An Open Letter to President Dudley: Honoring 50 Years of Coeducation with Courage

To truly honor CMC’s 50th anniversary of coeducation, we must recommit to that same spirit — finding excellence in previously overlooked places.

Image credit: Oscar Ponteri, made with Claremont McKenna's 50 Years of Co-education and Photo Archives

Dear President Dudley,

Welcome to Claremont McKenna College. Speaking on behalf of many, we are very excited for you to join us as president. We hope you and your family are adjusting well to California. Yes, the August heat can be a bit much the first time around, but the 70-degree days in December will more than make up for it, we promise.

Our names are Shiraz, Aria, Oscar, and Praise. As seniors at CMC, we’ve had the privilege of both witnessing and contributing to a college that pushes the bounds of higher education — from opening the RDSC and Sports Bowl to producing Rhodes Scholars and leaders who continue to shape the world for the better. With the Roberts Campus on the horizon, CMC is an institution with extraordinary momentum behind its attempt to become America’s premier liberal arts college. 

But in this moment of ascendancy we must pause and ask ourselves, how will Claremont McKenna College distinguish itself from other elite undergraduate institutions?

Our campus and its budding infrastructure are only as valuable as the people who bring it to life. To be the best liberal arts college in the country, CMC must attract and develop the best students from every zip code, every background, and every income bracket. 

…

Let us be clear: CMC already does a great job building a student body that exemplifies the spirit of responsible leadership. Our admissions counselors take a holistic approach and invest in outreach like the Preview program; we are need-blind and meet 100 percent of demonstrated need; and we foster spaces like the CARE and Soll Centers where students can find community and purpose. The groundwork is laid, but becoming the best liberal arts college in the country means having the courage to go even further. That starts with recognizing that there is still a pool of brilliant talent we have yet to welcome — students who don’t know what CMC has to offer, who worry about its cost, and who aren’t sure they’d be accepted in an ‘elite’ setting. 

The challenge begins before a student even applies. For those outside traditional college-prepatory circles, CMC often isn’t on their radar. Our recruiting patterns don’t help: 58 percent of CMC’s in-person visits are at private schools, even though roughly 90 percent of Americans attend public schools. And for students who do encounter CMC, the price alone can be a turn-off: Half of high school seniors say they would not even apply to a college costing more than $40,000 a year — a striking reality when CMC’s annual cost of attendance has now surpassed $100,000. 

These barriers are reflected in the makeup of our student body. Among high schoolers with the same test scores, those from the top one  percent  of American families are 2.7 times more likely to attend CMC — a higher rate than that at any of the Ivies. Meanwhile, students from predominantly urban states far outnumber those from rural states, and, in 2024-25, CMC only enrolled nine Black students. That is just 2.7 percent of the class of 2030 when Black Americans make up 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. We don’t cite these numbers to argue for quotas or preferential treatment. We cite them because they suggest something practical: Our search for talent is incomplete.

The best students come from everywhere. Drive, intellectual curiosity, and care for the world — the qualities we value highest in a student — should not skew toward any socioeconomic, geographic, or racial background. There are government nerds, finance lovers, and genius scientists in every corner of this country. Some attend college preparatory schools; others attend public schools; some come from families where college has always been expected; others come from those where it has hardly seemed possible. If our student body doesn’t exemplify the full breadth of American talent, it means that either our definition of excellence is too narrow or our search for it is. Institutions of higher education are often defined by their ability to transform students’ potential into societal impact; but to be the best in the country, a college must be just as adept at finding that potential in the places others overlook. 

That future of educational excellence is within CMC’s reach. Today, we ask that you join us in making it a reality. Real growth requires strong community, hard conversations and a willingness to hold one another accountable. We will hold ourselves — and CMC — to those standards. It starts with two core commitments:

Find Talent Everywhere: The majority of American high schoolers don’t even know CMC exists. Most of our recruiting is targeted at schools that already send us the most applicants. Let's get out there and find those brilliant students who are often overlooked. Specifically…

• Our recruiting time should mirror national demographics: 90 percent of high schoolers attend public schools and a significant amount are Title I — our recruiting efforts should reflect that

• Create a ‘Student Corps’: Pay CMC students to visit (virtually or in-person) schools and communities that have been previously overlooked

Make CMC Possible: How can we justify another $160,000,000 building when the difference between losing or gaining a highly qualified student could be as little as $10,000? Our $100,000 price tag is terrifying and turns families off even if we promise to cover their demonstrated need. We need clear, historic commitments to financial aid — The Ivies are already there. Specifically…

• Cover 100 percent of the cost of attendance for families earning less than $100,000 per year

• Convene a student-faculty-staff committee to find and recommend other financial aid policies that broaden the socioeconomic range of students CMC attracts

CMC already has the resources to help every student — regardless of their background — find purpose and belonging here. We have world-class faculty, a Dean of Students office and CARE Center that show up for students, and a Soll Center team that helps everyone find their calling through programs like SIE and the Appel Fellowship. What we’re missing isn’t infrastructure, it’s the breadth of viewpoints, backgrounds, and life experiences that would not only put these resources to full use, but sharpen them, making discussion richer, mentorship more meaningful, and our community more energized. 

