Pomona College’s Board of Trustees has named G. Gabrielle Starr as the school’s next president, the first time a woman and African American has been appointed to lead the Claremont liberal arts institution.
Starr, the dean of New York University’s College of Arts and Science, will succeed David Oxtoby when he retires in June. She will join other new leaders at Scripps College and Pitzer College.
Pitzer’s appointment in January of Melvin L. Oliver, the first black president to lead one of the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges, came at a time of national campus unrest over racial, ethnic and gender equity. Across the Claremont schools, student activists had asked for steps to increase campus diversity.
At Pomona, Starr said diversity and accessibility will continue to be key issues when she takes office.
“I think the No. 1 priority for me, and I think for a lot of colleges and universities, is to make sure that we’re building in the institution an equitable, accessible and truly free civic space that helps students and faculty achieve every part of their potential and enables students the room for thought and growth,” she said.
Read the complete story at the Los Angeles Times.
