Community Update

April 11, 2025

Dear Pitzer Community,

I hope this message finds you well at this busy time of the semester, and with so much swirling around us nationally and globally. We are navigating an extraordinary moment in higher education, perhaps the most challenging since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of this complexity and disquieting uncertainty, I want to share updates on how Pitzer is managing and responding with purpose and care, grounded in our mission and values.

Upholding Our Values in the Face of Challenges

We continue to plan thoughtfully around recent federal actions and executive orders affecting higher education. Our guiding principles remain consistent: to center our mission and institutional values in all we do, comply with established state and federal laws (including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA), uphold academic freedom and our commitment to freedom of expression, and ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for all, free from illegal discrimination.

We are carefully assessing the implications of current and potential federal policies—such as those affecting federally funded financial aid, research support, and immigration—and are modeling financial and operational risks accordingly. We are particularly mindful of how immigration policies and shifts may impact our international students, and we remain steadfast in our support for them.

I also joined peer college presidents this week in signing onto an amicus brief [PDF] organized by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. This brief supports a legal challenge by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and others to the federal government’s “ideological-deportation” policies. It is vital that we stand together in defense of our educational mission, core values, and the rights of members of our residential and academic community.

Engaging Our Community

We continue our broad and specific efforts to engage and support impacted and vulnerable students, faculty, and staff. Dialogues with student leaders—including the Student Senate Executive Board and grassroots groups like Students for Effective Solidarity and Hope (SESH)—have been productive and rewarding, as has been ongoing engagement with the Faculty Executive Committee and Staff Council. I am grateful for the innumerable and heartening ways members of our community are coming together in a spirit of solidarity and mutual support.

Looking externally, we are closely tracking national and local developments, including congressional and executive-branch inquiries into peer institutions and the cancelation of student visas, and will keep the community informed as appropriate, particularly as such developments might affect members of the Pitzer community.

Fostering Constructive Dialogue

Even—especially—in turbulent times, Pitzer remains committed to advancing dialogue, empathy, and mutual understanding. Our campus recently hosted a powerful event through the Presidential Initiative on Constructive Dialogue, Listening from the Heart, which featured Israeli and Palestinian presenters from the American Friends of the Parents Circle reflecting on their personal losses and efforts to promote peace. Those who were unable to attend the event live can view a recording of it at the link above. Programs like this are part of our broader efforts to cultivate meaningful conversations, authentic engagement, and deep learning on a range of complex issues.

Looking Ahead

The Strategic Visioning Coordinating Committee, made up of students, faculty, staff, and trustees, continues to meet this semester. Their work is beginning to shape a compelling long-term vision for Pitzer’s future. We will provide more updates in May.

Finally, I’m pleased to share that former Pitzer faculty member and Interim President Dr. Thomas Poon has been named the next president of Loyola Marymount University, effective June 1, 2025. Please join me in celebrating this wonderful news.

Thank you for your continued partnership and trust. Together, we will meet these challenges with a clear-eyed commitment to our mission and values, with courage, and with care.

Provida Futuri,

Strom C. Thacker
President