Mills Quarterly, Winter 2021

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Mills Quarterly Winter 2021

“ I am a Class of

1990 Striker, and I had pledged to support the College as an alum.”

Lisa Kremer and daughters at the Strike Statue: her new Bent Twig, Nora, is on the right.

T

hree decades after graduating, Lisa Kremer ’90 maintains her pledge in her roles as class agent, donor, Mills ambassador, and proud new Bent Twig parent, whose daughter Nora now roams the campus as a student excited to explore her first year, despite the pandemic.

“Having received a scholarship at Mills, I feel inspired to give back, both with money and by speaking the College’s name when I can,” Lisa explains. “My Mills experience was incredibly useful in my first career as a journalist, and has been again in my second career as an attorney.”

As a class agent, Lisa puts her career skills to work for the benefit of current Mills students by writing persuasive messages to her classmates, prompting them to make gifts of any size to the college they love.

This season, look for a personal letter or email from your own class agent, who is working hard to ensure that the Mills legacy of academic excellence and inclusive community endures for this and future generations of students—with the help of your gift.

Make it possible. Make it Mills.

Please make a gift to the Mills College Annual Fund by calling 510.430.2366, visiting alumnae.mills.edu/give, or returning the enclosed envelope.

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8 Mills Quarterly

CONTENTS

Winter 2021

8 Higher Education Inspiration by Moya Stone, MFA ’03 The Mills experience has stirred many a writer to center the campus in their creative works.

12 Black Power and the Mills Girl by Lauren Araiza The cultural and political forces of the late 1960s that helped reshape the College into the institution it is today are the subject of an academic article.

16 Full Circle by Sarah Stevenson, MFA ’04 A new book closes a chapter on the Mills Longitudinal Study.

22 Reunion Photos Going virtual didn’t stop many alumnae from gathering to commemorate Reunion 2020.

Departments 2

Letters to the Editor

3

President’s Message

4

Mills Matters

18 AAMC News 24 Class Notes 28 Bookshelf 30 In Memoriam On the cover: A recent academic article in the Journal of Civil and Human Rights underscores the Black Student Union’s 1969 occupation of President Wert’s office as a turning point in Mills history. Read an excerpt from the piece on page 13.

Photos courtesy of the Mills College Special Collections and Archives.

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Volume CX, Number 2 (USPS 349-900) Winter 2021

Letters to the Editor I am beyond words grateful for the beau-

President Elizabeth L. Hillman

tiful article in the fall 2020 issue (“A

Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams

been remarkably generous to me, and it

Managing Editor Allison Rost

my very unhappy kindergarten daughter

Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson Editorial Assistant Lila Goehring ’21 Contributors Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13 Sarah Stevenson, MFA ’04 Moya Stone, MFA ’03 Editorial Advisory Committee Angela Bacca, MBA ’12 Sheryl Bize-Boutte ’73 Melissa Bender Henley ’99 Sarah Lehman ’86 Mira Mason-Reader ’15 Mari Matoba ’03 Livi Perez ’14, MA ’17 Mason Stockstill, MFA ’09

Future for Old Women”). Mills has always all started when an Oakland elementary school principal arranged for me to have evaluated by Lee Mirmow in the psychology department to see if she was ready for first grade. I discovered the MA in English, and the rest is history!

–Professor Emerita Ruth Saxton, MA ’72; Oakland I am a Mills alum, and wanted to just say

Dawn Cunningham’s article, “A Future

how much I enjoyed the fall 2020 issue

for Old Women,” featuring Professor

of the Quarterly. The layout and graphics

Ruth Saxton, was inspiring! As a mem-

were exceptional, and the articles inspir-

ber of the Class of 1968, I happily resem-

ing. The piece on Ruth Saxton’s new

ble and embrace the “old lady” title. I’ve

book was especially wonderful, particu-

shared the article and the preview of

larly given the recent news of RBG.

Saxton’s The Book of Old Ladies with

–Cara Johnson-Hubbell, MFA ’03; Denver, Colorado The fall 2020 Mills Quarterly matters for

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.

me because of two of its incredibly timely,

Copyright © 2021, Mills College

one of about 10 Black young women in

Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.

Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312 Printed on recycled paper containing 10 percent post-consumer waste.

(Please use outline)

engaging, and personally relevant articles.

“Black Lives Matter at Mills” brought back so many memories for me as a freshman member of the Class of 1968.

One of five Black 18-year-olds in the class and living in Olney Hall, I was the entire college of approximately 750 women in 1964. In the slowly awakening shelter of Mills College, we—along with some of our non-Black friends and acquaintances—experienced directly and

working out with Zoom trainers, leading active “socially distanced” social and political lives, teaching full- or part-time at one of the local colleges or universities, or practicing their professions. One colleague was so inspired by Saxton’s research that she and I are exploring how we might incorporate it into a project, class, or program—stay tuned for the outcome! Meanwhile, The Book of Old Ladies is at the top of my Christmas list.

–Barbara Morrow Williams ’68, Henderson, Nevada

Corrections

year in civil rights history; it became

In the fall issue of Mills Quarterly, we

only more dramatic as our education pro-

misspelled the name of an MBA gradu-

gressed. The acknowledgement of Black

ate who passed away in May 2020. Her

Lives Matter movement at Mills, includ-

name is Stacey Park Milbern, MBA ’16.

ing the College’s recognition of student

We also included the wrong gradu-

anti-racist activism and its validation of

ation year for an alumna in Bookshelf.

the Black student experience, reawakens

The correct class year for Sheryl Bizé-

pride in being a Mills graduate (as well as

Boutté is 1973.

Williams Mount ’91).

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

friends and colleagues who defy aging—

indirectly what would be a cataclysmic

the proud mother of a Bent Twig, Portia

2

my equally “happy-to-be-an-old-lady”

We sincerely regret these errors and any confusion they may have caused.

A Message from the President of Mills College

By Elizabeth L. Hillman

It’s been a tumultuous fall across the country, yet a relatively quiet one at Mills College. The now-accelerating global pandemic and economic crisis—alongside

mounting

pressure

to realize, at long last, an inclusive and antiracist community—has been the backdrop for an election season more contentious and difficult to predict than any the United States has experienced in some time. Yet the virtual Mills community has thrived, as has a small student, staff, and faculty population on campus.

President Hillman (bottom row, far right) at the Jill Barrett Symposium, held this year on Zoom

Academic, civic, and strategic conversations about the College’s future have shifted to the many platforms that now

science graduates into their careers with

connect us across space and time. One

both the very best of academic prepara-

such platform was created in October

tion and a network of support.

2020 by Christie’s, the auction house

This fall, Mills launched a COVID-19

that set a new world record price for any

dashboard to share information online,

work of literature with the sale of Mills

especially for the small community

College’s First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays,

that has continued to work and live on

one of the most important collections of

campus. The College has also provided

literature in the world. When Brooklyn

housing to about 180 students, and

book dealer and antiquarian Stephan

even welcomed Starr King School for

Loewentheil’s

bid

the Ministry, the graduate theological

ended a six-minute competition among

school and seminary formerly located

three telephone bidders, Mills realized a

in Berkeley, to its new home in the Vera

nearly

$10-million

Long Building. So far, the campus man-

much needed—if bittersweet—boost to its finances. Mills had held the Folio, first

Mills College’s own virtual events

dates for masking and social distancing

published in 1623, since 1977, when

have also been setting records, attract-

and the shift to mostly remote instruc-

alumna and trustee Mary Louise O’Brien

ing more participants and reaching a

tion and work have proved successful

’34—together with her husband James—

broader audience than the in-person

in limiting the spread of infection on

quietly gave the Folio to Mills to honor

versions that preceded the pandemic.

campus. This is also thanks to the sup-

her father, Professor Elian Olas James, a

Last year, the Jill Barrett Symposium

port and resilience of our frontline staff,

Shakespeare scholar and beloved English

in Biology took place in the beautifully

to whom Mills recently paid modest and

professor who inspired students at Mills

renovated Lisser Hall, but this fall, the

much-deserved bonuses for their heroic

College for 35 years. Mills College was

symposium was moved onto Zoom and

work early in the crisis, when we under-

fortunate to hold the Folio for these past

drew a crowd of some 150 attendees. It

stood far less about the coronavirus than

decades; it was treasured by the students,

showcased not only a new logo (above),

we do now. Yet COVID-19 has affected

faculty, staff, and scholars who studied

but also the research of 11 student schol-

all of us, and the Mills community in

and preserved it. At a time when cash flow

ars who, with support from Mills’ extraor-

Oakland and across the world continues

and budget deficits are bedeviling the

dinary biology professors, adapted their

to shudder under its weight. I look for-

most creative and resilient institutions

research plans to flourish even during a

ward to learning more from our virtual

of higher education, both the O’Briens’

pandemic that slowed field and laboratory

community in the months ahead as we

gift and those who cherished the Folio at

studies across the world. I’m grateful to

continue to fight the virus and embrace

Mills have sustained the College through

Associate Professor of Biology Jenn Smith

the possibilities of learning, planning,

a critical time.

for leading the College’s efforts to send its

and growing online.

WINTER 2021

3

Mills Matters Adapting to the new status quo After a relatively uneventful fall semester, upcoming J-term

Mills community makes most of Convocation

and spring classes at Mills will continue with a pandemic-

As one of the earliest campus-wide events of the year,

era hybrid approach that incorporates both online and in-person learning. While the mix will still heavily lean toward the virtual, several more courses will meet on campus in 2021, including lab sciences and art studios.

There were plenty of pitfalls to the first four months of a most unusual school year—for students and faculty members alike. Email and Zoom fatigue have plagued many in the Mills community, and at a faculty-staff town hall on October 27, 2020, Dean of Student Life Chicora Martin

Convocation followed its tradition of setting the tone for the new school year—though this one was already unlike any other. With classes online and many students spread out beyond the campus, Provost Chinyere Oparah and her staff made the decision to hold the event over Zoom.

