Mills Quarterly, Summer 2022 by Mills Quarterly

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Mills Quarterly Summer 2022

Help preserve the Mills legacy of lifting marginalized voices.

As Mills transitions to Mills College at Northeastern University, you can help ensure that key elements of its historical impact remain an integral part of campus. Join other committed donors with your gift to the newly endowed Mills Legacy Scholarship Fund, which will maintain and reinforce Mills’ identity as a place where marginalized voices are lifted up through higher education. Awards from the fund will support future undergraduates who attend programs on the Mills campus and identify as women or gender nonbinary students—in keeping with the tradition of Mills’ admission policy.

Preserve the vision. Advance the mission. Give to the Mills Legacy Scholarship Fund. Please make a gift to the Mills Legacy Scholarship Fund by calling 510.430.2366, visiting alumnae.mills.edu/give, or mailing a check. Make check payable to the Mills College Annual Fund, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613

Mills Quarterly

CONTENTS

Summer 2022 14 Commencement 2022 20 The Trees Inclined by Lila Goehring ’21 Bent Twigs are an ingrained Mills tradition. We examine the origins and take a look at some unique Mills family situations.

24 Transitions: The Transgender Policy by Moya Stone, MFA ’03 The final installment in our Transitions series goes back just eight years to the formation and introduction of the Mills transgender admissions policy.

36 Ready to Remember Graduating arts students commemorated the end of an emotional year with installations and performances that met the moment.

Departments 2 Letters to the Editor 3 President’s Message 8 Mills Matters 26 AAMC News 28 Class Notes 32 In Memoriam

On the cover: It was time to party at Commencement 2022 on Saturday, May 14, as these soon-to-be graduates demonstrated while waiting in line to cross the stage and receive their diplomas. Six pages of Commencement coverage start on page 14. Photo by Steve Babuljak.

Letters to the Editor I am writing in response to Marie Muirhead Escher’s comments on my article on remembering Dr. Pope. I am so There is a towering problem with the

not recent arrivals at Mills. Thank you so much for reminding us of Aurelia Henry

Shakespeare’s plays: He died in 1604,

Reinhardt’s place in this history.

Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Anthony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest, Henry VIII, and possibly Measure for Measure, Othello, and All’s Volume CXI, Number 4 (USPS 349-900) Summer 2022

Well that Ends Well.

President Elizabeth L. Hillman

came from the Victorian assertion that no

Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson Editorial Assistant Tri-an Cao ’21, MFA ’22 Contributors Lila Goehring ’21 Moya Stone, MFA ’03 The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Copyright © 2022, Mills College Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312

The question of Shakespeare’s authorship never arose at all until 1848, and it low-born son of a glover could have had the genius to write those plays. The idea that you can’t be a genius if you are from the “lower” classes is unacceptable today.

email to quarterly@mills.edu, online at quarterly.mills.edu, or by mail at: Mills Quarterly 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613

There are innumerable primary sources directly

supporting

states the position against the acquisition of Mills by Northeastern? There is a huge community of alums that is very angered by the way they have been treated, the way the students are being treated, and the way the faculty has been treated by the administration. –Nan Roche ’75, College Park, Maryland Since 2007, publishing Mills Quarterly has been a function of the College’s Office

authorship. For me, the clincher is the

of Institutional Advancement, not the

letter that his friends Henry Condell and

AAMC. Per the 2017 Memorandum of

John Hemmings wrote when they pub-

Understanding, there are three pages in

lished his plays at their own expense.

each issue reserved for the AAMC, and

You can find it by googling “To the great

Quarterly staff provides logistical (though

variety of readers.”

not editorial) support for that content. We

For a thorough explanation of why

look forward to continuing that relation-

Edward de Vere (a drunkard, a wastrel,

ship with the AAMC well into the future.

a brawler, a pedophile, and an incom-

The areas in the magazine that are open

petent) is in no way qualified to be

for submissions—such as this Letters to the

Shakespeare, you can find my blog post

Editor page and Class Notes—have featured

at CarolWolf.net

a wide variety of opinions about the Mills

–Carol Holtzman Wolf ’80, O’Neals, California I noted on page 20 of the spring 2022 issue that George Hedley was identified

ology and anthropology, my major when I graduated in 1963. I still remember him, a gnome-like figure with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, sitting cross-legged on top of the desk during the Intro to Sociology class, talking about his experience organizing unions on farms in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1930s. Having been raised

to edit letters for length and clarity.

by Methodist missionaries in China, he

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

has there not been a single article that

Shakespeare’s

The Quarterly reserves the right

If the Quarterly is truly the voice of the AAMC—that is to say, the alumnae—why

Shakespeare.

was at Mills. I recall him as head of soci-

Submit your letter to the editor via

–Linda Hollander Page ’63, Guelph, Ontario

It is curious that it is still being applied to

as a “professor of economics” when he

Share your thoughts

Social justice, respect for diversity, and

claim that the 17th Earl of Oxford wrote before Shakespeare wrote King Lear,

Managing Editor Allison Rost

ing Mandarin... if I remember correctly. a commitment to global citizenship are

pleased she enjoyed it.

Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams

was fluent in reading, writing, and speak-

transition and merger. By the numbers, we calculate that we were able to publish 90.1% of the many submissions we’ve received since the announcement about the College’s transition was made on March 17, 2021. –Ed.

Did you meet your partner or spouse while you were both at Mills? We are planning to feature Mills love stories in our winter 2023 issue, and we want to hear from you! Reach out to quarterly@mills.edu, and we’ll be in touch.

A Message from the President of Mills College By Elizabeth L. Hillman The 134th Mills College Commencement

reminded them that faith was essen-

was a triumph for every one of our grad-

tial to our founders, Cyrus and Susan

uates—some 400, including not only the

Mills. Cyrus Mills graduated from Union

Class of 2022, but also those who earned

Theological Seminary in New York

degrees in 2020 and 2021, when we did

City, and was committed to becoming a

not have in-person ceremonies because

Christian missionary. After he married

of COVID-19—and for the entire Mills

Susan, and after she fulfilled her teach-

College community. Our staff and fac-

ing obligations, they voyaged to what we

ulty managed this event, which was the

know today as Sri Lanka.

largest on-campus celebration in many

The Millses kept their faith despite

years, with care and dignity, despite

suffering hardships. Susan Mills was the

already being deluged with regular and

fifth of eight children, and her mother

transition-to-Northeastern work.

died when Susan was but 11. Within six

e xcep t ion a l

months of her arrival in Sri Lanka, she

Commencement speaker, Jesmyn Ward,

became seriously ill with amebic dysen-

who captured this poignant moment

tery; Cyrus contracted the same disease,

in Mills College’s history with perfect

and their mission was cut short. Soon

pitch. Ward is a first-generation college

after, they were informed that the mis-

ment. She had misjudged the character

graduate who has achieved the great-

sion itself had been improper, a crush-

and competence of a leader, and the

est of heights and endured the most

ing blow to their sense of purpose. Cyrus

College suffered as a result. President

difficult of challenges. In 2017, she

soon resigned as a missionary, and Susan

Mills learned hard lessons from that

became the first woman and person of

was despondent. She thought her weak-

experience. But she did not lose faith in

color to win the National Book Award

ness had undermined Cyrus’s success.

herself, nor in Mills College.

welcome d

for Fiction twice—joining the ranks of

As you know, that was not the last

I asked the Class of 2022, the last

William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, John

chapter in the story of Cyrus and Susan

graduating class of the fiercely inde-

Cheever, Philip Roth, and John Updike.

Mills. They traveled to Hawaii and

pendent Mills College, to consider the

Her novels, primarily set on Mississippi’s

then California, and they founded our

relationship between faith and doubt

Gulf Coast, are deeply informed by the

beloved institution. But hardship did not

that shaped Susan Mills’ orientation to

trauma of Hurricane Katrina. Salvage

leave the Millses.

the world, to consider if the opposite of faith might not be doubt, nor reason, but

the Bones, winner of the 2011 National

When Cyrus died in 1884, it was just

Book Award, is a troubling and empow-

before he and Susan could build a cottage

ering tale of familial bonds set amid the

for their old age on the knoll where Cyrus

I noted that feeling uncertain can be a

chaos of the hurricane; Sing, Unburied,

and Susan are now buried. Cyrus had

sign of learning something new, or forg-

Sing won the 2017 National Book Award,

suffered an injury that led to the amputa-

ing ahead despite obstacles, as Susan Mills

and made clear that the shadows of

tion of his right arm, and it was still a half

did. I suggested that accepting uncertainty

slavery and Jim Crow remain with all of

century before the use of antibiotics.

was essential to growth and creativity.

rather certainty.

us. Her memoir, Men We Reaped, deals

As Susan Mills grieved the loss of her

I also asked the Class of 2022 to con-

with the loss of five young men in her

husband, she was handed the duties of

sider using their acceptance of uncer-

life—to drugs, accidents, suicide, and the

“Lady Principal” during the brief and

tainty, and faith in themselves, to help

bad luck that follows people who live

trying terms of two male presidents

them keep listening, with openness and

in poverty—and was named one of the

who succeeded Cyrus, only to be at last

compassion, to people with whom they

most outstanding memoirs published

named president herself in 1890, a posi-

disagree, and to reimagine as possible

since 1969 by The New York Times. If you

tion she would hold until she retired in

tasks that seem impossible at the start.

haven’t yet watched her speech on the

1909. During her 19-year tenure, she

I hope that they, and everyone in the

commencement video, which is posted

took decisive steps to make Mills into

Mills College community, can hold fast

on the Mills College YouTube page, I

what she called “a real college.” Clearly,

to the faith that brought Mills to the

urge you to listen for yourself.

she triumphed.

precipice of another set of monumen-

I closed out the ceremony with a

Yet President Susan Mills took office

tal, sustaining changes. It will help us,

charge to the Class of 2022 by ask-

with great doubts. She herself had cho-

as the inscription on the Wetmore Gate

ing Mills’ newest graduates to consider

sen the third president of the college,

admonishes, to “depart to use in life the

how faith might influence their lives. I

and he had proved a disastrous appoint-

joy and truths here found.” SUMMER 2022

Wrapping up academic loose ends When we spoke with Associate Provost Beth Kochly in early

additional faculty members will be brought on board after

May to get a report on the academic teach-out, she was ecstatic.

the merger is finalized, starting July 1.

“As of yesterday, we’ve finalized the list of courses that we’re going to teach in the fall, which is a huge win!” she said.

It promises to be a fascinating year for the faculty members—adjunct and tenured. The vast majority of professors

It took painstaking, thoughtful work to compile the offer-

who finished out the 2021–22 academic year at Mills will stay

ings for returning Mills students; the Northeastern pro-

through the Northeastern merger. “Our department heads

vost’s office reverse-engineered the slate by identifying

and our Center for Faculty Excellence have been working

which courses each one still needs to graduate. By the time

on professional development opportunities for all of our fac-

of our interview, the bulk of the work to match counselors with returning students and create degree paths had been completed—though a few had just recently decided to stay on with Mills College at Northeastern University and were beginning the process. Between courses for Mills students finishing their degrees and new ones

“We’re filling up our current faculty’s loads first. Anything our faculty has the expertise to teach, they get to teach it.”

ulty, and creating spaces to promote scholarly work—we don’t want to forget that,” Kochly said. Making that room for creative thought will benefit reconstructing the curriculum during this interstitial year in which several of the College’s most characteristic programs will be put on pause while Northeastern seeks reaccreditation. “The things we do really well—those are the exact things that have to

for Northeastern first-years on campus this fall, continuing Mills faculty members are now

be put on hold for one year,” she said. “We can’t do them

being plugged into an extensive class schedule. “We’re fill-

because Northeastern doesn’t already do them, but they’re

ing up our current faculty’s loads first. Anything our faculty

ultimately why Northeastern is interested in us.”

has the expertise to teach, they get to teach it,” Kochly said.

All faculty and staff members will also see an uptick in

However, some of those new Northeastern courses include

their benefits package after the merger. After several years of

subjects new to Mills: “We’re offering four to five classes in

no retirement matching, Mills employees making the transi-

architecture, and we don’t have anyone who can teach that!”

tion to Northeastern will see that reinstated, and the vaca-

Kochly added. “In cases like that where we do need to hire,

tion-day baseline starts at 15 days for the newest employees

we’re working with Northeastern on how to do that.” Any

rather than 10.

TALKING BUSINESS WITH MILLS AND NORTHEASTERN ALUMS

“This is where a lot of things were seeded for me,” said Tina Lee ’01, MBA ’02 (at left, in 2018), on Thursday, April 14, as part of the latest installment of the Women Who Empower Leadership Series—and the first one held on the Mills campus, in the Lokey School of Business and Public Policy. Women Who Empower is a long-running program at Northeastern University that includes lecture series, master classes, and mentoring opportunities. As reported in the summer 2018 issue of the Quarterly, Lee is the founder and now-former CEO of MotherCoders, a nonprofit she formed to help new parents gain the background skills (and the childcare) needed to pursue careers in technology. She just recently merged MotherCoders with Bitwise Industries as the nonprofit arm of that company, which follows a similar mission by offering paid tech apprenticeships to workers in 10 “underestimated” cities across the United States, including Merced, Bakersfield, and Fresno. Lee, who is a director at Bitwise, spoke in the session about the difficulties she faced while starting a brand-new charitable endeavor from scratch. She shared the spotlight with fellow guest Helen Russell, who graduated from Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business in 1988. Russell is the co-founder and CEO of Equator Coffees & Teas alongside her partner, Brooke McDonnell. Equator

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

NEW FAQS AND TRUSTEE STATEMENT On April 15, Mills released a new statement of support from the Board of Trustees, as well as an updated set of frequently asked questions about the impending merger with Northeastern

Mills College at Northeastern University will continue to engage with Mills alumnae. What are the plans for the endowments of Mills College,

University. Several of those FAQs are reprinted below; read the

and how will they be spent post-merger?

rest and the trustee statement at quarterly.mills.edu/merger.

