Donor Spotlight: Don Gould

Students are drawn to Pitzer because of its extraordinary people and distinctive approach to education—the same holds true for Pitzer’s leadership. In his 13th year as a Pitzer College Trustee, Don Gould is one of the board’s most engaged trustees, inspired by an exceptional community within an exceptional place.

“Pitzer has a great board. The people are a joy to be around, and that’s one of the things that keeps us coming back,” he says. “You can be on a lot of boards, each with a different chemistry, and I’ve always found Pitzer’s board to be outstanding, and uniquely so.”

Well aware he cannot contribute to the College as a volunteer and a donor forevermore, Don has made a bequest to ensure his investment in Pitzer will continue beyond his lifetime.

“Planned giving is a natural extension of lifetime giving,” he says. “We can view Pitzer as an institution with a perpetual time horizon, and obviously we mortals don’t have such time horizons. Planned gifts are a way to compensate for that, a way to do what you can to see that the College thrives after you’re gone.”

While Don’s bequest will benefit Pitzer in the future, he is doing a remarkable amount of work to help Pitzer thrive in the present. He is currently vice chair of the board, chairs the board’s Investment Committee, and recently co-chaired the College’s Strategic Planning Committee. As the founder, president, and chief investment officer of Gould Asset Management in Claremont, he has brought invaluable expertise to Pitzer’s financial health and investment ethics.

In 2014, Don led the board’s unanimous approval of the Fossil Fuel Divestment-Climate Action Model, making Pitzer the first private higher education institution in California to commit to divesting its endowment of fossil fuel stocks. Three years later, he helped Pitzer and the investment firm BlackRock launch a unique global equity index fund that is both Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-focused and fossil fuel-free. Don also chaired the 2015-16 Presidential Search Committee and the board’s Academic Affairs Committee during the 2011 WASC re-accreditation process.

Pitzer is enormously grateful for Don’s very tangible impact on the College—past, present, and future. He makes a straightforward case for others to consider extending their support beyond life’s horizon, like he has, through estate planning.

“There is no easier way to give, and if you believe in Pitzer’s mission, there’s no more sensible place to leave some of your estate. And it’s a good feeling…if you want to help the world at large, education is a high-leverage way to do that.”

Don Gould graduated from Pomona College in 1979 and earned an MBA from Harvard University.