Pitzer College received a ringing endorsement from the Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC, as it
officially accepted the report of the evaluation team that visited in December,
President Marilyn Chapin Massey reported to the community last week.
In addition to reaffirming Pitzer's accreditation, WASC explicitly praised the College's
integration of its educational objectives, Massey said in a community memo. She quoted
from a letter dated February 25 from the Commission, which said in part: “The evaluation
team found much to commend in its visit, particularly how Pitzer has developed its distinctive
educational objectives so that they form a seamless whole. Interdisciplinary perspectives,
social responsibility, and intercultural understanding infuse the curriculum and programs of
the College.” It went so far as to suggest that other colleges and universities would do
well to emulate Pitzer's example, in effect saying that the College is setting a new standard
for such education, Massey added.
WASC's evaluation was based in part on reports that are also part of the College's ongoing
comprehensive planning process. The Academic Planning Committee is finishing the draft of
this plan, which will be brought to the community for comment. The plan will then be
presented to the Board of Trustees at the May meeting. In the early fall, the College
hopes to have the plan in place and ready to proceed with more effective internal use of
resources and a successful external fund-raising campaign.
As a sign of its endorsement, the Commission set the date of Pitzer's next full
evaluation ten years from the last one, in the fall of 2008. In the meantime, it
has asked that Pitzer address in a five-year written report three issues of concern:
assessment of educational effectiveness and program review, retention rate, and the
degree of integration of natural science and mathematics in the curriculum. The
academic dean, along with the Academic Planning Committee, is already working on
addressing these concerns and determining the next steps in acting on a number of other
recommendations from the WASC team report
When describing elementary school subjects, neuroscience isn’t the first one that
comes to mind. But because of the efforts of Pitzer Professor Alan Jones and other
faculty in the
neurosciences program, it was part of the curriculum last fall for several classes at
Montclair’s Howard Elementary School.
About 15 students from The Claremont Colleges visited Howard each week and taught a
neuroscience class to fourth, fifth and sixth graders. It is part of the Colleges’
neuroscience program designed to give college students hands-on experience.
The elementary school program challenges neuroscience students at The Claremont Colleges to
organize presentations about the brain, Jones said. The college students develop the material,
working to make it meaningful to elementary students.
“We went over fundamental stuff like what the brain is, what does it do, what it looks like,
where it is,” said Jed Siebel, a Pitzer senior in the neuroscience program. “It’s hard to
teach kids this age complex subjects. It was a challenge. Neuroscience is so full of
abstract theory that it was good to get out into the real world and do something with the
knowledge.”
With a $209,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Jones, a professor of psychology
and neuroscience, and other faculty are in the process of revamping the entire neuroscience
program. The aim is to have faculty representation in each of the major areas of neuroscience,
rather than concentrating faculty in certain select areas, the course many institutions follow.
“It is probably one of the strongest undergraduate neuroscience programs in the country,”
Jones said. College officials hope to make it a full-fledged major this fall.
Neuroscience is the study of what the nervous system does, Jones said. Neuroscientists study
how the brain organizes itself to make sense of sights and sounds, how we learn, what makes
memory, how we process sensory information, among other topics. One branch, electrophysiology,
studies electrical impulses in the brain. Another branch, neuropharmacology, looks at the role
chemicals play in the function of the brain. And cognitive neuropsychology looks at higher
order mental processes.
The program emphasizes the process of scientific discovery. “We try to show that where we are
now is one more step in the process. What we know is our best guess at this point in time,
given what we have to work with,” Jones said.
A major goal of the neuroscience program is to give students an appreciation for the work
done by the pioneers in the field, to see the process involved in scientific discovery.
“These were brilliant guys,” Jones said about the 19th century investigators. “They were
asking all the right questions given the technology they had.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS & O P P O R T U N I T I E S
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, currently
housed at Scripps College, will be coming to Pitzer College next year when its current lease
expires, President Marilyn Chapin Massey told the community last week. "Having the Institute
on our campus will enhance the opportunities for our students to work on important social
issues concerning the Latino community and to take part in ground-breaking research," she said.
