SPRING 2017
THE RIGHT LEADER AT THE RIGHT TIME Nancy Oliver Gray | President 2005 – 2017
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Content s Hollins Hollins Magazine Vol. 67, No. 4 April - June 2017
EDITOR Cecelia Crow crowch@hollins.edu Hollins University Box 9657 Roanoke, VA 24020 www.hollins.edu
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By President Nancy Oliver Gray
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Musings on Hollins University President Nancy Oliver Gray
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The Right Leader at the Right Time Nancy Gray is quick to credit teamwork for the long list of achievements during her presidency. But it’s because of her distinguished leadership that “Hollins stands as strong as the famed campus ‘rock.’” By Beth JoJack ’98
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How Hollins Evolved During the Gray Era The twelve and a half years Nancy Gray has presided over Hollins have been a time of stability and innovation for the university, a particularly remarkable feat considering Gray reigned during the Great Recession and at a time when both women’s colleges and liberal arts colleges faced distinct challenges.
ADVISORY BOARD President Nancy Oliver Gray; Vice President for Institutional Advancement Audrey Stone; Director of Public Relations Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. ’11; Executive Director of Alumnae Relations Nikki Johnson Williams ’98, M.A.L.S. ’13
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
A Privilege To Serve
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Reinventing in the Middle of Navigating Life Sometimes the path to professional fulfillment—or just fulfillment—doesn’t directly lead from Point A to Point Z. Things happen, and life events alter the best laid plans. And then there is the pesky life event called midlife. By Sindhu Hirani Blume ’93
Ann Atkins Hackworth ’82, M.A.L.S. ’95; Mary Ann Harvey Johnson ’67, M.A. ’71; Lucy Lee M.A.L.S. ’85, C.A.S. ’03; Linda Martin; Brenda McDaniel HON ’12; Sharon Meador; Kathy Rucker; Kate Stackpole
CLASS LETTERS EDITOR Olivia Body ’08
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Groundhog Press Rears Its Head for Poetry Since he was a teenager, Professor of English R.H.W. Dillard has wanted to be a publisher. Groundhog Poetry Press fulfills his dream, offering “the best poetry we can find” and welcoming writers “who’ve given me of their intelligence and energy for years.” By Martha Park M.F.A. ’15
DESIGNERS Sarah Sprigings, David Hodge Anstey Hodge Advertising Group, Roanoke, VA
PRINTER Progress Printing, Lynchburg, VA Hollins (USPS 247/440) is published quarterly by Hollins University, Roanoke, VA 24020. Entered as Periodicals Postage Paid at Roanoke, VA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hollins, Hollins University, Box 9688, Roanoke, VA 24020 or call (800) TINKER1. The articles and class letters in Hollins do not necessarily represent the official policies of Hollins University, nor are they always the opinions of the editor. Hollins University does not discriminate in admission because of race, color, religion, age, disability, genetic information, national or ethnic origin, veteran status, or sexual orientation and maintains a nondiscriminatory policy throughout its operation. For more information, contact the director of human resources/title ix coordinator, (540) 362-6660 or hollinshr@hollins.edu.
Cover: Nancy Oliver Gray in 2004.
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Revitalizing Our Small Cities Hollins, Roanoke College, and Virginia Tech have joined forces to create the Small Cities Institute, an innovative collaboration that’s tackling the crucial issues facing small urban areas around the globe. By Jon Bohland
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In the Loop Focus on Philanthropy Alumnae Connections Class Letters
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Visit the online version of Hollins magazine at hollins.edu/magazine.
FROM THE
President
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PRIVILEGE To Serve
Dear Alumnae/i and Friends, As our 175th anniversary year and my final year as your president come to a close, I want to thank you for the extraordinary opportunity to lead Hollins for the past twelve and a half years. My husband, David Maxson, and I are deeply grateful to you and all the members of this remarkable community. Your friendship and support have meant so much to us, and we will forever cherish how warmly you welcomed us when we arrived, worked faithfully alongside us throughout this journey, and enriched our lives in so many ways. Truly, it has been a privilege and joy to serve you, and we will continue to cheer for Hollins’ success as we embark on a new chapter in our lives. Looking beyond our 175th year, Hollins has a bright future. Although there are daunting challenges in the marketplace that directly impact us, I am convinced that Hollins has the resilience, courage, and tenacity to handle whatever the years ahead may bring. Further, our outstanding faculty believe in the transformative power of a liberal arts education and are fully committed to our students’ success. Experiential learning opportunities including internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, and leadership development enhance our efforts to prepare students for meaningful and purposeful lives. The engagement and generosity of our alumnae/i and friends has enabled us to do all this and more, including the preservation and enhancement of our beautiful historic campus and securing our financial foundation. It is no wonder that the words “Women who are going places start at Hollins” endure in describing the special quality of a Hollins education and continue to inspire us all. I join you in welcoming President-elect Pareena Lawrence, who will begin her responsibilities on July 1, the day after I leave office. Lawrence is a proven leader in higher education and I have great confidence in her ability to guide Hollins, envision her future, and fulfill her promise. I know you will enjoy getting to know her and working with her. I hope to see many of you at reunion, June 2-4. With heartfelt gratitude and best wishes,
IN THE
Loop
Campus Welcomes Special Advisor on Inclusivity and Diversity
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Veteran Equestrian Is New Head Riding Coach
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laudia Roland is sharing more than three decades of hands-on experience in her new role as head coach of Hollins’ equestrian program. “Claudia is an accomplished horsewoman and trainer with a wealth of knowledge in horsemanship, equitation, and hunters,” said Director of Riding Nancy Peterson. Roland owned and operated Fox Hollow Farms in Atlanta and was head trainer at the Wellington Show Stables and Sunlight Saddle Roland Club in Florida. “With her vast expertise,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Hammer, “we are certain Hollins’ equestrian program will continue to be one of the nation’s strongest.” In April, Roland led the riding team to its twenty-first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship, and was named ODAC Coach of the Year for 2017. W E STA N D COR R ECT ED The photo featured in the winter magazine’s “Then & Now” feature article shows students of the second Hollins Abroad-Paris program, not the first, as previously identified. The students are from the Hollins class of 1958.
ollins’ new Special Advisor on Inclusivity and Diversity Idella Glenn is a collaborative leader who has steered diversity and inclusion programs for two decades. Glenn has oversight of and coordinates all inclusivity and diversity activities at Hollins. Previously she was director for diversity education and retention initiatives at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before
coming to VCU, she spent 18 years at Furman University, where she served as assistant vice president for student development and director of diversity and inclusion; assistant dean for diversity and inclusion; and director of multicultural affairs. Glenn completed her Ph.D. in educational leadership at Clemson University.
We’d like to ensure that Hollins magazine provides you with alumnae news, information, and engaging articles that interest you. Hollins magazine is your magazine. So, tell us what you love about it, what you don’t love about it, and how we can get you the information you need to stay connected to your university. To gain a better understanding of your preferences and improve future issues, take the survey, which takes about 10 minutes, and you will be entered to win one of five Hollins swag bags.
www.hollins.edu/magazinesurvey
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IN THE
Loop Hollins Earns Tree Campus USA Designation
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Photos by Sharon Meador
Hollins’ senior class (top) continued its tradition of processing to the Cocke family cemetery to place wreaths on the family’s graves. This year, for the first time, seniors also placed a wreath outside Wyndham Robertson Library to honor the contributions of enslaved men and women (right).
