Mills Quarterly spring 2008

Mr. Lokey’s smart investment

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windows of opportunit y

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Rediscovering the campus landscape

Mills Quarterly Spring/Summer 2008 Alumnae Magazine

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Mills Quarterly

contents

Spring/Summer 2008 10 Dollars and sense by Janis Johnson Lorry Lokey explains how women are good for the business world— and why he’s supporting the Graduate School of Business at Mills.

14 Power, integrity, beauty A sensitive design housing much-needed academic facilities and meeting space will make the new building for the Lokey Graduate School of Business a center of scholarship and community for the entire campus.

16 Glass ceiling or window of opportunity? by Valerie Sullivan Women in business have faced a variety of barriers to success over the past half century. Six accomplished alumnae describe how they’ve broken through to achieve their goals.

21 Discovering the future in the past by Linda Schmidt An in-depth examination of the built and planted landscape at Mills provides insights into the vision of early campus leaders—and a roadmap for the years to come.

40 It all adds up by Pamela Wilson Half a century ago, Mary Lanigar ’38 was among the first women to pioneer the frontiers of corporate success.

Departments 3

Leadership Perspectives

4

Mills Matters

24 Bookshelf 27 Class Notes 36 In Memoriam

“I haven’t been chosen for any position to be the token woman.

I’m here because I’m the best person for the job.”

—Kerrin Parker ’99, MBA ’02

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on the cover: In April, Mills celebrated the naming of the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business and broke ground on a new building to house the program’s growing number of students. With a curriculum emphasizing entrepreneurship and social responsibility, the Business School will enable women to achieve ever greater levels of business leadership in the 21st century.

spring/summer 2008

1

Letter to the Editor

Volume XCVI Number 4 (USPS 349-900) Spring/Summer 2008 President Janet L. Holmgren Executive Vice President for Institutional Advancement Ramon S. Torrecilha Vice President for Development Virginia V. Rivera Director of Development and Alumnae Communications Dawn Cunningham ’85 Interim Managing Editor Linda Schmidt Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson Contributing Writers Jessica Hilberman ’03 Janis Johnson Kelsey Lindquist ’10 Valerie Sullivan Pamela Wilson Research Assistance Amber Williams ’10 Editorial Assistance Kelsey Lindquist ’10 Special Thanks To Anita Aragon Bowers ’63 Jane Cudlip King ’42 The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.

Copyright © 2008, Mills College.

Address correspondence to the Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Letters to the editor may be edited for clarity or length.

Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312 Printed on recycled paper containing 30 percent post-consumer waste.

I ve ry m uc h e n joye d the focus on

and supported my need to “do science” in

women in science in the last issue and can

a less conventional way. I think I became

certainly relate to the issue of attracting

the world’s only part-time post-doc! I am

women to the sciences and keeping them

convinced that I would have left the field

in the field. Interestingly, I did not feel that

of molecular biology were it not for Sandy’s

being female affected my aspiration to be

willingness and commitment to “make it

a scientist until much later in my career. I

work” for me. I share my personal experi-

went to Mills from an all-girls high school

ence to affirm what Mills already knows:

in Malaysia, so a single-sex education

the importance of strong women role

seemed perfectly logical to me. I did my

models in the sciences, as well as the need

graduate studies at Princeton University,

for systemic changes in the practice of sci-

where I never once felt “disadvantaged” as

ence to make it more “woman-friendly.”

—Laifong Lee ’92 Chestnut Hill, MA

a woman. I think there were more women than men in my class, and there were prominent women scientists in my department (Shirley Tilghman, for example!).

It was only after I became a mother that I realized how limited my options were. I was struggling with the normal

AWA R D S

IGH UR FULBR FOLLOW O

TS

E L' S THE CHAP

C R E AT O R S

Mills Quarterly I N AUGU R A

E L ALUMNA

e

Winter/Spring

e Magazin 2008 Alumna

Celebrating Science

demands of motherhood, as well as managing my son’s life-threatening food allergies. Suddenly, staying in basic research no longer seemed feasible. However, I was blessed to find a wonderful boss and mentor in Dr. Sandra Dabora, who understood

At Mills, for Alumnae Alumnae Relations........................ 510.430.2123 Find out about Reunion, alumnae clubs, and events; update your contact information; and request our @mills enewsletter.

Email: alumnae-relations@mills.edu www.mills.edu/alumnae

Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC) Learn about AAMC membership, merchandise, travel programs, Board of Governors, committee meetings, or reach your elected representatives on the College’s Board of Trustees Email: aamc@mills.edu..................510.430.2110

Laura Gobbi, Director.................... 510.430.2123 Anne Arriaga, Program Coordinator.................... 510.430.3363

Anita Aragon Bowers ’63, President....................................... 510.430.3374 Email: AnitaAragonBowers@alumnae.mills.edu

Email for life ............https://alumnae.mills.edu

Bill White, Accountant................... 510.430.3373

Career Services............................. 510.430.2130 Connect with other alumnae in your field through Mills’ career network.

Alumna Trustees: Lyn Flanigan ’65 (as of July 1) Susan Brown Penrod ’71 Gayle Rothrock ’68

Giving to Mills www.mills.edu/giving Make gifts to the Mills College Annual Fund or the AAMC endowment.

Holly Stanco, Annual Fund Director Email: hstanco@mills.edu ...........510.430.2366 To contact any of these Mills College staff or offices by mail, please write to: Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613

To contact the Alumnae Association of Mills College, please write to: AAMC, P.O. Box 9998, Oakland, CA 94613-0998

Leadership Perspectives A Message from Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren More than two decades ago, Wall Street

women. Lorry Lokey has been a generous

Journal reporter Carol Hymowitz coined

benefactor as well as a wise and encour-

the term “the glass ceiling” to describe

aging voice in developing the strong, for-

the invisible but very real barriers imped-

ward-looking curriculum for the Business

ing women from equal opportunity in

School.

gaining senior leadership positions.

The

Lokey

Graduate

School

of

The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission,

Business addresses two major barriers

established by the Civil Rights Act of

that research has identified as hindering

1991, reported that the glass ceiling was

women’s pursuit of business degrees: the

continuing “to deny untold numbers of

time that earning an MBA typically takes

qualified people the opportunity to com-

away from work and personal plans and

pete for and hold executive level posi-

instructional methods that are ill-suited

tions in the private sector.”

to the needs and interests of women. To

In its 1995 report, the commission

help overcome the first barrier, our 4+1

found that up to 97 percent of Fortune

program allows students to incorporate

1,000 industrial and Fortune 500 compa-

internships and foundation courses into

nies’ senior managers in the United States

their undergraduate studies and com-

were men. Ten years later, although

plete their MBAs with just one additional

women accounted for 46 percent of

year of study. To address the second bar-

America’s workforce, we constituted less

rier, the Business School features instruc-

than 8 percent of the nation’s top man-

tional methods that enhance women’s

agers and only 2 percent of Fortune 500

quantitative skills, connect students with

CEOs. Overall, female managers’ earnings

women faculty and mentors, incorporate

averaged just 72 percent of their male

case studies of interest to women, and

ted to equal opportunity, active outreach

colleagues’ pay.

emphasize teamwork.

to and recruitment of leaders in all seg-

In recent years, some cracks have

In addition, a new Center for Socially

ments of the population, and workplace

appeared in the glass ceiling. Gen X

Responsible Business, funded by the

transformation to remove discriminatory

women were the first to enter the legal,

Elfenworks Foundation, will educate Mills

barriers.

medical, and business professions in

MBA students to change the shape of

double-digit percentages, which repre-

business through ethical leadership and

woman and man should have access to

sents the largest single advance toward

socially responsible practices. Provided

a graduate business program that culti-

social and gender equality in U.S. history.

with access to high-quality professional

vates leadership abilities and a sense of

However, while women earn 60 percent

education built upon our outstanding

social responsibility. Now more than ever,

of undergraduate baccalaureate degrees

undergraduate economics program and

we need the vision and expertise of every

and comprise nearly 50 percent of the

with skills to overcome obstacles to full

talented leader to create a more vibrant

enrollment in law and medical schools,

empowerment, these future leaders will

and successful economy and a more

only one-third of business school stu-

become deeply engaged in advancing the

peaceful world.

dents nationwide are women.

cause of equal opportunity for all.

Most

importantly,

every

qualified

Sincerely,

To redress this disparity and equip

There is still a long way to go to elimi-

women to overcome barriers to their

nate the glass ceiling and end long-

advancement, Mills College has broken

standing discrimination against more

ground on a new building for the Lorry

than one-half of the population. We need

A version of this letter appeared as an opin-

I. Lokey Graduate School of Business,

accountability and innovative action

ion editorial by President Holmgren in the

the first business school in the West for

plans from top corporate leaders commit-

Contra Costa Times on March 21, 2008.

Janet L. Holmgren

spring/summer 2008

3

Mills Matters

New faces in Reinhardt Alumnae House and Mills Hall Bruce Cook

Bruce Cook

If you visit Reinhardt Alumnae House this summer or return to campus for Reunion in September, you’ll meet the new members of the College’s alumnae relations staff. Laura Gobbi joined the College in May as director of alumnae relations and has already immersed herself in regional alumnae club activi-

Laura Gobbi

LaDene Diamond

Therese M. Leone

ties and Reunion planning.

Gobbi was executive director

tor for Stanford Hospital &

in 1994 and 2007. Look for a

counsel in January. Leone

of Oberlin College’s alumni

Clinics. Gobbi and Arriaga

more extensive profile in the

graduated from Northwestern

association for four years.

work closely with other staff

next issue of the Quarterly.

University and received her

She holds a BA from Oberlin

of the College’s Office of

and an MA from the Institute

Institutional Advancement

Diamond became vice

California, Berkeley, School

of Fine Arts of New York

who support alumnae rela-

president for finance and

of Law. She was university

University.

In February, LaDene

JD from the University of

tions and with the leadership

administration and treasurer.

counsel for the Regents of

“I am thrilled to be here

of the Alumnae Association

Diamond has extensive

the University of California

and am very much inspired

of Mills College, also housed

expertise in strategic financial

for nearly six years, provid-

by all that is happening on

at Reinhardt. For a listing of

and organizational planning

ing legal guidance on a broad

campus,” says Gobbi. “One

contacts at Mills for alumnae,

gained through 25 years in

range of issues affecting

of the College’s founders,

see page 2.

finance and administration

faculty, staff, and students.

at the University of New

Most recently, Leone was

from Oberlin and came west

Mills Hall will bring you to

Mexico. Most recently, she

chief campus counsel for

in 1852. It is clear that her

the offices of the most recent

was assistant vice chancel-

UC Merced while providing

leadership and vision as a

additions to the College’s

lor and controller at the

advice and guidance to UC’s

pioneer of women’s educa-

senior staff. Sandra C. Greer

University of California, San

other nine campuses on labor

tion is thriving through the

was appointed provost and

Francisco. Diamond received

and employment matters, dis-

academic and artistic excel-

dean of the faculty in May

her MBA from New Mexico

crimination and harassment

lence that defines the Mills

and will take her place on

Highland University. A

issues, affirmative action, and

community. I look forward

campus in July. She succeeds

graduate of the College of St.

Title IX compliance.

to exploring new ways of

Mary-Ann Milford, who has

Catherine, a private women’s

“I really hadn’t been look-

Mary Atkins, graduated

A walk across campus to

engaging our alumnae and to

served as provost since 2003

college in St. Paul, Minnesota,

ing for a new job—I was very

creating programs that both

and will return to teaching

Diamond feels that accept-

happy where I was. But the

inspire and enable them to

art history. Greer has been a

ing a position at Mills has

opportunity here was too

maintain a life-long commu-

professor of chemistry and of

brought her “full circle.”

good to pass up,” she says.

nity with each other and with

chemical and biomolecular

current students.”

engineering at the University

a place in my life where I can

of Maryland, College Park, as

choose a job that speaks to

Leone has been active

office in Reinhardt Alumnae

well as an administrator for

my values,” she says. “Mills

with the Alameda County

House, you’ll find Anne

that campus. A strong advo-

is a beautiful campus with

Community Food Bank and St.

Arriaga, alumnae relations

cate for women and people of

an important and vibrant

Paul’s Episcopal School. She is

program coordinator, who

color in the sciences and in

mission.”

a member of the National Bar

joined Mills’ staff in January.

higher education, she partici-

Arriaga previously served as

pated in Mills’ panel discus-

moved into Mills Hall as

Association of College and

a senior project coordina-

sions on women in science

vice president and general

University Attorneys.

Across from Gobbi’s

4

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

“I’m very pleased to be in

Therese M. Leone

“I’ve always felt that Mills was part of my community.”

Association and the National

Amina Mama brings global perspectives on feminism to Mills When Amina Mama, the first Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women’s Leadership, arrived on campus in January 2008, her first assignment was to teach the Real Policy, Real Politics class. For Mama, it was also an opportunity

Barbara Lee’s papers archived at the Olin Library On September 14, 2001, Congresswoman Barbara Lee ’73 voted against the use of retaliatory force after the September 11 attacks, casting the only “no” vote from the House or Senate against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists. Her reason: The powers the authorization gave the president were too broad.

The correspondence Lee received after that historic vote, both positive and negative, is now housed at Mills’ Olin Library and ready for researchers to explore. Along with other papers Lee is transferring to the College, they represent Mills’ first congressional archives.

