Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University announced in parallel statements Thursday afternoon that they have entered exclusive negotiations on a “potential partnership,” described as a parent-subsidiary structure. Sources familiar with the matter told the Independent that the institutions’ respective boards signed only a non-binding letter of intent, meaning negotiations could be broken off at any point.

Pomona College is close to entering exclusive negotiations to acquire Claremont Graduate University, multiple sources familiar with the matter told the Independent. CGU, which announced in April that it was seeking “a strategic partner or partners,” was courted by a pool of suitors including Arizona State University, Loyola Marymount University, and Northeastern University. 

The majors listed on our diplomas and qualifications inventoried on our resumes say far less about us than the intangible things that actually give our lives meaning, though we seem to forget that. The university was not always seen as a stepping stone into the corporate world or the endless frontier of networking. In the American university system’s original conception, colleges were meant to help students in their pursuit of the good, true, and beautiful. The university was