Claremont McKenna College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

https://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=24&navoid=3316

Claremont McKenna College is an equal opportunity employer and educator, firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for all our community members, irrespective of an individual’s background. The College strives to maintain a community in which all people respect the rights of other people to live, work, and learn in peace and dignity; to be proud of who and what they are; and to have equal opportunity to realize their full potential as individuals and members of society.

To this end, the College is committed to complying with all applicable laws and governmental regulations at every level of government that prohibit discrimination against, or that mandate that special consideration be given to, students and applicants for admission, or faculty, staff, and applicants for employment, on the basis of any protected category, including race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic that may be specified in such laws and regulations. These include, but are not limited to:

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”)
Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”)
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1965
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”)
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”)
California Unruh Civil Rights Act
Americans with Disabilities Act
California Penal Code Section 245.6 – Anti-Hazing (“Matt’s Law”)
Any other applicable federal, state, or local law addressing nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and the safety of our community.
The College's Civil Rights Policy Statement on Equal Employment, Affirmative Action, and Non-Discrimination represents the College’s overarching policy statement related to civil rights protections at CMC: Civil Rights Policy Statement: Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Non-Discrimination.

The College's comprehensive discrimination and harassment policy, including sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, can be found here: Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy.

The College's hazing policy can be found here: Hazing Policy.

The grievance procedures the College uses to investigate and respond to reports of alleged civil rights violations, including sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and hazing, can be found here: Civil Rights Grievance Procedures.

https://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=24&navoid=3316

In the above link, the categories that address bias and discrimination are published, and the actions from definitions to reporting to the college's response are listed.

In addition, the CARE Center (Civility, Access, Resources, and Expression, founded in the past 5 years, is a department and place that proactively engages and educates the community to develop the skills needed to have difficult conversations, identify with one another across social barriers or ideological difference, and engage in effective dialogue towards solutions and resolutions. The Center provides resources and services to support inclusion and remove barriers to student success. Vincent Greer, Associate Dean of Students for Diversity, Inclusion and Residential Life, and the CARE Center fellows and staff team, offer a framework for bias reporting and channel/route the reports to Nyree Gray, J.D., Associate VP for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Civil Rights Officer if needed.

CMC Fall Diversity Fly-in Program; runs in mid-October

The fall Preview Program is designed for high school seniors from historically underrepresented communities in higher education to learn about CMC’s academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular opportunities. During the Preview Program prospective students get an inside look into the life of a CMCer by attending classes, exploring the research institutes, experiencing the dining halls, and mingling with our students and professors during our workshops. The Preview Program participants are provided with on-campus housing, meals, roundtrip airfare, and shuttle transportation between local airports and campus.

CMC joined QuestBridge as a college partner in May 2016; QuestBridge is committed to connecting academically outstanding students from low-income backgrounds with educational opportunities at highly selective liberal arts colleges and research universities, with the goal of increasing their presence on college campuses.

CMC’s top priority is to meet the needs of an evolving and increasingly diverse student body. With a commitment to access and affordability, CMC is proud to have mobilized its students, alumni, parents, and friends to support its mission of ensuring that all students have access to the full CMC experience. Recent highlights of the College’s advancement success include:

Raising over $200 million for The Student Imperative, an initiative launched in 2014 to expand financial aid and scholarships, create opportunity funding, develop our scholar community program, and establish the Soll Center for Student Opportunity.

Establishing the Kravis Opportunity Fund which provides students already receiving financial aid extra funding resources for summer internships and experiences.
Maintaining its commitment to meet 100 percent of a student’s demonstrated financial need, through generous financial aid packages often supported by the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends of the College.

Accepting an invitation to join the American Talent Initiative, a prestigious national alliance comprised of 68 of the nation’s most respected colleges and universities dedicated to expanding access and opportunity for highly-talented, lower-income students.
Continuing to set records for giving, in its many forms.

inancial Aid and Scholarship Funding
CMC recruits emerging leaders who are committed to meeting the challenges of our complex world, regardless of their financial background, on a need-blind basis. Through a blend of need-based and merit awards, we provide students and their families financial support for the cost of attendance and participation in special programs. CMC has extended the number of families who qualify for merit- and need-based aid through more generous allowances for home equity and expanded funds to support hands-on experiences, such as research and summer internships. In the Class of 2022, 75% of the families with incomes between $150,000 and $250,000 qualified for need-based assistance.