Mills students are helping Special Collections Curator Janice Braun to organize and catalog the papers as they become available for use. She says, “I’m lucky because I have really great students working with me.

The material is here for people to use and conduct research.”

Building the archive will be an ongoing process. The College expects to continue to receive Lee’s legislative files and records, speeches, official correspondence, photographs, press clippings, and other materials. While not officially part of the archive, a set of DVDs from the first Real Policy, Real Politics class that Lee taught at Mills in 2007 is also available from the Olin Library.

—Jessica Hilberman ’03

to learn: though she has career-long experience in Dana Davis

global politics and policy, especially as they concern Africa and women, her

of gender studies as these have emerged in African contexts.” For these reasons,

background teaching U.S.

Feminist Africa is accessible

policy was non-existent.

to all online, although it is

Fortunately, she says, she

published in print as well for

had a teaching partner in

distribution on the African

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

continent where electronic

’73. “I was delighted with the

access is limited or expensive.

Access, education, and

opportunity to work with Congresswoman Lee and to

feminism—these themes,

be presented with a chance

which resonate through-

to foster classroom engage-

out the Mills community,

ment with the links between

are what brought Mama to

theory and reality in the

Amina Mama and Barbara Lee ’73

arena of policy and politics,”

Mills. Mama first learned of the College through the

She says, “Cuts in public

ress in state and civil society,

work of Metz Professor of

spending affect communities

higher education, and mani-

Ethnic Studies Julia Sudbury.

tise to the table. “The course

here in powerful ways that

festations of militarism as a

She later met Mills faculty

evolved as it went along,

are raced and gendered, and

gendering process.

members and students

driven by the enthusiasm and

these have been accompanied

intense engagement of the

by public expenditure cuts in

tor of the first pan-African

Global Fund for Women,

students—and by Barbara’s

Africa, in some of the world’s

feminist scholarly journal

which is headquartered in

generous sharing of experi-

poorest economies, where

focusing on gender stud-

San Francisco. Mama says,

ences in the real world of U.S.

again they affect women and

ies, launched in 2002. The

“I became interested in the

political and policy arenas,

the poor, often in extremely

journal was designed, Mama

distinctive profile of Mills as

to which I lent a perspective

severe ways—as the low life

says, “to put African women’s

a private liberal arts college

informed by the manner in

expectancies of women and

scholarship out in the wider

for women that is clearly a

which U.S. policy imperatives

children in some parts of

world and sustain and real-

space of great privilege and

are iterated around the world.”

Africa show.” A British-born

ize more fully the transna-

yet attracts and educates a

Mama has seen firsthand

Mama says.

Mama brought her exper-

She is also a founding edi-

through her work with the

Nigerian, Mama has lived in

tional grounding of feminist

high proportion of black and

what U.S. policies can mean

several African countries and

thought in diverse realities,

ethnic minority women and

abroad. As board chair of

taught around the world. Her

to challenge the growing

values social responsibility

the Global Fund for Women,

academic work focuses on

digital divide, and, to enable

and involvement in commu-

she heads an organization

feminist theory and method-

African women scholars,

nity.” Mama is now herself a

that makes grants to advance

ology, the politics of interna-

researchers, and activists to

highly valued member of this

women’s rights and access to

tional development, women’s

dialogue with one another

community.

education around the world.

movements and their prog-

and develop the canons

—Jessica Hilberman ’03 spring/summer 2008

5

Tell it like it is Holly Kernan

Competing against top news media, Mills’ 2007 Intermediate Public Radio Reporting class won national awards this spring for The Dropout Dilemma, the series they wrote,

Jackie Kennedy ’09, Melissa McDonough ’09, and Shira Zucker ’07.

“We set out to create this program with the idea that students could do profes-

reported, and produced on the astonish-

sional level work, and I think they’ve

ingly high dropout rates in Oakland public

proved that to be true,” Kernan says. “It

schools. The series was broadcast on radio

was really, really hard to accomplish, but

station KALW 91.7 FM throughout the week

they did solid, important work and pre-

of June 4, 2007.

sented it in a way that not only informed

The class, under the direction of visiting

the public but actually moved people to

lecturer and KALW News Director Holly

action.” The series inspired KALW listeners

Kernan, received the Sigma Delta Chi Award

to call and email the station about how

for best radio documentary in 2007 from the

they could help the profiled high school

Society of Professional Journalists in April.

students.

Prize winners in other categories this year

Sarah Pollock, journalism professor and

included the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC Nightly News, and CNN. In February, The Dropout Dilemma placed second in the radio

advisor of the journalism minor (Mills does not offer a major in journalism), says, “I’m really proud of all our students in the journalism program. They’re doing phenomenal

category of the National Awards for Education Reporting and

work in experimenting with telling their stories across media

received two Gracie awards—which recognize superior elec-

lines.

tronic media programming by, for, and about women—

“The foundation of our program is to embrace critical think-

for outstanding series and outstanding documentary from the

ing in a liberal arts context. It’s wonderful that the quality of

Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television.

our students’ education is reflected in their ability to win a

Kernan is “thrilled and incredibly proud” of these accomplishments by students Carmen Aiken ’09, Hallee Berg ’07, Thea Chroman ’07, Sandhya Dirks ’09, Sarah Gonzalez ’09,

national professional journalism prize,” Pollock adds.

Alumnae will have an opportunity to learn more about The Dropout Dilemma during Mills Reunion 2008, when the series will be the focus of a student panel discussion on Friday, Sept. 19.

—Kelsey Lindquist ’10

Summer at the Mills College Art Museum

Student journalism at Mills flourishes in print as well as on the

Four exhibitions on view June 18–August 3, 2008, explore the theme of small scale, grand narrative:

airwaves. The staff of the Campanil (formerly the Mills Weekly)

Charlotte Schulz: An Insufficiency in Our Screens Charcoal drawings of composite architectural spaces that blend dreams with memory and reality.

Association (CCMA) Awards in San Francisco this year. These

Divine Visions Worldly Lovers Indian miniature paintings from the collection of Barbara Janeff.

produced in 2007.

The Life and Times of Sarah McEneaney These 18 paintings represent the Philadelphia-based artist’s West Coast debut.

toon, Katie Condon ’10 for best photo illustration, and Alysson

Selections from the Mills College Art Museum and F. W. Olin Library Special Collections Works that are small in scale but large in impact.

’09 for best arts and entertainment column, and Michelle Ma ’07

Upcoming exhibits On view September 6–December 7, 2008:

The Offering Table: Activist Women Artists from Korea Ginger Wolfe-Suarez: As Long As You Live I Will Live For information, contact museum@mills.edu or 510.430.2164.

6

Read all about it

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

took home a total of 16 prizes at the California College Media included individual and collective works meriting nine first place, four second place, and three third place awards for work Top honors went to Amanda Cronkwright ’11 for best carRaymond ’11 for best sports action photo. Bonne Marie Bautista ’09 took first place for best headline portfolio, Katherine Kugay for best breaking news story.

Alysson Raymond ’11 was awarded for capturing this moment of jubilation on the soccer field.

Women of influence Gene Dailey

The San Francisco Business Times named President Janet L. Holmgren and Board of Trustees Chair Vivian Stephenson to its list of the Most Influential Women in Business in the Bay Area. This register of prominent women in corporate, government, and nonprofit positions focuses on those who have made a difference in their professions and in their communities and who provide visible role models for the women who will become the leaders of tomorrow. The list was published in the newspaper’s April 11, 2008, issue.

Holmgren says “believing passionately in our mission and work… and a strong vision of a strategic model for coupling business, education, and social change” are keys to her effectiveness and credits her success to the support of family and colleagues as well as a willingness to take risks.

In addition to leading Mills, Holmgren currently serves on the boards of Princeton University, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the National Council for Research on Women.

Vivian Stephenson, former chief operating officer of Williams-Sonoma, was selected for the annual list because of her high-ranking position and outstanding leadership. She is also vice chair of the board of the American Automobile Association, Northern California, a member of the San Francisco Opera’s board of directors, and has served on the boards of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation.

History of Negro spirituals preserved at Mills Friends of Negro Spirituals and the Oakland

“This collection has broad historical

Living History Program at Mills College have

significance,” says Nancy MacKay, head of

joined together to preserve a unique collection

technical services and special projects at the

of African American musical history and tradition.

F. W. Olin Library and an oral history specialist.

In Our Own Words—The Negro Spirituals Heritage

“We expect it to inspire further scholarship in

Keepers presents recordings of Oakland’s first

musicology from students at all levels, teachers,

oral history project on Negro spirituals.

and researchers in music, history, and ethnic

Eleven local masters who have been keeping the tradition of Negro spirituals alive in Oakland

studies.”

Participants include Bill Bell, jazz pianist

relay the genre’s 200-year history tracing back

and the conductor of the Oakland Bay Area

to American slavery, tell the stories of how they

Community Chorus; Lyvonne Chrisman, vice

learned the spirituals, and explain how they’re

president and co-founder of the Friends of Negro

teaching this tradition to the next generation.

Spirituals; Marcella Conley, retired college profes-

Each 50-minute interview is available on DVD

sor; Helen Dilworth, soprano and music professor

or as a transcript at Mills’ F. W. Olin Library; tran-

at San Francisco City College; Doug Edwards, jazz

scripts are also online at http://library.mills.edu.

programmer and producer at radio station KPFA;

“Whether by arranging the music, conducting

Sam Edwards, president and co-founder of Friends

choirs, singing, researching, teaching, or lecturing

of Negro Spirituals; Jacqueline Hairston, pianist

about the spirituals, each spirituals heritage keeper

and composer; Autris Paige, baritone and profes-

is a vital link in a long chain of contributors to the

sional narrator; Linda Tillery, cultural historian

survival of this historic tradition,”

and artistic director of the Linda Tillery Cultural

says Lyvonne Chrisman, vice president and co-

Heritage Choir; Cleophas Williams, retired ILWU

founder of the Friends of Negro Spirituals, who

president; and his wife Sadie Williams.

oversees the project.

spring/summer 2008

7

The “mommy track” to college Martha Braithwaite ’06, a 26-year-old Mills College MBA student, received a $5,000 grant from the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, an award given weekly to individuals working to empower women and improve society. Braithwaite will use the money to support Moms Mentoring Moms, the program she co-founded for teen mothers in pursuit of a college education. She is no stranger to the challenges facing single teen parents in school; Braithwaite earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy from Mills while raising her young son, now seven years old.

Braithwaite launched Moms Mentoring Moms in 2007 with Daphina Marshall-Fuller ’07, also a former teenage mom, as a result of their undergraduate studies with the Mills College Institute for Civic Leadership. The Institute awarded Braithwaite a small grant to research model programs that help teen mothers complete college.

Now in its sophomore year, Moms Mentoring Moms matches up young teen mothers with former teenage moms who have made it to college and who act as mentors, showing that higher education is still attainable. Mentors and mentees are paired up during the summer months, when they are able to meet once a week; from September through June, the pairs participate in monthly workshops addressing topics such as academic support, parenting skills, college advising, and goal-setting. There are currently six mentor/ mentee partnerships active in the program, and Braithwaite would like to see this number increase in coming years.

“In the short term, we want to solidify what we’ve started, improving the program based on what we’ve learned in the past year,” Braithwaite says. “In the long term, we want to see the program as the beginning of building a much more concrete support system for teen moms.”

Martha Braithwaite ’06 is a co-founder of Moms Mentoring Moms, which matches up young teen mothers with former teenage moms who have made it to college

—Kelsey Lindquist ’10

Interested in recruiting new students for Mills?

Spread the word about Mills College! Volunteer alumnae admission representatives (AARs) are needed in every state—and also abroad—to represent Mills at college fairs, interview prospective students, and visit high schools to talk about Mills.

As an AAR, you’ll provide the personal touch that is so helpful in encouraging enrollment. You’ll contact prospective students in your area and their parents via phone, mail, or email to share your knowledge and experience.

AARs average around 20 hours of work or less per year.

Before you begin your volunteer work as an AAR, you’ll attend a two-day training workshop at Mills in September.

You’ll be invited back for training every second year.

Want to learn more? Please contact Joan Jaffe at joanj@mills.edu or 510.430.2135.

8

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Leaping at a chance Mills women always meet new challenges with enthusiasm and skill, and the 12 athletes who comprised the College’s team in its inaugural track and field season more than proved their abilities in running, jumping, throwing, and hurdling.

Track and field, which encompasses more than 20 competitive events, is today the second most popular sport for high school women.

The founding of a team at Mills in January 2008 responded to the great interest in this sport on campus, provided a spring activity for athletes who compete in fall sports, and offered a home to women who hadn’t found a place on other teams.

Veteran athletes and team captains Rebecca Frank ’09, Katie Northcott ’09, and Lupe Cazares ’10 led the team. In the fall, Frank is a force in volleyball, but come spring, her passions lie with the shot put, discus, and javelin, and this year she often placed near the top in these events at meets. Northcott was an impressive sprinter in high school. The launch of the track

“Track and field brings everyone together—the fall sport

and field team gave her a home in Mills athletics, where she

athletes, the sprinters, and people who haven’t done any other

added the long jump and 100-meter hurdles to her repertoire.

sport,” says Cazares. “You see all different body types and

Cazares, who competes in events ranging from the 4x400-

athletic backgrounds, which makes for a really diverse athletic

meter relay to the 1,500-meter run, started her collegiate run-

experience.”

ning career as the fastest cross-country runner on the team and

Margaret Scampavia ’08 had no previous experience as a track athlete, but quickly became one of the top sprinters and

has increased her speed since.

hurdlers in the team’s eight-meet spring season. Adina Lepp ’08 braved the steeplechase, a grueling 3,000-meter race in which competitors encounter solid barriers and water jumps.

