Claremont McKenna College

We are deeply honored to share the news that Claremont McKenna College was recently recognized by Claremont Heritage with the 2026 Cultural Heritage Award at the organization’s awards gala and 50th anniversary celebration.

At the gala, themed “Claremont Gold: Our Legacy, Our Future,” CMC was recognized for “its longstanding commitment to architectural excellence, public art, and thoughtful campus design that enriches both the Claremont community and the cultural landscape of Southern California and beyond.”

At the May 31 event, held in Claremont’s historic Padua Hills Theater, a short video offered a sweeping overview of CMC’s history and stages of growth and development over the years— from our first building to the new Robert Day Sciences Center and the emerging Roberts Campus Sports Bowl—and the Walker Public Art Collection.

Thank you to Claremont Heritage for this significant community recognition.

Check out CMC Currents to learn more and watch the video.

CMC art and architecture recognized with Cultural Heritage Award Claremont McKenna College was recently honored by Claremont Heritage with the 2026 Cultural Heritage Award at the organization’s awards gala and 50th anniversary celebration. At the gala, themed “Claremont Gold: Our Legacy, Our Future,” CMC was recognized for “its longstanding commitment to ...

It’s that joyful time of year, when CMC recognizes outstanding members of the graduating class with CMC Student Life awards at a celebratory dinner.

“The Class of 2026 boasts so many incredible leadership and achievement stories. And these students honored with the Student Life Awards are among the very best,” said Dianna “DT” Graves ’98, Vice President for Student Affairs.

CMC’s highest honors this year went to Lindsay Eisenman ’26 and Louis Layman ’26, who were awarded H.N. and Francis C. Berger Prizes for Outstanding Seniors in recognition of their academic achievements, leadership, contributions to the College and the student body, as well as their personal integrity.

Please join us in congratulating Lindsay and Louis, as well as our additional 2026 Student Life Award-winners:

🌟 Thomas Walker ’26 won the William H. Alamshah Award for Student Leadership.
🌟 Cahal Connolly ’26 won the William G. Dickinson Award, which recognizes the CMS student-athlete “who best represents the athletic program through determination, self-discipline, and conscientiousness.”
🌟 Lucy Meza ’26 was recognized with the Brian Walkenbach Award for Outstanding Resident Assistant. At the same time, Beckett Hall (where Meza shared RA leadership duties with Tamoy Pitt ’26 and dorm presidents Alex Chacon ’27 and Brayden Chien ’27) won the O’Keefe Award for outstanding residence hall. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Read the full CMC Currents story (including the list of CMC Alumni Association award winners)
https://www.cmc.edu/news/cmc-senior-awards-celebrating-student-leadership-community-achievements

As part of Claremont McKenna College's year-end festivities, the College honored Professors Scot Gould, Donald McFarlane, and Emily Wiley, who retired at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.

Heather Antecol, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty and James G. Boswell Professor of Economics, acknowledged their profound contributions to "the intellectual and social vitality of our community.”

Please join us in thanking each of them for their inspiring teaching legacies and world-class scholarship.

As the 2025-26 academic year concluded, Claremont McKenna College recognized an impressive group of faculty members with awards for exceptional scholarship, teaching, and service.

"This is truly a staggering body of scholarship that we are celebrating, together with our recognition of excellence in teaching and service to the College,” said Heather Antecol P’29, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty and James G. Boswell Professor of Economics. “What a testament to the caliber of our faculty.”

Antecol was also lauded for her significant contributions to the faculty and the College writ large, as President Hiram Chodosh recognized her with his final Presidential Award for Merit, one of CMC’s highest honors.

