Pamela B. Gann
Pamela Brooks Gann was born on November 2, 1948, in Monroe, North Carolina, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970. She earned her J.D. from the Duke University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She practiced law in private firms in Atlanta and Charlotte before joining the Duke faculty in 1975. While at Duke, Gann served as a faculty member for 24 years. Her academic fields included federal income taxation and international economic law, including international trade and investments. Throughout her early career at Duke, Gann also held visiting professor of law appointments at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), University of Michigan, University of Colorado, University of Virginia, and University of San Diego. In 1988, Gann became dean of the Duke University School of Law, a position she would hold for 11 years.
Pamela Gann became Claremont McKenna College’s fourth president on July 1, 1999. During her tenure, Gann led a multi-year strategic planning process involving more than 130 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees, while student selectivity increased steadily with only 11.7% of the applicants for fall 2013 being admitted. Gann was actively involved in the expansion and replenishment of the College’s faculty across all departments, especially economics, government, history, literature, philosophy, psychology, and science. More than 65% of CMC’s tenured and tenure-track faculty were hired during her presidency, and thirty-seven new chaired professorships were endowed. During her presidency two new research institutes were created–The Financial Economics Institute was designed to provide a curricular sequence and to support faculty and student research in financial economics; and The Center for Human Rights Leadership built on CMC’s historic strengths in the areas of Holocaust studies and international relations. Additionally, The Kravis Leadership Institute was expanded to include more professors, and it awarded over 125 summer student leadership internships in the United States and around the world. The Henry R. Kravis Leadership Prize was established to recognize exceptional leaders in the non-profit sectors in the world. With the creation of The Center for Global Education, CMC expanded its commitment to a global liberal arts education and added new resources for the education of responsible citizens through the establishment of the Center for Civic Engagement. The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurism was established to provide curriculum and co-curriculum support for students interested in both business and social sector entrepreneurial activities.
Under President Gann’s leadership, the College also pursued a significant revision in its campus master plan, including over $200 million in proposed new facilities. She led the Campaign for Claremont McKenna College, which ended on June 30, 2013, and raised $635.1 million against a goal of $600 million, at the time the largest Campaign by a liberal arts college. Key hallmarks of the Campaign include the construction of the Kravis Center, the Biszantz Family Tennis Center, Crown Hall, and the planning and funding of Roberts Pavilion. To honor her leadership, the Board of Trustees named Gann Quadrangle at the Kravis Center in her honor. She worked with Robert A. Day ‘65 P’12 on the largest gift for economics in higher education, $200 million that established the Robert Day Scholars Program for undergraduates and the Robert Day Scholars Program for a new Master’s in Finance degree at the College. The Department of Economics was renamed the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance in recognition of this transformative gift. Women’s lacrosse was added to the CMS Athletics program in 2003, followed by women’s golf in 2007 and both teams had success during President Gann’s tenure–the Athenas lacrosse team were SCIAC Conference champions in 2010 and SCIAC Tournament Champions in 2010 and 2011; and the Athenas golf team were SCIAC Conference champions in 2012 and 2013. President Gann retired from the CMC presidency in 2013, but continued to teach classes in international law, international human rights, and philanthropy and non-profit organizations until December 2018. Upon her retirement, members of the Board of Trustees joined together to endow a professorship in her honor and awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
In addition to her leadership at Claremont McKenna College, Gann also has an extensive background in international education, including teaching American law and international trade in China, France, Denmark, Austria, and Vietnam. She was awarded an International Affairs Fellowship by the Council on Foreign Relations, through which she worked at the International Monetary Fund and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. An active leader in law, higher education, and international policy, Gann has held elected membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Women’s Forum, the Society of International Business Fellows, the American Law Institute, and is an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, the Deloitte Council on the Advancement of Women (WIN), the Presidents’ Council of the NCAA Division III, the Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She currently serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Foundation, chair of the Board of Directors of Direct Relief, and chair of the Board of Directors of IES Abroad. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Cottage Health System and the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation. Her numerous awards include the “Woman Lawyer of the Year” award by the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, the A. Kenneth Pye Award for Excellence in Education from the Duke Law School, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. An honorary life member of the CMC Alumni Association, Pamela Gann received the Association’s Jack L. Stark ’57 GP’11 Distinguished Service Award. In 2018, the Alumni Association established the Pamela Gann Leadership Award, which is given to acknowledge the significant leadership of CMC alumni who have been notable trailblazers as exhibited by their impact and influence in the advancement of community-building, volunteerism, or social entrepreneurship.
President Emerita Pamela Gann lives in Santa Barbara, California.
