CMC Gets $200 Million

The L.A. Times reported last week on Claremont McKenna College receiving a $200 million donation from philanthropist Robert Day. Day is the grandson of William Myron Keck, who in 1921 founded Superior Oil Co.

So, now CMC isn't just hot. It's loaded, too.

The gift is the largest ever given to a liberal arts college and will be used to fund CMC's first graduate program and to hire eight professors for the program. Additionally, the money will be used to fund senior grants for up to 50 students from any of the five undergraduate schools at the Claremont Colleges. The students receiving the grants will be called Robert Day Scholars.

The FC Blog had a good write up of the CMC news and of the debate that has ensued. Apparently, a number of students and faculty have expressed concerns about the money changing the nature of CMC.