Annually, the Caltech Alumni Association (CAA) Board of Directors selects one or more exceptional members of the Institute community, who are not Caltech degree holders, to become honorary members of the CAA. These individuals are recognized for giving significant service and support to members of the Caltech community through work that supports the purposes for which the CAA was established, such as contributing to Caltech’s educational and cultural environment, encouraging fellowship among alumni and students, and strengthening the relationship between Caltech and its alumni.

The 2019 recipients of the Honorary Member of the Caltech Alumni Association Award are Fred Claire and Brian Lee. The honorees were presented their awards at the Caltech Alumni Association Annual Meeting and Dinner on June 14, 2019. Including our 2019 honorees, 126 people have been named honorary members of the Caltech Alumni Association.

Fred Claire

Fred Claire was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office for 30 years, advancing from Publicity Director to Executive Vice President with responsibility for player-personnel decisions and baseball operations. He was instrumental in creating the “Dodger Blue” branding. When the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, Fred was selected Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. Since his departure from the Dodgers in 1998, Fred has maintained an active schedule as an educator, a founding partner and current chairman of the sports analytics company Scoutables, and as a contributor to MLB.com in addition to ongoing civic involvement.

Fred served as a lecturer at Caltech in the first sports business class ever offered at the Institute. Two students from the class are currently working with the Dodgers and over half a dozen Caltech students are/have worked at Scoutables. Scoutables originated from Fred’s meeting and collaboration with Ari Kaplan (BS ’92). Ari shared with Fred about the cutting edge technology that can be utilized for assessment and trending and Fred shared his perspective on how it can be applied in the real world, which resulted in Ari-ball, long before Moneyball. This symbiosis embodies the spirit of Caltech principle, in which the merging of inquisitive minds can lead to the creation of a new field.

Brian Lee

From 2012 to 2018, Brian served as the Vice President for Development and Institute Relations at Caltech. He oversaw alumni affairs and helped to orchestrate and implement Caltech's $2B Break Through campaign. He led the Institute's advancement efforts, creating and implementing strategies to elevate its profile and influence.

For the CAA, Brian was a critical collaborative partner in updating the memorandum of understanding between the CAA and the Institute that resulted in all alumni becoming members of the CAA, while also ensuring the CAA’s financial stability and refining the relationship between the Institute and the CAA.

Brian is currently with Harvard as Vice President for the Alumni Affairs and Development Office, which includes the Harvard Alumni Association.