Dear Â鶹´«Ã½ community,
I write to you today as the new chair of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Board of Trustees. I am joined in service to Pomona by 28 fellow trustees, all of whom are deeply committed to the college. My colleagues are accomplished professionals who bring their experience, expertise, and passion to help guide Pomona forward. We serve in a fiduciary capacity, as defined by state and federal law and outlined in the college by-laws. We view ourselves as long-term stewards of the college, recognizing our responsibility not only to the students of today, but also to generations of past graduates and in perpetuity for those yet to come.
It's a challenging time in higher education. World events have rocked college campuses across the country, exposing great tensions between freedom of expression, unimpeded access to a full educational experience, and protections from instances of harassment. We find ourselves separated by different points of view and often unable to engage in productive discourse.
While this plays out in a variety of ways at Pomona, I'd like to address the concerns voiced by many in our community about our endowment. We are indeed fortunate that through the past generosity of over one hundred thousand donors and with the skilled management of these assets by the college and the board, our endowment enables Pomona to be the exceptional educational institution that we know today.
Strategic management and oversight of the endowment is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. Operational management is handled by our investment office and outside investment managers. Over the past year, webinars and meetings were held to help members of our campus communities better understand the structure and management of the endowment as well as its role in the college’s finances. Resources can be found in the endowment webpage.
Engagement with our community on investment issues is a priority for the Board this year. We recognize the deep interest of community members regarding the endowment and our investment policies. Yet we currently lack an effective means of communication between campus constituencies and the Board of Trustees to address questions and concerns. We are a learning community where ideas from varied points of view are to be presented, analyzed, debated, and weighed. How can the Board best hear the diverse, reasoned perspectives of our community in a calm and thoughtful manner? What might a process to do this look like?
While there is much to discuss with our community, there will be positions about which the Board is unwavering. We reiterate our stance regarding individual countries. We will not target specific countries with actions such as boycotts or divestment. Pomona seeks to remain open to the entire globe, believing that wider engagement and deeper understanding is a better path forward.
The Board is inviting the elected leadership of our four constituency groups (faculty, staff, students, and alumni) to share their thoughts in writing about a process to hear the perspectives of our community regarding investments and effectives strategies for educating faculty, students, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders about the structure, purpose, and management of the College’s endowment.
The work of the Board regarding investment issues is ongoing and will take time. We look forward to constructive engagement and productive dialogue with interested community members as part of this process.
Sincerely,
Janet Inskeep Benton '79
Chair, Board of Trustees