Most of the women on the team competed in multiple events in every competition.

“We came in with so much determination,” Lepp says of the team, “and you could see that determination on our faces in every race and every competition.”

The team’s determination was also evident off the field, as members held car washes and sold team T-shirts to support the nascent program and participated in community outreach events. For all of these women, Mills’ inaugural track and field season was about the challenge of trying something new—a new team, new events, and new chances to prove themselves as strong women.

—Laura Joyce Davis, MFA ’06, head track coach On the field: (clockwise from top left) Perla Cantu ’10 awaits the baton in the relay; Katie Northcott ’09 sprints to the finish; Rebecca Frank ’09 hurls the discus.

Ph o to s by ph i l i p c h a n n i n g

spring/summer 2008

9

Dollars

and Sense

Lorry Lokey knows the benefits of promoting women as business executives. Now, his support of the Graduate School of Business helps to prepare the next generation of leaders.

By Janis Johnson

Early on, as Business Wire quickly developed from a one-man shop to a growing enterprise, founder Lorry I. Lokey began seeing patterns—not only in profits, but in people. “As my business increased, I realized that women were really making it tick,” he says.

“When positions open up—such as managers, officers, and members of the board of directors—you want to bring on the best people, of course, and in our case, the best people were women.”

Lokey, whose generous philanthropy to Mills College has been recognized most prominently in the naming of the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, makes

women’s

leadership

sound

extremely simple. “I have this crazy idea that women are as good as men,” he says with an ironic chuckle. “When you have both women and men in your company, you get a complementary situation. I saw this very early in the game.”

With this clear-eyed formula in mind, Lokey believes that education is the best investment in the future, not only to advance women but also to support progress in all fields. Through his support for the Business School, Lokey, now retired as chairman of Business Wire, gave Mills the largest gift ever from a living donor. “I don’t think of this as a gift to the school,” he is Lorry Lokey and daughter Ann Lokey ’85 10

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

quick to point out. “It’s an investment in the future.” Lokey is a Trustee at Mills and several other universities, and his daughP h o t o s by da n a dav i s

ter, Ann Lokey, who works at Business Wire, graduated from Mills in 1985.

Since 1990, Lokey has given away more than $425 million, donating 98 percent to colleges, universities, and elementary and high schools. “When I’m done, it will be at least a billion,” he promises. Leading the list are Mills, which has received more than $30 million, as well as the University of Oregon, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and several other schools in Israel.

“One of my favorite phrases is, ‘If you

“I don’t think of this as a gift to the school.

It is an investment in the future.”

take from the earth, you must return to the earth and enrich the soil.’ Several

men did it, too, but only a few. As years

so on. I regard it as stupidity when men

years ago I asked, what made my achieve-

went on, I noticed that men were not so

do not recognize a resource. Women are

ments happen? The answer came quickly:

interested in the job because they saw it

a tremendous resource, even if they need

education and the fine teachers I had had.

as ‘women’s work.’ So I said to myself, the

to take a leave to raise their families and

I decided to concentrate on giving to edu-

heck with them.”

come back again.” Business Wire became

cation and make a difference that way.”

Lokey’s commitment to the women on

a well-known model for its benefits pro-

In his business approach and philan-

his staff showed in other important ways.

grams, proving the good sense of keep-

thropic choices, Lokey has been consis-

In the 1960s and ’70s, the concepts of

ing trained employees and improving the

tent in breaking barriers for women. A

equality and job security for women were

quality of their lives.

native of Portland, Oregon, Lokey gradu-

only beginning to emerge and frequently

“All you need to do is take a look around

ated from Stanford University in 1949

had to be forced through legal actions.

within the company to see women in key

with a degree in journalism. During his

Lokey recalls how women would often

management and executive positions,

undergraduate years, he was drafted into

get fired when they became pregnant.

beginning at the top with our CEO,” says

World War II and became features edi-

“There were a lot of companies—espe-

Ann Lokey, who is Business Wire’s vice

tor for the military newspaper Stars and

cially where women were visible to the

president of product development and

Stripes in Tokyo. Returning to Stanford to

public—in which the leadership consid-

integration. “One of our two COOs is also

finish his degree, Lokey became editor of

ered pregnancy embarrassing,” he says. “I

female, as was our CFO until she retired

the Stanford Daily. Later, he worked for

had far more regard for women. We took

last year.

United Press International in Portland,

care of them with maternity benefits and

“Even in interviews, we discuss with

in public relations for Shell Oil, and with

child care. If they wanted to breastfeed,

candidates the opportunities to grow

General Electric’s western news bureau in

we wanted that continuity for them since

within the company, and we really mean

San Francisco.

they were going to be away from home 8

it!” she adds. “It’s really a snowball effect

He started Business Wire in 1961. At the

to 10 hours a day.” Business Wire opened

that comes together in a good way. Basic

outset, the company’s day-to-day tasks

one of the first corporate in-house child

concepts, such as promoting from within,

were performed on typewriters and tele-

care centers in San Francisco.

lead to greater results. Employees stay

type machines. “When I got to the point

Such far-sightedness was not only sup-

longer and are more experienced, both

where I could start hiring people, women

portive to the women, it was good busi-

big factors in providing top service to our

were there to take the jobs. Bear in mind,

ness. “In those first years, I don’t recall

clients. It seems simple to implement, and

it was teletype work all day long. Our job

losing an employee,” Lokey says. “At least

it can be, but only if everyone, from top

was to type, including me. In those days,

three have reached the 30-year mark with

down, is willing to participate.”

in the ’60s, that role fit women. Some

us, and there are others with 25 years and

One of those long-time employees is spring/summer 2008

11

Cathy Baron Tamraz, who joined Business

did, whether it is with your clients, your

tions demonstrates his commitment to

Wire in 1979. “Cathy was going to resign

employees, or your business associates.

the advancement of women in the busi-

after a year because her family was mov-

He also taught me the value of teamwork

ness world. The Lorry I. Lokey Graduate

ing to New York,” Lorry Lokey says. “I had

and of taking care of your people. I feel

School of Business will stand as a symbol

a New York office going, and not long

really fortunate to have found my way to

of his and Mills’ commitment to women

after, I had her working there. In about six

Business Wire when I was starting out in

and the type of education they need in

years, she became manager of the office.”

my career.”

the 21st century to become successful

In 2003, Baron Tamraz became president

“She is doing just fine,” Lokey says of

of Business Wire and, in 2005, she was

Baron Tamraz with pride, “which proves

Lokey says that it is “extremely impor-

named CEO. “Then I pretty much stepped

I was right. In fact, Cathy broke another

tant for me to do this for Mills. Why? Very

aside and became more of a consultant to

barrier by succeeding me. This still

simple—we will build a school that will

the business,” he notes.

doesn’t happen much in business. You

better equip women to work and to com-

Baron Tamraz played a pivotal role in

see lots of women vice presidents, but

pete on par with men, maybe better than

the acquisition of Business Wire, valued at

not enough breaking through to the top.

men.”

approximately $500 million, by Berkshire

There are still glass ceilings, but we are

Hathaway in 2006. By then, Business

breaking through them.”

business leaders.”

To Lokey, Mills’ approach, which connects a liberal arts undergraduate educa-

Wire had become the preeminent wire

A few years ago, Lokey was on his way

tion with graduate education in certain

service of its kind, originating hundreds

to a lunch meeting with Mills President

professions, makes sense. “Liberal arts

of thousands of news releases to news

Janet L. Holmgren. On the way from

gives you a broad-based background,

media, financial analysts, and databanks

Atherton, Lokey said to his longtime

while an MBA polishes you up for a career

around the world. In purchasing Business

companion, Joanne Harrington, “I’d like

in business. A business school like ours

Wire, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren

to propose a business school for Mills.” He

will make women much more competi-

Buffett remarked, “A major criterion in

recalls, “We hadn’t been sitting at lunch

tive. Women are all over middle manage-

“You see lots of women vice presidents, but not enough breaking through to the top. There are still glass ceilings....

A business school like ours will make women much more competitive.”

for much more than five or six minutes

ment, but we want to push them through

corporate management. Business Wire’s

when Holmgren said she wanted to talk

to upper management.”

experienced management team was a key

to me about a business school!”

all our investment decisions is evaluating

to our decision.”

Lokey has been named one of the

“A dedicated parent and truly inspirhas

by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and he

himself with very talented people,” Baron

been a quiet and consistent supporter of

is clearly driven by the desire to serve

Tamraz says. “He knew early on that the

Mills College for nearly 15 years,” says

the needs of others. “When I’m interested

company would be stronger if the voices of

Holmgren. “He has always said, ‘Let me

in making a grant, I won’t tell a school

many were heard—and that is something I

help with the college’s highest priorities,

what I want. I usually ask, ‘What do you

have put into practice in my own manage-

but remember, always think bold, always

need?’ Fifty years from now, people will

ment style. He was simply looking for the

think about the next possibility in a really

look at the name on the school and won-

best people to get the job done. Smarts

thoughtful and visionary way.’ Little did

der, ‘Who’s he?’” Lokey says. “What’s most

and a work ethic were priorities for him.

he know I was going to take him up on

important, though, is that there will be

And you also had to fit into the Business

that bold offer.”

many more successful women business

“Lorry has a knack for surrounding

ing

philanthropist,

Lorry

Lokey

nation’s most generous philanthropists

Wire culture, which was familial and

Nancy Thornborrow, dean of the Lokey

close-knit.” Baron Tamraz acknowledges

Graduate School of Business, says, “Lorry’s

Lokey’s role as a mentor. “He taught me

entrepreneurial spirit and his example of

the value of always being honest and can-

promoting women into leadership posi-

12

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

leaders dedicated to ethical and socially responsible business practices.”

Breaking Barriers The Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business premiered with a bang—or, more accurately, a crash—as the glass ceiling was very literally shattered by MBA student Jackie Antig ’07 before a cheering crowd of nearly 500 alumnae and friends on April 10.

The spectacular event symbolized the ways a Mills education helps women overcome barriers to success and celebrated the renaming of the Mills College Graduate School of Business. The occasion also commemorated the start of construction on a new building to house the Business School.

“Today we unfurl the banner and break the ground for this amazing school of business, which will have a very proud name to reflect the contributions and the vision of Lorry I. Lokey,” said President Janet L. Holmgren.

Lokey has given more than $20 million to the College’s MBA Program—one of only two such programs in the country specifically geared toward women and the first in the West. The MBA Program has already grown from its first class of 12 students in 2001 to 75 in 2007, and enrollment is expected to exceed 100 students within three years. The improved facility will allow Mills to meet the growing demand for women-focused business education. The Business School is also strengthening its focus on social responsibility through the new Center for Socially Responsible Business, funded by the Elfenworks Foundation (look for more information about this center in an upcoming issue of the Quarterly).

Paul Kuroda

Building a business: Taking part in the building’s groundbreaking ceremony were Ann Lokey ’85, Trustee Glenn Voyles, Lorry Lokey, Dean of the Business School Nancy Thornborrow, Elfenworks Foundation CEO Lauren Speeth ’81, President Janet L. Holmgren, Trustee Barbara Wolfe ’65, and, from the firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, architects Peter Bohlin, Rosa Sheng, and Greg Mottola.

Dana Davis

Why do we need a graduate business school for women?

Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize winner and columnist for the Boston Globe, gave a keynote speech entitled “The Glass Ceiling: Fact or Fiction?” at the April 10 celebration of the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business.

Excerpts from her speech follow.

Women do have to break new ground in order to break a very old glass ceiling. My mother’s generation was kept out of professions, kept out of the top jobs. My generation opened those doors through some sacrifices and hard work, but today we are struggling with the limits, the lopsidedness of social change.

Why do we need a graduate business school for women?

Because after all of the talk of work–life balance, work and life ain’t balanced. Because the idea that we would kick open the doors, that women would gradually, automatically, mysteriously rise on their talents to the top has proved to be untrue. Because we need to kick-start the next generation of change.

A generation ago, the lessons on making it in a man’s world were essentially primers on how to behave like a man. Then along came the next wave of business books telling us that there is a women’s way of leading. The irony is that whatever advice women follow, they are still only two percent of the CEOs in Fortune 500 companies.

So we’re still in great need of a room of our own, a school of our own where we can simultaneously nurture and encourage women’s leadership while preparing them for the next assault on that glass ceiling.

Underlying all of this is the insistence that women be heard, that our voices and our life experience will count at last in all the places where our future is decided. This is really the challenge of our time, it’s the challenge that you will take on as well in this new school.

Paul Kuroda

spring/summer 2008

13

Power, integrity, beauty Introducing the new Business School building “‘Strength’ and ‘power’ are very important terms.

Women have a leadership role, so their learning space should give them confidence from the minute they walk in,” campus architect Karen Fiene says of the new building under construction at the intersection of Richards and Kapiolani roads. “We wanted it to feel prominent and also to express great beauty and integrity. We wanted it to speak to the future, while remaining cognizant of the historic context on this famous allée, Richards Road.”

Rich, natural materials marry the building to its surroundings. Rustic, green-tinged blocks of vals quartzite anchor the southwest wall and complement shimmery zinc panels on the front of the building. The rest of the exterior is stucco to blend with other campus structures.

1

Home to the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, the first business school in the West for women, the new building will reflect President Janet L. Holmgren’s vision of “a public space that represents the contributions and education of women” and provide much-needed room for the Business School to grow. The Business School currently holds classes in a former residence hall—Reinhardt—where only one of the rooms can seat more than 18 students.

In addition to expanded instructional, meeting, and office space for the Lokey Graduate School of Business, the new facility will feature a lofty Gathering Hall that will host a variety of Mills events. The plaza in front of the building will offer a natural spot for casual gatherings and socializing.

Peter Bohlin, lead architect and principal of the award-winning architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, says he designed the building “to give people many opportunities to interact, to make a place that people will love to be in.”

Bohlin also designed the building with great sensitivity to the natural environment. Its L-shaped footprint nestles against Orchard Meadow and Olney residence halls, preserving as much of Orchard Meadow Field as possible. Like Mills’ Betty Irene Moore Natural Sciences Building, dedicated last fall, the Business School’s building will meet the high standards required for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Completion is expected in fall 2009.

14

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Visible eco-friendly features include a pond that surrounds the Gathering Hall. Planted with a variety of iris that can tolerate a changing water level, the pond will collect rainwater to be purified and used to offset the use of domestic water for flushing toilets and irrigation.

A multipurpose Gathering Hall includes a wooden wall that slides back to reveal a rear-projection screen. With its high ceilings, wide doors that open to a shaded terrace, and a catering kitchen, this will be an ideal space for conferences and other events, holding as many as 200 people.

The eucalyptus path will be re-established with eucalyptus saligna, a beautiful species that maintains the qualities of the old trees: evergreen with light bark and a columnar growth habit, but with a more manageable size at maturity and less danger of falling limbs than the previous trees.

Claim your place in the Business School building

© Dick Sneary, Sneary Architectural Illustration

A “green roof” visible from the second floor provides a colorful year-round display of drought-tolerant sedums while reducing heating and cooling costs.

Mills College has launched the $40 million Mills Initiative to Advance Women in Business to fund construction of the new facility for the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, secure an endowment for the MBA Program, and develop new program offerings. Generous gifts from Lorry I. Lokey, the Elfenworks Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Euphrat, Nancy and Steve Thornborrow, Glenn and Ellen Voyles, and Thomas and Barbara Ahmajan Wolfe ’65 have already put the College well on the way to meeting the goal.

Your contributions to this initiative will help Mills break barriers to women’s advancement in business careers. If you make a gift of $10,000 or more now, you’ll have the opportunity to name a feature of the building—and thus secure a place of distinction for the name you choose to honor in a space designed to celebrate the advancement of women. Naming opportunities in the building are limited and range from $10,000 to $10 million; opportunities also exist to name and endow fellowships and professorships.

State-of-the-art teaching facilities include two tiered lecture halls seating as many as 50 students, four classrooms for up to 40 students, and several smaller seminar rooms. The second floor includes faculty offices, conference rooms, a career services center with a library and interview rooms, a student lounge, and a computer lab.

A deep and welcoming porch fronts onto an open plaza. Benches created from the wood of a Montezuma cypress that had been removed from the site as well as cast concrete benches that curve into the landscape make this an attractive gathering place for the whole campus community.

As a result of its good use of natural daylight and many energy-conserving measures, the building is expected to attain a gold LEED rating for energy efficiency.

To learn more about the initiative, naming opportunities, and ways to make a gift, contact Liz Harvey at eharvey@mills. edu or 510.430.2364.

spring/summer 2008

15

Glass ceiling window of opportunity?

Three generations of Mills women share strategies for surviving—and thriving—in the world of business

By Valerie Sullivan Cora Tellez ’72 (above) is no stranger to multi-tasking.

16

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

a terrible price and I wouldn’t pay it,” she says.

In fact she was juggling responsibilities long before

Tellez’s decision not to pursue that particu-

that word entered the working woman’s lexicon.

lar dream marked a turning point in her life and

As an ambitious Mills graduate with a degree in

career, but it by no means set a downward trend.

public administration, she set her sights on becom-

She accepted a position with Kaiser Permanente

ing the first female city manager of Oakland. She

Northern California then became regional manager

joined Oakland’s Office of Economic Development

for Kaiser Permanente of Hawaii, a promotion that

and rose quickly, working long hours alongside the

involved yet another choice and a different resolu-

mayor and other city officials. It was heady stuff for

tion. Her family did not want to move so, for five

a 22-year-old, but it took its toll on her family. Tellez

years, she commuted between her Oakland home

realized she had to make a choice: maintain her fre-

and the islands. “In a weird way, that gave me a

netic career pace or spend more time with her hus-

kind of balance,” she says. In Hawaii, she was able

band and young son. She chose the latter. “I knew

to work as many hours as she wanted, while on

that achieving my professional goal would come at

weekends at home, she could devote herself 100

“I tell women, don’t be afraid to be yourself. Be confident in your skin.

If you try to be something else, you’re not going to win anything.”

—Sue McClelland ’56

president and CEO of major health insurance com-

1950s

panies, including Prudential’s western health care

“We make a mistake if we stereotype women. I tell

operation, HealthNet, and Blue Shield of California.

women, don’t be afraid to be yourself. Be confident

Today, she is CEO of Sterling HSA, a health sav-

in your skin. If you try to be something else, you’re

ings account company she founded in 2003. Tellez

not going to win anything,” says Sue McClelland ’56

learned an important lesson from her early experi-

(below left), who was vice president for media for

ences: women can make different choices at differ-

Gallo Winery until her retirement in January 2007.

ent times in their lives. The point is to define one’s

McClelland came of age at a time when women

goals and be unafraid to pursue them. “Be really

who wanted careers were steered toward teach-

clear about what matters to you and what lines you

ing, nursing, and secretarial work. She began her

will not cross,” she says.

college studies taking education courses at Mills,

Tellez, who is also a Trustee of Mills College, is

but was drawn to follow her interest in business.

one of many women who have faced challenges

“I simply didn’t want to do what I didn’t want to

and moved on to create their own success in the

do,” she says. She graduated from Mills with a BA

business world. But whether challenges present

in economics and sociology and went on to earn

themselves as a glass ceiling, a labyrinth of twists

a degree at Harvard-Radcliff Program in Business

and detours, or difficulty in being heard at the

Administration.

executive table, many Mills alumnae feel that those

In the 1950s and ’60s, companies could “discrim-

obstacles are not insurmountable. The woman

inate like mad,” with women routinely—and none

who hopes to rise in business today, they agree,

too subtly—passed over for promotion and paid

is the woman who knows herself and is able to be

lower salaries. “This was absolutely acceptable and

resourceful and creative in determining her indi-

we accepted it. We were just grateful that we didn’t

vidual career path.

have to type and take shorthand.”

Peg Skorpinski

percent to her family. Tellez went on to serve as

The Modesto Bee

McClelland insists she is “no trailblazer” and prefers to think of herself as the “bull in a china shop” with a wicked sense of humor and a determination not to take no for an answer. She found success through her skill as a tough negotiator who won highly favorable television advertising spots for her company. In 1971, as advertising media manager for Scott Paper Company, the American Advertising Federation named her one of the nation’s top 10 women in the field. She subsequently became the first female vice president in Gallo’s history.

At her ranch in Modesto, where she raises prizewinning dachshunds and Morgan horses, she occasionally dons a T-shirt that reads, “Women who aspire to be equal to men lack ambition.” McClelland is no “man-basher,” however; she believes men have always had to make certain choices that working women face, such as how to divide their time between job and family. And while she sees more women managers today, she worries that the situation at the top has not changed enough: “At the higher reaches, a good old boy network is still running things.”

spring/summer 2008

17

1970s Monica Woo ’78 (below), who was the first woman

executives are supposed to be self-promoters,”

president of 1-800-Flowers.com Consumer Floral

she says. “I found it hard to brag about what I had

Brand, the $500 million plus flagship division

accomplished.” After witnessing a number of her

of the publicly-traded 1-800-Flowers.com com-

colleagues openly taking credit for work that she

pany, shares some of McClelland’s insights on

had done, she learned to be more assertive and, “in

women’s standing in the business world. “I’ve

some ways, toot my own horn a little.”

observed

major

She has also found satisfaction in learning to

changes—certainly not at the senior corporate

gradual

evolution,

but

not

humanize her business environment. She recalled

level that I’m in. It’s okay if a woman is a sub-

an instance when her CEO at a blue chip multina-

ordinate but less acceptable when a woman emerges

tional, and former mentor, was let go. Woo made

as an equal at the highest level of a company.”

a point to accompany him in the “down eleva-

Woo has overcome a variety of internal and

tor,” though no one else wanted to. “We need to

external barriers in the evolution of her global

respect people beyond their titles and success at

career in four continents. She has held senior

the moment. We need to celebrate people, not for

executive positions in many countries and several

what they’ve done or what they’ve won, but who

industry sectors with patriarchal cultures. In each

they are.”

situation, she has had to overcome stereotypes and

Woo believes women sometimes try too hard to

barriers by striving to be the best person for the

“emulate the people in power”—and, often, those

job and not to be fearful of being different. From

people are men. Women need to develop their own

time to time, she also has had to address conflicts

“playbooks, their own voices,” she believes, with

between her Chinese culture and values, and the

guiding principles that emphasize their own indi-

winner-takes-all corporate mentality. Humility, for

vidual styles and strengths. “I would not want to be

example, is a personal value and an important part

someone other than myself,” she says. “Business is

of her Chinese upbringing. “Successful business

not life. One needs to embrace authentic values and to have the courage to take the road less travelled.”

“Business is not life. One needs to embrace authentic values and to have the courage to take the road less travelled.”

—Monica Woo ’78

For Tina Walls ’77 (above right), senior vice president for external affairs for Altria Client Services, parent company of Philip Morris USA, the path to the top is about how you manage through challenging situations and move forward.

Walls is no stranger to breaking down barriers. Her sister was the youngest of nine students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. As significant as that experience was, Walls’ parents had high expectations for all three girls in the family. “Our parents expected each of us to make our own path and excel,” Walls says. She majored in administration and legal processes and found Mills a perfect place to broaden her perspective and continue to build confidence in herself.

When asked about the glass ceiling, Walls says, “Career paths are very individual. You are in charge of your career. The successful woman sets goals that are satisfying to her. You need to feel comfortable in your own skills and in your capability to seize opportunities. If the experience you’re having is not that great, seek other options.”

Walls created her own options where none existed. “Twenty years ago, I would have loved to

18

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

“It is important to build a network that doesn’t only look like you and think like you. You also need to establish relationships with individuals who are not like you, who can help you understand different perspectives and help you navigate through your professional and personal life.”

—Tina Walls ’77 have had a cohort group, but it wasn’t there,” she says. She developed her own network of support by cultivating friendships with other female executives and her counterparts in other companies, and later participating in a professional group for African American corporate executives. But she also stresses the importance of creating a diverse network. “It is important to build a network that doesn’t only look like you and think like you. You also need to establish relationships with individuals who are not like you, who can help you understand different perspectives and help you navigate through your professional and personal life.”

Walls plans to take early retirement at the end of the year and pursue her passion: working on public policy issues, including how to expand human rights and improve our urban schools. She may even run for public office and is looking forward with a confidence born from experience. “Go into

ticular area of interest: investor relations. “I tried

the unknown and explore,” she urges. “use your

to create the role on my own and do more things

intellectual capabilities to improve your life and

that fit that role. It’s kind of scary when there’s no

the lives of others.”

clear-cut career path,” says the business econom-

1990s

ics major and 2005 Mills MBA graduate. But she

A generation after Tellez, Woo, and Walls graduated

most rewarding career. “You have to go after what

from Mills, women make up more than half of the

you love.”

knew that following her interests would lead to the

nation’s workforce yet hold less than 17 percent

As the first employee in her office to take mater-

of corporate officer positions. Nevertheless, Mills

nity leave, Leaños found the company supportive

alumnae continue to succeed in creating opportu-

of her pregnancy, and she believes childcare is

nities to achieve their goals. Stacey Leaños ’97, MBA

becoming a responsibility both men and women

’05 (below), says “serendipity at its finest” helped

share. The Internet also provides flexibility for

her get her job at Bay City Capital LLC, a life sci-

working couples with children. “We have so many

ences venture capital firm with over $1.5 billion in

more options of how we can work today,” she says,

capital commitments, but hard work and creativity

adding that she and her husband sometimes go

put her where she is today, as marketing and invest-

back to work online after their daughter is in bed

ment relations manager. Six years ago, a conversa-

and both take advantage of the option to work

tion during an elevator ride with Bay City Capital’s

from home if she is sick.

founder led to an interview and a job. Eventually,

Leaños says she found her voice at Mills. “I just

Leaños created a new position for herself in her par-

sort of took it for granted that I should speak my

“I just sort of took it for granted that people would listen to me. Speak your opinion, but only when it adds value, not necessarily just to be heard.”

—Stacey Leaños ’97, MBA ’05

spring/summer 2008

19

“If you’re absolutely clear about the goal and you have a plan for getting there, then you can achieve it.”