Endowments of Mills College will continue to be used for

What will happen to Mills alumnae, the Alumnae

the purposes for which they were given to the College. They

Association of Mills College (AAMC), Reinhardt Alumnae

will support activities on the Mills campus. No changes will

House, and the Mills endowment as a result of this merger?

be made in the uses of any endowed fund without commu-

Mills alums will continue to be valued and welcomed as part

nication with the donor or other legally required steps. The

of the Mills College community, including to the campus and

investments of the College’s endowments will be managed by

Reinhardt Alumnae House, and will also have access to the

Northeastern University and will be spent in accordance with

benefits that Northeastern offers its graduates such as tuition

Northeastern’s spending policies.

discounts for additional degrees. The Mills College endowment

While all the details of the merger are being worked out,

will continue to be used for the purposes for which the gifts

I hesitate to donate to Mills College. What information can

were intended and to support activities on the Mills campus.

you share to set my mind at ease?

The College has continued to support the AAMC and is now

Your gift to Mills will continue to support the students, staff, and

in conversation with the AAMC about our future relationship.

faculty that you know and have supported at Mills throughout

Reunions are already being planned for 2022 and beyond, and

the years. The designation you select when you make your gift

the Mills Quarterly will continue to publish.

will be honored as it always has been. It is our responsibility to

“We believe with great conviction that Mills College at Northeastern University and the Mills Institute are the best opportunities for continuing the Mills legacy.” –Statement from Board of Trustees

ensure that the intent behind your gift is respected and honored and that the purpose you select receives the full benefit of your generosity. For example, should you select Mills’ Greatest Need, your gift will directly support operations on the campus that you love and will benefit the students who are studying here. Gifts to the new Mills Legacy Scholarship Fund will support women and gender nonbinary students well into Mills’ new future and partnership with Northeastern University.

was the first LGBTQIA+-owned business to be named Small Business of the Year by the United States Small Business Administration, and the company operates its own coffee farm, Finca Sophia, in the Panama highlands. Equator is headquartered in San Rafael. Russell and Lee chatted about women’s leadership and the paths that brought them where they are today with Assistant Professor of Business Practice Carrie Maultsby-Lute, MBA ’11, who is also director of the Center for Transformative Action, and President Elizabeth L. Hillman. To view a recording of the session, visit tinyurl.com/women-who-empower.

SUMMER 2022

The Best of Both Worlds In January, we at the Quarterly received an email inquiry

While Feldman was surprised to hear about Northeastern’s

from an alumna who attended both Mills and Northeastern

plans to merge with Mills, she does see a path forward that

University. “My thought is that perhaps there are other unique

can bring the two missions together. “When you compare

birds like myself among Mills alumnae,” she wrote. “Given the

Northeastern to Mills size-wise, it seems so different, but I really

current transition to link Mills and Northeastern, it might be

think the university works hard—especially through the co-op

useful for some in the Mills community to read our stories.”

program—to really make every student’s experience very indi-

It turns out that she is not the only Mills alum to have attended classes at both institutions. A preliminary look at the data shows a total of 13 Millsies who can also count themselves as Northeastern Huskies—the majority of them women who attended Mills as undergraduates before going on to earn graduate degrees in Boston. Beyond that, though, there are also a number of Mills alums with more unique connections to Northeastern beyond academics. Here are some of their stories.

DEBORAH FELDMAN ’89 There was a Mills tie to Northeastern Boston’s campus long before any merger surfaced—an antique print of Mills Hall has hung in the office of Deborah Feldman ’89 for decades. She has worked for the Northeastern School of Law since 1993, where she’s currently the division’s communications director and editor-in-chief of its magazine. “I’m the center of attention whenever Mills comes up in meetings. Everyone turns to me and asks, ‘What’s Mills like?’ I tell them how special it is,” she says. “People are really excited about it. The vibe on campus has been extremely positive about Mills.” Raised in Los Angeles, Feldman came to Mills instead of Cal, which she had originally expected to attend. “The minute I stepped on campus, I loved Mills.” Feldman says. “I had an incredible mentor, Professor Linda Popofsky. I didn’t know what I’d major in when I went to college, but I ended up a history major and took every one of Linda’s classes.” After Mills, Feldman opted to attend Boston University for a master’s degree in journalism when her first post-grad jobs turned her onto writing professionally. After stints at Tufts University and Harvard, she found her professional home at Northeastern. “I’ve had a great experience there; it’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed [in Boston] so long,” says Feldman, whose twin sons are about to start college.

vidual. It has a personal feel to it,” she says.

MANISHA AGRAWAL ’93 Manisha Agrawal was also well acquainted with Northeastern— when the news of a partnership first emerged, her eldest son was finishing up his junior year there. Her younger son joined him as a freshman last fall. “A lot of places talk about doing the experiential thing, but Northeastern actually lives it—and [it] has the resources to back it up,” she says. Her eldest son, who’s exploring business, completed his second co-op placement this spring, and she says her younger son is excited to explore the possibilities available in the fields he’s interested in: music and economics. Agrawal herself grew up going to all-girls schools in India and wasn’t intending on pursuing higher education at a women’s college, but she was able to secure good international financial aid to come to the United States and planned to transfer to Cal or Stanford. But her first year at Mills was the Strike of 1990, and she says that she didn’t want to leave that behind. “I am sad about losing the all-women aspect of Mills, but I would rather lose that and keep Mills in a different iteration,” she says. “Besides, there have always been cisgender men on campus.” Now a business consultant and strategist whose current gig is as founder of the nonprofit advising firm Nivideum, Agrawal said that she sees a lot of potential in the announcement of the Mills merger. She lives on the Peninsula, and her children attended the same school as did the children of a dean of Northeastern’s California programs. Agrawal talked with her after word of the merger got out. “That had me more excited about the possibilities,” Agrawal says. “Northeastern isn’t doing this as some sort of takeover, but because it sees the value in a place like Mills and wants to add that to the college experience they’re trying to build for many students.”

PAULETTE BOUDREAUX, MFA ’91

She remarks that the social-justice mission of the law school

The Mills alum who initially contacted the Quarterly was Paulette

has played a big part in her longevity. “This law school is major-

Boudreaux, MFA ’91, who counts both her Mills and Northeastern

ity women, and has long focused on enrolling women and peo-

experiences as transformative. She grew up in Mississippi but

ple of color. Our first-year class this year was 41% students of

moved with her family to California “at the tail end of the Great

color and just about 20% students who identify at LGBTQIA+,”

Migration of African Americans,” she says. Thanks to a full-ride

Feldman says. “Northeastern’s founding in 1898 was actually

scholarship, she became the first member of her family to attend

as a law-school night program for people who didn’t have the

college when she enrolled at Northeastern in the ’70s.

means for a full-time program or were not welcome at other

“As a young person, you’re more up for adventure,” Boudreaux

area law schools.” Northeastern law alumnae include Maura

says. “Plus, the co-op program was a real draw—I didn’t know if I

Healey, the first openly gay attorney general of Massachusetts;

wanted to spend another four years in school and then not have

and Rachael Rollins, a Black woman who serves as the United

the surety of getting employment afterward.”

States attorney for the District of Massachusetts. 6

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

A journalism major, Boudreaux was able to complete both of

Submit questions about the merger to the Alum Engagement Committee

the merger, then summarized the feedback in a meeting with Mills administrators including President Hillman. The AEC facilitated a second set of focus groups in early spring, this time of class agents, class secretaries, and branch/club leaders. Based on the cumulative focus group findings and other

Have questions about the Mills–Northeastern merger? Curious about how alums can stay involved with Mills?

input, AEC members created a broad set of alum priorities, which they asked the College to advocate for during merger discussions. Here’s a short summary: • Alums want to volunteer and participate in campus

The Alum Engagement Committee (AEC), a group of alum

activities—such as supporting students and attending

volunteers, is helping the Office of Alumnae Relations pre-

lectures—as they traditionally have;

pare for a state-of-the-College Zoom update for alums, to be presented by President Elizabeth L. Hillman and other College leaders later this summer. The AEC is curating questions from alums for the presenters to address. To submit your questions, write to the AEC at alumnae-relations@mills.edu. The date of the Zoom session and registration instructions will be announced by email, so please request to be added to the College’s email list if you are not already on it.

• Alums want to continue their relationship with Mills through channels that have been supported by the Alumnae Relations Office, such as the Quarterly; • Alums want access to the campus and its facilities, including Reinhardt Alumnae House (RAH); • Alums want the AAMC to have RAH space and the ability to contact members, among other things;

The AEC seeks to sustain and cultivate relationships

• Alums want campus assets to be preserved and main-

between Mills College and its alums—including alums of

tained, including specific items that have historical sig-

Mills College at Northeastern University—by supporting

nificance to Mills;

the work of the College’s Office of Alumnae Relations. The committee helps identify alum interests and consults on

• Alums would like certain traditions to continue.

development of new engagement opportunities, programs,

In addition to preparing for the Zoom update, the AEC is

and models. Its founding members are Lynette Castille-

currently exploring ways to involve alums in orientation

Hall ’75, Dawn Cunningham ’85, Lucy Do ’75, Lisa Kremer

for incoming students in the fall; AEC member Mosley is

’90, Jillian Mosley ’18, and Amanda Page Harper ’09.

director of orientation and family programs in the College’s

Last fall, the AEC conducted a set of focus groups with alums to learn about their concerns and hopes regarding

Division of Student Life. If you’d like to be involved, contact the AEC at alumnae-relations@mills.edu.

her co-ops with the Boston Globe, serving as the “go-fer” for

years on the English faculty at West Valley College in Saratoga

several syndicated columnists. After graduation in 1977, she

and the author of another published novel, she is revisiting and

went to a small newspaper in upstate New York and then back

revising that original manuscript.

to the Globe as a copy editor before her daughter was born and she moved into the more stable hours of a PR professional.

When contemplating the merger between Mills and Northeastern, Boudreaux turns philosophical. “It felt like some sort of

But she was itching to get back into a more creative field, so

serendipity, with these two institutions that were incredibly influ-

after 15 years on the East Coast, she packed up and came back

ential on me. I can’t imagine where I would be if I had not gotten

to California. Boudreaux initially anticipated that she’d work on

that opportunity with Northeastern,” she says. “And then gradu-

her MFA at UC Irvine, but her mother was living in East Oakland,

ate school at Mills was formative in a way that was completely

so she dropped by the Mills campus. “Everyone was just so help-

unexpected, and it really changed the direction of my life.”

ful and welcoming in all the ways one wants to be welcomed,”

She says that she understands the concerns some have about

she says. “I chose Mills because everything, including the accep-

the merger, but that she is also choosing to stay optimistic.

tance package, made me feel that I was seen and heard.”

“When I was at Northeastern, the institution did its best to

Boudreaux attended Mills full-time while pursuing her MFA,

make things work even during the complicated times we were

writing her first novel while doing so and working as a teach-

living in, and it will bring that same kind of ethos to its rela-

ing assistant during her second year. (Her young daughter

tionship with Mills,” Boudreaux says. “I know it signals a lot of

often attended class with her.) Now, recently retired after 25

change for Mills, and I’m waiting to see how it all plays out.” SUMMER 2022

Mills Matters We Are the Voices hosts Chelsea Manning On April 13, the Mills College Trans

the guards who were the most violent

studies, and oppositional scholarship.

Studies Speaker Series welcomed inter-

people—there were never any repercus-

The project sponsors a number of pro-

nationally-known technologist and net-

sions for them or accountability.”

grams and projects, including the Mills

During that time, she also began

College Trans Studies Speaker Series,

for a talk show-styled event at Lisser

her gender transition, which led to

multiple digital multimedia journals,

Hall with Barbara Lee Distinguished

her fighting for a year and a half to

and the podcast We Are The Voices

Chair in Women’s Leadership Susan

gain access to hormone therapy. Even

Radio. WATV takes proactive steps to

Stryker. Co-sponsored by We Are

though she won that case, Manning was

support and nurture the next activ-

the Voices and the President’s Office,

still kept in a prison for men until her

ists of our time, namely through its

“Volatile Contexts: Identity, Technology

eventual release in 2017, when President

Community Collaborators program.

and Politics in a Moment of Danger”

Barack Obama commuted her sentence.

addressed issues ranging from national

From there, Manning went on

Stephanie Young, graduate students

security and surveillance, artificial intel-

to become an outspoken activist

in the program design and implement

ligence, trans rights, critiques of the car-

in politics and the tech world.

public projects that explore the trans-

work security expert Chelsea Manning

Supervised by faculty advisor

ceral complex, and prison abolitionism.

“I don’t focus on one thing [for

formative power of literature in East Bay

Manning, a former Army intelligence

activism]—I try to dabble,” she told

communities and beyond. One 2021–22

analyst who was convicted in 2013 after

Stryker. During the talk, not only did

collaborator, Caroline Gasparini, MFA

leaking thousands of classified docu-

she touch on trans rights—such as for

’22, a poetry candidate in the English

ments to media website WikiLeaks, began

gender-nonconforming prisoners in the

MFA program, created the digital liter-

the conversation describing her back-

prison-industrial complex and for trans-

ary journal OUT!spoken, which features

ground and time in the military before

gender refugees fleeing the Ukraine

works by Bay Area LGBTQIA+ writ-

her eventual arrest and prison sentence.

