Hollins Magazine, Winter 2017 by Hollins University

WINTER 2017

STUDENTS IN THE SIX-WEEK SUMMER GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Live IN THE Moment

Content s Hollins

Over our 175-year history, Hollins people have risen to the challenges of war and economic hard times to find ways not only to endure but also to thrive. By President Nancy Oliver Gray

Hollins Magazine Vol. 67, No. 3 January - March 2017

EDITOR Jean Holzinger M.A.L.S. ’11 jholzinger@hollins.edu Hollins University Box 9657 Roanoke, VA 24020 www.hollins.edu

Summer Magic Each summer, writers, artists, and scholars converge on campus for six weeks of academic rigor and self-discovery, building community, generating ideas, and living in the moment with focus and intensity. They enjoy every minute. By Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. ’11

From the Outside In Sometimes the pain of being a perpetual outsider can be turned into art. For Balli Kaur Jaswal ’04, that experience has inspired three novels. By Jean Holzinger M.A.L.S. ’11

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ann Atkins Hackworth ’82, M.A.L.S. ’95; Mary Ann Harvey Johnson ’67, M.A. ’71; Lucy Lee M.A.L.S. ’85, C.A.S. ’03; Linda Martin; Brenda McDaniel HON ’12; Sharon Meador; Kathy Rucker; Kate Stackpole

Then and Now Photos at various points in our 175-year history alongside contemporary images show what has and hasn’t changed over the years.

ADVISORY BOARD President Nancy Oliver Gray, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Audrey Stone, Director of Public Relations Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. ’11, Executive Director of Alumnae Relations Nikki Johnson Williams ’98, M.A.L.S. ’13

Constant in Our Commitment

Setting the Stage for a New Day at Hollins Bessie Carter Randolph, Hollins’ third president, saw the institution through its critical transition from a family-owned enterprise to an accredited college poised for national recognition. By Brenda McDaniel HON ’12

CLASS LETTERS EDITOR Olivia Body ’08

DESIGNERS Sarah Sprigings, David Hodge Anstey Hodge Advertising Group, Roanoke, VA

PRINTER Progress Printing, Lynchburg, VA Hollins (USPS 247/440) is published quarterly by Hollins University, Roanoke, VA 24020. Entered as Periodicals Postage Paid at Roanoke, VA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hollins, Hollins University, Box 9688, Roanoke, VA 24020 or call (800) TINKER1.

D E P A R T M E N T S 3 5 7 24

In the Loop Alumnae Connections Focus on Philanthropy Class Letters

The articles and class letters in Hollins do not necessarily represent the official policies of Hollins University, nor are they always the opinions of the editor. Hollins University does not discriminate in admission because of race, color, religion, age, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin, veteran status, or sexual orientation and maintains a nondiscriminatory policy throughout its operation. For more information, contact the director of human resources/title ix coordinator, (540) 362-6660 or hollinshr@hollins.edu.

Cover: Karylynn Keppol in Ruth Sanderson’s children’s book media class. Photo by Sharon Meador.

WWW

Visit the online version of Hollins magazine at hollins.edu/magazine.

FROM THE

President

Constant in Our Commitment Over our 175-year history, Hollins people have risen to the challenges of war and economic hard times to find ways not only to endure but also to thrive. B Y P R E S I D E N T N A N C Y O L I V E R G R A Y

ur 175th anniversary year got off to a wonderful start. We welcomed the largest incoming class in 17 years and later introduced the 12th president of Hollins, Pareena Lawrence, who will take office in July (see p. 3 for more information). Thanks and congratulations to Linda Lorimer ’74, who chaired the presidential search committee, and to those who closely worked with her to bring such an outstanding new leader to Hollins.

literature informs good writing. Other institutions subsequently followed our lead. We also set the pace for many colleges and universities when we started our study abroad programs in the 1950s. One of the first women’s colleges to introduce coeducational graduate programs, we remain one of very few schools in the country offering graduate programs in an innovative summer session where M.F.A. students can pursue their study of dance, playwriting, film, children’s literature, or

From our earliest days as the oldest chartered women’s college in Virginia, Hollins has been constant in its commitment to provide rigorous mental training equal to that afforded to men. From our earliest days as the oldest chartered women’s college in Virginia, Hollins has been constant in its commitment to provide rigorous mental training equal to that afforded to men so that students can learn to think independently, express themselves effectively, and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Today, employers tell us they are seeking college graduates who can write and speak well, think critically and creatively, and work well with others—the very skills we seek to develop in every Hollins student through her liberal arts education. From the beginning, Hollins has been progressive. When we launched our creative writing program, we based it on the assumption that reading great 2 Hollins

children’s book writing and illustrating. Recently, our cutting-edge Batten Leadership Institute garnered national attention, and our new Honors Seminar Program, focused on undergraduate research, offers exceptional opportunities to outstanding students. Yet life at Hollins has not always been easy. During the 19th century, the campus was struck by a typhoid epidemic shortly after East Building was completed, and a significant drop in enrollment occurred. After bouncing back from that experience, construction on Main Building started the day that Virginia seceded from the union during the Civil War. Given a labor shortage and funding deficit, the building stood as an empty shell, known as “the