And rather than bring in an outside speaker—as per usual custom—students took charge and shared rousing speeches and poetry.

reported that students have diminished resources on both financial and emotional levels. Technology needs are up, while many of those learning off-campus don’t have the kind of privacy they need for online classes.

The 180 or so students living on campus do have the opportunity to socialize, even as they occupy single rooms. “Students are able to establish social bubbles, and we encourage them to do that,” Martin said. “They have those two or three friends, and they eat together, so they’re interacting in small groups.” A new COVID-19 dashboard is available at mills.edu/covid-19/covid-dashboard.php, showing (as of press time) that there have been no positive cases on the Mills campus since September 2020.

Additional signs of normal life are showing themselves as everyone learns how to adapt to the pandemic. Later in the fall, outdoor yoga sessions on Holmgren Meadow gave those on campus socially distanced time outside, and the area surrounding Mary Morse was reconfigured to allow student and faculty children the opportunity to roller skate. Martin said the Division of Student Life had found better virtual engagement among some populations, such as student parents, and that post-pandemic programming would be adjusted to accommodate those groups.

Coronavirus, climate change, and Black futurism were the prompts for these creative contributions, and Mills students responded in spades. Convocation kicked off with an indigenous blessing from Hiwa Grieg ’22, Zooming in from Maui, Hawaii, with her mother, Napua (pictured above). Student leaders Dylyn Turner-Keener ’21 (president of the Associated Students of Mills College) and Sophie Stauffer, MA ’22, followed with advice for the pandemic and intensely personal reflections on their experiences at Mills. Three other students—Jessica Hairston ’22, MFA ’23; Reilly Hirst, MPP ’21; and Sara Lahey ’22—shared poems they had written for the occasion. Hairston’s contribution is at right; visit quarterly.mills.edu/convocation-poetry to read the others and for links to videos of their readings.

Work continued apace at the Mills Community Farm over the summer into the fall, with students and Farm Manager Julia Dashe packaging harvested food for on-campus residents and the Mercy Brown Bag Program for the Elder Care Alliance. “The outdoor space, the resilience of the natural worlds, and the smells and sounds of the surrounding ecology have been truly healing for students, staff, and faculty who have been working, volunteering, and enjoying the farm’s bounty,” Dashe said.

4

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

FOR THOSE THAT RAPE AND COLONIZE

By Jessica Hairston ’22, MFA ’23 For Those That Rape and Colonize, Earth and I are one in the same, to take hold of Earth, is to take hold of Me I, the Black Woman, the oldest adage, has watched Herself, Earth, raped out of sanctity and auctioned as a commodity, to devolve from a house of worship to a house full of the things that haunt For the sake of greed, at the mercy of those that lust and want My body is the landscape of earth’s geography small scaled, in my truest essence, I exude an aura-ancient and avant The top layers of my skin shelter thousands of fissures, wherein lies the word ‘opulence’, elucidated under the gaze of astronomical dawn My melanin is so worldly, it’s the oldest decorum for an ancient ecosystem, the ‘Black Bod’ Wherever, I lay my body, plants blossom, the sun reveals herself, lost moons are found, ‘cause the Black Woman is Earth’s first reflection, her first confidant My body is often everybody’s home, this wallpaper I live under, is as deep as indigo By now, you should know, there is no reconciling Earth’s changing climate, when you still rape away the light of the blackest abodes As my topical layers fade from opal to opaque, there’s a virus of those that rape and colonize that dims the light in me that glows Earth came and cried to me the other day, actually she broke down in pain; she said, that she is dying quickly, that the time were living in is borrowed So I cried right back, broken and in pain; I said, that I miss the days where brown skin was a gift, a legacy, inheritance, because now when I look at Earth, my reflection reveals to me my inherited death sentence, to be black is to have sorrow Instead of innovate locally, you searched, pillaged, and conquered-globally Now my lungs are like the atmosphere you created: breathless, dense, cloudy My kidneys are as overburdened as our overpoliced inner cities My energy is as depleted as our neglected rural communities Honoring Earth, is honoring our collective health, ancient love, communal wealth, giving grace and saying please My skin is so dark and full of shade, it’s outer-worldly My skin is so black and pretty, it’s as extraterrestrial as our immeasurable galaxy Home can’t have zipcodes, or borders, or stop where the sun can no longer be seen Or where the sun sets and rises Relinquish your entitlement, make sovereign the bodies you’ve commodified Make sovereign the bodies you’ve raped and colonized Live morally, live minimally, and watch alternatives manifest the extras in life, the things you’ve earned, the delicacies you still desire Sincerely, A Survivor

WINTER 2021

5

Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students Mills College was ranked #1 as Best

Synchronous Classes Engage English

Value College in the West by US News &

Language Learners,” in which he

Mitchell performed in a virtual con-

World Report in September, as well as #1

explained how teachers can use music

cert in August 2020 alongside singer

in the category for Best Undergraduate

and programs like TikTok to connect

Bobby McFerrin, which celebrated their

Teaching. This guide, released annually,

with students during online instruction.

reception of the 2020 Jazz Masters

measures the academic quality of insti-

Student Rosina Ghebreyesus ’22 wrote

Professor Emeritus of Music Roscoe

Fellowship, announced in 2019 by the

tutions based on “success indicators”

an article, “The future is speaking—listen

like retention and graduation rates,

up,” for San Francisco Bay View National

Provost and Dean of Faculty

selectivity, and data from top officials

Black Newspaper in August, in which she

Chinyere Oparah was featured in

from similar institutions.

profiled native San Franciscans working

an August 2020 Glamour piece titled

to ensure that communities of color are

“Black Doulas Are Banding Together to

counted in the US Census.

Beat High Infant Mortality Rates.” In

Professor Emerita of Dance Molissa Fenley’s solo choreographed work, State of Darkness, was performed

Associate Adjunct Professor of Art

National Endowment for the Arts.

the article, she spoke about the benefits

(sans audience) at the Joyce Theatre

History Sarah Miller won a second

of working with a doula and reflected

from October 24 to November 1, 2020,

grant from the Graham Foundation

on her own birthing experience, which

by seven dancers, with whom Fenley

for Advanced Studies in the Fine Art

led her to co-found the organization

worked by “adapting her creative

for her book project, Documentary in

Black Women Birthing Justice. She was

process to our emergent world of

Dispute: The Original Manuscript of

also interviewed by KTVU Channel

social distance.”

Changing New York by Berenice Abbott

2 for a piece on absenteeism across

and Elizabeth McCausand, in which

the Bay Area in virtual schooling on

Education Department Chair Tomás

the original manuscript for Changing

October 19, 2020.

Galguera was featured in a July District

New York is recreated in a sequence of

Administration piece, “9 Reasons

photos and text.

Professor of Education and Teacher

Mills Teachers Scholars lead by learning The School of Education’s Teacher Scholars Program—which provides professional development training

Professor Emerita of Music Maggi Payne reissued two collections of music

Mills College Art Museum Shifting Perspectives ■ Through March 7 Students Simone Gage, Sage Gaspar, Sydney Pearce, Melika Sebihi, and Taya Wyatt curated this digital presentation of works from MCAM’s permanent collection that critique views of race, culture, and gender. Pieces include everything from documentary photography of Mexican immigrants in the United States to a plate that celebrates every Black man who lives to the age of 21. Visit mcam.mills.edu to view the exhibition.

to teachers already in the classroom, with an emphasis on equity, inquiry, and centering the student experience—is taking steps toward a nationwide audience by rebranding as Lead

by Learning. The change in name, which was announced on November 20, 2020, is the culmination of many months of discussion to find a better representation of what the program provides—and make it more accessible to those outside the area.

Adrianna Adams,​ Weekly Routine #1​ 6

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Yolanda M. Lopez, ​Women’s Work Is Never Done​

through Aguirre Records: Arctic Winds

responding, and provided resources and

speaker at the eighth annual All Things

from 2010 and Ahh-Ahh from the 1980s.

suggestions for struggling students.

Open conference, which occurred virtu-

An August 2020 review was featured

Student Natalia Roman ’24 was quoted

ally on October 17-19, 2020.

The fourth book by Professor of

in The Quietus, which detailed Payne’s

in an October Los Altos Town Crier article

experimental uses of sound and rhythm

about her role as director of marketing

English Tom Strychacz, Kitchen

throughout her career.

and community outreach at Science

Economics, which features close read-

Nation, an online platform that provides

ings of 19th-century regionalist women

free resources to students in STEM.

writers and their work in political eco-

Darius Milhaud Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music Tomeka Reid was called “the most acclaimed

nomic theory, was published in August

Associate Professor of Biology Jenn

jazz cellist of her generation” by the San

Smith and alumna Lauren Kong ’13 are

2020 by the University of Alabama

Francisco Chronicle in a September 2020

two of the co-authors on a new scien-

Press and received the Elizabeth Agee

article. She gave an online concert on

tific article about resistance to rattle-

Prize in American Literature.

September 19, 2020, alongside video art-

snake venom in squirrels, published in

ist Selina Trepp and percussionist Adam

the journal Toxins in September 2020.

Women’s Leadership Susan Stryker

Vida, as part of the Mills Music Now

Smith was also quoted in a November

was featured in a September article in

Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in

2020 piece in The Guardian about

the Mercury News written by Martha

leadership in animal species and in

Ross, MFA ’98. The article, titled

Ross ’22 were featured in an October

Popular Science that same month about

“Fighting the New Culture Wars:

2020 KQED piece called “It’s OK to

a newly identified mammal from the

Mills College Hires Pioneering

Not Be OK: College Students Tackle

Late Cretaceous epoch that resembles

Transgender Historian and Activist,”

Mental Health Challenges During the

species she currently studies.

covered Stryker’s new position at

monthly series.

Students Alondra Rios ’21 and Jada

Pandemic” by Laura Klivans, which

Elinor Kilgore Snyder Professor of

covered the pandemic’s toll on students’

Computer Science Ellen Spertus was

mental health and how campuses are

featured as an inclusion and diversity

Mills and her thoughts on transgender rights today.