War but she also addressed ethics and

ers and activists in conversation with

“One of the key takeaways [from prison]

accountability for tech companies today.

the fight to end mass incarceration.

for me personally was the solidarity and

Moreover, one of her biggest points

“Ultimately, my work seeks to fur-

was how social media feeds online

ther catalyze discussion around mass

on to survive in this environment,” she

political discourse, preventing real

incarceration, LGBTQIA+ rights, and

recalled. “But time and time again, it was

activism. “It’s so easy to get caught up

the transformative social change that

in that ‘thing’—that ‘thing’ trending on

occurs when centering the voices and

Twitter, that ‘thing’ your friends are

stories of those most impacted by the

arguing about,” she argued. “Because I

issues at hand,” Gasparini wrote in her

feel like that ‘thing’ is the distraction

community collaborator bio. Another

machine, distracting us from the reality

graduate poetry student and 2021–22

of what we really need to do over the

collaborator, Tovah Strong, MFA ’22,

next few decades.

runs Perforations, a digital multimedia

ROBBIE S WEEN Y

the network of people I’ve depended

“We don’t have an awareness

peels away borders—particularly the

Manning added. “How do we get our

US-Mexico border.

power back? How do we live as humans in this world?” These are questions that We Are The

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

journal seeking work that examines and

problem; we have an action problem,”

Gasparini and Strong are a few examples of the collaborations WATV supports, working in tandem with activ-

Voices (WATV) continuously tackles.

ists to promote their creative projects

Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon

on a public platform. These students

Foundation, WATV connects Mills stu-

take action through transformative

dents with local and national writers,

art and writing, uplifting the voices

performers, and scholars, collaborat-

of marginalized communities—just as

ing around transformative art, critical

Manning called for.

Sending off with best wishes The end of the academic year typically brings with it a slew of faculty retirements. But with no one calling it permanently quits at the end of the 2021– 22 year, three longtime professors who are leaving (or have left) Mills to pursue different paths were granted the status of professor emeritae: • Sandra Banks, who had served as assistant adjunct professor of chemistry since 1984. She reports that her post-Mills plans, depending

of book art at Mills since 1996. She is heading

Pandemic support for students adds up

to the University of Wisconsin, which has a long

In March 2020, the Student Hardship

history in book art, to be an art professor.

Fund was established to assist cur-

on COVID-19, will involve travel. • Julie Chen, MA ’89, who departed as professor

• Maggie Hunter, who left Mills in 2021 to take

rent Mills students with pandemic-

the position of senior director for the Centers for

related costs. Since then, more

Education Justice and Community Engagement

than $208,000 has been raised

at UC Berkeley. She had been at Mills since 2007,

and distributed directly to students,

starting as a professor of sociology, and leaving

covering needs such as:

with the title of associate provost.

• Travel and transportation for those who left campus mid-semester • Technology to support attendance of online classes

¿Cómo Te Llama?

• Basic housing and medical costs Undocumented and international students received financial relief thanks to donors and a partnership grant, as they weren’t eligible to receive money through the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Mills also bolstered other Collegebased support tied to pandemic needs, such as: • Additional food, hygiene products, and school supplies through the Mills Pantry • Free housing costs in summer 2020 • The waiving of early departure fees for students who left housing • Free testing and vaccinations for

Talk about a stare down: When a herd of llamas made a visit to the Mills campus on Friday, April 29, as part of a pre-finals stress reducer, 9-year-old Zhuren—the son of incoming ASMC President Alia Phelps—found himself practically nose-to-nose with one of the guests.

COVID-19 on campus The Student Hardship Fund will continue post-Northeastern merger; visit mills.edu/giving to contribute. SUMMER 2022

Keeping trees in tip-top shape

windy storm in January of this year brought down seven trees—

It’s quite a sight to see: grown adults shimmying up tall

another along the banks of Leona Creek near Mills Hall.

tree trunks, then attaching themselves near the tops. There,

including one onto the roof of a vacant Mary Morse Hall, and Luan Stauss, senior facilities manager at Mills, is part of a hard-

they move from top to bottom, sawing off chunks that come

working staff that maintains the College’s 135 heavily wooded

thumping to the ground. It’s the safer way to fell a tree, one

acres and its buildings, but handling this kind of specialized work

that prevents teetering trunks from giving in to gravity and

requires different training. “You have to have two certified tree

crashing into buildings—and people.

guys—one’s in the air, and one’s below,” she says. “If you’re not

As the estimated 10,000 original trees still standing on the

certified, you can’t go up and rescue.” The facilities staff previously

Mills campus near their 150th birthdays (and the end of their

included two such workers, but those efforts are now undertaken

lifespans), this process is something that’s happening more

by an outside firm that comes to campus for a variety of prob-

and more often to keep the community safe. A particularly

lems—including a fungus that was killing off black acacias in 2021. “We have [the firm] come every year, but it’s usually very focused—the work is on one section of the campus at a time,” Stauss says. “It’s like taking sails off of a boat, so when a big wind comes through, the trees won’t get blown over.” In the wake of that January storm, the firm—Hummingbird Tree Services, based in San Bruno—was on campus for five weeks trimming and taking down trees that were “threatening buildings, or about to be,” Stauss adds. “We prioritize the trees that are near people spaces, so we have to keep an eye on the others out in the back and other places like that.” Those observations are carried out by Ron Galvan, the grounds manager who supervises the half-dozen groundskeepers who handle the lawns and gardens, pruning and watering, and bodies of water. Galvan, who’s been on the facilities staff at Mills since 1995, spends much of his day out and about, and he gets to know the trees fairly well. “When Ron sees a tree that’s growing, he just knows when it needs pruning: when things are too dense, how the light looks coming in,” Stauss says. The Mills facilities staff will take care of those basic tree-trimming tasks in order to free up the specialists for the more difficult projects. There are, of course, many varieties of flora and fauna on campus—many of them planted by one of the founders himself. As mentioned in the book Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College, Cyrus Mills was fascinated with horticulture. In the years since, the collection has changed and evolved. For instance, when the original eucalyptus trees that lined Kapiolani Road by F.W. Olin Library came down, a different, more sustainable species (Eucalyptus saligna) went in, chosen by a team dedicated to heritage landscape planning at Mills, and in consultation with specialists at The Presidio in San Francisco. In 12 years, those plantings have grown to 80 feet in height. Even with all this maintenance, efforts must continue. The five weeks of tree work this winter yielded many loads of wood

A look at newly denuded eucalyptus trees from the corner of Kapiolani and Post roads on April 15. Consistent maintenance of the many varieties of vegetation on campus is necessary to keep buildings and community members safe. 10

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

scraps that needed hauling away, but the proliferation of plant life will quickly fill in the gaps. “There’s stumps everywhere, but in six months, the trees we’ve taken out now—you won’t even notice,” Stauss says.

ROBBIE S WEEN Y

Music from the Fault Zone

Four days of Mills music filled the various performing venues on campus from April 21–24 as part of Music from the Fault Zone: Experimental Music at Mills College (1939 to the Present). In the lead-up to the festival, publications such as The Guardian and KQED extolled the virtues of the decades of avant-garde sound that have come out of the College and the various professors and alumnae/i who have shepherded that legacy through the years. Celebrating the return of Professor Emeritus of Music Roscoe Mitchell to campus, San Francisco Classical Voice reported that two compositions of Mitchell’s received their world premieres at the festival. “Loudness becomes secondary to Mitchell’s vision of songs that can circle around, hesitate, dart again, and then—elliptically—transition into something bigger,” wrote author Jonathan Curiel.

Calendar Mills College Art Museum Art+Process+Ideas: Craig Calderwood and Christy Chan ■ June 25–August 21 Opening Reception, June 25, 5:00 pm

"Thinking About 'The Best of Both Worlds'" by Craig Calderwood

The 2022 Art+Process+Ideas exhibition will feature new work by the current A+P+I artists in residence, Craig Calderwood and Christy Chan. Calderwood’s intricate and decorative works are rendered through a personal vernacular of symbols and patterns. Recalling the private languages that underground communities of queer and trans people used for decades, Calderwood develops these patterns and symbols though research into history, personal narratives, and pop cultural moments to tell stories both personal and fantasized. Chan is an interdisciplinary artist who works in video, narrative filmmaking, installation, storytelling, and community organizing. The winner of a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts, her hybrid social practice-public art projects seek to foster opportunities for self-representation by communities of color, with the belief that story telling is a form of narrative justice—and narrative justice is a form of social justice. The museum is open 11:00 am-4:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday and until 7:30 pm Wednesday. Admission is free. Visit mcam.mills.edu for more information. SUMMER 2022

Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students The Mills College Art Museum was

Environmental Geology Kristina L.

Jordan’s Al-Zaatari Refugee Camps”

featured in the 7x7 article “7 Small

Faul and 2021 Russell Scholars Sofia

at an Andrew W. Mellon Workshop,

Museums With Mighty Offerings in

Almeida ’23 and Lily Jung ’23 pre-

“Im/Mobilities: New Directions in the

the Bay Area” this January, which

sented a poster on last summer’s work

Humanities,” held at the American

spotlighted small museums around the

at the Geological Society of America

Academy in Berlin from June 13–17. She

Bay Area for their boundary-pushing

national annual meeting in Portland,

also authored the article “Contesting

collections.

Oregon, in October 2021.

Militarized Violence: Indigenous

Assistant Adjunct Professor of

Professor Emerita of Dance Molissa

Women Poets from Northeast India” in

Sociology Gema Cardona has a chapter

Fenley produced one of seven unique

the journal Meridians: feminism, race,

titled “Womxn of Color’s Community

choreographies for Li Chiao Ping, a

transnationalism in 2021.

Engagement in College: The Role of

dance professor at the University of

Family in Defining and Sustaining

Wisconsin, to perform in her project

History Sarah Miller received the

Community-Engaged Service” in

“Women Dancing.”

Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award for museum

the newly published book Pursuit of

Luther B. Marchant Professor

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Art

scholarship by the College Art

Liberation: Critical Service-Learning

of Music Nalini Ghuman was the

Association for her book Documentary

as Capacity Building for Historicized,

Wilkinson Guest Lecturer at the

in Dispute.

Humanizing, and Embodied Action.

Wells School of Music at West Chester

Assistant Professor of Practice

University in Pennsylvania, where she

in Education Julie Nicholson co-

Spanish American Studies Carlota

presented the lecture “Modes, Mantras,

authored Supporting Gender Diversity

Caulfield’s essay-memoir, “La tentación

and Modernism: Indian Encounters

in Early Childhood Classrooms: A

por los espejos o Antonio Beneyto

& Influences in Early 20th-Century

Practical Guide and Radically Listening

transformándose,” was published in the

Britain.” Last December, Ghuman’s

to Transgender Children: Creating

literary magazine Barcarola: Revista de

review-article, “Friendship and

Epistemic Justice through Critical

Creación Literaria 98/99.

Prejudice: Music, Race, & Sexuality in

Reflection and Resistant Imaginations,

20th-century Britain,” appeared in the

both centering on creating gender-

journal Fontes artis Musicae.

affirming early learning environments

In March, Professor of Spanish &

Last year, Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology Christie Chung published an article with her

Professor of Business Kate

for all children. Professor Emerita of Music Maggi

research assistants from the Mills

Karniouchina and Associate Professor

Cognition Lab titled “How do Gender,

of Business Carol Theokary pub-

Payne received the 2022 SEAMUS

Emotional Valence, and Attractiveness

lished a study titled “The Impact of the

Award at the Society for Electro-

Affect Facial Recognition Memory?”

COVID-19 Pandemic on Restaurant

Acoustic Music in the United States

in the Journal of Integrated Social

Resilience: Lessons, Generalizations,

(SEAMUS) National Conference, held

Science. She also published “The Effects

and Ideas for Future Research,” in

at Western Michigan University from

of Culture and View of Aging on

Service Science.

March 30–April 2. Professor of English Kirsten Saxton

Perspective Taking in Young Adults”

Vice President of Student Life and

in the journal Advances in Cognitive

Dean of Students Chicora Martin was

gave a keynote speech in June at the

Psychology in 2021. Chung’s cognitive

recently elected as NASPA’s (Student

Crones, Crime, and the Gothic confer-

aging research was highlighted in The

Affairs Administrators in Higher

ence at Falmouth University in the UK,

Boston Globe article “Still cautious, many

Education) next board chair.

and at the International Crime Fiction

older residents trim back their lifestyles

Professor of French & Francophone

conference in Bamberg, Germany, she

in the time of COVID.” In her role as

Studies and Women’s, Gender, &

presented the paper, “Why Things Burn,

associate provost, Chung published the

Sexuality Studies Brinda Mehta

Girls on Fire.”

op-ed article “Cognitive and Diversity

presented her current research on

Principles Can Bolster Classroom

“Refugeetude Aesthetics: Gender

Women’s Leadership Susan Stryker

Negotiations and Cultural Production

was quoted in a Mercury News article

in Lebanon’s Burj al-Barajneh and

about Jeopardy! champion Amy

Dynamics” on Psychreg in January. Professor of Geochemistry and 12

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

Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Research Justice at the Intersections Fellowship Program Jane Yamashiro was interviewed in the French magazine Tempura: un Magazine sur le Japon about the effects of personal and interpersonal development in Japanese society in the article “Japon enPhoto of Jane Yamashiro’s book Redefining Japaneseness Crise D’Identités.” Professor of Studio Art Catherine Wagner was named as one of Los Angeles’ most influential artists on the digital platform Frieze Viewing Room, and she received additional recognition from Frieze for her exhibition End Grain: the Displaced Shadow, which ran from January 11 to March 11 at Crown Point Press. Wagner also curated an exhibition at Saint Joseph’s Art Society in San Francisco, titled Transparency/ Opacity. Other participating Mills artists included Adjunct Professor Associate Professor of Studio Art Yulia Pinkusevich was featured in The Art

of Studio Art Jennifer Brandon;

Newspaper article “For Ukrainian artists in the US, war rekindles ties to the home-

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Studio

land,” posted in April. She describes her family’s immigration from Ukraine to the

Art Kija Lucas; Assistant Professor of

United States, and how art allows her to channel her emotions in light of these

Practice Yétúndé Olagbaju, MFA ’20;

struggles. “I’m terribly sad for all the people going through this,” Pinkusevich says.

