Fall 2008 3 a note from president trombley 20 class notes table of contents 4 a note from trustee russell m. pitzer 22 pitzer ’12 jose barriga lynn rampe 6 sustainable travel rmax goodwin priya saxena henry ’91 and margaret ann ’94 escudero in panama shannon mccarthy justin spitzer aaron ’94 and jenny ader brill ’94 in colorado lindon pronto miriam stiefel 10 sustainable cooking 31 international programs wendy van wagner ’04 jenn louis ’93 34 a winning year for sagehens 14 alumni profiles 35 what’s new on campus? jay barnes ’83 ali hangan ’97 36 faculty publications/recognition evan kroh ’05 and patrick mitchell ’06 38 meet new faculty members 39 10 25 The Office of Public Relations thanks Cody Klock ’12, Participant photographer. President Laura Skandera Trombley Editor Kira Poplowski president Designer Stephanie Guerra Contributing Designer Mona Ducrocq Contributing Writers Brenda Bolinger Carol Brandt Emily Cavalcanti Liz Hedrick ’09 Kira Poplowski A note from President Trombley Jill Walker Robinson Contributing Photographers Dear Alumni and Friends, Laurie Babcock Jasmine Photography Cody Klock ’12 I am so impressed by the Pitzer College alumni and students Carlos Puma featured in this issue of The Participant. Environmentalists, Rory Reiff scientists and activists, a dancer, firefighter, educator and © 2008 Pitzer College magician—they reflect the wonderful gifts, diversity and 1050 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-6101 commitment of the entire Pitzer community. The diverse opinions expressed in The Participant are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Forty-four years ago, Pitzer College held its first commencement in editors or the College administration. front of the original Flora Sanborn Hall, and bid a fond farewell to the class of ’65, which consisted of just three students—Marlene welcomes comments from its readers. The Participant Bates, Katherine Gibbs and Nicole Scheel. The total number of Pitzer College is a nationally top-ranked undergraduate college of students that first year was only 153. There were only 11 tenure- the liberal arts and sciences. A member of The Claremont Colleges, track faculty, including Steve Glass, professor of classics, who is Pitzer offers a distinctive approach to a liberal arts education by still a full-time member of the teaching faculty. linking intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social responsibility and community involvement. Flash forward to fall 2008, and the original Sanborn Hall is gone. The Participant is made from recycled paper using vegetable- In its place stands the new Flora Sanborn Hall, distinctive for its based inks. Pitzer College encourages the use of recyclable and renewable materials. sustainable features and for the two design awards it won for its innovative architecture. This year, we also welcomed 258 first-year students and have the largest number of faculty in our history—72. While we have certainly grown as an institution since those early years, we still believe, in the words of the first president of Pitzer, John Atherton, that “our mandate is to change the universe.” At Pitzer, we continue to work hard everyday to build on our strengths while continuously renewing the College. The classic Pitzer College education, thanks to our communal efforts, will become an even richer and more sophisticated gift to future students and alums. This gift continually unfolds and represents our motto, Provida Futuri, mindful of the future. Fall 2008 I know you will enjoy reading this issue of The Participant as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Best regards, Laura Skandera Trombley President Fall 2008 · 3 Pitzer College Board of Trustees Pitzer CollegePitzer College Board of Trustees Hirschel B. Abelson P’92, President, Stralem & Company Inc. Bridget Baker ’82, President, NBC Universal TV Networks Distribution Board of Trustees RobertPitzer Bookman P’07, Agent & Partner, Creative Artists Agency trustee Marc D. Broidy ’95, Vice President Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch Donnaldson Brown ’82, Brooklyn, NY College Board of TrusteesWilliam G. Brunger P’01, Internal Consultant, Continental Airlines Claudio Chavez ’88, Partner, DLA Piper US LLP Richard D’Avino P’10, Vice President & Senior Tax Counsel, GE Capital and NBC Universal Pitzer College BoardJorge Delgado, Manhattan of Beach, CA Susan G. Dolgen P’97, Access & Answers Trustees Pitzer CollegeVicki Kates Gold, Los Angeles, CA Donald P. Gould, President, Gould Asset Management LLC Jonathan P. Graham ’82, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Danaher Corporation Board of Trustees SusanPitzer E. Hollander ’79, Partner, Manatt Phelps & Phillips A note from Russell M. Pitzer Deborah Bach Kallick ’78, Executive Director, Government & Industry Relations, Cedars-Sinai Health System Robin M. Kramer ’75, Chair of the Board; Chief of Staff, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa My Experience with Pitzer College College Board of TrusteesJohn Landgraf ’84, President and General Manager, FX Networks Teresa Lim P’06, San