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A Lyon in the West Wing White House Deputy Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen ’89: steps from history in the making
4 learning to see, really see 14 alums rage against the recession 22 overcoming "moral Stupidity"
Scott Suchman
Inside the Real West Wing
Riding Out the Recession
I nterview by J il l ia n Dunh a m ’ 97
By Su san Bu shey Manning ’96
Mona K. Sutphen ’89 talks candidly about working down the hall from the Oval Office, balancing work and family life, and traveling with the president.
Like the rest of the country, alumnae are dealing with lost jobs, illnesses, and reduced expectations while doggedly pursuing dreams during this deep recession.
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China: Heaven or Hell for Female Execs? By Monica Li au ’07
Does China have a place for high-powered businesswomen, or do they just want beautiful, five-foot-eight secretaries to serve tea?
18 Overcoming “Moral Stupidity” By Ja ne F. C rosth wa ite
The award-winning professor (shown below) shares lessons from her ethics course—humanity’s basic choices are to get along, make love, or kill each other.
Jude Mooney
Ben Barnhart
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On the cover:
Deputy Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen ’89 in the White House colonnade of the West Wing, near the Oval Office. Photo by Scott Suchman
Mount Holyoke Quarterly Fall 2009 Volume 93 Number 3 Editor Emily Harrison Weir
Associate Editor Mieke H. Bomann
Class Notes Editor jill parsons stern ’84
Designers
2 Viewpoints: Military service reconsidered; are women’s colleges passé? 4 Campus Currents: Object-based learning; transfer students thrive at MHC; it’s time we grew up, says tax expert 24 Off the Shelf: Signs of our times—in Pittsburgh; in love with Camus 28 Alumnae Matters: Frances Perkins helps today’s unemployed; new college trustee expert in international healthcare; Sisterhood in Seattle 36 Class Notes and Miniprofiles: Fun with food; swimming with dolphins; a camp like no other 77 Bulletin Board: Announcements and educational travel opportunities
ALDRICH DESIGN Design Farm (class notes)
Editorial Assistant Marianna Nash ’11
Quarterly Committee: Marg Stark ’85 (chair), Emily Dietrich ’85, Jillian Dunham ’97, Charlotte M. Overby ’87, Hannah M. Wallace ’95, Victoria Anderson ’87 (Web consultant), Alison Bass (faculty rep.), Amanda Aultman ’10 (student rep.), Cynthia L. Reed ’80 (ex officio with vote) Alumnae Association Board of Directors President* Cynthia L. Reed ’80 Vice President* Maureen McHale Hood ’87 Clerk* Julianne Trabucchi Puckett ’91 Treasurer* Linda Ing Phelps ’86 Alumnae Quarterly Marg Stark ’85 Alumnae Trustee Susan d’Olive Mozena ’67 Alumnae Relations Mari Ellen Reynolds Loijens ’91 Classes and Reunions* Susan Swart Rice ’70 Clubs Jenna Lou Tonner ’62 Director-at-Large for Information Technology Elizabeth A. Osder ’86 Director-at-Large Joanna M. Jones ’67 Nominating Jill M. Brethauer ’70 Young Alumnae Rep. Akua S. Soadwa ’03 Executive Director Jane E. Zachary, ex officio without vote *Executive Committee The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Inc., 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486; 413-538-2300; www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu.
The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College serves a worldwide network of diverse individuals, cultivates and celebrates vibrant connections among all alumnae, fosters lifelong learning in the liberal arts tradition, and facilitates opportunities for alumnae to advance the goals and values of the College. Ideas expressed in the Quarterly are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of either the Alumnae Association or the College. General comments concerning the Quarterly should be sent to Emily Weir (eweir@mtholyoke. edu or Alumnae Quarterly, Alumnae Association, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075-1486). For class notes matters, contact Jill Parsons Stern ’84 (413538-3094, jstern@mtholyoke.edu). Contact Alumnae Information Services with contact information updates (same address; 413-538-2303; ais@mtholyoke.edu). Phone 413-538-2300 with general questions regarding the Alumnae Association, or visit www.alumnae.mtholyoke. edu. The Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly (USPS 365-280) is published quarterly in the spring, summer, fall, and winter by the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Inc., 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 010751486. Fall 2009, volume 93, number 3, was printed in the USA by Lane Press, Burlington VT. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, MA and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send form 3579 to Alumnae Information Services, Mount Holyoke Alumnae Association, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 010751486.
viewpoints A lu m n a e Q ua rt e r ly
• Summer 2009
Sisters in Arms Military aluMnae Find FulFillMent in uniForM
Making War Is Not “Service” I am baffled in reading how women from MHC are finding “fulfillment” and a sense of “service” in our current military pursuits around the globe. Do we not comprehend, as intelligent women, that our “service” is serving only to secure the hold of the greedy hands of the financial elite, whose sole purpose is to obtain and maintain their grip on the oil/natural gas fields and pipelines of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Middle East as a whole? Do we not also realize that making war (illegally, no less) upon other peoples is one of the most environmentally damaging and polluting activities in which human beings can engage? How far from Mary Lyon’s intentions will we diverge before we are awakened to ourselves as stewards and protectors of this planet and all its flora and fauna? Amelia A. Free ’84 Jemez Springs, New Mexico Note: A longer letter from this writer, and other comments on the cover article, are online at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/webletters_f09.
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Shaping Military Culture Thank you for the article about alums in the military. I was embarrassed, but sadly not surprised, to read about the hostility that the women interviewed encountered in the MHC community. While I suspect such open hostility is rare at MHC, disdain for the military is more widespread. The article highlights a couple of critical points: firstly, that soldiers do not choose the wars or other campaigns; and secondly, that they represent a diversity of personalities and ideologies. None of my military friends, for instance, fit the trigger-happy stereotype. There are many ways to serve one’s country, but military service is one of the most grueling and dangerous and, I regretfully argue, still necessary. As such, it deserves as much respect as any other career path. It is understandable if a professor has a deep moral objection to promoting the military, despite personal respect for a student recruit. However, before denying something as critical as a recommendation, professors should question whether they are acting merely out of blind prejudice.
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reunion • CoMMenCeMent • WeissMan Center’s iMpaCt • thinking about inFinity
That being said, my current and former military friends tell me that the article paints an overly sanguine picture of the service. The military, they say, is much more of a patronage system than a meritocracy. For those who were not in ROTC, did not attend a military school such as West Point, and/or do not have the right connections, advancement takes a long time. Superiors treat subordinates arbitrarily based on personal likes or dislikes, and many veterans are denied benefits based on technicalities or unforeseen circumstances. As Major Doherty says, though, MHC alums can try to shape military culture. If alums in the service apply the social sensitivity and awareness of privilege taught at MHC, they can help make the military more of a true meritocracy. Rose Phillips ’05 Manhattan, Kansas
Barriers to Service I would like to thank the Alumnae Quarterly for its feature on alumnae in the armed forces. As the granddaughter of an Air Force veteran, I understand that these women are serving our country in defense of values we all hold dear, and I respect them for having the courage of their convictions. I do feel, however, that the Quarterly does the entire community a disservice in not sufficiently addressing the barriers to military service faced by many students, faculty, staff, and alumnae, including myself. A brief sentence acknowledging just one reason the armed forces do not recruit on the Mount Holyoke campus seems insufficient in addressing the discrimination against the LGBT community serving in the military. While I honor the principles of the women featured in the article, I also believe the Quarterly has a responsibility to all of its
alumnae, including those of us who are prohibited by military policy from honoring these principles. Liz De Coster ’05 Bethesda, Maryland
Are Women’s Colleges Outdated? In reading the letters to President Creighton from alums in the summer Quarterly, I was glad to see that there is one other alum (Susan Sokalner Dickstein ’71) in addition to me who considers single-sex education at the university level outdated. While in a girl’s developing years, single-sex education can be a very good thing (I am, in fact, a college counselor at a private girls’ school), at the college level it seems anachronistic and does not teach a woman how to really act in the coed world. Women’s colleges were founded to provide women with a liberal-arts education because virtually all institutions of higher education were male only. This situation changed dramatically in the seventies when most men’s colleges opened their doors to women and a few, brave, women’s colleges opened their doors to men.
I think that today one finds the most competitive high school students, who in the past made up most of the incoming students at Mount Holyoke and other Seven Sister colleges, now head to Ivy League, Little Three, and similarly select state and private universities. One need only look at where most alumnae daughters go to college to see this pattern. From a purely development point of view, this change begs the question if MHC has missed the boat in being able to retain a strong connection to its traditional alumnae base, if its own, talented children have for the most part moved on to the “real” world of coed colleges and universities. I wonder if it is not too late to do some research among the alumnae who support the school, whether they would support a coeducation initiative at MHC. Mary Stern Sykes ’72 Rye, New York
Sisterhood Alive Among Pittsburgh Alums I’m delighted to report that the Mount Holyoke “sisterhood” is alive and well and downright flourishing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When I approached the alumnae club there recently with a request for help in finding temporary housing, I received an outpouring of support that took my breath away. Copresident Diana Bosse Mathis ’70, my own classmate Nancy Montano Bunce, and too many other club members to name individually offered suggestions, support, names of real estate agents, and friendship; invited me for coffee and iced tea; talked to their own real estate agents; and even offered beds in their own homes! Pittsburgh, you’re wonderful, and Mount Holyoke, you should be proud of the lifelong community you create. I hereby officially and forever take back any cynical comments I might have made lo those many years ago on campus about the “sister song” lyrics!
Got Opinions? Let Us Know!
We continue to welcome letters for the printed Quarterly. Indeed, we crave them. What’s the use of singing our hearts out to an empty theater? We need your ideas, your opinions, your letters. Of course, we will edit your letters for accuracy, length, and clarity. You can also post your comments at www. alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/Q. We especially like hearing from you by e-mail. Send your thoughts, then, to mbomann@mtholyoke.edu.
Donna Marie DiPaolo ’71 Bethesda, Maryland
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campuscurrents Learning How to See, Really See, in a Jam-Packed, Visual World We live a world of visual information. Every day, a relentless stream of messages is hurled our way in the form of billboards, camera phones, CD packaging, even tattoos. To keep our heads from exploding, we learn to scan, to pay attention only to the messages we need, and to ignore those we don’t. What gets lost in that process is our ability to analyze or evaluate any of those images. We’ve learned how to deconstruct words pretty well, but we lack the ability to think critically about visual images, experts tell us. Jane Gronau and Lenore Reilly Carlisle are working to change that.
Why not come at this from the back end, Gronau thought, and encourage MHC students in the college’s teacher certification program to think about making objectbased learning, especially objects in a museum, part of their classroom curriculum here and when they begin teaching?
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“People learn in different ways and a museum should be part of the skill set that can be used in teaching,” said Gronau. So, last year, she and Carlisle, director of the early childhood and elementary teacher preparation programs, designed a three-part learning experience for the fifteen students in the licensure track. In the fall, MHC teachers-intraining visited the galleries to learn the theoretical underpinnings of object-based learning. In spring, they participated in docent-led museum programs for school children. Finally,
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as part of their assignment to design a curriculum unit, the MHC students learned how to include a field trip to a museum in a lesson plan. “In this fast-paced world … a museum slows things down in a powerful way. They are quiet places that stimulate observation. We try and help our students understand that’s important,” said Carlisle. This year, she hopes to get her teachers-in-training together with student outreach volunteers whose training Gronau oversees at the museum. Those student volunteers
Young students learn how to really see a painting in the MHC Art Museum.
know which school children have been well prepared by their teachers for the museum visit, and together, the two groups will hash out what techniques and approaches result in a stellar museum experience. Learning to look closely and think deeply, says Gronau, is not only part of a museum’s mission but is also “essential to living a life that’s worth its salt.”—M.H.B.