wilderness,” for eight years. World War I forced the cancellation of our 75th anniversary celebration. And with an endowment of less than $500,000 in the early 1960s, it is no wonder that then-President John Logan called Hollins an “act of faith” during our 125th anniversary year. But throughout our 175 years, Hollins has shown its resilience. Generations of smart, determined people who care passionately about our mission have had the strength, creativity, good humor, and resolve to conquer whatever challenges faced them and maximize opportunities as they arose. As a result, Hollins has thrived, and our graduates are equipped to lead resilient, meaningful lives. This fall, I was privileged to announce a $20 million gift commitment for unrestricted endowment arranged by Elizabeth Hall McDonnell ’62 and her husband, James S. McDonnell III, through the JSM Charitable Trust. The McDonnells’ kindness is motivated by their love for and commitment to Hollins. They hope others will pause during our 175th year to reflect on how important Hollins has been to them. I encourage you to think deeply about the impact of your Hollins education and friendships on your life and to respond as generously as you can. In addition, consider prospective students you might refer or other ways in which you can help raise our visibility. In this milestone year, I can think of no better way to welcome Presidentelect Lawrence than by doing all we can to ensure a vibrant future for new generations of students.

IN THE

Loop Top 100

Sharon Meador

Books by three Hollins authors on Amazon’s “best books” list

Judy Lambeth ’73, chair of the Board of Trustees; President Gray; President-elect Pareena Lawrence; and Linda Koch Lorimer ’74, chair of the presidential search committee

Pareena Lawrence named new president Takes office in July 2017

areena Lawrence, provost and chief academic officer of Augustana College, has been named Hollins’ 12th president. She will take office in July 2017. Lawrence succeeds Nancy Oliver Gray, who will be retiring next June after serving as president of Hollins since 2005. “We were intent on recruiting a president who is devoted to women’s education and the liberal arts and is a proven leader and strategic thinker,” said Judy Lambeth ’73, chair of the Board of Trustees. “We wanted to find an individual who embodies the values we hold dear at Hollins and can also inspire us to advance the institution even further. Pareena has all these characteristics, together with boundless energy and optimism.” Lawrence has been at Augustana, a 156-year-old, nationally ranked liberal arts college in Illinois, since 2011, and her responsibilities have gone beyond the traditional role of provost. In addition to serving as a primary architect of Augustana’s strategic plan, she has overseen an innovative set of student services, pioneered new career development initiatives, and has been a successful fundraiser and external ambassador for the college. Lambeth described Lawrence as “a passionate believer in the power of a woman’s college. She movingly conveyed to our presidential search committee how attending a girls’

school in India changed her life. It is precisely our mission as a women’s college that has drawn Pareena to Hollins.” Lawrence, 49, graduated from the University of Delhi in 1987 with honors in economics, and two years later moved to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. in economics at Purdue University. In 1994, she joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota at Morris, where she became a full professor of economics and management in 2008. “It is a plus that Pareena is an award-winning instructor and an accomplished scholar, with research focusing on international development and women’s issues,” Lambeth explained. She added that Lawrence’s training as an economist gives her an extensive understanding of the finances of higher education, and her various administrative roles have equipped her to deal with the array of challenges and opportunities that arise on a college campus. “Pareena embodies all that is a Hollins woman: smart, articulate, warm, caring, and engaged, and aligned with our mission,” said Hollins alumna Alexandra Trower ’86, a member of the Board of Trustees and the presidential search committee. “She has the ability to execute with excellence while always looking ahead toward a great vision and strategy.”

Books by Associate Professor of English Elizabeth Poliner, Beth Macy M.A. ’93, and Lee Smith ’67 are among Amazon.com’s Top 100 Editors’ Picks for 2016. Poliner’s novel As Close to Us as Breathing was an Amazon Best Book for March 2016. The story of a close-knit Jewish family striving to cope following a tragedy is “vivid, complex, and beautifully written,” said Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Known World. “[It] brims with characters who leave an indelible impression on the mind and heart. Elizabeth Poliner is a wonderful talent and she should be read widely, and again and again.” Published in October, Macy’s Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South is one of six books that have been selected in the nonfiction category for the Kirkus Prize shortlist. Truevine has also been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and is a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. The Amazon Book Review called it “a multilayered story that will captivate, haunt, and challenge you.” In Dimestore: A Writer’s Life, Smith recalls how she became a storyteller while growing up in the Appalachian South, and discusses what later convinced her to embrace her heritage. “Smith delivers a memoir that shines with a bright spirit, a generous heart and an entertaining knack for celebrating absurdity,” noted The New York Times Book Review. “Although Dimestore is constructed as a series of personal essays, it presents as full a sense of a life as any traditional narrative.”

Winter 2017 3

IN THE

Loop

BY THE

# first-generation # of applicants college students who enrolled

45 (19%) A look at the 224 NUMBERS class of 2020

NH WA

Top 7 states

MN PA

VA, NC, MD, SC, CA, TX, TN

OH IL CO

Students from STATES

U.S. TERRITORY

DE MD DC

MO TN

29 1

MA RI CT

SC GA

AZ TX

COUNTRIES

The sobering realities of climate change “Printing carbon like we’re printing money”

4 Hollins

Moore

hat do we know for sure about climate change? What do we think we know? What don’t we know? Berrien Moore, chair in climate studies at the University of Oklahoma, tackled those questions before a Hollins audience on October 10. Moore, the husband of Gail Thurman Moore ’63, stated this certainty: “We know warming in the climate system is happening.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s [IPCC’s] assertion that humans are responsible for global warming may not be as unequivocal, he said, but “the IPCC’s categorization has evolved to ‘extremely likely’— a 95 percent chance. It’s due to CO2. We’re printing carbon like we’re printing money.”

