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Pitzer College

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Pitzer College is a small, private liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, USA. Pitzer College is the fifth of seven institutions of higher learning known as the Claremont Colleges and coordinated through the Claremont University Consortium.

Contents

History

Pitzer was founded in 1963 as a women's college by Russell K. Pitzer (1878-1978), a California citrus magnate, philanthropist, and Pomona College alumnus. In April of that year, John W. Atherton, a poet and visionary, was hired as Pitzer's first president, and over the next seventeen months he recruited students, faculty, and trustees and constructed Scott and Sanborn Halls — just in time for the beginning of the fall 1964 semester. During the College's first year, students and faculty created the curriculum and the school's system of governance.

That first academic term began with ten professors and 153 students from sixteen states and five countries. In the words of President Atherton:

Pitzer was built of dreams -- and firmly rooted in the Claremont village dump. Born from a mystical union of the Claremont Colleges, the unborn infant drew its earliest nourishment from the cast-off detritus of generations of Claremont citizens. The big yellow bulldozers leveling the mounds for Scott and Sanborn Halls turned up bedsprings and baby buggies -- all the effluvia of the early pioneers underlay the educational hopes of the wonder child who came to transform the world.

We certainly weren't short of expectation. But like most healthy infants, we soon began to kick with our own desires. We thought a new College with 'an emphasis on the social and behavioral sciences' had a mandate to change the universe.

Founded as a school with an emphasis on social and behavioral sciences, the College graduated its first class of students — all female — in 1967. Pitzer became co-educational three years later.

Pitzer is the youngest of five undergraduate colleges within the Claremont College Consortium.

Demography

Pitzer College has the third smallest enrollment within the Claremont Colleges, with a student body of about 950. Diversity is emphasized at Pitzer; U.S. News and World Report named Pitzer the fifth most diverse private, secular, co-ed, liberal arts college in 2005. Students of color comprise over 30% of the total student body.

The Princeton Review has named Pitzer as one of 81 schools to be included in its special publication, Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Schools with Great Community Involvement. Pitzer's student body consistently accrues high marks in terms of race/class interaction, political action, and social progressiveness.

The College is committed to recruiting and retaining a student body that is diverse; not only in the traditionally demarcated aspects (e.g. religiously, ethnically, academically, sexually), but also in terms of socioeconomic status. During the 2004-2005 academic year, tuition, room, board, and textbooks cost around $41,610 per student. Pitzer recognizes that $41k is a huge burden, even for well-off families, so their staff, subsequently, makes every effort to provide students with enough financial aid to cover all 100% of their estimated Financial Need. Over fifty percent of Pitzer students receive financial assistance in some form; whether it be in loans, work study, scholarships, and/or institutional grants. Pitzer utilizes the Federal FAFSA and the CSS Profile to determine Need. Although the school does not yet have to the financial resources to admit students Need Blind, the Admissions Committee makes every effort to recruit an eclectic pool of qualified, intellectual, motivated students.

Noting the significant negative impact of standardized testing on potential applicants with limited financial and social resources — and the inherent problems associated with quantifying individuals using a single test score — the school has made the SAT optional for applicants who meet certain set academic requirements. Spurred on by student and faculty support, Pitzer was the first college on the west coast to make such a radical move against standardized testing. In the absence of standardized scores, additional weight is given to an applicant's other criteria (e.g. GPA, letters of recommendation, essays, etc.).

Residential life

The vast majority of Pitzer students live on campus. Pitzer's three residence halls are Mead, Holden, and Sanborn. Holden and Sanborn halls are identical: two floors with four different wings (A, B, C, and D for Sanborn and J, K, L, and M for Holden). Floors are distinguished by the number proceeding the wing designation (e.g. A2: Sanborn Hall, A Wing, 2nd Floor). The vast majority of Sanborn and Holdern rooms are double-occupancy, forming four-person "suites" by way of a shared bathroom. Single rooms are typically reserved for resident assistants (RAs), Residential Life staff, and students who require special accomidations.