On Election Day 2020, Assistant Professor of Public Policy Mark Henderson traveled to the town of La Honda in San Mateo County to volunteer at the polls. When he arrived, he learned that he had been assigned to the same site as Hilary Hart ’73, who lives in La Honda, bringing a definite Mills flavor to a historic day.

WINTER 2021

7

Higher Education

Inspiration

With such an illustrious legacy of creative writers, Mills itself has been the setting for a story or two. We talked to their authors.

By Moya Stone, MFA ’03

T

he college, with its heady mix of beautiful nature, crumbling old buildings, and shadowy nooks and crannies, had a reputation for being extremely haunted.

8

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

–Haunted Heroine by Sarah Kuhn ’99

A

nyone familiar with Mills College

knows that it offers an abundance of literary inspiration with its history and tradition, its expansive campus, and—of course—those trees! (Not to mention a creative writing program that has generated authors such as Micheline Aharonian Marcom, MFA ’99, and Marc Anthony Richardson, MFA ’09.) The Quarterly was curious about what motivates authors to write about or incorporate Mills into their works and how their interactions with the College influence their portrayals. So we contacted several of them—including faculty, staff, and alumnae—and asked what Mills represents in their writings, and to them personally.

A Home for (Super) Heroines When Sarah Kuhn ’99 set out to write Haunted

Heroine

(2020,

Penguin

Randomhouse), the fourth book in her Heroine Complex series, she knew she wanted to change the usual location for her superheroines. “They’d spent three whole books fighting demons in San Francisco,” she explains, “so I was trying to think of some other places where evil might be happening.” And what better a place than her alma mater?

Not that Kuhn believes Mills is a place of evil: “I need to say that this is a very fictionalized version of Mills!”

But her stand-in, called Morgan College, does have similarities to Mills. Both are women’s colleges located in Oakland on beautiful tree-lined campuses with old buildings, and both might have a

M

ills College was hundred-year-old eucalyptus trees and rolling hills of fresh-cut grass and barbed-wire fences to keep the city out, and the Indigo Girls singing from car stereos.

–We Were Witches by Ariel Gore ’94

few ghosts hanging around. However, Morgan has serious problems that Mills does not, such as “a possibly corrupt

ALLI NOVAK

and very secret ghost-haunting society.”

(Although, if there is one of these soci-

go back to face her personal demons was

classes in economics and writing and

eties at Mills, Kuhn would like to know

appropriate. “So here we’re dealing with

lives in Underwood Apartments with her

about it.)

both actual ghosts and the personal,

young daughter. Because her novel is so

metaphorical ghosts that haunt us,”

strongly based on reality, Gore decided

Kuhn says.

to name many of the locations, includ-

Mills inspired Kuhn in a variety of ways. She remembers the stories of ghost sightings on campus she heard as

ing the College itself. “Mills is such a

a student: the disappearing horse-drawn

A Magical Sanctuary

carriage, the spooky footsteps in Lisser

Ariel Gore ’94 drew on memory and

didn’t see any compelling reason not to

Hall. She says that the overall theme

imagination for We Were Witches (2017,

name it.” In the story of a young single

of her story is revisiting one’s past, and

Amethyst

autobio-

mother struggling with shame, poverty,

since her protagonist, Evie Tanaka, was

graphical novel takes place partially

and violence, Mills serves as a sanctu-

a Morgan College dropout, having her

at Mills, where her protagonist attends

ary from the outside world. At Mills,

Editions).

Gore’s

singular and magical place,” Gore says. “I

WINTER 2021

9

Gore’s protagonist—also named Ariel—is

Herron, who is a “huge Mills fan,” says

memory and affection for the campus

accepted and given the opportunity to

that the book was inspired by fond

allowed her to give detailed descrip-

explore her ideas and her identity. Most

memories of her time at the College,

tions of favorite campus locations, such

importantly, her desire to write is taken

and she even places her young protago-

as the Greek Theater, Mills Hall, and the

seriously and not dismissed because she

nist at Mills. “My character, Ellie, is try-

residence halls. “The entire book was

just happens to be a mother.

ing to decide where to go to school. Her

inspired by my love of Mills College,”

“The couple of years I spent at Mills

mother is dying, and going to Mills will

says McCracken, who, like her character,

impacted my life as a writer in profound

allow her to stay close to her, but Ellie

discovered a supportive environment

and beautiful ways,” says Gore, who also

still longs to spread her wings,” she says.

at Mills in which to explore new people

notes that she’s still paying off her student loans.

A Home Away from Home

and ideas that she would not have found

A Place to Find Yourself

in her small Indiana hometown. At

Affection for one’s alma mater is often

Mills, she met people from around the

the impetus for a narrative, and that

globe: “Wonderful young women, each

As with Gore, Rachael Herron, MFA ’99,

was the case for Alice McCracken ’63.

of them, all very different from me,” she

felt a sense of comfort at Mills. “Is it

Using the pseudonym Dorothy Rice

says. McCracken adds that Mills wasn’t

weird to say that Mills feels like a mater-

Bennett, McCracken writes romance

the answer to all her problems, but it

nal force in my life? When I was on cam-

stories with lesbian characters. After

did open her up to new worlds and pro-

pus, I always felt safe,” she says. Herron

attending Reunion in 1993, she got to

vided much needed individual attention.

still feels safe as a regular visitor (at

work writing a novel set on a college

“I would have been lost in a university,”

least before COVID) to the library and

campus much like Mills. The Artemis

she says.

the Tea Shop, both of which she calls

Adventure (2017, Outskirts Press) is

perfect spaces for writing. A Bent Twig

the story of a young runaway from the

A Place to Face the Future

and a successful author of more than

South Bronx and her adventures: first,

It was Mahmud Rahman’s unique per-

two dozen books under the name R.H.

heading to California, and then study-

spective as both a Mills College staff

Herron, she incorporated Mills into her

ing at the fictional Montrose College

member and a graduate student (MFA

novel Splinters of Light (2015, Berkley).

for

’04) that inspired his story written for

McCracken’s

excellent

PAUL K URODA

Women.

T

he shadow, the musician (you), the huge door that divides the space. Us. His name is a tinkle of crystal. Concert of those strange caressing melodies.

I sit on the threshold of nobody’s door, the one in the painting. My ear is quick to hear. Faster than my eye. A window there, another here. The sky above my head. My feet on a rug. Some notes melt together and then fade out.

–“Musician” by Carlota Caulfield

ALLI NOVAK

N

ew students wore excited faces, returnees were happy to reunite with friends, and faculty geared up to start a new year. Only the staff who worked year-round were ambivalent, some among them blue that the summer of an empty campus had ended too soon.

–“Prophets and Spies” by Mahmud Rahman, MFA ’04

Oakland Noir, an anthology published by

A Place for Musings

and set their stories, mostly of the ghost

Akashic Books (2017) as part of its series

Renowned poet Carlota Caulfield has

variety, on campus. Reiss herself men-

of noir short stories set in different cities

taught Spanish and Spanish American

tions the College in two of her books, The

around the world. Rahman was asked to

Studies at Mills since 1992. In her poetry

Strange Case of Baby H (2009, Skyview

contribute to their Oakland edition set

collection

Notebook

Books) and The Glass House People (1996,

in a neighborhood of his choice. Mills

(2016, Hardpressed Poetry), she includes

HMH Books). “I figure that the young

seemed an excellent location for its atmo-

some poems inspired by her time liv-

readers of these books will be, in just a

sphere—and Rahman knew it well.

The

Neumeister

ing on campus. She says the poems are

few years, applying to college,” she says.

“Prophets and Spies” is about a Mills

connected to concerts and people in

“It doesn’t hurt for them to have heard

College staff member and a group of

the Music Department, as well as her

of Mills already.” Reiss recently started

activist students on New Year’s Eve

son learning to play the acoustic guitar

working on a time travel story after

1999. “I remembered how a faculty mem-

when they lived in Faculty Village. As

reading some newly discovered letters

ber had been very wrapped up in the

a resident on campus for several years,

belonging to two sisters who, in the late

somewhat extreme forebodings about

Caulfield was regularly exposed to cre-

19th century, lived in Mills Hall, where

Y2K,” Rahman says. In thinking about

ativity that was her “bridge toward

Reiss has her office. “My imagination ran

the story, it became important to him

new poetry journeys.” Music and art

wild,” she says.

to incorporate characters from different

had always influenced her work, but at

From the magical to the spooky, from

communities. “Often in campus fiction,

Mills she rediscovered jazz, which fur-

taking risks to self-discovery, from pon-

students or faculty are featured, but staff

ther contributed to her writing. It’s also

dering the future to considering the

tend to be forgotten,” Rahman explains.

where, she says, “I was welcomed as a

present, the inspirations are as varied

“I wanted to write outside this pattern,

poet and valued for my creative work.”

as the writers themselves. But what the

so I featured a staff person I made up as

authors have in common is that for each

one of the main characters of the story.”

A Home for Haunting

Using memory, personal journals, cam-

Kathryn Reiss, a professor in the English

ing space for exploration. Kuhn sums it

pus locations, staff and student charac-

department since 1989 and the author of

up: “This is where I feel like I started on

ters, and an historic moment, Rahman

more than 20 young adult novels, says

the path to becoming who I was meant

crafted a story of noir intrigue that offers

that many of her writing students over

to be . . . that is very rich to draw on as a

readers a different take on the College.

the years have been inspired by Mills

writer.” Indeed, it is. 

of them, Mills offers a safe and accept-

WINTER 2021

11

BLACK POWER andthe Mills Girl:

Gender and the Black Campus Movement at Mills

12 

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

An excerpt from a Journal of Civil and Human Rights article about Mills in the late 1960s.

By Lauren Araiza *Note: This article includes a direct quote with an outdated racial term.

