ALUMNAE OF COLOR ATTEND SPECIAL PREVIEW RECEPTION ore than 125 alumnae of color, faculty, staff, and students attended a special preview of the Reflections in Black exhibition at the Mills College Art Museum on June 6, 2003. The reception was sponsored by Bonnie Guiton Hill, ’75, and the Reflections in Black Preview Event Committee, co-chaired by Estrellita Hudson Redus, ’65, MFA ’75, and Peggy Woodruff, ’58. The reception was a welcome opportunity for alumnae to re-connect with each other and the College. During the short program, Assistant Dean of Students Lisa McRipley reviewed some of the many diversity activities organized by and for students. She also noted that retention and graduation rates for students of color remain very strong. For the past few years and in the 2003 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges Guidebook, Mills has been listed as one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the nation. Specifically, Mills is tied with two other schools for 11th place on the list of the top 16 diverse institutions. Estrellita highlighted some of Mills’ successes in increasing the diversity of the faculty and the development of multicultural curricula. For the last five years, faculty diversity has remained steady at about 20 percent, and about one-third of undergraduate students identify themselves as women of color. Estrellita acknowledged President Janet Holmgren, Art Museum Director Stephan Jost, members of the Office
of Institutional Advancement, and the Alumnae Diversity Committee for their assistance in making the reception such a success. In addition, she thanked Benita Sheffield Harris, ’74, for desserts from Rubicon Bakery; Martha Rueca, ’96, and her staff at World Grounds Café for beverages and smoothies; Mary Liu, ’72, for arranging exhibition support from Macy’s West; and the members of the Alumnae Association's Diversity Committee for their enthusiasm in encouraging alumnae to attend the reception. Comments about the exhibition
overheard at the reception included “It really moves your soul to observe all the faces that preceded us and make this world a better place,” and “It captured history in a way not done before,” and “Simply breathtaking.” About the reception, the universal opinion was “awesome!” Various people contributed to these articles about the Reflections in Black exhibition and the preview reception. Thank you to Shauna Jones, outreach coordinator at the Mills College Art Museum; Estrellita Redus, ’65, MFA ’75, Sharon Tatai, ’80; and Peggy Woodruff, ’58.
Special guest Deborah Willis, curator of the exhibition, left, with Estrellita Hudson Redus, ’65, MFA ’75.
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