Fourteen years ago, the HMC community gathered to examine all that it does, in view of the challenges and changes in the world.

With help from philanthropic institutions, individual donors and the hard work of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees and friends, we’ve made great strides in developing and implementing the Strategic Vision for Harvey Mudd College. Read about some of our many successes, as well as creative projects and collaborative initiatives.

Priorities were set around six themes:

1. Innovation, leadership and impact, especially in engineering, science and mathematics
2. Focus on experiential and interdisciplinary learning
3. Unsurpassed excellence and diversity at all levels
4. Nurturing and developing the whole person
5. Global engagement and informed contributions to society
6. Improvement of infrastructure and resources to support HMC’s commitment to excellence and building community

14 Years, 14 Highlights

1. Created new experiential learning opportunities
2. Designed innovative interdisciplinary courses
3. Revised the Core curriculum to be as rigorous as ever, yet flexible and innovative
4. Introduced a new writing course to teach the communication skills our students need as leaders
5. Admitted the largest entering class of women in the College’s history
6. Developed unique Clinic opportunities, including Global Clinic and social impact Clinic opportunities with far-reaching impact
7. Expanded our mentoring programs, Summer Institute and Sophomore Retreat
8. Instituted methods to continually assess and improve our educational experience
9. Built a state-of-the-art teaching and learning building
10. Built a LEED-certified residence hall
11. Updated and improved wellness programs
12. Renovated classrooms and labs
13. Celebrated historic graduating classes in which women made up the majority of certain majors (2016 & 2018 computer science; 2016 & 2018 physics; 2014 engineering)
14. Widely shared the College’s curricular innovations in computer science and engineering

Innovation, Leadership, Impact

2006

Maria Klawe named fifth HMC president Strategic planning process begins.

Over six months, HMC community strategizes size, structure, curriculum, student body makeup and impact upon society. Meetings, roundtables, workshops, debates result in six themes

2007

HMC 2020 funds awarded to campus community enable programs and initiatives addressing strategic vision themes

Walter and Leonore Annenberg Fund for Leadership Development inaugurated with first speakers

2008

$579,600 National Science Foundation grant enables 36 scholarships

$800,000 NSF grant underwrites Department of Mathematics postdoctoral fellowship program focused on teaching and research

2009

President Klawe named to board of directors, Microsoft (becomes 10th member, second woman); elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

NSF CAREER grants awarded to professors Robert Drewell (biology) and Nancy Lape (engineering)

$419,000 award from Mellon Foundation supports Core Curriculum revision efforts

$1 million gift establishes Kenneth A. and Diana G. Jonsson Professorship in Mathematics and the Jonsson Endowed Fund for Mathematics Department travel

2010

HMC team wins Southern California regionals and honorable mention at World finals, ACM ICPC

2012

2012 Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering Education awarded to professors Clive Dym, Mack Gilkeson and J. Richard Phillips by National Academy of Engineering

2013

Established by trustee/ alumnus John Benediktsson ’01 and his wife Rajashree Karwa: Benediktsson-Karwa Endowed Faculty Chair

The board of trustees votes to increase the College’s student body size to 900 students over next decade

2014

Three endowed faculty chairs established: The Michael G. and C. Jane Wilson Chair in Arts and the Humanities; Leonhard- Johnson-Rae Chair; Malcolm Lewis Chair of Sustainability and Society

2015

The work of a Southwest Research Institute Engineering Clinic team is a key to New Horizons’ image processing capabilities

Endowed faculty chairs established: John Stauffer Chair in Chemistry, Smallwood Family Chair

College celebrates 60th anniversary with 28 events in U.S. and abroad

HMC INQ for alumni entrepreneurs created by Josh Jones ’98 and economics professor Gary Evans

2016

New endowed faculty chair: Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair for Leadership

Hixon Center hosts its first Biennial Conference for Sustainable Design and Solutions at HMC

2017

HMC is top-scoring undergraduate institution in William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

New Claremont Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning funded by Mellon Foundation, HMC math professor Darryl Yong ’96 appointed first director

President Klawe receives Carnegie Corporation’s Academic Leadership Award

New joint major in mathematics and physics approved by faculty

Engineering students win regional American Production and Inventory Control Society competition

2018

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports HMC’s Strategic Vision 2020 with Presidential Leadership Program grant, providing opportunities to increase racial and gender diversity among faculty and to review the Core Curriculum

HMC physics researchers discover “optical blasting,” a new way to modify material properties

Biologists create XenoGI, software to study history of genomic island insertions in a clade of microbes

HMC is top-scoring undergraduate institution in William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

For second-straight year, engineering students win regional American Production and Inventory Control Society competition

2019

HMC team places first in the global supply chain competition at finals of Global Case Competition sponsored by ASCM and Deloitte