L aur a Weston
In charge of the MHC Art Museum public schools programs, Gronau is always looking for ways to get more students in the doors and then help them cultivate the ability to look closely at an object and understand what’s there. (So are the curators, who in recent years have gotten MHC faculty members across the disciplines to double their use of the collections in their curricula.)
Admission Effort Pays Off in Bigger Class
Now, it’s time to find the financial aid money A larger than usual first-year class with significant financial need entered Mount Holyoke this fall, and plans have been drawn up to address the potential cost savings needed to keep this year’s budget in balance. Approximately 570 students make up the class of 2013, forty more than last year and thirty-five more than the target 535 new students. “We accepted a larger percentage of our applicants because we anticipated that the state of the economy would have a negative impact on the number of students who accepted us,” said Jane Brown, vice president for enrollment and college relations. But the college’s aggressive outreach efforts to admitted students—including a dedicated Web site, four comprehensive preview programs in April, and targeted communication from faculty and alumnae—actually resulted in a higher than expected yield, she said. Not unexpectedly, they are also in need of considerable financial aid. Last year, 58 percent of the entering class received need-based financial aid; this year, 68 percent qualified for aid. “The average grant for these students is $30,079, which is 10 percent higher than last year,” Brown said. While higher enrollment means additional tuition, financial aid and its related
costs remain a worry. “In early July, we shared a preliminary plan with the Board of Trustees, which identified proposed reductions at various possible levels of deficit,” said Mary Jo Maydew, vice president for finance and administration.
of money-losing services such as the community lunches served at the Willits-Hallowell Center; continued restructuring in various administrative departments; and additional reductions in capital spending for facilities and technology.
our total applicant pool was similar to last year, the number of early-decision applicants was down significantly, indicating that students and their families were not willing to commit themselves as early in the admission process.”
These include more shared Five College operations, including merging the public safety offices of MHC, Smith, and Hampshire; elimination
According to Brown, this admission year was an anomaly. “It was impossible to predict how the economy would affect the year in admission. While
Work is under way on budget planning for 2011, which Maydew expects to be an even more difficult year, financially.—M.H.B.
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By the Numbers
Early fall in South Hadley is punctuated with the sounds of furniture and suitcases being dragged into dorms; the cheers of excited and nervous firsties stepping into adulthood and out of their parents’ hair; and faculty and administrators grateful for new beginnings. As we welcome the class of 2013, take a look at some interesting details: Number of students who applied: 3,061 Number of students admitted: 1,771 Number in class: 574 Number of domestic students of color: 145 or 25 percent Number of Frances Perkins scholars: 43 Number of students from public schools: 337 or 59 percent Number from private schools: 173 or 30 percent Number from parochial schools: 64 or 11 percent Number of students who are legacy students: 56 or 10 percent Number of students in the top 10 percent of their class academically: 123 or 62 percent Top five states where students come from:
Number of international students: 139 (24 percent)
MA—100 students (17 percent) NY—70 students (12 percent) CA—37 students (6 percent) CT—31 students (5 percent) NJ—25 students (4 percent)
Top foreign countries where students come from (and number and percent of students from each):
Number of students from: New England: 172 or 30 percent Middle Atlantic: 106 or 18 percent South: 53 or 9 percent Central: 35 or 6 percent West: 66 or 11 percent
China—44 (8 percent) Vietnam—11 (2 percent) Pakistan—11 (2 percent) India—8 (1 percent) Bangladesh— 6 (1 percent) Ethiopia—6 (1 percent)
note : percentages rounded and numbers approximate .
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Mary Lyon firmly believed that financial circumstances should not stand in the way of a woman’s education, and Mount Holyoke has worked hard to encourage applications from high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students. With trends in college admissions nationwide showing that an increasing number of students will complete their first two years of postsecondary education in a community college, MHC in 2006 received a highly selective, four-year, $779,000 grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to strengthen further its efforts in attracting underrepresented students. The goal of the initiative was to enroll forty additional students, or ten every year for four years. No worries there. Irma Medina FP’04 (left) helps identify community college students who might thrive at MHC, such as Lysette Navarro FP’12 (right).
Applications have increased, and, since the initiative was launched, 175 community college students have enrolled at MHC. Kay Althoff FP’84, associate director of the Frances Perkins Program, and Carolyn Dietel, director of the FP program and coordinator of transfer affairs, anticipate more than 200 transfer students will have enrolled by 2010. “Part of the purpose was to build on the existing relationship with Holyoke Community College and to better support academically talented students to transfer to MHC,” says Althoff. Essential to the program’s success is Irma Medina FP’04, a counselor at Holyoke Community College, funded by the grant, who identifies prospective MHC candidates. Medina first introduces predominantly first-generation college students to the possibilities of a liberal-arts curriculum and then steers them toward a free, five-week quantitative reasoning class at MHC that builds confidence and problemsolving skills.
“They come to Holyoke Community College for a career or specific vocation, and then they discover MHC,” says Medina. “[I tell them that] the difference between MHC and other schools is that [MHC] will make you a leader and many opportunities will be open to you, not just in the field they are interested in. Overall, there has been great, positive feedback.” Still, the cost of an MHC education weighs heavily on transfer students. “It’s a tough sell,” says Althoff, who together with Dietel has visited forty colleges around the country. Mount Holyoke has pledged to meet the financialaid needs of all accepted transfer students. A special gift from an alumna helps support accepted veterans. (Read more about this at www.alumnae. mtholyoke.edu/go/ribbon.) Integral to the program is peer mentoring, and current students are matched with prospective transfer students with similar backgrounds. Dyanne Rousseau FP’10 says at first,
the liberal give-and-take in class, “where people are challenging professors and participating in discussion,” worries transfer students. “They don’t think they have the tools” to join in, she says. But after she offers a few simple tips—such as finding some part of what they’re reading that speaks to them and sharing it—“That fear disappears quickly.”—M.H.B.
Yup, You Get What You Pay For Tax expert says it’s time we grew up.
As the US Congress moves toward universal healthcare and how to pay for it, one particular proposal gets the green light from John Fox: cap the tax exclusion for employersponsored healthcare premiums. That would raise much of the revenue needed to cover the 47 million uninsured. “No one expects that universal coverage would provide more than a basic policy for all Americans,” says Fox. “And it makes neither social nor economic sense for our tax laws to subsidize deluxe, ‘Cadillac’ policies, as we do now, most of which are owned by higherincome workers.” Fox, a professor at MHC who teaches a seminar in tax policy, explains that if you receive your health insurance at work, you don’t pay income or employment taxes (FICA) on the premiums, no matter how large. An estimated 160 million Americans get coverage through their employers; that adds up to a lot of tax savings for certain households. About $250 billion of federal taxes every year, in fact.
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Fo x P h o t o : Pau l S c h n a i t tac h e r
Given the right tools, transfer students thrive at MHC.
Andrea Burns
The Fear Disappears
campuscurrents John Fox, visiting professor of complex organizations
MHC students at Powershift ’09 Mou n t Ho lyo k e Al u m na e Qua r t e r ly
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While taxing the deluxe portion of health benefits is an obscure idea among the general public and considered a nonstarter by labor unions, Fox argues that what Congress does now is upside down: it gives “by far the largest subsidies to the highest earners and the smallest to low earners.” How so? Well, because healthcare premiums are untaxed income, the more you earn, and the larger your premiums, the more you would have paid in taxes on the benefits. And so the more you now save thanks to the exclusion. Adding to the disparity, by subsidizing high-end, executive plans, the government makes consumers less price conscious. “So insurers and healthcare providers raise their prices, which makes insurance and healthcare even less affordable for most households, and the government loses even more money,” Fox explains. “It’s indefensible.”
A former tax attorney, Fox this summer proposed in the New York Times limiting exclusions to the cost of a basic policy that he says should include a deductible, co-pays, and coverage for a range of essential expenses. The challenge today for Americans is not only to decide what they want from government; they must decide how to pay for it. “It’s time,” says Fox, “to act like adults.”—M.H.B.
Ahhhh…Choo! Planning for Flu Season Campus preparations for seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus were robust this year as health officials anticipate an earlier flu season and greater numbers of people affected. Karen Engell, director of health services at Mount Holyoke, said planning is ongoing as influenza develops in the fall
but that her team was in close contact with the Five Colleges, the local health department, and the federal disease center for updates and strategies. Prevention is important, she said. MHC parents were encouraged to tell their collegeage children to get the seasonal flu shot this year. Generally, few students come into the health service for these vaccines, and she hoped vaccine clinics on campus would encourage better participation. Decent sleep, hand washing, coughing into a sleeve, and good eating habits are also being stressed. Students who do come down with the flu and live within 250 miles of campus will be encouraged to go home by car. A dedicated campus building is an option Engell is considering for students with flu who need to be isolated but cannot go home. Faculty and staff who suspect they have
influenza should stay home, too, she said. The good news is that collegeage students are not in a highrisk category for the H1N1 flu—pregnant women and school-age children are most vulnerable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. When vaccines for this specific virus become available, the college will comply with state and federal guidelines regarding who should be encouraged to get one. “We’re engaged in a community, public response,” said Engell. “It’s not easy, not convenient, and not everyone is going to be happy. But it’s the most logical [response] and consistent with the public health perspective.” For updates on the H1N1 virus on campus and generally, go to www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/news/22831.shtml.
Tidbits Common Read
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, by Anne Fadiman, is this year’s “common read” selection. Since 2000, the first-year class has participated in the common reading as part of the orientation program for new students. Previous common readings have included Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains (2006) and Ruth L. Ozeki’s My Year of Meats (2005). This year’s common read has a blog and chat room (at http://pub. mtholyoke.edu/journal/CR2009/), and alumnae are invited to join the conversation. Gymnasts and Swimmers and Writers, Oh My!
The college housed fifteen programs on campus this summer. Read the story at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/gymnasts. Teach This
Teach for America was the number-one employer of members of the class of 2009. Five Mount Holyoke alumnae are in Teach for America’s 2009 teaching corps, and eighty-five have participated
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in the program since its inception. The program, which trains top students to teach in underserved areas, hired 4,100 new teachers nationwide. Other schools for whom the program was the primary employer this year included Brown, Georgetown, Spelman, and the University of Chicago. Grasso Lands at Bradley
When you next visit South Hadley via Bradley International Airport, your first MHC connection may very well be in the new Ella T. Grasso (’40) Concourse. Dedicated to the first female governor of Connecticut, the 60,000-square-foot concourse is part of the $200 million expansion of Terminal A at Bradley. MHC, Grasso once said, encouraged her to “think of my life not as something that would happen to me, but as something I would shape for myself.” Campus Safety in Numbers
The public safety departments of Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and Smith colleges have managed to save money and expand services by consolidating into a single force with base offices on each campus. Paul Ominsky, MHC’s director of public safety, directs the unified department. Administrators say the move raises the number of officers able to respond to an emergency at any campus and eliminates duplication of services. The joint dispatch office is at MHC.
