
The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully.
Ellen Browning Scripps
Founder of 鶹ýӳ鶹ýӳ is celebrating its centennial May 2026 through May 2027! Join us for events, programs, exhibitions, performances, and more that honor 100 years of confidence, courage, and hope.

The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully.
Ellen Browning Scripps
Founder of 鶹ýӳ
The Nucleus, the new state-of-the-art science center shared between 鶹ýӳand Pitzer Colleges opens in fall.
Amy Marcus-Newhall is appointed the College’s 11th president by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees.
鶹ýӳand Pitzer Colleges celebrate the groundbreaking of the new science center on May 13. On July 1, Suzanne Keen begins her term as the 10th president of 鶹ýӳ.
Scripps’ ninth president, Lara Tiedens, resigns effective April 15. After 18 months of remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students return to campus for the fall academic semester.
A variety of sustainability efforts were implemented, including: solar panel installation on the Lang Arts building roof, the addition of smart meters on every building, LED retrofits in all residence halls’ browsing rooms, and upgrading life-cycled boilers with low-emission replacements.
A new rose garden was dedicated in the South Balch Courtyard to honor the life and contributions of alumna and Life Trustee Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler ’72.
The College’s new strategic plan, the 鶹ýӳCentennial Plan, is developed. The campaign for 鶹ýӳ: More 鶹ýӳis the most successful campaign in Scripps’ history, raising $179M.
The College embarks on a strategic planning process initiated by President Tiedens, advancing four themes: Inclusive Student Success, Mission-Driven Outreach, Distinctive Identity, and Innovative Learning Organization.
Lara Tiedens is appointed the College’s 9th president by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees. Scripps’ tenth residence hall, NEW Hall, opens to new and returning students.
Lori Bettison-Varga announces her resignation as 鶹ýӳ’s eighth president, effective October 2, 2015. The Laspa Center for Leadership welcomes its new director, Lisa Watson, and opens operations in fall. Construction on NEW Hall begins.
The Katharine Howard Miller ’55 Wing of the Bette Cree Edwards ’49 Humanities Building opens during the summer break.
Launch of the College’s largest ever campaign We Want More: The Campaign for 鶹ýӳ. At $175 million, We Want More strives to further academic excellence, national leadership, signature campus and financial strength. It was fueled by the collected power of the 鶹ýӳCommunity.
鶹ýӳ Academy celebrates 10 years of successful year-round programming for middle and high school young women.
The “Nellie” Scholarship, established in honor of Ellen Clark Revelle ’31, is made available for continuing students. The College actively participates in “Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980,” a collaboration of more than 60 cultural institutions in Southern California.
鶹ýӳ Academy receives National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest recognition given to youth programs, in a White House ceremony. Elizabeth Turk ’83 wins MacArthur “Genius” Award.
Lori Bettison-Varga is appointed eighth president of 鶹ýӳ. She and her family move into the Revelle House, the first president to live on campus since John H. Chandler.
The Sallie Tiernan Field House opens its doors to students, faculty, and staff.
Scripps’ sixth president, Nancy Y. Bekavac, announces her resignation, effective July 1, 2007. Frederick “Fritz” Weis” is appointed interim president and is named full president in 2009. An anonymous donor makes a $10 million gift to the College to support faculty initiatives on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
Sallie Tiernan Field House, a state-of-the-art recreational and athletic facility to be located next to the swimming pool on the east side of campus. The Board of Trustees approves the strategic plan, “鶹ýӳ in the Next Decade: Leading with Excellence,” which focuses on academic excellence and women’s leadership.
The most ambitious fundraising campaign in 鶹ýӳhistory surpasses its original $85 million goal with gifts and pledges totaling over $101 million. Over 87% of 鶹ýӳalumnae contributed to the Campaign for the 鶹ýӳWoman, which began its public phase in 1999 and concluded June 30, 2004.
The Performing Arts Center, an expansion of Garrison Theater, opens. Music practice rooms and classrooms, faculty offices, the Nancy Hart Glanville Music Library, and the MaryLou and George Boone Recital Hall are added.
鶹ýӳcelebrates its 75th anniversary with yearlong events.
The Ellen Browning 鶹ýӳReading Room is added to Denison Library. The room was an existing space redone to house collected papers, books, and personal letters of the College’s founder.
Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Hall opens to students. Named for alumna Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler ’72, who provided key guidance to architects on this project in addition to supporting student scholarship programs, an endowed faculty chair in contemporary European studies, a lecture series at the European Union Center of California, as well as other…
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Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O’Connor is awarded the second Ellen Browning 鶹ýӳMedal.
Quotes of famous women in the arts, letters, and sciences are chosen by a committee of students, faculty, and alumnae to line “Inscription Walk,” a pathway connecting the W.M. Keck Science Center to Scripps’ east side of campus.
The W.M. Keck Science Department moves from its previous home in Steele Hall and the neighboring buildings. A two year renovation begins to develop a dedicated 鶹ýӳart center, and provide a permanent home for 鶹ýӳInformation Technology Services and other administrative needs.
Nancy Y. Bekavac, graduate of Swarthmore College and Yale Law School, begins her term as 鶹ýӳ president, becoming the first woman fully appointed to this position.
