Claremont Hall to be Renamed Crown Hall

Sources within the administration, as well as several students, confirmed early this Friday that Claremont Hall will be renamed Crown Hall. The residence hall  is being named after trustee Arie Steve Crown ’74. According to Divya Chadda ’13, Harry McMahon '75 P'08 P'09, Chairman of CMC’s Board of Trustees, announced the name change before a crowd of students, faculty, and board members over dinner at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. The event was a reception for president-elect Hiram Chodosh.

The Campaign for Claremont McKenna website states a suggested donation of $7,500,000 for the honor of naming the residence hall.

Crown, a partner at the Chicago-based investment firm Henry Crown & Co., created the Crown Challenge in 2008 to encourage alumni donations. Currently, if an alumnus commits to giving any amount for the next four years, Crown will donate an additional  $1,000. For any one-time donation an alumnus makes, Crown will donate an additional $100. The Crown Challenge contributed to the successful completion of the Campaign for Claremont McKenna, which met its $600 million goal this week with a $50 million donation from trustee George R. Roberts ’66 P’93. According to a press release published by the college, the Campaign, which launched in 2008, is the largest fundraising campaign ever undertaken by a liberal arts college.

"It's great that alumni are so willing to donate money to the betterment of our educational experience," said Sean Sakaguchi '16, a Claremont Hall resident. "Plus, it doesn't hurt to now be living somewhere with a tinge of majestic royalty."

Claremont Hall, CMC’s newest residence hall, was built in 2008. The building earned a LEED certification of silver and won a design award from the magazine Residential Architect in 2009.

The College has yet to release a formal announcement.