Unfortunately, a realistic solution is also the biggest unknown. “We’ve got to cut CO2 emissions by 80 percent. But how do you change energy systems and not create economic havoc?” Moore insists that “we shouldn’t burn more coal” and calls natural gas the “fossil fuel of choice,” if the industry can control methane emissions. He is also bullish on alternative energy sources. However, he warned, the world is far behind in building the wind farms and solar and nuclear power plants needed to offset eliminating fossil fuels while meeting the ever-increasing demand for electricity. Moore acknowledged that atmospheric stabilization will be tough, but “we’ve got to get out ahead of this thing.”

ALUMNAE

Sharon Meador

Connections

Sharon Meador

President Gray provides an update on the university to the Leadership Summit attendees, sharing information that will support their work as volunteers and as links between the campus community and other alumnae.

HOLLINS INAUGURATES BOYCE L. ANSLEY ’68 LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Mary Roach ’07, M.A.L.S. ’14

Sharon Meador

When Hollins issued the call for volunteers to step forward and help lead the way into the next 175 years, 58 alumnae returned to campus to participate in the Boyce L. Ansley ’68 Leadership Summit last September.

Abrina Schnurman-Crook, executive director of the Batten Leadership Institute, conducts a professional development session for the alumnae volunteers.

FOR THE RECORD The class of 2015 turned out in force for the summit, ready to help support the Alumnae Engagement Initiative.

The list of Algernon Sydney Sullivan winners in the spring 2016 magazine should have listed Marion Lunsford Avery ’54 for the year 1954.

Winter 2017 5

ALUMNAE

Connections

6 Hollins

News from your Alumnae Board

ant to know what your Alumnae Board is up to? We have initiated new ways to let you know. If you’re on Facebook, check out the Alumnae Board Bulletin, posted monthly. These bulletins update you on what’s happening at Hollins and with alumnae. In addition, starting with this issue we’ll feature an Alumnae Board column in the Alumnae Connections section of the magazine. The Alumnae Board meets twice a year (March and October) in addition to having monthly conference calls. Board members love the meetings on our beautiful campus, and we leave with that renewed sense of self-confidence and love for Hollins as only an on-campus visit can do. What is really special, however, is getting to talk to students. We should all be proud of them, as what they are doing and accomplishing is truly amazing. They really are going places! At our board meeting this past October, we spent a majority of our time developing better ways in which to align ourselves with Hollins’ strategic plan in recruitment, career preparation, philanthropy, and alumnae-to-alumnae engagement. We restructured our committees to accomplish objectives in those areas, especially in alumnae-to-alumnae engagement. Our goal? We want you to be better informed about all the ways to connect with other alumnae and to be able to use this network of outstanding Hollins women across the We want you to be better informed about all country. We want to tell you of the the ways to connect with other alumnae many ways to assist in the recruitment new students. We want you to and to be able to use this network of outstanding of know of all the opportunities for you to have your own rewarding experiences Hollins women across the country. interacting with students—for example, through career mentoring and assistance with internships. We also want you to know the advantages Hollins offers you as alumnae. So please bear with us as we try new things to better help you and Hollins. Let us know what is of interest to you, and send your suggestions to Nikki Johnson Williams ’98, M.A.L.S. ’13 executive director of alumnae relations, at nwilliams@hollins.edu (800-TINKER1). Keep in mind that your Alumnae Board represents all of you, our valued alumnae. We would really like to hear from you. Patricia “Trisha” Rawls ’74 President, Hollins Alumnae Association

FOCUS ON

Philanthropy

Architect’s rendering of proposed Dana lobby

Dana renovation to begin after commencement $6.5 million project replaces labs, refreshes lobby

ollins administrators and members of the Board of Trustees have been working with VMDO Architects in Charlottesville and Page/SST Planner in Washington, D.C., on plans to renovate Dana Science Building. The project is scheduled to begin just after graduation this May and will continue through the next fall term. It involves the complete renovation of five laboratories (two in biology and three in chemistry), new research and preparation space for both biology and chemistry, a new chemistry stockroom, and new office suites (six offices per suite and a group study space and conference room). Four labs will be refreshed (three in biology and one in physics) and will include new casework, services (water, electrical, gas, etc.), and technology. The refreshed labs are scheduled to be completed at the end

of summer 2017 and be available for courses in the fall. The lobby will be refreshed with new flooring and a new ceiling. Part of the plan includes recycling the current labs’ soapstone tabletops as part of the wall display, with digital screens on which to share information about the science program, student research, and alumnae in science. The renovation of Dana was made possible by the generosity of several donors, led by Elizabeth Hall ’62 and James McDonnell through the Saint Louis Community Foundation. Additional commitments came from the Dickson Foundation, Inc.; Cameron McDonald Vowell ’68; an anonymous alumna; the Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson Jr. Charitable Trust; and the Lyda Hill [’64] Foundation.

