In an email sent this morning to the Pomona College community, David W. Oxtoby – thirteen year President of Pomona College – announced his plans to step down in June 2017.
President Oxtoby states that he is “very proud of Pomona College.” In particular, he references “the successful conclusion of Campaign Pomona: Daring Minds,” a five-year, $250 million fundraising effort that has contributed to new construction projects like those of the Studio Art Center and Millikan Hall, as well as increased funding for internships, fellowships, and scholarships.
He further assures the community: “While I am considering opportunities I might pursue, my highest priority will remain leading this amazing institution in the months ahead. I am confident that the leadership and expertise of our faculty, the experience of our staff, the determination and talent of our students, and the time we have to partner together on the shared goals will make this a smooth transition and allow us to remain focused on the critical work still at hand.” With the support from the Board, President Oxtoby plans to continue advancing “the College’s key priorities and successful operations of the institution.”
This advancement will include “working to improve diversity and inclusion, developing plans for the new Pomona College Museum of Art, progressing [Pomona’s] commitment to be climate neutral by 2030, and taking the next steps to further integrate the new Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity into The Claremont Colleges.”
President Oxtoby closes by urging the college to “continue to move ahead, celebrating the meaningful work we do here every day and exploring exciting opportunities for the future.”
Sam Glick, Chair of the Pomona College Board of Trustees, emailed the Pomona College community following President Oxtoby’s announcement, stating that “We will celebrate President Oxtoby’s many contributions to the College in due course. For now, however, both President Oxtoby and the Board of Trustees have plenty of work to do. Every year that he has led the College, President Oxtoby has moved our institution forward with characteristic energy and ambition. I expect his final year to be no exception, and he has the full support of the Board of Trustees in continuing to advance Pomona’s mission.”
Mr. Glick continues: “Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees must begin the important task of choosing President Oxtoby’s successor. Selecting a new leader is the highest duty a governing body has – a duty that my colleagues on the Board and I intend to carry out with humility and careful deliberation. Over the next month or so, we will design a process to select the tenth president of Pomona College. While we will share more specifics regarding that process in April, I know that it will reflect Pomona’s long tradition of shared governance, and, as with previous presidential searches, will take into account the perspectives and priorities of Pomona’s diverse community, including faculty, staff, students and alumni.”
Mr. Glick concludes by assuring the Pomona College community that “Pomona has never been in a stronger position to recruit a new president, and President Oxtoby’s transition presents us with a valuable moment in which we can reflect as a community on who we are, who we want to be, and how a new leader can support us on that journey.”
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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons