Mills Quarterly spring 2003

Mills Quarterly Spring 2003 Alumnae Magazine

Single-Gender Education: Not Just an Alternative Caring in Nursing Ladyfest Bay Area

The

Mills Van

“ARTIST IN THE GARDEN” BY HOLLY MEEKER ROM, ’71

A resident of Rye, New York, Holly Meeker Rom is a docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She earned an MA in art education from California State University, Sacramento and an MFA in painting from the American University in Washington, D.C. If you would like to contact Holly Meeker Rom, you may email her at <naturehmr@aol.com>.

14

BETH JOHNSON ’84

PEG SKORPINKSI

10

16

20

Mills Quarterly

CONTENTS SPRING 2003 10

A Familiar Face on Campus: The Legacy of the Mills Van

14

Your New Alumna Trustee: Leone La Duke Evans, MA ’45

16

Ladyfest Bay Area

17

Single-Gender Education: Not Just an Alternative

20

The Supports and Constraints of Caring in Nursing

Cara Johnson, MFA ’03

Laura Compton, ’93

Nora Kizer Bell

Barbara Dries, MA ’99, EdD ’02

D E PA R T M E N T S 3

Letters

4

Inside Mills

8

Mills Matters

9

Alumnae Action

15

Calendar

24

Passages

ABOUT THE COVER: Mills student and staff member at Reinhardt Alumnae House Lakeisha Rowley prepares to board the Mills van.

Cover photo by Peg Skorpinski.

Mills Quarterly Volume XCI Number 4 (USPS 349-900) Spring 2003 Alumnae Director Anne Gillespie Brown, ’68 Editor David M. Brin, MA ’75 <dbrin@mills.edu>

From the AAMC President

Design and Art Direction Benjamin Piekut, MA ’01 Quarterly Advisory Board Robyn Fisher, ’90, Marian Hirsch, ’75 Jane Cudlip King, ’42, Jane Redmond Mueller, ’68 Ruth Okimoto, ’78, Cathy Chew Smith, ’84 Ramona Lisa Smith, ’01, MBA, ’02, Sharon K. Tatai, ’80 Heidi Wachter, ’01 Class Notes Writers Barb Barry, ’94, Laura Compton, ’93 Barbara Bennion Friedlich, ’49, Sally Mayock Hartley, ’48 Heather Hanley, ’00, Marian Hirsch, ’75 Cathy Chew Smith, ’84 Special Thanks to Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Board of Governors President Karen May, ’86 Vice Presidents Judy Greenwood Jones, ’60 Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Treasurer Bevo Zellick, ’49, MA ’50 Alumnae Trustees Judy Greenwood Jones, ’60 Sara Ellen McClure, ’81 Sharon K. Tatai, ’80 Faculty Representative: Ruth Saxton, MA ’72 Governors Lynne Bantle, ’74, Micheline Beam, ‘72 Harriet Fong Chan, ‘98, Leone Evans, MA ’45 Lynn Eve Fortin, ’87, Leah Mac Neil, MA ’51 Rachael E. Meny, ‘92, Patricia Lee Mok, ’81 Nangee Warner Morrison, ‘63, Jennifer E. Moxley, ’93 Toni Renee Vierra, ‘98, Sarah Washington-Robinson, ’72 Sheryl Wooldridge, ‘77 Regional Governors Joyce Menter Wallace, ’50, Eastern Great Lakes Joan Alper, ’62, Middle Atlantic Albertina Padilla, ’78, Middle California Adrienne Bronstein, ’86, Middle California Judith Smrha, ’87, Midwest Linda Cohen Turner, ’68, North Central Brandy Tuzon Boyd, ’91, Northern California Katie Dudley Chase, ’61, Northeast Gayle Rothrock, ’68, Northwest Louise Hurlbut, ’75, Rocky Mountains Colleen Almeida Smith, ’92, South Central Julia Almazan, ’92, Southern California Dr. Candace Brand Kaspers, ’70, Southeast Ann Markewitz, ’60, Southwest The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly in April, July, October, and January by the Alumnae Association of Mills College, Reinhardt Alumnae House, 5000 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94613.

Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, CA and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mills Quarterly, Alumnae Association of Mills College, P.O. Box 9998, Oakland, CA 94613-0998.

Statement of Purpose The purpose of the Mills Quarterly is to report the activities of the Alumnae Association and its branches; to reflect the quality, dignity, and academic achievement of the College family; to communicate the exuberance and vitality of student life; and to demonstrate the worldwide-ranging interests, occupations, and achievements of alumnae.

Mills College is developing a strategic plan to set the direction for the next five years and beyond. In short, the College’s strategic plan reaffirms its commitment to undergraduate education for women and outlines a plan for expanding graduate education for women and men. I am confident that Mills is committed to remaining a women’s college and is building on its history to become stronger than ever.

The AAMC is participating in the development of the plan. Our role regarding the strategic plan is clear—to understand the direction of the College, keep our alumnae informed and solicit their input, contribute our perspective, and support the College’s success. Over the past several months, we have been engaged in discussions with the College to learn about the planning process and share our hopes, questions, and concerns. We asked for your input and heard from almost 100 of you, and we thank those of you who took the time to reply and for helping us represent you in these discussions! (For a selection of your responses, please see page 9 of this issue of the Quarterly.)

In our discussions with the College and the Board of Trustees, we described concerns on the part of some alumnae that the emphasis on graduate programs may draw attention and resources away from undergraduates, that an increased number of graduate students (especially male students) on campus may weaken the undergraduate women’s experience, and that the focus on graduate programs is a veiled attempt to take a step toward coeducation. We also shared positive reactions—that some alumnae see the focus on graduate programs as an opportunity to build and enhance the academic quality and reputation of the College. Some alumnae also liked the emphasis on diversity, involvement in local community, and the realistic enrollment goals.

The College has been open to feedback from its many constituencies. The administration is in the process of reviewing the plan in response to feedback and considering how to communicate it broadly. One thing is clear—the College (like all of us!) must evolve as times change. While change can be threatening, it can also serve as a catalyst for growth and improvement.

I am very pleased that we have had the opportunity to contribute to the planning process. We will be better able to support the College to the extent we are involved. I appreciate the time that President Holmgren and others have taken to discuss the plan with various groups of alumnae, and the openness and responsiveness that they have demonstrated throughout this process.

I want to reiterate that I believe, based on my conversations with College leaders and members of the Board of Trustees, that Mills College is committed to remaining a women’s college and is on track to becoming an even stronger institution. I also want to emphasize that we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to help ensure this future.

Karen E. May, ’86, President, Alumnae Association of Mills College

Letters to the Editor This letter is in response to Professor Sargent’s letter about creative writing courses at Mills, in which she states that “When I came to Mills in 1958, Allen Wendt was teaching creative writing. . . . Before Allen there was, to my knowledge, another man who had taught it. Further back than that I do not know, but it wouldn’t surprise me to be told that someone alternated poetry and fiction even then.”

There will be a number of Mills English majors from the later 1940s who will want to complete the record. We were privileged to participate in the creative writing courses given by the great Jessamyn West.

West (1902–1984) was the author of several novels and five collections of short stories: Cress Delahanty; Crimson Ramblers of the World, Farewell; The Friendly Persuasion; Love, Death, and the Ladies’ Drill Team; and Except for Me and Thee.

She was a glamorous as well as an intellectual and witty presence in the classroom. She dressed flamboyantly (I remember particularly a red shantung jacket and lots of colorful scarves) and spoke fastidiously. We used Gordon and Tate’s The House of Fiction as a jumping-off place; she was much more interested in the students’ stories. The Friendly Persuasion was made into a film with Gary Cooper, which seemed greatly to amuse her. She spoke occasionally of her Quaker background and of her first cousin, Richard Nixon. I thought she was wonderful.

Ann McKinstry Micou, ’52 Attending Mills was one of the most valuable experiences in my life. The liberal-arts education I received allowed me to go far beyond the requirements of my biology degree

by providing me the opportunity to learn about art, music, government, and literature. Living on campus and working at the Alumnae House made me feel as if all Mills alumnae, students, and faculty could be depended on as family and friends. I took this feeling of community with me when I graduated.

When I moved away from the Bay Area, I continued the tradition of calling on other Mills alums for advice and friendship. Mills has provided me with instant friends wherever I move or travel. One of these friends died last year and I would like to honor her life.

(Mary) Curry Babcock, ’39, was a true Mills woman. When my husband and I moved to Bellingham, Washington, in 1993, I looked up several alums in the Mills directory.

They all made me feel welcome and helped me learn about my new town. Curry and I truly enjoyed each other’s company. She attended Mills in the 1930s, whereas I graduated in 1984, and yet our shared Mills values bridged those years. Curry raised a family, had a career as a professional Girl Scout administrator, traveled extensively, and did endless volunteer work.

About two years after we met, her health began to deteriorate. I admired her courage and self-determination. Although it was difficult for her to leave her home in the forest, she wanted to move before someone else made the decision for her. She researched all the assisted-living facilities in town before selecting one that allowed her to continue her active lifestyle. She then sold her home and moved into the Willows Assisted Living Center. Curry made the most of all the travel, educational, and cultural

offerings provided at her new home.

She continued to walk the two blocks to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she volunteered every Wednesday and Saturday until the last year of her life.

Last December, she fell and was taken to the hospital. After a few days, she was moved into a convalescent home and there her health failed. She died within a week of the move. It’s been a year, and I keep intending to write and thank Mills for the gift of such a wonderful role model and friend, but I couldn’t think of a way to explain the importance of Curry’s friendship and how inspiring her independence was—an independence that certainly originated from within and was fostered by Mills, thus preparing her for the life she chose to lead.

I do thank Mills for all the gifts my education has brought me and know that I will continue to benefit from Mills in ways I can’t even imagine.

Mary LeDonne, ’84

Correction The winter 2003 issue of the Quarterly neglected to report a $3,000 gift from the Mount Diablo Branch to the AAMC. We regret the omission and wish to thank the Mount Diablo Branch and all our wonderful branches for their support.

Writers Wanted The Quarterly is seeking contributors to a feature article about alumnae involved with social change on a community level and at large. If you would like to write about such an alumna, please contact David M. Brin, Mills Quarterly editor, at PO Box 9998, Oakland, CA 94613, phone (510) 430-3312, or email <dbrin@mills.edu>.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

3

inside mills QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH PRESIDENT JANET L. HOLMGREN Two important campus-wide activities—strategic planning and budget reductions—have occupied the Mills community this spring. I want to thank the Alumnae Association’s Board of Governors for its participation in several constructive discussions. The draft strategic plan and some comments from alumnae are available on the home page of the AAMC. (Go to <www.mills.edu> and click on “Alumnae.”)

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers.

Q: Why is the College cutting its budget? What is the magnitude of cuts?

A: Like many colleges and universities, Mills must adjust to the national economic downturn. The College is preparing a two-year budget plan to reduce overall expenses by $2 million to $3 million in an annual operating budget of $47 million.

The Board has directed the College to reduce core costs with savings in compensation (60 percent of the budget). Consultation with faculty leadership has led to proposals for reducing faculty compensation by $800,000. Equivalent reductions are being made in staff compensation.

Q: How will the cuts affect academic programs?

A: Budget cuts are being made carefully with the goal of maintaining academic excellence at Mills and staying true to the educational mission of the College. A proposal to phase out majors in dramatic arts and German has been passed by the voting faculty. Dramatic arts will be phased out over a two-year period because the College currently lacks the additional resources needed to improve the program and achieve the level of excellence characteristic of all other programs in the fine arts at Mills. German will be phased out because the program has experienced very low student enrollment for a number of years.

Q: What will happen to tuition and financial aid for students?

A: Tuition at Mills is substantially lower than at many comparable private colleges.

In February, the Board approved a plan to align Mills tuition with a peer group of

4

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

JENNIFER SAUER

Q: The draft strategic plan calls for developing additional graduate programs.

Does this mean less emphasis on undergraduate women’s education?

A: Not at all. Under the strategic directions set by the Board of Trustees, the focus of academic programs at Mills is the educational needs of all women.

In the Mills tradition, new graduate programs grow out of strengths in undergraduate teaching. Even though by law they must admit men, we expect our graduate programs to be designed for the advancement of women in positions of leadership in the community and the professions. Enrollment targets set by the draft plan are meant to be realistic assessments of prospects for expanding overall enrollment.

S E S Q U I C E N T E N N I A L C A M PA I G N N E W S

private institutions of higher education. For 2003–2004, this entails a 9.5 percent increase in undergraduate tuition and a 10.1 percent increase in graduate tuition.

The College will maintain affordability for currently enrolled students by adjusting financial aid to cover tuition increases. New students will continue to benefit from generous financial aid packages consistent with the College’s policy of need-blind admissions.

GEORGE H. MAYR SCHOLARSHIPS: FIFTY YEARS OF SUPPORT FOR MILLS STUDENTS

O

has continued to make annual contributions to Mills, regularly increasing the amount. Combining our annual gift of $20,000 with the yield of the endowed fund, Mills now is able to name eight or more George H. Mayr Scholars per year. Once a student is named a Mayr Scholar, she continues to receive the scholarship as long as she is an undergraduate student in good standing. Fifty-four Mills students have received Mayr Scholarships in the last 20 years.

Since its establishment, the George H. Mayr Foundation has given over $15 million to provide scholarships. As of 2003, distributions are made to 76 schools within California totaling about $1.2 million per year.

We heartily thank George H. Mayr and his successors for their partnership with California’s private educational institutions. The generations of students they have assisted at Mills are a tribute to their vision and generosity.

SALLY RANDEL

n June 9, 1953, the Los Angeles Times ran an article with the headline “Aid Fund Created at Mills College: George H. Mayr, Retired Businessman, Sets up $50,000 Trust for Scholarships.” The article was accompanied by a photograph showing Mr. Mayr, then age 85, presenting a check to Helen Maudlin Coffey, ’38, and Frances Wheeler Henry, ’25, regional governor of the Alumnae Association. The article reported that the gift was from a foundation established by Mr. Mayr to assist California students in their educational pursuits.

Mr. Mayr, a druggist and real-estate developer, never achieved his own dream of a college education. But he took much satisfaction from the knowledge that his financial success would allow deserving young men and women to obtain an education at the finest private institutions in California. Regarding the gift to Mills, he said, “Educating a woman is getting one’s money’s worth.”

Fifty years later, the endowed George H. Mayr Scholarship Fund yields Mills more than $20,000 to be awarded to students each year. But that’s not the whole story. For 50 years, the George H. Mayr Foundation

Lani Riccobuono (left) and Ellison Crabtree-Hall (right) are two of the 2003 George H. Mayr Scholars. Lani is a senior from Martinez, California. She is an American studies major with an emphasis on literature. After graduation this May, she hopes to be accepted into Teach for America for a junior high-school or high-school assignment. Otherwise, she expects to continue on at the American Civil Liberties Union office, where she has already been working. Ellison comes from Davis, California. She has declared a studio art major and minors in psychology and book arts. Currently a junior, she anticipates pursuing graduate work after Mills. Possible areas of study are teaching, studio art, and art therapy.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

5

inside mills MILLS STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO OAKLAND HISTORY

A

s part of a three-year $800,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation, a new program at Mills aims to get students more involved with the Oakland community. Both the city of Oakland and Mills College were founded in 1852, and the ties between the city and the College are continuing to strengthen.

Oakland Oral History is a course offered for the first time in the fall 2002 semester. In the course, students learn oral history methodologies and have the opportunity to research, plan, conduct, and process oral history interviews. A specialist in oral history methods will teach the course in the fall semester each year.

Nancy MacKay, head of technical services at Mills’ F. W. Olin Library and an experienced oral historian, provides technical support. “As archivist for the project, and as a cataloger by training, I am very excited by the opportunities afforded by the Irvine Grant funding . . . and for the opportunity to work with our local public library, which serves as Oakland’s local history archive,” says MacKay. Called the Oakland Living History Project, the program uses an Oakland neighborhood as a case study to examine the communal uses of public space. The first project of the new course focused on the people of Lake Merritt. Next fall, students will focus on the Laurel district just

north of the Mills campus.

Andy Workman, dean of social sciences, professor of history, and director of the Oakland Living History Project, says, “Oakland is one of the most interesting and dynamic cities in the whole country. We thought we should really start to learn about the history of Oakland from the people who live here.” Lake Merritt was selected as the topic for the class to study during the fall 2002 semester because there are several groups available for students to connect with, its history is well documented, and the area highlights the cultural diversity of the city. The eight students in the first class interviewed lake naturalists, preservationists, lake activists, the former director of volunteers for the Festival of the Lake, and the chief puppeteer at Fairyland.

Mills senior Christina Fulcher interviewed a longtime member of the Oakland Women’s Rowing Club, Hildegard Schafer. In the process, she not only learned about the rowing club and its relationship to Lake Merritt; she also learned how her subject weaved her interest in the lake into several

Below left: Nancy MacKay in front of the F. W. Olin Library on the Mills campus, which will house the archives from the Oakland Living History Project.

Below: The oral histories are archived in three formats. Shown here are the paper transcript, analog tape, and digital CD. In addition, this archive includes photographs.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

DAVID M. BRIN, MA ’75

DAVID M. BRIN, MA ’75

6

social and business connections throughout the city. “We got to do this together,” Christina said. “I think that was really key to this project.”

Mills student Marion Nason interviewed Stephanie Benavidez, Lake Merritt’s naturalist. A native of Oakland and an alumna of Mills, Stephanie points out in her oral history that Lake Merritt is the oldest wildlife refuge in the nation, predating Yellowstone and Yosemite.

The oral histories are archived in three formats (paper transcript, analog tape, and digital CD) using the highest standards of recording preservation and cataloging. Full catalog records will appear on WorldCat, an international database accessible through most libraries in the United States and around the world. A particularly exciting development is the agreement to deposit the oral histories at both Mills and the Oakland Public Library’s Oakland History Room. The histories are available for public use at both institutions. It is unusual for a public institution to enter into a collaboration of this type with a private college such as Mills.

SESQUICENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN ROUNDUP

L

ast year we reported that the Sesquicentennial Campaign total had surpassed $67 million in January 2002. This year, we are pleased to report that by mid-March of 2003, the Campaign total had reached more than $77 million! Here’s a thumbnail comparison:

decorated by Ray Boynton’s colorful murals, the building is indeed a treasure. In the summer of 2001, the red tiled roof was replaced, the first phase of the $18 million renovation.

One of the Sesquicentennial Campaign’s largest pledges to date, $1.5 million from the

Goal

Results 1/25/02

Endowment & Current

$ 52 Million

$44.8 Million (86%)

$53.0 Million (102%)

Facilities & Technology

$ 48 Million

$18.0 Million (38%)

$19.8 Million (41%)

$ 4.0 Million

$ 4.6 Million

$66.7 Million (67%)

$77.4 Million (77%)

Undesignated TOTAL

$100 Million

These results include more than $11 million to endow scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students and more than $6.5 million to endow faculty positions.

Find your own way to make a special gift during the Sesquicentennial Campaign. We still need: Your participation in the Alumnae Fund every year. Help to earn the Participation Bonus Challenge!

More scholarships for our students More funds supporting faculty positions Unrestricted gifts for support of the College’s operations $16 million to complete the $18 million goal for renovating the Music Building $12 million to achieve the $15 million goal for a new Science Building

Prothro family, has been designated for the Music Building. In addition, the last three reunioning classes chose to designate all or part of their 50th Reunion Class Gift to the Music Building: the Class of 1952 elected to renovate and name a classroom; the Class of 1951 chose to give money for renovation of the building and naming of the Ensemble Room Courtyard; and the Class of 1950 elected to build and name the Class of 1950 Teaching Studio in the historic building.

DAVID M. BRIN, MA ‘75

Gifts Help Bring Renovation of Historic Music Building Nearer Built in 1928 and designed by renowned Bay Area architect Walter Ratcliff Jr., the Music Building is the favorite campus building of many alumnae. With its historic Concert Hall

Results 3/20/03

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

7

MILLS MATTERS

8

NEWS OF THE COLLEGE

New Faculty Member

Creek Restoration

The newest full-time faculty member at Mills is Kristina Faul, whose presence on campus completes the team of professors for the new environmental science major. Dr. Faul earned her PhD in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, completing her degree in 2001. Her undergraduate degree is from MIT, and she has conducted post-doctoral research in geological and environmental sciences at Stanford University as well as at the Institute of Marine Sciences at U.C. Santa Cruz.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Elisabeth Wade is head of the program, which combines studies in the biology and chemistry departments.

Other faculty members in the program include Professors of Biology John Harris and Bruce Pavlik, and Professor of Chemistry and Physics John Vollmer. “It’s exciting to be involved in a program that encourages young women to come to Mills to study science,” says Dr. Wade.

This semester, Dr. Faul is teaching Introduction to Environmental Science and Environmental Geology, and in the fall she will be teaching Introduction to Chemistry as well as Oceanography.

“I chose Mills because I wanted to teach and carry out research at a small liberal arts college where students take their studies seriously and where I could involve students in research opportunities as a part of their learning process,” she says about her decision to come to Mills.

On Saturday, March 8, about 50 people from the Mills community began restoration on a section of Leona Creek on the Mills campus.

They cleared ivy, blackberry, and other invasive exotic weeds from the area. The effort was initiated by Mills student Jill Habig. Throughout the day, Dean Myrt Whitcomb, Vice President Elizabeth Burwell, Museum Director Stephan Jost, and President Janet Holmgren contributed their time. “I was incredibly inspired by the amount of people who showed up and gave their time on a Saturday to help the campus. It was a wonderful community-building event,” says Jill. The AAMC is helping plan a similar effort on Saturday, May 31, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Come for all or part of the day, wear work clothes, and bring gloves if you have them. Tools and lunch will be provided.

For more information, call (510) 430-2110.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

She is pleased to be part of the new environmental sciences program and says, “I find the opportunity to integrate several of the sciences, including chemistry, biology, and geology, into environmental sciences exciting.

The best part about environmental science to me is making connections—between the sciences and between people and the environment, and then seeing the consequences of those connections. Being trained as a geologist, I am excited about teaching environmental geology at Mills, located in the geologically active Bay Area. I’m also excited about integrating oceanography, where my own research interests are, into the curriculum. I’m looking forward to seeing students make connections between these disciplines and their application to the environment, and giving them the scientific tools they will need to make scientifically informed decisions about the environmental issues they will face in their lifetimes.”

New Provost and Dean of the Faculty In January, Dr. Mary-Ann Milford, Carver Professor of East Asian Studies, assumed the position of provost and dean of faculty at Mills. An authority on Indian and Indonesian art, Dr. Milford has recently curated exhibitions of contemporary Indian women artists, the most recent of which was an exhibition of Zarina Hashmi’s art, Mapping a Life, shown at the Mills Art Museum. The exhibition has traveled to New York and is going to India and Japan.

Dr. Milford knows Mills, having taught Asian art history here for 20 years and having served as dean of fine arts for six years. As dean she was involved with budgets, administrative details, hiring, graduate and undergraduate programs—all good training and background for her new job as provost and dean of the faculty. As the chief academic officer, she is excited about helping develop new academic programs for both undergraduate and graduate students at Mills, especially in the context of a new strategic plan being worked out by the College. Some of these programs are still in the planning stages, but Dr. Milford points to recent successes such as the new environmental sciences major and the 4+1 MBA program, which just granted its first degrees last year.

“Mills should be rightly proud” of its academic programs, including its outstanding undergraduate and graduate programs in creative writing and the arts, she says. “When I travel to India and Japan, people there know Ron Nagle’s work,” she says. “I want an active faculty who are recognized in their professions,” she continues, and adds that as dean of faculty she intends to help Mills professors become more visible by furthering their work through publishing, grants, and participation in conferences. “We are a community of scholars,” she says; “I come from those ranks myself.”

Dr. Milford will continue to teach, including a course on contemporary Asian art history that she recently developed. The course is the first of its kind to be taught in this country. She also continues to be actively involved in her academic pursuits. Only recently she returned from giving a paper in New York, and not long ago from a trip to India, where she interviewed women artists.

ALUMNAE ACTION

N E W S O F T H E A L U M N A E A S S O C I AT I O N

Comments on the New Strategic Plan Draft In October 2001, the Mills College Board of Trustees approved a motion to “Reaffirm Mills’ dedication to undergraduate education for women and graduate programs for men and women as a continued strategic direction for the College, and . . . to strengthen current graduate programs and to explore additional graduate programs designed for the advancement of women in positions of leadership in the community and in the professions.”

The strategic plan being worked out includes goals for academic development, finance, facilities, recruitment and enrollment, student life, community life, and technology and information. Mills alumnae have had the opportunity to comment on the plan (see the letter from Karen E. May, president of the AAMC, on page 2 for further details). Following are some selections from comments the AAMC received from alumnae about the plan. Letters have been edited for length. To read the complete letters as well as those we did not have room to print, please go to <www.mills.edu> and select “Alumnae.” You will be able to access alumnae comments from that page.

I don’t have a problem with more male graduate students on campus, but I’m not sure how I feel about male grad students in undergraduate classes. We wouldn’t want to get in a situation where the undergrad women felt they were in a secondary position in the class because of “male dominance.”

Katie Dudley Chase, ’61 I have a feeling that the camel has his nose in the tent and it is only a matter of time until men begin taking over undergraduate classes. Had I wanted to go to a co-ed college I would have stayed at the fine small school I was attending before I transferred, or gone to others to which I was admitted. I wanted a women’s school education such as that my mother received at Mt. Holyoke. . . .

I only wish that I had the means to fund a large endowment that would have made this entire discussion unnecessary.

Favour Hazeltine Slater, ’58 I want to thank you for the wonderful experience you offered me as a graduate student several years ago. The mission to provide a women’s undergraduate environment is extremely important.

While studying in your grad program, I saw how special it was for the young women of Mills to have the opportunity to attend a women’s college. I hope that

one day my daughters will have that chance. Please keep Mills College for women.

Jeremy Hirst, MD, Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Certificate, ’98 It is good for Mills to expand its graduate programs. Today, a master’s is more and more necessary—as a bachelor’s was years ago for professionals and leaders of our society. Having the programs offered at a college like Mills, an alternative to the larger public/state schools/universities, is needed for many women (and men). The larger public/ state schools/universities may not be the right environment for some individuals to be successful at obtaining their graduate degrees. I don’t find this change of focus for the College to be out of step at all with our society’s current needs or students’ goals.

Cheri Toomey Uno, ’84 Since I left Mills in the early ’80s, I have been guided by the words “Remember who you are and what you represent.”

How troubling to learn that my alma mater, who taught me that precious phrase and repeated it to me often, seems to have forgotten its meaning.

“Who we are” is a women’s college.

“What we represent” is a women’s undergraduate education. And our pri-

mary mission is—and should always be— educating undergraduate women.

By having more and older graduate men competing in the same classroom environment as undergraduate women, we are failing our undergraduates. The curricular consequences of men in the classroom cannot be ignored and have serious implications, especially in math and the sciences, where many women have found themselves at a disadvantage.

No matter how attractive the revenue that graduate programs bring to the College may seem, the long-term price is too great. Our financial hopes must neither compromise our curriculum nor undermine our foundation as a college for undergraduate women.

N. Z., ’81 As graduate education becomes more important to women, I am pleased (and amazed and delighted) that Mills can provide women with a supportive place for graduate education. Under the law, graduate education must not discriminate on the basis of gender. Still, we can be woman-centered. I feel it is wonderful for Mills and for women. I certainly missed that in my own graduate education, all three graduate degrees’ worth.

Alexandra Orgel Moses, ’64 I am an alumna of the graduate school. I was against admitting men to the undergraduate program, but I am for expanding the enrollment of the graduate programs. Mills’ mixture of all-women and coed is beautifully balanced. At Mills I was noticed and nurtured in a way I never had been at my previous coed schools. I left Mills feeling independent as an artist and ready for the world.

Male graduate students are at the right age to appreciate and support the atmosphere of Mills. They add a real-life balance that dovetails well with life after college.

Alexis Alrich, MA ’82

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

9

A Familiar Face on Campus: The Legacy of the Mills Van

by Cara Johnson, MFA ’03

As I rode BART to the Rockridge station Eva Zendejas, ‘03, left, and Lakeisha Rowley, AAMC staff member and Mills student, chatting outside the Mills van.

on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and then stood near the corner of College Avenue and Miles, where I catch the Mills van every day, I was eager for it to arrive. I knew LaWanda Payne-Moore would be driving, that she would have a hug as she always did for the students, and that she would have the radio on.

What I hungered for at that moment was a connection to others and a chance to make sense of what had just occurred.

Before I left home, I had seen the Twin Towers fall, but I had to catch BART before I could find out much more. On the van, all the students listened to the radio in shared disbelief while our surroundings remained oddly familiar in the face of unfamiliar circumstances. The van pulled away from its pick-up point adjacent to the Rockridge BART station, and after it merged with traffic on Highway 13, it chugged predictably up a familiar hill.

PEG SKORPINSKI

10

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

LaWanda wore a colorful flower in her hair as she did most days, and taped to the inside wall at the front of the van were dozens of photos of her daughter, nicknamed La La, smiling down at us. These familiar things mattered that day, when we did not yet know if other planes had been hijacked, when every public place seemed to be a potential terrorist target, when everything was uncertain.

Student commuters depend on the van to take them on the last leg of their journey to Mills from places as near as Berkeley and as far as Santa Cruz. Isadora Conant, ’03, is one such commuter. For four semesters, she rode from and to Berkeley until she moved into campus housing last fall.

She says, “I often felt close to the familiar students who waited for the van on the coldest mornings and then boarded it again when the sun was setting.” She also has fond memories of a time when LaWanda’s daughter La La rode the van

nearly as often as the regular commuters.

Although LaWanda moved on last year after driving the Mills van for seven years, she left a legacy behind. She was elected an honorary member of the Class of 1997 and awarded a Pearl M. The connection between drivers and students is an everpresent part of van life. Marva Kaywood was a Mills relief van driver for a little over two years until she replaced LaWanda as a full-time driver in the fall of 2002. Mary Albro has been driving for Mills for six years, and Dee Dee Bennett has been at Mills for 17 years. Her first job as a professional driver was with the Head Start Program. She says, “It was a big deal for me because I had been a stay-at-home mom.” Her daughter was in the Head Start Program at the time. “A lot of the Mills drivers are mothers,” says Dee Dee, “so they really watch out for the students.”

Even though not having a car and various logistical concerns factor into a rider’s decision to commute on the van, the friendships with the drivers and the atmosphere on the van are what keep commuters coming back.

Ramona Smith, ’01, MBA ’02, rode the van regularly all the years she was at Mills.

Her daughter attended the Geranium Cottage preschool on campus and rode the van with her for two years. Ramona says, “After my car broke down on a cold, rainy day, I took the 57 bus to Mills. It took three hours to get from Berkeley to Mills.

After that, I never took the bus again.”

Ramona admits with a laugh that even though she graduated with her MBA last year and has fewer reasons to come to campus, she still gets excited when she sees the van and vows to “come back and ride just so I can visit the drivers.”

Isadora Conant discovered that it was cheaper for her to live off campus and ride the van. At the same time, she says, “When I think of my first three years at Mills, I think of the van. The drivers are always so respectful of the students, respectful of the hard work we are doing.” That respect comes in many small yet important ways, in the caring way that driver Mary Albro calls

everybody “baby” or in the way, as Ramona says, “You always know the drivers are going to look out for you.”

Dee Dee Bennett has driven for Mills since 1985, almost the beginning of the official van service. She remembers a time when the van was run out of Campus Facilities rather than the Office of Public Safety, as it is today. When she was hired by then-Dean of Students Dorothy Keller, there were two professional drivers, William Baker and Monique Pickenpack.

Dee Dee credits William with designing the van route. It included the stop in Rockridge as well as the one on the Berkeley campus and the Mills pick-up and drop-off stop near Lisser Hall. “The tickets were 50 cents,” recalls Dee Dee of the van service in 1985. (They are now $2.50.) “You could pay on the van or buy a ticket. William made a little box and cut a hole in the top for the money and we used that until he decided it was not safe for us to drive with money on the van.”

One of Dee Dee’s fondest memories is of the 1990 Mills strike. When students shut down the campus to protest the administration’s decision to go coeducational, the van was one of the few vehicles going in and out of campus. “Students got on with their walkie-talkies to go get supplies,” says Dee Dee. “I couldn’t wait to go to work. A movement was happening and I heard all the gossip on the van.”

She is still inspired by the positive sense of community that was formed during the strike. “It didn’t matter what race you were, whether you were rich or poor, gay or straight, everyone came together with a common goal. Women made bonds that they probably wouldn’t have had otherwise.” It is with this same vested interest in the well-being of Mills students that Dee Dee and the other drivers approach their work. “I always remind myself,” she says, “I’m driving everyone’s daughters.”

The unofficial origins of the van service are shrouded in mystery. Dee Dee says, “The van service started because students did it. They started driving station wagons.”

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

11

Dee Dee Bennett has been driving the Mills van for 17 years.

PEG SKORPINSKI

12

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

Elizabeth Burwell, vice president of finance, says “it was originally an escort van so that students could get around campus at night.” Former van rider Sarah Drew, ’84, recalls the van as making “hourly trips to U.C. Berkeley from sometime in the morning until midnight during the week, and fewer hours on the weekend. It was driven by Mills students as part of the work-study program.”

Although accounts vary, what everyone agrees on is that the van was created for students by students. The official van service with professional drivers was created in the early 1980s.

With its distinctive blue lettering, the van is very visible along its route between Mills and Berkeley. Marva points out that “children and adults wave when they see the van.” Recently, a stranger came up to her when she was ordering coffee at a local coffee shop. She had parked the van outside and was greeted by a woman who “couldn’t say enough about how much she loved Mills.” The woman even walked Marva back to the van after she got her drink to go.

As is true with all forms of public transportation, van riders must face the inevitabilities of rising costs to fund the service, scheduling conflicts, and unexpected breakdowns. One November night last semester, just before Thanksgiving, I waited for the van at Mills with a few other students. When the van still had not arrived by 5:45 p.m. for its 5:30 pick-up, I called the front gate for an update. I was told that the van was on its way and to just keep waiting. I waited until 6:00. Again I called the front gate and was told to wait. By 6:15, I was really getting anxious.

Normally, staying on campus until the next pick-up at 6:50 p.m. would not have been a problem, but this night was special. I had to catch a flight to Denver that was scheduled to leave from San Francisco that evening. When I called the front gate again, I was told that the shuttle would not be coming and to take AC Transit.

Unfortunately, there was no way I could make it by bus to Rockridge in time. I made

a number of phone calls to my husband who by then had been waiting at Rockridge with our luggage for over an hour. We still needed to take BART into the city and catch a taxi to the airport. Everyone I knew on campus had already left for the day.

Finally, I remembered one friend who often worked on campus late. Trying not to sound too desperate, I called him and he kindly rushed me in his car to Rockridge. My husband and I made our flight, but with only a few minutes to spare.

Even with such mishaps, riders can be assured that Mills administrators are aware of the importance of the van. Steven King, who as director of public safety is in charge of the van, does not hesitate when he says, “The van is a lifeline.” That is why, he says, “There is a built-in redundancy in the system.” There is a relief van to put into service if the regular van breaks down, and Mills has contracts to get relief drivers if necessary. Still, he says, “Even with all of that, it takes something as small as a flat tire or radiator leak to put the van out of service.” Projected goals to improve the van service are mentioned on the current draft of the College’s strategic plan. Listed among them: “Develop a semester pass for the Mills van” and “Increase the routes offered by the Mills van to include stops in the local Oakland area.”

“Mills subsidizes the van up to 80 percent,” says Steven King. “The fee for tickets is adjusted to pay for the remaining 20 percent.” Tamar Wolins, a first-year student who commutes every day from El Sobrante

by BART and van, spent $300 on van tickets last semester. Despite the cost, she says the shuttle is convenient and she looks forward to the ride.

Tamar remembers her first day of school with a laugh. “I was right out of high school, nervous, scared, and not sure where the van picked up in Berkeley. My mom described the area where she had seen it, but wasn’t sure. So I paced up and down Bancroft and when I finally saw it I was relieved. Then the driver told me that the van drivers don’t accept cash. “This is my first day,” I said. “Where am I sup-

posed to get a ticket?” Luckily, he said he wouldn’t kick me off that day, since tickets are only available on campus, and he let me ride for free.” Tamar plans to ride for the rest of this year and next.

Another of Tamar’s main concerns is now being addressed. She had a class that ended at 2:15 p.m., the same time the van departs Mills, and she always had to run from class to catch it. “Now,” she says, “I understand they’ve changed that so the 2:15 van leaves five minutes later.” Ramona Smith echoes Tamar’s concerns. “It would be nice,” she says, “to align the van schedule with the class schedule. There was never a van that left Berkeley at 7:30 a.m., for example, so you couldn’t get to an 8:00 class at Mills.”

In the 1989 Crest yearbook, the van is pictured in good company with a cat named Miko, an unofficial Mills mascot, under the caption “Familiar Faces.” This same sentiment of familiarity continues to be expressed today. It comes across in small acts of kindness, like Isadora Conant making Valentine’s Day cookies for van driver Mary Albro. It is demonstrated by Steven King’s comment that riding the van is “like jumping in the car with mom.” And for me, it is not surprising that only a few days after the life-changing events of September 11, a copy of the speech by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, ’73, voicing her dissent for a use-of-force resolution, appeared on the inside wall of the Mills van.

The flyer said, “Barbara Lee speaks for me and millions more” and was taped up next to one declaring Mills a “Hate Free Zone.” I read and re-read Lee’s flyer and it seemed representative somehow of the strength of Mills students to respond when unforeseen events demand a call for action. It is clear that there has been and continues to be a positive and inspiring support for Mills students that extends far beyond the confines of a routine ride to campus.

Cara Johnson, MFA ’03, is currently at work on a novel about a vigilant father, who in trying to keep his son out of trouble comes face-to-face with his own hypocrisy.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

13

Your New Alumna Trustee: Leone La Duke Evans, MA ’45 When the call was issued for nominations for the position of Alumna Trustee, only three names were received at Reinhardt Alumnae House. According to a policy adopted by the Board of Governors, “up to three names” will be selected by the Nominating Committee from among those nominations submitted by alumnae. The three who were nominated were contacted according to procedures outlined in the Call for Nominations. One candidate did not choose to run, and a second candidate later withdrew from the field, leaving only one candidate to run for office.

According to our bylaws and Robert’s Rules of Order,

which govern our bylaws procedurally, when only one name is presented on a slate, that person is declared elected. The Board of Governors, through the executive director, the Nominating Committee, and the Ad Hoc Committee for the Alumna Trustee Selection Process, certifies that all Alumnae Association of Mills College procedural requirements were met, specifically and in a timely manner, and that this election meets all requirements of parliamentary procedure.

—Jane Cudlip King, ’42, Chair, Ad Hoc Committee for the Alumna Trustee Selection Process

S TAT E M E N T B Y A L U M N A T R U S T E E L E O N E L A D U K E E VA N S , M A ’ 4 5

14

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

The independence of the Alumnae Association gives us a rare opportunity to affirm our belief in the aims of the College. We are proud of our diverse, capable alumnae, who are equipped for the modern world.

My expectations for the College’s future are that it remain an undergraduate college for women and that the graduate schools attract even more women and men. While continuing to build on its outstanding MFA programs, I would like to see Mills grow by offering more graduate programs that emphasize training for professional women, while not excluding men.

These could be modeled after the 4+1 MBA and the EdD degrees that have already been instituted. The glass ceiling in business, government, and professional life can be overcome by women trained to compete and win.

I will communicate to the Trustees the loyalty and devotion of Mills alumnae, and I hope to be able to express the concerns and questions of those of you who have communicated these to the alumnae office.

BETH JOHNSON, ’84

The private college is not immune to these difficult times. The Alumnae Association is determined to help the College remain “financially responsible”; each alumna needs to be aware of her role—to keep informed and be responsive to the increased needs of the College. As we are committed to making every effort to keep Mills an undergraduate institution for women, we must be aware of our responsibilities and shoulder them. If we truly believe there should be a choice for young women, that there is a need to educate women for leadership in their communities, we must support these beliefs with activities, words, deeds, and gifts. We need to spread the word of Mills’ unique advantages: a history of outstanding liberal-arts education; of leadership roles in industry, government, and philanthropy; of training for a future which recognizes no limitations for women. Mills’ strengths will propel us to recruit qualified students, to articulate our enthusiasm, and to support financially this institution in which we believe.

C A L E N D A R FRIDAY, APRIL 25– SUNDAY, MAY 25 MFA Exhibition Mills College Art Museum (510) 430-2164 SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2:00–4:00 PM Reception for MFA Exhibition Mills College Art Museum (510) 430-2164

SATURDAY, MAY 17 9:45 AM 115th Commencement Meet at Reinhardt House at 8:30 a.m. to don robes and march with your fellow alumnae (510) 430-2110

THURSDAY, MAY 29– SATURDAY, MAY 31 Annual Conference of the National Council for Research on Women, in collaboration with the Women’s Leadership Institute (510) 430-2019

SATURDAY, MAY 17 2:00 PM AAMC Annual Meeting Reinhardt Alumnae House (510) 430-2110

SATURDAY, MAY 31 8:00 AM–2:00 PM Leona Creek Restoration and Cleanup Reinhardt Alumnae House (510) 430-2110

SATURDAY, JUNE 7– SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 Reflections in Black—A History Deconstructed: African American Photography from the Smithsonian Institution Mills College Art Museum (510) 430-2164 THURSDAY– SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19–21 Reunion 2003 (510) 430-2111

REFLECTIONS IN BLACK COMES TO MILLS The Mills College Art Museum will join with two other museums in Oakland for the first time to present Reflections in Black: African-American Photography from the Smithsonian Collection. Mills will collaborate with the AfricanAmerican Museum and Library at Oakland and the Oakland Museum of California, which are also hosting portions of the three-part exhibit.

The exhibition is the first ever to explore the history of black photography from 1842 to the present and shows the work of 120 photographers.

All three exhibitions open on June 7, 2003. The First 100 Years: 1842–1942 will be presented at the AfricanAmerican Museum and Library at Oakland, a newly remodeled former branch library at 659 14th St. in downtown Oakland. The Oakland Museum of California, at 1000 Oak St. in downtown Oakland, will show Art and Activism, which documents marches, meetings, and rallies with leading figures such as Malcolm X, H. Rap Brown, and Thurgood Marshall, seen through the eyes of leading photojournalists of the day.

The Mills College Art Museum will show A History Deconstructed, featuring artists from the last two decades. These artists have used their work to help break down rigid

concepts of race and gender. “The works are by some of the most dynamic young artists of our time,” says Stephan Jost, director of the Mills College Art Museum.

Reflections in Black comes to Mills largely through the efforts of Peggy Woodruff, ’58, who began talks with Carolee Smith Rogers, a history specialist at the Oakland Museum of California and director of the project, to bring the exhibition from the Smithsonian. On a serendipitous day, Peggy arranged a lunch in the faculty dining room with Carolee Smith Rogers, Mills Trustee Estrellita Hudson Redus, ’65, MFA ’75, and Mills faculty members Déborah Berman Santana, Melinda Micco, and Julia Sudbury.

Stephan Jost happened to come along at just the right moment, and Peggy introduced him to Carolee.

Stephan offered to give Carolee a tour of the Mills Museum, and before the tour was over “We felt it was a done deal,” says Peggy. “Estrellita and I just encouraged both people to pursue the necessary details to get Mills approved by the Smithsonian.”

The Mills Art Museum will be open during the summer for the first time in many decades, thanks to a generous gift by the Class of 1949, which supported the renovation of the gallery,

“Delia,” 1992, by Pat Ward Williams (b. 1948) Courtesy of the photographer and Peter and Eileen Norton, Santa Monica, CA

including a new shade system that allows better control of light and temperature in the gallery.

“We are hoping that the exhibition will be popular with the people of Oakland,” says Stephan Jost, and Peggy Woodruff agrees that the outreach to the Oakland community is an exciting feature of the exhibit.

The Mills College Art Museum is the only free art museum in the Bay Area and is open Tuesday through Sunday. Call (510) 430-2164 for more details.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

15

Ladyfest Bay Area

by Laura Compton, ’93

meetings to confront subtle and not-soWhen I entered Mills in 1989, I was a subtle sexism and stereotypes. The girl. In short order, I became a Mills grassroots riot grrrl movement influwoman. Since then, I’ve also been a enced pop culture throughout the ’90s. grrrl, and, more recently, a lady. The In 2000, Allison Wolfe of the band labels might seem simplistic, but they Bratmobile had the idea of a music and also reflect the way Mills and the thirdarts festival that drew on that riot grrrl wave feminism of the ’90s have shaped legacy, and, with other Olympia-area my life. women, created Ladyfest, an all-volunIt started my first year. The effort to teer effort. I made the trip up and spent keep Mills a women’s college created a four days seeing provocative art, hearing unique bond among members of the independent rock’s finest, and even spyClass of 1993. The strike emerged organiing Susan Faludi, who was researching cally following the announcement that Mills would go coed.

There were no specified leaders; everyone contributed in her own way.

I wrote stories for the special strike issues of the Weekly, which meant going to the nightly meetings, where consensus sometimes Above: Ladyfest organizers on Pride took hours to reach. I Weekend in June. Right: Organizers assembled for a press preview event at slept outside with fellow Mills women, barricaded the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center. buildings, and helped organize childcare for students with children third-wave feminism. It was inspiring to so they could participate. see so many talented, bold women in The subsequent years at Mills were one place again, creating art and music only slightly less dramatic, as the campus on their own terms. coped with natural disasters (fires, When I heard a Ladyfest Bay Area floods), growing pains as the College was in the works last year, I was thrilled. struggled to find new leadership, and Among the goals were building on the issues of diversity and multiculturalism.

Bay Area’s diversity (including transgenBut the strike left an important legacy. dered people) and advocating proEarly on, we learned to be activists who women organizing efforts. I found my fought for what we believed in and to niche on the Public Relations Committee be advocates for women’s education. It and spent the next four months helping was the message we left Mills with as devise creative strategies to get the well, as our student-selected word out. Despite an initial lack of funds, Commencement speaker, poet and proschoolwork, illness, and not one but two fessor Nikki Finney, implored us never to stolen laptops containing important be afraid to make a scene and to fight information, the work went on. for justice and the rights of all women.

Underemployed volunteers, as well as While we were learning to champion fully employed ones, spent countless our causes in Oakland, a group of colhours meeting, organizing fundraisers, lege-age young women in my homeand putting together a lineup that was town, Olympia, Washington, were startas diverse as it was compelling. The ing bands, publishing zines, and holding

16

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

organizing committee got into heated discussions over policies and inclusiveness. But behind it all was the kind of creativity, passion, and burgeoning talents that I had witnessed during the Mills strike.

It turned out to be the most ambitious festival to date, with a full-fledged film festival, exhibitions, workshops, and an eclectic array of performing artists (including Mills alumna Bevin Kelley, ’97, performing solo as Blevin Blectum). For one week in late July, San Francisco’s Mission District was overrun with people coming out to support cutting-edge women’s and trans art and activism.

Ladyfest Bay Area was talked up in nearly every local media outlet. Most importantly to me, it was represented accurately, with nary a trace of sexism or

homophobia. There were workshops on fat activism and being a Hip Mama (from Ariel Gore, ’94), provocative films, and a jamming opening-night party. Ultimately, the festival raised nearly $10,000 that benefited the community and nonprofits.

The decision to keep Mills a women’s college is now part of the College’s rich history, and the riot grrrl movement has become a cultural footnote to some. But working on Ladyfest Bay Area made me realize that feminist expression can take many forms throughout our lives. And it reminded me that however we identify ourselves, when we unite, we can accomplish incredible things.

Laura Compton is an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine. To learn more about upcoming Ladyfest festivals, visit <www.ladyfest.org>.

Single-Gender Education: Not Just an Alternative

by Nora Kizer Bell

S

ingle-gender education, not so long ago thought to be passé, is gaining currency as a “new” option for reforming severely challenged public schools. One bold experiment—the Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem—has converted many critics. And the concept of single-gender public schools is poised to get a big push from legislation backed by the unlikely political pairing of Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) of Texas and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) of New York.

Yet women’s colleges are on higher education’s endangered-species list. From a high of 298 women’s colleges in 1960 to just 68 today, the U.S. is losing institutions that have proven extremely effective at maximizing the intellectual capital and leadership capabilities of the half of our population not always well served by coeducational learning.

Single-gender college education is losing ground in spite of its track record, not because of it. Studies repeatedly have shown that the single-gender environment in higher education allows women to participate more fully in and out of class. It sends them into the world better able to compete and with more self-confidence and a greater sense of purpose than their coed counterparts, and often provides them with a broader array of women role models.

Then why do women’s colleges struggle for recognition and even survival? Unfortunately, most young women choosing a college don’t initially consider women’s colleges, because too few understand what they offer. The stereotypical images evoked over the years have been of lily-white rich girls’ finishing schools or havens for man-hating, bra-burning feminists.

Research suggests only three percent of high school girls have a serious interest in attending an all women’s college. I suspect that this is not so much evidence of an informed rejec-

tion of women’s colleges as it is proof of the woefully inadequate job advocates of single-gender higher education have done in communicating the special advantages of attending a women’s college.

A more telling number is the majority of women’s college graduates—more than 90 percent at Hollins University, for example—who say they would make the same choice again.

Critics attempt to refute the advantages of single-gender higher education—arguing, for instance, that young women who already are highly motivated and success-oriented select women’s colleges. But for women following graduation, the benefits of attending a women’s college are undeniable: They

Nora Kizer Bell

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

17

tend to be more successful in their careers, are happier in their jobs, and make more money. Women’s-college graduates constitute more than 20 percent of women in Congress, and 30 percent of a Business Week list of rising women in business, yet represent only two percent of all female college graduates.

On the other side of the equation, there is ample evidence to buttress the argument that coeducational classrooms can, indeed, have a chilling effect on young women.

Studies show that even the brightest women students are talked over in the classroom by their male counterparts.

Their ideas and contributions are often ignored, and the deleterious effects on self-esteem and untapped leadership potential are long-lasting.

This environment militates against a young woman leaving college brimming with self-confidence and armed with the tools she will need to maximize her potential.

During two decades in large coed settings at major research universities, I taught pre-med students—some of the best and the brightest. I saw young women come into class smart, ready, and eager to go—and over time I watched as they gradually deflated, shut down, turned off.

Watching this pattern year after year—and seeing the growing body of research that confirmed my observations—it becomes obvious to me that these women were being handi-

capped by the coed environment. My intuitions were, in large part, shaped by recollections of my own positive experiences as an undergraduate at a women’s college.

We don’t need more research to tell us about the value of single-gender education. While equal access has become proxy for equality, we must understand the societal cost of dismissing single-gender education as unnecessary and anachronistic. And we need more champions for all educational alternatives that produce young people better prepared to lead successful, fulfilled lives.

Is there truly an expanded role for women’s colleges in a society where The Bachelor reaps No. 1 ratings among collegeage women? Now more than ever, young women college graduates need the tools women’s colleges provide in order to thrive in a changing, demanding world.

And the world, more than ever, will need those women.

Nora Kizer Bell is the president of Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, a 160-year-old women’s college.

By Nora Kizer Bell. This article first appeared in The Christian Science Monitor (www.csmonitor.com) on December 30, 2002, and is reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.

Why Should I Care About Where Mills College Is Ranked?

A

lumnae frequently ask why it matters where Mills College is ranked in U.S. News and World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue. What difference does it make?

U.S. News and World Report ranks colleges and universities annually based on a number of criteria. Along with 217 other colleges and universities, Mills falls under the grouping of Liberal Arts Colleges–Bachelor’s Focus. The annual rankings are used by students, parents, guidance counselors, and others who are involved in trying to find the best school for their student to invest four years and $100,000+ to attend.

Therefore, these rankings affect both the number of students who apply to Mills College, as well as how Mills is perceived by the higher-education and professional communities and the world at large.

18

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

The rankings are a combination of objective and subjective criteria.

Seventy-five percent of a school’s rank is based on a formula that uses objective measures of academic quality. The remaining 25 percent is based on a peer-assessment survey that college officials (presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions from peer institutions) fill out.

The objective measure consists of criteria that fall into seven categories including peer assessment, retention (Mills’ score has improved in this category significantly over the past few years), faculty resources, student selectivity, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate. This final criterion, alumni giving rate, has been a threeyear focus of the Alumnae Association of Mills College with the implementation of the Participation Bonus

Campaign. Two years ago, our alumni giving was 36 percent. This year, in our final year of the Participation Bonus, our goal is 43 percent participation.

Participation is the number of alumni who have made a gift, of any size, to the AAMC or Mills College during the fiscal year (July 1, 2002, to June 30, 2003). If we are successful in reaching 43 percent participation, an extra $105,000 bonus will be added to the Alumnae Fund to supplement the gift to the College.

If Mills College is highly ranked by U.S. News and World Report, then each graduate who has a degree from Mills will benefit from the high regard in which Mills is held. So, an investment in Mills today benefits all Mills degree holders, present and future. Participate in the next 150 years—give a gift today!

15 Things You Can Do for Mills (and Yourself)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Give annually to the Alumnae Fund Call three classmates and remind them of the importance of giving to Mills Tell a high-school senior about Mills Come to your Reunion Renew a college friendship Talk to men about the value of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education

7

Share the Quarterly with a friend who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to Mills

8

Keep in touch with your favorite Mills professors

9 Send a class note to the Quarterly 10 Update us when you change your address, phone number, or email address

11

Let people know that Mills has a coeducational graduate school

12 Volunteer to become part of the Career Network

13 Mention Mills to at least one person every week

14 Put a Mills bumper sticker on your car 15 Wear a Mills sweatshirt

The Supports and Constraints of Caring in Nursing Barbara Dries, MA ’99, EdD ’02

C

aring for patients in today’s health-care environment presents a crisis of values for the profession of nursing. Some nurses believe finances rather than the needs of patients drive decisions about the care patients receive. After more than a decade of changes that have included both cost-cutting and bureaucratic controls in the health-care system to counter rising health-care costs, nurses at the bedside report increasing frustration in meeting patient care needs. Downsizing, to create efficiency and replace more expensive nurses with less expensive nurse’s aides, has forced many nurses either to leave the hospital setting or to leave nursing altogether.

Effective nursing care, from a professional perspective, incorporates both caring for and caring about the patient. The “caring for” aspects of nursing are the tasks that maintain

20

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

health and facilitate survival, which can conceivably be done in apathy and indifference. “Caring about” the patient involves concern, a valuing of the other, and a desire and commitment to care. By definition, caring places patient welfare at a higher priority than costs.

I was recently awarded a doctorate (EdD) from Mills in educational leadership. My study for the dissertation requirement provided me the opportunity to better understand the phenomenon of caring. Having been a nurse for several years, I accepted at face value that nursing and caring were one and the same. As I listened to my cohorts in the Educational Leadership Program express concerns about the difficulties teachers were experiencing in caring for their students, I began to wonder about the parallels. The topic became more poignant to me as student violence escalated and gained

recognition as a public health issue. Putting together some of the literature and research from the various disciplines further encouraged me to design a study looking at what supports and constrains caring within organizational environments. Much of my data came from interviews with experienced nurses.

Nursing literature shows that job satisfaction for nurses is linked to caring interactions, yet numerous factors are undermining this process. The caring aspects of nursing that involve connection, presence, and time are vulnerable cost factors in a health-care system pressured to deliver services at the lowest price in the competitive marketplace. Access to nursing care has been diminished through downsizing nursing staff to reduce costs, and by shortened hospital stays. Literature further reflects a workforce comprised, in many situations, of exhausted and disillusioned nurses, unable to meet the caring needs of greater numbers of older and sicker patients assembly-lined through hospitals in increasingly shorter periods of time. The situation is becoming more threatening as the nation faces a new nursing shortage created both by an aging population of nurses and by veteran nurses leaving the field because of adverse conditions.

In the following paragraphs I describe the evolution of my study with nurses who were working in adult inpatient nursing care. This section is followed by study results presenting the linkage of caring to effective nursing, and, in turn, to nurses’ job satisfaction. Two contrasting environments emerged from the study representing the nurses’ subjective perception of their organizations’ ability to understand and commit to supporting caring and the delivery of effective nursing care. I describe those environments through providing the nurse participants situations informing what supports and constrains caring in their nursing practice as they attempt to provide quality care.

Nursing, Caring, and Effective Nursing Care Effective nursing is caring. In other words, the processes of knowing, having a presence, doing for, advocating, and supporting are also the processes of providing effective nursing care. (See sidebar.)

Effective nursing care requires skill, knowledge, and being in relation with others in ways that foster mutuality, empowerment, and growth. Quality of care consists of quality of technical care and quality of interpersonal care. Some of the participants in my study described quality nursing care in the following ways: “Having the time to do the things a good nurse should do without feeling rushed”; “Knowing and doing what patients need”; and “Providing a place for them that is safe and one in which they can get well.”

Caring is described in the nursing literature as both “caring for” and “caring about.” Caring about is defined as having commitment to the good of another, while caring for refers to doing the right things to accomplish that good. Effective nursing care requires the will and capacity of each individual nurse to be the best she or he can be. Central to the delivery of effective nursing care are commitment to caring and competency of nursing skills, including communication skills and dedication to learning.

W H AT I S C A R I N G IN NURSING? Statements by nurses indicated that caring in nursing can be divided into five categories: Knowing, having a presence, doing for, advocating, and supporting.

1.) Knowing the patient is fundamental: “Knowing and doing what patients need”; “Problem solving along the lines of relationships, spiritual concerns, physical concerns, and family dynamics”; “Constantly talking to them and listening to what they are telling you”; and “Creating a relationship with the patient so they can trust you.”

2.) Having a presence with the patient: “Being able to give each patient some type of indication that they matter”; “Making the patient feel like you are present”; and “Sometimes sitting there to let patients vent because they are frustrated or scared.”

3.) Doing for the patient: “For me, care is like an action word. I consider it a response to patients’ needs”; and, “Doing what they need and making sure they don’t feel any worse than they do about being dependent.”

4.) Advocating: “. . . Knowing when to stand up”; and: [When there were too many patients to care for adequately] “[We] were putting out fires a lot and just sort of got through the day throwing pills at people and hoping there were not any major emergencies. Then we would use the union as an avenue . . . and let people know this is not a safe condition.”

5.) Supporting: The following are examples of supporting that emerged from the data: “You are providing a place for them that is safe and one in which they can get well”; “The patients feel trust in that you are going to take good care of them”; and “Delivering on that care in a friendly and reassuring way.”

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

21

WHAT CONSTRAINS CARING IN NURSING? The constraints upon caring in nursing as discovered in my study included: Nurses’ perception that management is not measuring her or his degree of caring as much as efficiency.

Having too many patients assigned to one nurse for the delivery of safe and effective nursing care.

Nurses not having direct control over their work environment, which impedes the implementation of immediate and longerterm system changes in the event of unsafe patient care conditions.

The absence or inconsistency of administrative support in the immediate patient care area with awareness to patient and staffing conditions. Further, unit-level administrative support must have the authority to satisfactorily remedy situations that are unmanageable for the nurses and unsafe for the patients. The lack of unit-level administrative support also denies nurses the opportunity of recognition and respect by the organization, which can lead to feelings of abandonment and job dissatisfaction.

The absence or inconsistency of a strong core staff comprised of the appropriate skill mix (RNs, LVNs, CNAs) to safely and effectively meet patient care needs.

The absence or inconsistency in supporting the development and retention of qualified nursing staff, including effective new graduate training programs.

The absence or inconsistency of a work environment fostering cooperation of effort in delivering effective nursing care and providing an opportunity for some sense of accomplishment.

Mandatory overtime, particularly for nurses working 12-hour shifts.

22

Too much paperwork.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

Relating Effective Nursing Care to Nurses’ Job Satisfaction If you understand what people wish to satisfy in their work endeavors, you can then predict their strongest goal-related needs. Money and benefits tend to satisfy needs at the physiological and security levels; interpersonal relations and supervision serve as examples of factors that tend to satisfy social needs; increased responsibility, challenging work, and growth and development are motivators that tend to satisfy needs at the esteem and self-actualization levels.

Job satisfaction is best understood as a discrepancy between how much a person wants or expects from the job and how much the person actually receives. It is important to understand that satisfaction is a consequence of past events while motivation is a consequence of people’s expectations of the future. Satisfaction in nursing, as described by the participants, comes from “Observing and intervening in something that might have otherwise gone unnoticed and leads to a positive outcome or prevents a negative outcome for a patient”; “Mostly, it is the response or feedback from patients, but, also my coworkers”; “Caring for people and paying meticulous attention to detail”; and “Seeing the care that I am giving satisfying the patients, and they are progressing and getting better.”

Least satisfying features of nursing included: “Feeling stressed”; “The number of patients”; “Being interrupted”; “Feeling guilty about not doing enough for the patients”; “Feeling frustrated in trying to appeal to the management as they keep doing all these cuts”; “The politics of health care”; “Being told we are losing money even though we are working as hard as we can”; “The paperwork;” “Being blamed for poor time management”; “Feeling abandoned by administration”; “Rude patients”; and “Being made to look like a bad nurse because you could not handle everything.”

Our Facility and We/They: The Contrast of Differences Two distinct categories emerged from the study representing the nurses’ subjective perception of their organizations’ ability to understand and commit to supporting caring and the delivery of effective nursing care. Some participants described how leadership and management attempted to reflect the philosophy, or mission statement, throughout their organizations. Participants in this type of environment described higher levels of job satisfaction from knowing they are understood and respected in their role as a nurse. In contrast, others described adversarial environments “ . . . where you are made to feel like management is not measuring your degree of caring as much as efficiency.” Nurses employed in health-care environments promoting and perpetuating effective nursing care enjoy a more sustained opportunity to experience job satisfaction through feelings of growth, making a difference, and other subjective pleasurable feelings. Ultimately, nurses’ needs and desires are gratified through experiencing growth-motivated activities directed at the delivery of effective nursing care.

Some participants described the facilities they worked in, reflecting the philosophy and organizational culture in their patient care environments. Some nurses described the visibility and accessibility of leadership at the patient care level and

throughout the organization. Successful organizations have one major attribute that sets them apart from unsuccessful organizations: dynamic and effective leadership. It then follows that if an organization is to succeed in the delivery of effective nursing care, every level of leadership and management throughout the organization must both understand and respect the role of the nurse.

Caring in nursing is further supported by the presence of effective nursing leadership spanning from the bedside to the highest levels of decision-making throughout the organization. The presence of effective nursing leadership and management in the direct patient care area, which includes the development and support of the nursing staff, is critical to the delivery of effective nursing care.

Based upon my study findings and analysis, we see that eliminating, or severely limiting, nursing leadership and management at the level of patient care delivery has been damaging to the practice of nursing. Cost-containment decisions, in the advent of managed care, were based upon immediate cost savings rather than the analysis and evaluation of alternatives according to both their costs and their effects with regard to producing outcome.

Nursing cutbacks during the 1990s eliminated many of the most prepared, experienced, and highest-paid nurses. These cutbacks were recommended by consultants and followed by many administrators. This situation has lead to further erosion of a strong core of experienced, competent nurses. The increasing nationwide-shortage of nurses has placed many health-care organizations in the vulnerable position of having to rely upon traveling and registry nurses. Temporary agency nurses are more costly in terms of labor dollars and are ultimately a deterrent to developing a strong core nursing staff.

Caring in nursing is supported by the continuity of a core nursing staff comprised of dependable, competent nurses experiencing overall job satisfaction. A competent core staff of nurses with loyalty and pride in their organizational workplace also supports the recruitment and retention of new nurses.

Without this support, it is unlikely new nurse graduates or nurses inexperienced in acute care nursing will either be attracted to or remain in this type of setting. This situation further erodes an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to develop and stabilize an effective core nursing staff. Caring in nursing is supported by health-care organizations that are committed to understanding and supporting the delivery of effective nursing care.

Our societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crisis in care extends beyond nursing. While studying for my EdD degree at Mills, I discovered that many teachers are also concerned that they do not have adequate time to care for their students. Poorer quality care often accompanies cost cuts, whether at schools, hospitals, or other institutions. If the voices of nurses and other professionals who wish to deliver quality care are heard, perhaps caring will be reinstated as a value of significance in our society.

WHAT SUPPORTS CARING IN NURSING? Supports for caring, as discovered in my study included: Nursesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perception that caring is valued in the organization.

Effective nursing care, when accompanied by commitment to learning, expands with time and experience, all of which supports caring.

The presence of effective nursing leadership spanning from the bedside to the highest levels of decision-making throughout the organization.

Continuity of a core nursing staff comprised of dependable, competent nurses experiencing overall job satisfaction.

Health-care organizations that are committed to understanding and supporting the delivery of effective nursing care.

Team effort, or cooperation of the nursing staff in sharing workload.

