A D O C U M E N TA R I A N ’ S TA L E
O f b ones and b irds A L U M N A T R U S T E E E L E C T I O N S
Mills Quarterly Spring 2016
Maria Muto Waterman ’79
Photo by Dana Davis
Program Coordinator at the Orinda Association Donor to the Mills College Annual Fund
“My dollars have a meaningful impact at Mills, and it was a pleasure to make my gift to the College over the phone with the help of a student caller. Hearing about her experiences reinforced my love of Mills and reminded me of how I benefited from the nurturing environment there.” — Maria Join Maria and other alumnae by contributing to the College every year. Your gift—no matter the size—strengthens Mills’ national reputation for outstanding programs and faculty, and sends a message about how much you value your Mills education.
Show how much Mills means to you. Make your gift today. Give to the Mills College Annual Fund by calling 510.430.2366, picking up the phone when a student calls you, visiting alumnae.mills.edu/give, or returning the enclosed envelope.
8
12
24
Mills Quarterly
contents 2
Spring 2016 Resetting the AAMC-College partnership The president of the Alumnae Association of Mills College discusses the important role alumnae play in shaping the life of the College—and how that role may evolve in the months to come.
3
Final projects: pulling down barriers, updating the curriculum As President Alecia DeCoudreaux nears the end of her tenure, efforts continue to create a relevant curriculum, ensure access to education, and engage alumnae ever more deeply in building a strong future for Mills.
8
Creature features by Linda Schmidt A look at the origins, care, and uses of the fascinating collection of specimens in the Mills biology department.
12 Filmmaking from the other side of the boat by Dawn Cunningham ’85 From pirates to pornographers, documentary filmmaker Meg Smaker ’12 seeks out unorthodox perspectives to help make sense of the world.
14 Elect your alumna trustee Vote for your representative on the Mills College Board of Trustees and the AAMC Board of Governors. See the ballot on the inside back cover.
24 A portal to the past A historic photo album preserves the impressions of a campus visitor in 1885.
Departments 4
Mills Matters
16 Class Notes 22 In Memoriam
On the cover: “Vista through the acacias is taken from Prospect Hill and shows the high hills back of the College—and ample range for exercise and scientific collections,” wrote Reverend Rodney Tabor when he photographed this image of the campus well over a century ago. Learn more on page 24. Photo digitization courtesy Vince Beiderbecke, California State Library.
A Message from the AAMC President
Resetting the AAMC-College partnership By Lucy Do ’75
H
ow can alumnae play a more
Among these princi-
substantive and strategic role
ples are commitments
in the life of the campus—and
to support Mills’ mis-
in shaping the College’s future? Ever since I began my three-year term
sion as a liberal arts college
for
women,
as president of the Alumnae Association
to value the voice of
of Mills College (AAMC) in July 2013, this
our alumnae in all
question keeps coming up in discussions
institutional matters,
with our Board of Governors, alumnae
to
volunteers, and active members of our
alumnae interactions,
branches and clubs across the coun-
and to build stronger
try. Many feel that the Memorandum
alumnae
of Agreement (MOA) that the AAMC
and services.
foster
student-
networks
and College signed in 2007 has left our
Following the summit, we developed a
graduates with too few opportunities for
process for redefining the AAMC-College
engagement with the College. Others
partnership. In brief, that process con-
If you have not received an email
have found ways to play significant
sists of these steps:
inviting your input on the principles to
roles—in areas ranging from fundraising
1. A working group, chaired by AAMC
be included in the compact, it’s probably
to mentoring students—by working with
Vice President Marge Nicholson, MA ’96,
because we don’t have an email address
the AAMC and the College’s alumnae
is continuing to develop the key princi-
for you in our records. But you can read
relations and development staff.
ples for the future of our partnership.