The Institute is also a natural fit for Pitzer, partly because its president is Harry Pachon,
Pitzer's Kenan professor of political studies, and because its mission complements that of
the new Center for California Cultural and Social Issues, as developed in the comprehensive
planning process, she added. Established in 1985, the Institute conducts and disseminates
objective, policy- relevant research, and its implications, to decision-makers on key issues
affecting Latino communities.
The Gold Student Center celebrates its fourth anniversary from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Peter and Gloria Gold, whose funding made it all possible, will attend with their grandson.
Other family members are also expected to attend. Other events scheduled for the fourth
anniversary week include an NCAA men's college basketball championship party during the games
Monday; a Cesar Chavez memorial celebration at 7 p.m. Tuesday; a birthday celebration from
noon to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with live jazz and prizes; a "Lifting As We Climb" ceremony
at 6 p.m. Thursday; and a fiesta, with food and music, from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday.
Two Pitzer College landmarks are featured in magazines this spring. The Grove House is
featured in this month’s issue of American Bungalow
magazine (click "news and events"). The Pitzer arboretum is featured in the April issue of
Sunset Magazine, now on newsstands. For copies of either story, e-mail Patrick Lee or
Carol Faubus.
WEEK OF MARCH 29
MONDAY
Taxim Kassam, professor of religious studies at Colorado College, delivers the first C.J.
Kutten College Lecture in Philosophy and Religion at 6:45 p.m. at the Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum. For more information, call x18244.
The annual Pitzer College film benefit features the world premiere of Paramount Pictures'
"The Out-of-Towners," at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Studios theater in Hollywood. The
film stars Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn and is directed by Sam Weisman based upon the
screenplay by Neil Simon. The premiere benefits Pitzer and the California State Summer
School for the Arts. A party with the cast and filmmakers follows the screening. Ticket
prices are $200 per person. For information and tickets, call (310) 319-9500, ext. 127.
Open mic poetry reading takes place at 9 p.m. at the Grove House.
TUESDAY
Baseball team plays Chapman University at 2:30 p.m. at home.
The annual Cesar Chavez Memorial takes place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gold Student
Center multicultural room. This year’s speaker is United Farm Workers union co-founder
Dolores Huerta. The group Sabia, teatro performers Mal Ojo, singer Gaby Villasenor and
poet-musician-muralist Juan Pueblo perform.
John Ross, journalist, novelist and political commentator, lectures on “Chaos as a
Calling Card: John Ross on Politics and Writing in Mexico” at 4:15 p.m. in Room 110,
Carnegie Building, Pomona College. Sponsored by the International Relations and Latin
American Studies program. For more information, call x73088.
Best-selling author Barry Fox presents a workshop on “How to Sell Your First Book
or Article” at 6 p.m. in the Founders Room, Honnold/Mudd Library.
Scripps College women’s studies program presents the film “Maria’s Story,” a portrait of
Maria Serrano, 39, mother of three and a leader in the guerrilla movement in El Salvador,
at 6:30 p.m., Balch Auditorium. A lecture follows at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call x18274.
Guy Beck, College of Charleston professor and author of “Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred
Sound,” performs “Sacred Raga: Music of India” at 6:45 p.m. at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, Claremont McKenna College.
The Harvey Mudd College "Around the World" cinema series presents the film “Xala” at 7 p.m. in Galileo Hall. For more information, call x18478.
Dick Barnes, professor emeritus at Pomona College, gives a poetry reading at 8 p.m. in Crookshank 101, Pomona College. For more information, call x72809.
Phil Zuckerman, Pitzer assistant professor of sociology, gives a fireside talk on “Why are People Religious? A Sociological Approach” at 9 p.m. in the Lucian Marquis Library.
WEDNESDAY
Janet Goodwin, professor of cultural studies at Aizu University, lectures on “Prostitution and Buddhist Discourse in Medieval Japan” at 4:15 p.m. in Room 108, Hahn Building, Pomona College. For more information, call x72924.