Winter 2017 7

FOCUS ON

Philanthropy

History-making gift announced at 1842 gathering

Elizabeth and James McDonnell

8 Hollins

Hazel Bernard ’76

$20 million commitment to unrestricted endowment

lizabeth Hall McDonnell ’62 and her husband, James S. McDonnell III, have arranged a commitment through the JSM Charitable Trust of $20 million, the largest single gift assurance in the school’s 175-year history. The pledge is intended for the university’s unrestricted endowment. “We applaud Libby and James McDonnell for their vision and generosity, and the positive and lasting influence they are making on the history of Hollins,” said Judy Lambeth ’73, chair of the Hollins University Board of Trustees. “We rejoice in this truly significant milestone as we celebrate our 175th anniversary of educating women who are leading, exploring, transforming, and inspiring our communities and the world.” Elizabeth McDonnell has served on the university’s Board of Trustees since 2008. She and her husband live in St. Louis, and this gift commitment continues their legacy of giving to the university. In 2015, they committed $6.5 million through the St. Louis Community Foundation to fund renovations to the university’s Dana Science Building and Hollins Theatre and to support visiting faculty in the theatre and playwriting programs. They also gave $3 million through the James S. McDonnell Family Foundation in 2009 to transform and update the theatre space. “I thank the McDonnells for their remarkable generosity and informed understanding of the importance of an unrestricted endowment,” said President Gray. “This designation will allow us to address priority needs or fund exceptional opportunities, wherever the impact for Hollins will be the most significant. I hope this commitment will inspire all who care about Hollins to make the best gift they can in this 175th year.”

Then

NOW

Photos at various points in our 175-year history alongside contemporary images show what has and hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t changed over the years.

C E L E B R AT I N G 1 7 5 Y E A R S : 1 8 4 2 - 2 0 1 7 The first official Tinker Day, 1895

Winter 2017 9

Orchesis, 1945

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Strolling on Front Quad, late 1940s

Students on the first Hollins Abroad-Paris program, 1955

Winter 2017 11

Neely Paul Towe ’63

Pavithra Suresh ’16

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Celebrating in front of the Cocke Memorial Building, 1991 Sky Preece M.A.L.S. ’74

Professor Pleasants and a Latin class, around the late 19th century

Associate Professor of English Julie Pfeiffer

Winter 2017 13

14 Hollins

SUMMER

Each summer, writers, artists, and scholars converge on campus for six weeks of academic rigor and self-discovery, building community, generating ideas, and living in the moment with focus and intensity. They enjoy every minute. B Y J E F F H O D G E S M . A . L . S . ’ 11

Photos by Sharon Meador

ollins’ summer graduate programs in playwriting, children’s literature, children’s book writing and illustrating, and screenwriting and film studies have carved out their own unique identities. But the similarities they share also play a major role in persuading students from all over the country to give up a significant part of their summers to enroll. “We offer low-risk opportunities to learn to take big risks,” explains Todd Ristau, director of the playwriting M.F.A. program. Kelly Fullerton, who teaches in the M.A./M.F.A. program in screenwriting and film studies, adds, “We’re in the business of teaching students how to overcome discouragement and

defeat the demons that keep them from moving forward.” Each of the disciplines is inspired by prestigious programs across America, from UCLA and the University of Iowa to Hollins’ own nationally recognized creative writing program. None of the programs begins and ends with the six-week summer session. Throughout the rest of the year each is connecting with students through online courses, an active social media presence, and other initiatives. “We develop a relationship with faculty because they care. We keep in touch with them,” says Rebekah Lowell, a student in the children’s book writing and illustrating program, while children’s literature student Cassie Gustafson

notes, “We’re sharing resources, we meet up at conferences. We’re called the ‘Hollins Mafia’ because we cluster and we pick up right where we leave off.” Bob Moss, professional resident teaching artist in the summer M.F.A. playwriting program, compares the six-week sessions to “putting money in the bank. Once you get out of here, you start drawing it out.” For playwriting student Nick McCord, summer at Hollins has represented an epiphany. “The beautiful thing about this is that we’ve all been given an investment in each other’s lives that has both immediacy and relativism. Everybody wants to make art. Everybody wants to work with people that they love. At Hollins, I understood the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Above left: Woodcut design from Ashley Wolff’s class on creating picture books Left: Playwriting students in the scenes studies class Above: Illustrations from Ruth Sanderson’s children’s book media class

Winter 2017 15

“People everyone will want to work with”

“P

laywright’s Lab” may seem an oddly clinical name for a graduate program devoted to an art form. But to Bob Moss, the moniker fits. “We’re like scientists creating modules of human behavior. We’re looking at them under a magnifying glass and saying, ‘Hmmm, I don’t know if I got that right. Let’s put another example of human behavior under a magnifying glass and look at it.’” The Playwright’s Lab encompasses three fields: playwriting, directing, and acting. Founder and director Todd Ristau used his experience as an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Iowa to “design the program I wish I’d gone to, where we have highly motivated theatre practitioners who want to work in an interdisciplinary way and value others in the process. They know what it’s like to audition, they know what directors do, they know how to work together because they’ve got experience in each of the different disciplines of the medium for which they are writing. “At Hollins, our students model behavior that reinforces theatre as a

16 Hollins

shared art form that’s there for everyone’s mutual benefit.” Faculty and students tout collaboration. Whether they are playwrights, directors, or actors, each student comes out of the program with a “collaborative vocabulary,” according to faculty member Saffron Henke, an acting and directing professor at Miami University. “We’re taking care of each other’s experiences and learning how to be collaborative in an honest and compassionate way,” says Emma Sperka ’12, who majored in theatre as an undergraduate at Hollins and is now a first-year student in the performance certificate program. Ronald Blanks Jr., another student in performance, feels “the family atmosphere is the core of everything. It’s okay not to get it right the first time. Somebody’s going to help you mold it to get it where you want it to go.” And playwright Meredith Cope-Levy ’12 simply states, “My peers have become my teachers as much as the faculty are my teachers.” “We’re training our students to be people that everyone will want to work with,” states Ristau. “I know lots of people in the profession who seek out

Hollins grads. They know they can trust them to get the work done without being confrontational.” At the same time, Cope-Levy dispels the notion that there is a “Hollins playwright.” “It’s not about fitting us into a mold,” she says. “It’s about giving us space to become the best artists possible.” Henke notes, “This environment facilitates personal expression of whatever kind of work you want to make. Graduates are empowered, not overwhelmed.” Moss finds the honesty and compassion “astonishing. We’re helping each other constructively, thoughtfully, and lovingly without being sentimental and without lying.” Adds Ristau, “I feel the greatest validation from the success of the individual students, but also when our guest professionals come here as faculty or speakers. They tell me the same thing: ‘I wish I’d gone to Hollins.’”

