Expert on East Asia Will Lead Pomona College

The next president of Pomona College will be Peter W. Stanley, an East Asian history expert who is now a high-ranking official at the Ford Foundation, the philanthropy that aids many universities and social programs. Stanley, 51, will take his new job in August, succeeding David Alexander, who has been president of the 1,400-student, liberal arts college in Claremont since 1969.

Stanley’s appointment was announced Friday by the college’s Board of Trustees. Stanley earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in history at Harvard University. He taught at that school and at the University of Illinois and wrote extensively about East Asia, particularly American-Filipino relations. From 1979 to 1984, Stanley was dean and chief academic officer at Carleton College in Minnesota.