Blog Articles

100 years of the Claremont Colleges: an athletic timeline

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

A century ago a team of administrators at Pomona launched a second school next door and named it the Graduate School of Claremont Colleges. Now known as Claremont Graduate University, it kickstarted the birth of the consortium and a completely new era for Pomona—and sports were no exception. Here’s a brief timeline of athletics at the Claremont Colleges.

Pomona’s track team, 1911

1895: Pomona forms teams in football, baseball and track to compete against other West Coast institutions. For more than 50 years Pomona uses multiple nicknames interchangeably, including the Sage Hens, the Huns, and the “Blue and White.”

One of Pomona’s first women’s basketball teams

1903: Pomona introduces the sport of women’s basketball to Southern California colleges with the region’s first team, three full years before the formation of the men’s team

1914: Pomona becomes a founding member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

1946: Pomona starts competing with the new “Claremont Men’s College” (now CMC) as the Pomona-Claremont Sagehens.

1958: Claremont Men’s College separates from Pomona athletically, combining with Harvey Mudd College to become the “Claremont-Mudd Stags.”

Pomona-Pitzer and CMS face off on the basketball court

1970: Pomona joins with Pitzer to become the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

1976: SCIAC starts sponsoring women’s sports, leading Scripps to join Claremont-Mudd to become Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, with the nickname of the Athenas for women’s teams.

How Bernie Chan plans to make Hong Kong an arts hub

February 13, 2026 by Marilyn Thomsen Comments Off

Pomona Vice President for Advancement Maria Watson, President G. Gabrielle Starr and WestK Chairman Bernard Chan ’88 at the M+ art museum in Hong Kong.

A recent project coming out of Hong Kong over the last 15 years is the West Kowloon Cultural District (“WestK”), an effort to transform the wedge-shaped waterfront into a major arts and culture hub for East Asia. In 2025 Hong Kong named as WestK’s Chairman Bernard Chan ’88, a politician and business executive who has held prominent positions in the government for more than a decade. He spoke to PCM about his new role at WestK and how Pomona helped mold his career to date.

What role do the arts play in Hong Kong today?

Growing up in Hong Kong, I never saw that we cared much about arts and culture. The biggest challenge that cities like Hong Kong face today is how to attract and retain talent. Quality of life includes culture. People go to London or New York not just because they are a financial center, like Hong Kong is, but because they are also a cultural center. Talent today can come from anywhere in the world. [The new Hong Kong arts district] is not about money-making. It’s about investment for the future.

You were recently named board chair of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority. What exactly is “WestK”?

The Palace Museum

We have a new area—roughly 100 acres on the Hong Kong waterfront. In 2008, the Hong Kong government decided to create WestK, funded by the government but not run by the government. We have two new visual art museums, the Palace Museum (for ancient art) and M+ (for contemporary art). After just four years, M+ is already among the top 15 most visited museums in the world. We have a venue for Chinese opera and a black box theatre called Free Space, and another performing arts center with three theatres will open by 2027. Plans call for WestK to include two more music halls and a Broadway-style theatre.

The Space Museum (credit Jenny Leung, HKSM)

How is the visitor experience immersive at WestK venues?

The annual Free Space JazzFest

Take the Palace Museum as an example. I was the founding chairman, and I said, I’m not building this museum for the experts and collectors. I’m building it for the average person. In the old days, a museum would present an object and a caption. Today, people don’t come to look at something two-dimensionally. They want an experience. So we use a lot of interactive technology.

In one of the galleries, we tell the story of how the emperor lived. The first object is a clock—apparently he got up at 4:30 a.m. Next we have a video to show the process of how he dressed in his finery. Later, before bed, he did calligraphy, so we have an interactive monitor with a calligraphy pen. Our mission is to build something everyone can be part of.

: The Xiqu Centre theater venue (credit West kowloon Cultural District Authority)

: The M+ Museum for contemporary art

You personally are deeply immersed in multiple worlds—business, government, the arts. How did Pomona prepare you for these disparate roles?

I’m a true poster boy for a liberal arts education. I graduated in studio art, went into business, politics and public service, and then back into commercial. Even though I’m not exactly an artist, I applied the philosophy behind my art degree.