Hollins Celebrates 175 Years at Hollins Day
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ollins commemorated Founder’s Day and the university’s 175th anniversary by paying tribute to all who played a crucial role in its history during Hollins Day: Celebrating 175 Years, held February 23. “We honor our founder, Charles Lewis Cocke, who devoted his life to ‘the higher education of women in the South,’” President Nancy Gray stated. “We also pay tribute to all men and women who helped us become the institution we are today, including those who worked as enslaved people.” The Hollins Heritage Committee, composed of students, faculty, and staff, planned the event. Associate Professor and Director of International Studies and Heritage Committee Chair Jon Bohland told the convocation audience that Hollins has recently become part of the Universities Studying Slavery 4 Hollins
consortium, a group of 25 North American colleges and universities that meets twice a year “to share best practices and to draw strength from our collective efforts.” Another highlight of the celebration was Voices from Our Past, featuring current students, faculty, and staff reading first-person accounts of members of the campus community from throughout the school’s history, including an African American who was enslaved at Hollins. Following the convocation, Hollins’ senior class continued its tradition of processing to the Cocke family cemetery to place wreaths on the family’s graves. This year, for the first time, the seniors also placed a wreath outside Wyndham Robertson Library to honor the contributions of enslaved men and women.
ollins has received the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA designation for effective campus forest supervision and engaging students and staff in conservation goals. Anna Copplestone ’06, of the university’s information technology department, helped spearhead the Tree Campus USA campaign. “Our campus has always appreciated the natural beauty of its trees, but through this project, many people came together to demonstrate measurable and significant ways in which trees physically benefit our environment. We have shown our commitment to long-term sustainability efforts.” Hollins officially celebrated the designation during its Arbor Day festivities on April 28.
QEP Emphasizes Connection between Student Well-Being, Academic Success
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ollins is launching a new Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that champions an integrated approach to student learning. Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Hammer said the QEP focuses on three areas. “Students learn time management and goal setting skills. They develop practices and strategies that allow them to overcome obstacles and thrive academically. And, they learn self-care—rest, nutrition, and physical activity.” QEP: Supporting Academic Success will be assessed at both the program and institutional levels. “Are students achieving the learning outcomes in each area? Are we improving well-being in support of academic success? Those are the issues our QEP seeks to address,” Hammer explained.
FOCUS ON
Philanthropy Challenge Accepted: Hollins Seeks to Raise $10 Million by June 30
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s this issue of Hollins magazine goes to press, we have come very close to meeting the $10 million challenge in response to an anonymous donor’s challenge to raise $10 million in new gifts and pledges by June 30, 2017. We are delighted by our progress to date and appreciate the generosity of so many alumnae/i and friends in response to this extraordinary opportunity. If, and only if, the challenge is met by the end-of-June deadline, the donor has committed to give $5 million to Hollins. The challenge recognizes Hollins’ 175th anniversary this year and is inspired by the November 2016 announcement of the largest single gift assurance in school history: $20 million from Elizabeth Hall McDonnell ’62 and her husband, James S. McDonnell III, through the JSM Charitable Trust. Hollins President Nancy Gray calls the challenge “unprecedented and extraordinary, and a wonderful testimony to Hollins. We share the donor’s confidence that between now and June 30, the Hollins community will continue to rise to the occasion and support Hollins to the best of their ability. No gift is too small and every single gift matters.”
TO MAKE YOUR GIFT, PLEASE VISIT WWW.HOLLINS.EDU/GIVING.
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ALUMNAE
Connections
Worth’s 25th anniversary publication, spring 2016: Lucy Davis Haynes ’84, Carrie Haynes (Caroline’s namesake granddaughter), and Caroline
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The Worth of a Woman Caroline Arnold Davis ’60’s knack for business propelled her great success as founder of Carlisle and cofounder of Worth. She celebrated her recent retirement with a $1 million gift to Hollins to honor the women who have made a difference in her life—and to inspire future female leaders.
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ast year, Worth, Ltd., the luxury women’s apparel company Caroline Arnold Davis ’60 founded in 1991 with partner Jay Rosenberg, celebrated its 25th anniversary. Worth marked the milestone with an “In Women We Believe” campaign, a sentiment that embraces Davis’ professional and personal vision—and is the inspiration for her recent $1 million unrestricted gift to Hollins. “In women I have believed over so many years,” says Davis, who recently retired with the title of Worth Founding Partner. “My gift came from wanting to support women. Single-sex education is still just as valid as it was in 1960. Hollins’ leadership development gives women confidence and knowledge that they can do anything they want.” Her own formidable leadership skills were forged in the company of women: first, her mother and grandmothers, and, later, Hollins, where Davis discovered what she calls “limitless opportunities,” from student government to strong peer role models. As a young mother in the 1960s, she sold clothing for Doncaster in her home or by appointment. In 1980, she founded Carlisle with the same female-centered business model, and 10 years later, sold her company and founded Worth, which today has over $95 million in annual sales. More than 1,200 female Worth associates sell the line, and daughter Lucy Davis Haynes ’84, a top-selling Worth associate who has her M.B.A. from Vanderbilt, is on the Worth board. (Davis’ other daughter Pyper was an investment banker and now runs Educare, a Washington, D.C.,
preschool for underserved children, proof that Davis is continuing the family tradition of strong female role models.) Davis certainly gives credit to her optimism, tenacity, and love of hard work. She’s survived cancer twice, weathered and won a lawsuit from a former business partner, and has witnessed decades of change as women entered the workforce. “When I started at Doncaster, most women in the company didn’t have their own bank accounts,” says Davis. Passionate about sharing what she’s learned, Davis has served Hollins in multiple capacities, was the inaugural Celeste Koger Hampton ’60 Alumnaein-Residence, received the 2007 Distinguished Alumnae Award, and enjoyed a long philanthropic career on hospital, Junior League, and other boards. She’s quick though to name the real reason why her companies have flourished—female networking: “Certainly men have started most of the businesses in the world, and there are some extraordinary ones at that, but I think my model of relationships works [as a business model]. Women have the ability to reach out and draw others to them in every profession, and Worth customers are especially grateful for the touch and caring feeling women bring. I believe if you challenge and encourage women and give them the right kind of leadership and coaching, you can help make other people successful.” Sarah Achenbach ’88 is an author and freelance writer based in Baltimore.