Buildings and gardens at the center of 鶹ýӳcampus are selected for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
John H. Chandler is appointed president of 鶹ýӳ, serving until 1989. The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference begins sponsorship of women’s sports. The existing Claremont Men’s College/Harvey Mudd competitive athletics program expands to include students from Scripps. The new program, CMS, chooses the team names the Athenas (women’s teams).
In spring, Scripps’ student-run campus coffeehouse, The Motley to the View, opens its doors for business. Over the years, the Motley has changed venues from Balch Hall to the basement of Old Lang to the Frankel-Routt complex, and finally to its current location in Malott Commons.
鶹ýӳhonors its first president, Ernest J. Jaqua, by renaming the central grassed area Jaqua Court and Quadrangle. The primary green remains a gathering place for residents and visitors alike, and it is the site for several annual College events during Fall Orientation, Family Weekend, and Commencement, among others.
Bette Cree Edwards Humanities Building opens to serve as the principal classroom facility for the campus and the interdisciplinary Humanities Program. It is named for Bette Cree Edwards ’49, a former member of the Board of Trustees.
During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Claremont feels the explosion of two bombs, one in Balch Hall and the other in Pomona College’s Carnegie Hall. The bombings happen concurrent with teach-ins regarding the development of a Black Student Union on campus.
To accommodate 200 new students, two new residence halls are built on the east side of campus, Frankel and Routt. Originally conceived as a single facility with three wings by architects Criley and McDowell, the structure was reconfigured to offer a greater variety of room arrangements (singles, doubles, triples, suites,…
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Mark H. Curtis becomes Scripps’ president, serving from 1964 to 1976.
Garrison Theater opens to provide a facility for all the Claremont Colleges to use for theatrical productions, concerts, movies, lectures, and other events. Longtime 鶹ýӳtrustee Robert H. Garrison and his wife, Catherine Garrison, who graduated from Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University, provide the initial funding.
Scripps’ fifth residence hall, Mary Kimberly Residence Hall, opens to students. The hall is funded in part by gifts from friends and trustees of Harvey Mudd College, whose female students are housed in Kimberly from 1960-1980.
Designed by Smith and Williams of Pasadena, the Music Building opens with a recital hall seating 150, a music library, classrooms, practice rooms, and faculty offices. The hall is named in honor of pianist Lee Pattison, or “Mr. Pat” to students, a 鶹ýӳprofessor of music.
For the first time, Commencement is held on Elm Tree Lawn. Previously located on Bowling Green, the new location provides a symbolic movement from the College’s classrooms to the alumnae house, located at Revelle house on the east end of the lawn.
Alfredo Ramos Martinez, the “Father of the Mexican Mural Movement of the 20th Century,” is commissioned to create the Margaret Fowler Garden, “The Flower Vendors.”
Distinguished Shakespearean scholar Frederick Hard is named Scripps’ new president. Hard serves the College for a period of 20 years, the longest tenure of any 鶹ýӳpresident.
With American involvement in World War II, the search for a new president of 鶹ýӳis temporarily halted and an interim female president is appointed: Mary Kimberly Shirk. Shirk, who was asked by the Board to “serve for a month or two,” remains in the position until the War concludes.
The 鶹ýӳ Press is a gift from the class of 1941 and begins printing that year. Frederic W. Goudy, one of the most prominent type designers of his era, designs a special font for the press: 鶹ýӳ Old Style.
The President’s House is built, following Gordon Kaufmann’s design. The first six presidents of 鶹ýӳresided in this structure during their respective tenures.
March 2, a flood occurs in Claremont, causing about $7,000 of damage to Toll and Clark Halls. Residents took refuge in Browning and Dorsey Halls, which are unaffected. Soon after, the famous floodwalls are erected to prevent further water damage.
In the summer, the central quadrangle is grassed, primarily due to the energy of two Grace 鶹ýӳClark Hall residents from the class of 1936: Cynthia Criley Williams and Helen Ely Brill.
Mrs. Florence Rand Lang makes an initial gift that will eventually become the anchor for the south campus.
Mrs. Charles Stinchfield and a bequest from Mrs. Eldridge M. Fowler funds the donation of the Oratory, which features selections from Mrs. Fowler’s collection of antique Italian furniture and fine textiles.
The first swimming pool and units of the field house are completed at Alumnae Park, an area that eventually became part of Harvey Mudd College campus.
In fall, Susan Miller Dorsey Hall is ready for occupancy, and remains the youngest residence hall at 鶹ýӳfor 30 years.
Designed by architect Sumner Hunt of Los Angeles, Janet Jacks Balch Hall is completed in fall and becomes the primary academic facility.
In fall, Grace 鶹ýӳClark Hall is completed. It is the joint gift of Grace 鶹ýӳClark and Ellen Browning Scripps, in memory of James E. Scripps, founder and editor of the Detroit Evening News and father and brother of the donors.
Ernest J. Jaqua, for whom Jaqua Quadrangle is named, is elected the first president of Scripps.
Ellen Browning 鶹ýӳendows a college for women as the first element in a coordinated system of affiliated colleges and graduate schools surrounding Pomona.