Coming to Pomona from Hong Kong, I was used to a culture where we’ve been told what to do. Then, in an advanced drawing class, the professor gave us an open assignment without specific instruction. After 10 or 15 minutes I walked up to him and said, “Can you tell me exactly what I should do?” and he said, “Why should I be telling you? It’s your work.”

That experience completely changed me. It forced me to be creative and push boundaries. It applies to all the work I do every day.

How did you decide on a studio art major?

I started as an economics major, but then I fell ill. I was supposed to be in the Class of 1987, but was in and out of the hospital for the first three years.

I tried to make up credits that I couldn’t earn on campus. Searching through the curriculum, the one class I thought I could do remotely was an independent study under the art department. By my senior year, I had as many art as econ credits.

I thought my Asian parents would kill me if I told them I’m going to get a studio art degree and would ask “What good is that going to do you?” But they were so happy just to see me come back and graduate.

Your senior art show ended up as a turning point in your life.

There were eight of us in the art department that had to do a senior show. The others all had developed their specialty and portfolio. I had to force myself to come up with something on my own. I knew for sure I didn’t want to be compared with the others because they were so much better than me.

I managed to come up with my own style of pointillism. I wasn’t competing on skills; I was competing on creativity. I was able to really think outside the box and stand out. That has helped me in everything else I’ve done in life—business, public service, politics, and now arts and culture. I’m forever grateful for that experience.

How has that philosophy played out in your career?

In 1997, I became one of 60 members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, my first role in politics. Two weeks into the session the president of the council summoned me and said, “You’re the only member with an art degree, right?” I wondered if she thought I was not qualified enough. Instead, she asked me to develop a new logo for the council. I thought, “Oh my goodness, my degree has some use!”

A few years later I got a call from the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong asking me to chair the antiquity advisory board to advise the government on preservation of historical sites. I said, “Sorry, studio art and preservation are not the same thing,” and he said, “You’re the closest person we can think of. You understand and appreciate the aesthetic and the data.” So again, I used my studio art background.

Then came WestK. For 10 years I used to lie and tell people I studied business. I was afraid if I said studio art, I’d be judged. Today people say, “Wow, you’re multitalented!” I’m using my political, art and business skills to try to connect a divided world.

New Federal Grants for Faculty Research

February 13, 2026 by Brian Whitehead Comments Off

A grant enabling a three-year extension in a project from Associate Chemistry Professor Nicholas Ball to develop new methods to introduce key structural motifs into bioactive molecules relevant to public health. Ball is leading research collaborators Maduka Ogba at Harvey Mudd College and Christopher am Ende at Pfizer Inc. and Connecticut College.

“The discovery of new and better drugs to treat disease is incredibly important,” Ball says. “Our contribution is to find more efficient ways to build molecules that could have the potential to heal through synthetic chemistry.” ($428,024 from the National Institutes of Health)

Physics Professor Richard Mawhorter’s project employs experimental approaches to move beyond the standard model of physics through the precision measurement of molecules cooled to ultracold temperatures. He will conduct the project in conjunction with Emory University Professor Michael Heaven, who is also receiving NSF funding.

“We are looking forward to working side-by-side with Emory graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to study the hyperfine energy level structure and bonding patterns of simple molecules containing the rare earth element ytterbium (Yb),” Mawhorter
says. ($150,978 from the National Science Foundation)

Geology Professor Jade Star Lackey’s project—a collaboration with researchers at Florida State University—focuses on high-pressure and high-temperature decarbonation of marble and calc-silicate rocks that have been exposed by erosion into the deep lower crust of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

“The work [gets] at the core question of how much carbon dioxide is naturally driven from Earth’s crust when Earth’s magmatic activity flares up,” Lackey says. “The Cretaceous magmas ‘baked’ carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere and caused natural global warming. We’re studying what that ‘baking’ process looked like in the deepest levels of the Sierra Nevada.” ($86,902 from the National
Science Foundation)

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Konrad Aguilar’s grant supported the 2025 edition of the West Coast Operator Algebras Symposium (WCOAS), which was held in December at Pomona. The conference showcased current trends in operator algebra theory and applications to other fields, including ergodic theory, number theory, representation theory and mathematical physics.