ALUMNAE
Connections News from your Alumnae Board
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ince the last issue, your Alumnae Board has been hard at work to improve our connection to you, our alumnae. One effort we have undertaken is personally thanking our alumnae volunteers for their time and effort spent on Hollins’ behalf. We certainly couldn’t do all that we do without you. The board has also launched a monthly Alumnae Board Bulletin, available on the Alumnae Facebook page, to keep you up-to-date on what is happening at Hollins and letting you know of opportunities for you to be involved with Hollins, its students, and your fellow alumnae. Continuing our effort to communicate with you, we have begun “Meet & Greet the Alumnae Board,” providing you with opportunities to let your voices be heard at reunions, leadership summits, and the C3 conferences. We are also working with staff for ways to improve the Hollins alumnae website, making it better, and easier, for you to use. Our goal is to make this fabulous network of Hollins women the strongest it can be. At reunion this year, I will relinquish my position as president of your alumnae association when you elect Sarah Holland ’64 to serve. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent you for the past two years and I am deeply humbled to have the opportunity, which has only deepened my love for our shared alma mater. Thank you. More importantly at reunion, Hollins and her alumnae will recognize President Nancy Oliver Gray for her extraordinary tenure as Hollins’ 11th president and wish her a fond farewell. She was the right person at the right time as she has successfully seen us through some challenging times. Elsewhere in this issue there will be a very long list of the many achievements she has so aptly led at Hollins and the noteworthy recognition she has garnered for us. Nancy Gray has represented Hollins so very well. What can we add to all that has already been said? For us, the alumnae, President Gray recognized the importance of a stronger and broader alumnae network. She initiated an alumnae engagement plan designed to connect students with alumnae and leverage our alumnae as a life-long resource. She steered Hollins into expanding opportunities for alumnae communications, alumnae giving, career support, internships, and student referrals. For the lucky classes of 2006-2017, she was your president. You fondly called her “P.Gray” or referred to her as “NOG.” From now on as you look at your diploma and see her signature there, it will bring back memories of her great leadership and most genuine compassion. Other characteristics greatly appreciated and admired by alumnae include her approachability and accessibility. “Easy and welcoming” noted an alumna. Another characteristic has been her always eloquent public speaking. As one alumna said, “Incredible gift of articulation and dissemination of facts and figures with nary a note in sight.” No “ums” or “uhs” and one topic beautifully segued into the next. If you never heard her speak, you missed something amazing. We will deeply miss President Gray and wish her well. Relieved of the headaches of crises, plane trips, speaking engagements, budgets, and being on call 24/7, we hope that she and her husband, David Maxson, can finally enjoy their children and grandchildren and the many benefits of Roanoke, which they have chosen to be their home. To our beloved President Gray, “P. Gray”—on behalf of our 15,000 alumnae from across the globe, thank you. Thank you for your outstanding leadership and your incredible inspiration during these last 12 years. You have left a permanent mark on our dear Hollins and a place of honor in her distinguished history. You made Hollins a better place, and a stronger institution, as you helped us in going places and in lifting our eyes... to the future. Patricia “Trisha” Rawls ’74 President, Hollins Alumnae Association
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MUSINGS ON HOLLINS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT NANCY OLIVER GRAY
She’s... the kind of friend who can siphon off a good portion of your net worth and leave you feeling happy about it. She’s the hardest working person I’ve ever known—that is saying something—and also the biggest cheapskate. When we were traveling together on the capital campaign, she always booked us into motels with zero-star ratings. Trust me, if you gave money to Hollins while Nancy was president, it wasn’t spent on frills. In all seriousness, she has been a terrific (I hate this phrase) role model because of her work ethic, her humanity, her honesty, and her focus on being the best at every aspect of her job. I hope she will maybe take a nap after she leaves on June 30, but somehow I doubt that it is in the cards. — Trustee Emerita WYNDHAM ROBERTSON ’58
She came here experienced. It wasn’t her first rodeo. That helped her. She has a steady hand and recognized that institutions need patient but determined leadership. She’s done a good job at bringing talent to the table, and she’s built a really trusting relationship with the board of trustees. It’s been a partnership that has worked extremely well. — TOM BARRON, Hollins Board of Trustees
The Campaign for Women Who Are Going Places leaders Linda Koch Lorimer ’74 (left) and Wyndham Robertson ’58 with President Gray
I feel like she genuinely cares about us. It seems like it’s more than a job to her. — ARIEL RUDY ’18
We have been honored to work with her on the growing partnership between Mill Mountain Theatre and Hollins University. She serves on our board and is instrumental to our future. She is a communicator, an educator, a community servant, a theatre person, and a friend. Nancy Gray is a Roanoke gem, and we all benefit from her grace and leadership. — GINGER POOLE, producing artistic director of Mill Mountain Theatre
She has been a great leader because she is a great listener who uses compassion and empathy to hear many different perspectives. Many times I saw her hear something that must have hurt her, but she did not become defensive. [She] seemed to try to hear more deeply to understand.
It doesn’t hurt that she’s a quick study. And she has a remarkably appealing presence, one that’s natural and unpretentious. At the same time, she knows how to come off as unapologetically the one in charge. The one who has to make the calls and carry the responsibility. The one who manages to herd the cats while juggling the flaming batons...and then toss in one of her characteristic quick wry smiles. That’s what has made her so effective as a leader: whatever the event or the issue, it’s not about her or her considerable and incisive intelligence or her ego or her charm. It’s about the work that needs to be done and the vision in service of which we need to do it. I think it’s her capacity for giving—the long hours, the energy poured into difficult conversations, the resilience in the face of nearly-overwhelming expectations— that has allowed her to lead truly by example, and to do it so effectively.
The most fun I had with her was a holiday party where she and David were about to appear in the local [version of] Dancing with the Stars. They really cut the rug that night, elegant and fun dancing. A president who will dance alongside her faculty and staff will surely be a great success. There are leaders who think they are better than the rest of you, but Nancy is different.
Students love P. Gray because she genuinely, I have to think, loves them as well as the institution that is built around them. Staff and faculty surely recognize that her blend of idealism and practicality have made Hollins not only stronger financially, but stronger as a community. That kind of giving, those resources of mind and character, that capacity for, yep, I’ll say it again: love—well, that’s why she’s been successful.
— THE REV. DR. JAN FULLER ’78, the longest serving chaplain in Hollins’ history
— JEANNE LARSEN, professor of English
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Nancy Gray is brilliant! She is so knowledgeable about a lot of things, but especially running a university. She also knows how to communicate that knowledge in an interesting and inviting way. Whenever she prepares a letter for the board, gives a report, delivers a speech, or introduces a special guest, she dazzles you with her ideas and words. As a speaker, I know what it takes to communicate with others, but I have taken a few notes from Nancy through the years.
When a president leaves a university, there are usually some faculty who are disappointed, some who are indifferent, and some who are happy to see the president go. Across the board, the Hollins faculty was sad to hear President Gray was leaving. This is a testament to the respect, trust, and admiration the Hollins faculty has for her. As a member of the Presidential Search Committee tasked with finding President Gray’s successor, I had the opportunity to interview many of my faculty colleagues, asking them what they look for in the next president. They all sang President Gray’s praises. I attribute the faculty’s response to Nancy Gray’s integrity, devotion to Hollins, tireless efforts for the institution, and her commitment to supporting the academic mission.
— THE REV. DR. CYNTHIA L. HALE ’75
— MICHAEL GETTINGS, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the faculty
While there are many tangible accomplishments to celebrate, President Gray’s temperament and nature is one of her greatest gifts to our region. Cooperation is one of her hallmarks, and she encourages others to join in ventures that benefit all of us. — MICHAEL MAXEY, president of Roanoke College in a Nov. 20, 2016 editorial in The Roanoke Times
President Gray during a September 2004 visit to campus in preparation for taking office the following January
Nancy is a uniquely brilliant leader. She exemplifies all the commonly identified leadership skills, but she also excels at one that is uncommon: she has an exceedingly generous heart. Through kindness and empathy, Nancy achieves what some leaders accomplish only by force of will. She is selfless, caring, and authentic. Her heart is the catalyst for the trust she inspires in others, and that trust enables those with differing views to unite around a common purpose: the unsurpassed excellence of a Hollins education. — JUDY LAMBETH ’73, chair of the Hollins University Board of Trustees
She accepts responsibility when mistakes are made. She’s able to say, “I didn’t know this was happening. I want to know more about it. Please talk to me.” She’s welcoming and vulnerable [with students]. That is something that changed my leadership style and how I interact with the campus and changed me for the better in my life. — TEGAN HARCOURT ’17, president of the Student Government Association
Nancy is principled and able to articulate her principles in a cogent and focused but always warm manner. — DR. CYNDA JOHNSON, president and founding dean of Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
She’s able to engage people in a way where they’re excited to be part of her team. — LINDA KOCH LORIMER ’74, head of the search committee that selected Gray for Hollins
Nancy is a rock star. Her love for Hollins and the Roanoke region is evident in everything she does. She has championed Hollins in our community and wherever she has traveled. More importantly, she champions Hollins’ students. She creates new, innovative programs to keep offerings fresh and meaningful to students and area professionals. She’s a consummate leader. We feel fortunate to have had her serve as a member of the Roanoke Regional Chamber Board of Directors. Her wisdom and council have served us and our business community well. — JOYCE WAUGH, president and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Chamber
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THE RIGHT
LEADER AT THE RIGHT
TIME BY BETH JOJACK ’98
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ere’s a telling tidbit about Hollins University President Nancy Oliver Gray: she requested any articles written about her leaving the campus after twelve and a half years of distinguished leadership focus not on her but on how the university has evolved over the course of her tenure. “Anything I’ve accomplished has been accomplished because we did it as a team,” she says. “I really believe there’s no ‘I’ in team.” The list of achievements runs long, but two successes in particular will forever be associated with the school’s eleventh president. One: under Gray’s leadership, Hollins made significant gains in enrollment. The largest class of incoming new students in seventeen years started in August. Two: Gray will leave the university a picture of financial health. She led Hollins during the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in school history and the largest ever undertaken by a women’s college in the South, the Campaign for Women Who Are Going Places. It successfully concluded in 2010 with over $161 million raised, far exceeding the goal of $125 million—despite the fact that it occurred during the Great Recession. “Hollins has been extremely fortunate to have her in the presidency, particularly at this time in the institution’s history, some parts of which have been very challenging,” Tom Barron, who sits on the Hollins Board of Trustees, said of Gray. “She was the right leader at the right time.” The Roanoke Times said as much last summer in an editorial that largely credited Gray with Hollins’ increases in enrollment and for eliminating the school’s debt while significantly growing the endowment. If not for her leadership, the writer surmised, Hollins could have easily gone the way of other women’s colleges which began admitting men or closed for good. “Thanks to Gray,” the editorial read, “Hollins stands as strong as the famed campus ‘rock.’”
WALKING THE TALK
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n a recent Friday night, Gray opened the President’s House for a senior cocktail party to kick off the class of 2017’s fundraising campaign for the Hollins Fund. Creative writing major Laura Metter ’17 eagerly chatted with Gray about attending the recent Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference in Washington, D.C. “I’m going to have to keep my eye on you, you’re going to land somewhere good,” Gray said. “It’ll be easy to keep an eye on me seeing how I stand out,” Metter said, pointing to her hair, dyed a brilliant blue. “I’ll loan you this jacket if you want,” Gray joked in return, pointing to her stately jacket that happened to be the same hue. Students like Metter talk easily with Gray, whom they long ago lovingly nicknamed P. Gray. Conversations don’t become stilted when she joins the group. No one straightens their posture. It’s a comfort grown from familiarity. “She’s pretty friendly with the student body,” Metter said. “She’s so relatable,” agreed Ashani Davidson ’17. Gray frequently eats in Moody and turns out for swim meets. “If you invite her to an event, if she has time, she’ll come,” said Tegan Harcourt ’17, president of the Student Government Association. During her sophomore year, Harcourt remembers the moment she saw Gray join students holding a rally on campus in support of Black Lives Matter, the movement protesting violence and systemic racism.
“She cleared her whole schedule,” Harcourt said. “She was there all day talking to students. It was something about the outside world, not something specific to Hollins, but she still made sure she knew how people were feeling.” Gray sees getting to know students— really knowing them, beyond pleasantries and small talk—as part of her job. “What makes Hollins, Hollins is that we’re a small community with really intimate faculty/student relationships,” she said. “I’ve got to walk the talk. I try
President Gray with members of the class of 2009 at Reunion 2013
to go to as many events as I can. I try to go to lunch. If I don’t have time to sit down, I at least talk to people. I think it’s really important.” She makes those same efforts with faculty, staff, alumnae, parents, and members of the Roanoke community. “I believe strongly you have to be in touch with all those constituencies in order to get an informed understanding of the institution as a whole,” Gray said.
Opposite Page, 1: Cheers from President Gray. 2: Members of the 1842 Society enjoyed a special weekend of tours and events in Washington, D.C., in November, including a candlelight dinner at Mount Vernon Inn. Pictured are the late Boyce Lineberger Ansley ’68, President Gray, and Lynn Farrar ’78, former Alumnae Board president. 3: Image from Hollins summer 2007 magazine president’s page. 4: Having regular conversations with students, President Gray speaks with Emili McPhail ’18. 5: President Gray announces $125 million campaign with help from (seated from left) Professor Randall Flory, then Trustee Chair Clark Hooper Baruch ’68, Campaign Chair Wyndham Robertson ’58, and SGA President Lia Kelinksy ’09. 6: Nancy Oliver Gray inaugurated as Hollins’ 11th president on October 14, 2005.
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When first arriving on campus in January of 2005, Gray took the timeconsuming step of meeting with each member of the faculty one-on-one. “They were able to speak frankly to me without worrying about what other people were going to think about what they said,” Gray recalled. “If I had a whole department, some voices would have been louder than others. Some would have thought they had to play a role or would have held back saying something because they thought it would be unpopular with their colleagues. One-on-one people could be very frank. When you put all those conversations together, I had a really strong sense of Hollins.” Gray’s father was an engineer with Westinghouse Electric Corporation. As he climbed the corporate ladder, the family frequently had to move to different cities in Texas and California. Regularly facing new faces in new classrooms pushed Gray to be outgoing. “I learned to make friends,” she said. “I learned to be flexible and adjust to new situations. More importantly, I learned there are great people everywhere.” Hollins students, alumnae, and faculty without fail talk about Gray’s congeniality and earnestness when asked about the president.
