Lisa Maatz to discuss the ‘war on women’ at CMC

The idea of a “war on women” has been much in the headlines in 2012. But is this hype or reality, and how will it affect this fall’s elections?

Join Lisa Maatz, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Director of Public Policy and Government Relation, for a discussion about the gender gap and the role it’s playing in both policy-making and campaigning. 

Ms. Maatz will speak at the Claremont McKenna Athenaeum as a guest of CMC’s Berger Institute on October 3, starting at 6:45 p.m. This talk is free and open to the public; seating is on a first-come basis. A reception dinner at the Athenaeum prior to the talk will begin at 5:30 p.m. The cost of dinner is $15 and reservations must be made through Gabriela Grannis, CMC Berger Institute at 607-2928.

As AAUW’s top policy adviser, Ms. Maatz works to advance the organization’s priority issues on Capitol Hill, through the executive branch, and in coalition with other organizations. Ms. Maatz provides leadership to several coalitions working to advance opportunities for women and girls. She was instrumental in achieving passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Ms. Maatz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Ohio University, where she earned 2 master’s degrees, and holds an adjunct appointment with the Women and Politics Institute at American University. Her honors include the Women’s Information Network’s Young Woman of Achievement Award (she now serves on that organization’s advisory council) and the Mentor Award from the Public Leadership Education Network. She was also a congressional fellow for the Women’s Research & Education Institute and has received a mayoral appointment to the Washington, DC Commission on Women.

Ms. Maatz’s talk is sponsored by the Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children. The Berger Institute focuses on multi-disciplinary, quantitative research regarding the impact of business practices and social policies on families and children. For more information, visit claremontmckenna.edu/berger.

Award-winning poet to read works at Pomona College

Poet Evie Shockley will give a reading of her award-winning work on Wednesday, September 26 at 4:30 p.m. at Pomona College.

Ms. Shockley, a professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is most recently the author of the new black, a 2011 release in the Wesleyan Poetry Series that won the 2012 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award. The collection of poems was also named among Library Journal’s Best Books of 2011 and awarded Honor Book in Poetry.

Of Ms. Shockley—who uses both experimental and traditional poetry forms—Booklist has written, she “takes a singing approach to serious matters in her pirouetting poems.”

The presentation will take place in Room 108 of Pomona’s Crookshank Hall, 140 W. Sixth St. in Claremont.

For more information, contact Hillary.Gravendyk@pomona.edu.

Democratic Club to explore macroeconomics and the election

The Democratic Club of Claremont will hold its monthly general meeting on Monday, September 24, with featured speaker Emma Stephens, professor of economics at Pitzer College. Her topic will be “Keynesians vs. Austrians: Macroeconomics and the 2012 election.”  

Ms. Stephens is an assistant professor of economics at Pitzer. She earned her MS and PhD degrees in economics from Cornell University in 2007.

Currently, her research focuses on agricultural market participation and spatial market integration, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. She is also interested in the application of simulation modeling to agricultural systems. She teaches courses in macroeconomics.

The club will meet at Porter Hall at Pilgrim Place at 7 p.m. A club business meeting will follow Professor Stephens’ presentation. The public is welcome.

Claremont’s modern architecture to highlight symposium

Claremont Heritage will host a “Claremont Modern Symposium” on Thursday, September 27 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Claremont University Consortium Campus Center, 101 S. Mills Ave. (at First Street) in Claremont.

The presentation will begin at 6 p.m., with a reception to begin at 8 p.m. An exhibition will be presented and refreshments will be provided.

The event focuses on exploring the rich mid-century cultural and architectural resources that exist in Claremont.

Speakers include Barbara Lamprecht, author and historian; Alan Hess, author and architect; and Hicks Stone, author and architect.

The event is open to the public, with a suggested donation of $10. Claremont Heritage members and students, $5

Seating is limited. Please RSVP to rsvp@claremontheritage.org

For more information, call 621-0848.

IPoly high school moves into new headquarters

Since 1993, International Polytechnic High School, a specialized school located on the Cal Poly Pomona campus, has challenged students to work in teams to solve real-world problems.

The innovative school has a 99 percent graduation rate, which is particularly impressive given that classes have been taught since the school’s opening in a series of temporary classrooms.

With the creation of a new $20 million facility, which will be unveiled in a ribbon-cutting on Friday, September 28, iPoly students and staff will finally be able to spread out a little.

The 2-story 44,579-square-foot facility is located on 1.5 acres of land and features 21 classrooms, a multipurpose room, administrative areas, an outdoor sitting area and a central courtyard. Its construction, which utilized green plumbing and building materials, was funded by a $31.2 million grant awarded by the California Schools Facilities Program to the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), which operates iPoly. The money for that grant came from Propositions 55, 47 and 1D.

Construction began in March 2011 and was completed last month.

Some 500 high school students, from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, will benefit from the new digs. The school is the result of a partnership between the LOCOE and Cal Poly, who collaborated to create an interdisciplinary, hands-on curriculum that would better prepare students for success in higher education and in the world of work.

It is not a magnet school for exceptional students, but instead one that recruits average students who may not succeed to their highest potential in traditional high schools. 

The September 28 ribbon cutting starts at 10 a.m. at Cal Poly Pomona, 3851 W. Temple Avenue in Pomona. Guests may park for free in Lot K, with no permit required.

For more information, call (909) 839-2320.

Children’s author will explore writing process

Mary Ann Fraser, author/illustrator of more than 60 books for young readers, will explore the process of writing, illustrating and researching with special emphasis on the non-fiction and social genres this Tuesday, September 25, at 6 p.m. in the Claremont Library meeting room.

Ms. Fraser’s books, which include the I.Q. book series and Heebie-Jeebie Jamboree, have been Junior Library Guild Selections, and have been awarded the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. The program is free and open to the public. For information, call 621-4902 or visit www.colapublib.org.