The WCOAS had been on hiatus since 2019, and Aguilar says that it is “meant to present the state-of-the-art of Operator Algebras and bring in researchers from many career levels to foster collaboration and new connections with other fields.” ($16,000 from the National Science Foundation)

A Message from the Alumni Association Board

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

Dear Sagehens,

Say “Oldenborg” to any Pomona alum, and you’ll likely bring back memories of marathon study sessions that turned into spirited debates, class requirements to practice at the language tables or Star Trek movie nights where everyone waited for references to the Borg.

This year, we’re excited to celebrate Oldenborg’s six decades of connection and community as it paves the way for Pomona’s next chapter in global learning—the Center for Global Engagement.

We’re calling all Oldenborg alumni to join us Alumni Weekend, April 30-May 3, for a farewell to the Oldenborg building—including a special celebration of its 60-year legacy. Alumni Weekend is also a great opportunity to catch up with friends, visit your favorite places on campus and attend discussions that connect to the core of a liberal arts education.

If you can’t make it back to campus, please email the Alumni and Family Engagement Office at alumni@pomona.edu with your favorite stories and photos for a chance to be featured on Pomona’s social channels.

All my best,

Andrea Venezia ’91
President, Pomona College Alumni Association Board

Andrea Venezia ’91
President, Pomona College Alumni Association Board

What’s your most treasured Pomona memento?

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

On Facebook this fall, we asked alums to share about a Pomona memento that they still have, that gives them a little mood-boost whenever they see it. Roughly 80 of you posted comments and ideas on the thread. Here are a few of the highlights!

Harwood Hall sign

Discover more on our Pomona Facebook group.

Where Head Meets Heart

February 13, 2026 by Christy McCarthy Comments Off

Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05in Yosemite National Park

Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05, who died in 2024, pictured hiking through Yosemite National Park, a landscape that mirrors his lifelong pursuit of challenge and discovery—a spirit now honored through a Pomona College scholarship bearing his name.

Ask those who knew him, and they’ll tell you: Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05 was an eternal optimist—a Renaissance thinker rooted in the humanities and unafraid of the new.

To him, science and technology were never the destination—they were tools to uplift and serve others. Now, his legacy of compassion, curiosity and connection lives on through a newly established scholarship at Pomona College, created to support future students who share those same values.

At Pomona and across The Claremont Colleges, Meher paired head and heart, standing out for his ability to bridge worlds between disciplines and people. He sampled widely, from comparative religion and the spirituality of yoga to media studies and computer science. He became a resident assistant at Smiley Hall and was known for learning everybody’s name. His father, Rich, says there were many calls home during which Meher paused mid-sentence to greet passing friends or wave out of his ground-floor residence hall window.

The Meher family—Ryan and his son, Atreyu; his parents, Rich and Ramona; and his sister, Robin—share a lasting bond. That connection, along with Ryan’s enduring ties to Pomona, inspired a gift that honors his life and legacy.

Ramona Meher, Ryan’s mother, sees this openness as an outgrowth of his character and education. “Partly it was Ryan’s nature,” she says. “And partly it was Pomona, which emboldens its students to become the best versions of themselves.”

After graduating in 2005, Meher went on to braid together a life of intellect and service. In Chicago, he taught video game design to teens at Alternatives, a nonprofit supporting youth with limited access to resources. His students not only learned to code and create playable games but also used early QR tools to map out where to find fresh food in their neighborhoods. All the while, he never stopped pursuing new knowledge.

“Quantum physics, neurobiology, the microbiome—you name it, he was always learning,” says his sister, Robin Meher. “If we ever had a question about anything, Ryan could break it down in a way that made sense. He was brilliant, yet humble. He spoke to people’s souls.”

Meher and his son, Atreyu, enjoyed exploring the Benton Museum of Art during a visit to Pomona.

