Incorporation of Claremont Men's College

Marie Rankin Clarke (1868-1948) of Los Angeles and Santa Fe Springs was the widow of Chauncey Clarke, a pioneer miner and oil producer in Arizona and California.

By the fall of 1946, the Claremont Undergraduate School for Men was open and operational, but there was an air of uncertainty regarding the new enterprise. If all things went well, the school might develop into an incorporated college according to plan. If not, the school might represent a five-year experiment and lose its identity altogether. Claremont College had decided that a $1 million endowment was needed before the new school could incorporate. By December 1946, $116,000 in gifts and pledges had been received, but the $1 million figure continued to stand as a barrier to incorporation.

With help from Claremont College Managing Director Robert Bernard, Marie Rankin Clarke was identified as a potential donor to the Men’s School. She agreed to donate $500,000 in honor of her late husband. Her donation was formally known as the Chauncey Clarke Fellowship Trust, with funds to be used toward educational programs for either the Claremont Graduate School or the Men’s School. While the funds were not specifically designated to the Men’s School, there was an understanding that they could be used for the new institution.

Garner Beckett served as chairman of the newly established Advisory Council for the Men’s School, which consisted of half Claremont College Board of Fellows members and half outside members. Advisory Council members included Clarence Crawford, Edward Lyman, Russell Pitzer, Donald McKenna, Herman Erkes, John Marble, Ford Twaits, P.G. Winnett, Burnett Wohlford, and Henry Mudd.

During a December 1946 meeting, Claremont College’s Board of Fellows accepted a report drafted by Will Clary recommending that the Men’s School be incorporated as a separate college. An Advisory Council for the Men’s School was established with the intention of becoming the board of trustees of the new college once incorporated. However, incorporation was not approved as Board of Fellows chairman Harvey Mudd believed the finances of the new institution were still inadequate. In spring 1947, Russell Pitzer offered a donation of $500,000 for capital expenditures if the school would be named in his honor. The Board of Fellows rejected the offer thinking it too small a sum to have a donor’s name permanently attached to the institution, but an undeterred Pitzer made a counteroffer of $250,000 toward an academic building for the college, on two conditions–the Board of Fellows must assign the Clarke bequest exclusively to the School for Men; and the Advisory Council would have to match Pitzer’s gift with another $250,000. As donations quickly began to fall in place, the $1 million mark was in sight and opposition to incorporation was dropped by the Board of Fellows. The Board also specified the property that would be transferred to the new college when incorporation was achieved–the former Bixby Smith property, including Story House, lying between Sixth and Ninth Streets and Amherst and Mills Avenues.

Articles of Incorporation, Claremont Men's College

With funding now in place, the name of the new college needed to be determined. While Marie Rankin Clarke declined having the school named in her honor for fear it would discourage other major donations, she was strongly committed to having “Claremont” included in the name to be suggestive of the amalgamated collegiate entity embodied in the Group Plan. Robert Bernard and George Benson recommended the name Claremont Men’s College, which was accepted by the Advisory Council. On March 28, 1947, Claremont Men’s College was officially certified as a nonprofit corporation in the State of California.

First Meeting of the Incorporators of Claremont Men's College

The articles of incorporation of Claremont Men’s College were approved by its incorporators on March 30, 1947 and by the Board of Fellows on April 4, 1947. All designated funds, pledges, and property were transferred to the new entity, and Garner Beckett announced that Mrs. Clarke would make a further gift of $125,000, cutting in half the endowment total needed to be raised. Garner Beckett, Edward Lyman, P.G. Winnett, and Henry Mudd each personally guaranteed $10,000 and, with additional gifts coming in, the endowment total passed the $1 million goal.

By-Laws, Claremont Men's College

Claremont Men’s College adopted by-laws that outlined the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the newly established Claremont Men’s College Board of Trustees.

First Convocation at Claremont Men’s College

On May 15, 1947, the newly incorporated Claremont Men’s College held its first convocation in Bridges Auditorium. E. Wilson Lyon, president of Pomona College and provost of Claremont College, presided over a full program, which featured a musical performance and addresses by James Blaisdell and T.V. Smith.

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First Formal Convocation of Local Colleges Scheduled for May 15.jpg

A newspaper article advertises the upcoming convocation ceremony, honoring the foundation and incorporation of Claremont Men’s College, Claremont College’s newest institution.

Associated Colleges Convocation_1947.pdf

The convocation ceremonies were highlighted by addresses from James Blaisdell and T.V. Smith, both of whom were instrumental in efforts to get the College founded. Praise was given to the College’s focus on preparing young men for careers in business and government within a matrix of liberal arts and social sciences.

An especially gratifying occasion for James Blaisdell, founding father of the Group Plan, the incorporation of Claremont Men’s College moved the Group Plan from a conceptual idea toward a more convincing presence.

Blaisdell Convocation Address_1947 May 15.pdf

Claremont Men’s College was prepared to educate a new generation of leaders. In his convocation address, Blaisdell noted that while it was one thing to identify a program, the real identity of Claremont Men’s College would be created over time by its faculty and students.

Colleges to Get Clarke Millions_LA Times_1948 November 10.jpg

Upon her passing on October 30, 1948, Mrs. Clarke bequeathed Claremont College the majority of her $5 million estate. Her will was signed only 17 days before her death, and the bequest was made on the condition that the funds be used to pay for life annuities for employees, rather than land acquisition or building construction.