Please join us in celebrating these CMC distinguished teacher-scholars for their achievements! 👏

🏆Heather Antecol P’29, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty and James G. Boswell Professor of Economics—Presidential Award for Merit
🏆Nicholas Buccola, Dr. Jules L. Whitehill Professor of Humanism and Ethics and Chair of the Government Department—G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award
🏆Steven Zhou, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science—Glenn R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching
🏆Sarah Marzen, Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Natural Sciences—Faculty Scholarship Award
🏆Paul Nerenberg, Kravis Associate Professor of Integrated Sciences: Computational Science—Roy P. Crocker Award for Service
🏆Cameron Shelton, McMahon Family Professor of Political Economy and Chair of the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance—Dean’s Distinguished Service Award

Congratulations and thank you for all you’ve done to inspire students and carry out CMC’s mission!

Read the full awards story in CMC Currents https://www.cmc.edu/news/cmc-faculty-awards-honoring-exceptional-scholarship-and-service-2025-26

Today is Memorial Day, a national day of observance set aside to honor the memory of those who have served in the U.S. military.

At CMC, military veterans have shaped our own trajectory, from our formative days when the vast majority of the College’s first graduating class were veterans returning from service during WWII. As they readjusted to civilian life and took on leadership roles, they were guided by faculty who were also returning veterans.

Since the College’s founding, CMC has sustained a deep commitment to the courageous leadership qualities embodied by our veteran students, alumni, staff, and faculty.

We salute each of them for their lasting and collective impact. Learn more about the history and impact of veterans at CMC, including current veterans' stories.

https://www.cmc.edu/news/honoring-veterans-lasting-leadership-principles-cmc

During her Commencement keynote, Akshata Murty ’02 cited CMC’s commitment to leadership development and liberal arts learning as crucial to broadening her understanding of the “outside and internal worlds,” and therefore, herself.

The combination memorably came together in a CMC Philosophy course, “Theories of the Good Life,” which Murty took during her senior year. She shared with the Class of 2026 how three special lessons from that class—balance, introspection, and community—“would become an essential part of how I live my life.” In a touching moment, Professor Emeritus Steve Smith, who taught the course in 2002, was in attendance Saturday to hear about his former student’s embrace of “the good life” upon returning to the CMC Commencement stage 24 years later.

“The rounded education you have had (at CMC) has given you the very best grounding as you head out into the world. My message to you is to nurture that, especially during those non-resume moments … when balance, introspection, and community might not be the first words that come to mind,” Murty shared with graduates.

“Professor Smith taught me that all of us have a deeper wisdom within us … when we think carefully and with honesty. That’s how we make better decisions in our lives.”

Watch CMC's full 2026 Commencement ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl4NN0I99hs&t=3s

Addressing the Class of 2026 during CMC’s 78th Annual Commencement ceremony, Senior Class President Chloe Ross ’26 acknowledged that there remain many more lessons to learn—but buoyed by collective support, she and her classmates set out unafraid.

Watch highlights from CMC's Commencement ceremony: https://youtu.be/ZvdDSkAKjQs?si=rF5NrJSqNmN0qH5Q

At Claremont McKenna College’s 78th Annual Commencement ceremony, student-elected speaker Tendai Nyamuronda ’26 summarized the Class of 2026’s journey of triumphs and sorrows, honored what they discovered about themselves through one another, and celebrated the shared home they created.

Relive CMC's Commencement ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/live/Nl4NN0I99hs?si=hq0rGkx-JKPtWFWM

Congratulations to the more than 300 undergraduates who stepped onto CMC’s Commencement stage as students … and stepped off as alumni, the incredible Class of 2026!

We are proud of each of you for turning individual strengths into a collective, meaningful campus home.

CMC's 78th Commencement Ceremony had many memorable moments, including:

• Tendai Nyamuronda ’26: Building a CMC home from Harare;
• Chloe Ross ’26: Stepping into the future together;
• Embracing lessons on the good life with Akshata Murty '02 and Rishi Sunak;
• Unleashing the underdog in President Hiram Chodosh’s final charge;
• Plus, an Impact Award (and a big tennis ball) for Theo!

Read our Commencement recap, view photo galleries, and relive the ceremony on YouTube. https://www.cmc.edu/news/commencement-2026-finding-gifts-within-and-sharing-good-life