HMC named a National Association of Student Personnel Administrators LEAD Initiative Institution for its community-based learning practices

Department of Chemistry joins Green Chemistry Commitment to emphasize its commitment to applying chemical principles and sustainable practices to solve societal problems

Experiential, interdisciplinary learning

2006

Clinic project for The Aerospace Corp, launched into space. Original design of camera circuitry boards on picosats were developed by 2003–2004 Clinic team

2008

$1.5 million granted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute for lab support, instruction, curriculum

Curriculum committee suggests modifying the Core in order to advance goals of strategic vision and to adapt to changing backgrounds and needs of students

$500,000 pledge by Malcolm ’67 and Cynthia Lewis establishes Patton and Claire Lewis Fellowship in Engineering Professional Practice

2009

Merck/AAAS awards $60,000 to biology and chemistry departments

2010

The Ocean Research and Conservation Association launches portable deep-sea webcam, a 2001 Clinic project

Writing instruction integrated into new Core. Full-time faculty from each department work to incorporate writing instruction throughout curriculum

2011

$367,461 NSF grant funds undergraduate computer science summer research

2012

HMC shares Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s $3.6 million grant for experiential and interdisciplinary learning opportunities with other undergraduate Claremont Colleges

Department of Chemistry faculty pledges $60,000, and The John Stauffer Charitable Trust donates $150,000, to support HMC’s undergraduate chemistry summer research

2013

Clinic Program reaches half-century

2015

Hixon Center for Sustainable Environmental Design established

2016

Faculty form Core Review Planning Team assess and evaluate the Core Curriculum

Hearst Foundation grant funds underwater robotics laboratory

Fletcher Jones Foundation grant funds Department of Chemistry instrumentation

2017

Faculty approves a new statement of goals to serve as foundation for Core Curriculum discussions

2018

Engineers visit Malta to develop new technology for finding, mapping and visualizing undiscovered shipwrecks

2019

Harvey Mudd College fields its inaugural entry in RoboNation RoboSub competition

Excellence and diversity

2007

Strategic Vision Diversity Committee assesses campus climate for diversity and identifies strategies for improvement; Multicultural Forum held

To reach a more diverse population, HMC begins accepting ACT test scores; Record numbers of applications received, 18% higher than previous year

42.3% of Class of 2011 is female; 63% from outside California

Strategic Vision Curriculum Committee study Core and curriculum

2008

Strategic Vision Diversity Committee holds forums on Race and Ethnicity and on Gender and Sexual Orientation

Annenberg Foundation grants $1 million for scholarships

2009

For first time, HMC has two Churchill Scholarship recipients in same year

Annenberg Foundation awards $1 million for scholarships

2010

$1 million for scholarships granted by Rose Hills Foundation

Popularity grows for Summer Institute, which supports underrepresented students. For first time in program’s history, the number of applicants exceeds the number of enrollment slots

Female enrollment (52%) in Class of 2014 surpasses male enrollment for first time in College’s history

HMC receives $50,000 grant from AAUW to help increase women’s representation in science and math

2012

Summer Institute program bolstered by $600,000 grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Henry Luce Foundation grants $200,000 for computer science, engineering and physics scholarships

2014

For the first time in the College’s history, the majority (56%) of engineering graduates are women

2015

Class of 2019 is most diverse class to date

2016

More physics degrees (52%) and more computer science degrees (54.4%) conferred to women than to men

2017

HMC all-female team is an Outstanding winner (top 1%) in Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling

Office of Institutional Diversity launches new programs for first-generation and international students

2018

Class of 2018 has highest percentage of both HMC women physics majors and computer science majors

Kapor Center for Social Impact grant funds study about equitable access to computing careers, especially for women of color

2020

To further improve its inclusive admission practices, HMC eliminates requirement for SAT subject tests

Whole-person development

2007

New student organization established: Mudders Organizing for Sustainability Solutions and Engineers for a Sustainable World (MOSS/ESW)

2010

Student mentor program initiated to provide advising for first-year students

New Core Curriculum launched. Provides rigorous broad-based knowledge and experience, creates flexibility to pursue intellectual passions, new interdisciplinary electives or foreign language

2011

HMC mentoring program, Mudders Mentoring Mudders (M3), created by Lupita Bermudez ’09 for alumni, faculty and staff to provide support to Mudders from sophomore through senior years

2013

Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts launches Concert Series in Drinkward Recital Hall

College holds first Leadership Awards ceremony to recognize students, faculty and staff for their engagement and contributions to Harvey Mudd community

Taylor Swift performs for Harvey Mudd and the Claremont Colleges after HMC students win contest

2014

Concert series inaugurated in the Wayne ’73 and Julie Drinkward Recital Hall

In partnership with The Claremont Colleges Consortium, HMC adds resources for students in mental health and wellness and diversity