more about the process—including a full
President DeCoudreaux and I share a
2. The working group has already
report on the Alumnae Summit—and
vision of a stronger partnership between
invited all alumnae to give input on
share your thoughts by logging into
the College and the AAMC that will
these principles through an online sur-
this AAMC web page within the online
ensure that all alumnae feel a vibrant
vey and is eliciting input from the cam-
alumnae community: http://alumnae.
and purposeful sense of community in
pus community.
mills.edu/compact. Or you may call the
their interactions with the College and
3. Based on this input as well as the
AAMC office at 510.430.2110 to request
each other. We want to lay the ground-
Alumnae Summit discussion, the group
further information.
work for this revitalized partnership
is now drafting a “compact” that states
before our presidencies come to a close
the
the
new alumna trustee (see page 14 for
this summer.
AAMC-College partnership; the draft
information on the candidates) and con-
will be shared with alumnae for feed-
sider volunteering for other AAMC lead-
vened an Alumnae Summit that brought
back.
ership opportunities. Whether you vote
together representatives of the AAMC
4. Our goal is to have the compact
or volunteer or both, you are helping to
Board of Governors, branch and club
ready for approval by the AAMC Board
shape the alumnae-College relationship.
leaders, other actively engaged alumnae,
of Governors and the College Board of
representatives of the President’s Cabinet
Trustees at our mid-May meetings.
resent the interests of our alumnae as
and College staff, and Chair of the Board
5. Once approved, the compact will
president of the AAMC. I am confident
of Trustees Kathleen Burke. The group
serve as the basis for negotiations
that the process I’ve described above
began to identify the general principles
between the College and the AAMC to
will provide alumnae with a significant,
that should form the foundation for a
create a new operating agreement that
satisfying role in strengthening both the
stronger alumnae-College relationship.
will replace the existing MOA.
AAMC and the College for the future.
To this end, last November we con-
2
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
fundamental
principles
for
Please also remember to vote for our
It has been my deepest honor to rep-
A Message from the President of Mills College
Final projects: pulling down barriers, updating the curriculum By Alecia A. DeCoudreaux t this point in the spring semester,
A
We are still exploring ways of fund-
many of our graduating seniors
ing the book art program; most notably,
Although Bay Area residents are among
are working on the most exciting
we are attempting to identify donors to
the most highly educated in the nation,
assignments of their academic careers: a
endow it. And we are refining proposals for
fewer than half of Oakland’s high school
thesis, performance, exhibition, or other
changes across our curriculum, including
students go on to enter college, and only
project that serves as the capstone of
the addition of new undergraduate majors
10 percent complete college within five
their Mills experience. At the same time,
and graduate programs. We will share our
years. Many students face multiple barri-
they are beginning to bid farewell to the
plans with you as they develop.
ers to earning a college degree, from ris-
faculty, staff, and friends who made their college experience so memorable.
Removing barriers to admission
Engaging in community partnerships
ing financial costs to lack of mentoring. In January, I signed the “Oakland
I understand and share their feel-
The measure of a woman’s ambition
Promise College Pathway Partnership,”
ings more than ever this year. My ten-
and intelligence is so much more than
making Mills a core participant in an
ure comes to a close at the end of June.
a standardized test score. Some high-
effort to triple the number of college
Yet the initiatives that I am undertak-
potential students just don’t test well,
graduates from Oakland within the next
ing now with my colleagues at Mills are
often because they lack the financial
10 years. With support from a range
some of the most exciting and transfor-
resources for expensive test preparation
of public and private institutions, the
mative since I became president nearly
courses. As a result, standardized tests
Oakland Promise will employ ground-
five years ago. In addition to revitalizing
often present an especially challenging
breaking strategies, such as establish-
the alumnae-College relationship, which
barrier to college access for students
ing a college savings program for every
AAMC President Lucy Do addresses in
who are socioeconomically disadvan-
Oakland student. The higher education
her letter (opposite), we are well on our
taged or are students of color. These stu-
institutions in this partnership—includ-
way to meeting key imperatives of Mills’
dents should not be excluded from Mills
ing Mills and UC Berkeley—will contrib-
strategic plan, including revising our cur-
on the basis of a low Scholastic Aptitude
ute to the Oakland Promise through a
riculum, strengthening our commitment
Test (SAT) or American College Testing
focused effort to enroll Oakland stu-
to inclusion, and developing community
(ACT) score.