Barbara Dries has taught nursing for the past 12 years at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland. She has been a hospital staff nurse, hospital nursing supervisor, director of nursing in long-term nursing care, and a nurse consultant. She is married, the mother of two grown children and a child in middle school, and grandmother of two.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

23

PASSAGES Gifts in Honor of Hatzune Aguilar, ’03

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Elizabeth Ambuhl, ’70,

by Amy Klein, MA ’75 Isabelle Hagopian Arabian, ’45—Happy Birthday!

by Laura Lundegaard Anderson, ’45 Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela, ’05

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Virginia Vollmer Barr, ’46,

by Kathryn Beckerman and Shiela Barr Robertson, ’74 George Bevan by Laura Lundegaard Anderson, ’45 David Brin, MA ’75,

by J. Roussel Sargent Alexandria Brown, ’05

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Anne Gillespie Brown, ’68,

by Marion Ross, ’44, and J. Roussel Sargent Allen and Kay Miller Browne, ’53,

by Sally Stefanich Beth Culig, ’05

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Athena Davis ’06

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Kalikia Dugger ’06

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Elizabeth Ellett

by Mary Ellett Stern, ’63 Barbara Evans, ’63,

by Barbara Hunter, ’57, and Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Leone La Duke Evans, MA ’45,

by Edy Chan, ’71, MA ’72 Barbara Kauffman Ferer, ’56,

by David Ferer Phaedra Gauci, ’05

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Gloria Gobler, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Erica Gutierrez, ’03

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Claire Hafner, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Barbara Hunter, ’57,

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Maria Jimenez, ’04

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Jane Cudlip King, ’42,

by David Brin, MA ’75, and Barbara Hunter, ’57 Esther Rosenblatt Landa, ’33, MA ’37 by Phyllis Cole Bader, ’35 Carol Lennox by Lina Au, ’77, and David Stranz Emily Little, ’04

24

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Brooke (Jennifer) Matheson, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Catherine Mathis, ’06

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Catherine McCormack McGilvray, ’56, by Barbara Hunter, ’57 Madeleine Milhaud

by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47 Isabel Schemel Mulcahy, ’44,

by Barbara Hunter, ’57 Colyn Newton, ’04

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Eleanore Lundegaard Nissen, ’42 —Happy Birthday!

by Laura Lundegaard Anderson, ’45 Jade Snow Wong Ong, ’42,

by Phyllis Cole Bader, ’35 Maria Peinado, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Juanita del Regato Peters, ’65,

by Nathaniel Peters Donna Petersen

by Violet Smith Janice Pettis, ’05

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Cassie Pinnell, ’04

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Robin Powlesland, ’03

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Baljeet Purewal, ’04

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Sally Millett Rau, ’51

by Edith Mori Young, ’51 Ariani Richards, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Elise Feldman Rosenfeld, ’47,

by Emma-Jane Peck White, ’35 Marion Ross, ’44,

by Susan Gilmont, ’64 Jane Rule, ’52,

by Sally Millett Rau, ’51, and Edith Mori Young, ’51 Roussel Sargent

by Elaine Bowe Johnson, ’62, and Bette Krause Spagel, ’63 James Short

by Kimberly Kim Lim, ’55 Sarah Wong Soong, ’71,

by Ji Soong Sara Spriggs, ’06

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Kimberley Stanley, ’99

by Sara Stewart, ’99 Sue Bengston Steele, ’42

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Sharon Tatai, ’80, by Edy Chan, ’71, MA ’72, and Tomoye Tatai Sarah Vroom, ’03

by Cecily Peterson, ’88 Katharine Mulky Warne, ’45,

Lou Harrison COMPOSER, INSTRUMENT BUILDER, painter, calligrapher, and poet Lou Harrison died at the age of 85 on February 2. He was a “master of diversity in music,” according to the San Jose Mercury News. Harrison had long ties to Mills College, beginning in 1937 when he was hired as an accompanist for the dance department, a job he held for several years.

Henry Cowell, who taught music at Mills in the 1930s, encouraged Harrison’s interest in the music of other cultures. Harrison was also associated with other ultra-modernist composers of the early and mid 20th century, including Charles Ives, Carl Ruggles, and Edgard Varèse.

A student of Arnold Schoenberg, Harrison wrote in the 12-tone style, but music from Asia, particularly Korea and Indonesia, influenced his mature style, which was melodic, rhythmic, and sensual. Harrison wrote many pieces for a combination of Western instruments and gamelan, the Indonesian percussion orchestra. In 1972 Harrison and his partner, William Colvig, built the gamelan “Si Darius and Si Madeleine” in honor of composer Darius Milhaud and his wife Madeleine, both longtime faculty members at Mills. The gamelan has been heard at many Mills commencements and concerts.

In 1980 Harrison returned to Mills as the Darius Milhaud Composer-in-Residence, and the Class of 1983 elected him an honorary member. In 1988 Mills presented him with an honorary doctorate.

Michael Knapp, MA ’89, one of Harrison’s students, said, “He was the best lecturer I ever heard in my life. When he spoke, I knew I was in the presence of greatness.”

Harrison was back at Mills for a week in 1999 as the first Jean MacDuff Vaux Composer-in-Residence.

By then his work had achieved a high level of public recognition, thanks in part to Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, who performed works by Harrison on a number of occasions. “Mills is one of my favorite places in the world,” Harrison declared during that week.

“Lou was a member of the Mills family, cherished by all of us,” says Professor of Music David Bernstein. “He will be sorely missed, especially given the difficult times that we face today. Lou was a true humanist who cared deeply about the human condition and, with his music, teaching, writing, and art, has made this world a better place for us all.”

—David M. Brin, MA ’75

Passages

by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47 Richard Wilson, born on September 23, 1998, and Randall Wilson, born on November 15, 2002, my beautiful nephews, and sons of Lydia Carter, ’98,

by Doreen Bueno, ’97 Thomasina Woida, ’80,

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Edith Mori Young, ’51,

by Sally Millett Rau, ’51 Class of 1957

by Barbara Hunter, ’57 PAAMCC Board

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 PAAMCC House Tour Committee

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Reinhardt Alumnae House Staff

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Reunion Committee

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Sesquicentennial

by Marisu Mathew Dall, ’54

Gifts in Memory of

Barbara and Jack Rosston, Cindy Taves, ’48, Shirley Peavey Walkoe, ’48, Betsy Taves Whitman, ’46, and Nancy Butts Whittemore, ’48 Gerald FitzGerald

by Gretchen FitzGerald Chesley, ’68, Caroline Herrick, ’68, and Gayle Rothrock, ’68 Josephine Gibson Freeland, ’41,

by Phyllis Carman Marling, ’41 Isobel Douglas Gallagher, ’38,

by Leah Hardcastle Mac Neil, MA ’51 Barbara Garcia by Janis Goldbaum Hernandez, ’67

Hal Gerard by Jerome Oremland Ruth Gillard, ’36, by Isabelle Hagopian Arabian, ’45, Phyllis Cole Bader, ’35, Barbara Bundschu, ’38, Betsy Ross Danz, ’36, Janet Armes Koupal, ’57, and Kathie Mulky Warne, ’45 Edwin Grossman

by Glenna Grossman Byork, ’63 Joyce Johnson Grove, ’51,

by Marvin Grove Elizabeth Rulison Harrington, ’40,

by Jean Brown Prael, ’59, and Helen Smith George Hedley

by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47

Ruth Gillard, ’36 Ruth Gillard, ’36, died at home on December 12, 2002.

She had been scheduled to have surgery on a heart valve, but was told that the surgery would be impossible to perform. She returned home from the hospital and died just a few days later.

It is hard to know where to start when talking about Ruth. She always said that she “owed everything in her life to Mills,” which must have been a lot because she had a long and varied career. She earned her MA from Cornell and her PhD in sociology from Columbia. From 1940 to 1944 she served on the Mills faculty as the first professional sociologist to teach fulltime. (Ruth’s roots as a sociologist were enduring: when I first arrived at the AAMC in 1997, one of the first people to contact me was Ruth, and she wanted to talk about the fact that Mills needed to recreate a sense of community.) After Mills, Ruth became dean of students and associate professor of sociology at Bard College. In 1955 she became one of only two Mills women in intelligence work. (As far as we know. Her good friend Kappy Sherman, ’34, was the other.) Ruth joined the CIA and rose through the ranks. Her first task was to coordinate a study being done for the Agency at Harvard, on a program to take care of defectors from the Soviet Union. When China attacked Tibet she was asked to assess the nature of this takeover. Her analysis turned out to be correct, namely, cultural genocide. A short time later the United Nations Security Council came to the same conclusion. Her final assignment was on the director’s small inspection staff. As the first woman to be appointed to a position of this rank at the CIA, she traveled to three continents to inspect the operations and conditions of the agency’s stations.

In her retirement she held the position of president of the American Women’s Lawn Bowling Association and maintained her keen interest in world affairs, books, music, and art. She served Mills for many years as her class secretary and was also active in fundraising and branch activities. Ruth also established an annual prize in sociology at Mills. Her devotion to her alma mater was unwavering.

—Anne Gillespie Brown, ’68

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

TERRY LORANT

Betty Lou Mathew Adams, ’52,

by Marisu Mathew Dall, ’54 Suzanne Adams, ’48,

by Paul and Joan Thompson Armstrong, ’51, Carolyn and Lloyd Baysdorfer, William Brauer, Barbara Bundschu, ’38, Yvonne Steele Byron, ’50, Ann Jones Cahill, ’48, Edy Chan, ’71, MA ’72, Anne Sherwood Copenhagen, ’44, Hafeezah Dunham Dalji, ’72, Joan Lewis Danforth, ’53, Sally Lathrop Eustis, ’37, Lupe Pedler Griffiths, ’46, the Hayden family, Janet Holmgren, Barbara Hunter, ’57, Judy Ireland, ’56, Flora Kirschner Isaacson, ’54, Martha Killebrew, Jane Cudlip King, ’42, Mary Lanigar, ’38, Patricia Taylor Lee, ’57, Leah Hardcastle MacNeil, MA ’51, Yuri Chiamori Mok, ’60, Lansford Moore, Gabrielle Morris, Beth Larson O’Donohoe, ’46, Susan Brown Penrod, ’71, Mary Alice Garms Ramsden, ’48, Ellen Higginbotham Rogers, ’63, Mary Van Beuren Seavey, ’70, Deborah Gates Senft, ’48, Paula Merrix Spork, ’46, Roselyne Swig, Sharon Tatai, ’80, Cindy Taves, ’48, Muffy McKinstry Thorne, ’48, Toni Renee Vierra, ’98, the Watson

family, Betsy Taves Whitman, ’46, and Nancy Butts Whittemore, ’48 James Anderson

by Gertrude Goodman, ’45 Pamela Nickerson Angwin, ’49,

by Marjorie Meyer Buffum, ’49 Curry Woodin Babcock, ’39,

by Mary LeDonne, ’84, MA ’88 Virginia Boardman Baker, ’31,

by Jane Boardman Mowry, ’54 Marguerite Billard by Ricarda de la Fuente Nelson, ’59 Marjorie Bissinger

by Diz Disman Anson, ’42 Terry Foskett Camacho, ’61,

by Ann Gordon Bigler, ’61, Betsy Frederick, ’61, Fran Leonard, ’61, Marcia McElvain, ’61, and Gretchen Hardman Riedell, ’61 Josephine Carson

by J. Roussel Sargent and David Brin, MA ’75 Borgee Ng Chinn, ’41,

by Mary Fong, Elaine Ho, Barbara Imrie, Annette Swan Krueger, ’54, Lucy Lam, Jolene Louie, James McKenna, Janice Ortner, Carolyn Buchmann Parks, ’41, Emma Phinney, Norma Stanberry, Joan Watson, Daisy Wong, Henry Wong, George Yen, Yat Yip, and Rachel Young Barbara Scribner Cimino, ’44,

by Elaine Johnson Gutleben, ’44 William Compton

by Jennifer Moxley, ’93 Mary Corbus

by The Mary Corbus Estate Peg Deane, ’41,

by Mary Hart Clark, ’42, and Margaret Deane Marc Dobson

by Becky Marsh Shuttleworth, ’64 Joel Ferris

by Shirley Schweers Goers, ’45, and Kathie Mulky Warne, ’45 Lucile and Walter Filippini

by Marnelle Filippini Cripe, ’43 Carolee Rodgers Finney, ’48,

by James and Lucille Barnhart, Ann Jones Cahill, ’48, Macduff McClure Clifford, ’48, Florence Dethlefsen, Emily Forrest, Sally Mayock Hartley, ’48, Barbara Hill, Dorothy and James Loebl, Barbara Martinelli, Dr. James and Elizabeth McRae, Gabrielle Morris, Janet Morse, Mary Alice Garms Ramsden, ’48, Bonnie Grosser Rogers, ’48,

