The Joy of Science Class of 2019
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Spring-Summer 2019 Vol. 52 No. 1
The Joy of Science Class of 2019 Surfboard Art & Culture
Alumni Blaze New Trails “Your Time Is Now” Shaping a New Perspective
President’s Message
Producing Masterpieces
P
itzer College recently celebrated 264 of our seniors
as they accepted their hard-earned diplomas at the
College’s 55th Commencement. We congratulate them
on their self-transformation, with help from their Pitzer
professors, friends and supportive families.
I was privileged to introduce Pitzer’s newest graduates
and encourage them to produce a personal or professional
masterpiece in their lives: through their hands, such as a
work of art; their mind, such as creative writing, scholarship,
a feat of engineering; or their heart, through relationships,
social ties and passionate societal engagement. My wish for
our new alumni is that they will also make masterpieces of
themselves and transform the world. Their Pitzer diploma is just the beginning of their
unfolding story.
In this edition of The Participant, we are presented with a combination of alumni stories
and faculty achievements that lift our community—from the growing Keck Science program
to faculty research, publications and national and international honors. The feature story
profiles a Pitzer student and three alumni breaking barriers in the sciences. They inspire me
and I hope will inspire you. The sciences at Pitzer have grown beyond all expectations, and
these profiles about how our students and alumni are blazing new trails in science create
a compelling picture. It is fitting, considering this critical moment in Pitzer’s Keck Science
program history as we transition from a three-college to a two-college partnership.
We also catch up with our professors, who are fanning out around the world to
conduct research, develop knowledge and prepare to lead a new class of students on their
next academic journey.
At Pitzer, our students, faculty and staff never hesitate to confront real-world issues,
as we have continued to do from the environmental to the political. This year, we have
challenged each other to open up to other experiences and perspectives. This commitment
has been essential to transitioning from research and visioning the College’s future to
implementation of the Pitzer College Strategic Plan 2024.
Thank you for being a part of our Pitzer community, for your support and for joining
us on our search for ever-brighter futures for our students and our graduates. With your
help, we are continuing to make Pitzer a masterpiece of higher education.
Melvin L. Oliver
President
George C.S. Benson Auditorium
Pitzer College Board of Trustees Robert Fairbairn P’16, P’18, P’22 Lori O’Hollaren ’90 William D. Sheinberg ’83 & P’12 Emeriti Trustees Marilyn Chapin Massey, PhD Lisa Specht
Louise Ann Fernandez Melvin L. Oliver, PhD Michele Siqueiros ’95 Hirschel B. Abelson P’92 Arnold Palmer Laura Skandera Trombley, PhD
Bridget Baker ’82 Ruett Stephen Foster ’81 Kenneth R. Pitzer Shahan Soghikian ’80, P’22 Robert H. Atwell Murray Pepper, PhD
Angela Glover Blackwell GP’21 Wendy Glenn ’75 Craig Ponzio P’22 Eugene P. Stein Eli Broad P’78 Edith L. Piness, PhD
Thomas Brock ’83 Donald P. Gould Douglas Price ’80 & P’20 Kevin Stein P’20 William G. Brunger P’01 Russell M. Pitzer, PhD
Harold A. Brown Susan Kessler P’16 Robert Redford Tracy M. Tindle ’82 Susan G. Dolgen P’97 Susan S. Pritzker P’93
Steven Chang ’83 Jill Klein P’15 Jon Reingold P’18 Michael R. Weinholtz P’17 Patricia G. Hecker P’76 Richard J. Riordan
Mark Eggert P’18 David Levin ’90 Alissa Okuneff Roston ’78 & P’06 Deborah Bach Kallick ’78 Margot Levin Schiff P’90, P’95
Tyrus Emory ’08 Charles Mangum P’19 Noah “Josh” Schlesinger ’04 Robin Kramer ’75 Deborah Deutsch Smith ’68, PhD
Spring-Summer 2019 · 1
Spring-Summer 2019
PRESIDENT
Melvin L. Oliver
ANGELA SANBRANO ’75
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Commitment to a more humane
Mark R. Bailey world inspired a meaningful life
MANAGING EDITOR
Anna L. Chang When Angela Sanbrano ’75 earned her BA in
psychology from Pitzer College, she began a path
EDITOR
Mary Shipp Bartlett
that would lead her to the heights of international
activism and meaningful social change.
DESIGNERS
22 18 24
Stephanie Estrada
Terry Vuong
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Since the 1970s, Angela organized communities,
advocated bilingual education and supported
housing rights in Los Angeles. In the 1980s and
Amy DerBedrosian 1990s, she earned her law degree from Peoples
Jenna Gough College of Law, became executive director of
the national grassroots organization CISPES,
PHOTOGRAPHERS supported social and economic justice and
Laurie Babcock opposed US military intervention in El Salvador.
Graham Brady ’21 She was an official witness of the signing of the
Cristian Costea Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City. In
Shay Lari-Hosain ’22 fighting for immigration rights, she organized
Gunn Phikrohkit ’22 marches that drew more than one million people
Scott Phillips to the streets.
26 Cam Sanders
William Vasta
Angela credits her Pitzer education as a turning
point in her life. Recently, Pitzer designated her its
PHOTO COURTESY
2019 Distinguished Alumni Award honoree.
Hype Cannabis Company
Tania Pantoja
Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Angela Sanbrano blazed her own path to serve
University of Southern California immigrants and refugees in California. Today, she is
Viterbi School of Engineering making a meaningful difference around the world.
Visions West Contemporary
10
© 2019 Pitzer College
Follow your passion
31 1050 North Mills Ave., Claremont, CA 91711
www.pitzer.edu
ON THE COVER: A robotic limb controlled
Table of Contents through artificial intelligence is opening
exciting possibilities for understanding human
1 President’s Message 22 The Surfboard as Art & Culture movement and disability. Brian Cohn ’15 helped
Melvin L. Oliver create the limb as a member of a research
24 Sagehen Sports team at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering.
3 Pitzer Pathfinder Photo: Matthew Lin/USC
Angela Sanbrano ’75 26 Alumni Profile
Dionne Barnes-Proby ’97 The diverse opinions expressed in
The Participant are those of the individual
4 Class of 2019
profilees and do not necessarily represent the
27 Alumni Weekend Wrap-Up views of the editors or the College.
6 Around the Mounds
The Participant welcomes comments from
28 Class Notes its readers.
9 Family Weekend Wrap-Up
10 FEATURE: The Joy of Science 31 Tribute Pitzer College is a nationally top-ranked Pitzer College
PATHFINDER
Stuart McConnell undergraduate college of the liberal arts and
sciences. Pitzer offers a distinctive approach
16 Pitzer College Strategic Plan 2024
33 Pitzer Participant to a liberal arts education by linking intellectual
Singleton Cox ’94 inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural
18 New Dean of the Faculty
immersion, social responsibility and
Allen M. Omoto community involvement.