Francisco, CA Prehistoric: In the early 1960s, when my young family visited Student Experiences at Liberal Arts Colleges and Research Thomas H. Moore ’82, Newark, NJ my grandfather, Russell K. Pitzer, sometimes delegations of Universities: In my years as a trustee, I have heard enthusiasticPitzer College BoardJames E. Orlikoff ’76of, President, Orlikoff & Associates Inc. distinguished-looking gentlemen, usually led by Robert Bernard, descriptions from parents about how their son or daughter has Arnold Palmer, Senior Vice President, SMH Capital would come to visit. They would disappear into my grandfather’s thrived at Pitzer College. I have heard faculty members at Pitzer Shana Passman P’04 & P’08, Beverly Hills, CA home office along with my father, Kenneth S. Pitzer. After a while I College speak enthusiastically about their small classes andTrustees lots of Pitzer CollegeAnn E. Pitzer, La Jolla, CA learned that they were discussing starting a new Claremont college faculty attention as the only effective way to teach. Russell M. Pitzer, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University Paula B. Pretlow P’08, Senior Vice President, Client Relations, Capital Guardian Trust Company and that there was concern that not enough money was available. In Susan S. Pritzker P’93, Chicago, IL due time, they settled upon a plan and Pitzer College was begun. What alternative is there? I have spent 40 years teaching atBoard a large of Trustees Pitzer Margot Levin Schiff P’90 & P’95, Chicago, IL research university. The classes in my department are generally William D. Sheinberg ’83, Partner, The Bubble Factory The beginning: In 1964 the first two buildings, named after my large (250-300) for freshman and sophomore courses andCollege small Board of TrusteesSusan Nathan Sholl ’76, Chicago, IL grandmother and my step-grandmother, were ready. An opening for higher-level courses. When I teach a freshman course, I have a T.D. Smith P’07, President, Telluride Real Estate Corporation ceremony was scheduled at the north end of the Sanborn Hall moderate number of assistants (graduate students, some advanced Shahan Soghikian ’80, Managing Director, Panorama Capital parking lot. My father had written his comments in a short letter, but undergraduates) who meet with the students in laboratory Pitzerand College BoardLisa Specht, Partner, of Manatt Phelps & Phillips could not attend, so I was to read the letter for him. Folding chairs discussion sections of 25. We teach about 3500 students at a time Eugene P. Stein, Vice Chairman, Capital Strategy Research Inc. were set up in the parking lot with a row for the speakers on top of in all courses. We have so many assistants that by holding their Gerald M. Stern P’07, Private Practice Attorney the embankment. A student in the original class, Deb Deutsch, was office hours in a chemistry help room, the room can be openTrustees 40 Pitzer CollegeCynthia Telles, PhD, Associate Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine the guide for my grandfather and me and showed us to our places. hours a week. I have heard a number of parents and students speak John N. Tierney, Law Offices of John N. Tierney My grandfather was getting on in years and didn’t want to give a enthusiastically about education at Ohio State, including comments Laura Skandera Trombley, PhD, President, Pitzer College Board of Trustees RobertPitzer Wilson P’06, Retired Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Johnson and Johnson speech so he sat in the front row in the parking lot. At my turn, I read on the wide variety of programs and activities, and for a few, the Charlie Woo, CEO, Megatoys the letter and added a few remarks. opportunities to do research using equipment not available at other Debra Yang ’81, Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP types of colleges or universities. No doubt there have beenCollege other Board of Trustees In succeeding years, I attended a few meetings and events at students who didn’t care for the large-lecture format and never made the College and I was surprised how rapidly traditions developed: it to the smaller classes at higher levels. Pitzer College thanks Board of Trustees members for their service. extensive student and faculty participation in deciding College Pitzer College Board of policies, the spirit of social responsibility, things that seemed unlikely Many other comparisons can be made, but perhaps the useful to have originated with the founders of the College. conclusion is one that has often been made previously: this country Trustees Emeriti benefits greatly by having a variety of types of higher educationTrustees Pitzer CollegeRobert H. Atwell, Former President, Pitzer College , Los Angeles, CA Trustee: In 1988 I became a trustee of Pitzer College. By then I was institutions. Now that some groups are putting out international higher Constance Austin P’78 Eli Broad P’78, The Broad Foundations on the faculty (and soon to be department chair) of the Chemistry education rankings, more countries seem to want to adopt many of the Board of Trustees HarveyPitzer J.