Peg Skorpinski

—Kerrin Parker ’99, MBA ’02 mind and people would listen to me. Speak your

growth business VOIP company with a goal of

opinion,” she advises, “but only when it adds value,

reaching $100 million in revenue by 2010. She’s

not necessarily just to be heard.” Leaños acknowl-

the only woman on the executive team and works

edges that she occasionally has difficulty asking

in an industry that is “pretty much 100 percent

for what she wants and feels that many women are

male-dominated.” Like Leaños, she’s carefully con-

afraid to ask for more. “The times I have asked, I’ve

scious of what she says and how she says it. “I pay

usually gotten what I’ve asked for.” A class during

attention to my tone. I’m always aware of what I’m

the MBA program made Leaños realize that she,

saying, how I’m saying it, and how I’m going to be

being a product of her generation, was guilty of

perceived.”

“upspeak,” a tendency women have to end their

Parker still encounters some resistance to female

sentences with a rising inflection. “It dumbs you

executives and feels she continually has to prove

down,” she says. “In the business world, you need to

herself, a position she finds frustrating. Confidence

sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

in her abilities, however, helps her overcome those

Leaños says she’s a couple rungs up on the career

frustrations. “I know I haven’t been chosen for any

ladder, but nowhere near the top. “It’s a really tall

position to be the token woman. I’m here because

ladder,” she laughs. She is optimistic about her

I’m the best person for the job.” Parker is not shy

opportunities and is currently working with an

about her own ambitions. “I would like to be the

executive coach on professional development. “If

president and CEO of a $100 million company,” she

I want to become a partner, it’s completely obtain-

says. “The fact that I can say so makes it that much

able. There’s no one holding me back.”

closer to reality.” She believes women need to be

As a key player in several Internet start-ups,

more assertive about what they want in a career.

Kerrin Parker ’99, MBA ’02 (left), has experienced

“If you’re absolutely clear about the goal and you

both the benefits and obstacles of building a

have a plan for getting there, then you can achieve

career in technology. On the plus side, she finds

it. Women don’t dream big enough.”

the start-up environment exciting because it

Cora Tellez agrees that women need to reach

affords more opportunities for change and encour-

higher, using self-awareness, self-confidence, and

ages her to follow her passion for operational busi-

creativity to overcome obstacles—or even turn those

ness improvement. “I was young and had a lot of

obstacles into new opportunities. “Some women

ideas and was given the freedom to ‘go for it,’” she

define themselves as not promotable,” Tellez says.

recalls of her first position. The potential downside,

“They set up glass ceilings in their heads. If you

however, is the danger of being overlooked. In the

lock yourself into a particular mental model, that’s

intense pressure of building a high-growth com-

as far as you’re going to go.”

pany, it’s easy to forget who generated the ideas.

Like the others, Tellez has achieved her success

Many women have difficulty asserting themselves,

through a series of twists and turns and made deci-

Parker explains. But in any environment, “you need

sions according to her own values and principles.

to feel like your contributions are being recognized

Her early choice to spend more time with her fam-

as your contributions.”

ily has paid off well. Her two sons, now grown and

Parker majored in economics and, in 2001,

with successful careers of their own, are encourag-

returned to Mills as a member of the inaugural

ing of her newest venture as CEO of her own com-

MBA class. Today, she is vice president for opera-

pany. “I love being an entrepreneur,” she exclaims.

tions and service delivery at M5 Networks, a fast-

“My kids say, ‘That’s really cool, Mom.’”

“Some women define themselves as not promotable. They set up glass ceilings in their heads. If you lock yourself into a particular mental model, that’s as far as you’re going to go.”

—Cora Tellez ’72 20

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Discovering the

future in the past

By Linda Schmidt

Icon of the institution: This Eadweard Muybridge photo from the 1870s shows the original landscape surrounding Mills Hall.

The only constant is change, posits one old adage. This has certainly held true of Mills’ Oakland campus, even from its earliest days. When Cyrus and Susan Mills moved their women’s college here from its original location in Benicia in 1871, they were surrounded by a wide-open swath of pasture land transected by two small creeks. Over the following decades, they added a handful of buildings and planted well over 50,000 trees and shrubs to transform the parcel into a forested haven for the young women of the time.

Since then, a variety of dynamic characters, changes in archi-

and Vonn Marie May, who has made a career of studying cultural

tectural fashion, evolving educational needs, and the irresistible

landscapes. “The research and documentation compiled through

march of time have all shaped the physical form and function of

this endeavor is an important historical document in its own

the campus. All this history and more was unearthed over the

right,” says Renee Jadushlever, vice president of operations and a

past two years as the College undertook a project to assess its cul-

member of the project team. “The findings illustrate the College’s

tural landscape heritage—that is, the combination of geography,

historic and continuing commitment to our cultural, architec-

landscape, architecture, and human activities that have come to

tural, and landscape planning and decision making.”

characterize the Mills campus since those earliest days.

Louise Gilbert, director of development, foundations and corpo-

The project, funded by the Getty Foundation, enlisted the

rations, who was instrumental in securing the Getty Foundation

knowledge of several Mills staff members, students, and consul-

grant, agrees. “Each institution has its own personality, its own

tants, including planner and landscape architect Robert Sabbatini

culture. This project gave us a way of appreciating the landscape spring/summer 2008

21

nificant alterations were inevitable. Less than 10 years later, well-known Bay Area architect Walter Ratcliff Jr. submitted yet a third plan that brought a more ordered and classic design to the grounds. Ratcliff and Reinhardt formed a dynamic duo, and together they pushed the College into a new era: Ratcliff served as campus architect from 1923 until 1947, erecting more than a dozen buildings on campus, including the Art Gallery, Faculty Village, Extreme makeover: In 1910, Lisser Hall’s south-facing façade was graced with classic Greek columns; in 1927, the building’s new arched front porch opened to the north.

Photo credits: 1910—Lothers & Young; 1927—Don Jones

and the splendid Music Building. Part of Ratcliff’s success in building on the campus must be attributed to his respect for the long and continuing history of the

in terms of its history, of who walked

buildings soon graced the campus—most

institution. In 1924, he described the

here, of who envisioned this place,” she

notably, El Campanil and several others

challenges of working on an existing

says. “The people came alive for me, each

designed by Julia Morgan. Morgan was

campus: “A scheme must be established

one of them.”

the first woman civil engineer to gradu-

that takes into account: first the present

The founders indeed had a very spe-

ate from UC Berkeley and the first to be

buildings and grounds, second the nec-

cific and sophisticated vision. Cyrus and

granted a Certificate of Arts from the École

essary development in the immediate

Susan Mills had been missionaries in

des Beaux Arts in Paris—a fitting match

future, and third the development in the

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Hawai’i, serv-

for the first western institution dedicated

distant future.”

ing as educators in both far-flung locales.

to advancing education for women.

By the mid-1860s, they had returned to America and soon felt compelled to bring salvation and education into what New England Protestants regarded as the morally suspect lands of the new state of California. Cyrus seems to have been as enthusiastic about cultivating the campus grounds as he was about cultivating the minds of his young students. He used an intuitive sense to create a naturalistic planted setting, based on the ideals of English landscape design, with beautiful vistas and grand spaces befitting what was hoped to become known as “the Vassar of the Pacific Coast.”

“There was Cyrus, very interested in exotic plant species and really making this an arboretum,” says campus archi-

Landscape architects, too, had a strong



influence in this period. Howard Gilkey,

After Susan Mills passed on in 1912,

projects completed in the 1920s, wrote

the Board of Trustees for the first time

eloquently of the importance of the cam-

commissioned a master plan for the cam-

pus grounds to the College’s educational

pus. President Aurelia Henry Reinhardt

mission in the October 1926 issue of the

initiated a second master plan, this time

Mills Quarterly:

by famed architect Bernard Maybeck, in 1916. Both of these plans remained largely unrealized, however, perhaps due to lack of funding or the radicalism of the overhaul each proposed. Both plans called for the removal of Mills Hall but, even at that relatively early date, the legacy of the founders was strong and the razing never took place.

As the century progressed and the campus population grew, however, sig-

who worked closely with Ratcliff on most

By and large, the distinction between environment and education is vague.

Certainly, one of the distinctive things that Mills offers its students is the beauty of its environment, afforded and exemplified happily in the charm of its varied gardens. I feel that the destiny of the institution is involved in creating at Mills landscape gardening of the highest type possible.



tect Karen Fiene. In addition to extensive plantings of eucalyptus trees, Cyrus also established productive orchards and fields to supply the campus.

“The Mills period wasn’t a design imposed by a trained architect. Cyrus Mills put the campus together from a grounds perspective. He was making the campus self-sufficient, he was making it beautiful,” says May. When Susan Mills took over as college president following Cyrus’ untimely death, additional 22

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College, a 159-page book packed with historical photographs, documents the history of the built and planted landscape of the Mills College campus and proposes possible future development in two major areas. Also included are summaries of four educational lecture programs presented as part of the landscape heritage project.

The Northern California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects selected the Mills landscape heritage project and book as the winner in the “Analysis, Research, Planning, and Communications” category, citing the College’s excellent understanding and support of its landscape.

Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College is available from the Center for the Book, www.mills.edu/academics/library/ctr_book, or contact Janice Braun, jbraun@ mills.edu or 510.430.2047.

Gilkey was joined by Howard McMinn,

that classic structures can be preserved

a botanist and scholar with a strong inter-

and future plans can complement the

est in California native flora (a popular

best of what already exists. “You don’t dis-

species of manzanita is named for him).

parage iconic architecture—the Campanil,

Clearly, in retaining these two accom-

Mills Hall, and so on,” says May, “but you

plished plantsmen, campus leaders rec-

need to peel off culturally irrelevant stuff,

ognized the importance of the landscape

then add new facilities that are aestheti-

started years earlier by Cyrus Mills and

cally and historically compatible.”

the value of maintaining a park-like

The project team focused on the future

atmosphere. McMinn, chair of the botany

of two major campus locations: the Oval

department, worked and taught on campus for nearly four decades, but his greatest lasting influence can be seen in his extensive plantings of some 275 native species—a horticultural philosophy that

Outstanding in his field: Howard McMinn planted experimental gardens across from the Music Building and used the campus environment as a teaching tool for his botany students.

has only grown stronger in the intervening years.

 Alumnae from nearly any decade might be surprised to see how the physical campus continues to evolve and serve students in broader and different ways. The causes of change are many and varied. Lake Aliso, once inspiration and home of time-honored student rites, has fallen victim to the natural process of sedimentation; today, only a mudflat remains where soothing waters once rippled. Lisser Hall, originally facing south and designed in a Greek Revival style, was refurbished in 1927 in keeping with a new campus policy to adopt a Spanish colonial architectural style. Other structures have changed their purpose over time: After the College acquired the Ming Quong Home for Chinese Orphans in the

tion of Richards and Kapiolani roads. The design of the building now under construction at that intersection (see page 14) was informed by the results of the Getty research.

mid-1930s, the building was renamed Alderwood Hall and served as the Mills Graduate House until the 1950s; today, it is the Julia Morgan School for Girls.

“You can be sitting on a goldmine and not realize it,” says Fiene. “By weaving together the bits of history we were able to see what was happening in the world when Cyrus and Susan Mills founded the College, what was happening with women’s education, what was happening with landscapes and the environment. Tracing those events helped us see that we’re part of a continuum. When you uncover that knowledge it gives you a guide to the future.”

For as much as this project was about discovering the past, it also provides direction for the changes that are yet to come. “The plan serves as a potential

Tarnished treasures: The Carnegie fountain in its glory days. Future plans may include restoration of previously existing features, such as this ibisadorned fountain or the carriage drive from Wetmore Gate to the Oval.

roadmap for future planning and decision making, allowing for creativity in

“The Business School’s forward-looking

design with a keen appreciation for the

new architecture references the intent

intent of the architectural and landscape

of past landscape planning and further

giants who planned the Mills campus,”

develops this proposed central core,” says

says Jadushlever. Some of these changes

Jadushlever. As in all areas of the cam-

are

Music

pus, development here must address the

Building, for example, is in the midst of

balance of pedestrian and automobile

a multi-million dollar renovation that

access, educational and programmatic

will preserve architectural details while

needs, and the wise use of both financial

introducing such changes as enhanced

and natural resources.

already

underway.

The

acoustics, improved accessibility, and expanded classroom space.

Gone but not forgotten: Julia Morgan designed the gymnasium above, along with Alumnae Hall and Hellman Pool, to form a U-shaped complex on the edge of Toyon Meadow. Only Alumnae Hall, now known as the Student Union, still stands.

and the area surrounding the intersec-

“You can take important cues from the past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be

Recognizing the accomplishments and

contemporary or you can’t move into the

desires of past campus planners does

next century,” says Fiene. “Like the roots

not freeze future development or dic-

of a tree, the legacy of those who have

tate any particular style, however. One

come before us provides strength; build-

primary outcome of the study is to build

ing on that integrity gives our endeavors

an awareness of the campus’ character so

a renewed sense of place.” spring/summer 2008

23

Bookshelf Illuminating Iranian history The Windsor Shahnama of 1648 B. W. Robinson and Eleanor Sims ’64 Paul Holberton Publishing, 2008

viewed Sims after her February lecture to learn more about what drew her to the Windsor manuscript.