19 Faculty Field Notes
Visit The Participant online at www.pitzer.edu/participant to view related videos and photos.
2 · The Participant
Class of
F
2019
amily, friends, faculty and staff celebrated
the Class of 2019 at Pitzer College’s 55th
Commencement ceremony on May 18, 2019,
with more than 2,500 in attendance.
Keynote speaker, actress, activist Laverne Cox told the class:
“We need your innovation, your vision, your wisdom, your
courage in the world right now.”
For this year’s Class Charge, President Melvin L. Oliver
challenged the newest alumni to produce “masterpieces
that embody a commitment to intellectual curiosity, intense
observation, critical appreciation, perseverance, human sympathy,
discipline and diligence. They add to the richness of our lives and
the lives that come after. I charge you to make the commitment
to produce a masterpiece that lives beyond your time and leaves a
legacy for all of humanity.”
264 graduates
• came from 31 states and 13 countries
• range in ages from 20 to 50 years old
Top 5 majors
• Environmental Analysis • Economics
• Organizational Studies • Human Biology
• Psychology
Collectively, the graduates won prestigious fellowships
and scholarships during their four years, including:
• EnviroLab Asia Fellowships • Benjamin A. Gilman
• Neuroscience Fellowship International Scholarship
• Freeman-ASIA Award • Fulbright Fellowships
Some graduates are headed to graduate studies at:
• Stanford University • University of Calgary
• Johns Hopkins University • University of Oklahoma
• Cornell University • UCLA
Other graduates are starting their careers at:
• AEG Presents • Nike
• Salesforce • Apple, Inc.
• Fox Television • PwC China
• Goldman Sachs • IBM
4 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 5
Around the Mounds News from Campus and Beyond
Students Aid Refugees
at Border
Pitzer College students, increasingly aware of
the humanitarian crisis for Central American
refugees at the US-Mexico border, decided to
do more than study the situation. They acted.
Room for Resistance Working with other students and faculty
of The Claremont Colleges, they formed
Pitzer College Art Galleries spring
Claremont for Refugee Rights to raise
exhibitions, Publishing Against the
funds, supplies and awareness. Then, in
Grain and Emerging Artist Series #14:
November 2018, a group of six students and
Cathy Akers, opened on February 2.
Suyapa Portillo ’96, assistant professor of
Organized by the Independent Curators
Chicano/a-Latino/a transnational studies at
International, Publishing Against the Grain
Pitzer, traveled to a refugee shelter run by the
created a space for reading, thinking
Mexican government in Tijuana. They wanted
and talking —“where slowing down can
to see things for themselves and help where
become a form of intellectual resistance.”
they could.
Cathy Akers’ exhibition, curated by
Pitzer College Art Galleries Director Javier Lopez Casertano ’19, one of the student From CA Drought to
Ciara Ennis, explored two experimental
communes that closed in the 1970s.
organizers, was surprised how much help was
needed. “There were so many people. We were
Students continue to raise funds and the Arctic Climate
awareness, hold campus events and provide
making only a temporary difference. There’s a The College hosted several endowed
information to refugees to help them gain
lot of work to do,” he said. lecture series, which kicked off on
asylum. While the process has been time-
On their initial visit to the camp, the students consuming and often frustrating, Lopez February 5 with the 2019 Murray
were not prepared for the crowd’s reaction Casertano said students are making progress. Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper
to the distribution of goods. “Every time you With funds in hand and energy to spare, they Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture
opened a suitcase, you would be flooded are increasingly able to act proactively. with poet Sesshu Foster and artist
with people. They were grabbing whatever Arturo Ernesto Romo’s presentation of
This spring, US Congressional Representative “Recent Rupture Radio Hour (The East
they could—it became quite chaotic,” said
Norma Torres honored the students for L.A. Dirigible Tapes).” On February 15,
Lopez Casertano.
their work on the US-Mexico border at a the 2019 John D. Sullivan Memorial
The students revised their methods. They went ceremony at the Chicano-Latino Student Lecture brought award-winning author
to a grocery store to purchase the basics— Association. “Our students garnered her ear and journalist Mark Arax, who has
toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap—and made and admiration with their grassroots work chronicled California throughout his
individual small bags. “It just became handing on this pertinent issue, a Pitzer tradition,” career, digging “deep into the dirt of the
out what we had,” said Lopez Casertano. said Portillo. Golden State.” Arax’s talk, “The Dreamt
Land: Chasing Dust and Water Across
California,” was hosted by the Redford
Conservancy at Pitzer College.
Next up, Associate Professor of
Modern Metamorphoses 1 in CA, 4 in World to Reach Net Zero
st th Environmental Science Branwen
Williams was the featured speaker
This April, the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability for the 2019 Distinguished Scientist
The 5C Theatre and Dance production of at Pitzer College won the first higher education building certification in California Lecture, where she spoke on “Arctic
Metamorphoses, a modern retelling of Ovid’s for its zero net energy consumption. The certification from the International Living Climate, as documented by algal rocks.”
interwoven myths where gods, humans and nature Future Institute is highly sought-after and challenging to achieve. The Redford The spring series concluded with
intermingle and collide, played March 7-10 in the Conservancy is only the fourth higher education structure in the world to earn ILFI filmmaker, writer and painter Moussa
Seaver Theater with Pitzer students on stage and Zero Energy Certification. The Claremont Heritage also recognized the Redford Sene Absa’s “Niit Nitka” (“Enlightening
behind the scenes. Conservancy with its Bess Garner Preservation Award, which honors excellence in Humanity”) at the Stephen and Sandra
historic preservation in the city of Claremont. Glass Humanities Lecture.
6 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 7
3 × Power
This Earth Day, Pitzer College expanded its
commitment to environmental sustainability
at a ribbon-cutting ceremony by dedicating
six new ChargePoint electric vehicle power
stations in the East Mesa parking lot on
campus. This expansion triples Pitzer’s
electric vehicle power stations.
Crafting with
Pitzer & U of
Conscience
2019
Family
As part of The Claremont
Haifa
Colleges’ Martin Luther In November 2018, the
King, Jr. Day of Service on faculty passed a motion
Weekend
January 19, students wrote to suspend the direct
greeting cards to senior enroll program with
citizens and postcards the University of Haifa.
to refugee children. This Following requests from
“Crafting with a Conscience” the Student Senate and other governing bodies at the College,
T
volunteer event included a the faculty decided that the matter needed to undergo the
presentation about Martin College’s shared governance review. his February, more than 320 family members
Luther King, Jr. traveled to Claremont for Pitzer College
On March 14, the College Council voted 67 to 28 with eight Family Weekend. The annual event provides
abstentions on an amended motion in favor of suspending family members a glimpse into their students’
the program. According to College shared-governance Pitzer educational experience. This year, they heard
bylaws, the motion was then presented as a recommendation from alumni about their lives post Pitzer; attended
to the president. President Oliver shared his decision with lectures by Professors Jessica Kizer, Jemma Lorenat,
the community, noting that, among other reasons, the
Shelva Paulse and Phil Zuckerman; and toured the
suspension would set the College “on a path away from the
free exchange of ideas, a direction that ultimately destroys the
Redford Conservancy.
