ɫɫ has received a $1 million scholarship gift from alumnus David Sklar ’83 and his wife Susan Acevedo. Given in honor of their parents, this gift will expand college access for low-income California students who plan to pursue studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at Pomona.
Sklar and Acevedo, who share an intense belief in the power of educational access, credit their parents with instilling in them the importance of higher education. “We grew up in California and came from very different backgrounds, but our parents understood and stressed the value of education,” says Sklar. “We owe them everything.”
Their gift establishes the Rita and Herbert Sklar & Margarita and Jesus Acevedo Memorial Scholarship Fund, which bears their parents’ names and will help broaden access to Pomona. Sklar and Acevedo’s gift also reflects their desire to create opportunities in underserved communities with greater need for STEM education.
“We are grateful to David and Susan for their impactful generosity and passion for education, which will help the College to grow as an engine of opportunity,” says ɫɫ President G. Gabrielle Starr. “Their gift will shape the next generation of leaders and ensure the most talented students can access an exceptional education.”
Pomona has long been a national leader in educational access, having committed to need-blind admissions and no-loan financial aid packages decades before many of the College’s peers. More than half of Pomona students—56%—receive financial aid. The generosity of the Pomona community, including alumni such as Sklar, makes this possible.
Sklar and Acevedo grew up in starkly different socioeconomic and educational contexts. But their upbringings had one thing in common: a belief in the value of education, which was instilled by both sets of parents. Sklar and Acevedo graduated from college and medical school. During the 1990s, they witnessed the growing importance of business in the delivery of health care and each pursued MBA degrees as well. They now reside in Northern California.
Sklar’s parents were physicians who both came from humble beginnings. His mother was a first-generation college student who went on to attend medical school in the 1950s, a time when medicine heavily discriminated against women. Knowing his parents struggled and succeeded in becoming physicians, Sklar feels fortunate that they were able to provide unwavering support and significant opportunities for him and his brother, also a physician, as they grew up in West Los Angeles.
Acevedo’s parents immigrated from Mexico. Her mother was a seasonal cannery worker, and her father started as a farm worker before establishing a career as a machinist in San Jose, California. Wanting greater opportunities for their seven American children, they made sure the children understood the importance of pursuing higher education as well as the difficulties of laboring in fields and orchards. Acevedo says her parents successfully emphasized to each of them the value of attending and graduating from college—and, through financial aid, loans and jobs, all seven did.
Acevedo, a retired physician and healthcare consultant, recalls realizing during college that the cost of a year of tuition equaled the amount her father earned in one year. “I wouldn’t be here today had I not received scholarships,” says Acevedo. “I would not have had access to a quality education, and I would not have the career I’ve built.”
Sklar credits Pomona’s liberal arts curriculum and his faculty mentors with helping him explore and expand his academic interests, ultimately leading to a career as a physician in medical information technology. As a pre-med student with a double major in math and chemistry-biology, he studied with mathematics professors Ken Cooke, Everett Bull, Harry Mullikin and Sharon Epps as well as chemistry and biology professors R. Nelson Smith, Corwin Hansch, Alvin Beilby, Bruce Telzer and the recently retired Fred Grieman, among others. He learned APL computer programming with geologist Don McIntyre. And with his medical school acceptance in hand senior year, Sklar ventured into economics courses with professors Hans Palmer and Gary Smith and played on the varsity baseball team led by coach Mike Riskas.
“I graduated over 40 years ago and still remember these professors’ names because of the impact they’ve had on me and my work throughout my life,” says Sklar. “Studying liberal arts at Pomona let me discover areas I wasn't familiar with but ultimately really enjoyed and later incorporated into my career.”
With this gift, Sklar and Acevedo will help future students access all the opportunities a Pomona education offers—from developing interests and exploring new ideas to forging meaningful connections with professors and classmates.
“A Pomona liberal arts education holds tremendous value. The whole point of education is to be a complete, well-rounded person,” says Sklar, noting this can be especially challenging for STEM students. “That's where the liberal arts come in, and we are honored to be able to help the next generation access these opportunities.”