Press Releases

Press Releases | Sagehen Athletics

Sports Recap: A Victorious Spring for the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens

The women's water polo team poses by the poolside with a sign that reads 2023 Women's Water Polo SCIAC Tournament Championships. They wear blue swim caps and bathing suits.Claremont, Calif. (May 8, 2023)—Pomona-Pitzer student-athletes have always distinguished themselves for demonstrating a robust passion for sports and academics in NCAA Division III. This spring, they have continued that passion through their endurance, enthusiasm, and teamwork. Pomona-Pitzer Women’s Water Polo Team Repeats National Championship The Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo team repeated as the USA Water [Read More...]
May 8, 2023
Press Releases

The Magnificent Nine: Pitzer Announces 2023 Fulbright Recipients

Claremont, Calif. (May 5, 2023)—Nine members of the Class of 2023 have been offered 2023–24 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants so far this year. “We’re thrilled to have another outstanding Fulbright performance by our students this year,” said Professor of Political Studies Nigel Boyle, who oversees Pitzer’s Office of Fellowships, “and we’re not done yet.” [Read More...]
May 5, 2023
Press Releases

Sekou Andrews ’94 and Keiko Budech ’14 Receive 2023 Alumni Awards

On the left Keiko Budech wears a teal and pink jumpsuit as she stands and holds a colorful frame with her alumni award certificate. Budech has straight shoulder-length brown hair. On the right Sekou Andrews wears a gray jacket over a black T-shirt and faded jeans with various words and patterns written in blue and black ink. He stands and holds a colorful frame with his alumni award certificate. Andrews has shoulder-length dark brown hair and a beard with dark brown and gray hair.Claremont, Calif. (May 3, 2023)—Each year, Pitzer College recognizes alumni who exemplify the College’s core values in their profession and in their community and who act in service for the College.  Pitzer recognizes Sekou Andrews ’94 as the College’s 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and Keiko Budech ’14 as the 2023 Young Alumni Achievement Award recipient. Andrews and Budech were honored for a celebration and awards dinner during Pitzer’s Alumni Weekend 2023. Andrews is a Grammy-nominated poet, a two-time poetry slam national champ, a powerful performer, and an inspirational storyteller who has performed for President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Quincy Jones, along with many others. Budech is a community builder, racial equity practitioner and facilitator, and transportation policy expert.
May 3, 2023
Press Releases | Spotlights

Cornella Ver Halen ’83: Teaching ESL With a Novella and a Rolling Chair

Cornella Ver Halen sits across a wood desk from a student and has an open spiral notebook in front of her as she explains something. Ver Halen has short white hair and wears glasses and a black jacket vest over a blue long-sleeved shirt.Claremont, Calif. (April 26, 2023)—As a teacher, Pitzer alumna Cornella Ver Halen ’83 did not stand by a whiteboard and lecture to students snoozing at their desks. Instead, she rolled. Her chair's little wheels squeaked as she maneuvered to sit beside each student and guide them through whatever they were working on in their workbooks. This was Ver Halen’s teaching style for over 50 years. Until her retirement in December 2022, she was an English as a Second Language (ESL) and sewing teacher at Tri-Community Adult Education/Pioneer Center in Covina. “By working one on one, I let them progress at their own speed,” said Ver Halen. “I said if I couldn’t make grammar interesting, I would quit. I think I succeeded.”
April 26, 2023
Press Releases | Spotlights

Susan Warren ’78 Inspires Children’s Love for Learning on Pitzer’s Campus 

Susan Warren holds her toddler grandson on her hip with one arm and holds a pale yellow reptile in her other hand. Warren and her grandson wear red Project think shirts with the logo of a line drawing of The Thinker sculpture.Claremont, Calif. (April 24, 2023)—As Pitzer alumna Susan Warren ’78 stands on the campus she knew as a first-generation college student, she laughs joyfully at the sea of red T-shirts and children squealing and romping around the grassy mounds. Such a scene has played out many times since Warren founded Project Think 40 years ago. From the STEAM academic enrichment nonprofit Project Think to Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center, Warren has helped found local, innovative education programming.
April 24, 2023
Press Releases

Professor Alicia Bonaparte Organizes a Conference About Black Midwifery at Pitzer

Claremont, Calif. (April 21, 2023)—From April 28 to 29, Pitzer College is hosting the Midwifery is Public Health (MIPH) conference, which will explore the historic and ongoing legacy of Black midwives. As one of the organizers, Pitzer Professor of Sociology Alicia Bonaparte is excited to share her passion for Black community health and birthing with the local community.
April 21, 2023
Press Releases | Spotlights

Diego Borgsdorf Fuenzalida ’24 and Jaspa Ureña ’24 Awarded Curatorial Apprenticeships for First-Generation and Students of Color

Jaspa Ureña stands behind a leafy green plant and has an orange, red, and yellow crocheted circle and a pair of round black glasses over their face. Ureña has curly light brown hair and wears a white sweater. Diego Borgsdorf Fuenzalida has short wavy dark brown hair and wears a white collared shirt with a purple tie.Claremont, Calif. (April 18, 2023)—Pitzer College students Diego Borgsdorf Fuenzalida ’24 and Jaspa Ureña ’23 have received an award from the Pitzer College Art Galleries to complete in-depth curatorial apprenticeships. Available to first-generation and students of color, the Benjamin Godsill ’00 and Anna Burns Student Apprenticeship Award provides the chance to work with two of Los Angeles’ most dynamic non-profit arts organizations: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) in Hollywood and Fulcrum Arts in Pasadena.
April 18, 2023
Press Releases

The Power of Two: Enriching Student Academic Experiences With Co-Taught Classes

Jon Shields and Phil Zuckerman sit beside each other at a long wood table. They smile and look to their left at a student offscreen. Shields is bald and wears a long-sleeved dark blue and white plaid shirt. Zuckerman is bald and wears black glasses and a blue sweater. Copies of the book Irreversible Damage are in front of each of them.Claremont, Calif. (April 17, 2023)—In a co-taught Pitzer class, education is an experiment in collaboration. This year, several dynamic professor duos have reached across subjects, disciplines, and even the Claremont Colleges to enrich their students’ academic experience and hands-on engagement. See how faculty have explored interdisciplinary dialogue and student-driven curriculum in political science, modern languages, and sociology and government. “Interdisciplinary learning expands the mind’s intellectual horizons,” said Professor Phil Zuckerman. “It makes you a better thinker and citizen.” 
April 17, 2023
Press Releases

Roberta Espinoza to Deliver Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative Lecture on Counterspaces for Minoritized Students

A headshot of Roberta Espinoza. Espinoza has long wavy dark brown hair and wears a dark blue blazer and black and silver beaded necklace.Claremont, Calif. (April 11, 2023)—Sociology scholar and former Pitzer dean Roberta Espinoza returns to campus on April 18 for the spring Melvin L. Oliver Racial Justice Initiative Lecture. Drawing from over 10 years of working in diverse higher education environments, Espinoza will share her talk “Validating and Supporting Counterspaces for Minoritized Students at Liberal Arts Colleges.” The reception is at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation begins at 6 p.m. in the Founders Room of Pitzer’s McConnell Center.
April 11, 2023