The Kravis Opportunity Fund
CMC knows that student success requires resources beyond tuition and fees. In pursuit of our commitment to provide the entire range of transformative experiences to each and every student, CMC aims to level the playing field for students whose families have fewer resources. Thanks to the Kravis Opportunity Fund, CMC is proud to offer first-year students already receiving need-based financial aid, an extra benefit with the Kravis Opportunity Fund.
The Kravis Opportunity Fund was established in 2018 by a $25 million gift from Henry Kravis ’67. The Fund ensures a CMC experience both in and beyond the classroom and through multiple gateways of support. All Kravis Opportunity Fund students qualify for summer experience funding of up to $5,000 between their first and second year at CMC. Additional funding is available for those in need of summer savings. Those with the most substantial need may also receive a start-up grant of $2,000 to help cover expenses during the transition to college. The Kravis Opportunity Fund also provides a travel stipend to bring a parent or family member to campus for Family Weekend in February. Some students may also qualify for help with CMC student health insurance costs, and all eligible students may request financial support for unexpected emergencies that may arise during the school year.

The Scholar Community Program
Many admitted students have the opportunity to join a Scholar Community, one of 11 individual experiential learning programs created to support students with shared interests and backgrounds in a variety of disciplines and fields.
Today, nearly 10 percent of our first-year classes participate in our Scholar Communities, taking advantage of a variety of campus-wide opportunities and programs in science, global affairs, leadership, public policy, and beyond. Scholar Community students receive a range of benefits and support in and out of the classroom.
Managed by our Soll Center for Student Opportunity, programs include:
• Summer experience awards for opportunities during the summer after the first academic year.
• An academic advisor assigned to each scholar community to provide advising and networking within the College.
• Dedicated support staff from the Soll Center to answer questions and provide relevant information about opportunities on and off campus.
• Exclusive preparation workshops for the Career Expo, Financial Aid, off-campus study, and accessing summer stipend funds.
• Athenaeum lunch and dinner experiences.
• Individual, academic, and professional development support.
Building on a foundation of mentorship and responsible leadership, the Scholar Communities aim to strengthen our Scholars' connections to various resources on campus and provide additional support for transformative experiences, such as research and summer internships.
All Scholars receive:
• Up to $5,000 for an approved, first-summer internship or experience (if eligible, funding may be combined with CMC’s Sponsored Internship & Experiences Program, allowing for budget-based awards beyond $5,000).
• Opportunities for mentorship within the cohort.
• Professional development workshops covering topics like networking, communication, and data science.
• Hands-on workshops to help navigate CMC opportunities, such as study abroad, pre-professional development, and financial literacy.
Admitted students are typically selected for specific Scholar Communities based on the information provided in the application process. Students with a specific interest in one of the Scholar Communities listed below are encouraged to submit an addendum to their application, documenting their interest in a specific community.

Dreier Roundtable Scholars – Named for former Congressman David Dreier ’75, Dreier Roundtable Scholars participate in a program designed to give them early exposure to public policy research and decision-making on matters of national controversy. As a part of the Roundtable established at CMC, students will work in close collaboration with the government department faculty, visiting Roundtable scholars and lecturers, and institutional partners, such as The Brookings Institution and other leading think tank organizations.
Interdisciplinary Science Scholars – Students with a passion for science and leadership are eligible for an Interdisciplinary Science Scholarship. This program is aimed at students interested in exploring a double or dual major that pairs science with a non-science major. The scholarship covers full tuition and is available for students with demonstrated financial need. The scholarship also supports summer fellowships, internships, or research experiences.

Kravis Scholars – Funded by Henry Kravis ’67, this generous need-based financial aid assistance supports under-served and first-generation students enrolled at Claremont McKenna College. Students receive a summer sponsored internship immediately after their first-year in college. Special mentorship and support is provided throughout their college careers.

