A College is Born

George and Mabel Benson both helped to round out the Men’s College faculty early on—George teaching American government and administrative organization, and Mabel teaching English.

Recruiting of Founding Faculty

In June 1946, the Board of Fellows of approved a founding budget of $88,000 and authorized George Benson to recruit faculty to the new school. Variously called the Claremont College Undergraduate School for Men, the Claremont Undergraduate School for Men, or the Claremont Men’s School, the new entity had now come into being with less than four months to prepare for the start of its initial academic year. Despite being obligated to teach over the summer of 1946 at Harvard Summer School, George Benson worked by letter and telephone to recruit Claremont Men’s College’s founding faculty. The initial faculty members exhibited a pioneering spirit, and many of them accepted administrative responsibilities in addition to their teaching positions.

Stuart Briggs

A local Claremont businessman and part-time Pomona College instructor, Stuart Briggs was recruited to the new Men’s College to serve as its first dean of students and a professor of accounting.

Gerald Jordan

Recently released from the US Navy, Gerald Jordan came to Claremont Men's College as an assistant professor of political economy and was named assistant director of the school on July 15, 1946.

Everett Carter

Everett Carter came to the Men's College as an instructor in English, having just been released from the armed services following World War II.

Bertha Ward

Bertha Ward began her tenure at Claremont Men’s College as a lecturer in Spanish.

Albert Clodius

Instructor in history Albert Clodius came to Claremont Men’s College as a graduate student, still finishing his dissertation.

Daniel Vandermeulen

Daniel Vandermeulen came to the Men’s College as an assistant professor in economics, having just finished his Ph.D. at Harvard. His wife, Alice Vandermeulen, would later join the Claremont Men’s College faculty as a professor of economics.

Rebeca Marti

When it became evident that Mrs. Ward could not alone handle all of the language classes during the first school year, Rebeca Marti was hired to ease the course load. Marti, a graduate of Pomona College, taught Spanish from November 1946 to June 1950.

Earl "Fuzz" Merritt

Pomona College Football coach Earl “Fuzz” Merritt, along with coaches Eugene Nixon and Robert Strehle, supplemented the initial Men’s College faculty members, providing instruction in physical education and coaching the joint Pomona-CMC athletic teams.

Undergraduate School for Men, Annoucement and Catalog

Written by Mabel Benson, this brief, twelve-page catalog was ready for dissemination by the end of June, 1946. It was distributed to Veterans' Administration officials, armed forces separation centers, high schools, and junior colleges across Southern California, and even a naval brig. It proved to be a great resource in announcing the new Men's College.

Undergraduate School for Men Announcement_1946.jpg

Undergraduate School for Men, Annoucement

An official announcement for the newly established Undergraduate School for Men at Claremont College. By late August 1946, fifty students had been admitted with ten more on the verge of accepting admission.

Story House

The three-story former Sarah Bixby Smith mansion was, initially, the Men's College's only permanent building. In the years since the Smiths left Claremont, the Craftsman home served as a faculty club and was leased to the Girls Collegiate School. In 1946, with help from Robert Bernard, the house was transformed into a dormitory for nonveterans with kitchen and dining facilities for the entire student body. The mansion was renamed Story House in honor of the late Russell Story.

Construction of Veterans' Housing Units

Veterans enrolling in the Men’s College would be housed in shipyard dormitory units obtained from the federal housing authority. While the veterans' housing units arrived on schedule in late August 1946, there was a delay in getting the buildings electrically wired and hooked up to plumbing in time for the start of the semester in September.

Coconut Grove, Bridges Auditorium

Due to the unforeseen delay with the housing units, Robert Bernard and Gerald Jordan were forced to improvise to find additional housing accommodations. Temporary housing for the veterans came in the form of barracks-like arrangements set up in two large rooms in the basement of Bridges Auditorium, where classes would also be held. A recreation area with card-tables, chairs, and potted plants was set-up, with students soon referring to the area by its nickname “Coconut Grove.”

"Education's New Aims"

A September 19, 1946 article by the Los Angeles Times' Ed Ainsworth, praised the new Men's College for its practical focus geared towards returning veterans. The article may have recruited an additional student or two, for by September 22, the day before registration, the student body stood at eighty-six—eleven beyond the identified break-even point of seventy-five. Registration day finally came on September 23, 1946 and after twenty years of planning and efforts, the dream of a men’s college became a reality.

In July, we will begin monthly archival exhibitions celebrating Claremont McKenna College’s history. Our next exhibit will continue CMC’s story with a focus on the Pacesetters and the first decade of the College.