October 23, 2025

A Centennial Celebration for the Ages, and a Salute from Bill Gates

CGU Centennial-The CGU Centennial Celebration Dinner at Claremont Graduate University October 18, 2025.

A week of captivating events, gratitude, and an unforgettable tribute to our legacy

The flurry of Centennial celebrations in October felt exactly right — busy rooms, warm reunions, and a shared sense that CGU’s first hundred years have set a bold course for the next.

CGU deans and directors raising a toast at the Centennial Dinner, 2025. — The provost, deans, and directors raise a toast before the Centennial Dinner.

The final event of the week — a gala dinner that lived up to the Centennial theme, Our Legacy, Our Future — included a surprise guest: Bill Gates, via a video in which he congratulated CGU on its 100 years of excellence. The Microsoft co-founder spotlighted the influence that Peter Drucker had on his career and on businesses around the world. The moment became the evening’s heartbeat, underscoring how Drucker’s ideas continue to shape organizations and how CGU’s values of innovation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and impact remain as relevant as ever.

Hearing Gates celebrate the university affirmed something the community knows well: CGU’s influence is outsized because it doesn’t just teach ideas; it puts them to work. The tribute felt like a love letter to a legacy that still unfolds in classrooms, studios, and labs.

The Centennial Celebration Dinner was the finale to a week that told a bigger story.

On Tuesday (Oct. 14), Founders Day set the tone on the Harper Hall lawn. Guests with umbrellas crowded around as Interim President Michelle Bligh and Claremont Mayor Corey Calaycay planted a tree to mark the start of our next century — auspicious weather for roots and a hopeful sign for what’s ahead. Leaders from across The Claremont Colleges and the city joined the celebration before guests stepped into 100 Years of CGU, the new immersive exhibition of archival treasures and interactive displays that framed the week with history, memory, and momentum.

Members of the CGU and Claremont Community coming together for a tree planting ceremony to honor CGU's first century. — Members of the CGU and Claremont communities join Interim President Michelle Bligh, third from left, for a tree planting ceremony to honor CGU’s first century.

The annual Student Senate Ignite the Light event on Wednesday (Oct. 15), which included live music, games, and exclusive gear, kept the energy high.

Marclem Hernandez with students and staff at Ignite the Light 2025. — Assistant Director of Admissions Marclem Hernandez, center, with students and staff at Ignite the Light.

History in Place: CGU in Town & Gown, hosted by Claremont Heritage at Garner House, traced how the university and the city have shaped one another, from their early origins to the creative movements of the 1970s. The conversations on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 16) grounded our celebration in shared civic roots.  Later in the evening at Mozwell, the debut Claremont Lecture Lounge shifted the lens from past to practice, as Professor Jay Prag demystified “useful game theory,” connecting big ideas to everyday choices.

At the inaugural Claremont Lecture Lounge talk, Professor Jay Prag explored how strategic decision-making shows up in everyday life, from hiring and dieting to parenting and prison standoffs.

Friday (Oct. 17) scaled up to the CGU Centennial Summit at Garrison Theater, a once-in-a-century convening that paired thought-provoking keynotes with panels spanning AI, global health, education, and ethics. With Wesleyan University President Michael Roth and Fullerton College President and SES alum Cynthia Olivo joining Interim President Bligh, faculty, alumni, friends, and students, the day fused fresh insight with lively networking, carrying conversations well into the reception.

Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University, Michelle Bligh, President of Claremont Graduate University, and Cynthia Olivo, President of Fullerton College answer questions in a panel moderated by Joshua Goode, CGU Professor of Cultural Studies and Chair of the History Department. — Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, Fullerton College President and CGU alum Cynthia Olivo, and CGU Interim President Michelle Bligh answer questions at a Centennial Summit panel discussion moderated by Joshua Goode, CGU Professor of Cultural Studies and Chair of the History Department.

By Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18), celebration met performance at the Centennial Concert in Little Bridges Auditorium on the Pomona College campus. Pianist Jenny Soonjin Kim, conductor David Rentz, and a community chorus built toward a stirring finale: Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy — a musical embodiment of unity and shared purpose. And then, under the lights on the Honnold Mudd Library lawn, the Centennial Celebration Dinner gathered alumni, friends, faculty, and students for an elegant close. Remarks from Interim President Bligh and university leaders greeted a full house and set a tone of gratitude and ambition.

Jenny Soonjin Kim thanks the crowd after the Centennial Concert, 2025. — Assistant Professor of Practice and pianist Jenny Soonjin Kim thanks the crowd after the Centennial Concert.

Taken together, the week captured what sets CGU apart: the teacher–scholar model, the intimacy of a graduate-only environment, and a culture that invites people to cross boundaries to solve real problems. As Interim President Michelle Bligh put it, “As we look to CGU’s next century and the role we will play in the world, we must be bold. Let us act deliberately and courageously to build on our shared legacy of innovation and impact—in every classroom, every discovery, and every act of generosity.”