“The Windsor Shahnama is a very lavish and elaborate manuscript of the mid-17th century, a period whose manuscripts have not been well studied,” Sims says. “And there is an interesting

Eleanor Sims ’64 treated more than 250 Mills

accumulation of royal details about where it was made and how

alumnae and friends to an exclusive preview of

it got to Queen Victoria.”

her new book, The Windsor Shahnama of 1648,

Sims’ work on The Windsor Shahnama of 1648 began a decade

at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco on

ago, with a meeting at Windsor with Oliver Everett, then the royal

February 14, 2008. The standing-room-only

librarian. Everett sought to encourage publication of the Royal

audience viewed slides of a selection of the

Collection’s most important Oriental manuscripts following an

Windsor Shahnama’s 148 dramatic paintings,

exhibition and an accompanying catalogue of the Padshahnama, a

richly illuminated in several shades of gold,

royal Indian manuscript recounting aspects of the life of the Mughal

while Sims explained the manuscript’s artistic

emperor Shah Jahan. Sims suggested the Windsor Shahnama, and

and cultural context and recounted some of

soon she and the late B. W. Robinson, the first scholar to write

the tales of heroic courage, love, and betrayal

about this Shahnama, were at work on the project.

depicted in the paintings.

Sims was especially interested in questions of manuscript mak-

The Shahnama (“Book of Kings”) may be better known to many

ing in this period, the people involved, and how the resulting vol-

American readers for its role in the bestselling novel The Kite

ume reflects its cultural and historical context. She observes, “The

Runner, in which two main characters revel in the saga’s stories

question of who painted the Windsor Shahnama is extremely

of valiant heroes, battles and revenge, and tragic fates. Written by

complicated because there are only two signatures in the whole

the poet Firdawsi at the turn of the 11th century, the Shahnama

manuscript.” Her research points to the probability of a school of

chronicles the history of Iran from its mythical earliest days to

painting in 17th-century Mashhad more active than had hereto-

the Muslim conquest. In the eight centuries after the epic’s com-

fore been considered.

position, thousands of copies were made—often illuminated and

“Today, some people will look through this book just to read

illustrated manuscripts, sometimes at the order of Iranian rul-

these wonderful stories of heroes and their families,” says Sims.

ers. The Windsor Shahnama was commissioned by Qarajaghay

“In the 17th century, the Shahnama was not only how Iranians

Khan, a 17th-century governor of Mashhad, the principal pilgrim-

learned about the past, but also the way young princes learned of

age city in Iran. The volume was presented to Queen Victoria in

their obligations as rulers. If you read your Shahnama, you would

1839 by the Afghan prince Kamran Shah as a gesture of thanks

learn how to distinguish right from wrong; how to treat family

to the British government for its support during the siege of the

and friends, allies and enemies; and how best and most wisely to

city of Herat. The 1,512-page manuscript forms part of the Royal

govern your country. You might even—eventually—learn that kill-

Collection in Windsor Castle and is one of the largest of all sur-

ing for revenge would get you nowhere.

viving illustrated manuscripts of this text. Sims’ book explores

“The Shahnama has been called the title deed of the Iranian

the creation, history, and significance of this manuscript and its

nation’s nobility, the repository of its history and its values. It is

paintings; the published volume includes more than 50 full-color

crucially important to understanding Iran today.”

reproductions.

Based in London since the early 1980s, Sims is co-editor of the journal Islamic Art. Her previous publications include Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources (Yale University Press, 2002). A Bent Twig seven times over, Sims graduated from Mills with a degree in English and a love of art history ignited in classes with Professor Alfred Neumeyer. She completed her PhD in Islamic art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She has worked in the Islamic Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, taught at the University of Minnesota and the University of Pennsylvania, and participated for several years in Italian-sponsored campaigns studying historical monuments in Iran before the Iranian revolution of 1979. The Quarterly inter24

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

P h o t o o f E l e a n o r S i m s by da n a dav i s

Biology, 8th edition

Intersection: Sidewalks and Public Space

Neil Campbell, Jane Reece, Lisa Urry, Michael Cain, Steven Wasserman, Peter Minorsky, and Robert Jackson Benjamin Cummings, 2008 www.aw-bc.com

Marci Nelligan, MFA ’99, and Nicole Mauro, MFA ’99, eds.

ChainLinks, 2008 www.chainarts.org or spdbooks.org

Lisa Urry, professor of biology and head of the Biology Department at Mills, contributes chapters on metabolism, cells, genetics, molecular biology, and the evolution of the genome as co-author of this revision of the world’s most popular and successful introductory college biology textbook. The seventh edition has been adopted by more than 450 colleges, including Mills. It is estimated that 65 percent of all doctors and biological scientists in the United States under the age of 40 began their study with Campbell/Reece Biology.

Recovering “Yiddishland”: Threshold Moments in American Literature

The sidewalk is much more than slabs of concrete that you pass over briefly on the way to the movie theater or grocery store. The essays in this book examine the sidewalk as a location for social commentary and debate, a space for performance and protest, and a center of community. This is the first in new book series, a spinoff of the journal Chain, that seeks to organize disparate works around a formal theme to shift perspectives and spark thought on topics of contemporary life.

The Straits Kristin Palm, MFA ’04 Palm Press, 2008 www.PalmPress.org or www.spdbooks.org

This bittersweet volume weaves evocative poetry with unusual source materials to create a deeply textured history of the city of Detroit. Palm lived in the Motor City for many years, and here reflects on the city’s evolution, from 18th-century French and Native American battles through the rise and fall of modern

Merle L. Bachman, MFA ’93 Syracuse University Press, 2007 www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu or 1-800-365-8929

industry. Though geared toward Detroit, the book encompasses

In exploring the works of Yiddish immigrant writers from the 1890s

pointment and ruin embodied in a blighted metropolis.

through the 1930s, primarily in New York City, Merle Bachman challenges the commonly held belief that Jewish immigrants uniformly embraced assimilation in their adopted country. Bachman, an assistant professor of English at Spalding University, complements her personal engagement with Yiddish writing with academic literary analysis to uncover ambivalence about Americanization and resistance to the loss of Yiddish language and culture.

issues common to many great cities: the grandeur of a town’s glory days, the promise and potential of urban life, and the disap-

Riding to Washington Gwenyth Swain, MA ’86, illustrated by David Geister Sleeping Bear Press, 2007 www.SleepingBearPress.com or 1-800-877-4253

This illustrated children’s book

A Mapmaker’s Diary

tells the story of Janie, a young

Carlota Caulfield White Pine Press, 2008 www.whitepine.org

girl who rides a bus with her

Mills Professor of Spanish and

Martin Luther King Jr. speak.

Spanish American Studies Carlota

Along the way, she encounters

Caulfield presents her 10th book

a variety of people and realizes

of poetry, a bilingual collection

how differences can lead to injustice—and how individual choices

translated by Mary G. Berg in

can lead to greater change. An accompanying teacher’s guide is

collaboration with the author.

also available.

father from Indianapolis to Washington,

DC,

to

hear

Caulfield, a native of Cuba, has received numerous international writing awards, including the first Spanish American International Poetry Dulce Maria Loynaz prize in 2002. spring/summer 2008

25

MILLS COLLEGE SALUTES THE MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 1938 ON THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR GRADUATION.

After college, these women established a legacy of breaking barriers that benefited generations of women who followed. The Class of 1938, pictured above at its 50th Reunion, includes: The first woman elected president of the San Francisco Lawyers’ Association The first woman partner at a “Big Eight” accounting firm One of two Mills alumnae on the team that wrote the Constitution of Japan A journalist who covered the Berlin Airlift from a cargo plane The inspiration for a waltz composed by Lou Harrison in 1977 The Class of 1938 also established a tradition of generous giving over the many decades since graduation.

Their recent support of Mills includes a 50th Reunion Gift of $85,099 in 1988, and, in 2006–07, members of the class made gifts totaling $107,955, representing a 42% participation rate.

This tradition of generosity helps make Mills College strong today, and class members’ bequests and endowment gifts will help ensure that Mills thrives in the future.

Number who established endowed scholarships at Mills: 5 Number who have included Mills in their estate plans: 23

THANK YOU, CLASS OF 1938!

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN CREATE A LASTING LEGACY AT MILLS 26

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Please contact April Hopkins, director of planned giving, toll-free at 877.PGMILLS (877.746.4551) or by email at aprilh@mills.edu.

Alumnae Branch activities The Palo Alto Area Mills College Club gathered at the Los Altos home of Bette ’64 and Fred Michaud to celebrate the holidays with a festive tea on December 8.

The Oakland–Berkeley Branch, Mills College Alumnae Association, followed suit with a tea on December 9 at the home of Wendy Markel ’90.

The highlight of that afternoon was a presentation and reminiscences by “Julia Morgan”—a role ably played by Betty Marvin, a historian and preservation planner with the City of Oakland.

Dancer, choreographer, and Mills professor Molissa Fenley’s 30th anniversary celebration on December 12 at the Joyce Theater in New York City attracted 38 participants, including many members of the Mills College Club of New York. The New York Club was at it again when 30 attendees gathered on March 7 for a behindthe-scenes reception and exhibit at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Mills College Art Museum Director Jessica Hough, co-curator of the Aldrich show, was on hand as a guest of honor.

The evening kicked off with dinner at the home of Aldrich board member Meagan Julian ’78.

Oakland–Berkeley: Joan Dark ’75, Leah Mac Neil, MA ’51, Lucy Seereiter ’77, Maryann Valentine ’97, and hostess Wendy Markel ’90.

Want to get involved with your local branch? Contact alumnae-relations@mills. edu or 510.430.3363 to find out who’s in your area.

New York: Aldrich board member and event host, Meagan Julian ’78, Harriet Hanlon ’86, and Jessica Hough.

More than 20 alumnae of the Mills College Club of Orange County held a luncheon and revival meeting at Il Fornaio restaurant in Irvine, California, on February 9. Fourteen others could not attend but expressed interest in Southern California activities.

Joining the women were AAMC President Anita Aragon Bowers ’63 and Virginia Rivera, the College’s vice president for development.

On February 21, nearly three dozen members of the Chicago Area Branch, Mills College Alumnae Association, welcomed President Janet L. Holmgren and Art Museum Director Jessica Hough to an exhibition of Winslow Homer watercolors at the Art Institute of Chicago. A wine reception allowed participants to chat and mingle afterwards.

“A Celebration of Women’s Herstory Month” drew together 20 alumnae from Orange County and Los Angeles for dinner plus a gallery viewing and live performance by the women’s art collective Mujeres de Maiz on March 8.

A somber anniversary was marked on March 27 when Kathleen McCarthy ’94 hosted 20 Mills women of the Oakland–Berkeley Branch for a spring dinner and lecture, “Five Years in Iraq,” by Professor of Government Fred Lawson.

Orange County: Above (back row) Anita Rae Shapiro ’61, Janice Bagley, MA ’93, Jacki Brown ’74, (front row) Sunny Murray ’61, Carol Alcalay ’53, Katherine Baum ’53. Below: Lisa Russo Pettigrew ’02 and Gail Itnyre Goitia’83.

The Palo Alto Area Mills College Club continued its long-standing “Charming Cottages of Palo Alto House Tour” on April 4 and 5, allowing hundreds of alumnae and community members to peek inside five lovely homes on the Peninsula.

Marriages and Commitment Ceremonies

Births and Adoptions

Nicole Hogarty ’03 and Nicholas Macias, September 8, 2007

Kim Alexander Yarbor ’90 and Melvin Yarbor, a daughter, Kennedy Victoria Yarbor, on December 14, 2007

Lisa Bach ’90 and Karen Verpeet, April 22, 2007 Lisa Teeney ’96 and Geoffrey Harmon, October 7, 2007 Angela Adams ’99 and Brad DeMoss, August 25, 2007

Leah Zippert ’90 and Chris Scannell, a daughter, Katherine Olivia Scannell, on May 29, 2007

Nicole Urbach ’03 and James Weaver, February 17, 2007

Stephanie Griffin ’91 and Stephanie Cole, twins Payton Jane Griffin Cole and Hudson Patrick Griffin Cole, on October 16, 2006

Sheeka Arbuthnot ’02 and Peter Burchard, April 2, 2005

Stephanie Bashore Buchalter ’94, a son, Benjamin Buchalter, March 2007 Sarah Lambie Greenman ’94 and Jack Greenman, a son, Walker Starr Greenman, on November 12, 2007 Lizaveta Young Lake ’98 and Shannon Lake, a daughter, Summer Ann Lake, on August 5, 2007

34

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

Malindi Zimmer ’98 and Britton Smith, a daughter, Avery Dakota Smith, on December 6, 2007

In Memoriam Notices of deaths received before April 1, 2008

Alumnae Sabina “Bina” Morosoli Quinn ’29, February 10, in Stockton, California. She received an MA from Stanford University and studied Italian art in Florence.

Survivors include a son.

Gladys Springer ’30, January 2, in Reno, Nevada. Survivors include a nephew.

Mary Bucklin Evens ’31, MA ’33, December 23, 2007, in Victoria, British Columbia. She played cello with the Victoria Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and Orchestra London. She was also on the faculty of University of Western Ontario and played in numerous chamber music groups. She is survived by three children and five grandchildren.

Evangeline Marshall ’31, October 5, 2007, in Mill Valley, California.

She lived and worked in Hawaii in the 1940s but spent most of her adult life in the Bay Area. In the 1980s, she was a volunteer at the Mills Bargain Box. Florence Selvin Drake ’35, February 27, in Toronto. She was a generous supporter of numerous local charities and a steadfast volunteer at the Art Gallery of Ontario, for which she organized several excursions to Italy. She was also active with the University of Toronto, where her husband had been a professor. Survivors include two stepsons and three nephews.