Volunteer Service Awardees
academy’s ability to fulfill our educational mission.” He said,
To relive moments from Family Weekend in photos, be sure to check
“I categorically oppose any form of academic boycott of any
country.” Additionally, he noted that for the College to take
a political position, “there must be a consensus across all the
out The Participant online at www.pitzer.edu/participant.
T racy Strayer P’18 and Ed Wong P’18
were honored with the 2019 Parent
Volunteer Service Award during Family
College’s internal and external constituencies in support of Weekend. Strayer and Wong are both finance
the position. This recommendation fails that test.” professionals and former members of Pitzer’s
Parent Leadership Council. They have spent
President Oliver concluded that “we will seek to expand our countless hours providing guidance and
students’ opportunities for study abroad in the Middle East advice to our students on their career-related
International Flair and around the world. Our goal must be to create engagement
in the world that our students will one day lead, not less.” To
interests. They inspired and helped found the
Pitzer Career Roundtable, an annual event
International Place of The Claremont Colleges and our international this end, he visited the University of Haifa on May 28-29, that connects Pitzer students with alumni,
students hosted the 41st International Festival. Open to all, the event where he met with students, faculty and administrators and parents, trustees and other supporters.
showcased international cuisine, cultural activities, live music and also addressed the University of Haifa Board of Governors. Their daughter, Everest Strayer-Wong ’18,
dance hosted and performed by students and professional artists This visit was the first step in a presidential initiative to graduated with a degree in art politics. In
from around the world. increase opportunities for scholarly exchange and cooperation an October 2018 VICE article, writer Kat
between Pitzer and institutions across the Middle East. Thompson described her art as “a harmonious
marriage of color and texture, with themes
of her mixed-race identity and intrigue with
astrology sprinkled throughout.” You can find
Strayer-Wong’s work on Instagram
@sinistersquids.
8 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 9
J Y
THE SECRET IS OUT: If you want to do fascinating and fun things in
college, meet like-minded people and have a rewarding time—it’s all
The there for you. And your parents will approve.
of
I
t’s science at Pitzer College. To be exact, science in
Owning the
Science
the integrated W.M. Keck Science Department. Each
year, more and more students discover this secret for Challenge
themselves. Thirty percent of Pitzer College students
major in a STEM-related field, with human biology and
neuroscience consistently among the top 10 majors. M arya Ornelas ’20 was playing in
a summer softball tournament
in high school when the Pomona-
Why the increased interest? As Pitzer alumna Dr. Susan
Pitzer Sagehens’ coach happened to be
Celniker ’75 said, “Science is too much fun.”
watching another player on Ornelas’
Opportunities abound in the Keck Science program. Each team. This chance encounter sparked
science major participates in a substantive research project; interest in both the coach and in
students often co-author with faculty on peer-reviewed Ornelas, who hadn’t ever heard of
articles and present their own work at professional scientific The Claremont Colleges. The coach invited her to campus and introduced
Ornelas to the people and the programs.
conferences. In the interdisciplinary program, in partnership The selling point for Ornelas, a first-generation student from the San
with students from Claremont McKenna and Scripps Francisco Bay Area, was that Pitzer has a human biology major. “I was
Colleges, Pitzer students apply their education to real-world super pre-med,” she said. There was also the lure of softball. “I wasn’t sure
issues. Undergraduates rarely obtain such benefits elsewhere, I could balance academics and sports—but when I visited, I met current
students and was inspired by their ability to do both.”
especially at large universities, where graduate students
Ornelas soon stood out in Associate Professor Aaron Leconte’s
garner most of the research perks. In the Keck Science Introductory Biological-Chemistry class, in fall 2016. Leconte noted that
program, undergraduates do scientific research, often at the Ornelas produced some of the class’s most intelligent work on problem
graduate level. sets, which challenge students to apply their newfound knowledge. He
The result of this influx of Pitzer students in science invited her to join his lab as a research assistant the following semester
and as a full-time paid assistant in the summer of 2017. She has continued
is outstanding scholarship and groundbreaking research. through to spring 2019.
National recognition has followed. “Because of Marya’s obvious interest and talent, I wanted to give
This spring, Marya Ornelas ’20, a rising senior and her a project that she could take ownership of and develop over time,”
biology major, won the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, said Leconte.
Leconte’s group was working on a project to engineer improved
regarded as one of the most prestigious recognitions of
medical imaging tools by evolving the protein firefly luciferase. Although
talent in science and mathematics among US college others had done essential research, nobody to date had worked on
undergraduates. A talented researcher, she continues to lead developing methodology to improve the brightness of the protein. Color
other students in the Keck Science biology lab. and stability often lessen the brightness of the enzyme, explained Leconte,
Two recent graduates, Ben Mitchell ’18 and Brian so being able to engineer this property has high value.
“I intentionally gave Marya this project because it would challenge her
Cohn ’15, are applying their highly competitive National to develop her own ideas and take ownership of the project,” Leconte said.
Science Foundation (NSF) grants to doctoral studies— “Marya has taken this challenge and run with it.”
Mitchell in chemistry at the University of Washington, Cohn It is her main project in the lab. “Ultimately, we want to be able to use
at the University of Southern California (USC) researching this protein in mammalian systems in order to do things like monitor gene
expression patterns and inform drug discovery substance in whole animals,
neuromuscular control.
and to use it effectively, we want to have bright enzymes that can be
Anne Conn ’95 is using her degree in neurology to detected by an external camera. Now that we have a method to maximize
leapfrog from the biotech industry into the new field of light emission, we are in the process of evolving brighter enzymes,” she
regulatory compliance oversight in the production and said.
distribution of cannabis. Ornelas, who leads two other students in the project, said she enjoys
being surrounded by people who love science and research as much as
Why did these successful scientists choose Pitzer as the she does. “Doing research at Keck is such a profound experience because
best place to pursue their undergraduate degrees? Their you get to learn so much from the professor and also from other people
reasons vary, yet all center on the College’s commitment to in the lab. I enjoy never-ending questions. The more you learn, the better
excellence through the Keck Science program. questions you can ask. I just love the open-endedness of that. You can go
into the lab and answer the scientific question with your own hands.”