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“The most common refrain is ‘I am going to miss her.’ Not ‘her at the helm of Hollins’ or ‘all the talent she brought to fundraising’ but just ‘I am going to miss her.’ Wyndham Robertson ’58 wrote in an email. “And that is because she has become a great friend to so many alums.” The Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale ’75 called the opportunity to work closely with Gray “one of the great joys” of serving on Hollins’ Board of Trustees. “She is a delightful person, greeting everyone she comes in contact with in a loving and caring way,” Hale explained. “When she talks with you, you always have her undivided attention, and she listens to you with her head and her heart.”
President Gray was named Hollins’ 11th president in July 2004 after serving as president of Converse College in South Carolina for five years
Left: Then Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, shown here with President Gray, visited campus in August 2007 to recognize Hollins, the Western Virginia Water Authority, and local residents Lee Hartman and John Brandemuehl for their acquisition of 235 acres on Tinker Mountain. Right: New York UBS interns, January 2010
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ot every day of Gray’s Hollins career has been smooth sailing. For her first Tinker Day, Gray and her husband wore wet suits. Tinker Day was held in the spring that year because it had been rained out the previous October. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” Gray recalled. “They said wear a costume, they said wear something crazy. ‘OK,” we decided, “we’ll wear wetsuits.” Gray envisioned the Tinker Day hike as more of a stroll up a grassy knoll. “These people have been doing this for years,” she told herself. “It can’t be that hard.” The weather that day was particularly hot, much too warm for neoprene. “We thought we were going to faint,” she said.
By the next fall, Gray had her Tinker Day game down, though. Her costume is a collection of items given to her over the years by alumnae and students. The Dr. Seuss hat she wore during her first reunion was given to her by the class of 1945. After the class of 2006 read in the archives that the president used to always wear a sweater on Tinker Day, they found Gray a green and gold cardigan which they adorned with a felt H. Tegan Harcourt ’17 rated Gray’s final Tinker Day performance last fall with an A+. “Her feather boa was one of the highlights of my year,” she said.
LOOKING FORWARD
W
hen headhunters initially contacted Gray about the Hollins presidency, she wasn’t interested. She’d been president at the all-female Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for five and a half years, and she was happy. “Sometimes I didn’t return their calls,” Gray admitted. Luckily, Linda Koch Lorimer ’74 led the search committee for a new president and liked a challenge. “It became clear to us that Nancy Gray was extraordinary,” she said. Lorimer called Gray directly with a request that she serve as a consultant for the search. “In about ten minutes that consultancy turned into an interview,” Gray said. “I was so impressed with Linda. I was so impressed with the other people I met on the search committee. It just felt like where I was supposed to be.” All these years later, Lorimer remains enthusiastic about her choice. As retired vice president for Global and Strategic Initiatives at Yale University and former chair of the board of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Lorimer has met a continuous stream of campus leaders over the course of her career. She ranks Gray as one of the top two she’s known. “I think it’s a combination of being remarkably smart and having acute interpersonal talents that make her able to pull from individuals their best selves.” Lorimer said. In addition to bolstering Hollins’ enrollment and finances, Gray has collaborated with faculty to create a number of academic programs. The university now offers majors in environmental studies and environmental science; a certificate program in leadership studies; an extensive seminar program for first-year students; Master of Fine Arts degrees in playwriting and children’s book writing and illustrating; and the Honors Seminar Program. Gray also carefully oversaw the renovation and care of historic buildings
and gardens on the Hollins campus. “I’ve learned a lot about steam pipes,” Gray joked. “There’s a real responsibility with a campus as old as this one to preserve the historic integrity of the campus, to maintain its beauty, and to make it functional in the 21st century.” Gray gave careful consideration to how and when to step down from her post. She saw the end of the 2016-17 school year as a natural time to conclude. Hollins’ strategic plan goes through 2018. A quiet fundraising campaign ends in June. It’s the 175th anniversary. “It seemed like the right time to pass the baton to a new leader at Hollins,” Gray said. While Gray is leaving, she isn’t going far. With husband David Maxson, Gray has purchased a home in South Roanoke. “We really have fallen in love with this area,” she said. Retiring doesn’t mean Gray will be sitting at her kitchen table doing crosswords. “I’m going to look for ways to give back to higher education and to Roanoke. I’m specifically looking at some consulting opportunities.” Even with months to adjust to the idea of leaving Hollins, the goodbyes are emotional. The night of the senior legacy cocktail party, Gray took to the center of the room. “I’m in the same boat you’re in, excited and scared, a little anxious and a little hopeful,” she told the class of 2017, who’ve invited her to be an honorary member since she’s “graduating” with them. “Sad about missing people. Looking forward to doing things I don’t have time to do now.” Though she remained as poised as ever, Gray’s voice cracked slightly when she told the women they’ll all need to reach out to one another while navigating the next stage of their lives. “Ultimately, we’re all Hollins women,” she said. “We’re going to be just fine.”
David Maxson with one of the couples’ cats, Littlefoot
DAVID MAXSON
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ancy Gray’s husband also worked hard for Hollins during the couples’ twelve and a half years on campus. “Hollins is especially grateful to David Maxson for his wide-ranging contributions to Hollins over the years,” said Kerry Edmonds, vice president for finance and administration. In addition to helping President Gray host events, Maxson, an avid photographer, captured many beautiful images of the campus, university events, and Tinker Creek that were used in marketing materials and even on a campus holiday card. Maxson made his biggest mark, however, as a master gardener. “He has shared his expertise as master gardener working countless hours to expertly maintain the grounds at the president’s house and design and develop beautiful flowering gardens that will enhance the overall landscape for years to come,” Edmonds said.
Beth JoJack is a Roanoke writer who contributes frequently to Hollins magazine.
Spring 2017 13
HOW HOLLINS EVOLVED DURING THE GRAY ERA The twelve and a half years Nancy Oliver Gray has presided over Hollins have been a time of stability and innovation for the university, a particularly remarkable feat considering Gray reigned during the Great Recession and at a time when both women’s colleges and liberal arts colleges faced distinct challenges.
FINANCIAL HEALTH* 2016
endowment
$161 million
2005
In its list of College Financial Grades for 2016, Forbes issued Hollins an
endowment
$101 million
2000
WHEN GRAY ARRIVED on campus, HOLLINS HAD $15 MILLION IN DEBT. BY 2007, the university had RETIRED ITS DEBT. Hollins has operated under NO DEBT and with a BALANCED OPERATING BUDGET for the last decade.
“A” rating
The Campaign for Women Who Are Going Places was the university’s largest ever comprehensive fundraising campaign and the largest ever undertaken by a women’s college in the South.
endowment
$86 million
raised
$161 MILLION
goal
* The National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute
$125 MILLION
2017 endowment ( as of february 2017)
$170 million In November, Hollins announced the largest single gift assurance in school history:
$20 million
from Elizabeth Hall McDonnell ’62, and her husband, James S. McDonnell III, through the JSM Charitable Trust. “For me fundraising is all about building relationships, with people who care or potentially could care about your institution and matching up their personal passion with an institutional need,” Gray explained when asked why she’s been so successful at raising money. “When you ask, you’re not asking for yourself. You’re giving the other person an opportunity to meet an institutional need in a way that hopefully is meaningful to that person.”