Inside the Real West Wing Mona K. Sutphen ’89 talks about working down the hall from the Oval Office, flying on Air Force One, and the satisfactions of working with the president. p h oto s by scot t s u c h m a n
Mona Sutphen is close to the Oval Office in more ways than one. Her own office is just feet from President Obama’s center of operations, and she is part of his inner circle of advisers. As one of two deputy chiefs of staff, Sutphen helps keep Obama’s team focused on policy matters. The White House veteran works long, packed days, but still spends time with husband Clyde Williams (political director of the Democratic National Committee) and their children Sydney and Davis. She’s no stranger to the corridors of power, having worked in the foreign service, as a special assistant to President Clinton’s national security adviser, as vice president for business consulting firm Stonebridge International, and as coauthor of The Next American Century: How the US Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise, published in 2008. In August, Sutphen spoke with Jillian Dunham ’97 about her current role in the West Wing.
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illian Dunham: Could you give us a sense of your typical day at the White House? Mona Sutphen: It starts around 7:15 with a series of senior staff strategy meetings, and usually a meeting with the president. Those go until around 10:00 … and then it’s back-to-back meetings, maybe with a forty-five-minute break during the day. Usually I’m home about 9:00. We work Saturdays, usually from about 10:00 to about 3:00. There are two deputy chiefs of staff; I work on the policyrelated issues. The job is essentially to ensure, at least for the top priorities of the president and for Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, that the work of the White House staff is consistent with their expectations. I’ve read a lot about the president’s morning meetings. What are they like, and do you interact much with the president and advisers in those meetings? Yes. There’s a senior advisers meeting, which includes about nine of us. It’s usually in the morning, almost every day of the
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week. It’s usually reserved for the most pressing issues. We cover a lot of strategy. Rahm often sets the tone. Sometimes we go around and talk about issues we need guidance on for the day; sometimes we do it by theme. We might talk about just one issue and drill down pretty deeply into it. There may have been developments overnight that change how we approach something. Some of it’s tactics; sometimes it’s strategy. Sometimes the meeting is short, sometimes it’s long; it just depends on what’s going on. Sometimes [Emanuel] comes with a laundry list of things he wants to talk about, all the way from administrative matters to major strategy on initiatives such as healthcare or the energy bill. That sounds like a lot to manage. Could you talk about your two young kids, and how you balance work and have enough time for your family? Well, it’s a challenge, needless to say. It’s a very intense job. We need to delve very deeply into very complicated issues, quickly, and move from issue to issue, also very quickly. It requires that you get to the central element of the issues and the decisions required,
“We’re trying to plant the seeds for a United States that will be better than the one that we grew up in.” And then we ended up in New York talking about the legacy of race in the US. And Obama was standing there, obviously an example of how far the country has come since the founding of the NAACP. Just last week, we were in Ghana, and Cape Coast, where slaves were held until they got sold and put onto ships … and to go all the way from there to standing at the NAACP last night, it gives you a sense of history. I have those moments every day. There are 1,001 frustrations along the way too, but there are many, many times when I can’t believe I’m working for this man in this point in our history.
and understand the risks, benefits, and controversies associated with the policy issue you’re working on. So it’s intense both intellectually and time-wise, but the nice thing is that it’s not a first-responder kind of job. So if I’m working on something related to EPA regulation, I’m not going to get a call at two o’clock in the morning over that. When I’m home, I can be home. I do a lot of advance planning—I get no time to myself at all—my weekends are hyper-scheduled so I can get everything organized for the upcoming week with the kids, and spend time with them. When I’m not at work, I try to really be home. There are e-mails and all that, but on the weekends I try to do that when the kids are asleep. I figure I have to put my Blackberry down at a certain point. When I get home early enough to put my daughter to bed— which is rare—I very much prefer to do that. I would rather face however many e-mails I’m going to have in the morning rather than not have any downtime in the evening. It’s just a tradeoff. Sundays, I try to just be mom. It’s got to be such a rewarding job. Was there a moment recently at work when you felt, this is why I’m balancing all of this? Last night. Yesterday we went to a rally for Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey and then to the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. The New Jersey event had a campaign rally feel—18,000 people in a stadium with music going—and Obama gave a fantastic speech about healthcare reform, why we need to act now, and why it’s so important.
What’s it like to travel on Air Force One? It’s great. If you imagine air travel with a comfortable living room, that’s basically it. You can walk around, you have choices of food … all the things you think air travel should be about. And obviously you get to come and go when you’re ready. You’re never waiting because there’s a flight delay; there are no security lines, no runway delays, and the plane’s always there waiting for you. Are there policy issues you’re working on that make you think, “This is something I’d like to see be an ordinary part of my children’s lives as they grow up”? Sure. So much of the president’s agenda is generationally relevant to me and especially to my kids. We’re trying to plant the seeds for a United States that will be better than the one we grew up in, whether that means figuring out healthcare reform, or education, so that you don’t have a 50 percent dropout rate, or the energy economy—so that we’re not beholden to Middle Eastern oil, but also are being responsible stewards of the planet. A lot of things that were ignored over the last eight years, we are taking a look at and trying to get to the essential issues that need to get fixed. It’s one of the great things about working for President Obama, and one of the interesting things about working in a time of crisis, that there is more of an appetite to try and get to the root of the problem, and to step back and say, “If you could do it the perfect way, separated from all the water under the bridge, what is the right policy?” We always start at that point—what is the correct answer, how close can we get to that answer based on the constraints we have, and how can we push the envelope as much as possible? We’re doing that with education, with energy … We think we are on the right course, and he’s got a very strong vision.
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Most weekdays, Mona Sutphen attends senior staff meetings with President Obama, whose Oval Office is across the hall from this, the Roosevelt Room. Here, she speaks with Ruchi Bhowmik, director of special projects and special assistant to the Office of the Chief of Staff.
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You worked for the Clinton administration, for then-National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, and you chose to endorse President Obama early. I imagine that with Hillary Clinton in the race, that may have been difficult. What made you endorse Obama? My husband endorsed Hillary, so we had a split household. He had previously worked with the Clinton Foundation in New York, and we were both very close to then-Senator Clinton. And I think she’s a fantastic person, so yes, it was a hard choice because of the feeling of loyalty, but not a hard choice in terms of who I thought would be a better president. We had met Obama when he first got elected, before he went out on the campaign trail in ’06 and got everybody excited, and I remember thinking to myself, he’s very, very compelling.
inside the real west wing
For more about Mona Sutphen’s work visit www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/sutphen.
Your mother is Jewish and your father is African American, and I read that they had to cross state lines to marry. What are some of the big lessons your parents gave you, and how did their example play a role in leading you to where you are today? They were both very involved in community organizing and public service. That was an element that ran through our family in a way I don’t think I appreciated growing up, but it’s clearly had a very profound impact on my career choices and orientation. They told my brother and me that we’d be treated differently because we are biracial, but that how others see you doesn’t necessarily have any bearing on how you are as a person. That held us in good stead along the way. Everybody goes through racial identity questions when you’re biracial, much like the president did and I did as well, but if you have a certain level of
Sometimes Sutphen and Obama “have conversations like you’d have with any colleague, but there’s still a formality there. I definitely call him Mr. President.” I don’t find that there are that many compelling people that go into public service in this country, so I figure the least I could do was to spend some of my free time helping him. When I started, I frankly doubted whether he could win. I hoped I could help build the strongest policy platform that he could have. I did not go into it calculating, “he’s going to win and then I can get a good job with the government.” I have young kids and was happy not to be in government. But I care about the country and thought, here is someone compelling. Period. Do you work with Secretary of State Clinton now? Sure. She’s incredibly smart and thoughtful and really, really good. I think she will continue to be a great secretary of state. I think in many ways it’s a perfect job. Do you have a memory of working with the president since coming to the White House? For instance, do you have a standing thing, like you always get coffee together? No, no, it’s more formal than that. He’s not exactly my generation—but close—and he’s not a very formal person, so while we have conversations like you’d have with any colleague, there’s still a formality there. I definitely call him Mr. President.
personal confidence, you can weather that storm better. It’s very strange that I ended up being so interested in international issues because I grew up in Milwaukee, your classic Midwestern town. We went on a couple of foreign trips, but we weren’t any kind of world travelers. But somehow I became interested in seeing the world, having adventures, living in war zones, and all that. There is definitely an adventurous streak in the family. I guess you could see what you’re doing right now as a kind of global community service. Yes. I have always felt public service was a sweet spot for me personally because it’s challenging and interesting enough, and you’re having impact at a broader level. It’s not as satisfying as when you’re working person to person, working in a community group, or working with prisoners of war, where you have the human connection—that’s by far the most satisfying work. But it’s also micro. So you are balancing the micro/macro level of impact and intensity of intellectual interest, as opposed to emotional interest, of the work. And I feel Washington strikes a good balance, certainly at this time, when we have such big issues to deal with.
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t u o g n i d ri n o i s s c e e the r How Alumnae are Coping
There is nothing that challenges the first year of marriage more than one spouse with two layoffs. But that has been my life since August 2008. March 5, 2007: Start job as public relations director of Regis College. August 5, 2008: Regis College lays me off; closes communications department. September 5, 2008: Start job as communications specialist at Framingham State College. January 5, 2009: Framingham State College lays me off; closes communications department. May 11, 2009: Start job as public relations director at The Mary Baker Eddy Library. Although our marriage certificate is only a year old, we’ve been together nearly eleven years, so we have had our share of rock-and-hard-place events. Somehow, though, I didn’t believe the blessing my sister gave at our wedding (“Enjoy the journey’s ups and downs—and there will be plenty.”) would come true quite this soon. But it did, and here I sit, a survivor, like the other alumnae whose stories are told in these pages. Everyone tells you to save three to six months’ worth of living expenses for a worst-case scenario. We did, thankfully, and now we are back to living paycheck to paycheck. Although we make our
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By Susan Bushey Manning ’96
ends meet, it’s tough knowing that between us we have three and a half college degrees and yet, after bills are paid, our bank accounts probably hold less than that of the average teenager with a part-time job. But we swallow our pride because so many have been through much worse; and because without support from friends and family, I might still be out of work. To succeed in these times, you must put yourself out there, naked as can be, and let yourself be dressed by those around you. You may not like the style of clothes they pick for you, but as long as you are covered modestly, you will deal with their choices.
going for the dream
Kathy Crabb ’92 had finally decided to risk everything for her dream job. Well, not everything—her husband still had his job. “After a year of sacrificing and saving enough to sustain our family for twelve to sixteen months, I left my steady job as a nonprofit chief operating officer in February 2008 to take a wild leap into building a practice in astrological psychology—a field I’d studied for a long time,” she said. “Eight months later, the economy crashed and my husband lost his job as a nonprofit chief financial officer. Though he’s come close to two great jobs in the last few months, both went to other candidates, and hiring in his field seems to be dwindling rapidly,” continued Crabb.
