Claremont McKenna College’s 2025-26 academic year already promises to be one for the history books. The now-open Robert Day Sciences Center sparking a new era of Integrated Sciences education; a Sports Bowl rising into existence; The Open Academy leading constructive dialogue surrounding the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; an Athenaeum lineup highlighting exceptional thinkers, doers, and performers; the closing of a memorable presidential chapter and the opening of a new one.
To kick it all off, the Class of 2029 enjoyed a lively Move-in Day and set of Orientation activities, enthusiastically welcomed by First-Year Guides and other spirited members of the CMC community. Buoyed by the theme, CMC’s Quantum Moment, the College’s annual Convocation gathering marked the first day of classes and a celebration of the promise and potential of the coming year, including an introduction of CMC’s newest faculty members.
ASCMC President Kylee Tevis ’26 charged the student body to shape the year ahead with intentionality and courage, further referencing Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to “confront what lies beyond the comfortable shadows.”
“Transformation is what we come to CMC for. To take potential and make it real. To turn curiosity into knowledge, interest into passion, values into action,” Tevis said, concluding with, “Let us not rush through these years as if they were obstacles to overcome, but live them as opportunities to flourish.”
Keynote speaker Angela Vossmeyer, Rothacker Family Associate Professor of Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow, compared the “Selection Mechanics” (also her talk title) involved in a bank bailout—application, review, assessment, approval, acceptance—to those that brought every student, faculty, and staff member to CMC. Vossmeyer recognized that being surrounded by high achievers can be daunting, “but do not get bogged down with intimidation,” she urged. “Get smarter from your peers.”
“Remember,” Vossmeyer continued, “you were selected into this institution because we know that you can thrive here. So, let’s go ahead and do just that this academic year.”
President Hiram Chodosh concluded the program by describing CMC’s Quantum Moment, drawing upon three perspectives of quantum to capture and celebrate the College’s ethos, values, and major milestones. Scientifically, the tiniest unit of energy or matter: CMC’s “smallest moments of learning, experience, friendship, trust, love.” Computationally, the superposition of zeroes and ones versus classic computing’s zeroes or ones: “We are a community of and. We always have been.” And popularly, a huge leap forward, specifically with the opening of the Robert Day Sciences Center: “Our big, bold vertical moves in the steep trajectory of our future.”
“From the smallest jumps of quantum bits in our learning experience. From the superposition of our rooted commitment to and. To the biggest leap of all, the realization of our vision for the integration of sciences—all coming together in this historic semester—to prove the possible through and at CMC. That’s CMC’s Quantum Moment. That’s why we are here and where we are headed in the coming year and beyond.”
Read President Chodosh’s full Convocation remarks.
View some our favorite photos from the first days of the Fall 2025 semester below.