dents and provide them with scholarship
partnerships. Because of these efforts and
For these reasons, we will no longer
opportunities, counseling, mentoring,
others, our next president will assume
require SAT or ACT scores as part of stu-
and career services—helping to ensure
leadership of a college with strong foun-
dents’ admission applications (see page
that they will graduate and find mean-
dations for a sustainable future.
5). The best predictor for success in col-
ingful careers.
Revising our academic programs
lege is a student’s high school record and grade-point average, so we will continue
In the last issue of the Mills Quarterly, I
to examine all applicants rigorously,
Throughout its history, Mills has
shared news of our work to update our
with a focus on the qualifications that
been committed to providing women
program offerings to meet the needs
really matter: Did they take difficult
with access to education of the highest
and interests of students in the years
classes in high school—and succeed?
caliber and to overcoming social barriers
to come. Since then, our dance faculty
Do they possess intellectual curiosity?
that exclude women from educational
has redesigned the undergraduate dance
Have
leadership
and career opportunities. The campus
major to incorporate greater cross-
skills? This approach will not only cre-
community prides itself on its commit-
cultural and interdisciplinary activity,
ate a more inclusive and diverse campus
ment to diversity, inclusivity, and aca-
attract more dance majors, and achieve
environment, but will also strengthen
demic excellence. It is my hope that these
cost savings—ensuring that the under-
our reputation for enrolling creative,
initiatives will further this proud legacy
graduate dance major will continue to
independent thinkers.
long after the end of my presidency.
they
demonstrated
be offered at Mills. SPRING 2016
3
Mills Matters Legal scholar named new president of Mills College Elizabeth L. Hillman, selected from
the University of California, Hastings
a pool of exceptional candidates in a
College of the Law. She previously was a
comprehensive national search, will
professor and director of faculty devel-
take office as the 14th president of Mills
opment at Rutgers University School of
book chapters and journal articles,
College on July 1. A staunch proponent
Law and has taught at Yale University
was the principal researcher of a com-
of women’s education and the liberal
and the US Air Force Academy, receiv-
parative study of national military
arts, Hillman’s wide-ranging academic
ing awards for teaching, scholarly excel-
responses to sexual assault commissioned
achievement, professional success, and
lence, and service. She also served as an
by the United Nations Office of the
continuing intellectual inquiry provide
officer in the US Air Force.
High Commissioner for Human Rights,
her with a strong foundation for her
Hillman received her bachelor of
Elizabeth L. Hillman
spoke out on ending the “don’t ask/don’t
science degree in electrical engineer-
tell” policy, and has advised on other
ing from Duke University, a master’s
military issues such as eliminating bans
of the administrative challenges and
degree in history from the University of
on women in combat and transgender
opportunities in higher education and,
Pennsylvania, a law degree from Yale Law
service members.
as a professor, the joys and rewards
School, and a PhD in history, with a focus
Hillman was selected by a 15-person
of engaging and teaching students,”
on women’s history, from Yale University.