The Grove House
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The Grove House
Mead Hall is the largest residence hall on campus, and is exclusively upperclassmen. Mead is composed of six three-story towers connected by catwalks on every floor. The six towers are W, X, LX (aka. "Little X"), Y, LY (aka. "Little Y"), and Z. Each tower sports suites architecturally distinct from those located in Holden or Sanborn. Mead suites typically accommodate eight occupants who reside in one of four single-occupancy rooms, or share one of two double-occupancy rooms with a roommate. A common living room and (in most cases) a small patio or balcony partition the suite into two smaller, more manageable living spaces. One full bathroom is available to the occupents of the one double, and two singles, at either partition of the suite — two bathrooms total in the suite. Suites in Z tower include a small kitchenette in each living room. LX and LY Towers also include half-suites which only accommodate four occupants. These half-suites are composed of one double-occupancy room and two single-occupancy rooms, a living room, bathroom, and a patio or balcony.

There are no communal bathrooms or showers at Pitzer College. The on-campus student to bathroom ratio is 4:1. Every residence hall is equipped with laundry rooms, common rooms for meetings or social gatherings, study rooms, and full kitchens.

First-years are assigned to Sanborn Hall and several wings of Holden Hall. In order to facilitate the transition to college life, all first-years are assigned to a mentor group of about twelve to fifteen mentees. Mentees and their mentors typically live in the same wing, on the same floor.

Socially, Mead Hall, with its older population of residents, is regarded as the campus's "party hall," and is often very lively on weekends. Holden is considered by some to be a hybrid between Mead and Sanborn, having some freshmen and some upper classmen. One Resident Assistant assigned to every wing in Holden and Sanborn, and every tower of Mead. In conjunction with each hall's live-in director, the RAs are responsible for the physical and mental health of all of their residents.

For students interested in a unique residential experience, the school recognizes several themed halls.

The Grove House and the Gold Student Center are popular student hangouts at Pitzer. As a member of the Claremont College Consortium, Pitzer students have access to nearly all facilities available to students enrolled at the other colleges (e.g. the Athenaeum at Claremont McKenna College, Malott Commons at Scripps College, and the Rose Hills Theater at Pomona College), in addition to all facilities administered by the Claremont College Consortium. Pitzer students, faculty, and staff may use all of Pomona College's athletic facilities throughout the academic year.

Note: Pitzer is currently engaged in it's multimillion dollar Residential Life Project to significantly improve and expand the facilities of the College. Due to a steady, unexpected increase in student enrollment, construction of new residence halls has become the hallmark of the Project. The new halls are expected to be completed by August 2007.

Academics

Pitzer describes its academic approach as linking "intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social responsibility and community connectivity." Pitzer prides itself upon being the most "flexible" of the Claremont Colleges, most notably in its policy for allowing self-designed majors and encouraging study abroad.

Pitzer currently offers 40 majors and 20 minors, the requirements of which are determined by a field group rather than a department. Majors not offered at Pitzer, but offered at one of the other colleges, may be adopted by Pitzer students pending approval of the appropriate college committees.

Pitzer's Academic Quad
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Pitzer's Academic Quad

Majors as of 2005-2006: American Studies; Anthropology; Art; Asian American Studies; Biology-Chemistry; Biology; Black Studies; Chemistry; Chicano Studies; Classics; Creative Studies; Economics; English and World Literature; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; French; Gender & Feminist Studies; History; History of Ideas; Human Biology; International and Intercultural Studies (Asian Studies, European Studies, Global Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Third World Studies); Linguistics; Mathematical Economics; Mathematics; Media Studies; Music; Neuroscience; Organismal Biology & Ecology; Organizational Studies; Philosophy; Physics; Political Economy; Political Studies; Psychology; Religious Studies; Science and Management; Science, Technology, and Society; Sociology; Spanish; and Theater.

Minors as of 2005-2006: Anthropology; Art; Art History; Asian American Studies; Biology; Black Studies; Classics; Dance; Economics; English/World Literature; Environmental Studies; Gender and Feminist Studies; History; Linguistics; Mathematics; Media Studies; Philosophy; Science, Technology and Society; Sociology; Spanish; Theatre

Some Previously Completed Self-Designed Majors: Ethnic Psychology, Queer Studies, Third World Feminism, Physical Anthropology, Political Sociology, Islamic Society and Culture, European Labor Movements, Ethnomusicology

Pitzer has five primary guidelines for graduation. These guidelines were developed in lieu of the rigid General Education (GE) requirements seen at most schools. Their ambiguity is meant to allow students, in conjunction with their faculty advisor(s), to develop a curriculum that satisfies the student's own intellectual curiosity, without compromising the basic expectations of a college graduate.