The late 1960s were a time of great societal shifts and change in the United States, and those forces

The BSU’s press conference and threat of militant protest

did not bypass the Mills campus—especially

challenged both the conventional image of the Mills girl and

given the role that the Black Panthers and the

notions of proper feminine behavior. However, it was not the

city of Oakland played during that tumultuous

explicit intention of the students to challenge ideas of feminin-

time. Spurred by the national call for civil rights

ity and ladyhood. Rather, they deliberately employed respect-

and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,

ability politics and thus saw their protest as consistent with the

growing numbers of Black students at the College

behavior expected of a Mills girl. [Elizabeth “Liz”] Reynolds ’68

attempted to push for academic and social equity

later explained that holding a press conference was in line with

with limited success.

respectable behavior because they did it “not to be mean, not to

In an article published in the fall 2019 edition

be disrespectful, but to get what we want.” Furthermore, accord-

of the Journal of Civil and Human Rights, which

ing to Barbara Morrow Williams ’68, the students presented

is published by the University of Illinois Press,

themselves as ladylike Mills girls, in opposition to students on

Denison University professor Lauren Araiza out-

other campuses, even when protesting. She later described a

lined how this eventful time across the country

photograph of the students taken at the press conference that

was also transformative for the College. The inter-

was published in a Bay Area newspaper:

views and research she conducted detail how Mills, as with other women’s colleges, occupied a very specific space in its earliest days—as a destination mostly for the daughters of the wealthy (and usually white) elite. But growing activism, led by students of color at institutions across the

When you have photos of like San Francisco State and some of these other schools that are exploding, you’ve got people out there in combat jackets and boots and looking like Che Guevara knockoffs. We’re sitting there and we’re all wearing I. Magnins and we’ve got our Vidal Sassoon haircuts. I mean, we’re looking anything but radical. We look about as radical as the Junior League.

Bay Area, pushed colleges and universities into

Morrow Williams later wondered if it was the contrast between

diversifying their faculty and class offerings in

their respectable appearance and radical actions that some

the latter half of the 20th century. At Mills, those

found particularly disconcerting.

actions reached a crescendo with an occupation

Despite the BSU’s attempts to employ respectability politics,

of President Robert Wert’s office in Mills Hall on

many outside observers were alarmed by the students’ threat of

March 21, 1969, which directly led to the estab-

direct action. Some in the Black community were concerned that

lishment of the College’s first ethnic studies

the students’ femininity, ladyhood, and marriage prospects had

program. (Archive images from the occupation

been compromised. Morrow Williams recalled that family friends

appear throughout this piece.) These efforts echo

had criticized her parents for sending her to Mills because they

across the decades now in the College’s stated

felt that women should marry and have children, not pursue

mission and emphasis on social justice: Araiza’s

higher education. They echoed the many critics of higher edu-

argument is that Mills wouldn’t be the institution

cation for women, who had argued since the 19th century that

of higher learning it is today without the efforts

intelligence was unfeminine and that a college education ren-

of these student activists, even though—at the

dered women unsuitable for marriage. In response, at Mills—as

time—their actions were considered antithetical

at other women’s colleges—marriage was promoted as a goal for

to the ideal “Mills girl.”

students and was tied to ideals of ladyhood. Long-standing col-

This excerpt of Araiza’s article concentrates on

lege traditions included the elaborate formal announcement of

the conditions in the 1967–68 school year that

engagements at dinner and a ceremony at graduation that hon-

led up to occupation, including efforts by Black

ored seniors who had married or become engaged while stu-

students to appeal to the Mills administration by

dents. Mills administrators encouraged this and stressed the

embodying the stereotype of a typical women’s

importance of training students to be both ladies and wives.

college attendee—polite and mannered. As this excerpt begins, Araiza is referencing a press conference held by the newly formed Black Student Union (BSU) on May 7, 1968, after some of its members had taken actions such as writing news-

+

Interested in reading the full article by Lauren Araiza?

Visit jstor.org/journal/jcivilhumarigh for more information.

paper editorials and petitioning the administration for change, but to no avail. –Allison Rost WINTER 2021

13

“ Mos t par e nt s hate to admit to t he ir f r ie nds t hat t he ir litt le gir ls might har bor ‘ radical ideas ’ lik e s tude nt s at Be r k eley and Columbia.”

Lynn White, who was president of Mills from

girls, many students and alumnae challenged

1943 to 1958, called for courses that would sup-

the critique that protesting was unladylike and

posedly prepare students for marriage and moth-

thus not in keeping with the Mills image. An

erhood, such as home economics, interior design,

editorial in the Mills Stream declared, “Most

and child psychology. Regardless of these efforts,

parents hate to admit to their friends that their

Morrow Williams’s parents’ friends pointed to the

little girls might harbor ‘radical ideas’ like stu-

press conference as evidence that college had cor-

dents at Berkeley and Columbia. After all, they

rupted their daughter.

go to Mills! What they should tell their friends

Criticism of the BSU’s press conference was

is that Mills girls can mobilize” (emphasis in the

divided along racial lines. White critics were

original). Furthermore, many Mills students and

unconcerned about the Black students’ jeop-

alumnae were supportive of the BSU’s endeavors.

ardized

prospects.

[Associated Students of Mills College] officers,

Moreover, they did not consider the students to

class officers, and residence hall presidents sent

be ladies, despite their use of respectability poli-

individual letters to Wert expressing their sup-

tics. The mother of an alumna wrote to Wert

port for the BSU’s requests and asking that the

criticizing the students for “rank ingratitude and

ASMC be kept informed of all progress made on

gross discourtesy.” Other letters and telegrams

fulfilling them. The staff of the Mills Stream wrote

maligned the BSU as radicals and “communist

editorials supportive of the BSU and noted that

inspired negro agitators” who were using threats

the union’s requests benefitted the entire college,

and coercion to get their way and urged Wert to

not just African American students. Several white

stand up to “unlawful conduct” and “any form

alumnae wrote to Wert expressing their support

of anarchy.” The press conference thus revealed

for the BSU, and some donated money to Mills

that, to many white people, the celebrated lady-

with the express purpose of enabling the hiring

hood of Mills girls did not apply to Black women.

of Black faculty.

femininity or

outsiders—were

Not only did the BSU’s press conference and

alarmed by the new militant image of Mills

threat of direct action challenge the image of

Although

14

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

marriage

some—especially

the Mills girl as a lady who did not engage in protests, but it also represented a shift in strategy that was ultimately successful.

Wert met with the students on May 9, two days after the press conference, and subsequently announced to the press that, due to a last-minute resignation of a professor in the mathematics department, African American professor Lawrence Gurly had been hired full-time to begin that fall. An anonymous donation had also enabled the College to create a new faculty position in the sociology department, with the intention that an African American professor be hired

by September. An African American clerical staff member had also been hired, and plans were underway to hire a Black student advisor. The college was also in process of raising funds to endow a scholarship in honor of Martin

renewed Black student activism at Mills and else-

Luther King, Jr. The hiring of African American

where. Although the Mills BSU protests in the

faculty and staff elicited praise from the local

spring of 1968 had achieved their initial goals,

Black press and was pointed to as evidence of

Black students soon noted that other significant

the strengthening of the relationships between

issues remained. Ruth Johnson editorialized

Mills and the Black community.

in the Mills Stream that, while she was pleased

Although the Mills BSU achieved all of its

that the BSU’s efforts had led to an increase in

goals and more, the threat of direct action forever

the number of admitted African American stu-

altered the relationship between Wert and student

dents, she was concerned about the discrimina-

activists, as Wert immediately became an outspo-

tory treatment they would receive at Mills, from

ken critic of student radicalism, dissent, and pro-

both fellow students and staff. Micheline Beam

test. At the Mills commencement ceremony on

’72, who entered Mills in the fall of 1968, con-

June 9, 1968, which happened to be the day that

firmed Johnson’s trepidations. She recalled that

Robert Kennedy was assassinated, Wert decried

not only did African American students experi-

the recent protests at Columbia University and

ence discrimination and were the victims of rac-

then said to the assembled audience, “Anarchy

ist acts in the residence halls, but there was no

and violence seem to be spreading at an alarm-

support system in place to help them: “[There

ing rate and we are subject to a barrage of threats,

were] no minority faculty, of color, whatsoever,

demands and warnings that, if various groups do

no administrator or support staff of color. . . . They

not get their way, more disorder will follow. So far,

brought us here onto a campus, and the campus

most of this dissent has emanated from students,

was not prepared for us, and there was no one to

the left-wing, and in our country, from these plus

be supportive of us.” Therefore, Johnson pledged

a disposed minority.” He went on to ask the audi-

that the BSU would continue to agitate on behalf

ence, “Do we, as citizens of this country, stand

of Black students and would employ direct action

with Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy

if necessary: “All in all we were very pleased to

for moderation rather than extremism, or do we

see that our requests, after having been ignored

stand with Mark Rudd, the leader of the student

for so long, were considered favorably. But we also

revolt at Columbia, and Stokely Carmichael?” In

know what we had to do to effect such action—

subsequent speeches and writings, he minimized

and therefore we know what we will have to do

the accomplishments of Black student activists

in the future.” The members of the Mills BSU thus

and did not mention the Mills BSU’s actions.

began the academic year by rejecting respectabil-

Despite Wert’s attempts to discredit student protest, the 1968–69 academic year ushered in

+ Learn more about the 1969 occupation of President Wert’s office in the spring 2021 issue, which will include a roundtable discussion with several of the alumnae who participated.

ity politics and notions of ladyhood connected to the idealized Mills girl. 

WINTER 2021

15

A groundbreaking study of Mills alumnae marks its 60th anniversary with the publication of a new book. By Sarah J. Stevenson, MFA ’04 When Ann Markewitz ’60 graduated from Mills, she entered a

women, every 10 years. Subjects were recruited from the Mills

world in which societal expectations for her life revolved around

senior classes of 1958 (65 participants) and 1960 (77) in order to

getting married—to a man, of course—and having children, with

study “creativity, leadership, and plans for the future in modern

career taking a secondary role for most women, even college

young women.” The participants were 97% white and 3% Asian,

graduates. And for a while she went by the book, moving to

largely reflecting the demographic makeup of Mills at the time.

