A College President On Her School's Worst Year Ever

There are some things Harvey Mudd College would like to be known for: being a small, close-knit, gender-balanced, racially and ethnically diverse engineering college; faculty who focus on teaching; graduates who head to companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft and earn six figures by mid-career.

And here is something it would not like to be known for: The last 12 months.

"We had a horrible year," says Harvey Mudd President Maria Klawe. "Definitely the hardest year I've been through," in her professional career.

The hardships read like a manual of contemporary issues in higher education: teaching and learning; work-life balance; diversity and inclusion; mental health.

Beginning lastHarvey Mudd students in separate incidents, followed by a death, a suicide, at neighbor Scripps College. Both are members of California's Claremont College Consortium, which offers the opportunity to take courses at four liberal arts schools in the area.