Dear Claremont, Short Version:
Make Sense? This is shared governance.
Love, Gabi
Dear Claremont, Awesome Version:
[Christina, let’s start with some flippant poetic prose to make it sound like I wrote this. Thanks. I’m an English professor, you know.]
At Pomona, birds are blossoming. Flowers are taking flight. The winds of change are flapping their wings and laying eggs. SHARED GOVERNANCE (democracy, ish) is rising, and the boundaries that divide us are fading. The ugly scars that slice us apart— class, religion, creed, race, and yes, college—will wither. CGU was the first to feel my love. You are next. Then Pitzer is next, and Keck is last since I don’t really know anything about them.
Let me just start with specifics, since I can’t speak generally about something that isn’t generally developed. My “Shared Governance” initiative is Pomona’s new way of doing business. It’s in the name—we share governance with you. Any questions about how I will do that? Yes? No? I don’t care. ITS is tracking your eye movements in addition to the wifi and your location. Keep reading.
Ok, so first of all, everyone important and in a pre-existing position of influence gets to have a say. There are 15 positions that have already been filled, so you don’t need to be anxious about getting a student job. The Board nominated the chair of the Board and two trustees to be on there. The Faculty Executive Committee nominated the chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, one of the highest paid professors, and another random one. The Staff Council nominated their co-chair and two other underlings who I think I could fire. I handpicked the executive staff because that’s my job. Oh, and the student body picked 80% of the ASPC which picked 100% of 11% of its officers plus a random. See, you got some!
My task force is steadily considering the plenipotentiary option of organizing ways to consider not getting bogged down in the complicated language of death-by-committee. Shared Governance at Pomona is humanity’s last and greatest hope. It will be the fabric that binds us together. I expect it to take over every higher education institution in the United States. I think by the end of Spring 2026, after two years of hard toil, I’ll have nailed down what “decision-matrix” and “meaningful dialogue” means for Pomona’s actual governance structure. Those got lost in later drafts, I don’t really know why since we don’t publish the minutes or vote. Eventually, Gabster will know what “cross-constituency discussions” and “shared governance framework” means for you!
Gabster is going to talk more now about Pomona because I can’t ever leave you alone. Its very name, Pomona, has a deep history. Pomona. Pomona. Pomona. Fuck, it’s right behind me, isn’t it. Pomona was a Roman goddess of bountiful harvest. Roman? Rome. Rome? Greece. Greece? Democracy. Democracy? A government by the people, for the people, and most importantly, a government that consists of all the people, whether they like it or not. That is why I have been emailing you about the Shared Governance Task Force—Pomona is eventually going to buy you like CGU. We can share our governance at a round table, as long as my seat is a bit higher, and I have more money.
Let me close this message with some wisdom found around the world. By that, I mean Western Europe and Israel, and viewed selectively. The 20th century saw the rise of liberal democracies that valued the freedoms that make us human. The freedom to vote. The freedom to an education. The freedom to hit a student with your car, and still be the President. As the Claremont Colleges navigate the already well-underway 21st century, I am excited to offer this consortium its most potent tool yet—a committee, with no binding resolutions. It’s so the rules don’t get in an ugly fight with me!
Best,
Gabi
Significant credit to Andrew B. for writing direction and conversation.