25

Passages

26

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

Ruth Erb Peterson, ’47,

by Audie Ditmer Gibney, ’46, and Evelyn Maglathlin Petersen, ’47 John Pillsbury

by Teresa Kangas-Olsen, ’84 Margaret Pratt

by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47 Meg Quigley, ’63,

by Elaine Bowe Johnson, ’62 Bev Rakov

by Carrie Gotkowitz, ’83 Clara Daniels Reinhardt, ’47, by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47 Jinny Carleton Reinhardt, ’39, MA ’42,

by Phyllis Cole Bader, ’35, Jean Carleton Bruce, ’40, Barbara Bundschu, ’38, Henry Evers, Robert Hampton, Telfair Kendal, Jane Cudlip King, ’42, Mary Lanigar, ’38, and Antonia Tu Paul and Jinny Carleton Reinhardt, ’39, MA ’42,

by Flora Reynolds Denise Williams Robinson, ’73,

by Beverly Broussard Virginia Hill Roemer, ’52,

by Mary Ross Daniels, ’55 Harriet Harper Rosenberger, ’52,

by Mary Brierly, Loretta Caulfield, Alice Goodwin Lenz, ’52, and Joni Matese Jean Dondero Schmidt, ’45,

by Rosy Rosenberry Ferris, ’45, Shirley Schweers Goers,’45, and Dorothy Jane McVeigh Raney, ’45 Jang Shee by P.J. Everts, ’40 Anne Sherrill

by Suellen Gilmont, ’64 Paul Sherrill

by Suellen Gilmont, ’64 Elizabeth George Sisney, ’55,

by Bret Sisney and Pamela Sisney, ’79 Roy and Julie Sjolund

by Victoria Sjolund Cortlund, ’63

Adrienne Sloss

by Jerome Oremland Koh Tatai by Tomoye Tatai Helen Bailey Thirion, ’28,

by Elaine Johnson Gutleben, ’44 Ruby Tuesday

by Katie Thomas, ’88 Ruth Turner

by Wilson Turner Weezie Hayes Vanderliet, ’53,

by Jane Van Rysselberghe Bernasconi, ’53, Martha Buchanan Billman, ME ’52, Jean Marples Hammond, ’53, and

Flora Kirschner Isaacson, ’54 Hugh Wass

by Warren Wass Jane Starbuck Wheatley, ’47,

by Kay Wilson Faranda, ’46 Dr. and Mrs. Lynn White, jr.

by P.J. Everts, ’40 Ian Zellick, MA ’52,

by Yvonne Steele Byron, ’50

Jane Cassedy, ’37 Jane Cassedy, ’37, a dedicated alumna of the College, died on January 14, 2003.

After graduation from Mills, she joined the women’s reserve of the U.S. Navy in 1939. However, she never went on active duty as expected because of a serious accident where she was thrown off a horse and hit by a car, resulting in a long hospitalization. “Jane was a very strong spirit. There were all sorts of things that crossed her path, but she surmounted them all,” said her friend Dr. Eleanor Hadley, ’38.

A psychology major at Mills, Jane Cassedy began working for the Juvenile Court in San Francisco as a psychologist, then become a probation officer and was named assistant chief juvenile probation officer in 1963. She fought for humane, innovative programs, and incurred the wrath of a “lock ’em up” Juvenile Court judge who helped block her promotion to chief juvenile probation officer. Although she was charged with “insubordination and inattention to duty,” she refused to quit her job. She countered with a claim of job discrimination because she was a woman and more particularly, because of her concern “with the care and services provided the children of San Francisco,” according to a 1967 article in the San Francisco Chronicle. She then took leave from her job and completed work on a doctorate in criminology from U.C. Berkeley. Eventually her long-advocated programs to help rather than punish came to fruition. “It’s a nice feeling to be vindicated—there is a different atmosphere at Youth Guidance Center now,” she told the San Francisco Examiner when she retired in 1976.

Jane Cassedy served the AAMC as class agent for the Class of 1937 for many years and on the Board of Governors from 1976 to 1979.

PAT GOUDVIS

Rebecca Whitemarsh Herbert, ’47,

by G. Arthur Herbert D.W. Hopkins

by Audie Ditmer Gibney, ’46 Marion Rowcliffe Howard, ’44,

by Alison Howard Valerie Huston

by Mary Ellett Stern, ’63 Lorraine Dewing Laird, ’37,

by Dorothy Haag, John Hyneman, and Armand and Edith Monlux Scott Larsen by Nancy Parker, ’52 Stanley Maurer

by Izzy Schemel Mulcahy, ’44 Eloise Randleman McCain, ’57,

by Leonard McCain Robert McCord

by Betsy Taves Whitman, ’46 Edward McManus

by Deborah McManus Avery, ’78 Darius Milhaud

by Yaada Cottington Weber, ’47 Martha Tway Mills, ’45,

by Laura Lundegaard Anderson, ’45, Emilie Reese Green, ’45, Eleanor Hadley, ’38, Jane Cudlip King, ’42, Eleanor Fisk McCabe, ’45, Footie Foote Meyer, ’45, Beth Larson O’Donohoe, ’46, Dorothy Jane McVeigh Raney, ’45, Marion Ross, ’44, June Holden Schneider, ’43, Christine Oertel Sjogren, ’45, Martha Wickland Stumpf, ’46, Alice Marshall Treseder, ’45, Kathie Mulky Warne, ’45, and Mildred Zitlau Young, ’46 Elizabeth Schohr Morton, ’50,

by Louis Morton Palmyre Nutt

by Jane Cudlip King, ’42 Robbyn Panitch, ’79,

by Betsey Shack Goodwin, ’76 Ann Paxton

by Kathy Paxton, ’69 Joann Estey Payne, ’53,

by Joy Wilson Drinker, ’53

European Holiday Shopping Cruise November 29–December 7, 2003 Join Anne Gillespie Brown, ’68, Executive Director of the AAMC, in discovering the European Advent spirit as it was centuries ago with an incredible cruise to the Christkindmarkt, or Christmas Market. Explore the famous craft centers of Germany and Austria, which have specialized in Christmas crafts since the 15th century. Each market is a treasure-trove of bargains where local artisans gather to display their handmade heirloomquality handicrafts. Breathe the aromas of gingerbread, cinnamon, fresh-baked apple strudel, grilled sausages, and other enticing seasonal treats. Celebrate the season with fellow alumnae and friends on this exceptional travel value combined with an intimate, small cruise experience. From $2,298 including air. For more information call the AAMC at (510) 430-2110.

AAMC Trips 2003: A Wide Range of Opportunity, Interests, and Learning in a Variety of Formats Sicily May 24–June 2, 2003 Join the Alumni College on this fascinating trip to learn how the Greek and Roman cultures shaped the island. $2,595 all inclusive (air, room, board and excursions) “A Tale of Two Cities”: London & Paris June 6–June 15 At last, a trip that has an emphasis on recent alumnae. The trip features the convenience of group travel in combination with free time to pursue your own interests in each city. $1,149 plus air. Check the “Travel” page on the Alumnae web site under <www.mills.edu> for more information on this trip.

Scotland July 16–July 24 We will be exploring the area of Braveheart and the gateway to the Highlands, with an emphasis on the historical background of Sterling and the capital area with the Alumni College. $2,695 all inclusive Canadian Rockies July 6–July 13 A family trip amidst spectacular scenery, the forces of glaciers, and the sculpturing of rivers. Also includes a train ride to Vancouver. $3,695 adults, $2,595 children

Veneto, Italy August 18–August 23 Join the Alumni College in a region renowned for its history, art, and architecture. Includes Venice, built on 117 islands, Padua, Verona, and much more! $2,595 all inclusive Houston/Dallas—Art and Architecture September 29–October 5 A compact trip of the best of both cities and Fort Worth.

Stephan Jost, Director of the Mills Art Museum, will accompany the group.

Cost to be announced China: Highlights of the Middle Kingdom October 16– November 1 An exceptional offering with Clarence Shangraw, Curator of the Avery Brundage Collection, as the study leader. The trip includes a Yangtze River Cruise. $5,090 plus air. Yellow Mountains extension: $1,520 For more information about AAMC trips, please call (510) 430-2110 or email <lkrane@mills.edu>.

Oft, in the stilly night, ere slumber’s chain has bound me, Fond Memory brings the light of other days around me.

Was Thomas Moore thinking of going to a reunion when he wrote that? Probably not, since the rest of it is sad . . . but for you we say, come to Reunion and be glad! This is your invitation, issued to all but in particular to those with class years ending in 3 and 8, to attend Reunion 2003 from September 18 to 21.

This is our annual week-end house party, without a cruise, skiing at Aspen, or even a Homecoming dance, but we offer a chance to enjoy a fun-filled weekend with your classmates and find again the light of other days.

Visit your old dorm. Go on a campus tour. Come early and sit in on a class or two. See the new campus buildings. March in the academic procession at Convocation, the official opening of the College year. Attend the President’s Colloquium Friday and the State of the College address on Saturday. We give you much to do to fill your time—a concert, the now famous Celebration of the Arts on Saturday afternoon, lunches, dinners, receptions, even free time to spend with old friends. Sometime in June the actual Reunion flyer will arrive so that you can sign up officially, but this “heads up” lets you mark the dates on your calendar. It also gives you the incentive to begin that diet you’re planned and figure

Mills Quarterly Alumnae Association of Mills College Reinhardt Alumnae House Mills College PO Box 9998 Oakland, CA 94613-0998 510 430-2110 aamc@mills.edu www.mills.edu

PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT OAKLAND, CA AND AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICE(S)

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.

your wardrobe needs. Remember to layer clothing and bring sunscreen. September in Oakland, you probably remember, is unpredictable except that somewhere in that month we’re sure to have real heat. (That’s why we’ve claimed the shady side of the Greek Theater for our seats for Convocation . . . but don’t tell.)

Your Reunion Committee is already at work planning this major event in the AAMC year, and we think you’re going to like what we’re doing. We first speak of changes in October following a Reunion, and then go to work in earnest in January to pull it all together. We know that some of you would like more things of an academic nature on Friday, but on Friday classes are canceled to devote the day to Convocation and the President’s Colloquium.

We’ll be waiting at the door of Reinhardt Alumnae House to greet you. Oh, yes—one more thing you’ll need to know. If you’re driving in, be forewarned: there are now two official additional stop signs on Richards Road! Mills moves with the times, so now we need traffic-calming methods. Well, after 150 years, almost all of them on this campus, with more students and more of them commuting, we probably should have expected it.

—Jane Cudlip King, ’42