Berkeley with her husband and raising two daughters. After

Organized chronologically, the book takes observations from

reconsidering her identity in midlife, Markewitz ultimately

the five major rounds of data collection and presents them in

married a woman, who she has now been with for 42 years.

“ordinary language,” as Mitchell describes it—from the study’s

It’s a life path that would have been difficult to imagine in her

beginnings looking at creativity and personality in young

youth, but one that has proved deeply fulfilling.

women and how these characteristics affected their choices

Her journey was chronicled through her participation in the

about family and career in midlife, to the effects of personal-

Mills Longitudinal Study, a groundbreaking look at the course

ity on attitudes about retirement and late life purpose. “To our

of women’s lives conducted by Berkeley psychologist Ravenna

great surprise, no one had really ever mapped the adult life

Helson.

course of women,” Mitchell says.

How

groundbreak-

ing was it? In its early days,

We know now that sex and gender have a significant impact

a monograph on the partici-

on the effects of medicine, the course of disease, and our over-

pants—then in their 20s—was

all understanding of physical and mental health. But research

rejected for publication. “The

in the sciences have traditionally been deficient in their atten-

person

[Helson]

tion to, and involvement by, women. Even now, many medical

and said, “Your sample is too

treatments are based on studies conducted on men, or studies

small, but quite honestly, if

that did not account for differences between women and men.

wrote

to

you had 1,000 women in your

Sexism in scientific study has been a longstanding issue. In

study, we wouldn’t publish it,”

the 1930s, Sigmund Freud declared that women stop developing

says Valory Mitchell, who first

psychologically around age 30. Even as psychology came into

became involved in the study

its own as a rigorous academic discipline, there was a pervasive

as a graduate student at UC Berkeley and has now seen it through to the publication of a book.

Women on the River of Life: A Fifty-Year Study of Adult Development, by Helson and Mitchell, was published in November 2020, capping off six decades of inquiry with a look back on the many insights the study brought to light—and illuminating an area of research that was, and remains, underexplored.

In 1958, Dr. Helson began her decades-long research project tracking the personalities, lives, and careers of Mills alumnae as they changed over time—or didn’t—in one of the only psychological studies of its kind: a longitudinal glimpse into the lives of the same group of 16

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

lack of interest in women as subjects. Times have changed significantly—and even though we still have a way to go to achieve gender equity, researchers now have a better understanding of the need to include people of all genders. The general public is also increasingly aware of the value of research that centers women.

And yet, the Mills Study remains unique.

Thus far, no other study has paid such granular, detailed attention to observing personality across the lifespan, enabling Helson and her associates to draw a number of interesting conclusions about the various stages of women’s lives, and how they are affected by personality traits as well as the sweep of social and historical change.

When the study began, it focused primarily on creativity, looking at young women

DANA DAV IS

deemed to have “creative potential” and tracking their expectations with respect to family, career, and

office, but she stayed 10 years and became the College’s first

their future. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, expectations

dean of admissions.

for women tended to align with traditional milestones such as

The Mills study revealed that there are many ways to find hap-

marriage and motherhood. Several chapters of the new book

piness in one’s work, and, beyond that, in life post-retirement.

discuss the Mills women’s attitudes toward—and participation

In fact, contrary to popular understanding, women in their 50s

in—these “social clock projects,” as Mitchell describes them.

often experience a prime of life rather than the tribulations of

Across the decades, the advent of the women’s movement

menopause and the empty nest.

and gay liberation broadened existing ideas about what women

“Society seems to make a big point of telling women that

were capable of doing, and what was socially acceptable. It even

their lives are over after a certain point, and the women them-

affected the way researchers themselves approached their

selves do not feel that way,” Mitchell says. In fact, the Mills

studies. “The feminists really changed a lot of research in very

Study research confirms what psychoanalyst Erik Erikson pos-

important ways, like acknowledging the researcher’s role, and

ited about psychosocial development later in life: the continu-

that it couldn’t really be sterile,” says Carol Whitehill, one of

ing importance of generativity, or a concern with guiding and

the participants from the Class of 1958.

nurturing the next generation.

A feminist and researcher herself, Helson helped bring about

“The idea is that you’re leaving society with something that

these changes. Subjects were greeted with kindness, warmth,

will outlive you, that’s a positive contribution,” Mitchell says.

and genuine interest, whether they were at the institute in per-

“Maybe that’s your children, but maybe it’s also that you do

son or simply filling out questionnaires—a departure from the

things for the society, or you create things, or you make sure to

expected atmosphere of clinical detachment. It was, many felt,

preserve and protect things that are of value.”

an opportunity to reflect on their lives with a depth and regularity that they might not have otherwise had.

Several chapters of the book examine how the women in the study attained that sense of generativity. Ann Markewitz

As the study participants experienced different life stages,

describes this happening in her family life, in maintaining close

researchers noticed that personality was a very stable predic-

relationships with her children and grandchildren; but also

tor of the paths women took. Some defied socially prescribed

in her later career, working as a consultant with the Tohono

expectations, while others followed the norms of marrying and

O’odham Nation in Tucson, Arizona, to build a skilled nurs-

having children soon after college. However, as these women

ing facility. According to Markewitz, this was one of the great

grew into their 40s and 50s, their priorities would change—

learning experiences of her life.

sometimes quite drastically.

Diana Birtwistle Odermatt ’60, who had been organizing a session on the study for Reunion 2020, initially took her life in

Perhaps this is one of the book’s most significant takeaways— that attainment of certain milestones does not mean a person stops learning, growing, or contributing.

a more traditional direction. She got married right after gradu-

In a way, the Mills study itself is a mirror of the very same

ation—“the last thing in the world I ever expected of myself!”—

life stages it describes—and, with the recent book publication,

and stayed happily married for 60 years. Once her children

the study has reached its stage of reflection and generativity,

were in high school, however, she felt ready to return to work.

leaving something of itself to the Mills community, the field of

She began with a six-month position in the Mills admissions

psychology, and to future generations.  WINTER 2021

17

AAMC NEWS & NOTES A Message from the AAMC President Fall at Mills was a bit different in 2020,

alumnae-student

with fewer returning students com-

toring

ing back to campus, but it was still

platform at connect.mills

abuzz with the excitement of first-year

.edu. I sent a recording of

students who arrived with a host of

the AAMC update session

expectations. I took part in a number of

via email to alumnae on

virtual orientation events for students,

October 29. If you didn’t

including the candle-lighting ceremony

receive it, please contact

where students shared their dreams

Alumnae

and aspirations for their time at Mills.

alumnae-relations@mills

Students were able to learn more about

.edu to update your email

the AAMC, its history, and our engage-

information.

ment with students, and to see and hear

and

The

men-

networking

Relations

AAMC

at

also

welcomes and well-wishes from the

hosted a town hall with

Board of Governors (BOG).

President Beth Hillman

In addition to the virtual versions

on September 17. The BOG

of our usual fall events, Sayaka Omori

had collected questions

’06, an instructor at the University of

of importance to alum-

Washington’s College of Education, and

nae via email, Facebook,

I visited a course for international stu-

and a phone tree. AAMC

dents—the first of its kind at Mills. We

vice

spoke about our own cultural transi-

Cunningham and Alexa

tions and navigating US culture.

Pagonas

presidents ’91

Dawn

presented

Through lectures and hands-on learn-

these questions to me and

ing, the course hopes to set up incom-

President Hillman, who

ing students for successful academic,

addressed them with sub-

professional, and personal development

stance and transparency.

at Mills. Topics include cross-cultural

If you missed the live session, I recom-

come to Mills, paving the way for others

awareness, local history, community and

mend reviewing the recording that I

to follow in her footsteps. She was also

cultural engagement in the Bay Area,

sent to all alumnae, also on October

one of the most intelligent and engaged

and strategies for academic success in a

29. You can read Dawn’s summary

alumnae I had the good fortune to meet

liberal arts setting. This course is com-

of the event on the facing page. I am

and know at Mills. She will be greatly

pulsory for incoming F-1/J-1 students. I

grateful for our president’s leadership,

missed. You can find Peggy’s obituary in

hope it will be offered every semester!

commitment, and tireless work on

this issue’s In Memoriam section.

The pandemic robbed us of our in-per-

Viji Nakka-Cammauf

I would like to close with this anony-

behalf of Mills.

mous quote:

son Reunion, my all-time favorite event

I would also like to express my con-

at Mills, where we get to see so many

gratulations to the 2020 Alumnae

alumnae from various classes populat-

Award recipients: Kirsten Saxton ’90,

ing campus with their excitement and

Distinguished

enthusiasm. Instead, we hosted a few vir-

Marge Thomas, MA ’67, Outstanding

tual events that brought us together and

Volunteer

Dorothy

I wish you all continued good health,

helped us celebrate accomplishments and

Lawrence-Akaeze ’11, Recent Graduate

safety, and well-being, and I look for-

events. At our AAMC update session on

Award. See our profile of the awardees

ward to meeting again when it is safe for

October 3, alumnae saw and heard from

on the following spread.

us to gather.

Achievement

Award;

and

Award;

Those we love, don’t go away, they walk beside us every day, Unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear.

our newly elected governors and alum-

On a sadder note, this fall we lost yet

nae trustees. Committee chairs shared

another one of our beloved alumnae,

Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82

highlights, and Dawn Cunningham ’85

Peggy Woodruff ’58. Peggy was one of

President, Alumnae Association of

guided us through MillsConnect, our

the first African American students to

Mills College

18

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Warmly,

AAMC co-hosts town hall on Berkeley partnership conversation On September 17, the AAMC convened a virtual town hall at

expanded partnership, she said, would define a sustainable path

which President Beth Hillman addressed questions from alum-

forward that provides a high-quality educational experience for

nae regarding Mills College’s continuing conversation with UC

women, students of color, first-generation students, and gender

Berkeley to explore the possibility of a significantly expanded

nonbinary students, while offering students and faculty greater

partnership between the two institutions. The event was co-

opportunities for learning and research. To view a complete

hosted by the College’s Office of the President and Office of

recording of the town hall, go to bit.ly/Sept17townhall.