Associate Adjunct Professor of Studio

“The trauma will last for many generations.” “Causality, Isorithm 2” (2018), seen

Art Sandra Ono; Associate Professor

above, is part of a series she has done based on vintage military depictions of

of Studio Art Yulia Pinkusevich;

nuclear bomb blasts. Pinkusevich also has a solo exhibition on display at Round

Rosana Castrillo Diaz, MFA ’03; Nicole

Weather in Oakland through July 23.

Phungrasamee Fein, MFA ’02; Tressa Pack, MFA ’12; and Lindsay Rothwell, MFA ’19.

Schneider, who became a trans role

19) in Early Childhood Education. Their

Department of Race, Gender &

model in the public eye. Stryker noted

chapter is titled “Addressing Inequities:

Sexuality Studies Administrator

how Schneider gave people “a chance to

Experiences of Early Childhood Special

Zamora is the sacred drum keeper

see a trans person in public without it

Educators During the COVID-19

with the wellness project Spirit Root

being caught up in polarizing debates

Pandemic.”

Medicine People: Indigenous Two

about trans issues.”

Professor of Biology Lisa A. Urry

Spirit Lifeways. In November 2021, this

was interviewed as part of Pearson

project was awarded a significant grant

Jaci Urbani and her graduate research

Education’s celebration of the

for the next two years from Belonging

student, Sam Watson-Alvarado ’13,

International Day of Women and Girls

In Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund,

MA ’22, co-wrote a chapter in the book

in Science. The audiogram featuring

hosted by the East Bay Community

Contemporary Perspectives on Research

Urry was posted on LinkedIn, Twitter,

Foundation’s Program for Arts and

on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-

and Instagram.

Culture for Social and Racial Justice.

Associate Professor of Education

SUMMER 2022

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

Commencement

’22

HE LAST TIME the Mills campus hosted a full, traditional Commencement, in 2019, it was pouring down rain. But this year, in resuming the annual rite of passage for the first time since the start of the pandemic, graduates of the Class of 2022 and their guests were greeted with a blindingly beautiful day.

Perhaps that was all the more fitting for the last class to graduate from Mills College as an independent standalone institution. Some attendees—including departing students—wore yellow in the forms of masks, berets, flowers, and more in protest, and a handful of alumnae in the group that processed in stood and turned their backs to administration officials as they delivered remarks. But the overall vibe at Commencement 2022 was one of unbridled joy, like so much biodegradable paper confetti fluttering through the air. In addition to the undergraduate and graduate members of the Class of 2022, several recent graduates from 2020 and 2021 came back to Mills to walk in the ceremony after the pandemic shrunk their commencements into drive-by affairs. Joining them as well were 76 students who have nearly completed their coursework—24 undergrads and 52 graduate students—who will wrap up their Mills degrees in a condensed summer session, free of charge, before June 30. The list of luminaries on hand was an impressive one: renowned author Jesmyn Ward delivered the Commencement address, and honorary degrees were awarded to Elizabeth J. Cabraser, P ’17, a civil litigator who has spearheaded some of the most well-known class action lawsuits in US history and worked tirelessly for advancing civil justice; Lynette Gibson McElhaney, the first Black woman to serve as president of the Oakland City Council and an advocate for ending gun violence; and Arabella Martinez, founder and first CEO of Oakland’s Unity Council and the force behind the Fruitvale Village project. They, along with student speakers and President Elizabeth L. Hillman, delivered charges to this special cohort of graduates as they ventured out into the world beyond the Mills campus. Excerpts from some of those remarks follow:

SUMMER 2022

Board of Trustees President Katie Sanborn ’83 “Graduates, you are the focus. Your achievements, your friendships, your family, your future. It’s been eight months since Convocation, when you sat in the sun with the hope of the year to come reflecting on your faces. And today, you look just as happy and expectant, if maybe a little tired around the edges for reaching the summit of this path. Now, a new path lies before you. The Mills motto extends well beyond today: You will continue to follow many paths together and separately as you forge your future. The trustees are proud of you for rising to challenges, for persevering, for seeing hope, for celebrating your accomplishments in your disciplines. You now become Mills alums, and I know I speak for other alums on the board that we look forward to sharing these experiences with you. Thank you, Class of 2022, for all you have given to each other and to Mills.”

Senior Student Speaker LJ Miranda ’22 “I didn’t come this far only to come this far. None of us did. All of us are going to leave here today and chase our own dreams and passions, and no matter the success rate, we will all leave some mark on the world, just like the 133 classes before us [did]. Mills is not dead. How could it be when there are 134 classes who have graduated and gone into the world, making their own changes and lives and carving a path that led to me standing here today? Mills did not come this far to only come this far. Regardless of how the merger changes the school, every student, every faculty member, every staff member, every alum [who] makes Mills what it is, is carrying a piece of that legacy with them.”

Honorary Degree Recipient Lynette Gibson McElhaney “I’m speaking to a group of resilient people whose stories are different than mine, but many of you are kind of like [me]. We are surviving in COVID, we are grieving in COVID, we are grieving the loss of our beloved community and the things that are familiar. You all who are the last graduating class of Mills as we know it are celebrating with a tinge of grief. And so I just wanted to share with you all what I’ve been learning in this decade of leading while grieving: You’ll take your next step, and you will enjoy your next laugh, because you will be empowered by hope. There’s a word in this hope that makes it active and not passive. Saint Augustine said that hope has two beautiful daughters: one is anger, and the other is courage. Anger at the way things are, and the courage to make sure that they don’t continue as they are.” 16

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

Graduate Student Speaker Trinity Wilson, MBA/MA ’22 “There are some people here you will learn years later were in the same commencement ceremony with you. It’s understanding that no matter how isolating the pandemic was by isolating us into those little boxes, or how harsh the world was even before that, there have been so many people in the forefront and background creating an experience for us that will last a lifetime. […] So, after today, especially for my master’s students: put that MA, that MBA, that MPP, that MFA, that MM behind your name in your email signature, because I will. No one will be able to strip any of us of what we learned and who we truly are. History taught us that they may try, but they will fail against any one of those who know who they are and where they come from.”

Commencement Speaker Jesmyn Ward “I know you are elated and afraid. I know you are happy and you are sad. I know some of you feel too much for your skin right now. I know some of you are measuring your dreams, calculating them unworthy. I know some of you are silencing your inner voices, packing your true desires away. I know some of you are already weathering hardship, are already unmoored by the sometimes merciless turning of the world. Be still. Listen to your voice, the one that speaks in your darkest nights, that sounds in your coolest mornings. Be very still. Know that your voice is your lantern. Know that your voice is your boat. Know that your voice is that which will bear you up on the sea of grief and loss and change, and that silencing your intuition, your voices, will not spare you the world.”

PHOTOS BY S TE VE BABUL JAK

SUMMER 2022

Unforgettable After Mills’ 134th Commencement, the Quarterly’s departing student assistant looks back on the momentous occasion.

connection between us. We may have our

“Mills is not dead,” said LJ Miranda ’22,

own paths, but somehow they crossed

our senior student speaker. “Regardless

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I was

here, at a small college tucked away in

of how the merger changes the school,

almost late to my own graduation. After

the heart of Oakland. Maybe you’ve

every student, every faculty member,

waking up early that Saturday morning,

met your lifetime friends and mentors at

every staff member, every alum is car-

I thought I had enough time to get to

Mills. Maybe you haven’t kept in touch

rying a piece of that legacy with them.”

Mills, except I didn’t anticipate how jam-

with your classmates at all. But it’s impos-

packed the streets around the College

sible to deny that Mills has shaped our

buildings

would be. Trailing behind an endless line

lives, from moments spent learning in

because of the people. We’re a gathering

of cars, I barely squeezed my own vehicle

these classrooms, to walking on the sce-

of artists, writers, scholars, teachers, and

past the front gate, already sweating in

nic paths here. We wouldn’t be the people

leaders. Despite the changes to the cur-

my full regalia when I drove down gor-

we are today without these memories.

riculum and the introduction of under-

By Tri-an Cao ’21, MFA ’22

Mills isn’t Mills just because of the or

the

departments,

but

geous Richards Road. But even as a com-

graduate men, we’ll still be Mills. In fact,

muter student with all the knowledge I

I’m glad the community is putting into

had of niche parking spaces on campus,

action what we’ve learned here: asking

I still couldn’t find a spot. It was as if

questions, speaking up for ourselves,

everyone had come to bear witness.

and supporting one another. Change is

As soon as I stepped out of my car, I

necessary to keep this institution run-

rushed past the noisy crowd of specta-

ning, but so too is continuing our leg-

tors that had gathered around the front

acy of solidarity and social justice, and

of Lisser Hall, and I felt myself drawn

remembering the efforts of those before

to another graduate who was also com-

us and those currently here. One of the last speakers during Com-

ing in—an MBA candidate with a Jewish

mencement struck a deep chord with

affinity stole. “Do you know where we’re supposed

me. Lynette Gibson McElhaney, a Black

to line up?” she asked me as we walked

activist and former member of the

side-by-side. I shrugged.

Oakland City Council, received an honorary doctorate of humane letters along

“Maybe? I can’t tell with all these people

with us.

around,” I confessed. “I’m not used to Mills

“You all who are the last graduating

being this crowded.” My stomach was still

class of Mills as we know it are celebrat-

in knots, but we shared a smile together. After we managed to find where every-

I understand why a lot of people are

ing with a tinge of grief. But you’ll take

one else had lined up, that small inter-

cautious about the merger. I’ve seen

your next step, and you’ll enjoy your

action stuck with me for the next few

anger and anxiety from my friends and

next laugh, because you will be empow-

hours, up until our grand entrance onto

colleagues who are afraid that Mills

ered by hope,” she said.

Holmgren Meadow. Though there was

could change too much and be unrec-

Mills may not look exactly the same

undoubtedly an undercurrent of bitter-

ognizable, or that there might not be

from here on out, but we can make

sweet feelings, as the Class of 2022 walked

a place for the current faculty and dis-

sure that future students can experi-

together to the thunderous applause and

ciplines. To some, it even felt like the

ence the same kinship and lessons that

cheers of family, friends, and people from

administration was out to get us. But

we learned when we were here at Mills.

near and far, the sheer joy and unity took

like many others, I’m choosing to stay

Five years ago, when I stepped onto cam-

my breath away. We did it.

optimistic about the future—an attitude

pus for the first time, I was a complete

that many of the Commencement speak-

stranger. Today, I’m proud to be a gradu-

ers shared as well.

ate of Mills College.

That’s what I’ll miss the most about Mills—the camaraderie and moments of

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

Bent Twigs 1

A Bent Twig is a Mills student or alumna whose family tree includes another Mills alumna. This year, we welcomed graduates from the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 to participate in our yearly photo roundup, whether in person or from afar. 1 Emma Asano Roark, TCRED ’22, with her mother, Assistant Adjunct Professor of Ethnic Studies Susan Ito, MFA ’94 2 Isabella Blu Campise ’22, with aunt Amy Plyler Barnes ’91 3 Sisters Caitlin McClure ’88 and Sara McClure ’81

4 Genesis Hernandez ’18, with niece Klarissa Oceguera ’22 5 Sisters Vivian Guerrero ’22 and Maureen Guerrero, MPP ’22 6 Lucy Moholt-Siebert ’20 with her grandmother, Lorinda Smith Moholt ’60

’Tis education forms the common mind: Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined. —Alexander Pope, 1734

7 Sisters Dalia Cuenca ’11 and Alhelí Cuenca ’14, MBA/ MPP ’22 P H OT OS 1-5 B Y DA NA DAV IS

SUMMER 2022

Fun facts about

BENT TWIGS

The first photo of a graduating Bent Twig—with her Mills mother—was published in the fall 1977 issue of Mills Quarterly. After several intermittent years of coverage, the Quarterly began photographing new Bent Twig graduates with their Mills relatives after Commencement on an annual basis in 1984. We logged the 311 individual Bent Twigs* and their 367 relatives who have appeared in our pages since then** and crunched some numbers:

The Trees Inclined

Most Bent Twigs Class of 2013, with

Most common class for relatives of Bent Twigs Class of 1988, with

Most common type of relation  MOTHER: 144

39.2%

 SISTER: 91+

24.8%

The eighty three students who constitute the Bent Twig group this year are a declaration of the confidence placed in Mills by grandmothers, mothers, aunts, cousins, and sisters who in their generations have blazed the campus trails for their Bent Twig descendants. –Mills Quarterly, fall 1943

By Lila Goehring ’21

 AUNT: 43

11.7%

 GRANDMOTHER: 26

7.1%

Though Bent Twigs existed from the very beginnings of Mills College (known then as “alumnae grandchildren”), the tradi-

 COUSIN: 22

tion was officially recognized by the “Alumnae Office” in 1918

 OTHER: 41

reference to branches on a family tree. In the spring 1925 issue

6.0%

11.2%

and named in 1924 by then-secretary Katherine Hayes ’23, in of the Quarterly, Harriett Haskell ’27 wrote: Significant comparisons can be tapped from the new name. Bent Twigs do not spring from nowhere but are part of family trees which are rooted at Mills. The Twigs have heard of Mills before they come. They have shared to some extent the spirit and ideals of Mills which flow through the family trees of which they are a part. The Bent Twigs, as a natural growth, obey the natural laws of development. Strengthened by a background of Mills traditions, they are ready to blossom out when they arrive at college. The Bent Twigs carry Mills in their bodies just as they carry the lullabies of their great-grandmothers sung to the women before them, every song as strong as the chiming of the

Including one twin sister, who graduated seven years before the other

Campanil, which was always meant to meet their ears four times an hour, every day. They know a sense of belonging like

* Nine of these 311 Bent Twigs received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mills and took photos after their multiple Commencement ceremonies with the same relatives. **Several early issues of the Quarterly included lists and/or photos of all the Bent Twigs attending Mills at the time: fall 1921, fall 1943 (photo), and fall 1947 (photo). Look for those on our website at quarterly.mills.edu! 20

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

no one else, and know above all what it means to come home.

