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Pitzer College Receives $3.28 Million Gift

Claremont, Calif. (Nov. 9, 2000) -- Pitzer College has secured $3.28 million – 
the largest single gift in the College's 37-year history – to endow a 
professorship and two full scholarships in anthropology, President Marilyn 
Chapin Massey announced recently.

The gift will enable Pitzer to establish a Distinguished Teaching Chair in 
Archaeology and Biological Anthropology and scholarships named for two esteemed 
anthropology professors, Sheryl F. Miller and R. Lee Munroe.

Miller, who has taught at Pitzer College since 1969, specializes in African 
archaeology, world prehistory, human evolution, African and Native American 
ethnography, cultural ecology and ethnic arts.  Munroe, a research professor of 
anthropology, has been a member of Pitzer's faculty since 1964. His academic 
specialty is cross-cultural human development.

"Pitzer's faculty members have a reputation both for the excellence of their 
teaching and for involving students in their research," said the donor, an 
alumna of the Class of 1983 and her husband (who wish to remain anonymous). "We 
wanted to do something to ensure that future generations of Pitzer students will 
have the chance to collaborate with and learn from outstanding faculty."

"This remarkable gift of a professorship and scholarships -- a clear expression 
of one alumna's appreciation for Pitzer's exceptional academic, intellectual and 
personal influence -- will have a powerful and lasting impact on the College," 
said President Massey in making the announcement.  "We are extremely grateful to 
her and her husband for their generosity."

"Endowed professorships contribute to the academic excellence of an institution. 
They help us attract and retain talented and dedicated faculty," said Martha 
Crunkleton, dean of faculty at Pitzer.  "Endowed professorships recognize 
intellectual achievement and great teaching and they confer honor on the 
appointed professor, the donor and the institution.  The gift of an endowed 
professorship is especially meaningful at Pitzer because our faculty is our 
greatest asset."

The Distinguished Teaching Chair will honor a faculty member for outstanding 
teaching, scholarship and field research in anthropology. More specifically, the 
gift provides the following:

	*$2.1 million to endow a professorial chair, the first occupant of which 
will be named from Pitzer's current full-time, tenured faculty.  The chair is to 
be awarded to a faculty member in anthropology with research and teaching 
interests in the biological evolution of humans and the relationship of humans 
to their physical and cultural environments.

	*$150,000 to endow the scholarly activities of the occupant of the chair.

	*$150,000 to endow summer field research stipends for two students 
nominated by the holder of the chair.

	*$880,000 to create two fully endowed scholarships to be named the Sheryl 
F. Miller Scholarship and the Robert L. Munroe Scholarship in recognition of the 
lifetime commitment to teaching excellence demonstrated by the namesakes. The 
scholarships will provide full funding for two students in anthropology with 
interests in field research.

"Pitzer hallmarks are an extraordinarily creative and caring faculty, and the 
College's genuine commitment to helping students with need gain access to a 
liberal arts education," said Susan Pritzker, who chairs Pitzer's Board of 
Trustees.  "The gift of a professorship and scholarships is a clear expression 
of appreciation for Pitzer's humane spirit."

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Pitzer College – a private, undergraduate, coeducational institution of the 
liberal arts and sciences – is consistently ranked among the best such colleges 
in the country. Located in Claremont, Calif., a city about 35 miles east of Los 
Angeles, Pitzer is an intimate college backed by the resources of The Claremont 
Colleges. Blending classroom instruction with fieldwork, Pitzer engages a 
student's mind, heart and spirit by integrating educational resources on-campus, 
abroad and in the local community. Pitzer offers a curriculum that spans 40 
major fields and focuses on interdisciplinary, intercultural education with an 
emphasis on social responsibility and community service.