Above: Bob Moss’s directing class

“Creative energy I’ve never experienced anywhere else”

hen Amanda Cockrell ’69, M.A. ’88 launched a graduate program at Hollins focusing on the study and writing of children’s literature in 1992, she didn’t have to look far to find the right model. “There’s this theory that if you can’t take blistering criticism, you shouldn’t be a writer. How many promising writers are now not writing because some teacher told them they had to be tough, and if they couldn’t take it to get out of the field? Good teachers, editors, and peers don’t do that.” Cockrell earned her M.A. in Hollins’ graduate program in creative writing, where the hallmark is “safety. It’s not cutthroat. People cheer each other’s success.” She embraces that approach. “Structurally, the children’s literature program has evolved a lot, but our philosophy has remained the same: Help writers and scholars find their voice and teach them to perfect their craft.” Students say they’ve gained unprecedented self-confidence as a result of that nurturing environment. Reflecting on three summers in the program, Cassie Gustafson says, “For the first time in my

life I can say I am a writer. I found my calling and where I needed to be. I’ve discovered the pieces that were missing from my toolbox. I can be creative and explore this side of me I never allowed myself to experience before.”

preconceived idea that grad school was “terrifying, brutal” was squelched his first day. “I went home and asked my wife, ‘It’s okay for grad school to be fun?’ I have never not had fun in three years.” Faculty member Nancy Ruth Patterson

“For the first time in my life I can say I am a writer. I found my calling and where I needed to be. I’ve discovered the pieces that were missing from my toolbox. I can be creative and explore this side of me I never allowed myself to experience before.” “Where better could I find a place to study and write about the things I’ve loved all my life?” adds Michael Jones, a third-year M.F.A. student. “Being around all these wonderful people has expanded my mind.” Those include faculty members such as Hillary Homzie, who holds an M.A. [’98] in children’s literature and writing from Hollins. “It was life-changing. I felt like a piece of me had been missing until I came to this program. I see the look of joy on the faces of first-year graduate students now and I say, ‘Yes! It only continues!’” Gustafson says the six-week sessions unleash “this creative energy I’ve never enjoyed anywhere else,” and Jones’s

believes a sensitivity to the role feelings play in the classroom is crucial to the program. “I start every class by saying, ‘You will leave this room with your dignity intact. You will leave this room feeling better about yourself as a potential writer than you did when you came in.’” “To me, the Hollins campus is a protective bubble. I want to replicate that in the classroom,” says Homzie. “We are careful about communicating in a supportive, empowering, and loving way. Everybody here works hard at mirroring that attitude. It’s just the beginning of taking Hollins wherever you go.” Above: Program director Amanda Cockrell (middle) teaching a genre study class

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“We’re at the cutting edge”

uth Sanderson has earned acclaim as the author/illustrator of many children’s books. Her accomplishments as a writer and an artist were delayed, however, for one unfortunate reason. “When I went to art school there was no writing,” she recalls. “If I had had writing in school, I would have become an author/illustrator faster. Fifteen years after I graduated I was finally brave enough to submit writing.” Today, the codirector of Hollins’ graduate program in children’s book writing and illustrating, the first of its kind, is helping fledgling author/ illustrators avoid that pitfall. “We have carved out this niche because at most universities the English department is very separate from the art department,” Sanderson explains. “For this combination to happen, you have to have a strong children’s book writing program and a strong illustration program in the same school. Here, the idea seemed like a no-brainer.” “Author/illustrators are in demand with agents and editors because it’s cheaper and easier to work with one person,” says faculty member Elizabeth

18 Hollins

Dulemba, herself an award-winning author/illustrator. “As far as the industry is concerned, we’re at the cutting edge.” Students in the program are generally illustrators who wish to enhance their writing skills rather than vice versa, which faculty member Ashley Wolff says “is a harder thing to do. It’s rare to find an author who becomes an illustrator.”

illustrating the stories that are in their head. And this program lets them hopefully become employed story makers.” To that end, Sanderson says the program emphasizes the business of a writing/illustrating career along with developing the craft. “Our goal is to have students find a way of working that pleases them and the marketplace.”

“We have carved out this niche because at most universities the English department is very separate from the art department,” Sanderson explains. “For this combination to happen, you have to have a strong children’s book writing program and a strong illustration program in the same school. Here, the idea seemed like a no-brainer.” For students with a strong background in illustration such as Lucy Rowe, “it’s been a good challenge and a good decision.” Likewise, fellow student Rebekah Lowell appreciates the “great opportunity to stretch yourself and grow. I expected to come here and work hard and I’m getting everything I hoped for.” Dulemba believes the transition is easier for illustrators because “they are story makers already. They are always

Lowell, who was a wildlife artist before coming to Hollins, is seeing that goal come to fruition with what she calls “a style breakthrough. I’m taking my art that won’t translate into picture books and coming up with new ways of working. I don’t think that would’ve happened if I wasn’t here.”