Here are their stories:
Although she once planned to be a doctor, a visit to a SACNAS (Society
10 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 11
for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) College, about an internship. Johnson welcomed Mitchell to his lab on a Agriculture licenses growing activities, both indoors and outdoors. There
conference in Long Beach as a first-year student changed her mind. It was volunteer basis. is no federal oversight, explains Conn, “because we’re still considered a
the first time she was exposed to research at the undergraduate level. “Based on his enthusiasm and demonstrated work ethic, I offered Schedule One substance at the federal level, which puts us in the same
“I was walking from poster to poster thinking, ‘Wow! These undergrads him a position in my lab for the summer of 2017 and then continuing realm as various drugs, such as opioids. This makes it difficult to have an
are doing such cool research. This is really awesome.’ Then, when the for his senior thesis project,” said Johnson. “His willingness to follow his online presence.”
opportunity arose to work in Aaron’s lab, I was like, ‘Yes, of course!” own thoughts rather than relying on my ‘expertise,’ led him to try solvent Conn’s role is to make sure that the company complies with all
Ornelas’s interests have expanded at Pitzer in other ways. She co- systems that I had told him were not likely to be successful.” regulations and with its own stringent expectations for a safe,
founded a reboot of SACNAS, bringing together students from across The Not giving up, Mitchell was able to quality product.
Claremont Colleges. This year, in addition to hosting study sessions and crystallize a titanium complex of one of “We have a responsibility not only to our customers, but also to the
research-related programming, SACNAS held a symposium to showcase his ligands. Then, with Johnson, he drove industry overall to help shape the perception of the cannabis industry and
the research that students did over the summer. A leader in the First-Gen to Caltech, where he could mount the the culture,” she said. “It’s frustrating when we hear about all the illegal
Club, she also advocates for STEM education among underrepresented crystal and solve the structure. “Seeing shops that are operating. We work hard to do the right thing and to keep
student groups. “She deeply cares about giving other students access to the him be so successful and excited about our side of the street clean.”
opportunities that she has embraced,” said Leconte. his structure was one of the highlights of Conn anticipates that cannabis will soon be regulated on the federal
This summer Ornelas will be doing research at Northwestern my career,” said Johnson. level. “It’s growing so fast,” she said. “I want to stay in the industry and help
University’s Center for Synthetic Biology, funded through NSF. Ultimately, During his time in Johnson’s lab, shape some of the policies.”
she is interested in creating cellular therapeutics. Mitchell built a diverse research portfolio, “I find it very exciting to be able to tell our story in a way that proves
which resulted in the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in She parlayed her Pitzer College degree in neurology from our compliance to all the agencies that regulate us. Our regulators are
Inorganic Chemistry and Best Thesis in Chemistry Award in 2018. biotechnology to cannabis production and distribution. It’s been a trip. asking us how we’re going to keep up with the pace and stay in compliance.
Sharing His Mitchell calls his Pitzer experience “awesome!” He said he “loved the
tiny classes—in inorganic chemistry, there were 10 students. I had one-on-
Conn was 24 and married when she entered Pitzer as a New Resources
Student to finish the degree she had started at San Francisco State
I get to say, ‘This is how.’”
Passions one time with brilliant professors. I was able to go to other classes within University. Always interested in science, she designed her own major under
The Claremont Colleges. Also, the people at Pitzer are second to none.”
Adding to Mitchell’s interests is STEM outreach. In high school, he
the direction of Professor of Psychology (now emeritus) Alan Jones. Her
senior project focused on neuropsychology and learning-disabled adults.
Empowering
B en Mitchell ’18 learned it was
possible at Pitzer College to follow
started a club, H2OPE For Uganda, where he and classmates wrote a
$10,000 grant to furnish Gayaza Cambridge College of St. Mbaaga with
In the Keck Science Department, Conn said that her professors,
advisers and other students were so focused on science that age and gender
Robots to
his many passions and succeed at
them all.
textbooks and science supplies; the grant was fully funded by Fisher
Scientific. At Pitzer, he became involved with the non-profit organization
didn’t matter. “It was a magical space to learn and develop as students,
scientists and STEM leaders.”
Adapt
His most recent success is winning Middle Tree, which offers reduced-price tutoring and test prep to After graduating from Pitzer with honors, she entered the world of big
a three-year NSF grant to pursue
graduate studies in chemistry at the
University of Washington, where he
elementary, middle and high school students. Mitchell also volunteered
weekly as a math and science tutor to local students from low-income
families. While at the University of Washington, Mitchell will volunteer on
biotech at giants Genentech (now Roche) and Novartis. There, she applied
her science degree to biotechnology and process development. As she grew
at Genentech, she moved to quality oversight and regulation and continued
I magine a robotic leg that can learn to
walk by itself in about five minutes.
Brian Cohn ’15, a doctoral candidate
begins his second year in a doctoral program this fall. weekends for Seattle MESA, which provides hands-on STEM experiences this focus at Novartis. in computer science at the USC Viterbi
Being a science major at a small liberal arts school gave Mitchell for underrepresented minorities in middle and high school. After years in biotech, she saw a one-sentence job posting for a position School of Engineering, is part of a
boundless opportunities. “At Pitzer, I explored many fields, including “More than ever today, it is necessary to make science accessible to in the cannabis industry. It read: “The changing regulatory landscape has research team that has created such a
art, anthropology, politics and environmental sciences,” he said. “This everyone, regardless of their background,” he said. “This is why I am uncovered the need for a Project Manager.” limb controlled through artificial intelligence. The limb can be tripped up
broad scope led me to approach scientific and societal problems with passionate about youth outreach and why I continue to strive to make a “I was just looking around for something new and interesting,” she said, and then recover within the time of the next footfall, a task the robot was
an interdisciplinary mindset. I became particularly passionate about change for the better throughout graduate school, and for the rest of and thought, “Why not?” She met with the owner and joined the team. never explicitly programmed to do.
education and socioeconomic equality.” my life.” Cannabis, one of the fastest growing global consumer products, is This breakthrough opens exciting possibilities for understanding
The son of two chemists, Mitchell grew up in San Diego, CA, with his Mitchell’s goal, after earning his PhD, is to teach at a small still in its infancy as an industry. California made the sale and use of human movement and disability, such as creating responsive prosthetics
simple childhood questions explained through science. When he wondered undergraduate institution, much like Pitzer, where “professors have their recreational cannabis legal on January 1, 2019, thus opening the world’s that can help a person walk. Robots could also assist in disaster areas or
how trees can grow so tall, his father told him about photosynthesis and its own research and are doing cool stuff. I want to spread my excitement and largest legal marijuana market. (Medical marijuana has been legal in in space exploration, where a robot’s leg might adapt to different terrains
role in nature, then taught him about hydrogen bonding. His expanding passion for science,” he said. the state for more than 20 years.) Several states across the country have better than a human’s could.
interest in the workings of the physical world shaped his decision to pursue Presumably, with a soccer ball in the corner of his lab. passed similar laws. Ever since, demand for safe, reliable products has been Cohn is the computer scientist on the team, which draws on expertise
a chemistry degree in college. vigorous. As companies position themselves to meet this need, they must in biology, mathematics, engineering and computer science to build better
Pitzer College, with its renowned joint Keck Science Department, comply with myriad state and county regulations or face severe penalties or robots. Francisco J. Valero-Cuevas, professor of biomedical engineering
seemed the right choice. But there was a competing passion: soccer.