At home, Meher was a devoted husband and father. He delighted in his young son’s curiosity, trading dinosaur talk for Greek mythology, sketching DNA strands for fun and encouraging big questions about the world. In Meher’s free time, he chased adventures, running the Chicago Marathon, climbing in Yosemite National Park and gathering with Pomona alumni in Joshua Tree.

“Pomona is magic in the way it connects people,” Rich Meher says. “Those friendships meant the world to Ryan, and they never stopped showing up for one another.”

When Ryan Meher passed away unexpectedly at the age of 42 in August 2024, his family sought a way to honor him. The result was the creation of a scholarship in his name, designed to support Pomona students who are intellectually bold, socially conscious and committed to building community wherever they go.

“Ryan Kotaro Meher’s life is a beautiful reflection of what we hope for every Pomona graduate—a mind alive with curiosity and a heart open to others,” Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr says. “We are profoundly grateful to the Meher family for honoring Ryan in a way that will open doors for future students.”

In the Seaver Theatre courtyard, Meher reconnects with a former classmate, Elizabeth Uslander, during a visit back to campus.

In an era when the value of the liberal arts is often questioned, the family says they see this scholarship as both a tribute and a statement. “STEM matters, but not without the humanities,” Rich Meher says. “What makes us human—our ethics, empathy and imagination—should hold everything else. Pomona nurtured that in Ryan, and we want that to continue for generations to come.”

If there was a common thread running through Meher’s life, it was inclusion. Robin Meher says that her brother carried a rare empathy for those overlooked or misunderstood, and he made it his mission to notice and uplift people on the margins. That is the spirit they hope future scholarship recipients will inherit.

“You never know what will help you—or help someone else—on the day it matters,” says Ramona Meher.

Please visit the Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05 Scholarship Fund to make a contribution. To learn more about establishing a scholarship, contact Kyle Davis, senior director of development, at Kyle.Davis@pomona.edu or (909) 607-4213.

Meher’s Pomona friendships lasted through the decades— (from left) Elizabeth Uslander, Ryan ’05, Whitney Stubbs ’04, Michael Owen ’05 in San Diego, Calif.

Got a Challenging Colleague? New Faculty Book Aims to Improve Interpersonal Conflict

February 13, 2026 by Lorraine Wu Harry ’97 Comments Off

Jessica Stern ’12 and her book, Beyond Difficult: An attachment-based guide to dealing with challenging people. Last summer Assistant Professor of Psychological Science Jessica Stern ’12 published Beyond Difficult: An attachment-based guide to dealing with challenging people. An expert in attachment theory, close relationships and child development, Stern spoke with PCM about how she hopes the book will help readers.

Who is this book for?

It’s for anybody who has had a difficult relationship—whether that’s in your family life, dealing with a difficult kid as an educator or as a parent, or navigating difficult work relationships. Most [of us] have had at least one relationship where we wished we had a guide we could pull out and say, “What do I do?” We wanted the book to be accessible, even to people who had never read a research paper before. We wanted them to know that there’s a fascinating science of how to build stronger marriages, friendships and workplace relationships.

You spend a lot of time focusing on highly sensitive and neurodivergent people. Why do you highlight these two groups?

These groups are often misunderstood and mislabeled, either as a bad kid or as a difficult adult. Everybody’s nervous system is wired a little bit differently [and] is not something we can change. But what we can do is provide a supportive environment that doesn’t overstimulate these kids so that they either act out or shut down. The same principle is true for adults—understanding that the person next to you might be more reactive to the context that they happen to be, we might look at the environmental circumstances that [lead] them to act in this way.

We also look at people’s relationship histories and attachment style. One major reason behind difficult behavior is that someone is feeling threatened, insecure or triggered. Usually that comes from a place of not having had secure, safe relationships as a child or as an adult. One nice thing about that framework is, first, it inspires a little bit more compassion, rather than combativeness, toward the person. But second, there are certain strategies that we can then use to help the relationship feel safe enough that the person can calm down and have a constructive conversation.

Secure vs. Insecure Attachment Styles

: Secure Attachment: Comfortable with intimacy and independence. Trusts partners.

: Anxious Attachment: craves closeness but fears abandonment, may appear clingy

: Avoidant Attachment: Values independence over intimacy. May appear distant.