Above: Elizabeth Dulemba teaching a class in children’s book design

“Bringing a little bit of LA to Virginia”

“I

f you want discouragement in Hollywood, you’ll find it.” An award-winning television and film writer, Kelly Fullerton has experienced firsthand the ups and downs of a show business career. Helping new screenwriters navigate the intimidating world of story pitches, rewrites, and criticism and rejection became a calling. When longtime friend and mentor Tim Albaugh approached her about joining the faculty of the master’s program in screenwriting and film studies he directs, she says there were good reasons to accept. “First, how far away Hollins is from Hollywood. The business is such a distraction and I’m not sure LA is the best venue to focus on writing. Hollins is idyllic because it has all these different places to write. “Second is affordability. For many students, grad school at other institutions is too expensive.” At Hollins, Fullerton says, students pay much less to get the benefits found in other major screenwriting programs. “The third piece is access to professors and guest speakers. You build these amazing relationships by being together

constantly. I tell my students, ‘Once you’re in a class with me, you’re always in a class with me.’” The attention he received from faculty surprised third-year student Alex del Campo. “At other schools, your time with the instructor is in class. Here, it’s six weeks of ongoing interaction and bouncing ideas off one another. They’re invested in us and our success after we leave.” Fellow student Anna Fahr agrees. “We get one-on-one instruction both inside and outside the classroom that’s valuable as we’re learning to develop our craft.” For 25 years, Albaugh has taught in UCLA’s M.F.A. screenwriting program. Any similarities between UCLA and Hollins are intentional. “What I wanted to do was build on UCLA’s core components. For example, last summer we added a web series production course that’s not taught at any other school.” Albaugh says the program’s strength lies in its flexibility to offer something different each summer. “We can react to industry trends on the fly. That isn’t possible at a larger institution because you have to jump through so many hoops to make something happen.

“Our focus in the program is not only to make people better writers but also to prepare them for the reality of the business. We take it upon ourselves to give people the tools they need to thrive. I bring a little bit of LA to Virginia every summer. The teachers and guests I invite are all working professionals there. They’ve been in the trenches and they know what it takes to succeed.” Albaugh emphasizes that a degree in film is not a prerequisite. “I’m more interested in people who have stories to tell, people with a liberal arts background.” Fullerton notes that military veterans in the program particularly “have interesting things to say. Their life experience adds to the variety of different backgrounds we seek. It’s exciting to be in a classroom with this mix of people.” Fullerton believes the buzz about Hollins screenwriting is growing. “Students are hearing they can come here and get a world-class education.” Above: Tim Albaugh, director of the program in screenwriting and film studies

Jeff Hodges is director of public relations.

Winter 2017 19

20 Hollins

From the From Outside In

Sometimes the pain of being a perpetual outsider can be turned into art. For Balli Kaur Jaswal â&#x20AC;&#x2122;04, that experience has inspired three novels. B Y J E A N H O L Z I N G E R M . A . L . S . â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 11

Sharon Meador

ll three of Balli Jaswal’s books—Inheritance, Sugarbread, and Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows— contain at least one common theme: what it’s like to be an outsider. Inheritance (2013) is about Singapore, the country on Jaswal’s passport, although it’s just one of the many countries in which she grew up. Her father’s job as a diplomat sent the family to Japan, Russia, and the Philippines. When Jaswal was a child and adolescent in Singapore, she “was very aware that I was part of a minority,” she says. “We left Singapore and then came back, so it was another layer of being kind of outside and foreign, so I was constantly explaining where I was from, just from my accent. “There was also the fact that I was Indian, but a lot of Indians and Punjabis [largely from northern India] don’t identify with the south India population of Singapore, and so that took some explaining as well.” Even though it took place largely before she was born, Jaswal was fascinated by Singapore’s accelerated change after it was expelled from Malaysia in 1965. “The [cultural] leap [during Singapore’s intense period of renewal] was enormous,” says Jaswal, “and I thought it was really interesting that people were expected to catch up. The infrastructure completely changed, the look of Singapore completely changed: the buildings, public transport, the streets. Everything was rapidly modernized.” In Inheritance, she focused her narrative on what she calls a “minorityminority”—a Punjabi Sikh family— and the problems they faced from the 1970s through the 1990s. The majority population in Singapore is Chinese, followed by relatively smaller proportions of Malay and Indian. Of the Indian population, most are Hindu and from southern India. The minority-minority of which Jaswal was a part—and a central theme to her book—is both Sikh and from northern India. The family Jaswal writes about struggles with being strangers in their adopted country. They must also come to grips with the side effects of the island’s

rapid modernization, a phenomenon that inevitably introduces new ideas that challenge traditional ways of life. Jaswal’s characters deal with loss, homosexuality, mental illness, and what it means to be successful and happy. Writes a reviewer on readings.com.au, “Jaswal celebrates the island’s diversity— its mix of Tamil, Malay Chinese and British influences—and, in doing so, adds texture to a place some Westerners might lazily describe as a melting pot, instead of the boiling pot of class and heritage Inheritance shows Singapore to be.” Sugarbread (2016) is actually the first book Jaswal wrote. It started life as her Hollins senior thesis. “I was trying to figure out how to write a novel, so it [was] a lot of pages of description and characterization. Sugarbread has a very quiet plot. It was so much about my childhood experiences growing up in Singapore” as an observer in a culture not her own. “It was a very long manuscript, what this girl did, scenes from her life. I put it aside and started writing Inheritance.” Even after Inheritance was published, however, Jaswal couldn’t push Sugarbread further along. “So I wrote Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows,” she says. “That’s a very plot-driven book. Through that, I learned how to keep a reader in suspense and how to reveal things to the reader. “Having worked on Inheritance and Erotic, it was so clear to me what needed to be fixed in Sugarbread. The most important thing was being okay with cutting things. And I was merciless. At 21, I wanted to keep everything.” Jaswal was motivated to finish Sugarbread to enter it into a contest sponsored by Epigram Books, a Singapore-based publisher. Although she didn’t win the $20,000 first-place award, she won a publishing contract. Last April, HarperCollins announced it was publishing Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows in March 2017. This book focuses on a young Sikh woman, born and raised in London, who gets a job teaching creative writing to a group of older Punjabi women in Southall, a largely South Asian community in west London. As the women open up to their teacher