Presidential Search Committee, headed
role in leading the College. “Hillman has a keen understanding
Her scholarly work has focused
said Kathleen Burke, chair of the
by Katie Sanborn ’83, and confirmed
Mills College Board of Trustees, who
largely on modern United States mili-
by a vote of the Mills College Board of
announced the decision on March 1.
tary law and history and the impact of
Trustees. She will succeed current Mills
Hillman currently serves as provost and
gender and sexual norms on military
President Alecia A. DeCoudreaux, who
academic dean and professor of law at
culture. She has authored numerous
came to the College in 2011. “Beth was a clear choice to serve as our next president,” said Sanborn. “She is committed to women-centered education, and is a compelling, thoughtful leader. Throughout her career she has built a
Volume CIV Number 3 Spring 2016
reputation for developing diverse coali-
President: Alecia A. DeCoudreaux
tions and communities. Her experience
Chief of Staff and Vice President for Communications and External Relations: Renée Jadushlever
in the military and subsequent work on
Editor: Linda Schmidt Design and Art Direction: Nancy Siller Wilson Contributing Writer: Dawn Cunningham ’85
military equity has honed her deep sense of social justice, especially regarding women and gender.” “I’m looking forward to leading an insti-
Editorial Assistance: Russell Schoch
tution that so closely aligns with my own
The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.
desire to advance the status of women in
Copyright © 2016, Mills College
our society and culture,” said Hillman, who plans to live with her wife and their five school-age children on the Mills
Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312
College campus. “Mills’ history of remak-
Printed on recycled paper containing 10 percent post-consumer waste.
for both liberal arts and women’s educa-
ing itself to meet the changing demands tion bodes well for its ability to sustain the excellence and innovation that marks its past. The need for colleges like Mills to
(Please use outline)
flourish is as important now as ever, and I welcome the opportunity to guide the College through these challenging times.”
4
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
doug Oak le y
Here comes the sun
First-year student Alexis Joshua (left) and juniors Eileen Saltman and Lydia Fojtik (right) get some outdoor study time in while using solar-powered computer charging stations.
A fleet of 12 mobile solar power collectors rolled onto campus in November, part of the College’s on-
energy. Various units come equipped
going commitment to sustainability
with light towers to increase safety
sustainability, says that the “web of
and reduced fossil-fuel dependence.
and security on campus or illuminate
units on campuses across the coun-
Mills is the first of many colleges
nighttime events, outdoor work stations
try brings solar down to eye level and
nationwide to receive these units, at no
that charge electronic devices such
demonstrates that, by working together,
cost, from DC Solar Freedom (DCSF).
as laptops or cell phones, or charging
colleges and universities, activists, and
Eric Sirotkin, DCSF director of global
Each unit includes two solar panels
stations for electric vehicles. They can
corporations can take steps to overcome
mounted on a wheeled platform, with
also serve as critical backup generators
our dependence on fossil fuels and
the capability to store the collected
in the event of an emergency.
boldly confront our climate crisis.”
College takes steps to broaden access to education Mills College has implemented two new
ing at test-optional colleges who did
initiatives that will help expand the
not submit SAT and ACT scores were
College’s longstanding commitment
more likely to be students of color,
to student diversity and inclusivity.
students with economic need, or the
First, students applying for enroll-
first in their families to attend col-
ment in fall 2016 will not be required
lege. In addition, the study found no
to submit standardized test scores
statistical differences in either college
from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
grade-point average or graduation
or American College Testing (ACT).
rates between students who submitted
high school with the expectations,
The application process will remain
test scores and those who did not.
resources, and support to complete
quite rigorous: student applicants will
In addition, Mills is one of 12 north-
college and be successful in the
be evaluated on a wide range of crite-
ern California colleges and universities
ria, including academic performance
to sign the Oakland Promise College
as reflected in submitted transcripts, as
Pathway Partnership. Oakland Promise
financial aid and mentoring support
well as other qualities such as intel-
is a collaboration between Libby
to help increase the percentage of
lectual curiosity, leadership, creativity,
Schaaf, mayor of Oakland; Antwan
Oakland high school students who
and civic engagement.
Wilson, superintendent of the Oakland
graduate from college. Signatories to
Unified School District; the East Bay
the agreement also pledge to collabo-
schools nationwide that have made
College Fund; and local university
rate on recruitment, college advising,
standardized test scores optional. A
leaders. Its goal is to ensure that
and college visits, and to address
2014 study found that students enroll-
every Oakland child graduates from
issues related to placement testing.