: Disorganized Attachment: Desires connection but fears it. Sends mixed signals.

How did you and your co-author team up for this book?

Rachel [Samson] is a clinical psychologist in Australia. She and I met at a professional training many years ago and discovered that we had similar interests, but I was doing more of the scientific work and she was putting those ideas into practice with clients. It’s very easy for me, as a researcher, to say, “Here’s what people should do” in theory, but it’s a very different thing to be a practitioner who’s seen it in action with real people.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is about understanding difficult behavior: getting a better grasp of what’s really going on when someone rubs you the wrong way. The second part is about working on oneself. Based on your own temperament and attachment style, what are the things that you’re bringing to this interaction that you can strengthen or improve? Part three is about the relationship. How do you strengthen it? What are specific things that you can do, like giving feedback in an effective way, not letting things stew? And what do you do when another person is just not going to change?

Bookmarks

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

In his debut YA novel, Andrew Extein ’07 tells the angsty story of a bullied straight teenage boy who comes out as an act of retribution.

This sci-fi crime novel by Greg Hickey ’08 follows a private detective hired by a space tech CEO to investigate a rival for illegal hydrocarbon combustion.

The fourth book of poems by Garrett Hongo ’73 draws inspiration from Hongo’s life journey and weaves in memories of various shorelines.

This collection of Prof. Jonathan Lethem’s short stories spans 35 years of writing, serving as a career survey and retrospective.

Nancy Matsumoto ’80 reports on women who are building local and regional supply chains, offering the reader a blueprint for eating sustainably.

Zelana Montminy ’04 explains the science behind focus and distraction and gives strategies to control our attention and improve our mental clarity.

Krystyn Moon ’97 examines the history of Alexandria’s African American community, focusing on its relationship with the federal government.

In this work of historical fiction, Ginny Kubitz Moyer ’95 tells the coming-of-age story of a young seamstress living in San Francisco during World War II.

A deadly asteroid is about to strike Atlantis in this prequel to The Atlantis Grail fantasy series by Vera Nazarian ’88.

Version 1.0.0

co-authors this chronicle of a primate scientist’s 50-year journey living among and studying baboons.

Book Submissions:

Book Submissions: If you’ve had a book published and would like to submit it for inclusion in Bookmarks, please send a review copy to Lorraine Wu Harry ’97, PCM Books Editor, 550 North College Ave. Claremont, CA 91711 or email us at pcmbooks@pomona.edu.

They Got Mail

February 13, 2026 by Christy McCarthy Comments Off

The Round Robin bench in Marston Quad offers a place for current students to build connections much like the ones that bind the 1957 classmates. Photo by Jeremy Mitchell ’27

The first letters eight classmates wrote to each other after graduating from Pomona College cost only three cents to mail. Today, the stories they’ve exchanged by post for the past 60 years are priceless.

Pomona alumnae captured the evolution of their lives in letters, which became a kind of collective journal. “It was our way of saying: Here’s where I am, and here’s what matters to me,” Mary Furgerson Brubaker ’57 said.

The eight women—Edith “Edie” Grant Andrew, Judith “Judy” Tallman Bartels, Gabrielle “Gabie” Berliner, Kathryn “Kitty” Bownass, Mary Furgerson Brubaker, Carolyn “Kaki” Barker Conner, Martha Livingston Perritt and Barbara Pendleton Wimmer, all from the Class of 1957—became friends at Pomona.

After graduation, they created the “Round Robin Letter Club” as a way to stay connected—one friend writing her updates then sending to the next. “At one point, we were on four different continents and on both coasts of the U.S.,” Conner said. “But the letters always made their way around.”

The plaque beside the Marston Quad bench honors the eight members of the Round Robin Letter Club.

When two members of the group passed away, they made a collective gift to Pomona and dedicated a bench on Marston Quad as a lasting tribute.

“These alumnae turned their friendship into a lasting legacy,” says Director of Alumni and Family Engagement Monika Moore ’03, “and we’re so proud to celebrate the spirit of community that defines our Sagehen family.”

Read the full story.