At first, he thought he’d need to go to a large university to pursue both
Keeping the business closure. Conn faces this challenge daily.
Conn is project manager for Hype Cannabis Company, a California-
and professor of biokinesiology and physical therapy at USC, leads the
team of three doctoral students, which also includes Ali Marjaninejad
interests. When he learned Pitzer is partnered with Pomona College in
NCAA Division III as the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, it was a match made in
Pot Clean— based cannabis cultivator and retail store operator that grows, packages
and sells cannabis goods. It is owned by Vibe Bioscience, a production
and Darío Urbina-Meléndez.
Their article, “Autonomous functional movements in a tendon-
science-soccer heaven. At Pitzer, Mitchell became a team captain and was
on the SCIAC All-Academic Team for three years and the Scholar All-West
and Safe and distribution company with licensed retail locations currently in
Sacramento and Stockton. Its retail division sells its own product, as well as
driven limb via limited experience,” was the March 2019 cover article in
Nature Machine Intelligence. The authors say that, unlike most current
Team in 2017. As goalie, he posted more than 200 career saves.
Mitchell couldn’t decide at first which area of science to pursue. Then,
he took Associate Professor Nancy Williams’ inorganic chemistry class.
A science degree often leads to
medical practice or research. But
the curiosity science demands can
products from other growers.
“I wear lots of different hats,” she said. “I’m primarily responsible for
maintaining our current state-issued and city-issued operational licenses,
work, their robots learn by doing without any prior or parallel computer
simulations to guide learning, much like the natural learning that babies
do. This is important because while programmers can predict and code
Williams treated her students much like graduate students, said Mitchell. seduce some scientists into exploring as well as getting new licenses submitted with various regulatory agencies.” for multiple situations, they can’t code for every possible scenario—thus,
“This approach was one of the reasons I went into the field.” unexpected career paths. The main licensing authority Conn deals with is the Bureau of preprogrammed robots are inevitably prone to failure.
Mitchell soon became fascinated by carbon-metal bonds and contacted Anne Conn ’95 has taken the road Cannabis Control with different subdivisions that have primary Cohn explained how the robotic leg learned to adapt on its own:
Professor Adam Johnson, an organometallic chemist at Harvey Mudd less traveled. responsibility for retail activities. The California Department of Food and “We made our leg walk, and during the submission process to the
12 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 13
journal, one reviewer said, ‘This is great, but how robust is this? Is it a house of
cards where you move it a tiny bit and it will just crash into the ground? Or will it
actually be robust, like a human?’
“So, we went back to the lab to start the experiment again and whacked the leg
with a stick. When we hit it, it looked weird for a moment, then it went right back
producing movement on the treadmill. We were pretty amazed when that happened.”
According to Cohn, this work is a step toward empowering robots to learn and
adapt from each experience, just as animals do.
In 2016, Cohn received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support his
work at USC. His research focuses on predicting human muscle control pattern
in health, development, aging and pathological conditions, as well as the design of
artificial intelligence pipelines that can handle new levels of data. In addition to his
fellowship, he is chief data scientist and co-owner of Kaspect, a strategic consulting
firm that merges modern biotech business and artificial intelligence. He is also an
Innovation Studio mentor for the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where he
focuses on extended reality technologies and their application in pediatric care. The Science of Giving Pitzer College Joins
Yet science was not the reason Cohn chose Pitzer College for his $5 Million for Keck Science Program
undergraduate degree. He came to Elite Colleges in Social
T
Pitzer because “I liked the challenge wo recent gifts totaling $5 million will help renovate
it would bring to my academic sense
and my political sense.” Originally, he
and expand the science program at the W.M. Keck Science Research
Science Department (KSD), which is transitioning to a
focused on the humanities, but after a joint Pitzer College and Scripps College program.
few research experiences in chemistry The Pitzer Family Foundation (PFF) has donated Pitzer College has become a select member of the Social
at the Keck Science Department, he $3 million to Pitzer College to support the growth and Science Research Council (SSRC) College and University
switched to science. He became a expansion of science facilities at KSD. Along with a $1 Fund for the Social Sciences. The fund’s purpose is to
student of Associate Professor Lars million donation from the PFF in April 2017, this gift
Schmitz, whom Cohn considers one sustain and enhance the national infrastructure of social
will reinvigorate Keck Science’s facilities and academic
of his biggest mentors. “He still is,” programs to provide a more effective 21st century science
science research, launch and enhance the careers of
he said. education for Pitzer and Scripps students. It will also young scholars and deepen relationships with campus
After taking one of Schmitz’s enable the colleges to move forward with the construction faculty communities through various forms of service and
courses and doing research together, of a new $65 million shared science facility located intellectual participation.
they published their results—an directly west of the W.M. Keck Science Center.
opportunity Cohn believes he The fund was initiated in 2013 with a dozen supporters—
In June, Scripps and Pitzer Colleges received a
wouldn’t have had elsewhere. “At combined total gift of $2 million ($1 million to each
University of California, Berkeley, Brown University,
larger institutions, it’s really hard to publish a paper, especially if you’re doing college) from the W.M. Keck Foundation toward the Columbia University, City University of New York, Cornell
something that’s very technical and very hands-on.” purchase of equipment and the renovation of the Keck University, Duke University, Harvard University, Johns
At Keck Science, Cohn and Schmitz dissected the eyes of unique reef fishes to Science Center. The Foundation has awarded $4.9 to Hopkins University, New York University, Princeton
discover how evolution affects the anatomy of eyes. “We created some pretty cool Pitzer since 1982 and more than $4.7 to Scripps.
algorithms that nurtured my interest in computer science and development,” Cohn University, Stanford University and Vanderbilt University.
Pitzer President Melvin Oliver said: “The Keck
said. “That’s why I got my master’s and am in pursuit of my PhD in computer Science Program is special in that undergraduate
Today, the fund has grown to more than three dozen
science at USC. I felt my Pitzer degree in computational biology would be even students participate in original research, present their members, including Swarthmore College, Boston College,
more valuable if I could learn the deeply algorithmic approaches to science.” findings at national venues and publication opportunities Dartmouth College and now Pitzer College.