ENROLLMENT Number of enrolled first-year undergraduate students 2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
148 166 196 226 14 Hollins
The largest class of incoming new students in seventeen years started in August. “I hope it can be sustained,” Gray said. “We’re where we want to be now.”
NEW PROGRAMS
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY 2000
New majors in environmental studies and environmental science
2016
11%
32%
students of color
A new concentration in data analytics
students of color
A certificate program in musical theatre performance
A certificate program in leadership studies
An extensive seminar program for first-year students
A faculty-designed honors program that complements the university’s academic curriculum and provides students a multidisciplinary and research-based experience M.F.A. programs in playwriting and children’s book writing and illustrating AN EMPHASIS ON MAKING HOLLINS A YEAR-ROUND CAMPUS
In June, Hollins hosts the weeklong Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop and Women Working with Clay Symposium. Later in the summer, for six weeks, Hollins is a coed campus for graduate students. In July, high-school women attend Hollinsummer programs in theatre, riding, and writing. Gray has also worked with outside groups to hold camps on campus. These range from sports camps to a summer music institute run by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. “This is a beautiful facility and we should be using it twelve months,” Gray said.
In January, Hollins announced that Idella Goodson Glenn had been hired to serve as Special Advisor on Inclusivity and Diversity. She coordinates all inclusivity and diversity activities and programs at the university. In November 2015, Hollins administered a climate assessment survey to gather feedback regarding the university’s diversity and inclusivity strengths, and the areas where further community building is needed. The results of the survey were the catalyst for a series of insight conversations where students shared perspectives and critical dialogue. Hollins’ student orientation has added a program devoted to cultural competency and inclusivity.
President Gray formed the Hollins Heritage Committee—a group of students, faculty, and staff who help the campus community develop a greater understanding of its history and seek ways to recognize and honor the mid-19th century slaves and others whose work ensured the institution’s survival during its early years.
Moody, Talmadge Recital Hall, and Turner saw improvements to be more handicap accessible.
Scholarships were established for the descendants of Oldfields, a nearby African American community that played an instrumental role in the institution’s growth.
Gray is pleased with the strides Hollins has made to become a more diverse and inclusive campus, but stressed: “That work is never done.”
HISTORIC CAMPUS AND SUSTAINABILITY Much of the campus has been renovated including SWANNANOA, TURNER, RANDOLPH, BRADLEY, the THEATRE, and the HILL HOUSES. Renovations of the DANA SCIENCE BUILDING are expected to be completed by 2018.
MOODY, TINKER, and the BEALE GARDEN
have been enhanced.
In 2007, Hollins became a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Agreement, and over the past nine years has dramatically reduced its carbon consumption.
Spring 2017 15
point A
16 Hollins
REINVENTING in the MIDDLE of NAVIGATING
Life
point Z
BY SINDHU HIRANI BLUME ’93
Sometimes the path to professional fulfillment— or just fulfillment—doesn’t directly lead from Point A to Point Z. Things happen: good jobs, bad jobs, love, marriage (or no marriage), children (or no children), divorce, promotion, demotion, mortgage, adventure, friendship, loss—life events alter the best laid plans. And then there is the pesky life event called midlife. There you are in the middle of your life looking back and at the same time looking forward, knowing what lies at the very end. So, between now and then, what’s your next move? How do you make the most of your time and skills, leave your mark, find purpose and fulfillment, or do the best you can to take care of yourself and the people you love? For Valerie Abbott ’93, Anne Altizer ’74, and Tierney Stone ’93, these have been reasonable but not easily answerable questions. In between navigating life events and making big decisions, they learned to reinvent themselves.
Spring 2017 17
Altizer
T
o say Anne Altizer ’74, was immersed in the world of fundraising is an understatement. It was her identity. Starting with a Short Term internship, Altizer made fundraising her sole focus. She was a road warrior for eight years, and after she had her two sons, she moved her fundraising focus to the nonprofit world. Fundraising was something Altizer was known for throughout the country and about something she wrote extensively. But, her passion began to wane. She and her family had moved a few times and were living in New Jersey when she finally made the decision to leave fundraising— a decision that took an entire year. “It was an emotional and intellectual struggle,” Altizer said. “Am I just going to become Connor and Ryan’s mom? That was really scary. I spent years building myself up…there was a huge fear factor: What am I doing to my family? Is it selfish?”
18 Hollins
She finally left fundraising, spent a few months at home, and then started a business making custom stained glass pieces. At the time, her husband was traveling two weeks at a time, all over the world. Her business allowed her the flexibility to take on only as much work as she could handle. She spent 15 years developing a name for herself until 2012, when an accident changed the course of her life. She was riding one day when her horse became spooked by a mountain biker. “I laid in a field for 45 minutes,” Altizer remembers. “I was alone.” She had broken her back and what followed were four days in the hospital not knowing if she was going to walk again. She decided then to sell her horse and never ride again. She had plans and none of them involved a wheelchair. Recovery was long: it took one month to get her range of motion back and a year to regain her strength. The pain lasted a long time. Then there
was reconstructive surgery. Not only did the accident test her body, it tested what she wanted to continue doing in life. As she was finishing a custom stained glass piece, Altizer realized it was entirely too hard on her back. She closed the stained glass business and was left with the question: what do I do now? She had a desire to help people and eventually found an outlet as a personal trainer. She went back to school and earned a degree in exercise science and a certificate in nutrition, and most recently she passed the national corrective exercise specialists exam. She and her husband, now having moved to Florida, started a business working with companies and individuals on team performance. Altizer and her husband travel the country consulting with clients through seminars and also have a focus on mindfulness. This is a key to Altizer’s ability to find balance and fulfillment today. “I was forced to reinvent myself,” Altizer says, looking back on the riding accident. Giving up riding was “a huge, emotional loss for me, but it opened up a whole world…humans aren’t meant to do one thing. The world is too vast and too exciting to be stuck in one thing.” She realized, “I’m not stuck. I’m not wed to one thing. That was very freeing.” But more than that, Altizer said, “You come to the realization, ‘I am me.’ The other things are just labels. They are what you do, they are not who you are. My identity runs deeper than that. That made a big difference. I can do whatever I want and I am still Anne.” As for the future—or a possible next chapter—Altizer said, “I’m hoping this is the last reinvention…that I’m old enough, and it won’t matter.”