Mills joins nearly 200 other top-tier
career of their choice. Oakland Promise asks Mills to offer
5
Donor gifts enrich scholarship, research, and facilities Mills College gratefully acknowledges
awarded Mills the first of a three-part
Scholarship Fund.
the following gifts, grants, and pledges
The Bernard E. and Alba Witkin
grant to the Educating for Democracy in
of $50,000 or more received from July 1
Charitable Foundation made a gift to
the Digital Age research program led by
to December 31, 2015.
the Mills College Children’s School.
Professor of Education Joseph Kahne.
The two-part gift to the Infant Care
The grant will help create a curriculum
received generous contributions from
Program Assistantship and Children’s
on civic engagement for Oakland high
Trustee Wendy Hull Brody ’68, Linda
School Scholarship Fund will provide
school students.
Pitts Custard ’60, Ann Sulzburger
professional development for teachers
Wolff ’42, and Board of Trustees Chair
and financial aid for families of children
tion to the Mary Ann Childers Kinkead
Kathleen Burke and her husband, Ralph
attending the school.
Endowed Fund for Faculty Innovation in
The Lisser Hall renovation project
Davis. Construction on the $8.3 million project is expected to begin in July 2017.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continued its support of the school-
Jordan “Pooh” Kinkead made a dona-
memory of his wife. A distribution from the estate of Mark
wide lesson study project at the School
and Melody Clarke Teppola ’64 will
ports the Kathleen Burke and Ralph
of Education. The Gates gift supports
support the Melody and Mark Teppola
Davis Fund for Urban Farm Leadership.
research in the methodology of creating
Distinguished Visiting Professorship,
school lessons. Research findings will
which brings scholars in the arts or
Blackwood ’65 made gifts to Mills’
give teachers the tools to help students
humanities to campus, as well as the
Greatest Need, an unrestricted fund that
master complex subject matter.
Melody Clarke Teppola Prize for Creative
The Burke and Davis gift also sup-
Burke, Brody, and Eve Chater
allows the College flexibility in spending where it has the highest impact. Trustee Marilyn Schuster, MA ’65,
The Hellman Foundation donated to the Hellman Math and Science Summer
display original thinking and superior
Bridge Program, which gives students
writing skills.
made a pledge to the Class of 1965
a supportive academic transition into
Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship
college.
Fund. Trustee Barbara Ahmajan Wolfe
Writing, which is awarded to students who
The estate of Gertrude “Judy” Snider Schiffman ’52 made a gift to the Rubin
The Stuart Foundation made a grant
and Judy Schiffman Scholarship in support
’65 made a gift in support of the
to the Mills Teacher Scholars program,
of an undergraduate student. Mills also
Lorry I. Lokey GSB Accreditation, the
which provides professional develop-
received distributions from the estate of
Presidential Transition Fund, and the
ment for urban Bay Area teachers.
Judith McGhee ’76 and from the estate of
Class of 1965 Endowed Undergraduate
The Thomas J. Long Foundation
Marvin E. Locke.
Home is where the art is
Carrie Hott, After-Hour, 2015, sculptural installation with sound
Three new artists are working on the Mills campus in the second year of the Art + Process + Ideas (A+P+I) residence program. Interdisciplinary artist Carrie Hott was named one of “24 Artists to Watch” in Modern Painters Magazine in 2015. A co-founder of the Royal NoneSuch Gallery in Oakland, California, she received her BFA from Arizona State University and her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. She will present a permanent project, The Key Room, at the Headlands Center for the Arts in spring 2016. K.r.m. Mooney graduated from California College of the Arts in 2012 with a BFA in jewelry/metal arts and has exhibited at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art in
Times Square to international video art festivals. She graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009 with an MFA in art and technology. Throughout their six-month residency, these artists will
San Francisco as well as venues in New York, London, and
engage with the Mills community through public lectures,
Vienna.
studio visits, and workshops. The program culminates in an
Surabhi Saraf is a media artist, composer, and performer whose videos have been shown from New York’s 6
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
exhibition at the Mills College Art Museum featuring new work created by the artists while on campus.
Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students Percussion professor and avant-garde
Manhattan. Now in its second season
Distribution, Power, and Payoff,”
musician William Winant, MFA ’82,
on WGN America, Manhattan tells the
a paper examining patterns of lead-
was one of 16 artists nationwide to
story of the building of the atomic
ership in a set of small-scale mam-
receive an unrestricted grant from the
bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
malian societies, including humans
Foundation for Contemporary Arts, a
The series is produced by Thomas
and other social mammals. The
nonprofit founded by artists John Cage
Schlamme, one of the executive
study, published in Trends in Ecology
and Jasper Johns. The $40,000 awards
producers of The West Wing.
& Evolution, brought together
support pioneering work in dance,
English Professor Juliana Spahr’s
experts in biology, anthropology,
music/sound, performance art/theater,
book, That Winter the Wolf Came,
mathematics, and psychology to con-
poetry, and the visual arts. Winant has
examines the effects of ecological
sider how leaders promote collective
performed and collaborated with Sonic
and economic catastrophe. A recent
actions such as traveling, hunting, or
Youth, Mr. Bungle, John Zorn, Oingo
New York Times review described the
fighting cooperatively. Their analysis
Boingo, Yo-Yo Ma, and Keith Jarrett.
book as “nine thoughtful, wiry works
finds that—though there are notable
Choreographer and dancer Nora
(three in prose, six in verse) that ask
exceptions—leadership status is gen-
Chipaumire, MA ’00, MFA ’02, also was
how it felt and what it means to remain
erally achieved as individuals gain
awarded a grant from the foundation.
a disillusioned opponent of capitalism,
experience, in both humans and
Her works have appeared in the Joyce
a not-quite despondent environmental
non-humans. “Animals with
Theater in New York, the Museum of
observer, and an anxious parent today”
experience, particularly elephants,
Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the
that can leave the reader feeling
are considered repositories of
ODC Theater in San Francisco, among
“somber, or angrily alert, or simply
knowledge,” Smith told Forbes
other venues.
impressed.” It was published by
magazine. “They have a lot of wis-
Commune Editions in August 2015.
dom that they bring to decisions,
Victor Talmadge, director of the Mills Theater Studies Program, has
Professor of Biology Jenn Smith
and it appears that their followers
a recurring role as the character
served as lead author on “Leadership
are gaining some benefit by follow-
Victor Green in the television series
in Mammalian Societies: Emergence,
ing someone who’s informed.”
Calendar Mills Music Now Concerts April 2 X-Sound Festival April 8 Barry Douglas, Dewing Piano Recital All events start at 8:00 pm in the Littlefield Concert Hall. $15 general, $10 to alumnae, seniors, and non-Mills students. See musicnow.mills. edu or contact Steed Cowart at 510.430.2334 or steed@mills.edu.
Mills College Art Museum March 29–April 17 Senior Thesis Exhibition April 30–May 29 MFA Thesis Exhibition June 15–August 28 Art + Process + Ideas The museum is open 11:00 am–4:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am–7:30 pm Wednesday, and is closed Monday. Admission is free. See mcam.mills.edu or contact 510.430.2164 or museum@mills.edu.
Contemporary Writers Series March 29 Cheena Marie Lo, MFA ’12, and Keenan Norris, MFA ’05 Lo is co-founder of the Manifest Reading and Workshop Series and author of the new book, A Series of Un/Natural/Disasters; Norris’s novel Brother and the Dancer is the winner of the James D. Houston Award for first books. His work appears in several collections, including the forthcoming Oakland Noir. All events are at 5:30 pm, Mills Hall Living Room, free. For program details and speaker bios, see http://www.mills.edu/english; for more information, contact 510.430.2204 or grad_eng@mills.edu.