These guidelines are:

  1. Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Exploration
  2. * Each student must take three classes which address a particular topic of interest. The classes must represent at least two disciplines and more than one cultural perspective.
  3. Social Responsibility and the Ethical Implications of Knowledge and Action
  4. * Credit Options include participation in certain External Studies programs or completion of a class with a community service component.
  5. * Non-credit options include 45 hours of community service in a single semester or participation in certain school programs such as school governance, resident assistants, volunteering at the Ecology Center, or writing for Pitzer's literary magazine The OtherSide.
  6. Breadth of Knowledge
  7. * Two courses in the humanities and fine arts
  8. * Two courses in the social and behavioral sciences
  9. * One course in the natural sciences
  10. * One course in mathematics/formal reasoning
  11. Written Expression
  12. * The completion of a first-year seminar fulfills this requirement.
  13. * Alternately, transfer students may take a writing intensive course to fulfill this requirement.
  14. Completion of a Major
The 2006 Edition of US News and World Report ranks Pitzer as one of 200+ national liberal arts colleges in the United States. The annual publication — on news stands mid-August — places Pitzer in the top tier of liberal arts colleges, 53rd overall. Within the liberal arts rankings' various sub-categories, Pitzer also did well: ranked 5th most diverse, 25th in students studying abroad, and 35th in academic reputation, among other things. The school's high regard, academic rigor, and quality of education are keenly reflected in the academically precocious achievements of its motivated student body. Not even having reached its bicentennial, 50th anniversary, Pitzer students and alumni achieved national recognition, becoming highly regarded public figures: award-winning producers, writers, scientists, professors, activists, and government officials.

In terms of academics, Pitzer is, at present, the national leader in student recipients of Fulbright Fellowships for a school its size (enrollment <1,000) — 15 this year, smashing their previous year's record, 10. Beside Fulbrights, Pitzer alumni have received other numerous, nationally recognized awards; just recaping the past five years: three Watson Fellowships, two Freeman Foundation Asia Fellowships, four Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships, one Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellowship, one Morris K. Udall Foundation Native American Fellowship, one Robert S. McNamara Fellowship, three Coro Fellowships, two Kemper Foundation Scholarships, two American Sociological Association Minority Fellowships, one Teaching Assistantship Fellow from the French government (selected by the Institute of International Education), one Rhodes Scholarship, and one Rudolph Polk Memorial Award in Music.

According to the school's web site, in the most recent data reported by the National Science Foundation, Pitzer College ranked 8th in the number of alumni who pursued a Ph.D. in psychology, 29th in the number of alumni who pursued a Ph.D. in anthropology, and 38th in the number of alumni who pursued a Ph.D. in sociology out of 154 private colleges and universities. As the College has become progressively more well known and respected, student applications have seen a significant increase. In terms of selectivity, Pitzer College grants admission to less than 39% of the student applicant pool (now less than 30% for the incoming class of 2010).

Pitzer is also one of the 100 schools featured in the first edition (2005) of Students' Guide to Colleges: The Definitive Guide to America's Top 100. The publication noted many of the school's most recent achievements.

Special programs

W.H. Keck Joint Science Center
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W.H. Keck Joint Science Center
Pitzer, Claremont McKenna College, and Scripps College share a science program known as Joint Science, located in the [Keck Science Center].  The Joint Science Department, in line with the liberal arts philosophy of the three colleges, encourages undergraduate collaboration on many major faculty research projects.  Science majors are required to complete a comprehensive research project, reflecting their breadth of knowledge and personal interests within the field.
Pitzer College shares an athletic program with Pomona College named the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. The team is a member of the SCIAC Conference Division III. The girls water polo team is among top in the nation.

The College also offers a variety of accelerated programs for advanced students. Among them:

Notable alumni

Debra Wong Yang '81, United States Attorney
Debra Wong Yang '81, United States Attorney

Academia

Business Government and Politics Media and Entertainment

Notable professors (past and present)

Points of interest

External links

 

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