Alumnae Relations.

This winter, the AAMC aims to offer alumnae an additional

President Hillman emphasized that this conversation is in the

online opportunity to discuss this news. Please watch your

early stages and that no proposal had, as of that date, been pre-

email for an invitation from the AAMC. If you do not regularly

sented to the UC Board of Regents or the Mills Board of Trustees.

receive email news from Mills or the AAMC, make sure we have

She placed the conversation in the context of the College’s per-

your current address by sending an email to aamc@mills.edu

sistent budget deficits and enrollment declines, which have

or calling 510.430.2110 with your name and class year.

been exacerbated this year by the COVID-19 pandemic. An

MILLS COLLEGE

Oakland, California

Est. 1852

SHOW YOUR MILLS PRIDE ALL AROUND TOWN with a new Mills College bumper sticker! With a simple collegiate design featuring our signature eucalyptus leaf, these stickers are available for purchase on the AAMC online store.

Also newly available online are limited-edition Mills seal mugs that feature the elegant seal of our alma mater in shiny gold foil. A portion of the proceeds from these mugs goes toward supporting the College.

Visit aamcmerch.square.site for these and many other lovely items created especially for alums. All merchandise sales benefit the AAMC unless otherwise noted.

WINTER 2021

19

AAMC NEWS & NOTES

Three change leaders receive 2020 AAMC Alumnae Awards EVERY YEAR SINCE 2007, the AAMC has selected exemplary alumnae to receive its highest honors: The Distinguished Achievement Award for distinction in a professional field; the Recent Graduate Award; and the Outstanding Volunteer Award.

This year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to gather at Reunion to celebrate award recipients as we usually do.

Instead, the AAMC is delighted to spotlight our awardees here. AAMC

Marge Thomas

Communications Coordinator Kate Beckwith, MFA ’13, and Alumnae

students partnered with Oakland artists

Awards Committee co-chair Kristen

to collect and curate materials for a pub-

Oliver ’17, MPP ’18, convened the

lic digital archive of The Town’s past and

awardees via Zoom to reflect on

present as an artistic hub.

their time at Mills, their life paths

In addition to her scholarly work,

since graduating, and their hopes

Kirsten has offered her expertise to the

for the College.

Kirsten

Saxton

’90,

alumnae community by leading AAMC

our

travel program tours and giving talks at

Distinguished Achievement Award

regional Mills clubs. “I can think of few

recipient, earned her PhD from UC

alums who are more deserving of this

Davis in 1997. An Oakland native,

honor,” said Janet.

she returned to Mills as an assistant visiting professor of English in 1997 and climbed the ranks, reaching

Kirsten Saxton (left), with her mother, Professor Emerita Ruth Saxton

full professor status in 2012.

According to her nominator, Janet Boone MacEachern ’90, Kirsten embodies the best of Mills and has empowered generations of students. Her command of her field and commitment to student development have made her an outstanding professor as well as an empathetic mentor.

A cultural studies and feminist scholar, Kirsten specializes in 18th-century literature with a focus on gender in popular British narratives. Her scholarly research attends to authors and genres whose contributions to the literary landscape have been obscured or repressed. She has published three books— The Passionate Fictions of Eliza Haywood: Essays on Her Life and Work (2000), Narratives of Women and Murder in England, 1680-1760: Deadly Plots (2009), and Adapting the Eighteenth Century (2019)—and numerous articles and book chapters.

She is a lead faculty researcher on a five-year, multi-pronged humanities project at Mills funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For this project, she co-taught a course in which 20

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

This

year’s

Outstanding

Volunteer

Award goes to Marge Thomas, MA ’67, who has been dedicated to furthering the mission of the AAMC and the College for

decades. After graduating from Mills with her MA in English literature, Marge served as registrar for the College, as executive director of the AAMC, and as editor of the Mills Quarterly (then published by the AAMC).

Her AAMC positions were far more than simply jobs for her, and she went above and beyond her duties on a regular basis.

For example, she often volunteered to host events at her home during Reunion, and throughout the year she took extra time to get to know not only alumnae, but also students—as they would one day join the ranks of Mills graduates. During the Strike of 1990, she leveraged her relationships to help both groups support each other.

For decades, Marge was known as the Mills historian, another role she played as a volunteer. She could tell you exactly what Susan and Cyrus Mills did in the “Sandwich Islands” and why it mattered to current students. During Orientation, Marge would dress up as Susan and tell stories of the College’s early days.

Marge’s volunteer work extends far beyond the Mills cam-

in helping. This “purposeful accident” resulted in Dorothy men-

pus. As noted by her Bent Twig daughter nominators, Megan

toring more and more Mills students who had a similar desire

Thomas Barr ’93, MA ’98, and Katherine Thomas ’88, Marge

to hers: to create transformative opportunities in their com-

is a fearless advocate for immigrants and homeless people

munities. Giving back to and connecting to these students has

and a supportive presence for anyone in need of comfort or

given Dorothy an increased sense of purpose as a Mills alumna.

care in her Sonoma community. We are

Similarly, Kirsten never expected to find herself back at Mills

honored to bestow the Outstanding

in the position of professor, but she

Volunteer Award upon her.

has embraced the role wholeheart-

Dorothy Lawrence-Akaeze ’11, this

edly. “Mills College’s values mean

year’s Recent Graduate Award recipi-

that you always have to be thinking

ent, is an enthusiastic change leader

about new ways to support the folks

and proud Oakland native. She earned

in the room,” she said. “Institutions

her BA in psychology from Mills and

of higher education weren’t neces-

obtained an MA in education, special-

sarily built to support the marginal-

izing in adult education and training,

ized communities that are central

from the University of Phoenix in 2013.

to the current student body, so their

Since graduating from Mills, Dorothy

mere existence on campus is a radical

has worked as an organizational devel-

act pushing the institution to learn,

opment strategist.

grow, and do better.”

In 2015, she joined the AAMC’s

It doesn’t always live up to the chal-

Alumnae of Color Committee (AOCC).

lenge. Dorothy noted the difficulty

She served as a governor of the AAMC

she had on campus as a Black stu-

from 2015 to 2018 and participated

dent, especially when there weren’t

in the development of a new compact

many others around. This experience

between the AAMC and the College, which laid the groundwork for the

informs her work mentoring current Dorothy Lawrence-Akaeze

organizations’ current Memorandum of Collaboration and Agreement.

Dorothy is a champion of student advocacy and enjoys men-

Mills students, and she hopes that any future changes at Mills ensure that the needs of each student are pri-

oritized, valued, and respected.

toring and supporting Mills students. Her volunteer efforts

Marge recalled that, during her time at Mills in the ’60s, the

include co-leading the AOCC’s annual Phenomenal Women of

student body was mainly white, and most of the women of color

Color ceremony and supporting Summer Academic Workshop

she got to know were international students. But the immense

brunches, Taco Tuesdays, career advisory panels, student

sense of support Mills fostered between women was undeniable

events, and more.

and contrasted with her time later at UC Berkeley, which she

Nominator Myila Granberry ’05 said Dorothy exemplifies the Mills woman, and we couldn’t agree more. We are proud to honor her with the Recent Graduate Award and look forward to watching her career develop. 

called a “cold bath” lacking in support and opportunities for women to explore their full potential.

“Even during the Strike,” Marge said, “I’m not sure people understood exactly what Mills ought to be, what it needed to do to grow and change with the times.” Kirsten observed that some of her faculty colleagues believe Mills would be better off now if it had gone coed 30 years ago, but she disagrees. “The

DURING OUR CONVERSATION, the three awardees each out-

past three decades have allowed Mills to become an institu-

lined their very different paths before, during, and after their

tion that has an awareness of trans students and studies, for

times at Mills. The common thread between them, though, was

example, and one that increasingly empowers BIPOC students,”

that they were all drawn back into the Mills orbit after graduation.

she said. For Kirsten, this evolution made rejecting the coed

Dorothy described her theory of the “purposeful accident”: a

option worth it, allowing Mills to face the future with integrity.

move guided by intuition rather than a clear vision. In an effort

Mills is an institution that welcomes people who come to make

to build a bridge between Mills and students at an Oakland

an impact. Students push, alumnae push, and the world pushes

middle school, she somewhat accidentally joined the AOCC in

to shape Mills College into the very best version of itself it can be.

seeking out campus programs and alumnae groups interested

—Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13 WINTER 2021

21

2 0 2 0

Virtual Reunion

Despite the cancellation of in-person events, several yearly traditions continued online on October 1–3, 2020.

There There Faculty Panel The weekend’s festivities kicked off with a discussion about the first-year student common read, There There by Tommy Orange. The book, which takes its title from the famous Gertrude Stein quote, follows various indigenous Oaklanders as they prepare for a powwow. The talk was led by native members of the Mills community: Elder in Residence Patricia St. Onge; Assistant Adjunct Professor of Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies Natalee Kehaulani Bauer ’97, MA ’07; Kelli Rutherford ’21, leader in the College’s Indigenous Women’s Alliance; and Charlene Harrison ’96, MA ’08, who works with the Native American Health Center in Oakland.

“There’s beauty in writing down the sorrow.”

–Patricia St. Onge

Writers’ Salon Five alumnae authors—Thea Orozco ‘03 (far left), Kathleen Dalton ‘70, Nicole Taghert Bergstrom ‘70, Kristen Baumgardner Caven ‘88, and Kathleen MacKay ‘70 (not pictured)—read from their works and answered questions on everything from the lives of Theodore Roosevelt and Bob Dylan to the life of an introvert. Caven also showed off her short stop-motion animated film, The Dirndl Diaspora (left).

Convocation Read our roundup on page 4!

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+ M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

“There were some great stories told, great memories shared. We are looking forward to having a reunion in person next year!”