Kathleen “Katy” Lowrey Hamlin ’38, March 9, in Dunbarton, New Hampshire. A native of Hawaii, she worked for the Women’s Air Raid Defense and as a nurse’s aide

while her husband was a prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945. As a Navy wife, she lived in many places, always serving as an active church volunteer. Survivors include her cousin Helen Lowrey Owen ’60, two children, and two grandsons.

Katherine “Kay” Redner Randels ’38, March 20, in Battle Creek, Michigan. A renowned artist and muralist, she studied at the California School of Fine Arts, was a founder of the Art Center of Battle Creek, and was involved in the Kalamazoo Institute of Art and many national organizations. She also served on local, state, and national boards for the United Church of Christ Council. She is survived by a son, Bruce; four grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

Isabel Wiel ’38, July 27, 2007, in San Francisco, California. A lifelong resident of San Francisco, she retired from McGraw-Hill in 1973.

Mary Smith Kreft ’39, November 16, 2007, in Portland, Oregon. She was dedicated to her family and community, serving as a volunteer in the Portland Junior League and the Portland Art Museum. A member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, the Town Club, and Trinity Episcopal Church, she is survived by four children and six grandchildren.

Patricia Kleppinger Fortin ’40, November 13, 2007, in Hillsborough, California. She was an avid world traveler and supporter of the Peninsula Symphony and Opera League.

Margaret McMinn Phillips ’41, February 13, in Chico, California.

She was the daughter of Howard

Madeleine Milhaud, 1902–2008 Internationally renowned actress, musician, and teacher

more than 30 years and helped to enhance Mills’ international

Madeleine Milhaud, the wife of composer Darius Milhaud,

reputation in the arts.

died in Paris on January 17. Originally from Aix-en-Provence,

Madeleine Milhaud was a formidable artist and intellectual.

a region long known for its Jewish community, the couple left

She participated in early 20th-century Parisian literary and

their home in Paris in 1940, fearing persecution by the Nazis

artistic circles that included many of the most important musi-

after the Germans invaded France. That same year they moved

cians, writers, and visual artists of that time. She wrote libretti for

to Mills College and joined the faculty—an association that lasted

Milhaud’s operas Médée and Bolivar, performed speaking roles in works by Igor Stravinsky and Arthur Honegger, and was among the first actresses to perform on the radio.

At Mills, Madeleine Milhaud taught at the Maison Française, gave classes on French diction, and produced plays by such writers as Molière and Jules Supervielle, sometimes with recent music written by Dave Brubeck or other composers. Students remember her brilliant classes on French literature, highlighted by her superb recitations of poetic masterpieces.

Madeleine Milhaud was a small woman, yet her strength of character truly made her seem larger than life. Her strong personality was tempered, however, by a compassionate humanism and wry sense of humor. She also was devoted to her husband and, even after his death in 1974, continued to promote his music.

Madeleine Milhaud, survived by her only child, the artist Daniel Milhaud, was buried alongside her husband in Aixen-Provence. It is difficult to imagine anyone having a richer, more fulfilling life.

—Remembered by David Bernstein,

36

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

professor and head of the Music Department

McMinn, who taught at Mills for 39 years. She taught a variety of high school subject and enjoyed nature, travel, and painting. She is survived by her husband, Gene, and sister, Jean Greenwood ’43.

Eleanor “Polly” Koenig Halberg ’42, March 9, in Longmont, Colorado.

Martha Carlson Martin ’42, March 23, in Dayton, Ohio. She was employed as an air traffic controller with the FAA before working for American Airlines in El Paso. She enjoyed the symphony, theatre, and visual arts, and gained expertise in making silver jewelry. She is survived by her daughters, Diane and Susan, four grandchildren, and a sister.

Rita Burt Barkhaus ’43, December 24, 2007, in Paradise, California.

She received her pilot’s license in 1941 and spent a year in Shanghai

working for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. She enjoyed the outdoors, golf, and RVing and was a member of the Butte County Historical Society. She is survived by her husband, Bud, a daughter, and a grandson.

Sally Bubb Holland ’43, February 23, in Portola Valley, California.

She joined TWA as an air hostess and later worked as a travel agent, visiting all seven continents and more than 100 countries over the course of 60 years. She also wrote several magazine travel articles and distributed Brazilian tapestries in the U.S. She is survived by four sons and her sister, Anne.

Jean McClanahan Lund ’43, October 20, 2005, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Survivors include a son.

Barbara Merritt Adams ’44, December 19, 2007, in Livermore, California. She was involved in the Livermore community for more than 60 years, serving as a Girl Scout leader and member of the Livermore Elementary School Board and Livermore Joint Unified School Board. An artist in several mediums, she started the Livermore Art Association and was active in the Republican Party Association. She is survived by two daughters and four grandchildren.

Betty Barthe ’44, December 21, 2007, in Vancouver, Washington. A longtime resident of the Orinda/ Moraga area and a 30-year employee of Pacific Bell Systems, she volunteered for many local organizations and was known as an excellent hostess and gardener. Survivors include a sister, niece, and nephew.

Anabelle Lewis Patton ’47, January 16, in Springfield, Illinois. She completed her doctorate in education administration at Southern Illinois University and helped start a state college in Springfield. She taught English to international students and was active with the Presbyterian Church, Urban League, and World Affairs Council. She is survived by her sister, Jane Luers ’49.

Roberta “Bobbi” Powell Holtzman ’48, December 31, 2007, in Los Angeles. She founded and served as artistic director of the Northridge Theatre Guild, for which she directed more than 25 productions from 1968 through the mid-1980s, and performed with theater companies throughout southern California. She also worked as a private acting coach and was a faculty member at

Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, 1911–2008 Flora Elizabeth Reynolds served with distinction as the library

Her love of books sustained her for a lifetime, both in her

director of Mills College from 1955 until 1976. She graduated

profession and in her volunteer work. With music professor

Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley, having completed a master’s

Margaret Lyon she co-authored The Flying Cloud and Her First

degree in Latin and her library degree. Hired at Mills as an

Passengers, an account of Margaret Lyon’s grandfather’s voy-

associate professor, she loved the Bender Room and likened it

age around Cape Horn. She volunteered as a cataloger at the

to the Bodleian Library at

Gleeson Library at the University

Oxford. In addition to her

of San Francisco, as well as at

responsibilities as library

Berkeley’s Bancroft Library, where

director, she taught courses

she was their unofficial curator of

in bibliography, history of the

the Book ARTifacts collection.

book, and children’s literature.

Ms. Reynolds maintained close

Her time at Mills was marked

contact with the library staff and

by many gifts to the library,

often frequented events. She

including the papers of Lillie

leaves a generous bequest to the

Hitchcock Coit’s family, the

library that will establish a fund

Parton Dance Collection, the

in her name for the purchase of

Florence Walter Bindery, and

books, manuscripts, and other

books on the history of book-

materials which will benefit

binding. In 1968, Reynolds cou-

future generations of students.

rageously accepted a computer for the library to provide a list of the subscribed periodicals.

She acknowledged at that time

—Remembered by Renee Jadushlever, vice president for operations

that computers would be the wave of the future.

spring/summer 2008

37

In Memoriam California State University, Northridge. She is survived by her husband, Alan.

Betty Legge Middleton ’48, November 10, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She had a career as an elementary school teacher and was very active in the Presbyterian Church, where she was an elder, deacon, and chair of the Missions Project. Survivors include her sister and son.

Susan “Shush” Magoffin Stoker ’49, November 15, 2007, in Wayzata, Minnesota. She was a talented artist and potter as well as a passionate birdhunter, traveling the world to pursue her sport. She is survived by two sons, a daughter, and seven grandchildren.

Patricia Young Braun ’50, June 24, 2004, in Salem, Oregon. She was a graduate of the University of Oregon Law School and practiced in Oregon and Utah.

Theodora Badger Fleming ’50, May 25, 2004, in Wilton, Connecticut. She went on to study textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design. She is survived by her husband, Roger MacCollester.

Emily Withers Potter ’50, February 25, 2007, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jean Lewis Rubenstein ’50, December 28, 2007, in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a leader in the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federation, and the Kansas City Jewish Community Center. She was also a textbook editor for the American Jewish Committee and worked for a consumer affairs investigative unit. She is survived by her husband, Richard, four children, and five grandchildren.

Virginia Champ ’51, March 3, in San Diego, California. She was involved in rowing club and Junior League. She worked as a secretary for Congressman Bob Wilson in Washington, DC, 38

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

performed public relations for various banks and private businesses, and owned her own small business. Survivors include her sister-in-law, two nieces, a nephew, and many other relatives.

Mary Page Swift Wuerthner ’51, February 29, in Los Altos Hills, California. An accomplished vocalist, she studied in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship, taught voice at Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin, and sang in 1,000 performances with the San Francisco Opera Chorus. She is survived by her husband, Ted; a sister and brother; five nieces and a nephew.

Marlys Bray Bay ’54, February 9, in Temecula, California. She returned to school and earned a degree at the University of Southern California; she later worked as an independent court records research specialist. Survivors include her husband, Ivan.

Inga “Peggy” Hagborg Douglas ’55, November 30, 2007, in Seattle, Washington. She lived in many cities throughout the country, performing as an actress in theater and on television. She is survived by three sons and two grandchildren.

Pamela Penner Hudson ’56, February 10, in Ukiah, California.

She received a master’s degree from Columbia University and was an activist who lectured widely on civil rights, the anti-war movement, and other social issues.

Survivors include her sister.

Sandra Munch Kelleher ’61, January 31, in Paso Robles, California. She taught art at Lindenwood College in St. Louis, Missouri. She is survived by her sister, Suzanne Munch ’59.

Carolyn Nissen Rathbun ’68, January 8, in Long Beach, California. She was a member of the AAMC Board of Governors and a class secretary, worked with organizations promoting peace and creativity, and taught adults English as a second language. She

also was an excellent horsewoman and served as a volunteer at art museums and nature reserves. Survivors include her mother, Eleanore Lundegaard Nissen ’42; aunt Laura Lundegaard Anderson ’45; a brother; and a nephew.

Deborah Bailey-Wells ’80, December 12, 2007, in San Francisco, California. She earned her law degree from the University of San Francisco Law School and became a partner with the firm of K&L Gates, focusing on intellectual property litigation and counseling. She was on the San Francisco Planning Committee of the Women’s High-Tech Coalition and founded the Women’s Intellectual Property Lawyers Association to support young women lawyers. Survivors include her daughter, Alexandra Wells.

Family & Friends Carl Brandt, father of Nancy Brandt Arnold ’69, December 3, 2007, in Spokane, Washington.

Robert Chambers, father of Penelope “Penny” Chambers Percy ’70, October 24, 2007, in Saratoga, California.

Chester Dorman, husband of Sterling Loftin Dorman ’47, February 25, in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Edward Fletcher, husband of Betty Jo Campbell Fletcher ’48 and brother-in-law of Patricia “Pat” Campbell ’45, June 17, 2007, in Phoenix, Arizona.

William Gillen, husband of Elizabeth “Betty” Busch Gillen ’43, November 12, 2007, in Sun City, Arizona.

Donald Hegen, father of Alison Hegen Uremovic ’71, September 30, 2007, in Fresno, California.

Herbert Mark Kagi, husband of Ruth LeCocq Kagi ’67, December 14, 2007, in Seattle, Washington.

Virginia Katims, mother of Pamela Katims Steele ’68, January 8, in Seattle, Washington.

Bennett King, husband of Elizabeth “Betsy” Church King ’50, December 31, 2007, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jack Levinson, husband of Muriel Oppenheimer Levinson ’43, June 23, 2007, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Walter Rice, husband of Lauretta Rosen Rice ’60, December 12, 2007, in San Luis Obispo, California.

Arnold Wolff, husband of Ann Sulzberger Wolff ’42 and brother of Aimee Wolff Minkin ’43, March 21, in Winnetka, Illinois.

Faculty & Staff Mary Helen Barrett, former editor of the Mills Quarterly, died January 26 in Sonoma, California.

She had a long career in publications as a reporter and columnist for several Missouri newspapers; editor of the alumni magazine at her alma mater, Drury University; and author of numerous mystery stories. At Mills, she edited the Quarterly for two decades and was a vibrant addition to the life of the College, performing the voice of Gertrude Stein in a campus production and becoming a founding member of the infamous Faculty Village Poker Club and Eating Society. After retiring in 1989, she continued to mentor and encourage young writers. She leaves three nieces, four grandnephews, and many friends.