A Double Whammy A tough economy is a big enough challenge, but throw a child’s illness into the mix and life can seem pretty rotten. “We’ve had a particularly challenging time since our infant son became critically ill in August 2008,” said Jaime Jenett ’97. “My partner was unable to return to work because [our son] is too medically fragile to be in daycare, and I had to switch jobs due to unfair treatment by my employer, which meant a 40 percent pay cut.” Jenett now works for the public health county health department and loves it. Jenett, her partner, Laura Fitch, and sixteen-month-old Simon are lucky, though. “Our parents are helping us,” said Jenett. “We can’t afford to save anymore. They send a check every month to cover the basics.” And they have cut back. “We’re going out to eat less. I don’t buy things without thinking anymore, and [I] drive no faster than sixty-five miles per hour since learning that every mile per hour driven over fifty-five decreases fuel efficiency by 1 percent,” she said. “I’m putting practically nothing in my retirement, and we’ve been dipping into savings. We’re trying to keep things simple, enjoy what we do have, and not listen to the financial news too often,” said Jenett. With an ill son, though, it’s hard to ignore the costs of healthcare—she now pays $900 per month for family health insurance. That’s not optional, since Simon, although stable, is “still really sick.”
But this couple hasn’t given up or settled for less. She is still pursuing her dream, and he has found a workaround. “We now find ourselves struggling to build two businesses (mine as an astrologer, his as a nonprofit accounting consultant and trainer) with ourselves and a three-year-old to feed, and another child on the way.” “We do have savings to sustain us a few more months; still, I’ve found that living on a shoestring has made me more creative and brought our family closer together. I don’t want to romanticize it—I’d much rather have a solid income stream—but my priorities have definitely shifted in the last year,” she said.
Jaime Jenett ’97 (left) and Laura Fitch on their wedding day, with their son, Simon
Simon takes six medicines a day and has many doctors’ appointments, so Fitch could not return to work last November as planned. Simultaneously, Jenett had to handle an employer who was hostile to the situation. “I was trying to suck it up and deal, but I couldn’t. So in the midst of a medical crisis, I was looking for a new job,” Jenett said, adding how thankful she is to have Laura and her family and friends. “We have a really strong relationship. It’s our cornerstone and … we try to make our relationship a priority. We have date night every week. It’s usually something inexpensive, but at least we get out and do something,” said Jenett, whose mother stays over that night to help with Simon. Friends also buy items for Simon and make meals for them frequently, in an effort to lessen the load. “The key is our community and not being afraid to ask for help. We quickly realized there was no way to do this on our own. You swallow pride on some of it. We had to ask our parents for help, trusting they would say no, if they couldn’t afford it. Everyone is super supportive, and I am thankful for that,” said Jenett.
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bucking the Trend
Amy Norman Kanter ’95 pressed on with her new-business plans despite the recession.
Though initial response by venture capitalists was positive, the economy took a downward turn and investors suggested pressing the pause button on their business. The two women thought about it “for a minute,” and then said, “I don’t think so.” “We wanted to make an entire generation aware of other people … [and] couldn’t imagine going back to a less-inspiring job. We felt we were onto a good product and were willing to take a slower path … It took a complete belief in ourselves and in the product, as well as a comfort level with risk … and a willingness to eat a lot more hamburgers than filet mignon,” she said.
Jud e Mo o n ey
When life gives you lemons … start a new business? That’s just what Amy Norman Kanter ’95 did. Her company, Little Passports, launched in April, so far has seen success, with pieces in Real Simple and Parents, and accolades including one as iParenting’s outstanding products of 2009. A year or so ago, Kanter left her corporate job at a consulting company, as it downsized from fifty to ten employees. She had set aside enough money for a year, but that “well” is nearly dry. Her husband left her during Kanter’s second pregnancy, and she must sell her house. Kanter, the mother of a three-year-old and three-month-old, said she will weather the recession with tighter purse strings and a simpler way of living. “I was making good money before, but am happy to ride out these times like everyone else. My whole life has been very Type-A and goal-oriented, and to step off of that upward trajectory and take a risk, with no salary … [is] really scary.” “I’m going to find a small apartment in San Francisco. There will be no more fancy meals, and I’m literally going to try to live off a third of what I lived off before and take a small loan from family,” she said. Kanter found her way to entrepreneurship seeking a way out of long corporate hours while having a family. She “wanted to do something I felt inspired by and that was more missiondriven, so a former colleague and I cofounded ‘Little Passports,’” Kanter explained. The company (www.littlepassports.com) is “a global adventure for children aged six to ten.” Each month, subscribers receive a new “suitcase” in the mail filled with adventures online and off about a different country. The package holds secret codes for playing online games, while the offline part may include an “artifact” from that country. “Each month our characters, Sam and Sofia, travel to a new country on their magical scooter and share their experiences with children.”
Reinventing Herself, Again During this recession “storm,” friends and family urged Vivinne Williams FP’92 to stay put as a tenured professor of art at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y. But Williams (who now uses the single name Kalavati) knew that was not the right path for her. Instead, she embraced her love of healing and helping— and her massage therapist license—and has reinvented herself as a life mentor, leaving the security of a guaranteed job behind. Kalavati, an immigrant from Jamaica and the first college graduate in her family, looked for guidance to time spent at Mount Holyoke studying meditation, yoga, and art. “I began meditating in the Japanese tea house ... Growing up in the inner city in a working-class family, I’d had no access to such a thing before. It had a
Not All Alums Hard-Hit by Recession The Quarterly asked 1,000 randomly selected alumnae in August how the recession has affected them personally. Ninety-five responded; the largest number (forty-four) said they’d made no major lifestyle changes due to the recession. Five said they were actually doing better financially. Here’s how the recession is affecting the rest. 33 canceled vacation plans 30 postponed major plans/purchases 18 had their salary or benefits reduced 18 have dipped into long-term savings to meet immediate expenses 18 have put more purchases on credit cards than they felt comfortable doing 12 have asked friends or family for a loan 11 are behind on paying routine bills 8 have lost their jobs 7 have had work hours reduced 7 have moved in with friends or family to save money 2 are in danger of losing (or have lost) a house or condo 1 received some form of assistance she doesn’t usually need (such as groceries from a food pantry)
tremendous impact on my life and ability to cope,” she said. She had set up her own yoga business in New York City, which she ran for three years. But Kalavati realized that yoga wasn’t all she needed to do now. “I have done transitions so many times in my life, and enjoy it; why not share that ability with others?” she asked herself. So she moved back to western Massachusetts, and now works with people on the phone, in person, and on the Web, helping guide them through the process of setting goals and learning meditation techniques. (See Embark-lovethelifeyoulive.com.)
Like so many others, these women landed on the downside of the recession. But like alumnae before them, they will make it through and find success again. Their Mount Holyoke education built the path they need to be successful; now all they need to do is decide which way to go to ride out the recession. Susan Bushey Manning ’96 lives in Worcester, Mass., with her wife, their three cats, and chocolate Labrador retriever puppy, Hazel.
web link
r ant about your recession ex p erience
Share your struggles and tips (and read other alums’ suggestions) for weathering the recession “storm” by commenting on this piece online (alumnae.mtholyoke. edu/go/recession).
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hina seems unsure of how to value its women. The country’s Confucian roots still consider a family luckier when a son is born rather than a daughter, and in the countryside, families whose first children are female are allowed to try again for a boy. Although Mao Zedong’s revolutionary words “women hold up half the sky” made it acceptable for women to work, boys are still often given first consideration for education and work opportunities. Women’s ambitions can be overlooked or scoffed at, but, strangely enough, the women who do make it to the top of the business chain become admired and even nationally adored. Despite the aura of equal money-making opportunities in cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, dichotomies between traditional values and international capitalism remain. After browsing the classified section of a popular Chinese business Will the doors of opportunity open to women? Shown here: the entrance of the temple of heaven in Beijing, China
heaven or hell for female execs?
By Monica Liau ’07
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it above an associate level because upper-level clients couldn’t relate to her face, which is both Asian and female. “I leapt at the opportunity to leave and head a new program in China.”
Maura Fallon ’77
paper in Shanghai, I realized some companies asked specifically for women with certain attributes. While some required qualifications such as “experience in hospitality” and “ability to use a computer,” most also stipulated that applicants be “attractive,” “over 5 2 ,” “under the age of twenty-four,” or (my personal favorite) “good with men.” China—in its own view as well as that of the worldwide media— is a land of opportunity. In contrast to the current sea of “downer” news in the economic sectors of other countries, China’s future remains buoyant. People, especially those in the consulting and finance world, see open doors in China. And schools (including Mount Holyoke) have been expanding China-related course offerings to keep up with the waves of students who see potential here. But does China, where rural women are denied basic land rights, have a place for high-powered businesswomen? Or do they just want beautiful, five-foot-eight secretaries who are good at serving tea? Better Chances, Fewer Glass Ceilings For women in the consulting and financial sector, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) may actually be just the place for career advancement. Despite the fact that Hong Kong’s main newspaper, the South China Morning Post, segregated classifieds by gender until around 1995, Maura Fallon ’77, CEO and founder of Fallon International, maintains that she’s found more opportunities, and “doesn’t generally feel gender has been an obstacle,” in Hong Kong, compared with other countries. Fallon, who has been working in Hong Kong and the mainland for sixteen years, says that sexism has declined since the 1949 revolution, but “with the coming of the market economy, since 1979, things have slowly gotten more challenging for women.” She adds, “when I look at my clients’ organizations, there are fewer women at each successive level. Sexism is around; it is just more subtle.” Vanessa Huang ’95—vice president of Health Care Investment Banking, Asia, at Deutsche Bank—cites the advantages of China’s still immature business sector. According to her, there are fewer Asian women CEOs or vice presidents in the States “because all the upper-level clients are established white men [who] feel comfortable doing business with their own.” Huang worked in US consulting firms for ten years, but “looking up,” she says, “I saw a limited number of senior women; many got pushed out.” She left San Francisco convinced she wouldn’t make
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Michelle Toh ’85 agrees that her face and cultural experiences have given her a considerable advantage in the PRC as compared with Western countries. Now retired, Toh made her career in banking and finance. She headed programs for big players including Morgan Stanley in Tokyo and Hong Kong, and Credit Suisse and Moody’s Investment Services in Hong Kong. Toh says she had more professional value in Asia because she “looks the part.” Because of her Asian roots (she’s Malay) and her ability to work with Americans, Toh says she served as an effective bridge in the business world. “For the companies hiring me,” she laughs, “I was the best of both worlds.” But it’s not just looking Asian that gives people such as Toh and Huang a leg up in the PRC. Toh, who spent more than five years in Japan, says that it was more difficult for young foreign women to rise through the ranks in Tokyo, despite the fact that she spoke Japanese and had attended the Tuck Program in Niyagato, Japan. “Chinese companies were easier and more willing to listen,” she says. Huang too sees Hong Kong and the mainland as more welcoming to businesswomen than countries such as Japan or Korea. “People [in China] are just much more agnostic towards gender.” Barbee Chuidian ’90, director of investments at Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management, Asia, admits that it is prevalent in Asia for clients to expect to be taken out on the town, events that can involve copious amounts of alcohol, smoking, and nightclubbing. Chuidian leaves this part of client-wooing to others. “My clients don’t respect me less for opting out of these ‘extra-curricular activities,’” Chuidian smiles, “and those certainly don’t affect my ability to close a deal.” Heritage, Status, Gender: What Matters? But what about women who are not of Asian descent? Despite the fact that foreigners are foreigners no matter their look, people with Asian faces are arguably more able to blend in (even if they don’t speak the language). Despite my own Chinese heritage and language abilities, I have a Western face and am constantly subject to curiosity and laughter from many Chinese. Some people’s favorite activities seem to be calling out “Hello?” or screaming “laowai!” (foreigner!) from the sidewalk. Does this “sticking out like a sore thumb” routine impede women in the boardrooms? Fallon—who is originally from New York, but has spent more than twenty years in the East and speaks Mandarin Chinese—says that being white often causes more of a stir than being a woman. “I think that when Chinese people meet with me, people don’t see my sex as much as they see the color of my skin. Asians do have some internalized racism, and “sometimes downplay their own abilities and give a white person
web link
china: sex ist dead end or l and of op p ortunity?