A Common Mind Like all Bent Twigs, Lauren Hawthorne Harris ’82 grew up with stories of the Mills campus and its magic told by her mother,

S TE V E BABUL JIAK

Dolores Hawthorne Simpson ‘58. Dolores is no longer with us, but Lauren spoke of her mother in only the most delicate, admiring way.

held an ad hoc reunion. On the trip, Harris came to a conclusion: “Mills offered the best opportunity for [my mother] to become an educator. It

In order for her mother to attend Mills, Harris’s grandmother—

had one of the best education departments in the country and

a single mother—scrubbed floors to afford her daughter’s tuition.

a reputation as one of the best schools to train teachers for

“Whatever it took for her to be able to go and have that experi-

urban communities.”

ence,” Harris said. “That’s the story I was raised with.”

Still, it was the friendships that they both treasured the

Coming from Cleveland, Ohio, Simpson and her best friend,

most. When Harris attended Mills in the ’80s, she met some

the late Peggy Woodruff ’58, found Mills in a magazine about

of her mother’s friends from her college years. “There was a

colleges and universities, and both made the decision to attend

group of about four or five women who just gave her love. They

during their senior year of high school. The decision wasn’t an

were like sisters,” she said. Years later, these friends planned a

easy one—attending a college across the country meant extra

memorial for Simpson when doing so herself was too much for

expenses and traveling. With the option to attend many other

Harris to bear.

schools, why Mills?

After Mills, Simpson returned to Cleveland and became a

“That was a question that I did some soul searching on,

beloved, veteran teacher. “If [the kids] came to school hungry,

because it didn’t really click for me why she chose Mills,”

she would feed them. We would go out shopping if they needed

Harris said, adding that someone first asked her 10 years ago.

shoes,” her daughter said. “I remember going with her to visit

“I had never asked myself that question before.” So she went

parents in apartment buildings—she really loved her kids, and

back to Mills for the first time in many years to seek answers.

her kids loved her.” Some of Simpson’s students kept in touch

During her visit, Harris attended Reunion and reconnected

with her all of her life.

with her own classmates, remembering and strengthening the

Harris is a middle-school teacher herself, which was not her

bonds from her time at Mills. She met up with former mem-

original plan: She majored in computer science at Mills. But

bers of the Black Women’s Collective, a group that remained

after dabbling in teaching, she finally made the decision to get

so strong that some raised children together. (Simpson was

her credential. “My mom is still in my blood,” she said. “I am

likely the second Black student to graduate from Mills, making

following her footsteps, even though this is my second career

Harris the probable first Black Bent Twig.) The group recently

choice.” Returning to school to become a teacher, she said, SUMMER 2022

BENT TWIGS, continued

Least common type of relation BROTHER1, COUSIN-IN-LAW, HUSBAND2, WIFE2

helped her understand who her mother was—why she herself made the same decision, and why she wanted to make the impact that she did on the next generation. Did attending Mills bring about a similar understanding? “It really explained to me where her heart was,” Harris said. Though she returned to Cleveland, Simpson always longed for California and hoped that her own daughter would attend

 1: Current Mills Associate Adjunct Professor of Education Nolan Jones, MA ’12, EdD ’14; and Nathan Jones, MFA ’10

Mills one day. “When I graduated, [my mother] came, and it was a star moment for her—me following in her footsteps,” Harris said.

Three Branches Susan Ito, MFA ’94, started her family’s Bent Twig tradition when she chose Mills in 1992 to pursue her MFA in creative writing. A practicing physical therapist at the time, she was determined to make the switch from “physical therapist who

2: Nneka Harrison, MEd ’04, EdD ’10; and Christopher Delmar Harrison, TCRED ’02, MA ’03, MA ’06, EdD ’09 

also writes” to, simply, writer. Her debate between Mills and San Francisco State ended the day she stepped foot onto campus and sat in on a writing workshop. “I knew this is where I wanted to be,” she recalled. What Susan didn’t know was that exactly 30 years later, her youngest daughter would be the third Mills graduate in the family, and herself a professor of

Most relatives in a Bent Twig photo TWO-WAY TIE: Below, top: Stacie Hudson ’99 (center) with aunt Estrellita Hudson Redus ’65, MFA ’75; sister Lelalois Hudson Beard ’94; sister Samzie Hudson ’97; and aunt Camellia Hudson Franklin ’73 Below, lower: Molly Bishop Romero ’86 (second from left), with mother Sara Amodei Bishop ’58, grandmother Ruth Snyde Amodei ’31, sister Amy Bishop-Dunbar ’83, and aunt Alice London ’58

English and ethnic studies at Mills with 26 classes on her CV. “So here we are, the three of us,” she concluded with pride. Together, every inch of the Mills campus—and the people on it—make up a web of memories, coincidences, and full circles for Susan and daughters Mollie Ito-Washington ’14 and Emma Roark ’22 (see page 19). As a graduate student, Ito became pregnant with Emma during her time as a teaching assistant for Professor Kathryn Reiss—who was also pregnant. Ito gave birth just a week after her graduation, and the two mothers formed a baby group. Still, the small world grows bigger. Both of Ito’s daughters attended the Children’s School, a decision first made out of “geographic convenience” when Ito was a graduate student— but the excellence of the education kept the family connected to Mills long after she finished her MFA program. That same philosophy—the close attention, the ratio of students and teachers, the holistic perspective—would be taught to Mollie during her time studying child development, with some of her former preschool teachers as professors. “Now they were teaching her the theory that she had experienced at the Children’s School,” Ito said. Emma, too, encountered former teachers who recognized her face from their memories of her as a baby, like Natalee Kēhaulani Bauer, whose own two children now attend the Children’s School. In the ethnic studies department, she is Susan’s supervisor.

Earliest year represented by a relative 1923, the grad year of Helen MacConnon Henry, grandmother of Sarah Smith Robinson ’79 22

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

“I have pictures from when [Mollie and Emma] used to go trickor-treating around the Oval and through the first and second floors of Mills Hall,” Ito recalled. “We would often have a snack or dinner at the Tea Shop after school.” Recently, Ito attended the Mills Pow Wow with a friend whose 6-year-old daughter enjoyed pushing Disco on Holmgren Meadow. The sight brought a

Number of daughters with resuming Bent Twig mothers wave of nostalgia as Susan remembered her daughters doing the same. “This was one of the most exciting things for them to do—to be able to feel you had the power to move this giant metal disk,” she said. “We just have so many decades of memories and generations of experience being on the campus.” In the years after she had graduated and before she joined the faculty, Ito’s connection to the campus remained strong.

Year of Bent Twig photos with no names 2007 (if you’re in one of these images, email us at quarterly@mills.edu!)

“One day we were going on a trip, and on the drive to the Oakland airport, I took the exit to Mills,” she remembered, laughing. “My husband said, ‘Where are you going?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know, that’s where the car automatically goes!’” In those years, she would often come to campus to work in the library, the only place to trigger her focus in a Pavlovian way. “Mills was still a place for me. I hope they feel like that too,” she said of her daughters. The year after Mollie graduated, Susan took a position teaching the graduate workshop in the English Department—the “dream of dreams,” she called the job. Since then, she has more than accomplished her goal of becoming a writer and teaches widely loved classes like Mixed Race Narratives. Now with a granddaughter, the family will continue the Mills tradition. Whether or not she attends the Mills her mother and grandmother knew, Ito’s granddaughter will undoubtedly carry forward the memories and values that brought her into the world—and at the very least, know the same power of pushing the Disco.

The Latin word destinatio translates to “purpose” or “design,” and is closely related to destiny. Both contain “predetermined” in their definitions, just as the Mills motto hints: One destination, many paths. I have often wondered which “destinatio” this refers to: the journey to Mills itself, which we all came to by different paths—or the larger, holier destination of what we will bring into the world as Mills alumnae, our ultimate impact, in all of the different ways that we can do such a thing. “I went on two tracks,” Harris explained of the questions that prompted her soul-searching journey a decade ago. “Why did my mom go to Mills, but also, what is Mills?” She went back to the basics, physically returning to Benicia to see the place where Mills began, and retracing and learning its history piece by piece—who Susan and Cyrus were, how Mills found a home in Oakland and harbored immigrants in the area, how it empowered women, how Susan Mills was like a mother try-

Maurine Martin Harkness ’71 submitted the following Class Note for this issue and graciously allowed us to include it in this section: “This picture is from graduation in May 2013 when my daughter, Mo Kaze, received her master’s degree. The Oxford cap she is wearing is my mother’s cap, which I wore in May 1971. It has a label inside which reads: Geraldine Stevens Toms ’44, Maurine Martin Harkness ’71, and Mo Kaze ’13. Three generations of Mills women. I was very proud and happy that day, and I will always treasure my Mills memories.”

ing to make a difference in the world. “At the time, it was just a phenomenal thing to say, ‘I am going to start a college that’s for women,’” Harris said. And she found her answer: “What Mills is is just a continuum of that purpose and goal—how Susan felt she needed to make an impact on this community, and that it has such a far-reaching impact on all of the women going out over 170 years.” It was the place that made Harris who she is today, just like her mother.  SUMMER 2022

The Transgender Admissions Policy As Mills College currently faces a major change, the Quarterly takes a look at some of the other transitions the College has experienced over the course of its esteemed 170-year history. This is the final story in a series of three. BY MOYA STONE, MFA ’03 Mills College stands today on top of a

written policy should make the applica-

experience, restrooms, housing, athlet-

long history of including the tradition-

tion process easier.”

ics, and public safety.

ally excluded. Its very existence came

At the time, women’s colleges around

from a commitment on the part of Cyrus

the country were actively discussing

Working on the Policy

and Susan Mills to provide a college edu-

transgender inclusion. The issue hit

As a nonbinary student voice on campus,

cation for women at a time when their

national media in 2013 when transgender

Sonj Basha ’15 was asked to join the com-

options were few. Building on that, dur-

student Calliope Wong applied to Smith

mittee. They came to Mills as a resumer/

ing President Aurelia Reinhardt’s tenure,

and was rejected because one of her docu-

transfer student, attracted to the College

she reached out to young women from

ments listed her as male. Eloise Stiglitz,

for its commitment to social justice.

China and Japan and encouraged them

vice president of student life and dean of

“[Mills] felt like a traditional structure

to attend Mills; during WWII, she opened

students at the College from 2013 to 2015,

with a radical undertone,” they explain.

the gates to European Jewish refugees.

says there was an uproar on the Mills

Basha, founder and creative director of

Over time, Mills expanded further and

campus after the Smith incident. “If we

the embodiment project *UNlearning

welcomed “resumers” (students aged 23

were to be a school to support and educate

& LIBeration, says that the committee’s

and older), and it became a haven for

women-identified people, then we should

work ended up impacting the institu-

women of color and first-generation col-

be admitting trans students,” Stiglitz says.

tion, setting an example for the work that

lege students. To support an increasingly

Almost in anticipation of this national

other colleges could do. Following Mills’

diverse population, Mills was one of the

discussion, in 2011 President Alecia

announcement of its transgender policy,

first institutions to offer ethnic studies

DeCoudreaux requested that a commit-

Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Simmons,

(in 1969) and, more recently, a queer

tee study and issue a report on inclu-

and Scripps implemented similar policies,

studies minor.

sion for transgender and gender-fluid

prompting a slew of national coverage on

In keeping with that ity,

Mills

inclusivagain

took

the lead in 2014 as the first

women’s

college

the role of women’s colleges. S TE V E BABUL JIAK

legacy

The other student on the committee, Quintin (Crownover) Bailey ’16, left, says that the text of the report was written by faculty and staff, while the students were

to implement a formal

asked to comment and make recommen-

admissions

for

dations. “The student body was ahead

transgender

policy

women.

of the College as an institution in terms

Until then, trans women

of welcoming, accepting, [and] holding

applicants were admit-

space for trans folks,” says Bailey.

ted on a case-by-case

Bailey, who now holds a PsyD in clini-

basis, but according to

cal psychology and works as a therapist,

Brian

then

says the staffers on the committee had

vice president for admis-

good intentions, but there was a lot of

sions management, the

pushback from the Admissions Office,

O’Rourke,

College needed to make it official. “The

students. Composed of faculty, staff,

which didn’t agree with marketing the

purpose of this policy is that we didn’t

and two students, the committee made

College as a “historically women’s col-

want students to feel excluded in the

recommendations on how to improve

lege” rather than just a women’s college.

application process,” he told the San

the admissions and recruitment of trans

“There were disagreements on how that

Francisco Chronicle in 2014. “Having a

women students, as well as on classroom

would impact messaging to potential

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

students, and that somehow, it would

binary, queer, or questioning, because

“The Mills community often provides stu-

weaken the purpose of the College,”

college is a great place to explore who

dents and employees the first place they

Bailey notes.

you really are as a person.” Armstrong,

could go about their education or occupa-

Susan Stryker, a prominent trans

who had lived as a woman for 10 years

tion without having to explain their right

woman scholar and the Barbara Lee

before coming to Mills, says she was one

to exist and be valued,” Martin says.