–Lisa Kremer ’90

Class of 1990 Wine Reception Celebrating their 30th Reunion, members of the Class of 1990 logged on from all over the world—from Mumbai to Colorado, Georgia, Washington state, and of course, the Bay Area.

Darius Milhaud Concert The annual celebration of the longtime Mills music professor was pre-recorded at the Mable Shaw Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College, featuring performances

by Sara Parkins and Sarah Thornblade on violin, Maggie Parkins on cello, Genevieve Feiwen Lee on piano, and Melissa Givens with vocals.

AAMC Update A quick synopsis of this meeting is available on page 18.

+

50th Reunion

Class of 1970 Reception Several dozen members of the Class of 1970 commemorated their 50th Reunion on Zoom with an update from President Elizabeth L. Hillman, a slideshow put together by Kathleen Dalton ’70, and a trivia game. Did you know that residence-hall curfew times were once based on when ferries from San Francisco would arrive in Oakland?

WINTER 2021

23

Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of Mills Quarterly.

Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College alumnae community.

To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills. edu.

Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of the Mills Quarterly.

Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College Alumnae Community, alumnae.mills.edu. To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills.edu.

In Memoriam Notices of deaths received before October 2, 2020 To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123 Eleanor “Ellie” Stauffer Neely ’38, July 8, 2020, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Ellie grew up performing ballet and modern dance, and continued dancing at Mills and then in New York City. Ellie had a great love of family and friends and embraced new ideas with open arms. She was a knitter of sweaters, an avid reader, a hospital volunteer, and a player of tennis court and bridge. She is survived by a brother; niece Caroline Lawton Fahlen ’69; three daughters; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Barbara Miller Glaser ’43, August 19, 2020, in Edwards, Colorado. After Mills, Barbara returned to her home state of Colorado. She worked for many civic causes, including for Rose Hospital, the Jewish Community Center, and the National Sports Center for the Disabled. The Denver Rotary Club honored her with a distinguished service award in 1987.

She also loved to ski, taught the sport to the blind, and enjoyed time in Vail. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Emily Bourne Grigsby ’44, September 17, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia.

A true Renaissance woman, Emily was a mediator following graduation from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law while also hosting more than 30 solo shows of her own paintings. She also sang soprano with the

San Francisco Opera, earned her pilot’s license, modeled for Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta, and studied interior design. She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Murlyn “Murly” Rodger Miner, MA ’44, August 2, 2020, in Nelson, New Hampshire. Murly rehabilitated injured soldiers returning from the Pacific after World War II. After marrying her late husband, Dick, whom she met on the job, the two moved to New England, where Murly volunteered with organizations like the Wellesley Service League and the Congregational Church. She was a sophisticate who felt at home with anyone in any environment. She is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Marian McCormack Wilkie ’45, September 3, 2020, in San Anselmo, California. She majored in psychology at Mills, and later retired as an instructional assistant at Redwood High School in Marin County. She is survived by two daughters, including Marianne Wilkie Gripenburg ’78.

Christine Oertel Sjogren ’45, May 6, 2020, in Corvallis, Oregon.

Christine was born in Germany, and her family immigrated to Portland in 1935. After Mills, she studied at Johns Hopkins and then settled in Corvallis, where she served as professor of modern languages at Oregon State for 30 years. Her 1972 book of essays on Adalbert Stifter’s novel Der Nachsommer is still cited widely. Christine was also a concert pianist of classical music. She is survived by five children and five grandchildren.

Peggy Constance Woodruff ’58 Peggy was born in Orlando, Florida, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She entered Mills in 1954 during a turbulent time in our nation’s history: Schools had recently been desegregated by the Supreme Court, and the civil rights movement was prominent nationwide. After graduating in 1958, Peggy continued to involve herself in social justice and civil rights issues for many years.

She moved to the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco in the ’60s and was involved in city politics. She was even photographed by Life magazine in an article about “quaint” San Francisco life. She was the administrator for substance-abuse service contracts for the City and County of San Francisco.

After the loss of her parents and sister, Peggy decided to research her family background and became a genealogist, establishing a business called Family Roots to research African American families. She traveled by train to Florida many times to research her family background. Peggy also traveled extensively in Europe and briefly lived in Mexico City.

Peggy lived in Marin for a number of years, where she farmed acres of fruit trees and grew vegetables. After moving to Oakland, she was employed as director of the West Berkeley Health Center and later worked as an independent contractor and grant writer for service agencies. In later years, she was a founding member of the Mills Alumnae of Color Committee and served as its co-chair from 1999 to 2006. In 2003, Peggy secured the College’s first Smithsonian Art Exhibit, “Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers from 1840-Present.”

Peggy died in Oakland on September 18, 2020.

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Patricia “Pat” Donovan Bugas ’47, September 21, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. Pat and her late husband of 72 years, Ted, made their home in Astoria, where Pat was instrumental in starting Phoenix House, a home for unwed mothers.

Pat was a gifted pianist and a woman of deep faith, and she invited anyone into her home for a meal despite her own big family.

She is survived by a sister, Mary Donovan Bunning ’42; 10 children; 24 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.

Billie Wallace Williams ’47, May 26, 2020, in Olympia, Washington. Billie was a French major named to Phi Beta Kappa when she was a junior, and she completed advanced studies at the Sorbonne, founded her own French travel company, and received the Legion of Honour medal from the French government for furthering cultural relationships between France and the United States. She is survived by her husband, Robinson; two sons; and several grandchildren.

Helen Wood Wyatt ’49, September 7, 2020, in Jackson, Georgia. Helen was a native of Canada and grew up in Vancouver. After Mills, she worked as an occupational therapist for many years in Atlanta-area schools. She was later a homemaker who enjoyed sewing, gardening, swimming, and scrapbooking.

She is survived by a sister, three children, and two grandchildren.

Isabelle Forbusch Dupzyk ’50, April 3, 2018, in Stockton, California. After receiving a degree in chemistry from Mills, she earned a master’s

Gifts in Memory of Received June 1, 2020 – August 31, 2020

Rosario Cardona Perez by Sophia Perez ’16

Henry Baltazar, P ’03 by Julia Almanzan ’92

Donna Hunt by Cheryl Smith Blankenship ’72

Timanna Bennett ’02 by Marcia Randall ’02

Kim Korner by Jessica Mosher ’95

Linda Nelson Branson ’77 by her spouse, James Branson

James Long, P ’01 by his daughter, Courtney Long ’01

Frits Brevet, P ’76, spouse of Erica Weber Brevet ’51, P ’76, by Joan Thompson Armstrong ’51, P ’95; Jeanne Thomas ’51

Leah Hardcastle MacNeil, MA ’51, P ’75 by Kay Miller Browne ’53, P ’83; Susan Stanton Smegal ’60

Alda Nye Byron ’88 by Sharon Page-Medrich ’05

Donald Massagli, P ’96 by Shannon Wolfe ’96

Nancy Speer Cody ’44 by her son, Alan Cody

Barbara Forster Mitchell ’63 by Eleanor Sims ’64

Olivia de Havilland by Kathleen “Katie” Sanborn ’83

Elaine Moss ’61, TCRED ’62 by Dorotha Myers Bradley ’61

Marjorie Lesser Fasman, P ’63 by her daughter, Fay Pfaelzer Abrams ’63, P ’92

Winsome Nembhard, P ’90 by her daughter, Lois Nembhard ’90

Theodora “Thea” Faust Anderson ’14 by her aunt, Rhoda Faust Mary Johnson Foraker ’55 by Harrie Cheim Kordelos ’54 Steven Givant by Yun Miao ’11 Laura Gobbi by Suzanne Alexander, Sherisse Dozier, Kelsey Lindquist ’10, Shannon Wolfe ’96 Helen Gotkowitz, P ’83 by her daughter, Carrie Gotkowitz ’83 Coleen Gragen by Natalee Bauer ’97, MA ’07 Patricia Heskins Gumbiner ’52 by Los Angeles Mills College Alumnae, Carole Joseph Silva ’54 Arnold Hendrick by his spouse, M. Georgeann Freeman Hendrick ’69 Edward “Terry” Hogan, spouse of Elizabeth Livingston Hogan ’63,

by Sharon Coleman ’68 George Brown by Cynthia Facer Clark ’64, P ’91

degree in biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State. She later worked as a chemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

She and her late husband, Jene, bred German Shepherds and loved attending various performances in San Francisco and Livermore.

Isabelle also enjoyed sewing in her spare time.

Franque Mattoon Nelson ’50, May 8, 2020, in Carmichael, California.

At Mills, she studied dance, and enjoyed the art in its many forms, from acrobatics to hula. She met her late husband, Maynard, when they were set up on a blind date during her time at Mills. Franque loved to volunteer, work at her shop in Old Sacramento, and spend time with her family. She is survived by her six children, 10 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.

Mary Rosenthal Hoexter ’50, September 30, 2020, in Palo Alto, California. Mary was born in San Francisco and had a life-long love of the City. She was an avid student of California Jewish history and co-authored several articles with son David on family forebears.

She loved nature, the environment, hiking, and travel. She met her late husband, Hank, on a hike in 1946, and they trekked the Himalayas in the 1990s. She is survived by a son, three grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Marion Krebs Conlisk ’51, July 17, 2020, in Los Altos Hills, California.

She attended Mills with her sister, Ottole, who was her best friend.

The two later shared a painting studio and sold their paintings at stores in downtown Los Altos. Marion was passionate about her house and garden; she loved tending to her extensive rose collection. She served

Georgine Dunlop O’Connor ’81 by Helen Harris Margaret “Meg” Quigley ’63 by Marilyn Schuster ’65 Albert Romano, P ’79 by his daughter, Jeanette Romano DeBenedictis ’79 Marion Ross ’44 by Yuk-yin Ma ’90, Sharon Page-Medrich ’05 Vivian Stephenson by Kathleen Burke Ariel Eaton Thomas ’63, P ’92 by Patricia Wakida ’92 Carol Lotz Wenzel ’46, MA ’47 by Lucile Pedler Griffiths ’46, MA ’47, P ’75 Katherine Zelinsky Westheimer ’42 by Julia Almanzan ’92, Autumn Doerr ’96, Los Angeles Mills College Alumnae, Carole Joseph Silva ’54 Diane Ferris Whyte ’54 by Harrie Cheim Kordelos ’54 Billie Wallace Williams ’47 by Barbara Moller Lyons ’47, TCRED ’48 P=parent. For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.

as a department chair for the Stanford Museum Treasure Market Fundraising Gala, and she loved celebrating Christmas with her family.