Weigh in with your experience working in China and read about other women execs in China, at alumnae.mtholyoke. edu/go/chinaexecs.
the benefit of the doubt.” She pauses, “I don’t think my being white or a woman has affected my business negatively here. [But] as an executive coach and organization development consultant, I’m in a profession that is open to females all the way to the top. If I were in a profit-and-loss business role inside a company, things would be more challenging.”
still feel responsible for tending to home needs. “There is that saying, ‘the farther away you are from the kitchen, the more [the kids] forget you,’” Chuidian laughs. “A lot of women still take that idea to heart and grapple with it.” Not only is hiring maids, nannies, and even cooks more affordable, it is also a common practice throughout the PRC. “Hong Kong is a crazy city, and it makes you work really hard,” Toh states, “but overall, for a woman in business, there is no better place to be.” Forecast for Ambitious Women: Mixed Michelle Toh ’85
According to Toh, at least at the higher level of the finance world, clients and employers pay more attention to titles and the name of the company you represent rather than to your gender or race. “People can still sometimes be a little leery of women, but my business card said ‘senior vice president,’ which meant age, credibility, and experience.” Toh laughs, “Now that I’m retired, I have a much harder time getting meetings with people in high positions.” Home Help … Helps Talking with these women in pin-striped suits, surrounded by mahogany and glass office walls or tuxedoed waiters, it’s easy to forget that some are also mothers with families. Working in the finance sector often requires demanding hours and dropping everything personal to make a deal. Huang, who has no children, says that in addition to flying to mainland China at least twice a week, her hours start at around nine o’clock in the morning and regularly last until eleven o’clock or midnight. Chuidian, the mother of three, says that she has definitely left deals on the table because she tries to leave the office at 6 p.m. every day. “Before having children, I did have dreams about being a CEO,” she muses, “but I want to be with my family, so I’ve even turned down some promotions.” Toh, who was senior vice president and head of the North Asia Business Development Program at Moody’s Investment Services, left her job because she was spending 80 percent of her time at the bank and 20 percent with her family. “I got sick of traveling and not seeing my family,” she says, “and I decided I could spend my time meeting new challenges, working with charities and being there for my family.” Chuidian and Toh agree, however, that it’s easier to balance work and home life in Hong Kong than elsewhere because there is a large pool of affordable household help. “The ability to hire people means I can go into the office without worrying about managing the kids’ activities.” says Chuidian. While household help that is affordable for even middle-income people is also an advantage to working men, Chuidian explains that many women
The PRC does offer avenues for women to achieve position, power, and influence. However, those avenues remain relatively narrow. China possesses many faces, of which Hong Kong’s is arguably the least representative. Also, the alumnae in this story are part of an elite group that is foreign educated and working for multinational companies in the financial sector, where money is king. Overall, women’s opportunities in the PRC remain skewed. Contemporary Chinese society does have a collective expectation that women have jobs. In fact, the Chinese Constitution guarantees all citizens the right—and the obligation—to work. Working as a freelance writer in both rural western China and Shanghai, I have met female ditch diggers, road sweepers, maids, secretaries, and teachers. I have also met female government officials, worked for female Chinese bosses, and done business with female entrepreneurs—but not many. The fact remains that, when a family’s limited finances force a choice, boys regularly get the extra push. For example, a female tour guide in western Yunnan Province told me her parents alBarbee Chuidian ’90 and her children lowed her a high-school education “despite the fact that she was girl.” She is now expected to make money to send her little brother to college. For her, and many other women, the glittering Hong Kong world of perks and privileges remains remote. Monica Liau ’07 is a freelance writer based in Shanghai.
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Overcoming
“Moral Stupidity” By Jane F. Crosthwaite
Ethics is a topic that almost everyone cares deeply about, but few of us actually know how to navigate. I argue that students need to know only one thing when thinking about ethics—that there are at least two people in the universe! We are not individual beings who are isolated, untouched, or independent; we are not alone.
Professor of Religion Jane F. Crosthwaite received a faculty award for teaching this past spring.
And if there are two of us, then we need to figure out how to cope; we can get along, make love, or kill each other. Ethical systems, secular and religious, have been devised to address this simple math problem: 1 + 1 = lots of problems or lots of opportunities. Issues of race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity play off the fundamental idea that there is an “other,” someone who is “not me.”
If we imagine a giant metaphorical house where human beings must live together, we see different entryways into our common living spaces. Zen Buddhism might ask us to remove our swords to sit quietly in the teahouse. Judaism may ask us to recognize an entire wing given by a higher power that asks us to obey certain common rules for orderly life. Christianity may suggest that, building on Judaism’s wing, we concentrate on love as well as law. Islam might also, building on Judaism and Christianity, remind us that there is one power who unites us and that, after praying, we must share with one another, that is, bring alms for the poor. Buddhism seeks a common practice of compassion.
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B e n B a r n h a rt
I am not going to pretend that I can offer answers, nor will I assume any single traditional religious position. Rather, I will propose some of the ideas that I use to set up issues and discussions for my ethics classes.
My aim is not to simplify major religious traditions or to omit other systems. It is to point to a common feature: they all address questions of how to live together, what to do with the neighbor, the stranger, the other person we encounter. Plato asked what we would do if we were invisible to others and not answerable to them (or to ourselves, in light of their presence). What constraints—or, better, what benefits—might we find in the presence of another person? Visible or invisible, we know we do not always choose generosity, love, or compassion. Cain killed Abel; Zen warriors were wearing swords; Buddhists begin by acknowledging suffering. As the Bhagavad Gita begins, Arjuna is in his chariot, facing a battle with his kinsman. He throws himself down, not wanting to kill or be killed. Krishna offers Arjuna the best possible instruction: If you follow your duty, you will find my gracious love and your honor. But discovering that duty and being assured of either honor or higher love is as much a part of the human situation as finding yourself already in the midst of some battle. Alas, the one option we lack is the power to avoid the pains, sufferings, and agonies of the human condition. So, my students and I explore questions of how to cope, since we live with all the lively clichés of slippery slopes, dirty hands, and unintended consequences, never mind dysfunctional families, random violence, earthquakes, hurricanes, and a war here and there. We ask the experts to help us, and sometimes they do. We learn about love, sharing, respect, justice, and nonviolence. We read Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, St. Paul, Moses, Rumi, and D. T. Suzuki. In the Ethics and Public Policy class, designed to take a sweeping interdisciplinary view of some of these issues, we learn from professor Vinnie Ferraro about the new United Nations policy called Responsibility to Protect, which argues for intervention in genocide(s) and mass atrocities. From professor Jeff Knight we learn about possibilities and dangers of stem-cell research; from professor Alberto Sandoval we consider how hard it is to live with HIV/AIDS, and how hard it is to think about death and mourning. And we learn about the difficulties of dealing with race, poverty, discrimination—and with our own “moral stupidity.” Moral stupidity is the ever-present temptation to refuse to see, to look, or to act on behalf of someone in need. Moral stupidity teaches us that such refusal is a choice, that helping is also a choice, and, therefore, that choice is a core element of ethics, perhaps the singular realm of ethics. Ethical action is based on evaluation, decision, and then action. It is considered; it is not “natural.” It is chosen. That is why we hold one another responsible. We may feel that we merely slide a long way into various messes, but along the way, we are deciding.
And so, how and what should we decide? Let’s return to the basic truths—that there are many of us in the world and that we always choose whether to help others or not. Elaine Scarry, whose book, The Body in Pain, is a primary source for us, teaches us that if that “other” person is in pain, we can help relieve the pain. If we hear the call for help, we can respond, and, in responding, we not only make the world better, we are actually making the world, creating a civilization, giving substance to our world. You are cold; I offer you a blanket. Your back hurts; I make you a chair. I am in the dark; you invent a light bulb. Our material world is replete with all the elements of compassion and with human decisions to reduce pain. Moral stupidity can pretend deafness; ethical response can work to ease the pain. In the world of ethical responsiveness, the ear is the ethical organ. Listening to others, talking with them, asking open-ended questions is the gift we give each other, and, more so, it is the gift that creates, illuminates our humanity, our potential for love. In the reciprocity of our conversations, we may even discover, according to the teachings of Martin Buber, that third element that some would call god. We may discover that the one plus one, which may equal trouble, may also equal a greater vision that unites first, two people, then more—far more—than we could imagine.
three Burning Questions
Relive those MHC dinner-table debates by tackling these and future “burning questions” in the comfort of your own home. Let the discussions begin. 1. Do women confront ethical questions and dilemmas that men may not have to face? Is the reverse also true? 2. How do you stimulate a reciprocal relationship, when you seem to be doing all the listening? 3. When did you learn to take responsibility for your actions—using standards, but perhaps not trusting “laws”?
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offtheshelf
Words Worth a Second Look A Closer Look
In the early ’90s, when Jennifer Baron ’92 was touring the country with her band, The Ladybug Transistor, she’d often call out to whoever was driving the car late at night and say, “Stop! I have to get a picture of that sign!” Fascinated especially with the neon signs that dot—and sometimes saturate—the desert West, not to mention the signage that still shines in her native Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baron amassed quite a collection of images. Looking at culture through these material objects and considering how they tell the story of a city and its environs became something of an obsession for Baron. Luckily, she wasn’t alone.
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A few years ago, she shared her photos with Mark Stroup, a fellow Pittsburgh resident and sign lover who was putting together a sign blog on the Web. Together with her husband, Greg Langel, and a few other artists and teachers, they soon formed a loose collective that met to compare photos and stories about these often quirky, sometimes deeply evocative remnants of Pittsburgh’s industrial history. The Pittsburgh Signs Project was formed (www. pittsburghsigns.org). “I think for some of us there was almost this sense of urgency,” said Baron, who is a news editor for the online magazine Pop City Media (www.popcitymedia.com) and
B r e t t Ya s k o
Signs of Our Times
Nonfiction
Pittsburgh Signs Project author-editors, including Jennifer Baron ’92, right, walk in front of the historic New Granada Theater in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
development associate for SLB Radio Productions (www.slbradio.org). “Many signs are [rapidly] disappearing from the landscape in Pittsburgh.” To broaden interest, they invited the public to send photos of their own favorite signs. They were inundated with 500 submissions, some from children. The Web site grew, exhibits of the photos were organized in local galleries, a poster of the photos became a collector’s item, and then earlier this year, Carnegie Mellon Press published Pittsburgh Signs Project. Roadside logos, Main Street facades, buildings, restaurants, taverns—they’re all represented in the “crowd-sourced” (essentially, making use of group intelligence) book, which is light on text. From the ironic “Readers Paradise” sign in a vacant storefront, and the “Joanne M. Vukmaravich Real Estate” sign on a shack in front of an RV to simple, one-word signs like “No” in a window, the editors picked photos that evoked a sense of place, and put many more on the Web site. “The idea is to have people pay attention to where they are right now, in this moment,” Baron says.