Eloise Anderson, former California state director of social services and a fellow at the Claremont Institute, lectures on “The Welfare State and the Idea of America” at 6:45 p.m. at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, Claremont McKenna College. For more information, call x18244.
Nigel Boyle speaks on "Kurds, Turks, Nationalism And Terror" as part of the Truth, Lies, and Democracy lecture series, 5:30 p.m. in the Founders Room of McConnell. For more information, e-mail baboude@scrippscol.edu or nathaniel_hastings@pitzer.edu.
THURSDAY
Pomona College Zen meditation group meets from 7 to 8 p.m. in Walton Commons.
Alejandro Portes, president of the American Sociological Association and professor of sociology at Princeton University, lectures on “The New Second Generation” at 7 p.m. in the Broad Center Performance Space. The Intercollegiate Department of Chicano Studies sponsors his lecture.
Films and discussion, part of a conference on “Caribbean Theories: Culture, Identity and Nation” sponsored by the Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies of the Claremont College, take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Humanities Auditorium at Scripps College.
Student senate meets at 8 p.m. in the Founders Room.
Live music at the Grove House at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY
A faculty seminar sponsored by the Intercollegiate Department of Chicano Studies takes place at 10 a.m. in Room 11 of the Carnegie Building, Pomona College. Reservations only. For more information, call x73221.
SATURDAY
Lectures and discussions for the conference on “Caribbean Theories: Culture, Identity and
Nation,” sponsored by the Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies of the Claremont
Colleges, take place from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Wilbur Hall, Scripps College.
Pomona College Zen meditation group meets from 2 to 4 p.m. at Walton Commons.
WEEK OF APRIL 5
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Werner Warmbrunn, professor of history emeritus and Pitzer historian, gives a fireside
talk on “Pitzer in the Sixties: Pictures and Stories” at 9 p.m. in the Lucian Marquis Library.
THURSDAY
North LA-Ventura Alumni Chapter meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas,
Calif. For more information contact Joe Chatham '89 at (818) 597-0424 or
e-mail jlchatham@earthlink.net.
Pomona College Zen meditation group meets from 7 to 8 p.m. in Walton Commons.
Student senate meets at 8 p.m. in the Founders Room.
Live music at the Grove House begins at 9 p.m.
FRIDAY
Women’s softball team plays at Hope International University at 2 p.m.
Baseball team plays at Caltech at 3 p.m.
SATURDAY
Baseball team plays Caltech at 11 a.m. at home.
Women’s softball team plays at California Lutheran University at noon.
Pomona College Zen meditation group meets from 2 to 4 p.m. in Walton Commons.
F E A T U R E:
Pitzer Sets New Standard for Education: WASC
P R O F I L E:
Alan Jones Brings Neurosciences to Local Schools
COMING UP
Lorrae Fuentes, director of education at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, holds a class in
field botany from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the garden. Registration is required. For more information,
call 626-1917.
Joan Fryzell, professor of geological sciences at Cal State, San Bernardino,
lectures on “Extensional Tectonics in Southern Nevada,” at 11 a.m. Room 214, Seaver South,
Pomona College. For more information, call x18674.
The Scripps women's studies luncheon seminar takes place at noon at the Women's Studies Teaching and Research Center. Cost is $5. For reservations or more information, call x18274.
The College notifies incoming students of admission decisions and financial aid awards.
Panel discussions for the conference on “Caribbean Theories: Culture, Identity and Nation,” sponsored by the Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies of the Claremont Colleges, take place from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Wilbur Hall, Scripps College.
Men’s and women’s track teams compete in the UC Riverside Invitational at 9 a.m. at Riverside.
Open mic and poetry reading takes place at 9 p.m. at the Grove House.
The film “The Living End,” by Gregg Araki, is shown at 7 p.m., followed by “Gilda,” by
King Vidor, in the Broad Center Performance Space.
Work-study time sheets are due.
Admitted students arrive for On Campus Day.
Men’s and women’s track teams compete in the Azusa Pacific Invitational at 10 a.m. in Azusa.