McKenna Scholars – The McKenna Achievement Award is a merit scholarship of $15,000 given to entering freshmen every year. Finalists for the McKenna Achievement Awards are chosen from among all candidates who have the highest academic achievement and significant extracurricular activities that demonstrate sustained commitment, leadership, and personal growth.

Podlich Scholars – Funded by Bill Podlich ’66, this generous need-based financial aid assistance was provided to selected students in the sophomore year, with demonstrated success in government or economics and strong leadership experiences.

Robert Day Scholars – Robert Day ’65, founder of Trust Company of the West and former chair of the CMC Board of Trustees, supports the sophomore selection of Robert Day Scholars in a competitive process that values academic achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. Robert Day Scholars must complete curricular requirements as well as personal and professional workshops. In addition to dedicated staff support and financial aid support where appropriate, Robert Day Scholars are also supported with experiential funding accessible throughout the academic year.

Seaver Scholars – The Frank Seaver Leadership Scholarship is a full-tuition merit scholarship awarded to entering freshmen every year. This scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional leadership promise along with a commitment to making a positive impact in the world. Throughout their time at CMC, Seaver Scholars will be expected to participate in various small group enrichment leadership programs.

St. Dennis Scholars – Named in honor of former CMC professor Jerry St. Dennis, the St. Dennis Scholar Community is comprised of students interested in mathematics and other quantitative disciplines. These Scholars are not only connected through their love of numbers, but also their backgrounds as graduates of public high schools and first-generation college students with financial need.

QuestBridge Scholars – Rooted in social and intellectual engagement, the QuestBridge mission is to increase access to education across the socioeconomic spectrum. The ultimate goal is to find common ground upon which QuestBridge Scholars can nourish their potential to become outstanding individuals with the ability to effect meaningful change within themselves and their communities.

Wagener Family Global Scholars – The Shaw Wagener ’81 Global Scholars program provides direct financial support for students who qualify for need-based aid, first-year summer internships, and stipends for students on financial aid to go abroad in the spring semester of their sophomore year to non-English speaking countries. Wagener, who was an international relations major at Claremont McKenna, studied abroad in Russia before becoming a national leader in emerging market investments.

The CARE Center (Civility, Access, Resources, and Expression) is an innovative undertaking that proactively engages and educates the community to develop the skills needed to have difficult conversations, identify with one another across social barriers or ideological difference, and engage in effective dialogue towards solutions and resolutions. The CARE Center and the student affairs division use an action-reflection learning model to facilitate student engagement and leadership development. Students are encouraged to grow as collaborative, empathic leaders and to contribute to the vitality of the campus community and broader society. The Center helps students to grow their abilities to act in interdependent contexts, to respect one another’s needs, contemplate multiple and contrary perspectives and engage in mature and mutual relationships—to do well and to do good in the world. The Center provides resources and services to support inclusion and remove barriers to student success. Student affairs staff use an action-reflection learning model to facilitate student engagement and leadership development.

A guiding set of objectives and principles (https://www.cmc.edu/care-center/objectives-and-principles) ensures that the CARE Center is a space for expression, study, dialogue, and exploration of our intersecting social identities and how they inform the ways in which we live within, learn from, and engage with the world.

Claremont McKenna College participates in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program. "The fundamental objective of MMUF is to address, over time, the problem of underrepresentation in the academy at the level of college and university faculties. This goal can be achieved both by increasing the number of students from underrepresented minority groups (URM) who pursue PhDs and by supporting the pursuit of PhDs by students who may not come from traditional minority groups but have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to the goals of MMUF. The MMUF program is designed to encourage fellows to enter PhD programs that prepare students for professorial careers."

More information can be found in the Civil Rights Handbook that includes Policy Statements, Entities Covered by this Policy, Contacts, Definitions, Prohibited Conduct, Reporting, College’s Response to Reports of Prohibited Conduct, and Civil Rights Grievance Process.

http://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/content.php?catoid=16&navoid=1466#discrimination2

https://www.mmuf.org/about/mission