Freakonomics Calls Out CMC?

News by Emily Meinhardt — October 28, 2009 at 7:41 pm | 9 comments | | Print

SuperFreakonomics author and last Thursday’s Athenaeum speaker Steven Levitt might have given CMC an indirect shout-out in a post today on his NYT blog:

I gave a talk not too long ago on a college campus. The event was sold out, so the administration started a waiting list for seats.

CMC Dean of Faculty Gregg Hess

The daughter of a good friend found herself on the waiting list. When I heard she still hadn’t gotten a ticket the day before the event, with just a touch of guilt for trying to bend the rules, I emailed a Dean at the college whom I know:

Dear G—-,

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. There is a young woman named B——- who is on the wait list. Is there any chance you can get her in?

Steve

The Dean called me back almost immediately, asking whether B—— had applied early-action or was going through the January admissions process.

Confused, I told him I had no idea and all I knew was that she was a freshman. Only then did he realize that I was just trying to get her a seat in the auditorium, and I realized that he thought I was trying to get her accepted into the college!

Could this anonymous Dean G— be none other than our own Greg Hess, Dean of the Faculty? From their personal rapport and Levitt’s mention of going “way back” with Hess at the Ath talk, it’s likely the case. If so, it’s the second time this week Hess and SuperFreakonomics have been linked in the national press; his review of Levitt’s book appears in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times.

Emily Meinhardt

Emily Meinhardt is the managing editor of the Forum. Hailing from the Midwest, she "studies" Government and Art History. But really, she loves news so much that she just stares at Google Reader all day long. Fun fact: she actually enjoys nagging writers and editing html -- or she just doesn't want to work on thesis. One or the other.

9 Comments

Cutie3.14159
2009-10-29
12:27:23
It is. If you were at the Ath tea with him you would know that he chatted with a young woman named Betty (who goes by another name at CMC) about her father.

No mystery.
Cutie3.14159
2009-10-29
12:31:32
On another note, shouldn't we be concerned that our Dean showed at least mild interest in aiding a woman gain admission to CMC due to her connections to Levitt?
Tom Clifford
2009-10-29
13:21:47
"On another note, shouldn't we be concerned that our Dean showed at least mild interest in aiding a woman gain admission to CMC due to her connections to Levitt?"

Absolutely.
Old Timer
2009-10-29
13:54:35
No we shouldn't worry about it. I only got into this school because my stepdad used to serve Pam Gann french fries by hand at the side of her floaty raft in her hot tub. Even then I was a longshot.
not surprised
2009-10-29
18:00:54
I can think of at least two people (both graduated) who have used family connections to pull some strings for CMC admission. It's the name of the game, unfortunately.
Charles C. Johnson
2009-10-29
18:09:04
Here's my defense of our friend, Dean Hess.

There's a bit of hubbub in the comment section over at The Forum and at the Freakonomics blog regarding whether or not Dean Hess was prepared to help Steven Levitt get a student into Claremont McKenna. The full details are captured here.

Here's one comment that pretty much sums up the dislike.
On another note, shouldn't we be concerned that our Dean showed at least mild interest in aiding a woman gain admission to CMC due to her connections to Levitt?
It's important to dispel these rumors before they get out of hand. First off, we don't know that it is Dean Hess, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it is.

So what?

All it demonstrates is that Hess is active in looking into the requests on behalf of students. He didn't say he would get the fictitious girl in question in, only that he wanted to know if she had applied early-action or was going through the January admissions process.

For all we know, Hess could have been sticking a file or something saying that this prospective girl -- again, there's no girl, it was a misunderstanding -- was recommended by Levitt. Or he could have just been looking into who the girl in question was.

It's no different from when famous people send letters of recommendation to colleges on behalf of students that they know or for whom they have worked. In fact, I'd wager that it's better to accept letters on behalf of students from academics, who tend to be somewhat insular and hang around other academics, than for the school to admit people based, say, upon race or who their parents happen to be. You're more likely to get a serious student that way.

Still, I have to wonder about the stupidity of Steven Levitt. You generally don't blog about these things! Doesn't he know that? Or does he disrespect the blogger code?
Charles C. Johnson
2009-10-29
18:09:42
from here: http://www.claremontconservative.com/2009/10/lay-off-dean-hess.html
Gregory D. Hess
2009-11-01
18:44:34
I am responding to this blog as I noted several students showed some concern in their postings. First of all, my conversations with Steve are often informal, which characterizes my relationship with him. When we spoke on the phone, I was truly confused as to the information he was relaying to me – I was not sure what wait list he was referring to, and my follow up questions were just that … follow up questions. In the end it was a funny case of “who’s on the wait list (first)”, which Steve and I laughed about.

Second, I have never inquired with Dean of Admissions Dick Vos (or anyone in the Admission's Office) or President Gann to have a student gain admission to CMC, either before I became Dean of the Faculty or since having been made Dean of the Faculty. Indeed, I do not believe I have even written a letter of recommendation for a student who has applied to CMC. It is not the role of the Dean of the Faculty to play a part in admissions decisions, and fortunately we have a terrific Dean of Admissions who fulfills that role with brilliance.
Shamil
2009-11-02
01:37:50
Case Closed!