THE COLLEGE
The Pandemic Continues
The COVID-19 vaccine became widely available in 2021 after health care workers received the first vaccines in December 2020. However, residential college campuses in Los Angeles County remained closed for the spring semester by order of L.A. County public health officials. Â鶹ӰĘÓ classes continued to be taught remotely via Zoom, and Commencement was held online for the second consecutive year, with activist Ady Barkan, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Keller ’70 delivering addresses to the Class of 2021 via the internet. In August, the Â鶹ӰĘÓ campus fully reopened for the return of students for the fall 2021 semester after nearly 18 months and a full academic year of online learning. The Classes of 2024 and 2025 each made the traditional entry through the College Gates, with sophomores arriving on campus for the first time after spending their first year studying at home or in small residential “pods” they formed with friends in an attempt to replicate the independence of going away to college. The return of in-person learning began cautiously, with most students, faculty and staff required to receive vaccines, undergo regular testing and wear masks in most indoor settings. Many classes were held in new outdoor settings equipped with tables, chairs, whiteboards and video screens, and meals initially were provided “to-go” only by campus dining halls.
CAMPUS
Benton Museum Opens
The much-awaited public opening of the Benton Museum of Art at Â鶹ӰĘÓ arrived in May with limited, reservation-based visits after the pandemic delayed the planned 2020 debut. A more traditional opening was held in November, accompanied by special events. The museum, led by Director Victoria Sancho Lobis, was made possible by a $15 million gift from Â鶹ӰĘÓ Trustee Janet Inskeep Benton ’79.
Student Voting Surges
Rallied by Pomona Votes, a nonpartisan student organization, 77.7% of Pomona students voted in the 2020 election, compared to 66% of college students nationwide.
LEADERSHIP
Rodriguez named VP and CIO
José C. Rodriguez, an accomplished technology leader whose career is distinguished by working across academic disciplines, became Pomona’s vice president and chief information officer.
New Registrar
Erin Michelle Collins, previously registrar at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), was selected as Pomona’s new registrar.
FACULTY
A fossil of a long-extinct species was named for Â鶹ӰĘÓ Dean and Geology Professor Robert Gaines after he and his team discovered it in the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies. Titanokorys gainesi, or “Gaine’s titanic helmet” lived about 500 million years ago and was ancestral to arthropods.
PASSINGS
Former faculty members who passed away in 2021 included Emeritus Professor of Sociology Bob Herman ’51, Emeritus Professor of Biology Laura Mayes Hoopes and Emeritus Professor of Politics Lee C. McDonald ’48.
ATHLETICS
All intercollegiate athletics competition during the 2020-21 academic year was canceled by the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), the NCAA Division III conference in which Pomona-Pitzer competes. Sagehen Athletics resumed in fall 2021 and claimed the first two of an unprecedented three Pomona-Pitzer national titles during the 2021-22 academic year.
NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Title
Pomona-Pitzer’s men’s cross country team won its second consecutive national championship in November, adding the 2021 NCAA Division III title to the one it won in 2019. No competition was held in 2020 because of the pandemic.
USA Water Polo National Title
The Pomona-Pitzer men’s water polo team claimed the 2021 USA Water Polo Division III College Men's Water Polo national title in December with an overtime victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) at Haldeman Pool. Because the NCAA doesn’t host a national championship competition for Division III water polo, USA Water Polo stepped in to fill the void with a four-team end-of-season championship beginning in 2019.
Tokyo Olympics
Alex Rodriguez, head coach of Pomona-Pitzer’s men’s and women’s water polo teams, served as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s Olympic water polo team in the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed one year by the pandemic. Former Sagehens basketball coach Gregg Popovich led the U.S. men’s basketball team to Olympic gold.
ALUMNI
NBA Championship Coach
Mike Budenholzer ’92 guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA title after a pandemic-shortened 72-game regular season. Budenholzer, a former Sagehens player, started his NBA coaching career as an assistant to San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, the former Pomona-Pitzer coach who won five NBA titles with the Spurs.
Prince William’s Earthshot Prize
Gator Halpern ’12, president and co-founder of Coral Vita, was honored as one of the inaugural recipients of the Earthshot Prize, a global prize for environmental work awarded by Prince William and the Royal Foundation. Based in the Bahamas, Coral Vita plays a major role in expanding coral farming and reef restoration in the face of environmental threats.
ELSEWHERE
- On January 6, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing the evacuation of the House and Senate before Congress returned to certify Joe Biden’s election as president.
- President Donald Trump was impeached a second time, for “incitement of insurrection.” For the second time, the Senate voted not to convict after Trump left office and Biden was inaugurated.
- Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of George Floyd’s murder 11 months after Floyd’s death during a 2020 arrest sparked national protests against police brutality and systemic racism.