Larry Rippel, 2009
This sounds a lot like what museum educators want children to learn to do (see “Learning How to See, Really See,” page 4), and it’s not surprising that Baron, who majored in English and art history—thank you, Professor Herbert, she says—spent more than a decade as a museum educator at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and at The Mattress Factory, a contemporary art museum in Pittsburgh. The book’s first run of 1,000 copies is nearly sold out. Team members are pushing for a second printing. And Baron has yet to tire of signs. She’s researched the archives of the McBride Sign Company that made lots of neon signs in Pittsburgh and is considering, you guessed it, another sign project. —M.H.B.
Camus, A Romance By Elizabeth Hawes (Grove Press) At once a biography and a memoir, this book creates a tender portrait of Albert Camus. He won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature, at age forty-three, and died, to the world’s dismay, in a car crash three years later. Written with passion and rich detail, Camus, A Romance is the story both of Camus and of the relationship of one reader with a beloved writer. A former staff member of the New Yorker and author of New York, New York: How the Apartment House Transformed the Life of the City, 1869–1930, Elizabeth Hawes ’62 fell in love with Camus while writing her senior honors thesis at MHC.
Sensual Encounters: Monastic Women and Spirituality in Medieval Germany By Erika Lauren Lindgren (Columbia University Press) Lindgren examines the spatial, visual, and acoustical environments in the spiritual practices of Dominican nuns and lay sisters in medieval Germany. She pays careful attention to the ways in which the women interpreted their physical surroundings and incorporated them into their divine practice. Erika Lauren Lindgren ’89 is assistant professor of history at Wartburg College in Iowa.
Getting Past Your Breakup: How to Turn a Devastating Loss into the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You By Susan J. Elliott (DaCapo Lifelong Books) Breakups are never fun or easy, but Elliott’s guide to staying on the right track during a split can help readers find healthy ways to move on successfully. Learn how to break the pattern of failed relationships, go “no contact” with your ex, and work through the grief. Susan J. Elliott FP’00 is a motivational speaker, grief counselor, attorney, and therapist. She is also the creator of the blog www. GettingPastYourPast.wordpress.com.
Interest in signs is growing around the country. Check out Cincinnati’s sign museum (www.signmuseum.net).
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By MHC Faculty
Lady Jane Wilde’s Letters to Fröken Lotten von Kraemer, 1857–1885 Edited by Karen Sasha Tipper (Edwin Mellen Press) The first in a multivolume edition of Lady Wilde’s correspondence, the letters to and from her Swedish friend emphasize Wilde’s nationalism, poetry, and ideas about women’s education. This collection of forty letters and notes between two of the most enlightened women of their time (one of them Oscar Wilde’s mother) has been awarded the Adéle Meller Prize for distinguished scholarship. Karen Sasha Tipper ’63 is professor and chair of English at Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. She is author of a critical biography of Lady Jane Wilde.
A Concise Companion to Postwar British and Irish Poetry Edited by Nigel Alderman and C. D. Blanton (Wiley-Blackwell) This overview of poetry published in Britain and Ireland in the last fifty years introduces the work of Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney, and Ted Hughes, among others, and pulls together the competing approaches of the two traditions. Written by critics from Britain, Ireland, and America, the book offers a critical introduction to the period’s most important writers. Nigel Alderman is assistant professor of English at Mount Holyoke. He is at work on a book on British literature of the 1960s.
Involving Parents of Students with Special Needs By Jill C. Dardig (Corwin Press) In this teacher-friendly resource, Dardig provides twentyfive ready-to-use techniques for involving parents in the education of their children with a wide range of learning needs. She anticipates the challenges and provides directions for teacher-parent conferences, directs parents to needed resources, and addresses how to deal with home/school conflicts. By helping everyone work together, the book gives special-needs students what they need to succeed in school. Jill C. Dardig ’69 is professor of education at Ohio Dominion University in Columbus, Ohio. She has trained special-education teachers for thirty years.
Global Giant: Is China Changing the Rules of the Game? Edited by Eva Paus, Penelope B. Prime, and Jon Western (Palgrave Macmillan) In this book of twelve essays, leading scholars analyze how China’s phenomenal growth in the last twenty years is challenging economic development options both globally and inside its own house. The sustainability of China’s economic strategies, the options for the rest of the world, and the continued dominance of America are all addressed in this effort to understand better the implications of China’s rise to power. Eva Paus is professor of economics and director of the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives at MHC. Jon Western is Five College associate professor of international relations.
More Books
For descriptions of these books, go to www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/morebooks_fall09.
N onfiction
Cinema Maternity: The Japan-U.S. Representation of Mothers Focusing on Mimasu Aiko By Kiseko Ozaki Minaguchi CG’64 (Sairyusha) Private Correspondence: Esther Tusquets Translated by Barbara Franklin Ichiishi ’70 (Bucknell University Press) Learning for Meaning’s Sake: Toward the Hermeneutic University By Stephanie Mackler ’98 (Sense Publishers)
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Women-of-the-Wild Hiking Club: WOW Trail Travelers, 1985–2009 By Deb Biesterfeld Townshend ’43 (Minuteman Press) young readers
After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance By Anne Sibley O’Brien ’75 and Perry Edmond O’Brien (Charlesbridge Publishing)
offtheshelf
Nonfiction
The online Alumnae Quarterly magazine:
It’s a real page-turner.
We’ve updated our online format to look just like the magazine you’re holding in your hands. You can flip through to Alumnae Matters, check Campus Currents, or read each feature at your leisure. The online version lets you write back to us on the spot—and see what your sister alums are saying, too. Go to www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/Q and give it a try. We’ll bet you can’t put it down.
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher
alumnaematters Jobless? Thank Heaven for Unemployment Insurance. On second thought, thank Frances Perkins. It is interesting to consider what role Frances Perkins, a 1902 MHC graduate, might have played in the current fight for national health care.
the record straight about Perkins’s role under FDR, which has been given short shrift by many historians of the New Deal.
As labor secretary under President Franklin Roosevelt for twelve years, Perkins was the first woman to serve as a US cabinet member. She was an equal member of the small circle of presidential advisers that led the charge for a shorter workweek, a minimum wage, the National Labor Relations Act, the National Industrial Recovery Act, a huge public-works program, and the Social Security Act.
“We see our mission as educating people about the accomplishments of Frances Perkins and the importance of her ideas,” said Burt. Rather than merely an influential onlooker, as some have claimed, Perkins in fact “won the war of ideas” among FDR’s advisers, Burt said. “To a certain extent, [she] saved us during this terrible recession. People have unemployment insurance.”
“She had her eye always on the people who had the least voice and least ability to push their needs,” said Barbara Burt, executive director of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle, Maine. The center, at Perkins’s family homestead, was recently established and will help set
web link
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Perkins’s life work seems to have been foreshadowed when, for an economics class at MHC, she visited factories in nearby Holyoke. Awakened to the appalling work conditions many employees faced every day, she volunteered in the emerging social-service movement in Philadelphia and Chicago
p e rkins pag e s galore
• Get MHC historian Dan Czitrom’s perspective on Frances Perkins at www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/ news/22405.shtml. • Take a tour of the Frances Perkins Center at www. francesperkinscenter.org. • For a vast array of Web links to books, New Deal art, papers, videos, and quotes related to Frances Perkins, go to www.francesperkinscenter.org/links.html.
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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, with Frances Perkins in the background
and then moved to New York for graduate studies. The searing imprint of the 1911 Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City—doors were locked to prevent alleged theft and resulted in workers, mostly immigrant women, jumping from windows to escape the flames— cinched her commitment to industrial reform. Appointed by New York Governor Al Smith to a power labor board, she next became industrial commissioner, thanks to Smith’s successor, FDR. When he became president, she agreed
to be labor secretary only if he would support her broad social agenda. The center in Maine—which features a who’s who of board members including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and MHC’s own Elizabeth Allen Wilson ’72—is busy organizing seminars, establishing summer institutes for high-school teachers, and establishing a digital archive of all of Perkins’s papers, now scattered in various locations. Sichu Mali ’11 served as the center’s first intern this past summer and helped catalog photos and documents
Sisterhood Flourishes at Seattle MiniReunion When Harriet Cody, a retired attorney and former judge, accompanied her mother Polly Jacoby Cody ’39 to Polly’s sixtieth reunion at MHC in 1999, she was especially touched by the cheerful celebration of the loyalty classes in the Laurel Parade.
Above: MHC Archives and Special Collections ; right : Harriet Jacoby
“No where else do you see older women being honored,” says Cody, whose mom now resides in a supportive-living facility in Seattle. So when Polly received notice of her seventieth reunion this year, Harriet came up with the idea of organizing a mini-reunion for her mom, other members of her class who could not travel, and sundry Seattle-area alumnae. Among the twenty-two people who joined in the festivities—which featured the traditional straw hats for the legacy classes, a memory table with old photos organized with help from Krysia Villón ’96 in the Alumnae Association office, and a parade—were Patricia Seip Lein ’46 and Anne Davidson Lester ’46. physically located at the center, an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. While much of Perkins’s agenda was fulfilled during her twelve-year tenure as labor secretary, one element remained out of reach—a national health plan. It was, Burt recounted, foiled by the American Medical Association, which threatened to battle the Social Security Act if a health plan was included in it. The center aims to carry on her commitment to social justice, said Burt.—M.H.B.
“Each woman introduced herself. [Lein and Lester] shared how different it was to go to college in the war years,” says Harriet Cody. “There was a piano, and they played the alma mater and then paraded halfway around the room. They cheered for the two members of the class of 1939. My mother knew every word of the alma mater. It was a great touchstone for her.” Also attending were Esta Bette Epstein Pekow ’53, Nancy Skinner Nordhoff ’54, Judith Lonnquist ’62, Harriet’s sister Marney Cody Komives ’64, Janet Rabenstein Brown ’64, Ann Kenyon Bowman ’67, Ann’s “little sister” Kathryn Wineman Van Wagenen ’69, Tisha Frank ’70, Lisa Tompkins ’82, and Madie Eskesen Bowerman ’39. Harriet said everyone at the gathering was touched by the event, no matter their class year. “There was this real feeling of sisterhood about the whole thing,” she said. “It’s never too late to create wonderful memories.”—M.H.B.
Polly Jacoby Cody ’39 and Marney Cody Komives ’64
All Roads Lead to MHC Choosing a college can be about logic … or chance. For amazing but true stories of how alumnae selected MHC, visit alumnae. mtholyoke.edu/go/ howichosemhc. Read; then add your own tale.
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Elizabeth I. Onyemelukwe Garner ’89
Elizabeth I. Onyemelukwe Garner ’89, a physician spearheading clinical trials for a cervical cancer vaccine to be used in Africa, has been nominated as alumnae trustee of the college for a five-year term beginning in 2010. Garner, associate director of clinical and quantitative sciences at the pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. Inc., previously practiced in obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston,
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and is a specialist in gynecologic cancer. She also led research studies in cervical and ovarian cancers and the human papillomavirus. Growing up in Nigeria—her mother is Catherine Zastrow Onyemelukwe ’62; her dad, Clement, is an Igbo and prominent engineer and author—Garner saw early on how women, when they banded together, could be a powerful force. She also learned directly how a lack of education and opportunity affected the lives of her own relatives, especially women, whose deep poverty affected their health and ability to provide for their children.
