List of Pomona College people

The class of 1894, Pomona's first graduating class, had 11 members.

Pomona College (/pəˈmoʊnə/ pə-MOH-nə) is an elite private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, and the founding member of the Claremont Colleges. Many notable individuals have been affiliated with the college as graduates, non-graduating attendees, faculty, staff, or administrators.

Since its founding in 1887, Pomona has graduated 127 classes of students. As of the spring 2021 semester, the college enrolls approximately 1,380 students and has roughly 25,000 living alumni. Of those who are working, 24 percent are in business and finance, 24 percent are in education, 10 percent are in law and government, 10 percent are in health and medicine, 5 percent are in arts and media, 4 percent are in science and technology, and 23 percent are in other fields. As of the fall 2020 semester, the college employs 257 faculty members and 271 administrative staff.

Notable alumni

Arts and letters

Visual art

Dividing the Light, a 2007 skyspace on Pomona's campus by James Turrell, class of 1965

Film and television

Actor Joel McCrea, class of 1928, appeared in more than 100 films, including many Westerns.

Actor Richard Chamberlain, class of 1956, became a teen idol for his starring role in Dr. Kildare.

Music

Actor and musician Kris Kristofferson, class of 1958

Journalism and non-fiction writing

Bill Keller, class of 1970, won a Pulitzer for his reporting from the Soviet Union in the final years of the Cold War and served as executive editor of The New York Times from 2003 to 2011.

Writing

Other

Self-help author Marianne Williamson, attended 1970 to 1972

Government and law

U.S. Senators and Congresspeople

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D‑HI), class of 1994

Federal officials

State and city officials

Judges

Diplomats

Activists

Civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, class of 1968

Military

James Howard, class of 1937, was the only fighter pilot in the European Theater to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II.

Business

Senior Disney executive Roy E. Disney, class of 1951

Science

Jennifer Doudna, class of 1985, won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on CRISPR-based gene engineering, one of the most significant discoveries in the history of biology.

Religion

Russian Orthodox hieromonk Seraphim Rose, class of 1956 (oil portrait by Andrey Mironov)

Academia

College presidents

Anthropologist David P. Barrows, class of 1894, conducted extensive ethnographic research on Native Americans.

Professors and academics

A statue depicting Chinese sociologist Chen Hansheng, class of 1920, conducting a field interview with a peasant farmer in Baoding

Athletics

NBA Championship head coach of the San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich coached the Pomona men's basketball team from 1979 to 1987.

Notable faculty

Astronomer Frank Brackett, Pomona professor 1888–1933

Author David Foster Wallace, Pomona professor 2002–2008

Novelist Jonathan Lethem, Pomona professor 2011–present

Poet Claudia Rankine, Pomona professor 2006–2015

Presidents of Pomona College

James Blaisdell, Pomona's fourth president and founder of the Claremont Colleges

From 1888 to 1890, trustee Charles B. Sumner was the college's "financial agent with supervisory authority", and assumed many of the duties of a president. The subsequent presidents are:

See also

• List of Claremont Colleges people

External links

• Pomona College official timeline
• Pomona College alumni website
• Pomona College honorary degree recipients