President-elect Danielle R. Holley to begin term in July

BY TARA MONASTESSE ’25 NEWS EDITOR

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, Mount Holyoke College announced that professor and legal scholar Danielle Ren Holley had been unanimously elected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the College’s twentieth president. The appointment was announced following an intensive selection process which began last March after nineteenth president Sonya Stephens stepped down from the position to serve as president of The American University of Paris. “The board’s unanimous decision is the culmination of a thoughtful, thorough and inclusive search process that was conducted over the past 11 months,” chair of the Board of Trustees Karena V. Strella ’90 wrote in an email to the community. “We owe our deepest gratitude to the presidential search committee for its incredible efforts to bring the search to a successful conclusion.”

An inaugural celebration was held in Blanchard Hall’s Great Room the same afternoon as the announcement, during which President-elect Holley addressed the College community for the first time. Holley drew on her own childhood experiences of having academics for parents, as well as her time spent pursuing a B.A. in history at Yale University, to describe what a liberal arts education meant to her. “It helped me to understand how studying the past, especially studying the Civil Rights Movement, meant that for me the central part of my life would be opening the doors of opportunity to education for other people.” Holley said. “Education is liberation, education is freedom, education is opportunity. And I knew for the rest of my life that I would spend all of my time opening the doors of education to other people so that each one of you can open the doors for someone else.”

Holley is currently a professor of law and dean of Howard University School of Law, a position which she has held since 2014. Holley’s leadership led the Howard University Law School to new heights, including moving the school into the top 100 in the U.S. News and World Report, as well as the introduction of a sixyear BA/JD program. Holley is also a leading scholar of impeding Supreme Court decisions regarding race-conscious college and university admissions, whose expertise on civil rights and equity topics are often sought by members of the press and others, according to a press release issued by the College.

Holley’s appointment will make her the first Black woman to serve as Mount Holyoke’s permanent president, as well as the fourth Black woman in history to lead one of the original Seven Sisters colleges. She will begin her term starting on July 1, 2023. Until then, Interim President Beverly Daniel Tatum will continue to serve in the position. “I want to add my congratulations to President-elect Holley and to Mount Holyoke College,” President Tatum said following Holley’s address. “It truly is a perfect pairing.”

The representative for the Kachimushi Naginata Club publicized an upcoming Valentine’s Day fundraiser. The Mead Hall Senator, on behalf of the Career Development Center, reminded everyone that applications for Lynk funding are due on Feb. 17 by 5 p.m.

For the second part of open floor, senators were invited to bring up their questions and concerns. One member referenced the mask recycling box in the library atrium and wondered if SGA could set something similar up in the Community Center or Dining Commons. SGA responded by saying that they would love to see something like that and that they would look into it.

Another representative brought up concerns about the food at the dining hall. She stated that this pre- vious week she had received food poisoning from the sushi served in the Dining Commons. Further, she claimed that she knew people who had gotten sick from worms in the produce. SGA told her that the Dining Commons did have safety and cleanliness standards, but that they would reach out to dining, in case something needed to be updated.

The representative for the Jewish Student Union asked, once again, if there were any updates on having Narcan available on Campus. SGA stated that they did not have any new updates. Finally, the Representative for the Class board of 2023 shared a concern they had about transcripts. Many members of their class are currently in the process of applying for jobs and graduate school and are having a very difficult time obtaining official transcripts. Furthermore, when unofficial transcripts are allowed, many times the employers or schools don’t accept them because there is no place on the transcript with Mount Holyoke’s name or emblem. SGA stated that although they did not necessarily know who to reach out to regarding these issues, they will figure it out and look into what they can do.

Senate wrapped up with commission work. The eight commissions were asked to continue working on their petitions, check with their E-Board member about their finished petition and send the finalized copy to the SGA E-Board via email, before being dismissed from the meeting by their E-Board member.