Cohn speaks passionately about bringing new concepts into health care, either alone or with their professors before they even Pitzer College President Melvin L. Oliver, a social
such as unique delivery mechanisms. He has worked on an application that graduate. We extend our most sincere gratitude to the
allows a parent to deliver speech therapy care to their child through an artificial scientist himself, said: “This prestigious membership
Pitzer family for their long-standing support and their
intelligence. Another one of his projects uses algorithmic approaches to interpret commitment to superior science education, and we
creates outstanding opportunities for Pitzer’s social
people’s motion in order to empower physical and occupational therapists to deeply appreciate the Keck Foundation for recognizing scientists to inform the direction of modern social science
deliver more precise care. the department’s success in fostering future leaders in and ensure that the College’s scholarship makes
This summer, Cohn is doing further PhD research at Microsoft, in Redmond, science and supporting the program’s growth.” a difference.”
WA. He is designing augmented and virtual reality environments and programs
that intersect with human health and human perception.
“It should be fun!” he said.
Pitzer students and alumni do find science fun.
They also find science rewarding. As the W.M.
Keck Science Program continues to attract
dedicated explorers and creative thinkers to
its many opportunities, more and more Pitzer
scientists make life-changing discoveries that
improve life for all.
WHAT COULD
TOP THAT?
14 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 15
A Strategy for Excellence
Pitzer College Strategic Plan 2024
F ollowing more than a year of information-gathering and priority-setting by the entire Pitzer community,
the College has established four distinct goals as it enters Phase Three: Implementation.
Academic Resources & Planning Financial Sustainability
GOAL I: Broaden the interdisciplinary landscape and expand GOAL III: Deepen our commitment to financial sustainability to promote Marchant Leads
academic resources to better equip students to engage holistically broader access to a Pitzer education and create adaptability in response to the Strategic Plan
with the complex problems of the world. evolving higher education landscape.
Implementation
• Create new interdisciplinary strategies, • Improve student learning by using added • Implement a thoughtful plan for enrollment emphasizing the accomplishments of our
leveraging existing academic programs, resources to create new program offerings, growth to increase revenue and realize the students, alumni, faculty and staff, and how
both to guide and respond to students’ enhance academic space and technology, benefits of scale. these reflect and reinforce the College’s core Jim Marchant has been
changing academic interests. support increased enrollment at Keck values. appointed Pitzer’s first vice
Science and support existing faculty lines • Build a more robust, nimble and creative president for strategic initiatives
• Rethink the allocation of faculty lines and majors. advancement operation. • Diversify revenue sources, including building and community relations. This
through cross-disciplinary, faculty-led the endowment, to create a more flexible
• Build our brand, create more awareness, position was established to provide
conversations to advance the College’s • Enhance academic support services to foundation for the future.
and capture more of our public’s mindshare leadership as Pitzer implements
academic plans and priorities. better meet the needs of an increasingly
through a concerted communications program its institutional strategic plan and
diverse student body.
• Further integrate Keck Science into bolsters its commitment to
traditional core academic programming • Reimagine the first- and second-year the community.
to expand interdisciplinary learning student experiences in ways that increase Marchant’s tenure at Pitzer
opportunities and promote creativity and retention and improve academic and College spans 25 years, during
innovation in the sciences. career advising. Planning & Decision-Making which he has helped Pitzer ascend
into the top tier of national
GOAL IV: Develop a culture of inclusive, intentional and transparent planning liberal arts colleges. He has held
and decision-making. numerous key positions at Pitzer,
• Build a flexible, collaborative infrastructure to • Make governance structures, policies and including as the longest-serving
Build a Thriving Community
collect, store, analyze and share data to inform processes more effective, ensuring they draw vice president for student affairs
GOAL II: Advance a College-wide sense of community and institutional planning and decisions. fully on the wisdom of all stakeholders. and as executive director of
engagement by cultivating an environment where students, faculty advancement, where he has built
• Align consortium collaborations with the
and staff all thrive. relationships and raised funds for
College’s strategy and goals.
• Facilitate the bringing together • Anticipate, identify and respond to numerous institutional priorities,
of students, faculty and staff in the diverse needs of all members of such as financial aid, student life
both formal and informal settings the College community, emphasizing programs and the renovation and
by expanding the portfolio of inclusion and equity. expansion of science facilities.
shared experiences.
• Improve the overall student experience,
• Steward campus facilities and technology using student-led dialogue as the basis
to promote learning, community and for planning.
engagement.
• Develop a long-term strategic enrollment
• Promote intercultural understanding and plan that increases access to the College,
community trust through cross-group optimizes the use of College resources
dialogue and other means. and positions the College to have a more
socioeconomically diverse student body.
16 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 17“ Pitzer College and I
are a perfect match.
I am excited to be part
of such a vibrant and
innovative academic
community.
” Pitzer Faculty Field Notes
Awards, Grants, Honors project focused on new liberal arts colleges.
Following his Fulbright year, he will return
Wolfenbüttel for her research project “Matters of
Appearance: Identity Markers and Complexion
to teaching at Pitzer as a professor of political in Sixteenth-Century Europe.” She also wrote a
• Associate Professor of Philosophy Ahmed studies and to lead the College’s Institute for book chapter, “Naming the Turk and the Moor:
Alwishah served as a guest researcher with Global/Local Action and Study. Boyle served as Prehistories of Race,” in Names and Naming in
Representation and Reality: Historical and dean of faculty and vice president for academic Early Modern Germany.
Contemporary Perspectives on the Aristotelian affairs from 2015-19.
Tradition, a research program within the • Tarrah Krajnak, associate professor of art, won a
Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and • The National Association for Chicana and Harpo Foundation Emerging Artist Grant and a
Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg Chicano Studies honored Professor Emeritus of Photo London/La Fabrica Book Dummy Award.
in Sweden. A life member of Cambridge Sociology and Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies José Z. Her solo exhibition, 1979: Contact Negatives, was
University’s Clare Hall College, Alwishah is co- Calderón by naming him the 2019 NACCS hosted at as-is gallery in Los Angeles and was
Meet
editor of the anthology Aristotle and the Arabic Scholar. “Dr. Calderón is the quintessential a critics’ pick in Artforum. Her photobook, El
Allen M. Omoto became Pitzer’s new vice president for Contribution to Education and Training Award from
Tradition, among other volumes. His research Chicano activist scholar,” said the NACCS Jardín de Senderos Que Se Bifurcan, was shown in
academic affairs and dean of the faculty on July 1. the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, focuses on philosophy of language and mind Board in announcing the award. He is “a true Northern Ireland and Spain.
Most recently, Omoto served as Claremont Graduate and Bisexual Issues; a Distinguished Service Award in Islamic tradition, as well as the intersection representative of this award through his lifetime
Allen M.