and to each other, they reveal some potentially dangerous secrets. “That situation made for a fun plot to write and created this guideline,” says Jaswal. “The characters couldn’t dwell too long on one thing because we had a plot to get to, we had a conflict coming up on the horizon, we had an antagonist on his way.” With a plot this juicy, it shouldn’t be surprising that the movie business is interested. Jaswal has sold the rights to Film Four/Scott Free, Ridley Scott’s film company. Translation rights have been sold in a number of countries, including Germany, Greece, Estonia, China, Sweden, France, Italy, and others. Although she has always written, even as a small child, it was at Hollins that she learned to take it seriously. “I learned not to be embarrassed” about writing, she says. “When I was growing up, I always thought it was a silly little hobby that I had on the side, a silly indulgence. Being at Hollins was being around people who grew up loving writing and being in an environment where it was, like, ‘Show me what you’re writing.’” Living in Near East (located in the East Building dormitory) also inspired her. “You’d be sitting in your room writing a chapter, and you’d get sick of it, and you’d wander out into the hallway” to spend time with like-minded friends. “There was always a buzz in that place, which I loved. I still like to have my laptop open and someone sitting near me, preferably someone I know, just working, not with each other, but together in the same place.” It was at Hollins, once again adapting to a culture not her own, where she may have discovered the theme that has undergirded her three books to date. “I think it helps to be an outsider,” she says, “because readers are going to be outsiders, so you can go through this process of discovery with the reader. And as you gain more insight and more of a foothold on the inside, then so does the reader. “If you’re an outsider, then you can say, ‘Let’s go into this together.’” Jean Holzinger is the retired executive director of marketing.

Winter 2017 21

SETTING the STAGE for a NEW DAY at HOLLINS Bessie Carter Randolph 1912, Hollins’ third president, saw the institution through its critical transition from a family-owned enterprise to an accredited college poised for national recognition. B Y B R E N D A M C D A N I E L H O N ’12

essie Carter Randolph 1912 became the third president of Hollins College in the middle of the Great Depression, 1933. A serious, scholarly woman with a Ph.D. from Radcliffe, a seasoned history and political science professor, she must have known it wasn’t the best time to take over a small struggling woman’s college that was just transitioning from a family owned and operated enterprise to an accredited college with a public board of trustees. And you can’t say she wasn’t warned. Even at her inauguration, the first in Hollins’ 90-year history, on Founder’s Day, February 21, 1934, just five days shy of her 49th birthday, her inauguration speaker, the president of Vassar College, told those gathered for the occasion: The “office (of president) is one of the hazardous occupations, for the average term of a college president is eleven years. If by reason of grace it be extended to twenty, still after the first eleven all is weariness of the flesh and vexation of the spirit.”

22 Hollins

Bessie Carter Randolph would encounter many vexations of the spirit during her term, which would span the next 17 years through the remaining years of the Depression and all of World War II. It wasn’t easy. Finances were always tight, and Hollins often had to borrow money to make ends meet. Students were hard to come by and hard to keep during the Depression and war years. If Randolph had wanted to leave her mark on Hollins in the form of fancy buildings, the times were not on her side. But as an academic with guts, determination, and tough-minded focus, she stewarded Hollins through the worst hard times and paved the way for future success. Her greatest accomplishments were in the areas of academics, faculty salaries, fundraising, and alumnae engagement. She immediately set out to evaluate the curriculum and reorganize the academic departments into four divisions, and by 1935 Hollins was accredited by all standardizing agencies. Randolph understood the importance of public relations, development, and alumnae relations. She cultivated the

interest of Mrs. Alfred I. (Jessie Ball) duPont and induced her to become a generous donor and trustee. As a result, the duPont endowments continue to benefit Hollins, especially faculty salaries. She dogged her alumnae office, insisting they do more public relations and visit more alumnae chapters when travel was possible. She launched an annual two-week summer alumnae institute. A highlight of her presidency was Hollins’ centennial in 1942. A 75th anniversary celebration had been canceled in 1917 because of World War I. Randolph and others decided in 1940 that the centennial must go on despite gathering clouds of yet another world war. Presaging Nancy Gray’s own sentiments about the 175th anniversary, Randolph said her general idea was to “consider 1942 as a beginning year, rather than as a consummation—a looking forward rather than backwards.” Although the trustees named a dormitory Randolph Hall in her honor after she retired, the only buildings representing Randolph’s presidency are Barbee House, built as a faculty residence in 1936-37, Tinker Tea House (now Cromer Bergman Alumnae House), for

Bessie Carter Randolph with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who spoke on campus in October 1938

which alumnae raised the funds, and the Art Annex, a cinder block and brick compromise stuck onto the Little Theatre to give art faculty much-needed space in 1948. Other funds, as they became available, were invested in unglamorous infrastructure improvements and rebuilding the rear wall of East in 1945.