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“I determined to become a doctor to empower other women by improving their health.” “I came to see that money afforded me the privilege to pursue my dreams, and I determined to become a doctor to empower other women by improving their health,” she wrote in her personal statement to the Alumnae Association board of directors. While she found her work as a women’s cancer surgeon rewarding, Garner’s desire to influence the lives of women beyond her clinic walls was not being met. When the
opportunity came two years ago for full-time clinical research at Merck, centered on the vaccine for the human papillomavirus, the cause of cervical cancer, which was especially relevant to African women, she took it. “My expertise in gynecologic cancer, my background in public health, and my heritage as a Nigerian seemed an ideal match for the job,” she said. “In contributing to accelerating the access by women in developing coun-
Pao l a N o g u e r a s
International Women’s Health the Focus of Alumnae Trustee Nominee
When asked about her role as a trustee, Garner says she hopes her experience in women’s health, international health, academic medicine, and industry, as well as her perspective as an African and biracial woman of color, will support Mount Holyoke in shaping its mission to educate women around the globe for leadership and social action. “At a time when the emphasis at Mount Holyoke and the Alumnae Association is on international outreach, we are fortunate to have Beth Garner as a candidate for alumnae trustee,” said Mary Kamerling Allyn ’63, chair of the Nomination of Alumnae Trustees/Awards Committee of the Alumnae Association.—M.H.B. Notice: The alumnae trustee election will take place at the Association’s annual meeting in May 2010. Additional nominations for this election may be submitted to the Nomination of Alumnae Trustees/Awards Committee by written petition, signed by at least 100 voting members, no more than 30 percent of whom shall be from the same class or the same club area. Such written petitions must be received by the executive director of the Alumnae Association by January 15. Nominations by petition must include the written consent of the nominee to serve if elected.
The AA Bed-and-Breakfast Program: How to Make New Friends and Support Young Scholars The Alumnae Association’s Bed-and-Breakfast Program provides travelers with comfy, affordable—usually $30 to $80 a night—short-term accommodation and breakfast in an alumna’s home. Mount Holyoke students, alumnae and their immediate family, and MHC faculty and staff are eligible, with all proceeds earmarked for student financial aid through the Alumnae Scholar Program. CALIFORNIA Peninsula Club The Mount
Holyoke Club of the Peninsula can arrange one to three nights’ lodging in any of several alumnae homes located from twenty to about forty miles south of San Francisco. Arrangements should be made through Marilyn Ursu Bauriedel ’64 by e-mail or by phone. babamarilyn@ gmail.com; (650) 493-1364. $35/single; $60/couple. Further details are at www.mhcpeninsula.org.
CONNECTICUT West Suffield (Hartford)
Anne Wilder Borg ’69. $35 per person. For more information: (860) 668-7841 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington, DC Marion Fitch
Connell ’62 offers twin beds in sunny guest room with private bath, AC. Easy walk to Tenleytown-AU Metro stop. On-street parking. Wi-Fi available. Continental breakfast. No smoking. $80 single/$120 double. ($25 for current MHC students.) For more information: (202) 3632483; mfconnell@msn.com
FLORIDA Flagler Beach Kathryn
Hansman-Spice ’66. Two guest rooms with queen Murphy beds. Overlooking A1A and the Atlantic Ocean. Located thirty miles S. of St. Augustine and twenty-five miles N. of Daytona Beach. Ninety minutes from Orlando. Pool and tennis court. $60 double. $40 single. For more information: (386) 4395616; khst@bellsouth.net ILLINOIS Urbana Pola Fotitch Triandis
’52. $50 single. $60 double. Up-
stairs suite—bedroom, bath, and lots of closet space. Can sleep up to three. Close to University of Illinois campus. For more information: (217) 344 6722 (h) or (217) 898-4820 (c); PTRIANDI@uiuc.edu LOUISIANA New Orleans Sandy Fulton
Rosenthal ’79. Sept.–May $80; June–August. $50. King-size bed, private bath; high-speed wireless. One block from famous St. Charles Avenue street car, ten minutes from convention district and French Quarter. For more information: (504) 891-8437; HoppinHill@gmail.com
MAINE Brunswick Josephine Hornor
Belknap ’52. $60 double, $45 single. Five minutes to Bowdoin College, easy access to I-295. For more information: (207) 721-8505; jbelknap@ gwi.net
MASSACHUSETTS South Shore Club Coordinator Marcia Wickes Jacob ’49.
Quincy, MA. $35. For more information: (617) 471-1093 MICHIGAN Ann Arbor Club Coordinator Tina Schultz Smith
’51. $30 per person, $50 for double, $15 for students. For more information: haltina@ mediaone.net; (734) 662-5175
MISSISSIPPI Jackson Marlane Chill Dove
’69. Single $50, double $60. Queen-size bed, private bath, no smoking. Located in northeast Jackson, ten minutes from downtown. For more information: (601) 713-2050; marlanechill@aol.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE Peterborough (Southern NH) Nancy Marks Perkins
’50. $30 per person, $40 per couple. Not available June–September. For more information: (603) 924-6042; NPER1950@aol.com Seacoast-Portsmouth Nancy
Reynolds Beck ’48. $35 single; $60 double. For more information: (603) 436-0813
alumnaematters
tries to the HPV vaccine, I work closely with my policy colleagues here at Merck, and have had the opportunity to meet with health ministers and leading African medical practitioners, seeking their input on the needs for comprehensive cancer care in their countries.”
NEW YORK Larchmont (Southern Westchester County) Sunny
Park Suh ’91. One room with queen bed and shared bath. $40 for single occupancy, $65 for double. $25 for current MHC students. Located just north of NYC. Accessible by the New Haven Metro North and Northeast Amtrak trains. For more information: (914) 833-5139; sunny@e-suh.com
PENNSYLVANIA Malvern (Philadelphia) Anne
Marie Dattelbaum Bedford ’60. Two rooms with king-size beds, one bath. $40 for one room (sleeps one or two), $80 for two rooms (sleeps up to four). Forty-five minutes west of Philadelphia, ten minutes from the King of Prussia malls, near Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges on the Western Main Line, five minutes from the train. Private second floor of single-family residence. Available September 5–June 15. For more information: (610) 296-5329; Annemar@ verizon.net
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100% OF YOU R G I F T S U PP ORTS 100% OF OU R STU D E NTS
Every year, our students receive a hidden subsidy. Currently, it equals $20,000. That’s the difference between tuition and the actual cost of a Mount Holyoke education. Our students need you. You can make a difference. Please make your gift today. Thank you.
The Annual Fund www.mtholyoke.edu/go/mhcgive
C o u r t e s y H A S T E D H U N T, N e w Yo r k , a n d B a u d o i n L e b o n G a l l e r y, Pa r i s / K e i t e l m a n G a l l e r y, B r u s s e l s © 1 9 8 3 Th e L i s e t t e M o d e l F o u n d at i o n I n c .
bulletinboard Public Invited to Wed in MHC Chapels This September, MHC expanded its policy for weddings in Abbey Memorial Chapel and Abbey Interfaith Sanctuary to include the general public. (In the past, only those associated with the MHC community: faculty, staff, students, alumnae and their immediate family—father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter—could rent the facilities.) Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation This information published as required by USPS; data taken from form 3526-R. • Publication title: Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly; publication number 0027-2493; published quarterly; subscriptions are free • Office of Publication: Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., S. Hadley, MA 01075-1486; editor and contact person: Emily Weir, 413-538-2301; publisher and owner: Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College • Circulation (based on summer ’09 issue): Net press run 31,421: requested subscriptions 30,221 + nonrequested (campus mail) distribution: 1,200
The wedding rental fee for either location is $600 for members of the general public and $510 (a 15 percent discount) for members of the MHC community. Weddings planned for the months of September through May can be reserved up to one year in advance. Weddings planned for June, July, and August may be reserved up to two years in advance. Weddings may not take place during regularly scheduled college events or holidays, such as orientation, Family Weekend, Christmas vespers week, commencement, and reunion weekends. The chapel is also not available during the month of April and parts of November. During the academic year, MHC cannot accommodate Sunday weddings, and Friday weddings and rehearsals must be at 6 p.m. or later. For more information, go to www. mtholyoke.edu/go/weddings.
Coney Island, Standing by Lisette Model
It’s Coming! Vespers 2009
Fall Exhibit Features Lisette Model Photos
Save the date for traditional Christmas vespers in Boston on Friday, December 11, 2009, at the Old South Church. For information, contact Cerise Jalelian at 781-861-7446 or clarkkent128@verizon.net. (A pre-vespers dinner is being organized for alumnae who graduated in the 1970s. Email Jane Homan Antin ’74 at jantin1@partners.org for place and time.)
A selection of 120 vintage works by Lisette Model, one of the last century’s most significant photographers, and twelve of her illustrious students, including Diane Arbus, Larry Fink, and Bruce Weber, are on view at the MHC Art Museum through December.
A native of Vienna, Model lived in France before moving to New York in 1938. On view are many of her most iconic images, which collectively convey a portrait of America at all social levels, from Coney Island and jazz clubs to local hangouts and Fifth Avenue. Aperture, the nonprofit organization devoted to photography, organized the exhibit.
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travelopportunities March 2–13, 2010 Mysteries of the Mekong: Saigon to Angkor Wat Join us on a unique ninenight journey, highlighted by a five-night cruise down the Mekong River, exploring the history, culture, and modern life of Cambodia and Vietnam. We’ll experience the allure of Indochina while cruising in style and comfort aboard the deluxe, colonialstyle MV Jayavarman and staying in luxury hotels in Siem Reap and Saigon. We travel from the sleepy pockets of “Old Asia” in Phnom Penh to the French colonial disMekong trip
tricts of cosmopolitan Saigon. In the lush jungles of Cambodia, we discover twelfthcentury Khmer temples and the sculptures of Angkor Wat. In Vietnam, explore splendid temples, marketplaces, and rural villages. The trip also features an evening of Khmer dance and cuisine, meetings with local residents and storytellers, and a lecture in the historic Saigon residence of former United States Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge on the evolution of US-Vietnam relations. A preprogram option of two nights in Bangkok, Thailand, is also available—or extend your stay with a three-night postprogram option in Hanoi.
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Price: from approximately $3,195 per person plus air. For reservations or for more information, please call Gohagan & Company Travel at 1-800-922-3088. March 6–13, 2010 Belize: Maya Ruins, Rainforests, and Tropical Reefs Join us on this journey to fascinating Belize. We will explore the biodiversity of the rainforest, the magnificent remains of the ancient Maya civilization, and the rich marine life on the world’s second-largest barrier reef. We begin on South Water Caye, a secluded island on the Barrier Reef. We explore the reef by boat, search for wildlife in the mangrove swamps, and visit the Smithsonian Research Center on an adjacent island. Of course, we’ll also have a chance to swim and snorkel amid an astounding array of corals and tropical fish. Then we travel inland on the Hummingbird Highway into Guatemala, to one of the greatest of all the Maya ruins, Tikal, a UNESCO world heritage site. Staying overnight close to the ruins, we will take in both the sunset and the sunrise over the massive stepped-pyramids. Then we travel to the junglecovered hills of western Belize and discover the secrets of the rainforest as we search for medicinal plants, monkeys, iguanas, and exotic birds. We also float down a jungle river and visit the ancient Maya site of Cahal Pech.