V
alerie James Abbott ’93, didn’t walk off the stage at graduation thinking she would own and run a successful all-female painting company in Richmond one day. But that’s exactly what happened. First, though, she worked for 14 years at Bank of America, during which she got married and had two daughters, one who, at the age of two, was diagnosed with a hearing loss. Then, in 2008, she became a partner in S&S Painting, a painting company owned by women and the employer of women painters. All longed for flexible schedules so they could find time to be with their families. It was around year seven of owning the company that things changed for Abbott. “What started out as a small, part-time, mommy-friendly gig for me had no longer become a family friendly endeavor.” It remained so for the employees, but for Abbott, the balance was off. So she asked herself: “Do you change yourself, or do you change your circumstances?” She sold her shares of the company and moved on to something she wanted to add to her resume: stay-at-home mom. “I didn’t ever want to regret not being one,” Abbott said. “I had always imagined that would be part of my life story. The importance of being available: that was the driving force.” But for the first several weeks of her new gig, “I felt like I had to justify my existence at home with a clean house and a hot, cooked meal.” Since then, she’s given herself permission to slow down and focus not on how much she gets done. “One of the things that’s new is not just being in the room with [my children] when doing homework, but being available to answer questions,” Abbott said, adding, “Managing and implementing the family calendar after 3 p.m. is a full-time job.” And the choice to stay at home, Abbott said, is just that: “I also realize that this choice I’ve made is not a
Abbott
permanent one. Just because you step away from the work force or business opportunity does not mean you can never get a job again.” A turning point for Abbott and her family that has allowed her to reinvent herself again is the discovery and treatment of her daughter’s hearing loss. The experience motivated her to write a children’s book about hearing loss, for which she is trying to find a publisher. She has been vocal about the need for early detection. After she sold the painting company and while she was a stay-at-home-mom, Abbott accepted a position with the Department of Health’s Center for Family Involvement as a 1-3-6 Family Educator, a six-to-16-hours-a-month job focused on reducing the number of
follow-up newborn hearing screenings. “There is a large percentage of babies who fail the newborn screening test and are not retested until kindergarten,” Abbott said. “How does that happen?” In the first month of life, babies need to be screened. If they fail within their third-month birthday, an audiologist needs to conduct a full evaluation. If the baby fails the evaluation, preventative care needs to be administered by month six of life. Her daughter was diagnosed by age two and had hearing aids by her third birthday. Her work now allows her to ensure other families don’t go that far without detection. “The farther I am from Bridie’s hearing loss, the harder it is for me to go back in time and recall our journey,” Abbott said. “I have to do this work now.”
Spring 2017 19
Stone
B
eing a florist was not in Tierney Maher Stone’s ’93, life plan. “If you told me five years ago that I would own a flower shop, I would have thought you were completely, barking mad,” Stone said. Five years ago, she was living in London with her two sons, working in the world of finance, something she’d been doing there since graduating from Hollins. It was during a vacation to South Carolina a few years ago when one of her sons, upon returning to London, asked, “Why are we here?” Stone knew there would be a move in her future and, having been in finance for 20 years, thought her work would continue in finance. In 2014, Stone and her sons made the move to Beaufort, South Carolina, where she consulted for the company she worked for in London. In 2015, she noticed a flower shop for sale in a landmark building. “My view was, I love flowers, I don’t know if I can run a flower shop, but I know this is a prime piece of real estate,” Stone said. “At the end of the day, I could renovate the building.”
20 Hollins
Her love of flowers and flower arranging started in London with her Friday visits to her now ex-mother-in-law. “At Liverpool Street Station, there was a flower stand and I got into the habit of bringing my mother-in-law flowers,” Stone said. “She would be cooking dinner and ask me to put [the flowers] in vases. And I was terrible at it. She is a proper British lady and she said, ‘Darling, do you want me to show you how to do that?’ She taught me how to arrange flowers in the English garden style. That’s where it started.” After having her sons, the Friday visits were less frequent but her love of flowers grew. She made arrangements for parties and then began creating arrangements for friends. Now, after having run the flower shop for a year, Stone says, “It’s been a very exciting year. I feel like I bit off more than I could chew. I had a lot to learn.” But, she adds, “I finally feel like I’m doing what I was born to do. I have a new career and I can go anywhere and be a florist.” There are the occasional seven-day work weeks and challenges to running
a flower shop in a small town, not to mention the competition with grocery stores selling flowers. But, Stone said, “At least I’m not doing Excel spreadsheets. That’s nothing compared to 10-year cash flow projections. It wasn’t creative. I get to work with beauty. Part of me was done with finance.” Despite the intense year, Stone says the family’s quality of life has improved beyond what she imagined. Bike rides on Sundays, walking on the beach—it would not have been a reality in London, she said. “For all of the change, repatriating after 20 years is like reentering the atmosphere after being in space,” Stone said. “It’s been worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing.” Sindhu Hirani Blume ’93, is a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington, D.C., where she hosts “Inside Tax Policy,” a weekly policy show for the firm’s clients. She also is working on a collection of essays about the 1947 partition of India. She lives with her family in Bethesda, Maryland.
GROUNDHOG PRESS REARS ITS HEAD FOR POETRY Since he was a teenager, Professor of English R.H.W. Dillard has wanted to be a publisher. Groundhog Poetry Press fulfills his dream, offering “the best poetry we can find” and welcoming writers “who’ve given me of their intelligence and energy for years.” B Y M A R T H A P A R K M . F. A . ’ 15
Spring 2017 21
22 Hollins
Dillard
P
rofessor of English and editor of The Hollins Critic R.H.W. Dillard has been writing poetry, novels, and critical essays and teaching literature, creative writing, and film studies for over half a century. Over the past year, he has added a new role: publisher. Dillard started Groundhog Poetry Press LLC (GPP), a small, independent press publishing books of poetry without preference for styles or theories of poetry. The GPP website announces, “We publish established poets and new poets, prize-winning poets and those deserving of prizes, and those to whom the very thought of poetry prizes is anathema. We only want the best poetry we can find.” GPP will publish books in suites. The first suite included 7,000 Sparrows by Duffie Taylor ’07, as a flock of goats by Liana Quill ’04, Domestic Yoga by Jack Christian M.A. ’03, Subsidence by Julia Mae Johnson ’93, and Great Bear by fellow Professor of English Cathryn Hankla (’80, M.A. ’82).
The poems in Great Bear are wideranging, its poems populated by critters of all kinds—giraffes, catfish, raccoons and, yes, groundhogs— as well as human neighbors, an ailing mother, and the speaker’s observant and companionable voice. Hankla says, “Having Great Bear be the first Groundhog book to emerge from hibernation was a wonderful experience! I’ve worked with poetry publishers since the early ’80s when Phenomena came out, and I’ve never seen a more generous contract from a publisher. Richard is all about the poets and respects varied voices, styles, and definitions of the poem, as we teachers and mentors at Hollins also encourage poetry’s many possibilities.” GPP’s second suite will be unveiled sometime this spring, and will include the first book of poetry by Grant Kittrell, a 2014 graduate of Hollins’ creative writing M.F.A. degree program. Kittrell says, “The title of the book is Let’s Sit Down, Figure This Out, and in some ways that’s what’s happening in
Hankla
many of the poems—someone is confused or desperate or out of their element. These poems explore attempts to locate an identity within a constantly shifting cultural context.” Dillard was able to develop the press with the support of the Jackson Center for Creative Writing at Hollins. As the Susan Gager Jackson Professor of Creative Writing for two years, Dillard used the course release time to teach himself about all aspects of publishing, from the challenges of formatting different styles of poetry on the page, to distributing books. Dillard has learned you can make a really good book without having to spend a fortune. “I love designing the books,” he says, “Although only one of my own books was ever set in my favorite font, Palatino, I’ve taken great pleasure in establishing it as the house font for GPP.” Dillard’s collaborative approach to publishing grants authors some creative control over the design of their books. Each writer can choose the image
Kittrell
that appears on his/her book’s cover. Therefore, the books are coordinated but distinct from each other. Since Dillard is acting simultaneously as “publisher, editor, designer, compositor, account warehouse manager, and the entire shipping office of GPP,” all book distribution is being handled by Small Press Distribution in Berkeley, California. The GPP website (groundhogpoetrypress.com, managed by current M.F.A. candidate Tessa Cheek) has a direct order link to Small Press Distribution. Groundhog Poetry Press is by invitation only, and cannot accept uninvited manuscript submissions or queries. “That’s not a snobbish decision,” Dillard says, “but a purely practical one.” One result of a life spent in writing communities is that Dillard knows a lot of poets with strong manuscripts. “One of the poets published by Groundhog Poetry Press I’ve known for fifty-five years. Another I’ve known for five. “So far,” Dillard says, “no two books
are alike. In terms of style and approach to poetry, they’re all different.” For Dillard, this new role doesn’t seem so new at all: “I wanted to be a publisher as early as I wanted to be a writer,” Dillard says, “since about age sixteen.” Dillard says publishing poetry is “my gift to people who’ve given me of their intelligence and energy for years.” Hankla adds, “Richard has a knack for reinventing himself, and this venture may be his finest.” Martha Park is a writer and illustrator from Memphis, Tennessee, and a 2015 graduate of the M.F.A. program in creative writing at Hollins.
