President

Pitzer College—a nationally-ranked, residential, private liberal arts college in Claremont, California—is seeking a visionary, collaborative, energetic, and highly visible leader as its next president. 

Pitzer produces engaged, socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding, and environmental sustainability. The College offers majors in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. Pitzer enrolls nearly 1,200 diverse and talented students and is home to approximately 100 faculty, in addition to more than 50 jointly appointed faculty in its intercollegiate science department.

Pitzer is a member of the Claremont Colleges—a unique consortium of five contiguous undergraduate colleges and two graduate institutions that share numerous programs and facilities. For example, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges have just broken ground on a joint, state-of-the-art science center to support interdisciplinary teaching and research. Pitzer and Pomona Colleges jointly operate an outstanding athletics program. The consortium offers Pitzer students the resources of a major university and the benefits of a small liberal arts college with a personalized approach to education.

Pitzer has embraced a spirit of innovation, democratic participation, and challenge to the status quo since its founding in 1963. Pitzer was one of the first colleges in the nation to divest its endowment of fossil fuel stocks and to adopt test-optional and test-free admissions. More recently, its Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA program was the country’s first prison education program, wherein incarcerated “inside” students and “outside” students attend classes together, leading to a bachelor’s degree; the program’s first cohort graduated in May 2022, and one of these inaugural students was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship.

Pitzer students are distinguished by their spirit of inquiry, adventure, and social and political engagement. Each student works closely with faculty to design an academic program that reflects their interests and aspirations. Students are encouraged to study abroad in one of Pitzer’s culturally immersive programs in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Italy, Nepal, Southern Africa, or Vietnam. Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center and its Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability involve faculty, students, and area residents working together to address regional issues and advocate for social and environmental justice. Pitzer’s highly participatory governance system involves faculty, staff, and students serving together to shape institutional policies and the life of the college.

Pitzer’s board, faculty, and staff are eager to advance the college’s position as a leader in liberal arts education for the 21st century.  Student interest and enrollments are strong, and the College is on sound financial footing. As a relatively young institution, Pitzer seeks to build its endowment and expand the financial aid required to serve students from every economic background. To that end, Pitzer's next president is invited to focus on the following priorities: 

  • Champion Pitzer's longstanding commitment to social justice, intercultural understanding, and environmental sustainability
  • Inspire alums, friends, and philanthropies to support and invest in Pitzer’s future
  • Bring strategic and transparent leadership while engaging in Pitzer’s distinctive shared governance model
  • Elevate and enrich Pitzer’s vision for interdisciplinary science education
  • Increase Pitzer's visibility and impact regionally, nationally, and beyond

To achieve these objectives, the next president will need to bring passion, energy, a collaborative spirit, and exceptional communication skills to lead the College forward. They will have a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Ideally, they will possess an earned doctorate and be a recognized scholar in one or more academic fields or topic areas for which Pitzer is known. The Pitzer community is open to nontraditional candidates who, through previous leadership and commitment to a liberal arts education, would garner the respect of the campus and broader communities.

All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile.

WittKieffer is assisting Pitzer College in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by August 12, 2022. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Suzanne Teer, Alejandra Gillette-Teran, and Lauren Bruce-Stets at PitzerPresident@wittkieffer.com.

Pitzer College adheres to both the letter and the spirit of Equal Employment opportunity and Affirmative Action. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, disability, medical condition, or veteran status, in the administration of its admission policies, educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other College-administered programs, and employment policies. Pitzer strongly encourages candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.