Gifts in Memory of (Received November 1, 2007–February 29, 2008) Thelma Fee Allen, P ’83, mother of Sandi Harrington,

by Sandi Harrington ’83 Nancy Van Norman Baer ’66, wife of Alan Baer, by Alan Baer Betty “Sage” Culpepper Belt ’47, wife of Bruce Belt, by Bruce Belt Marilyn Frye Bettendorf, mother of Marilyn Barrett,

by Marilyn Barrett ’75 June Bilisoly ’52, by Joanne White Miller ’53 Charlotte Bonica ’68, by Carolee Odom Martin ’68 Linda Nelson Branson ’77,

by James Branson Barbara M. Bundschu ’38,

by Dorothy Anderson, Delcia Bence de Rusk, John Bolton, Anita Aragon Bowers ’63, Helen Fernandez, Nancy and Thomas Geary, William Geary, Rosie Houweling, Victoria Du Vall Luibrand ’75, Lucy Cowdin Maisel ’38, Jane Newhall ’36, Nancy Parker ’52, Helen Rice, Janet Hopkins Richards ’36, Tim Savinar, Richard Sims, Hope Streeter, Evelyn “Muffy” McKinstry Thorne ’48, Georgia Wright Borgee Ng Chinn ’41, by Momi Chang ’74

Barbara Brady Douglas ’48,

by Sally Mayock Hartley ’48

Edward LeFevour, by Leslie Woodhouse ’90

Richard Rischbieth, by Jerome Oremland

Thomas Fee, uncle of Sandi Harrington, by Sandi Harrington ’83

Carol Lennox ’61, by Lina Au ’77 and David Stranz

Jane “Jinx” Rule ’52, by Sally Millett Rau ’51

Anne McMillin Lightbody ’46,

by Jane Bruce Cheadle ’46, Paula Merrix Sporck ’46

Eleanor Marshall Schaefer ’29, by Nicole Bartow

Darcy Field ’78, daughter of Betty Elliott Strauss, by Betty Elliott Strauss, P ’78 Patricia Kleppinger Fortin ’40,

by Cherie Goecken Black ’41 Barbara “Bobby” Coleman Frey ’68, by Nancy Dreyer Blaugrund ’68 (and our 40th Reunion in 2008), Susan Stern Fineman ’68, Sandra Gregg ’68, Leonard Kaufman, Carolee Odom Martin ’68, Sue Tucker ’68, Linda Cohen Turner ’68 Barbara Garcia, by Janis Goldbaum Hernandez ’67 Felecia “Flea” Anhalt Graham ’49, wife of Donald Graham, by Donald Graham Elaine Johnson Gutleben ’44, wife of Chester Gutleben,

by Chester Gutleben Carl Holm, P ’67, father of Christine Holm Kline ’67, by John V Flynn and Lorna Brown ’67 Roberta Powell Holtzman ’48,

by Cynthia Taves ’48

Mary Walker Mag ’35, by Judy Greenwood Jones ’60, Janet Armes Koupal ’57, Janet Hopkins Richards ’36, Cynthia Taves ’48 Robert Maris, husband of Norma Maris ’47, by Ellen Graue Ferris ’46, MA ’51 Eloise Randleman McCain ’57, wife of Leonard McCain, by Leonard McCain Boitumelo “Tumi” McCallum ’09, daughter of Teboho Moja, by Steven Burrell, Julie Gabbard ’96, Rhashida Hilliard, Sarah and John Llanes, Khadijah Luqman ’95, Teboho Moja, Allison Kohrs Plass ’88, Martin and Barbara Schaefer, J. David Schramm

Denise Sporer Keefe ’74,

by Linda Conaway-Parsloe ’75

Robbyn Panitch ’79, by Betsey Shack Goodwin ’76

Elizabeth “Liz” Abreu Cravalho ’60, by Betty Anne Mathewson Mahoney ’60

Edward and Elizabeth Trowbridge Kent ’23, parents of Margaret von der Linde, by Margaret von der Linde

Edward Parnell, father of Meredith Parnell, by Meredith Parnell ’81

Evelyn “Peg” Deane ’41, sister of Margaret Deane,

by Margaret Deane Karen Ricci Dettling ’60, by Elaine Marshall Long ’60

Mary Lanigar ’38, by Betty Chu Wo ’46

Susan “Shush” Magoffin Stoker ’49, by Robert and Beverly Beckman Avery ’49, Pauline Royal Langsley ’49, P ’78, P ’83, Carol Blundell Miller ’49, Margaret Clarke Umbreit ’49 Anna Stribling Taylor ’34, by Jorie Bolton Townsley ’69

Melody Clarke Teppola ’64, wife of Mark Teppola, by Mark Teppola, Anne Friend Thacher ’64

Sara Glasgow Cogan ’60,

by Elaine Marshall Long ’60

Joyce Ray Lander ’48, by Mark Lander

Christian Sporck, husband of Paula Merrix Sporck ’46, by Susan Gilmont ’64

William Thomas Milam Sr., husband of Elizabeth Zoernig Milam, by Elizabeth Zoernig Milam ’40

George Clifford, by Sally Mayock Hartley ’48

Mary Lou Stueck Cunningham ’51, wife of Robert Cunningham,

by Robert Cunningham

Lawrence Shrader, by Molly Hill, Laura Nathan, Marion Ross ’44, Paul Schulman, Georgia Wright

Harriet Bradley Tegart ’42, by Mary Parker Lawrence ’57

Muriel “Tex” Johnston ’42, MA ’46, by Catherine Spainhower Anderson ’39, Paula Merrix Sporck ’46, Cynthia Taves ’48

Ted and Charlotte Klugman, parents of Roberta Klugman,

by Roberta Klugman ’74

Irene Wood Schulte ’39, wife of Roger Schulte, by Roger Schulte

Diane McEntyre, by Carole Miller ’84

Chandre Nicholas, by Carol Herdina Dean ’50

Ann Errion Cumber ’72,

by Ann Boyce ’72, MA ’74

Dorothea Schmidt ’44, by Carol Jenks Fogg ’60

Verna Lebow Norman ’40, by Florence Fox Rubenstein ’38

Annabelle Lewis Patton ’47, sister of Jane Lewis Luers, by Jane Lewis Luers ’49, Patsy McKeown ’47 Helen Pillans, by Barbara Berendsen Capron ’65 Carolyn Nissen Rathbun ’68, by Sue Tucker ’68

Albert Walkoe, by Sally Mayock Hartley ’48, Cynthia Taves ’48 Cecily Jones Welmers ’61, wife of Thomas Welmers,

by Thomas Welmers Erwin White, husband of Emma-Jane Peck White ’35,

by Mary Ausplund Tooze ’44 Dr. and Mrs. Reynold Wik ’74,

by Vivien Lo ’74, Bette Krause Spagel ’63 Howard Williams, brother of Sondra Williams, by Sondra Williams ’54 Eleanor “Tommy” Thomas Winant ’30, mother of Thomas Winant, by Thomas Winant

Walter Rice, by Elaine Marshall Long ’60

p=parent For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.

spring/summer 2008

39

Mary Lanigar ’38 blazed a trail to corporate success for women

I

n 1942, Mary Lanigar joined the San

Lanigar as a strong and knowledgeable

Francisco accounting firm Lester

business leader who was willing to share

Herrick & Herrick. Women CPAs

her expertise. “Her leadership was soft-

were so rare at the time that, before

woven but very apparent. She was down

Lanigar visited clients, a partner had to

to earth but still a gracious lady,” King

call ahead to make sure that sending a

recalls. “When I was new to the Mills

woman was not going to ruffle

College Board of Trustees, I wanted to

any feathers.

serve on a committee with her because I

This was the era of Rosie

knew I could get up to speed faster with

the Riveter: during World

Mary than any other way.”

War II, more American women

than

Lanigar grew up on a cattle ranch in

ever

the rural northern California town of

before had a chance

Susanville during the Great Depression

to move into non-tra-

and learned about Mills when Aurelia

ditional jobs. However,

Henry Reinhardt spoke at her high

when the war ended, the

school. She received a scholarship and

majority took a step down

studied at Mills but completed her

or left the job market entirely to make

degree at Stanford University, where she

way for returning veterans. Through her

graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1938.

intellect, competence, and determina-

Perhaps it was a combination of

tion, Lanigar not only maintained her

Lanigar retired in 1976 and became

Lanigar’s own experience of the ben-

position, but progressed up the corpo-

the first woman director of Wells Fargo,

efit of education and her keen financial

rate ladder. While employed full time,

where she was on the board for 20 years.

acumen that prompted her to invest

she bolstered her range of business skills

She held several other prestigious direc-

in the future: In 1989, she endowed

by studying law in evening classes at

torships and supported education and

the

Golden Gate University. She passed the

healthcare through her work on non-

Scholarship to help other women from

bar exam in 1954.

profit boards, including serving as a

this part of the state—particularly those

Lanigar had become a partner in Lester

Mills Trustee for 17 years. Lanigar also

from rural areas—gain access to a Mills

Herrick & Herrick by 1956, when her

found satisfaction in providing assis-

education. Thirty-nine women have thus

firm merged with Arthur Young & Co.,

tance on a personal level: when she

far been awarded scholarships through

now Ernst & Young. The following year,

moved from her longtime home in Palo

this fund.

she was named a partner in the merged

Alto to a retirement community in Santa

Many more Mills women will join

company. She is generally acknowledged

Rosa, she provided financial advice to

those 39: when she passed away in

to be the first woman partner ever in a

other residents.

October 2007, Mary Lanigar left $4 mil-

“Big Eight” accounting firm.

Jane Cudlip King ’42 fondly remembers

Northern

California

Regional

lion to support the Northern California Regional Scholarship. “Mary Lanigar’s generous bequest will allow Mills to educate students from Northern California for years to come. We are delighted that she chose to remember the College and her home region in this way. Her generosity will, without a doubt, inspire more Mills women to become pioneers, like Miss Lanigar herself,” says President Janet L. Holmgren.

Mary Lanigar considered her life “quiet,” but her pioneering presence from the offices of Lester Herrick & Herrick’s clients in the 1940s to the Wells Fargo boardroom in the 1990s spoke the truth of women’s potential as business leaders louder than words.

Mary Lanigar receives her honorary degree from Mills in 1984.

40

M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly

H

OLIDAY MARKETS ALONG THE DANUBE December 20-29, 2008 Arrive in Vienna, Austria’s romantic capital, to board your luxurious river vessel for this relaxing cruise down the Danube.

Spend two nights in Vienna and visit the lavish Hofburg Palace, the impressive Vienna Opera House, the majestic Ringstrasse, and other lovely attractions. Enjoy guided sightseeing in Vienna, Regensburg, and Nuremberg. Soak up the atmosphere of the Adventszeit (Advent season) and spend time in the beautiful Christmas markets located throughout all three cities. In Melk, visit the magnificent Benedictine Abbey, one of Europe’s largest monasteries. An optional full-day excursion to Salzburg takes in the popular Sound of Music sights as well as more Christmas cheer – traditional carols, sparkling lights, and the smell of candles and gingerbread. Disembark in Nuremberg and drive to Prague for two nights in the magical Czech capital.

Priced from $1,699 land/cruise only For more information, please contact: Alumnae Association of Mills College 510.430.2110 or email: aamc@mills.edu

The AAMC travel program offers a great value on journeys to interesting destinations around the world, with an educational component to deepen your understanding and enjoyment. Do consider joining your fellow alumnae for one of these trips. See up-to-date listings online at www. mills.edu/alumnae/ activities/travel.php.

Post-Reunion Getaway to the Wine Country Join your classmates for three days of fun, including lodging in an inn, gourmet luncheon, an art museum visit, a tram tour of a vineyard, a stop at a wine museum, and a tasting as we delve into the past and present of the wine industry.

September 21–23, 2008, 3 days, $575 per person, double occupancy

Cyprus Experience the diverse culture of this divided island, which has been a stopping point for ships sailing the Mediterranean for 9,000 years. The capital city has many examples of Byzantine art and architecture of outstanding beauty, and the influences of many civilizations are seen throughout the tour. Cross the border to explore the villages of the Turkish side of the island. An optional extension to Petra, Jordan, is available.

October 10–17, 2008, 8 days, $3,495 plus air

Chianti in a Tuscan Villa The picturesque hilltop village of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa is your base for exploring the wealth of the Chianti region.

You stay in one place for seven nights while you immerse yourself in the consummately Italian culture, history, and cuisine of Lucca, Florence, and Siena.

Enjoy a private cooking lesson and visit local wineries and restaurants to capture Tuscany’s rich culinary heritage.

egypt Explore this ancient and fascinating land, rich with archaeological treasures and ancient history. Visit the Sphinx, Great Pyramids, and the seaport of Alexandria. Enjoy a three-night cruise on the Nile and a felucca ride on that famed river. Explore Luxor, Karnak, and the Temple of Isis. Mills Professor of Government Fred Lawson is our study leader.

January 12–23, 2009, 12 days, $2,454 plus air

October 26–November 3, 2008, 9 days, $2,195 plus air

For a brochure or information on any of these AAMC trips, please call 510.430.2110 or email bwhite@mills.edu.

Going away, coming home No matter how diverse your paths were after Commencement, Reunion is one destination you’ll always share.

Mills College invites all alumnae back to campus this year. We’ll celebrate, in particular, alumnae from class years ending in 3 and 8. Highlights will include: • 50th Reunion events for the Class of 1958

For more information, visit www.mills.edu/reunion,

• Reception and dinner for all Golden Girls

call 510.430.2123, or email alumnae-relations@mills.edu.

• Convocation with address by choreographer Trisha Brown ’58

Brochures with full schedules and registration information have been mailed to alumnae from class years ending in

• Darius Milhaud Concert • State of the College Address by President Janet L. Holmgren and remarks by Anita Aragon Bowers ’63 • Discussion with Provost and Dean of the Faculty Sandra C. Greer • Alumnae Association of Mills College Awards Luncheon • Graduate alumnae/i reception • Literary salon, museum and campus tours, open studios, dance, and many other activities

3 and 8 and to Bay Area alumnae; they are available to all other alumnae by request.

Mills Reunion

’08

September 18 through 21

Detail from Going Away, Coming Home by Professor of Studio Art Hung Liu. Collection of the Port of Oakland; photos by Jack Fulton.

Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd.

Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, CA and at additional mailing office(s) Address service requested