Pomona College Picks Ninth President in 116-Year History

Pomona College on Monday named David W. Oxtoby, a chemist and dean of physical sciences at the University of Chicago, to be its new president.

The appointment, which takes effect July 1, will make Oxtoby the ninth president in the 116-year history of the prestigious liberal arts college in Claremont. He will replace historian Peter W. Stanley, who is retiring after 12 years as president.

Oxtoby, 51, said in a telephone interview that Pomona College is a gem that “is not as well known, particularly on the East Coast, as it should be. One of my goals is to bring that word out.” He said he was motivated to pursue the Pomona job partly because of his interest in teaching and his belief that “liberal arts colleges like Pomona are in the best position to educate students for leadership positions.”

Pomona, one of the five liberal arts colleges in the Claremont Colleges consortium, has about 1,500 students. In the latest installment of the closely watched college rankings by U.S. News & World Report, it tied for fifth-best among the nation’s liberal arts colleges, and was No. 1 in California.

Oxtoby is no stranger to California. After receiving his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University, he earned his doctorate in chemistry at UC Berkeley. He is the author of at least 165 scientific articles and co-author of two textbooks, “Principles of Modern Chemistry” and “Chemistry: Science of Change.”

Stewart Smith, chairman of Pomona’s board of trustees, called Oxtoby “staggering in his scholarly credentials. In the best tradition of a liberal arts education, he is also something of a Renaissance man -- accomplished in French, German and Italian, knowledgeable about classical music and architecture, active in theater and athletics.” He said Oxtoby’s chief missions will include developing new strategic goals for the school, strengthening interdisciplinary programs, fostering diversity in the student body and extending the use of technology in the classroom.

Oxtoby grew up in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and currently serves as vice chairman of the board of Bryn Mawr College, where his father had been a math professor. He joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1975. His wife, Claire, is a nursery school teacher. They have three children, one attending Vassar College and two in high school.

Oxtoby, whose salary was not disclosed, was chosen over three other finalists -- Karen Lawrence, dean of humanities at UC Irvine; Robert Weisbuch, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, N.J.; and Brian Rosenberg, dean of the faculty at Lawrence University in Wisconsin.