University’s associate provost for academic affairs and as from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social between Aristotle and Arabic philosophy. commitment to the establishment of NACCS, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Jemma
the director of its Institute for Research on Social Issues. Issues; the Western Psychological Association’s Social
He joined CGU in 2000 as a professor of psychology. He the Community Caucus and his championing Lorenat won the Maria Gaetana Agnesi Third
Responsibility Award; and an Outstanding Achievement • Professor of English and World Literature of the Chicana and Chicano community with
went on to serve in several leadership roles, including Centennial Prize for her paper “Certain Modern
Sumangala Bhattacharya was admitted to the
Omoto
Award from the Committee on Sexual Orientation exceptional academic excellence.” Ideas and Methods: ‘Geometric Reality’ in
as interim dean of the School of Educational Studies at California State Bar in December 2018. She
CGU. Prior to CGU, Omoto was an associate professor and Gender Diversity of the American Psychological the Mathematics of Charlotte Angas Scott,”
also penned two articles, “Elusive Justice: The
of psychology at the University of Kansas. His scholarly Association. He is a recipient of a presidential citation published in the Review of Symbolic Logic.
Rohingya Chronic Crisis and the Responsibility
from the American Psychological Association. He has
New Dean of research focuses on issues relating to the environment,
HIV disease and lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns from also been honored for his support of the Queer Resource
to Protect” for the Loyola of Los Angeles
International and Comparative Law Review
• Professor of Biology and Environmental Science
Donald McFarlane received the Kenneth S. Pitzer
the Faculty a social psychological perspective.
“Even before joining The Claremont Colleges, I
Center at The Claremont Colleges and was a member
of CGU’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
and “Taj of the Raj: Appropriating the Colonial
Legacy of Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial Hall”
Professorship, which recognizes excellence in the
have known about and admired Pitzer College and its areas of mathematics and the natural sciences.
Omoto served as president of the Society for the for Nineteenth-Century Contexts. In April,
distinctive academic mission. Throughout my career, my Psychological Study of Social Issues and as president of she presented a paper, “Imperial Bric-à-Brac • Professor of Psychology David S. Moore has
scholarly, community and professional service work has the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, or India’s Other Taj Mahal? Appropriating been elected a member-at-large of the Executive
centered on themes of diversity, social justice and civic the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata,” at the
and Bisexual Issues. He has written scores of journal Committee of Division 7 (Developmental
engagement,” said Omoto. “Pitzer College and I are a Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies
articles, edited scholarly texts and presented nationally Psychology) of the American Psychological
perfect match. I am excited to be part of such a vibrant annual conference.
and internationally. Association. His term begins January 1, 2020.
and innovative academic community.”
Omoto holds a PhD in psychology with a He was also the featured speaker in the Future
Among Omoto’s many professional affiliations, he • Former Dean of Faculty and Vice President
specialization in social psychology from the University Tech Podcast episode “Rethinking Genes,
is a fellow of the American Psychological Association of Academic Affairs Nigel Boyle was named Understanding Epigenetics.”
and a charter member and fellow of the Association for of Minnesota and a BA with honors in psychology from a Fulbright Global Scholar through a senior
Psychological Science. He has received a Distinguished Kalamazoo College. • Professor of History Carina L. Johnson was
Fulbright grant for 2019-20. Next year, he will • Professor of Psychology Norma Rodriguez
awarded a Short-Term Research Fellowship from
undertake three extended research trips to received the Flora Sanborn Pitzer Professorship,
the New York Public Library and a research
Pakistan, Germany and Vietnam as part of a which recognizes substantial distinction in the
fellowship from the Herzog August Bibliothek
18 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 19fields of mathematics and applied mathematics
in the social or behavioral sciences. She Books, Essays and Articles and “Which predicts student performance in
cooperative & competitive math learning? For
most recently held the Peter and Gloria Gold whom?” for Urban Education.
Endowed Professorship. • Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese
Juanita C. Aristizábal co-edited a dossier on • Associate Professor of Urban Studies Tessa Hicks
• Jacqueline Levering Sullivan, director emerita violence and representation in contemporary Peterson authored the chapter “Healing Pedagogy
of academic writing, was one of five women cultural production from Mexico and Colombia from the Inside Out: The Paradox of Liberatory
selected for an oral history project, Women in in the Revista de Estudios Hispanicos, published Education in Prison” in the anthology Critical
Action in Claremont, sponsored by Claremont by Washington University in St. Louis. She co- Perspectives on Teaching in Prison: Students and
Heritage. A reception honoring the six authored the introduction to the dossier and an Instructors on Pedagogy Behind the Wall, published
participants was held at Claremont Heritage and article titled “Mausoleos y formas sin nombre: by Routledge on June 2. The book’s chapters
Memorial Park in June. Sullivan’s fourth book, Escritura y violencia en Tomás González y Juan are written by prison instructors, currently
Tell the Rain Goodbye, is forthcoming this fall. Gabriel Vásquez.” incarcerated students and formerly incarcerated
students, providing a variety of perspectives on
• Assistant Professor of Organizational Studies
the many roadblocks and ambitions of teaching
Barbara Junisbai and Associate Professor of
and learning in carceral settings.
Sociology Azamat Junisbai co-authored two peer-
reviewed articles, “Regime type versus patronal • Chemistry Professor Kathleen Purvis-Roberts co-
politics: a comparison of ‘ardent democrats’ in authored a book chapter, “Equity through Access
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan,” published by Post- to Computer Science Learning at a Small Liberal
Soviet Affairs, and “Polarization during Institutional Arts College,” for Culturally Responsive Strategies
Decline: Variation in Educational Attainment for Reforming STEM Higher Education: Turning
in Post-Soviet Central Asia, 1991-2006,” in the TIDES on Inequity. She also co-authored
European Education. They also co-authored two “Comparative Genomic Analysis in Two Yeasts
articles, “Institutional Trust in Kazakhstan versus Reveals Conserved Pathways in the Response
Kyrgyzstan: How Divergent Trajectories Matter,” Network to Phenol Stress,” a peer-reviewed article
• Associate Professor of Chicano/a-Latino/a published in Ponars Eurasia, and “O Raschetlivom with several Keck Science students and other
Transnational Studies Suyapa Portillo Villeda ’96 i Apolotichnom Pokolenii Novogo Kazakhstana” Claremont Colleges faculty.
received recognitions from Congresswoman (“On Kazakhstan’s Calculating and Apolitical New
Judy Chu and South Pasadena Mayor Marina Generation”), for Fergana News. • Professor Emerita of Anthropology Susan
Khubesrian (not shown) for her Fulbright Scholar Seymour penned the book chapter “Growing
research, “Hidden Narratives of Mitigation in the • Associate Professor of Psychology and Cognitive up Female in North India” in The Psychology of
Sending Country: Gender, Sexuality and Youth,” in Science Timothy Justus published a paper, “Form Women under Patriarchy. The book, published by “Turn a Blind Eye” (detail) by Timothy Berg
Honduras. Portillo Villeda was recently elected to and Meaning in Music,” in the journal Auditory University of New Mexico Press, will be released
the executive council of the Latin American Studies Perception & Cognition with Pitzer alumnae Laura this November.