She is survived by three children and four grandchildren.

Patricia Hoffman Millar ’55, May 1, 2020, in Burbank, California.

At Mills, she majored in music and drama, and she later worked as a secretary for Hewlett-Packard in the company’s early days and as a social worker. She and her husband, Graham, lived all over the United States, and her vibrant wit and sense of humor were loved by all.

She is survived by Graham and two children.

Helen Tucker DeMers ’55, December 2018, in Beaverton, Oregon.

Cara Bradbury ’60, September 1, 2020, in Danville, California. She studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills, then went on to teach, perform, and direct musical performances at her alma mater as well at CalArts, UCLA, UC Berkeley, the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company, and the Contra Costa Chorale. In later years, she served as lead accompanist for various churches in the Oakland Diocese. Cara is survived by her best friend and former husband, James Marcus.

Barbara Forster Mitchell ’63, June 8, 2020, in Livermore, California.

She obtained MA and PhD degrees in art history from Indiana University and taught at the college level in New York and California.

She then received an MBA degree from UC Berkeley in 1982 and worked in sales management and biotechnology recruiting, later founding her own company. In retirement, she was active in church-related programs helping those who experienced loss of loved ones. She is survived by her husband, Alex, and a daughter.

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Diana Russell, professor emerita of women’s studies Diana Russell, one of the first teachers of women’s studies at Mills, died on July 28, 2020, in Oakland. Born and raised in South Africa, Russell witnessed the oppression enacted by the Afrikaner police state, which shaped her scholarship: After receiving a master’s degree in political science from the London School of Economics, she attended Harvard University for her PhD, studying sociology and the history of revolution.

It was then, in 1969, that she arrived at Mills as a sociology professor. In her first year, she was the co-instructor on the first woman-focused course at the College, which led to the formation of the women’s studies program—among the first in the US. In the 22 years she taught at Mills, she continually pushed against misogyny with actions such as helping put together the first-ever International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Brussels, Belgium; founding organizations such as Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media, and Feminists’ Anti-Nuclear Group; and coining and politicizing the word “femicide.” Russell documented all of this work throughout many books and articles.

She also continued protesting using bold methodology, something she learned in her home country. Russell was known to spray-paint feminist sayings on businesses known for their sexism, stage sit-ins at government offices, and destroy magazines in porn shops.

In recent years, Russell shifted her attention to writing her memoirs, which she did not finish. Read more about them on her website, dianarussell.com. She is survived by a sister and an extensive community of friends, admirers, and women who were saved by her work.

Jan Walker Killen ’63, August 11, 2020, in Irving, Texas. After Mills, she received a degree from Texas Women’s University and became a licensed interior designer. Jan had a long record of community service, including as the first president of the Irving Cultural Affairs Council and taking the lead role in the city’s Great Days of Service. Jan will be remembered for her enthusiastic dedication to building peace through service and the arts. She is survived by her husband, Byron; two daughters; three stepchildren; and five grandchildren.

Paula Benjamin Little ’64, August 9, 2020, in Tiburon, California. After Mills, she became an award-winning teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and then a beloved principal of Topanga Elementary School. She was honored with the Topanga Citizen of the Year award in 1986. In 2013, Paula began her personal sponsorship of the “Hanging Basket” campaign, which provides hanging baskets along Tiburon Boulevard. Paula loved tending to her beautiful garden of rose bushes and playing the piano while singing.

Margaret “Meg” Witmer Brickley ’65, September 15, 2020, in Kerrville, Texas. A military lifestyle took Meg to Denver, Las Vegas, Honolulu, and San Antonio, among other cities. She enjoyed reading, nature photography, travel, and ballet and jazz dance classes. Meg spent the last 35 years in Corpus Christi and Kerrville with husband Phil, and the two enjoyed several cross country trips in recent years. She is survived by her daughter, two stepchildren, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

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Diane Li-hsien Chung Price ’65, May 25, 2020, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She had three careers: elementary school art teacher, licensed real-estate agent, and painter. Her works included photorealistic portraiture and impressionist landscapes, as well as Chinese scrolls. Among her many honors is the Award for Excellence in Realism at the 2011 Oil Painters of America’s National Juried Show. She is survived by her husband, C.W.; a daughter; and three grandchildren.

Susan Clark Gillum ’66, September 22, 2020, in Los Gatos, California.

After Mills, Sue earned her teaching credential at UC Berkeley. Her four-decade career made her a favorite teacher to thousands of children who would remember a fun, creative, smart, and engaging academic who nurtured the lives of many. She and her husband of 53 years, Tom, enjoyed traveling the world, exploring, hiking, fishing, and golfing. She is survived by Tom, two children, and two grandchildren.

Christine Marshall ’69, June 28, 2020, in Columbia, Missouri. After majoring in theatre and English at Mills, Chris earned a master’s degree in English from Northwestern University and then returned to her home in Columbia to pursue a doctorate in theater. She was the costume designer in the University of Missouri Department of Theatre, and taught at Stephens College for 20 years before becoming a celebrated adviser. She is survived by her husband, David; and two children.

Jennifer Arnold ’84, April 1, 2020, in New York. Jennifer was a costume dresser on Broadway, spending 32 years working on the crew at Phantom of the Opera. Hers was a unique spirit that took her to Europe and South America as a dancer before she returned to her family’s roots in New York. She once protested a threatened ban on topless women in Times Square by removing her shirt in solidarity. Later in life, she developed pulmonary fibrosis, which made her more susceptible to COVID-19. Jennifer is survived by a sister.

Diane Ring ’86, May 4, 2020, in West Hollywood, California. At Mills, she majored in history, and she later worked as a librarian at the public libraries in Denver and Beverly Hills.

Spouses and Family Henry Baltazar, father of Myrtle Baltazar Pickering ’03, January 13, 2020, in Yorba Linda, California.

Frank Blauvelt, husband of Ilah Baddley Blauvelt ’52, May 14, 2017, in Jackson, California.

Stuart Bowyer, husband of Professor Emerita of Education Jane Bowyer and father of Elizabeth Bowyer ’02, September 23, 2020, in Orinda, California.

Fritz Brevet, husband of the late Erica “Rita” Weber Brevet ’51, January 10, 2020, in Oakland.

Richard Croul, husband of Jane Bell Croul ’52, July 29, 2019, in Corona del Mar, California.

Eleanora “Nora” DeWitt, mother of Sophia DeWitt ’96, April 9, 2020, in Fresno, California.

Marjorie Fasman, mother of Fay Pfaelzer Abrams ’63, July 28, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California.

Maynard Nelson, husband of the late Franque Mattoon Nelson ’50, February 10, 2020, in Sacramento.

Sheldon Grinnell, husband of Maureen Berman Grinnell ’62, July 7, 2019, in Napa, California.

BOG CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Contribute your talents and skills to the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC).

Join our Board of Governors!

As a governor, you will: • Work with other members of the board to make decisions that best represent alumnae and promote a strong working relationship between alumnae and the College • Attend board meetings (typically four or five each year) • Participate on AAMC committees to develop policies, programs, and events

NOMINATIONS FOR THE AAMC BOARD DUE APRIL 5

We invite alumnae to submit nominations for the 2021-24 term by Monday, April 5. See the “Leadership” section of the AAMC website, aamc.mills.edu, for more information. Send nominations to the Nominating Committee Chair at aamc@mills.edu or AAMC, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., MB #86, Oakland, CA 94613.

2021

AAMC Travel Programs Dutch Waterways April 27–May 5

From the thatched farmhouses and footpaths of fairy-tale Giethoorn to the medieval landmarks of Antwerp, relax on the sunny top deck of your first-class river ship as you enjoy the sights of bygone eras along the scenic waterways of the Netherlands and Belgium. There is so much to see and do! Stroll amongst acres of colorful tulips at Keukenhof Gardens, bike through charming villages, or gaze at masterpieces by Rembrandt and other Dutch masters at the Rijksmuseum.

Explore The Hague or watch artisans as they paint delicate porcelain at the Royal Delft factory. Savor world-celebrated Belgian chocolates in Bruges, discover its beer culture, or visit the famed Groeninge Museum and immerse yourself in many other delightful experiences. An extensive meal plan is available throughout your seven-night cruise.

For more information, including a full itinerary for this and other planned trips for 2021, please visit the AAMC travel program webpage at alumnae.mills.edu/travel.

Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd.

Oakland, CA 94613-1301

MICHAEL HALBERS TA DT

510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu

Splashes of color honor Black lives at campus gate Those few members of the Mills community who still come to campus are now being greeted by a colorful new art installation at the Richards Road entrance. Converging Flora is a collaboration between Cristine Blanco, MFA ’20, and Yétundé Olagbaju, MFA ’20, as a visual representation of the College’s efforts toward becoming an antiracist institution.

The front gate expands on a student-created memorial to Black lives with striking sketches of plants, both native and invasive, rendered in and surrounded

by hues pulled from nearby localities—such as a shade of green from the community gardens at Peralta Hacienda.

The installation will remain up for the 2020–21 school year, with potential additions from other artists throughout.

Visit mills.edu/blacklivesmatter to learn more.

In addition, the Mills Board of Trustees voted at its meeting on October 15, 2020, to adopt a commitment to antiracism, developed by an Antiracism Working Group over the course of several months. Steps toward an expanded framework are continuing, with input from the Board of Trustees, Special Assistant for Equity and Inclusion Kamala Green, the Intersectional Racism Team, the National Equity Project, the Division of Student Life, and the larger Mills community.