Claremont Insider: CMC Trustee Named to White House Office

Saturday, December 6, 2008

CMC Trustee Named to White House Office

Wes Woods II in the Daily Bulletin reports that Claremont McKenna College trustee Louis Caldera has been chosen to be the Director of the White House Military Office for the incoming Obama administration.

Woods quoted CMC President Pamela Gann and President-elect Obama on the Caldera appointment:

"Claremont McKenna College is pleased that a trustee has been selected for this prestigious position in the new Obama administration," Gann wrote in an e-mail.

"Mr. Caldera has been previously an outstanding public servant in California, New Mexico and Washington, D.C., and the country will benefit greatly from his commitment to serving our country."

In a separate news release, Obama said, "Louis has served his country with distinction in uniform and in government, and his pedigree is second-to-none. I know he'll bring to the White House the same dedication and integrity that have earned him the highest praise in every post, from secretary of the Army to university president."

A West Point grad, Caldera was Secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration from 1998 to 2001. Caldera, who has an MBA and JD from Harvard, practiced law in LA before serving in the California State Assembly from 1992 to 1997. After his first White House stint, Caldera was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the California State University system. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the President of the University of New Mexico, where he is now a member of the UNM law school faculty.

Coincidentally, the LA firm Caldera practiced with from 1987 to 1990 was O'Melveny & Myers, the same firm CMC retained to investigate the Jonathan Petropoulos matter. O'Melveny is one of the oldest law firm in Los Angeles and, according to its Wikipedia entry, it is the 19th largest firm in the world. Former Clinton Secretary of State Warren Christopher is a partner, and former Reagan White House Counsel Arthur Culvahouse, Jr., is the firm's chair.