Distinguished

Women’s

of three trans women at Mills when she

“My friends all agreed [with the pol-

Leadership for 2020–22, says the policy

transferred from Berkeley City College.

icy]. It was a very ‘duh’ moment in our

was a smart move in these challenging

In 2014, O’Rourke confirmed that of the

world, and it was a powerful reaffirma-

times for liberal arts colleges, where there

approximately 1,000 undergraduates at

tion of our identity as a women’s col-

is competition across higher education

Mills, three to five were transgender or

lege,” says Tess Fillbeck-Bates Smith

for fewer and fewer students. “I think

identified as something other than what

’15, a cisgender woman. An athlete and

marketing Mills as a place that is espe-

they were assigned at birth.

musician while at Mills, she says she

Chair

cially welcoming to trans and nonbinary

thinks the policy was an important

students takes nothing from cisgender

step for women’s colleges. As one of the

students and alums,” she remarks. According to Stiglitz, however, who also worked on the committee, some alums were unhappy about the policy. They felt that, as a women’s college, “admitting trans women and men was veering off our mission.” Upon the policy’s release, the Quarterly received several letters in support of the policy, though the Office of Alumnae Relations did record a handful of complaints as well. O’Rourke expressed a different opinion: On the KQED radio program Forum in 2014, he told show host Michael Krasny, “Women’s colleges were founded

THE POLICY ITSELF: In 2014, The Campanil summarized the 387-word policy as follows: The new policy states that the College admits self-identified women and students who are assigned to female sex at birth and identify as transgender or genderfluid. Students who have legally changed their sex to male will not be considered for admission; however, students who transition to male after coming to Mills will be allowed to stay until they graduate.

Experiences After the Policy One such trans man was Bailey, who was a high-profile student at Mills and president of the ASMC. He says the culture on campus at the time was really “uplifting and exciting” for him, and for the first time, he was popular and well-liked. Bailey chose Mills because he knew the College to be an inclusive space for queer women. Having questioned issues of gender in high school, he thought, “If I’m a woman, I’ll be able to figure out what type of woman I am at Mills.” He was right: Mills offered him the support and space to discover that he was “in fact, not a woman.” He transitioned while still a student. Looking at the campus from another direction

was

trans

woman

Erin

Armstrong ’16, MPP/MBA ’18. “It was an exciting time to be a visible transgender leader at Mills,” she says. “There were a ton of people who identified as non-

with Michael Krasny, she said that she supported the policy and felt that her education would be enriched. “Because when we have people who can feel free to express who they are, they can be stronger in everything they do,” she said then. But Smith now also recognizes that not all students were supportive: “There was a small group of students who did not agree. They had real lived experiences and reasons, and it was tough for them,” she says. Some of the trans/nonbinary students at Mills, recent grads, and older alums have told Stryker that they feel there’s

and exist in order to question traditional gender identity and gender stereotypes.”

panelists on that 2014 episode of Forum

Armstrong had hoped that she could

still a lot of “transphobia, prejudice,

blend in on campus, but she transferred

ignorance, and passive-aggressiveness”

just after the announcement of the for-

regarding non-cisgender women being

malized transgender policy. “When I

in the undergrad programs. However,

arrived on campus that fall, it felt like

she also hears from other trans and non-

there were a lot of eyes on me,” she says.

binary students that they felt affirmed

“Like everyone was looking for the trans

in their identities. “There’s a lot of varia-

woman.” That was the opposite of what

tion in experiences,” Stryker says.

Armstrong expected, but as a trans advo-

In the years since the policy was

cate and activist, she jumped into the dis-

enacted, the recorded numbers of stu-

cussion. She soon looked for clubs to join

dents who self-identify as transgender

and found that although there were many

slowly rose to a high of nine in the 2020-

gay/lesbian clubs, there was nothing that

21 school year, before dropping down

had a “trans or gender non-conforming

to five in the academic year that just

component.” Armstrong then received the

ended. Stiglitz says that the policy was

suggestion that she might want to revive

very much about admissions and “ways

the Gender Splendor Club. She did, and

to attract more students,” though a large

the club went on to sponsor the annual

influx of trans students didn’t happen.

Transgender Day of Remembrance and

That might be down to how it’s worded:

Transgender Week of Visibility.

“The policy is confusing and vague in

Chicora Martin, vice president of stu-

the way it was written,” explains Bailey.

dent life and dean of students since 2015,

“Transness is such a nuanced and diverse

relays that more recent students have

identity. Really, no two trans people are

said they feel that Mills has provided a

alike, so it’s hard to write a policy that’s

safe space for them to express themselves.

inclusive of all that.”  SUMMER 2022

AAMC NEWS & NOTES A Message from the AAMC President Dear Alumnae Community, As I complete my six years as president of the AAMC, I look back at some of the significant moments of my tenure. 2016: President Alecia DeCoudreaux signed the Compact, which would redefine the AAMC-College relationship—and

alumnae community became polarized in its view of the lawsuits between the College and the AAMC, as well as the Northeastern University merger. Both parties ended their lawsuits in January 2022. February 2022: The AAMC held a summit to define the

lead to a more specific AAMC-College

AAMC’s future as well as the Mills leg-

operating agreement.

acy as an empowering space for women and

February 2017: The AAMC endowed two

for

lifelong

connections.

Since

$100,000 scholarships for DACA students

February, the AAMC and Mills have

and the Oakland Promise to enable high

been in negotiations about Reinhardt

school students in Oakland to attend Mills.

Alumnae House and the alumnae data-

May 2017: The AAMC–Mills College

base. The College has assured the AAMC

Working Group submitted its “Report on

that the terms of the MOC will continue

the Implementation of the AAMC-Mills

regarding the exclusive use of Reinhardt

College Compact and Points of Agreement”

Alumnae House for the next academic

to the Mills College Board of Trustees and

year. During the next year, the AAMC

the AAMC Board of Governors, which

leadership will have ongoing conversa-

was approved in October. This shaped

tions about the future partnership with

the future of the AAMC, including our

Mills College at Northeastern.

role in fundraising, our use of Reinhardt

March 2022: The Alecia DeCoudreaux

Alumnae House, and opportunities for

Endowed Scholarship for students of

alumnae to engage with the College.

color reached the $254,100 mark. There is a lot more to reflect on, but I do

The signing of the 2017 Memorandum of Collaboration and Agreement (MOC) between the AAMC and

want to express my appreciation to all who have served and will

Mills College was a huge step forward in solidifying our part-

continue serving—and particularly those who are leaving the

nership, and we began to see the benefits of the MOC as the

board this year: Gwen Jackson Foster ’67, Myila Granberry ’05,

AAMC and the College worked together to advance several key

Adrienne McMichael Foster ’74, Debi Wood ’75, Courtney Long

initiatives of MillsNext.

’01, Claudia Mercado ’06, and Alexa Pagonas ’91. I also want to

December 2017: The AAMC Board of Governors made a his-

express my congratulations to incoming board members and

toric decision as a board and voted unanimously to extend a

ask that you extend your support and give a warm welcome to

$2-million line of credit to the College to fund two important

Debby Campbell Dittman ’68, the incoming president. I have

academic initiatives: The Mills Undergraduate Signature

every confidence that I am leaving the AAMC in good hands.

Experience to redesign the undergraduate experience and

On May 12, the AAMC lost one of its beloved alumnae, Lynda

enhance student recruitment and retention, and the Online

Campfield ’00, MA ’02 (to my right in the Pearl M photo on the

Degrees for Selected School of Education Graduate Programs,

opposite page). She was a super volunteer who was on campus

which included two MA programs.

on May 2 to assemble and distribute finals snacks to students.

September 2018: The AAMC made a $10,000 gift to help

Anyone who knew Lynda will attest to her warm smile, gener-

train faculty for online teaching. These were exciting times for

ous heart, and deep love for Mills. While we will miss her here

the AAMC and the College, and resulted in close collaboration

on earth, she will live in our hearts forever.

and joint initiatives.

I want to close with one plea to all alumnae: Regardless of

July 2020: During the pandemic, the AAMC raised more

our differences, let us come together to cherish and keep alive

than $40,000 in hardship funds to help support international

the mission and legacy of Mills, which has been and will con-

students who were unable to go back to their home countries.

tinue to be part of our lives forever.

The relationship between the College and AAMC was the best I’d ever experienced, with trustees, governors, College officers, and staff being engaged. March 2021: The announcement of the College’s closure began a challenging and painful time for the AAMC. The 26

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

Thank you for the privilege of serving you as the president of the AAMC, and fare thee well. Warmly, Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82 AAMC President

The future of the AAMC Over the past few months, the AAMC has held two in-person summits and collected data through a survey to gather alumnae input regarding the future of the AAMC: its mission, membership, and activities. Overall, alumnae advocated for women- and justicecentered programs, a preservation of Mills College’s history and legacy, and prioritization for reconnection and continued connection among alumnae. Along with the preservation of alumnae awards, travel programs, and reunions, alumnae have expressed interest in maintaining the Mills mission of supporting marginalized students—through endowed scholarships that would support students at Mills College at Northeastern University and

To stay up-to-date on the latest AAMC news, sign up for the AAMC-managed newsletter, and purchase mugs and other merchandise, visit our new website at aamc-mills.org.

in the community at large; mentorship; and advocacy for social justice. To stay up-to-date on the AAMC’s future, please subscribe to our newsletter at aamc-mills.org.

On April 26, the AAMC worked with the Office of Alumnae Relations to host the traditional Pearl M dinner in celebration of the Class of 2022. Students joined alumnae, board members, and College officers for a dinner in Rothwell Student Center and heard remarks of congratulations from President Elizabeth L. Hillman, Interim Provost Patricia Hardaway, and AAMC President Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82. Afterwards, attendees processed to sing “Remember” and “Fires of Wisdom” around the Music Building pond and enjoyed dessert at Reinhardt Alumnae House. The AAMC sends well wishes and congratulations to the resilient Class of 2022!

Pearl M 2022

Once again, the Alumnae Student Relations Committee distributed snack bags to students during finals week. Volunteers passed out 115 bags to students at the Tea Shop.

SUMMER 2022

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 April 4 To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123 Jean Parker Shevlin ’40, March 2, in Ames, Iowa. She and late husband Bill were married for 52 years, and they adopted two daughters and many pets. In their family life on the Peninsula, she loved working on art projects, volunteering at Stanford Medical Center, and curating a vibrant garden. In retirement, Jean and Bill moved to Iowa to be closer to their grandchildren. She is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Barbara Miller Fischer ’41, June 1, 2018, in Santa Rosa, California. While she didn’t graduate from Mills, Barbara was still an enthusiastic supporter of the College. She also worked as a travel agent for many years. She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard Ransler. Jean Morgan Randall ’41, February 3, in Rialto, California. When she died, Jean was the oldest former teacher in the Rialto Unified School District, a job she started at the age of 40. Her family had deep roots in Rialto, and the city plans to rename its historical society building in her memory. Among other organizations, Jean also volunteered with the Girl Scouts, the Junior League, and the Congregational Church of Rialto. She is survived by three daughters. Anne Cooley Blake ’43, May 4, 2020, in Tryon, North Carolina. She was the longtime co-owner of Silk Flowers Outlet, Inc. She is survived by two stepdaughters and two granddaughters. Betty Jo “BJ” Pattee Gordy ’44, December 17, 2021, in Walnut Creek. BJ was born and raised in the northern mountains of Idaho, and coming to the West Coast for college was a dream come true. Her daughter says that BJ “flocked to the seashores her entire adult life.” BJ also worked as a coordinator for the Golden Rain Foundation at the senior community in Rossmoor. She is survived by three children. Murlyn “Murly” Rodger Miner, MA ’44, August 2, 2020, in Nelson, New Hampshire. She earned a master’s in occupational therapy after graduating from the University of North Dakota. Murly met her late husband while working in the Army Civilian Corps during World War II. They raised their family in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Murly also served in various community organizations, before retiring to New Hampshire. She is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Irene Schuette Kline ’44, May 3, 2018, in Los Angeles. Her family says that she will be remembered for her love of singing, dancing, and bridge. She is survived by her partner, Ed LaZar; two children; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. Jacqueline Colterjohn ’47, May 4, 2021, in Oakland. Betty Jo Campbell Fletcher ’48, October 18, 2021, in Phoenix. She lived most of her life in Phoenix, save for a few years in Anchorage and Albuquerque as a new wife and mother. After settling back in Arizona, Betty Jo taught preschool at Camelback Desert School, retiring after 60 years on the job. She was also active at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral throughout her life, starting as a choir member in her childhood. She is survived by a sister, two children, three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Her sister, Patricia Campbell ’45, predeceased her. Patricia “Tish” Cox Wedlake ’48, February 26, in Pebble Beach, California. She worked as a “Gray Lady” with the Red Cross at Walter Reed Hospital and volunteered at Evanston Hospital in Illinois. After she and her family moved to Pebble Beach in 1962, she served as one of the first Pink Ladies in the new hospital there. Tish later started the first gift shop at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula with a friend, and she was a dedicated fundraiser for local schools. 32