2015

HMC joins 7Cs in celebrating opening of Rick ’64 and Susan Sontag (POM ’64) Center for Collaborative Creativity (“The Hive”)

2017

Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts launches Visual Arts at HMC program to display community members’ work in the Caryll Mudd and Norman F. Sprague, Jr. Gallery

2020

Forty-three Harvey Mudd College students study abroad during spring semester, the largest group to participate in study abroad in the College’s history

Athletics

HMC student athletes contribute to Claremont- Mudd-Scripps athletics championships in men’s basketball (2006, 2012, 2017, 2018), women’s basketball (2015-2017), women’s cross country (2006, 2008, 2010– 2019), men’s cross country (2009–2010, 2012–2016. 2019), football (2018), men’s golf (2016, 2018), women’s golf (2018, 2019), women’s lacrosse (2010, 2011, 2017–2019), men’s soccer (2013, 2018–20190, women’s soccer (2007, 2009, 2014), swimming and diving/women (2006–2015, 2017, 2019, 2020), swimming and diving/ men (2008–2017, 2020), softball (2019), women’s tennis (2011–2019), men’s tennis (2006–2019), women’s volleyball (2017–2019), men’s water polo (2010, 2015), men’s track and field (2006–2010, 2013–2017, 2019), women’s track and field (2006–2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015–2019)

Global engagement

2006

Global Clinic inaugurated to prepare students to function as innovative engineers and scientists in a global context

Science Bus volunteers inspire youngsters at local elementary schools with hands-on science lessons

Lead Project led by chemistry Professor Hal Van Ryswyk. First-year chemistry lab students and local elementary students study lead poisoning in children

2008

Graduating class surpasses all previous classes with most students (38) who spent part of undergrad years abroad

President Klawe travels to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing with four other Claremont Colleges presidents to seek collaborations and exchange ideas and talent

Students organize Earth to Claremont, first-ever consortium-wide environmental fair hosted by HMC Center for Environmental Studies

2009

HMC launches Twitter account

2010

HMC Homework Hotline, in cooperation with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, takes first calls

$1 million Vickery Family gift goes to Global Clinic Program

2011

Bill Gates visits HMC and participates in Annenberg Speaker Series

2012

HMC and WitsOn (Women in Technology Sharing Online) collaborate to open the first online community mentorship program to support students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math

2014

Office of Community Engagement inaugurated

Forbes names President Maria Klawe to its list of “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders”

2015

Harvey Mudd provides three, free massive open online courses (MOOCs) in CS and physics via EdX.org

2016

Harvey Mudd College Homework Hotline takes 20,000th call

2017

Five-year, $670,000 Department of Education grant renewed for HMC Upward Bound program

2018

NSF grant supports Math for America Los Angeles, a program for math and CS teachers

Infrastructure and resources

2006

West Dorm renovated

Campus sustainability audit at The Claremont Colleges spearheaded by Richard Haskell, professor of physics

2007

East Dorm renovation project includes new native plant garden and drip irrigation

$579,600 National Science Foundation S-STEM grants scholarship funds

Platt Campus Center renovated: Additions include meeting space, music rooms, study areas

2008

President Klawe signs American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and appoints campus-wide Sustainability Committee, comprising all stakeholder groups

BOT Physical Plant and Campus Planning Committee sponsors Engineering Clinic to evaluate recommendations for improving sustainability at HMC

Plans for new teaching and learning building begin with support from Wayne Drinkward ’73, who funds and leads initial planning phase

Learning Studio in Sprague Center funded with $750,000 gift from Fletcher Jones Foundation; gift enables educational technology infrastructure upgrade

2009

HMC purchases 11.46 acres, preparing for future opportunities

2011

Board of Trustees votes to move forward with construction of teaching and learning building; groundbreaking set for summer

2013

LEED Gold-certified R. Michael Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning completed

2014

Renovations to Parsons engineering building include new Clinic areas and updated spaces for departments of Engineering, and Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts

Public launch of The Campaign for Harvey Mudd College, a $150 million comprehensive campaign

2015

College community dedicates Wayne ’73 and Julie Drinkward Residence Hall

2016

Renovations completed of instructional chemistry laboratories in Jacobs-Keck Science Center complex

2017

Galileo Auditoria modernized with sustainable materials

The Campaign for Harvey Mudd College $150 million goal is met and exceeded a year ahead of the December 2018 deadline

2018

The Campaign for Harvey Mudd College, begun in 2011, concludes with $173,911,439 raised, $50 million of this added to the endowment

2019

National Science Foundation grants funds to HMC & Pomona chemistry and physics professors for acquisition of standardized integrated toolset for photovoltaics fabrication and characterization

College breaks ground for McGregor Computer Science Center