Harvey Mudd Launches The Connection Standard With Support From Alumni

Harvey Mudd College launched The Connection Standard, a new program designed for entering students to develop the communication, collaboration and leadership skills they need to thrive in today’s workforce. The initiative is supported by a philanthropic commitment from Miles ’75 and Lucia Mikasa ’77/78, which will fund the program through its first five years.

The Connection Standard builds on Harvey Mudd’s longstanding belief that solving the world’s most complex challenges requires more than technical expertise. The program reflects the College’s strategic vision of preparing STEM leaders who pair technical excellence with relational and organizational intelligence, ethical decision-making and collaborative problem-solving.

Through this four-week seminar, all first-year students will learn to:

• Diagnose systemic challenges in collaboration and integrity.
• Apply human-centered design to create solutions.
• Develop relational and organizational intelligence, such as deep listening and understanding of organizational dynamics, inclusive facilitation and courageous conversations.
• Navigate ethical challenges, including responsible AI use.

The program also addresses a more immediate need; helping students build a community of support early in their Harvey Mudd experience. Connection is a key component of student success, and the program will help incoming students begin developing relationships with classmates and a broader understanding that faculty, staff and follow students are invested in their success.

For Miles Mikasa, that emphasis reflects his own experience as a first-year student at Harvey Mudd. “I was pretty much a go-it-alone kind of guy in my first year,” he said. “I think if there is this bigger message of community, faculty, staff and fellow students, it lets you know that even though it’s going to be tough, we’re all here to make sure you succeed.”

The Connection Standard culminates in first-year dinners, offered during the fall and spring, that bring students together to deepen connections, build community and engage in meaningful conversation.

The Mikasas’ commitment provides $250,000 over five years to support student engagement activities, first-year dinners, and program evaluation and impact measurement. Their funding also includes support for MuddQuest, a new, interactive program that encourages students to build a well-rounded college experience by earning badges for various activities, including those related to The Connection Standard, like the online course, first-year dinners and other community-related activities.

Through The Connection Standard, Harvey Mudd aims to foster a culture in which connection, integrity, well-being and collaboration are understood not just as complements to technical excellence, but as essential foundations for innovation and leadership.