Save the date
Reunion
2016(
September 22–25 Convocation on September 23
Celebrating alumnae from class years ending in 1 or 6, including the Golden Alumnae of 1966. All alumnae are welcome. A Reunion schedule and registration form will be mailed in early summer to alumnae in reunioning classes. For further information, contact the Mills College Office of Alumnae Relations: alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123.
SPRING 2016
7
Creature features
By Linda Schmidt
P
don’t
might not otherwise notice. “If you see
and eels. Moles and voles
provide that much of a connection to
a bird outdoors, you may get just a fleet-
and orioles. These are just a
wildlife,” says Professor of Biology Jenn
ing glimpse, or at a great distance. In my
few of the hundreds of biologi-
Smith, a primary caretaker of the collec-
bird classes, I would put out a selection
cal specimens in the Mills natural
tion. “Looking at a screen is very differ-
of specimens so students could under-
science collection, which ranges from
ent from holding an animal that used
stand how different bill shapes corre-
simple, spineless sea creatures to com-
to be alive right in your hands. You can
spond with feeding habits, or what it
plex organisms at the top of the evolu-
investigate what it really feels like, what
means to have different toe patterns,
tionary tree. In these days of limitless
it really looks like, and come away with
webbing, and other adaptations.”
online resources and simulations, this
a much deeper understanding.”
ossums and parrots. Egrets
“Digital
reproductions
just
Faculty members in biology use the
library of bones may seem anachronis-
John Harris, professor of biology from
collection extensively to illustrate a
tic but, like a well-stocked shelf of refer-
1986 to 2013, explains how hands-on
variety of ecological and evolutionary
ence books, it is an indispensable aid to
experience gives students a chance to
concepts. “In looking at these examples,
teaching and learning.
look at something up close that they
students learn the characteristics of
8
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
each animal and what makes it unique,” says Smith. “The physical structures of related species illustrate their shared evolutionary
origins,
and
different
adaptations show how animals have developed specialized traits for feeding, locomotion, and reproduction. You can look at a stuffed possum and a possum skull to see different layers of the organism and learn how they cope with their world.” All of this provides a useful supplement to textbook learning and field observations. “It’s one thing to see a picture, and another thing to see an animal live from a distance—but it’s entirely different to see it close and understand all the structural things or to notice the differences between species in real life,” says Lauren Burke, a senior double-majoring in biology and economics. “Having the real thing just hits the point home.”
Professor Jenn Smith shows Sandeep Sagoo '16 the extensive bone structures and massive carnassial teeth that give the spotted hyena its powerful bite.
Collections also allow for real quantitative studies, some of which hadn’t even
Professor of Natural History Josiah Keep,
considered the standard field guide for
been imagined when the original sam-
who taught from 1885 until 1911, was a
water birds in the state.
ple was collected. “You can get a DNA
deeply religious man who found divine
A more peculiar contributor was
sample from a feather and do important
handiwork in studying the marvels of
Ralph Ellis, a son of wealthy socialites
genetic research on a species by using
nature. He wrote and illustrated several
who was prone to mysterious illnesses
something taken from a specimen rather
volumes on the molluscs of the Pacific
and violent outbursts. Ellis began col-
than going out to the field and collecting
and collected thousands of seashells
lecting animal specimens from family
a live animal,” says Harris. “You can look
over his lifetime. After his death, the
estates in Long Island, South Carolina,
at things that are extinct or very rare by
bulk of his personal collection was dis-
and Maine when he was barely a teen,
accessing a specimen or assess changes
tributed to Tohoku University in Japan,
and moved with his family to Berkeley
in species and populations over time.”
