Building a Home for Scholars
Architectural rendering of Scholars Grove. Image by VTBS Architects. The Huntington, San Marino, California.
| The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.Scholars Grove will provide convenient on-site housing for research fellows as they engage with The Huntington’s world-renowned collections. The new residential complex will feature seven one- and two-story buildings with a total of 33 residential units. In addition, there will be a centrally located commons building—named after Wendy Munger, a Huntington Trustee emerita and daughter of Charles Munger—that will foster interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.
“Scholars Grove is the most exciting thing to have happened to the Research division in decades,” said Susan Juster, the W.M. Keck Foundation Director of Research at The Huntington. “It will be truly transformational.”
Meeting a Critical Need
The need for Scholars Grove has grown as rising living costs, academic funding cuts, and shifts toward contingent appointments have made residential research opportunities increasingly rare. These challenges have disproportionately affected early career scholars and Ph.D. students, limiting their access to primary source materials. “This new landscape makes it hard for a lot of young scholars to get residential fellowships,” Juster explained.
She noted that while The Huntington has digitized more than 500,000 collection items, these represent only a fraction of the institution’s vast holdings. By providing housing, Scholars Grove ensures that researchers can fully immerse themselves in their work through direct access to the grounds. The site will also provide ample parking and reduce traffic by eliminating the need for daily commutes.
“The Huntington is really committed to the residential model,” Juster said. “It’s the best way for scholarship to advance. You have access to these amazing collections, and you can engage with other scholars across disciplines, building relationships that lead to unexpected and important collaborations.”
Expanding Fellowship Opportunities
Each year, The Huntington awards more than 150 research fellowships. Previously, fellowships were available in only two categories: long term (one academic year) and short term (one to three months). But Scholars Grove will enable The Huntington to broaden its fellowship offerings with the recent introduction of medium-length fellowships lasting four to five months.
“Many faculty members and Ph.D. students can’t be away from their homes or institutions for a full year,” Juster said. “But a four-month term is possible.”
Scholars Grove will prioritize long-term fellows, while also accommodating short-term scholars based on unit availability. With year-round occupancy, the community will further strengthen The Huntington as a hub for intellectual inquiry.
A Place Rooted in History
Located near The Huntington’s historic orange orchard, Scholars Grove also reflects the institution’s deep commitment to environmental stewardship.
The project incorporates and preserves 150 trees, including a Magnolia pacifica tarahumara (the only known mature specimen of its kind in North America), several historic oaks, and a research grove of avocado trees—one of which dates back to founder Henry E. Huntington’s time.
A New Era of Scholarship
As Southern California’s oldest and largest independent educational and cultural institution, The Huntington has become one of the nation’s premier centers for humanities research.
Charles Munger’s philanthropy has profoundly shaped the institution. In 2013, he made a lead gift to fund the Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center, a $68 million facility that includes a visitor center, an auditorium, meeting spaces, classrooms, and 25,000 square feet of additional collections storage. Munger and his late wife, Nancy, also made a lead gift to build the Charles T. Munger Research Center, a 90,000-square-foot addition to the Library that opened in 2004. His gift to fund Scholars Grove represents a crowning investment in the future of humanities scholarship.
As Scholars Grove takes shape, The Huntington is poised to enter a new era of scholarly engagement—one that welcomes a broader, more diverse community of researchers than ever before. The residential community underscores The Huntington’s unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge, fostering academic collaboration, and ensuring that the humanities continue to thrive.
This story was published in the Winter 2025 issue of Momentum magazine.