Randolph and others decided in 1940 that the centennial must go on despite gathering clouds of yet another world war. While the Hollins endowment doubled, to $734,000, during Randolph’s presidency, it wasn’t enough. “This college should have endowed funds of $1.5 million at the very least,” she told the trustees in her final report to them on June 19, 1950. She expressed other disappointments about her 17-year tenure as well. For example, she had tried throughout her career to get a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for Hollins, but a number of factors prevented it. It was as president emerita

that she attended the inaugural meeting of the Iota Chapter of PBK in 1962, 12 years after she had retired. Her final report also noted the standing problems of too few students (only 339 in 1949-50), too few graduates (57), too many students who dropped for academic performance, flat enrollment for the coming year, and a library (Cocke Building) that “continues to be a glaring problem” with too little space for books or readers. She reminded the board that the General Education Board in April 1947 had pledged $25,000 toward a new library building if Hollins could raise matching funds. The offer would expire on December 31 if not met. And she mentioned something that had bothered her for a long time: “One field of our public relations is being neglected year after year—the colored community at our very doors. This group of friends needs an investment of money and still more of time, and their welfare should be guarded and promoted as far as we can possibly do so.” In her parting words to the trustees, Bessie Carter Randolph sounded weary and vexed of spirit, yet that is not known

to be her reason for retiring at age 65. It was the mandatory retirement age for Hollins employees at the time. In the summer of 1950, she left Hollins in the hands of the 31-year-old charismatic Columbia Universityeducated John “Jack” Everett. He would have a quick takeoff. The country was in better shape financially and psychologically, and thanks to Bessie Carter Randolph, Hollins was debt free, fully accredited, and had a new campus architectural plan started in 1940 but unfortunately postponed by war. It was a new day for Hollins, but one for which Bessie Carter Randolph had set the stage. President Emerita Randolph moved to an apartment in Lynchburg, where she read, wrote, lectured, and remained active in the American Association of University Women, the Women’s Club, and the American Society of International Law. She stayed in touch with Hollins classmates, alumnae, and colleagues and visited often until becoming ill in the early 1960s. She died in 1966 at age 81 and is buried in Lynchburg. Brenda McDaniel is the retired executive director of donor relations.

Winter 2017 23

WHY I PROVIDE FOR HOLLINS IN MY WILL “I was inspired to make a planned gift to Hollins when I was completing my will. Although I achieved a liberal arts degree, I was primarily focused on psychology, which is something I use daily in my work as a pharmaceutical representative. Therefore, I believe it is important to say thank you to my alma mater, which helped direct my interest and passion, so that others may find theirs as well. I have been involved with alumnae events in Jacksonville, encouraging prospective students to evaluate the advantages a single-sex school offers and to understand that at Hollins, they’ll have an engaging college experience and will be able to create a bright future.”

Erica Maslen Moore ’85 MAJOR: Liberal arts (psychology) CURRENTLY: Pharmaceutical representative LIVES: In St. Augustine, Florida

there are many ways to give planned gifts to hollins, including

Bequests | Lead trusts | Retained life estate | Retirement plan

contact the office of institutional advancement to learn more about planning your gift to hollins.

gifts@hollins.edu | (800) TINKER1 | (800) 846-5371

Come to Campus and Celebrate SPR I NG 2017 175T H A N N I V E R SA RY EV E N T S

Views of Tinker Mountain by Ron Boehmer

Thursday, January 12 – Sunday, April 30 Artist Ron Boehmer Wilson Museum Lecture and reception: Sunday, February 5, 3 pm

Part of Hollins’ 175th anniversary celebration, this exhibition presents studies for Tinker Mountain, an oil painting by Ron Boehmer. Commissioned in 1990 by Charlotte [Kelley ’68] and Bittle Porterfield in memory of Charlotte’s father, the painting has been on view in Hollins’ Main Building since 1991. The studies, now part of the permanent collection of the Wilson Museum, are being displayed for the first time alongside the finished painting. Based in Lynchburg, Boehmer cofounded Beverly Street Studio School in Staunton, Virginia.

Hollins Day: Celebrating 175 Years

Maria Kitsopoulos, Cello, with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra

Hollins University Choirs and Roanoke College Oriana Singers

Maria Kitsopoulos, cello, performs with members of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Stewart Wiley, to honor the trustees of Hollins University—past, present, and future— and Hollins’ 175th anniversary. Works to be performed include Suite for Solo Cello No. 5 in C minor and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major by Bach, Cello Concerto in B-flat major by Boccherini, and Vocalise by Rachmaninoff. Kitsopoulos holds The Secular Society Chair in cello at the New York Philharmonic, also celebrating its 175th anniversary. TICKETS: MemberOne RSO Box Office, (540) 343-9127. Online tickets at www.rso.com. SPONSOR: The Secular Society

Roanoke College’s Oriana Singers join with Hollins’ Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, and Talmadge Singers to present a concert in celebration of each school’s 175th anniversary. Conducted by Jeffrey Sandborg and Shelbie Wahl-Fouts.

Friday, February 24, 7:30 pm duPont Chapel

Sunday, February 26, 4 pm duPont Chapel

For more information: (540) 362-6451

Thursday, February 23, 4:30 pm duPont Chapel

This year’s convocation includes a series of short performances and discussions, all focused on the 175th anniversary.

C E L E B R AT I N G 1 7 5 Y E A R S : 1 8 4 2 - 2 0 1 7