pomona Plan and legacy gifts are key parts of the Originals campaign: resources that will sustain the people, programs and possibilities at the heart of the College while creating a strong foundation for generations of Sagehens still to come.

The Originality of the Pomona Plan

Pomona was an original in planned giving, too. Developed in the 1940s by Allen F. Hawley, Class of 1916, the Pomona Plan pioneered a model in which donors could receive lifetime income and tax benefits while ultimately supporting the College—a concept that became a model for institutions nationwide. Today, it remains one of higher education’s most respected life-income programs. As Senior Director of the Pomona Plan Art Landerholm ’92 puts it, “It’s a distinctly Pomona idea: a financial, tax and philanthropic ‘win-win’ for the College and generations of participants.”

Meet the Campaign Chairs

Sam ’04 and Emily ’04 Glick have been part of each other’s Pomona story since meeting during their first year on campus and flirting in James Irvine Professor of Economics Eleanor P. Brown’s class as seniors. Now they are returning to help write the College’s next chapter as campaign chairs. We asked them to fill in the blanks.

Our Pomona meet-cute started with…

Emily: A textbook. I needed the most expensive book on my list—about $110—and Sam had already taken the class and still had his copy. I figured if I borrowed his, I could save the money and buy him lunch as a thank you. We were both so busy that lunch kept getting rescheduled, until it finally became dinner—and then 11 hours of talking. We started dating about three weeks before graduation, and here we are.

A Pomona moment we still think about…

Emily: I received an Iberian Grant, funded by an alumna, for independent study in Spain. I lived in Madrid and studied what the Spanish government was doing to help people experiencing homelessness, creating a black-and-white photo essay and written report. It was a lesson in independence, among other things—you had to find a roommate, figure out your international cellphone and make your own way. I learned about poverty and about telling people’s stories without exploiting them. But mostly, I learned I could land in another country, figure things out and do something I hadn’t done before.

Sam: In a class on medieval mystery plays, we had to enact a scene where a woman throws her baby over a balcony. We did it from the second floor of the Smith Campus Center—with a small watermelon wrapped up like a baby. It was a pretty gory moment. But we were learning how to draw emotions out of people and think about how audiences hundreds of years ago might have experienced the story. I still think about the lesson on how you can have a serious impact on people with limited resources through commitment and ingenuity.

The thing about Pomona that’s hard to explain until you’ve experienced it…

Sam: Every moment at Pomona is part of that Pomona education. I started learning from Day One through late-night dorm hallway conversations with my sponsor group. I had the opportunity to sit on a presidential search committee as a student, and that was part of my education. Doing summer research with faculty was part of my education. And then every course I took—from general education requirements to intense courses in my major to classes I chose on a whim because they looked interesting—helped me gain new perspectives and connect dots across topics I might never have thought were related.

What motivates us to lead the campaign is…

Emily: There is a sense of community and commonality. And even if you weren’t on campus at the same time or you’re in a different career field, I think Sagehens find a togetherness through a similar mindset and a similar set of values. The campaign is a little like showing up at a wedding where everyone cares about the couple getting married. Love is in the air. It is a sense of we’re all here to promote a good thing that we believe in.

The campaign priority that gets us up in the morning is…

Emily: The recruitment, retention and success of students from middle-income families. Talented students from families of every income level need to know that they should apply, and that attending and successfully graduating from Pomona is achievable for them.

Sam: I agree. Pomona is for everybody. For someone who is qualified and can benefit from a Pomona education, there should be no financial barrier to them getting that education. Period.

 

Originals Are Coming Your Way

The Campaign for Pomona College is taking flight. Join fellow Sagehens, families and friends across the country and around the world to celebrate Originals, connect with the Pomona community and hear how the campaign is shaping what comes next for the College. Mark your calendar and watch for more details:

San Francisco
November 4, 2026

Los Angeles
February 11, 2027

Asia
March 29–April 2, 2027

Chicago
May 18, 2027

New York City
May 20, 2027

Wherever Sagehens gather, original thinking follows. We hope you’ll be part of it.

pomona.edu/originals/events