President Dudley, 2026 marks not only your arrival at Claremont McKenna College, but our 50th anniversary as a co-educational institution. In 1976, CMC saw an opportunity to further its mission by opening its doors to a previously overlooked community of students. 50 years later, we’re asking you to embrace that same spirit of institutional courage — not just for the benefit of those who’d be newly welcomed, but for every student here and the future of our college. We did it once and it defined a new era for CMC. There’s no better time to do it again. 

- Shiraz, Aria, Oscar, and Praise

Co-signed by:

Amrit Dhaliwal ‘27 — ASCMC President

Dhamar Ramirez Gomez ’27 — ASCMC Executive Vice President

Ibukun Owolabi ’28 — Junior Class President

Meera Jhakar ’29 — Sophomore Class President

Ava Kopp ’25 — Former ASCMC President (2024–25)

Kylee Tevis ’26 — Former ASCMC President (2025–26)

Georgia Alford ’28 — Student Manager, Mgrublian Center for Human Rights

Millian Bailey ’28 — CARE Fellow; Open Academy Fellow; First-Year Guide; Kravis Scholar

Nicolas Burlinson ’27 — Vice President of Exploratory Programming, College Programming Board

Dahar Plair ‘28 — BSA's Co-Director of Identity and Personal Experience

Fallyn Buckner ’26 — Resident Assistant

Callum Dhanda ‘27 — CMC Advocates President

Gabriel Corleto-Muniz ’28 — PPE; CARE Fellow

Daniel Fernández ’26 — Mi Gente Community Outreach Coordinator

Alahna Gainer ’28 — Research Assistant, Government Department

Tanveer Grewal ’27 — Vice President, Claremont Marketing Group; Associate Consultant, CWPD

Ambika Gupta ’27 — Student Manager, Mgrublian Center for Human Rights

Kaitlin Ip ’27 — Research Associate, Berger Institute; President, International Connect; Captain, 5C Club Women’s Basketball

Josephine Jett ’27 — CMS Athlete; Student Manager, Gould Center for Humanistic Studies

Eli Jobrack Lundy ’27 — President, 5C College Democrats

Maxwell Johnson ’27 — CMC Mock Trial Board Member

Naima Joseph ’28 — CARE Lead

Malu Junco ’27 — Integrated Sciences Scholar

Zubin Khera ’27 — Member, REC

Rachel Kindler ’27 — First-Year Guide

Emre Kocer ’27 — Research Assistant, KLI

Kendall Kozlowski ’27 — Resident Advisor

Jim Lam ’28 — Founder, Claremont Urbanists

Jaida McCullough ’27 — Source Associate Consultant; Black Student Association Executive Board Member

Ellie Leiter ‘27 — Claremont Women in Business Co-President

Jenna McComas ’28 — Research Assistant, Keck Center; CIRS Board Member

Sophia Prosper ’27 — Research Assistant, KLI

Pallavi Raju ’26 — Resident Assistant

Francesca Rossi ’27 — Resident Assistant; Handley Leadership Fellow, Kravis Center; ASCMC Mental Health and Wellness Liaison; EcoRep, Roberts Environmental Center

Floribert Rugambage ’27 — President, CMC African Student Club

Katherine Schwab ’26 — Resident Assistant, Crown Hall; Athenaeum Fellow

Jessica Sloan-Cooper ’26 — Women’s Lacrosse Player

Hailey Stuben ’27 — Co-President, Outdoor Initiative

Yessica Ventura Morales ’28 — Member, AMPLIFY Lab

Samuel Wang ’28 — Co-President, CMC Real Estate Finance Association

Michael Grigorian ‘27 — Robert Day Scholar, MUN Del

Eliot Advani ’27

Deborah Aguirre ’28

Mia Balonick ’27

Miguel Barrios ’27

Asia Best ’27

Riya Bhasin ’26

Daniela Brun ’26

Tlalnantzin Carlos ’28

Luke Carfaro ’26

Kaitlyn Chang ’27

Ivy Cheluget ’28

Riley Cooper ’27

Camille D ’25

Lily Drye ’27

Theo Evison ’27

Imani Ferris ’28

Gabriel Goldstein ’27

Riley Green ’24

Georgia Rogers ’27

Anya Gupta ’28

Luci Hanstedt ’27

Erika Hayashigatani ’25

Vickie Hayashigatani ’91

Riley Hester ’27

Devarshi (Charvi) Irava ’28

Dani Ip ’29

Enya Kamadolli ’26

Jinho Austin Kim ’29

Alex Knight ’27

Cooper Lahti ’27

Eleanor Larson ’27

Jesus Lara ’28

Louis Layman ’26

AJ Matheson-Lieber ’27

Tyler Mitic ’29

Aadil Mohamed ’26

Lele Murer ’26

Anthony Northington ’29

Gev Nweke ’25

Aidan O'Connell ’27

Ashley Orton ’91

Anika Passi ’27

Jacob Pippel ’28

Tamoy Pitt ’26

Jim Sangsvang ’26

Norah Shipley ’26

Jamie Smith ’27

Maile Stoutemyer ’27

Ellen Stearns ’91

Blake Suttner ’26

Isabel Yau-Weeks ’25

Kaavya Narayan ‘25

Yuji Jones ‘27

Jennifer Florencio ‘26

Nripesh Agarwal ‘27

Kevin Chen ‘27

Ezra Mengesha ‘28

Adarsh Srinivasan ‘24

Dmytro Nyz ‘29

Chad McElroy ‘26

Caren Ensing ‘27

Timi Balogun ‘24