Handwritten letters kept members of Pomona’s Class of 1957 connected for more than 60 years. Pictured in their senior photos: Edith Grant, Judith Tallman, Gabrielle Berliner, Kathryn Bownass, Mary Furgerson, Carolyn Barker, Martha Livingston and Barbara Pendleton.

A Tale of Two Mayoral Runs

February 13, 2026 by Marilyn Thomsen (Solomon) and Brian Whitehead (Uballez) Comments Off

Jersey City’s James Solomon ’06 has seen how cities work in St. Louis, Chicago & Boston—then became mayor of “Chill Town.”

By Marilyn Thomsen

Ward E Councilman James Solomon was elected as Mayor of Jersey City and celebrated with family and the community at MANA Contemporary. Shot on December 02 2025. Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City

In December James Solomon ’06 was elected mayor of Jersey City after two rounds of voting, outperforming six other candidates in a marathon of a race that included a runoff election and that lasted more than a year from when he announced his candidacy.

Solomon sees Jersey City’s future at stake as it becomes increasingly unaffordable. His campaign focused on independence from developers and insider politics, creating affordable housing, keeping city streets safe, and creating more summer and afterschool job programs.

“My hope and vision is that [the city] remains one of the most diverse in the country and a place where people come to start their lives in America,” he says.

Its location provides a visible reminder of that promise. Just across the Hudson River from Jersey City is Ellis Island—for centuries America’s Golden Door.

“Our nickname is ‘Chill Town,’” says Solomon, contrasting Jersey City with frenetic neighbor New York, located just a mile away by water. He says that its future will see arts and culture and small businesses thriving, and the government delivering for the people.

Solomon studied public policy analysis at Pomona, where he appreciated professors’ passion for public service and their prioritization of the oft-forgotten piece of policy implementation.

“We think about passing laws,” he explains, “but very rarely about once the law is passed, how do you ensure that it is implemented in a way to make a real-world impact?”

After college Solomon spent four years in St. Louis and Chicago developing a passion for city government and seeing its direct effect on people’s lives. Solomon then spent two years studying at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, learning both in the classroom and while working for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

“If a pothole wasn’t filled and your car broke an axle, that could really screw up your month,” he says. “The day-to-day impacts are in your face.”

Solomon hears from residents daily and often reflects on the pervasive sense they get that their government doesn’t care about them. Cities, he says, deserve “a government as good as its people”—a concept that he is now hoping to deliver to his constituents.

The youngest U.S. attorney in the nation, Albuquerque’s Alex Uballez ’08 led the DEA’s largest-ever fentanyl bust.

By Brian Whitehead

This fall Alex Uballez ’08, a former U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, ran for mayor of Albuquerque and surprised many insiders and pundits by finishing third in the race with 19 percent of the vote, forcing a runoff between the incumbent and the favored challenger.

For those who know him, it wasn’t a surprise that he would be destined for big things. Philosophy Professor Michael J. Green recalls Uballez’s senior thesis on green consumerism and sustainable development being one of the two best theses he read
that year.

“It had really interesting discussions of abstract and social theory and a lot of historical research about environmentalism,” Green says. “That’s when I got the idea he could change the world.”

Uballez and his wife Gabrielle

Uballez and his wife Gabrielle met on campus—the respective politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) and art majors hitting it off as first-years. It was Gabrielle, in fact, who convinced him to apply to Columbia Law School, from which he graduated in 2011. They then moved to her native Albuquerque, where he started his career as a state prosecutor specializing in crimes against children. In 2016 he became a federal prosecutor focusing on drug trafficking cartels in the U.S. and south of the border.

In 2022 President Joe Biden nominated him to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico. He led an agency of 180 federal prosecutors and staff that he instilled to think beyond investigations and prosecutions to effect change.

“We thought about how to intervene and prevent,” he says. “How to see public safety through a broader lens than the court system.”

Besides leading the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, Uballez also created Albuquerque’s Violence Intervention Program. His office uncovered 30 years of public corruption in the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI Unit, and also established New Mexico’s first Federal Reentry Program for people returning home after incarceration.

Alex Uballez

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