Belize trip
Price: $3,695 per person plus air. For reservations or for more information, please contact Siemer & Hand Travel at 1-800-451-4321 (ext. 303) or at maec@siemerhand.com. April 8–16, 2010 Cruising the Canary Islands: Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar Journey along sea routes once plied by Roman galleys, Spanish explorers, and Barbary
pirates to the sun-washed Canary Islands, the fabled coast of Morocco, Spain’s Moorish province of Andalusia, and the fortresslike bastion of Gibraltar. Throughout your voyage, travel aboard the MS Le Diamant, an intimate, deluxe vessel that provides a memorable small-ship experience. A program of attractively priced shore excursions will be available, including opportunities to admire exquisite Spanish-colonial architecture and the dramatic scenery on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma, and observe the contrast of ancient and modern in Morocco in cosmopolitan Casablanca and the medieval kasbahs of Rabat. Price: From approximately $2,595 plus air. For reservations or for more information, please contact Gohagan & Company Travel at 1-800922-3088.
Canary Islands trip
Interested? To request a brochure for any of these trips, please call the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2300 or visit our Web site at www. alumnae.mtholyoke.edu. For additional information, please call the travel company sponsoring the trip.
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class&clubproducts
For the benefit of the Alumnae Association’s Alumnae Scholar Program, these MHC-related products are available for sale from clubs and classes. Details and full descriptions of all products are available at www. alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/shop/alumgifts.php Class of 1989 transcribed from the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram of 1862. Contact Kathryn McCarthy Popoff ’92 at kpopoff1@ yahoo.com or go to www. mhc1992.com/devo/stuff.asp.
Class of 1996
MHC Visors. $11. Send orders, with checks payable to MHC class of 1996, to Jessica Dial ’96, 955 Jane Place, Pasadena, CA 91105. BOSTON CLUB
Mount Holyoke Club, to Jane Chandler Weiss ’59, 492 Beacon Street #33, Boston, MA 02115-1002 (617-2675504). Orders for the MHC retro license plate are available for online purchase or by mail. Go to www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/~boston/?Classified/ MHC_Boston_merchandise for more information. BRIDGEPORT CLUB
Class of 1994 It is easy being green, with this 100 percent organic cotton canvas tote from the green griffin class of 1989. Tote has green griffin imprint on front pocket, and “It’s Easy Being Green” (a reference to our mother Earth, green classes, and ’89’s Junior Show) on the back. Dimensions: 18” w x 15” h x 4” d, with 24” handles. Made in USA. $15 each, or 2 for $25. To order, please e-mail 89tote@mtholyoke.edu (or eobrien@lakesidetitleandescrow.com) Class of 1991
Show your school spirit with this red, earth-friendly tote bag. Made from nonwoven polypropylene, this 13x13-inch bag is ideal for all of your shopping trips or a stop at the farmer’s market. Cost: $5/bag, includes shipping. Please contact Alison Pugh ’94 or go to www. mhc1994.com. Class of 1995
MHC Alumna Logo T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, children’s items, tote bags, stickers, and more. To purchase, go to www.cafepress. com/mhcalumnae or www. mhc91.com. Class of 1992
Poster of Mount Holyoke Blue Laws Calligraphy by Andrea Pax ’92. $20. Ten actual blue laws
Got Milk (& Cookies)? cotton onesie. The front reads “Got milk (& cookies)?” and on the bum is “mhc.” $12. Contact Michelle Chuk ’95 at 231 14th Street NE, Washington, DC, 20002. Visit www.mhc1995. com/shopping.htm for order forms.
Mount Holyoke Mirrors, Desk Boxes, and Paintings Mary Lyon Tower and Field Memorial Gate. Mirror, $228; desk box, $228; painting, $175. Reed & Barton SilverPlated Paul Revere Bowls 4¼”, $50; 5¼”, $60; 6½”, $80; 8”, $100; 9”, $140. Chelsea Clocks: Constitution: nickel forged solid brass case and base, nickel finish, screw bezel. 3½” dial, 5¼” W, 5½” H, 2⅛” D, $450; Round Desk Alarm Clock in brass: forged brass case, quartz movement with alarm function, 3” diameter, $175; Embassy: forged solid brass case, hinged back door 3” Dial, 4½” W, 5¾” H, 2½” D; $350; Presidential: Forged solid brass case, screw bezel, mahogany base. 4½” Dial, 9½” W x 7½” H x 4” D. Mount Holyoke Chairs armchair (standard chair), $400; Boston rocker, $385; swivel desk chairs and lamps (prices available upon request). Retro License Plates Mount Holyoke College license plate featuring the old college logo. $5. Ordering Through the Boston Club: Send orders for MHC mirrors, desk boxes, paintings, chairs, Paul Revere bowls, and Chelsea clocks, with checks payable to Boston
Wine glass charms $20 each or two for $38. Cell Phone Lariats $8 each or two for $15. To purchase, contact obrienlaura@sbcglobal.net or at 203-374-9300. BRITAIN CLUB
Traditional English Mount Holyoke Coasters and Placemats with four campus scenes. Set of four place mats at $70 per set plus $10.35 for postage and handling per set. Coasters of six campus scenes are $35 per set plus $4.95 for postage and handling per set. To view and purchase online, go to www.alumnae.mtholyoke. edu/go/britainclub or send check payable to Mount Holyoke Club of England to Julie Ogg, Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Mary E. Woolley Hall, 50 College South Bangladesh andSt., India trip Hadley, MA 01075.
Mou n t Ho lyo k e Al u m na e Qua r t e r ly
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CAPE COD CLUB
Notecards and Postcards “Boats and Fishing Shacks” note cards (6” x 7” with matching envelopes in packets of four) reproduced in six colors from an original handcut woodblock. “Sandpipers on the Beach” postcards reproduced from an etching in aqua in a packet of ten. $5 each. Contact Barbara H. Tucker (daughter of the artist, Marcia Herrick Howe ’24), 175 Winter Street, Lincoln, MA 01773 (781259-0204). CINCINNATI CLUB
Wedgewood Plates $50 each. Specific plates available include: Cornelia Clapp Laboratory, Lyman Williston Hall (burned 1917); Mary Brigham Hall. To find out which plates are still available for purchase, contact Désirée Gordon Bruggeman ’88 at bdbruggs@hotmail.com. Please contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for her address or phone number. GENESEE VALLEY CLUB
Pet Leashes Sturdy, polypropylene pet leashes are each 6 feet long and 3/4-inch wide with a heavy-duty metal clasp. Leashes are royal blue, with MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE woven in white block letters with decorative paw prints. NEW PRICE:
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$8 each (includes shipping). Please send a check payable to the “Genesee Valley Mount Holyoke Club” to Sue Bonafini ’82. (Contact the Alumnae Association at 413538-2303 for her address). GREATER SOUTH HADLEY CLUB The Orchards DVD/ VHS From Tee to Green: The History of The Orchards $19.95. Cocktail Napkins with college seal in royal blue. Packages of 25, $3 each. Hand towels with blue MHC seal. $5 each. Luggage straps $15.
100 Percent Silk Scarves depicting the Mt. Holyoke range, $66 or $84 depending on size. Contact Cindy White Morrell ’68 at cmorrell@mtholyoke or the Alumnae Association at 413538-2303 for her mailing address. HOUSTON CLUB Montblanc Pens: Generation Pens Fountain pen $235; rollerball $175; ballpoint $165; pencil $115. Meisterstück Solitaire Doué Pens Fountain pen $495; rollerball $375; ballpoint $375; pencil $375. Black leather pen case available for one ($85) or two ($95) writing instruments. Special Edition Millennium Noblesse Oblige Pens Pencil $120; ballpoint $120; rollerball $135; fountain pen $200. Contact: Mary Dethloff Dryselius ’66 at mdrysse@gmail.com or the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.
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LYON’S PRIDE
Mount Holyoke Notecards A set of ten (blank inside) with matching envelopes, $12. Contact Donna Albino ’83, One Beacon Ave, Salem, MA 01970 or dalbino@ mtholyoke.edu. Purchase Lyon’s Pride Paraphernalia, including clothing, mugs, cards, and mouse pads with the Lyon’s Pride logo, at www.cafepress. com/mhlyonspride. NORTHERN NEW JERSEY CLUB Gift Candy Mints, 8 oz. box, $11. Almond Butter Crunch, 9.5 oz. box with college seal, $12. From Buddy Squirrel in Wisconsin: bite-size Almond Butter Toffee, 7.5 oz. box, $11. Endangered Species Candy Bars, 4 for $10. Virginia Peanuts (plain), $11. Contact Suzanne Fresh Anderson ’58 at dublin5977@aol.com or the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information. Alumna Window Decal $2. Contact Carolyn ConantHiley ’83 at mwhiley@ optonline.net or the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.
PUGET SOUND CLUB Books: Let’s Go Camping in a National Park, by Jean Valens Bullard ’46, for children and grandchildren. Write “MHC Gift” on check, payable to Sirpos Press, 4611 35th Ave. SW, Apt. 513, Seattle, WA 98126 (206-9380837). Catch a Falling Star: Living with Alzheimer’s by Jean Valens Bullard ’46 and Betty Spohr. $9.95. Order from the author at Sirpos Press (see above). ST. LOUIS CLUB Postcards Packages of fifty, $10 includes s/h. Make checks payable to Mount Holyoke Club of St. Louis; send to Amae Kurre ’03 at amae_mhc@hotmail.com or via the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information. WESTCHESTER (N.Y.) CLUB
Contact Sharon Campbell Rubens ’73 at rubens@ cyburben.com for order information. Alumnae Association
PITTSBURGH CLUB
Blazer Buttons 24-karat gold plate with enameled MHC logo From the Ben Silver Collection. Send check for $75/set, made payable to “Mount Holyoke Club of Pittsburgh” to MHC Blazer Buttons, 1462 N. Euclid Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.
The De Longa Print Limited edition linocut print of block carving by Leonard A. De Longa: features medieval subject matter; $50. Ordering: Make check payable to Alumnae Association of MHC. MA residents add 6.25 percent sales tax. Send with order to the Alumnae Association (Attn: Products), MHC, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486.
Send in your photo with a donation to the Founder’s Fund and we’ll MARY LYONIZE you in our next issue. YOU, A POP ICON? Absolutely. We think “lyonizing” you is the least we can do to thank you for making a gift to the Founder’s Fund. The endowment fund of the independent Alumnae Association, the Founder’s Fund is a crucial source of support for alumnae postgraduate work, creative projects, and independent research. Alumnae generosity has made a difference for generations, and we think it’s time to celebrate it. To find out more about making a gift to the Founder’s Fund (and about sending an optional photo with your donation), please visit www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/FF. Or simply mail a check made out to the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Mary E. Woolley Hall, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075.
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher
Ben Barnhart
I have practiced meditation for years, so I was excited when psychology professor Becky Packard suggested readings on mindfulness for her seminar on motivation. I read about it in a completely new way, and offered to lead the class in a mindfulness meditation. We closed our eyes and listened to birds chirping, girls laughing outside, the wistful ringing of the bells above us, our own deep breathing. It was amazing to use this special campus room for an academic class. —Molly Alvin ’10 (at left in red top)