To find a collection of photos from the April launch event, visit hollins.edu/magazine.
Spring 2017 23
Revitalizing Our
BY JON BOHLAND
24 Hollins
Hollins, Roanoke College, and Virginia Tech have joined forces to create the Small Cities Institute, an innovative collaboration that’s tackling the crucial issues facing small urban areas around the globe.
Small Cities
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hat are the challenges facing small cities within a globalized world? What can we learn about issues of sustainability, quality of life, job creation, diversity, inequality, housing, and economic development from the experiences of
small urban areas? Why is so much academic and research interest focused on global cities at the expense of smaller cities? These are the critical and complex questions driving the creation of the Small Cities Institute (SCI), a new and innovative research and teaching collaboration between faculty and students at
Students present project findings from research on urban issues at Roanoke’s CoLab in December 2016
Spring 2017 25
26 Hollins
2016 Small Cities Studio class participants from left to right: Shaheera Sayed ’18, Lillian Potter ’19, Suprima Bhele ’17, and Nina Keller ’19
To see additional photos of the 2016 event, visit hollins.edu/magazine.
Hollins University, Virginia Tech, and Roanoke College. Founded after a series of conversations in late 2015, the SCI is envisioned as the potential leader for small cities research taking place around the world. Associate Professor of International Studies and Political Science Jon Bohland is one of the founders of the institute and cotaught a pilot course with Margaret Cowell, assistant professor in the department of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech, for the SCI’s first collaborative undergraduate teaching and research experience. The Small Cities Studio course, taught for the first time last fall, involved six students from Hollins and three from Virginia Tech. These students developed and carried out a research project at the nationally recognized CityWorks (X)po conference held annually each fall in Roanoke. Additionally, the students designed interactive maps and timelines focused on urban issues in Roanoke and delivered their project findings to a packed house of over sixty city officials and residents at Roanoke’s CoLab this past December. The studio course will be taught again in spring of 2018 and Bohland is working with colleagues Lori Joseph, associate professor of communication studies, and Anna Baynum, associate professor
of education, to develop an academic program focused on urbanization and planning. The graduate assistant for the studio course is Ashley Reynolds Marshall ’04, who is working on her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech at the Center for Public Administration and Policy. Additionally, the SCI is also helping to organize a series of student learning labs around Roanoke this summer in which four Hollins students were chosen from a large pool of applicants to design and undertake a studentdriven research project focused on the Roanoke innovation corridor and issues facing the refugee community in the city. SCI faculty members also developed and highlighted a series of research programs around the Roanoke Valley, which culminated in an April 2017 event at the Roanoke CoLab where researchers from all three institutions met to discuss their work with members of the community. There are truly exciting times ahead for the Small Cities Institute and any and all support is welcomed and needed. You can contact the SCI through Jon Bohland at jbohland@hollins.edu Jon Bohland is an associate professor of international studies and director of the international studies program.
in memoriam
Professor of Mathematics Caren Diefenderfer
52 Hollins
P
rofessor of Mathematics Caren Diefenderfer, a nationally recognized educator who influenced and inspired countless students during her academic career, passed away on March 30.
Diefenderfer joined the Hollins faculty in 1977 after
completing her Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Over the next 40 years, her accomplishments and passionate devotion to teaching earned her the Hollins University Distinguished Service Award, the Herta T. Freitag Faculty Award, and the Roberta A. Stewart Service Award. In January, the Mathematical Association of America
Diefenderfer
Sharon Meador
presented Diefenderfer with the 2017 Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for encouraging students in the classroom and beyond, and for developing and teaching interdisciplinary courses that help students develop communication skills. In the wider mathematical community, she was a pioneer in Quantitative Literacy, a field of education whose goal is improving college students’ reasoning proficiency when using quantitative content. A scholarship fund has been established in Diefenderfer’s name. It will support a current Hollins student who has a sincere interest in advancing her mathematics knowledge and skills.
Ashani Davidson ’17 MAJOR: Biology MINOR: Dance CERTIFICATE: Batten Leadership Certificate
ACHIEVEMENTS • J-Term ’15 medical internship in orthopedic surgery at Spanish Town Hospital, Jamaica • Presented “Arthroplasty in ambulatory care” research in 2014 student conference • J-Term ’16 signature research internship at Climate Central, Princeton, New Jersey • J-Term ’17 medical internship at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York • Ongoing research and science seminar presentation “Extraction of oil from Moringa oleifera seeds and measurement of antimicrobial activity” with Professor Sandra Boatman
FAVORITE HOLLINS TRADITION Ring Night: “Ring Night is a tradition that allowed me to have fun through crafting, dancing on Front Quad, and the best part—skits with my closest friends! The most important part of the weekend was the love and support I felt as a junior from all the seniors and helpers that made the weekend an amazing one.”
AFTER GRADUATION “I plan to complete my ongoing research with skin care and publish my findings, as well as go to medical school. I would love to follow my passion and enter the field of dermatology or cosmetic surgery.”
THE HOLLINS FUND Supporting Outstanding Students
Hollins
By giving annually to the Hollins Fund, you support the growth of exceptional Hollins women like Ashani Davidson.
EXPERIENCE
Sharon Meador
THE
Three ways to give: - Online through our secure website at www.hollins.edu/giveonline - Via check to the Hollins Fund, Hollins University, Box 9629, Roanoke, VA 24020 - By calling us with your credit card number: (800) TINKER1 (800-846-5371)
You brought to Hollins an unwavering belief in the liberal arts and the need for single sex colleges in higher education. Your incomparable leadership leaves Hollins stronger in every way. You made a difference. For your energy, your wisdom, your passion, and for moving Hollins forward, we thank you. We’ll be forever grateful for our “P. Gray.” —The students, faculty, staff, alumnae/i, and friends of Hollins University