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She is survived by two daughters, six grandchildren, and two greatgrandchildren. Phyllis Falenzer Thompson ’48, November 6, 2020, in Santa Barbara. After Mills, she earned an MS in reading teacher education. Phyllis split her time between Hawaii and the mainland. She is survived by her husband, J.C. Joan Harrison ’48, January 9, in Fairfield, California. After Mills, she earned her master’s in clinical psychology at John F. Kennedy University and worked as a psychologist in private practice for many years. Joan was a Bent Twig, the daughter of Gladys Halstead Harrison ’20. She is survived by a daughter, Hilary, who says her mother always enjoyed participating in alumnae activities with her classmates. Marilee Phillips Schanuel ’48, March 23, 2021, in Oak Grove, Missouri. After Mills, she earned a BA in psychology from Elmhurst College, then a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of WisconsinPlatteville. Marilee spent her career working in behavioral and nutritional counseling, but she was thrilled to finally publish some of her poetry and prose in the book Giggles, Grief & Gratitude, which was released about a year before her death. Marilee also loved to sing, dance, and spend time in nature. She is survived by four children. June Suzuki Mochizuki ’48, October 29, 2017, in Denver. A California native, June first came to Colorado during World War II when her family entered an internment camp. She graduated from Colorado State and went to Mills for an internship in counseling. After retiring from Western Michigan University, she returned to Colorado, where she loved to quilt, perform music, and cultivate orchids. Her last big trip was to Cuba at the age of 90. She is survived by four siblings, five children, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Florita Botts ’49, March 2021, in Anguillara Sabazia, Italy. Her career in media and community development took her many places, especially in her role as a photographer and educator for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which she documented in the 2020 book Journeys for a Witness. An Italian article published after her death celebrated her work in protecting the territory where she lived north of Rome, especially through her photography for local publications, as well as her love of orchestral music. Nancy Forrest Burkholder, MA ’49, August 1, 2021, in Murrieta, California. She earned her master’s degree in psychology after graduating from what was then known as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. Nancy was self-employed as an enrolled agent for many years. She is survived by two children. Emmy Levy Jacobson ’49, March 6, 2021, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She later earned her degree in education at Macalester College and obtained a master’s in special education at the University of Minnesota. Emmy worked as a teacher but found her passion in trying new things—from visiting unfamiliar places to trying new restaurants and the latest technology. As a single mother, she raised her children near her brother’s family, forging unbreakable bonds. She is survived by two daughters, a granddaughter, and two great-grandchildren. Mary Kerr Reaves ’49, October 9, 2021, in Los Gatos, California. After Mills, she earned a degree in art history from UC Berkeley. With her studies in library science at Mills, she was a research librarian at universities around Southern California, and she wrote a paper on the Antoine Caron artwork Astronomers Studying Solar Eclipse. Mary became a stay-at-home mother after the birth of her son, Benjamin, who recalls an idyllic childhood punctuated by the sounds of her piano playing. She is survived by him and a granddaughter.

Katharine “Kathy” Krogness McFalls ’49, February 23, in Oakland. She was a longtime resident of Healdsburg until husband Henry died in 2016. Kathy was an empathetic person whose household was always full of rescue pets. She was also an accomplished seamstress, cook, and knitter, and she completed Sunday’s crossword puzzle in ink. She is survived by three children, three stepchildren, three grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. She was predeceased on January 4 by her sister, Caroline Krogness Little ’51. Doris Villadsen Mendell, Special Art Credential ’49, December 9, 2021, in Oakland. She lived in the Bay Area her entire life. After receiving a BA and MA in art from UC Berkeley, she came to Mills for her teaching credential. She was a lifelong teacher and prolific artist. She is survived by two children, four grandchildren, and eight greatgrandchildren. Joyce “Jay” Biddle Van Zwalenburg ’50, September 25, 2021, in Paia, Hawaii. After Mills, she studied history at Stanford for two years, then returned to Honolulu to marry her former husband, Paul. After birthing three children, Jay returned to school to earn a master’s in library science at the University of Hawaii, spending much of her subsequent career as district librarian in Maui. Jay retired in 1990 and spent her remaining years traveling and volunteering. She is survived by two children and five grandchildren. Robin Norton McCoy ’50, March 28, in Webster, Texas. She received her BFA at Mills and pursued her creative passions throughout her life, including painting and sculpture, and later wood carving in her 50s. Robin lived in Albuquerque for many years, where she was a docent at the Natural History Museum and the Indian Cultural Pueblo Center in addition to serving as deacon and elder at First Presbyterian Church. In 2009, she moved to the Houston area to be closer to her family. She is survived by a daughter and three grandsons. Pauline Soong Louis ’50, July 5, 2021, in Newport Beach, California. She was born in China and, after Mills, finished her degree in home economics at Cornell. There, she met her husband of 69 years. Pauline worked as a homemaker and dietician, as well as a volunteer. In all things, she was dedicated and generous of herself and her time. She is survived by her husband, Jene; three children; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Carolee Weber Coppel ’50, March 28, in Kearney, Nebraska. After Mills, she graduated with an education degree from Kearney State College in 1965. Carolee and late husband Edward briefly lived in Truckee, California, before returning to her hometown of Kearney. She taught at Riverdale School for 19 years, and she was a longtime volunteer at Good Samaritan Hospital. Carolee was also a woman of deep faith, participating in multiple Bible studies. She is survived by three children, a brother, 12 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Caroline Krogness Little ’51, January 4, in Oakland. After Mills, she moved to San Francisco where she was an event planner for nonprofits such as the American Heart Association and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Caroline was also an accomplished gourmet cook, a gardener, and a collector of Asian art. In retirement, she ran the library at her senior living facility. Caroline’s sister, Katharine Krogness McFalls ’49, died about six weeks after her. She is survived by a brother and many nieces and nephews. Forrest Robinson, MA ’51, September 14, 2018, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. He came to Mills after a tour in the Army, later earning his doctorate in music at Boston University. His teaching career took him to Central Michigan University, where he worked for 30 years and founded the electronic music program. Forrest was also an involved Rotarian and a member of the vestry at St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Gifts in Memory of Received December 1, 2021 – February 28, 2022 Robert Berkland, husband of N.T. Lucy Do ’75, by Glenn and Ellen Voyles Wendyce “Wendy” Hull Brody ’68 by Elaine Wong Chew ’68, Deborah “Debby” Campbell Dittman ’68, Susan McKenna ’68, Gayle Rothrock ’68, Linda Cohen Turner ’68, Glenn and Ellen Voyles Carolyn Natella Ferguson ’62 by Rosalie Cuneo Amer ’62, P ’98 Donaldina “Donnie” Cameron Klingen ’63 by Anita Aragon Kreplin ’63 Claudia Sklueff Lamp ’51, P ’78 by her daughter, Stephanie Lamp Susan Lamp, MA ’78 by her sister, Stephanie Lamp Susan Roe Lathrop ’69 by Kazuko “Koko” Tsunematsu Tajima ’69, MA ’71 Hung Liu by April Hopkins, MFA ’03 Mary Halsted Lonergan ’68 by Kazuko “Koko” Tsunematsu Tajima ’69, MA ’71 Diane McIntyre by Elizabeth “Liz” Kelley Quigg, MA ’89 Melinda Micco by Maria Dominguez ’08 Barbara Forster Mitchell ’63 by Anita Aragon Kreplin ’63 Edwin Mullens, P ’72, P ’78 by his daughter, Elizabeth Mullens Campbell ’72 Sharon Graham Niederhaus ’63 by Anita Aragon Kreplin ’63 Eleanor “Ellie” Ranson Nove ’69 by Kathleen “Kathy” Miller Janes ’69 Marion Ross ’44 by Sharon Page-Medrich ’05 Eleanor Marshall Schaefer ’29 by Nicole Bartow Mary Lois Hudson Sweatt ’60, MA ’62 by her sister, Estrellita Hudson Redus ’65, MFA ’75 Nancy Thornborrow, P ’93 by Brisen Vannice Brady ’93

He is survived by his wife, Linda; two children; two stepchildren; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. Ilah Baddley Blauvelt ’52, November 7, 2021, in Jackson, California. After Mills, she was a radio dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol and a secretary. Ilah was also a passionate volunteer, giving much of her time to Oakland public schools and Amador Library, and raising funds for Oakland Children’s Hospital. She and late husband Frank traveled around the country for their love of Dixieland jazz, and Ilah founded an annual jazz festival in Sutter Creek. She is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Gerel “Geri” Green Blauer ’52, February 8, in Portland, Oregon. Her art degree from Mills served her well as the creator of works in many different media and a detail-oriented gardener. Geri volunteered for Jewish causes, including her synagogue, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, and Cedar Sinai Park. She was also a natural athlete who played tennis well into her 80s, and a class secretary for Mills. She is survived by her companion, Ken Gurian; four daughters; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. SUMMER 2022

Avery Perry Wall ’52, August 27, 2020, in Boulder, Colorado. She earned her Mills degree in studio art. Avery served as a longtime docent at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska. She is survived by six children. Anna Burress Brown ’53, February 11, in Big Bend, Wisconsin. After Mills, she attended what became Katharine Gibbs College in Boston. Anna worked as a legal secretary after she raised her five daughters, and she adored spending time with her family at the beach in Saco, Maine, which is where she was buried. She is survived by five daughters, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Shirley Pederson Coppick ’53, March 5, in Owensboro, Kentucky. She was the first woman patrol officer in the City of Chino Police Department. Shirley met her late husband, Glendon, at a college social, and the two founded the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dallas, which is still thriving today. After moving to Owensboro, she was a fervent volunteer for organizations such as AAUW of Kentucky, Impact 100, and Habitat for Humanity. She is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and a cousin, Debera Carlton Harrell ’74. Patricia “Pat” Barraclough Mann, MA ’54, October 28, 2021, in Livermore, California. She attended Occidental College before coming to Mills to study psychology. Pat worked at Oakland’s juvenile hall before moving to Livermore, where she was a big part of that city’s development. She created native plant oasis on her family’s property and worked for the counseling service Family Paths for years, starting on the phone lines and later joining the board. She is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Rosalie “Peggy” Langerman Hammond ’54, December 6, 2021, in Portland, Oregon. She was known as Peggy Jordan in her career as an actress, director, and spokesperson, starting in 1954 at the Cleveland Play House, where she was checking to see if she had “the belly for the business.” In addition, she volunteered and fundraised for many organizations, especially those working to assist people with mental health issues. Her family remembers her as stylish, irreverent, and generous. She is survived by three children and four grandchildren. Dixey Andrews Smith ’55, January 10, in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was the daughter of a naval officer, and she met her late husband when he was serving on her father’s ship. The couple was married for 60 years, traveling the world and getting involved in Wilmington’s Opera House Theatre Company—even starring together in a production of On Golden Pond. Dixey was known as a strong community leader, accomplished chef, and gifted gardener. She is survived by a sister, four children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Patricia McCarty Barboni ’56, November 5, 2021, in Visalia, California. She earned her teaching credential at Fresno State and worked as a kindergarten teacher in the Central Valley. She is survived by three children and a cousin, Judy Johnson Woodard ’62. Kinuko Saito Chiwa ’56, June 28, 2021, in Tokyo. She was a longtime lecturer at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University. Louise White ’57, March 11, in Harbor Springs, Michigan. After Mills, she earned a master’s degree in social work at Tulane University, then started a 30-year career as a social worker in various areas around Michigan. She retired as community support services director at Community Mental Health Services of Lenawee County. In her later years, Louise built her dream home in Traverse City, where she rescued feral cats and enjoyed gardening and reading. Louise is survived by a sister and many nieces and nephews. 34

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Sharon Zwonechek Barry ’57, January 2, in Huntington Beach, California. She was born in the Philippines, coming to the United States with her family during World War II for a brief time before returning back across the Pacific. Sharon met her husband, Tom, at Mills; he attended UC Berkeley. In addition to other volunteer work, she gave more than 60 years to the Girl Scouts. She is survived by Tom, four children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Carol Giles Chapin ’58, January 15, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She earned her RN degree from Highland School of Nursing in Oakland and received an MA in counseling from Webster University in Albuquerque. Her long career in nursing took her from hospitals to schools of public health to Navajo reservations, and even to training programs in locales like Kenya and Mexico. Carol’s love for art also prompted her to buy an art studio in Socorro. She is survived by her husband, Charles; three children; and nine grandchildren. Carolyn Henderson Berry ’59, July 24, 2016, in Camarillo, California. She taught kindergarten at Edwards Air Force Base in California and later was a substitute teacher in North Carolina and Ohio. After her husband passed away, Carolyn traveled extensively, and was active in American Field Service for many years. She is survived by three sisters, four children, and four grandchildren. Stacia “Sue” Gabriel ’60, March 30, in Salem, Oregon. Her Mills degree in medical records librarianship led her to positions in Seattle and around Washington state. Sue later earned a master’s degree at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. In the ’90s, she fulfilled a childhood dream by moving to Neskowin on the Oregon coast, where she was a fierce advocate for the land and delighted in its flora and fauna. She is survived by many friends and family members. Joan Knight Walker ’60, June 24, 2017, in Escondido, California. She graduated from UCLA and received her teaching credential at San Diego State, later working as a counselor and teacher in the Escondido Union High School District. Joan is survived by a daughter. Gloria Nishida Wu ’60, December 20, 2021, in Honolulu. She grew up in Hawaii and returned after retirement to volunteer for a variety of community and religious organizations. On the mainland, Gloria taught and lived in San Francisco with her late husband, Tony. She is survived by two siblings, a daughter, and a grandson. Karen Rak ’61, November 13, 2021, in Brooksville, Maine. She worked as a rural carrier associate with the United States Postal Service, and she was the owner/publisher of Home Health Line. Karen was predeceased by her sister, Patricia Pak Crane ’56, and her mother, Elsie Tooze Rak ’30. She is survived by two sons. Wendy Sterling Griffin ’61, March 12, in Lakewood, Washington. After volunteering for various organizations, she was a founding member of Pacific Northwest Ballet and served the group for 30 years, even channeling her performing days at Mills into producing a new full-length ballet. Wendy’s efforts there led to leadership opportunities with the Washington State Arts Commission and Tacoma Art Museum, garnering numerous awards for her volunteerism. She is survived by three sons, 14 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Margaret “Meg” Patten Eaton ’62, January 17, in Portland, Oregon. She and husband Sid were both educators, teaching English at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma, Washington, for years. After moving to Portland with her family in 1971, Meg worked in a variety of capacities for the Catlin Gabel School, of which she was a graduate. She also loved to read and belonged to one of Portland’s oldest book clubs. She is survived by Sid, two sons, three grandsons, and cousins Elizabeth Brewster Rocchia ’60 and Mabel Barnett Walters ’68.