Association. She also provided expert commentary Gabriel ’15 and Adela Pfaff ’19. Justus also gave a
about Honduran social movements and the
immigration caravan for numerous national media
presentation titled “Constructing Film Emotions”
at the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving
• Professor of History Andre Wakefield authored
“Cameralism, Physiocracy and Anti-Physiocracy
Arts, Media & Talks natural birthing movement in the article “Why
Are Women Still Refusing Painkillers During
Century of Los Angeles Graffiti” at Society
of American Archaeological meetings in
outlets, including The New York Times. Image in Hamburg, Germany. in the Germanies” in The Economic Turn: Recasting Childbirth,” published in January by Tonic, Albuquerque, NM. Her essay “Moniker Writing
• Professor of Art Timothy Berg showcased his VICE’s health website and digital video channel. as Invented Tradition” was published in
Political Economy in Eighteenth-Century Europe.
• Professor of Philosophy Brian Keeley authored work in five exhibitions across the country: She was also an invited speaker at the Born Monikers: Identity Lost and Found.
• Professor of Economics Linus Yamane received His “The Origins and History of the Earth” is in the
two papers, “The credulity of conspiracy theorists: Birdwatcher at Visions West Contemporary into This conference’s panel “Doula Trainings
the Peter and Gloria Gold Endowed Professorship, Oxford Handbook of Leibniz.
Conspiratorial, scientific & religious explanation Gallery in Denver, CO; Making a Difference at International” in Austin, TX, in June. • In May, Assistant Professor of Psychology
which is awarded to a professor who has made
compared” for Conspiracy Theories and the People • In his forthcoming The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA, and at the Marcus Rodriguez co-taught a five-day
outstanding contributions to Pitzer, taking into
Who Believe Them and “Is a belief in providence the book, What It Means to what it Art Miami in Miami, FL; and Nature In/Forms at • Professor of Environmental Analysis Paul intensive workshop on Dialectical Behavior
consideration teaching and advising, impact
same as a belief in conspiracy?” for Brill Handbook Be Moral: Why Religion means to be the Great Park Gallery in Irvine, CA. In addition, Faulstich ’79, P’15 held a second exhibition Therapy for 166 mental health professionals at
on the College as an intellectual community,
of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion. Is Not Necessary for moral he wrote “Test Sieve Brush” for Ceramics this academic year of photos of local wildlife the Shanghai Mental Health Center in China.
research, publications and participation in the self-
Living an Ethical Life, Monthly. He and Associate Professor of Art he’s taken with motion-triggered trail cameras.
governance of the College or in public affairs. He
• Amanda R.W. Lagji, assistant professor of Professor of Sociology Why Religion Is Jessica McCoy participated in Campus Mail Art: Intimate Encounters: Up Close with Claremont’s • Associate Professor of Chemistry Babak
was also awarded a visiting faculty fellowship to the
English and world literature, penned two articles, and Secular Studies Phil Not Necessary for The Claremont Colleges, an exhibition featuring Wildlife opened in February at the Claremont Sanii spoke on “Scalable biomembrane
Associated Kyoto Program at Doshisha University
“Waiting in Motion: Mapping Postcolonial Fiction, Zuckerman argues that
Living an Ethical Life works by faculty and staff that were either hand- Community Foundation. He also joined the manufacturing” at the UCLA Center for
in Kyoto, Japan, for the spring 2020 semester. His
New Mobilities, and Migration through Mohsin the major challenges delivered at The Claremont Colleges or traveled Editorial Review Board of Australian Archeology. Minimally Invasive Therapeutics. He co-
most recent paper, “Biracial Asian and White:
Hamid’s Exit West” in Mobilities and “Fragments facing the world today phil through the intercampus mail system. authored with several students the article
Demographic and Labor Market Status,” was
of a World That ‘Doesn’t End’: The Apocalyptic zuckerman • Judith V. Grabiner, Flora Sanborn Pitzer “Drawing and Hydrophobicity-patterning Long
published in Theoretical and Applied Economics. are best approached
Impulse in a Time of Perpetual War,” published in • During this year’s annual meeting of Alphabet Professor of Mathematics Emerita, gave a lecture Polydimethylsiloxane Silicone Filaments” in the
from a nonreligious
• Professor of Asian American Studies and Post45’s “Forms of the Global Anglophone.” City and Cave Canem in Pittsburgh, PA, at Claremont McKenna College’s Athenaeum Journal of Visualized Experiments.
ethical framework. In short, we need to look to
former Associate Dean of Faculty Kathleen Yep Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Jim Bogen titled “Mathematics and Culture: Geometry and
our fellow humans and within ourselves for moral
• John Milton, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor and his wife, author Deborah Bogen ’90, had the Everything Else.” • Associate Professor of Academic Writing and
received the 2019-20 Lenz Fellowship at Naropa progress and ethical action. He also published two
of Computational Neuroscience, co-wrote the opportunity to play music with poet Cornelius Writing Center Director Andrea Scott delivered
University in Boulder, CO, to research culturally peer-reviewed articles in the Journal for the Scientific
article “Outgrowing seizures in childhood absence Eady. Jim played the banjo while Deborah • Professor of Political Studies/Chicano Studies the opening keynote at the first joint conference
relevant contemplative practices beside families Study of Religion and the Journal of Contemporary
epilepsy: time delays and bistability” for the Journal played the uke and sang with Cornelius to Adrian Pantoja P’18 discussed immigrant of the German Society for Writing Didactics and
impacted by immigration detention centers. She Religion. In February, he spoke on “The ‘Nones’ and
of Computational Neuroscience. his original songs. Alphabet City is part of an “Dreamers” roles in the midterm election in Research, the Austrian Society for Academic
also presented at the annual American Public Political Activism” at Augsburg University.
organization that houses and shelters writers the Los Angeles Times article “How young Writing and the Swiss Forum for Academic
Health Association Conference and the Campus
• Shelva Paulse, assistant dean of faculty for who have been exiled for their political views immigrant ‘Dreamers’ made flipping control of Writing, hosted by the Alpen-Adria-Universität
Compact’s Continuums of Service Conference.
academic affairs, wrote “Continuities across and activities. the House a personal quest.” in Klagenfurt, Austria. She co-authored the
continents: Assessing African American cultural peer-reviewed article “What Can Citations Tell
themes among Black and Coloured South • Associate Professor of Sociology Alicia • Professor of Environmental Analysis Susan Us About the State of the Discipline Now?” in
Africans” for the International Journal of Psychology Bonaparte discussed racial and class lines in the Phillips presented “Radical Stratigraphy: A JoSch: Journal der Schreibberatung.
20 · The Participant Spring-Summer 2019 · 21You can also read