Nancy Robbins Mangus ’62, February 28, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska. After Mills, Nancy earned a law degree from Boston College and a master’s at USC. She was a longtime employee with the Department of Defense, deployed to locations such as Germany, Japan, and Guam, but she always returned to her hometown of Omaha. She is survived by her husband, Guy; a daughter, Courtney “Ceci” Mangus Ferer ’92; and two grandchildren. Elaine Wright Calk ’62, January 12, in Mountain View, California. After earning her nursing degree, she immediately began working the night shift at El Camino Hospital to take care of her family during the day. She later worked as a paralegal. Elaine was a longtime member of the Los Altos United Methodist Church, and she loved to garden and to travel—especially in Mexico, where she enjoyed using the Spanish she picked up as a child in Texas. She is survived by her husband, Lewis; three daughters, including Tracy Calk ’90; and four grandchildren. Marion Yeaw, MA ’65, September 7, 2019, in Alameda. She was a nurse who earned her BS in nursing from the University of Michigan and worked in the hospital there before getting her MA in education at Mills. Marion was a certified nursing teacher who provided instruction in pediatric nursing at a variety of hospitals around the Bay Area. Before retiring in 1989, she was the director of staff development at Waters Edge Lodge, a senior care facility, in Alameda. Carole Miller ’68, July 29, 2021, in San Bernardino, California. Page Shelp ’68, November 9, 2020, in Great Falls, Virginia. She was the executive director of McLean Community Center. Gloria Boyd ’69, January 16, 2021 in Carrollton, Texas. A polyglot, she studied French at the Sorbonne and Spanish at Universidad Menendez Pelayo in Sentander, Spain. After Mills, Gloria earned an MA in history at the University of Texas in Arlington, and she taught subjects ranging from languages to humanities to art over a 40-year career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Gloria also traveled around the world, and she loved rescuing cats. She is survived by a sister and several nephews and grand-nephews. Harvey Jones, MFA ’69, January 28, in Oakland. He worked as assistant to the director of Mills College Art Museum before going to the Oakland Museum of California in 1970. The next year, he was promoted to senior curator, and he served in that position until his retirement in 2006, overseeing more than 40 exhibitions. Harvey also lectured and consulted on California art, and writing books and articles on a broad variety of artistic themes. He was a devoted opera fan; a memorial fund has been set up in his name at Berkeley’s West Edge Opera. Jane Burton Kincaid ’73, March 6, in Huntington, West Virginia. She was a gifted tennis player in her youth, winning the Canadian National Junior Women’s Tournament at 16 and playing in the first women’s US Open at 17. After Mills, she graduated with an English degree from Princeton, where she was also captain of the undefeated tennis team. Jane was also a gifted violinist, and she loved animals. She is survived by three cousins. Susan Dockery Andrews ’73, March 14, in Greensboro, North Carolina. After Mills, she studied for her MFA in dance at Sarah Lawrence. A performing career that began with street theater in Berkeley continued throughout her life for various companies, and she also taught dance in K-12 schools. Susan’s final work, at the Greensboro Historical Museum, explored the life of a mill worker in North Carolina’s textiles industry. She is survived by her husband, Spencer; three siblings; two sons; and two grandchildren.

Delilah Mutoff Quilici ’73, January 8, in Las Vegas. She is survived by her husband, Rick. Rose Villalon ’74, September 18, 2020, in San Francisco. She worked as a counselor at San Francisco’s juvenile hall for 32 years, where she was known as “Mama Rose.” Rose was also a cancer survivor. She is survived by a daughter. Rosita Rabello Valerio ’77, MAT ’79, December 22, 2021, in San Jose. Her second son, Desi, attended the Children’s School while she finished up her degree, and she gave birth to her third, Edric, while working on her MAT. Rosita worked across all levels of education, from toddler centers in Alameda and San Jose to ESL classes for adults, and she was a foster parent. She also loved to travel, dance, take care of animals, and tend to her container garden. She is survived by her husband, Alex; two sons; and three grandchildren. Stacy Cohn ’81, October 11, 2018, in Miami Beach, Florida. She worked as an investment advisor at Cohn Capital Management. Roberta Abrams ’89, January 5, in Ventura, California. After Mills, she graduated from UC Irvine, where she majored in history and minored in Russian studies. Roberta owned her own business for her designs in beading and crocheting, and she was a Bent Twig—her mother was the late Annette Movich Abrams ’59. Roberta is survived by a brother and an aunt, Felice Movich Pope ’60. Victoria Cooper ’89, November 14, 2021, in Napa. She was a resumer at Mills, and she spent many years working for Macy’s and the R.H. Macy & Company. Patricia Chepourkova ’90, June 5, 2021, in Oakland. She worked as a private chef, and she is survived by two children. Robert Fox, MFA ’15, January 7, in Martinez, California. He was also a graduate of Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design and San Francisco Art Institute. Robert retired as a videographer and technician for California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He was an integral member of the Berkeley Shambhala Center, where he was also the practice and education director, and he taught classes in Buddhism and meditation. He is survived by his wife, Sarah Lauer; his mother; three siblings; and a niece and nephew.

Faculty & Staff Mark Levine, former music instructor, January 27, in Oakland.

Spouses and Family Frank Child, spouse of Julie Carroll Child ’56, January 18, 2020, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Richard Janusch, spouse of Diane Smith Janusch ’55, October 15, 2021, in Bothell, Washington. Glenn Moak, spouse of Carillon Cargill Moak ’51, May 30, 2021, in Indianapolis. Thomas Nolan, spouse of Susan Bach Nolan ’68, December 21, 2021, in Palo Alto.

Friends W. Bliss Carnochan, former Mills trustee, January 24, in Portola Valley, California. Martha Church, January 27, 2019, in Sarasota, Florida.

SUMMER 2022

AS THE FINAL SEMESTER of Mills College as

to turn into boutonnieres, bouquets, and

a standalone institution was winding down,

crowns. Alessandra Bolger ’22 introduced

many of the usual year-end art projects took

a program that included music played and

on a bittersweet tone. The final performance

sung by Sage De Lafontaine ’22, impas-

of the four graduating MFA dance students

sioned words from local civil rights attorney Monalisa Wallace, and remembrances from

was titled Coda: Final Curtain, and it also included a film of the work of the late Professor Emerita of

students and alums. Before the assembled group headed out

Dance Rebecca Fuller, MA ’54. Meanwhile, the documentary

on a march around campus, scored by resonant drum beats

theater class, taught by Director of Theater Studies Victor

from MFA music students, those in attendance were invited

Talmadge, capped its full year of studies with an original play

to drop mementos into an urn, which was then buried in the

titled Womyn, based on extensive interviews the students con-

ground right outside the main MCAM entrance.

ducted with members of the Mills community who participated in and recalled the Strike of 1990.

Two of those items were placed in the urn by Professor Emerita of Book Art Kathleen Walkup: the first, a capital M

Chief among these projects was Memento Mori: A Celebration

typeface from the Book Art studios, one of the only types

of Life at Mills, a live-action performance piece that accom-

that survived from the Eucalyptus Press founded by Rosalind

panied the final exhibition by graduating studio art seniors.

Keep in 1930; and the second, a small engraving of the Mills

While the exhibition itself, Ouroboros, was on display at the

College seal mounted on wood.

Mills College Art Museum (MCAM), the participating students

“Because printing and book art have been an integral part of

invited community members to join them outside on the eve-

the College for so long, I felt it was important to memorialize

ning of Wednesday, April 13, to express their grief and sadness

them in as many ways as we can, and I loved the idea of the

over the end of Mills as an independent institution.

students encapsulating some of the College’s rich history and

Chalk was laid out for attendees to write their thoughts on the grounds, and a lush array of fresh flowers was available 36

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

meaning in this ceremony,” she says. “I was glad to be a tiny part of it.”

NIKOL AY LOUBE T

2022

AAMC Travel Programs The Charm of the Amalfi Coast

Great Lakes

September 28–October 6

September 17–September 24

Cruise the beautiful Amalfi Coast, where colorful villas cling to the terraced hillsides, to tour the Duomo di Sant’ Andrea. You will stroll the lemon-scented lanes of Sorrento and walk the Corso Italia and Via San Cesareo, passing shops selling limoncello. Enjoy a scenic ride to Positano. Delight in the sensational cuisine of Napoli, especially the famed pizza Napoletana, and savor the rich flavors of locally grown olive oil and cheeses. Enjoy a day’s exploration of the ancient Roman ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, preserved by mud flows from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Study the ruins of well-preserved Greek temples, and the remains of three important Doric temples at Paestum. Add a post-trip excursion to the Isle of Capri via hydrofoil, taking in the stunning Faraglioni rocks and the many lovely grottos dotting the shoreline. 

Explore all five Great Lakes during this seven-night exclusively chartered cruise. Admire magnificent coastal scenery and discover North America’s passion for nearly two centuries of innovation and rich maritime history from Milwaukee to Toronto. Aboard the five-star small ship Le Dumont-d’Urville, featuring only 92 suites and staterooms, experience the historical charm of Mackinac Island, the unspoiled beauty of the UNESCO-inscribed Niagara Escarpment, the cultural largesse of Detroit, and the thunderous force of Niagara Falls. Transit the Welland Canal and Soo Locks, which are among the world’s greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. Milwaukee pre-program and Toronto postprogram options. 

The future of the AAMC: our database It is the AAMC’s goal for all of its members to remain strong and connected for years to come. We are working with the Office of Institutional Advancement to create a constituent database owned and operated by the AAMC. In order to be included in our database, alumnae must opt in using the form linked below. This will ensure our ability to contact you and plan our future. To opt in for inclusion in the database, please visit tinyurl.com/aamc-database. The AAMC is committed to safeguarding the privacy of personal information. To view our privacy policy, please visit aamc-mills.org/privacy-policy. If you believe the AAMC has not adhered to this statement, please contact us via our website at aamc-mills.org.

See the AAMC Travel Program website at alumnae.mills.edu/travel or email aamc@mills.edu for more information SUMMER 2022

Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu

All alumnae are invited to campus Thursday, October 6, through Sunday, October 9, as we honor alumnae from class years ending in 2 or 7, including the Golden Alumnae of 1972.

E EG

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: LS COLL ILOC • Updates from College leaders TOBER 6 –9 and the AAMC • Faculty-led book discussions and alumnae author readings • Tours of the Community Farm, EU Mills Performing Arts, and the NION Art Museum • Campus scavenger hunt • Mills After Dark bingo and the Darius Milhaud concert • Class luncheon and AAMC awards ceremony • Class dinners and photos

2022

REGISTRATION OPENS IN JUNE Visit alumnae.mills.edu/reunion2022 for the full schedule, and register by September 23. Brochures will be mailed to all alumnae from class years ending in 2 or 7, and will be available to other alumnae by request. RESERVE YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS NOW Take advantage of special rates available through September 6 at the Executive Inn & Suites or the adjacent Best Western Plus Bayside Hotel near Jack London Square. At this time, campus accommodations are extremely limited, but you can get on a waitlist. Visit alumnae.mills.edu/lodging2022 for details. PICK UP A BOOK OR TWO THIS SUMMER Engage more deeply in faculty-led discussions on Friday at Reunion by perusing these books in advance: War Tourism by Bertram Gordon, and The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones.

REUNION ’22

THIS FALL, Convocation will take place on Tuesday, September 6, aligning with Northeastern University’s schedule, rather than during Reunion weekend. Watch for notices about the ceremony in email communications from the College.

Reunion hotline: 510.430.2123 Email: alumnae-relations@mills.edu Web: alumnae.mills.edu/reunion2022

Mills Quarterly, Summer 2022

Articles inside

Letters to the Editor

AAMC News

Mills Matters

In Memoriam