UC Berkeley, and other institutions, but
in the early 1920s. He befriended many
many remained at Mills.
notable zoologists of the early 20th
And the power of these specimens to spark enthusiasm cannot be overesti-
Along with Keep’s marine inverte-
century and spent much of his fortune
mated. “The hawks and falcons—all the
brates, the collection currently includes
and time on scientific expeditions and
raptors—are really cool. I love how gnarly
a wide variety of insects, reptiles, and
in amassing a remarkable collection of
their feet are and how sharp their bills
amphibians, along with 74 different
thousands of rare natural history books.
are,” says Burke. “The kingfishers and
mammal species and nearly 400 spe-
It is unclear how his specimens came to
hummingbirds have the most beautiful
cies of birds—which are one of the
Mills; nevertheless, they provide a valu-
colors, their plumage is just incredible.
strong points of the collection. Harris
able geographic variety.
And the pelican... well, you don’t think
estimates that nearly half of the birds
“Much of what is in the collection was
about how funny looking a pelican is
were collected and prepared by Howard
collected at a time when the science was
until you stare at it for a while!”
Cogswell, who taught at Mills through
in a different place, so to speak,” says
“Of course, everyone coming into the
the 1950s while completing his doctor-
Harris, who points out that the ethics
Vertebrate Lab, where the collection is
ate at UC Berkeley. Cogswell went on
of science have changed significantly
housed, is intrigued by the diverse array
to teach at California State University,
over the past century, as have the ecol-
of specimens out on display,” adds Smith.
Hayward; was elected director of the
ogy and landscape that biologists study.
“Everywhere you turn there’s something
East Bay Regional Parks District; and
“The days of people going out to shoot
fun and interesting and distracting.”
was an important figure in the restora-
birds to make a museum collection are
tion and protection of salt marshes and
pretty much long gone. At no time while
The origins of the collection date
shorelines in San Francisco Bay. His
I was at Mills did we actively go out and
back to the earliest days of the College.
book, Water Birds of California, is still
try to collect animals.”
photos by s te v e babul jak
SPRING 2016
9
“My lab partner and I thought it’d be cool if we could add to the collection ourselves,” she says. “Professor Harris helped us identify the bird, and gave us tips for taxidermy and how to preserve it. It was a really unique experience.” “We are always updating the collection,” says Smith. More unusual species or those not found locally arrive as “bone clones”—cast resin replicas that painstakingly reproduce an animal’s original structural details, texture, and color. To provide a diversity of different shapes, and to reflect her own interests, Smith has added manufactured examples of koala, hyena, and lion, among others. She enthusiastically points out an African elephant tooth, explaining its similarity to the teeth of other hoofed herbivores, then picks up the skull of a rock hyrax, a small rodent-like mammal. “This is actually very closely related to elephants,” she says. “You wouldn’t imagine that!” As with any extensive library, the items in this collection require special care to ensure that they remain in good condition. Sunlight can cause serious bleaching and degradation of feathers and skin, humidity can lead to bacterial growth, and insect infestations can reduce a specimen to powder. Many items are quite old and fragile, and must be handled with care. Recent improveThat doesn’t mean the collection is
a set of caribou antlers in return to help
ments to storage and preservation,
static, however. “When I first got to
round out our mammal specimens,” he
made possible by a generous grant from
Mills, I saw a few rare species here and
says—an appropriate swap for a teaching
the Joseph and Vera Long Foundation,
thought they really should be in a col-
institution.
include moving the specimens into more
lection where they would be more scien-
More recent additions typically find
airtight cabinets and coating the lab
tifically useful,” says Harris. Mills held
their way into the lab after an unfor-
windows with a film that blocks damag-
two specimens of Swainson’s hawk, col-
tunate encounter with a window or a
ing ultraviolet rays.
lected from California’s central valley in
car or a predator. Such animals may
Even keeping such a working collec-
the 1950s. Since that time, significant
be prepared for keeping by lab man-
tion organized presents a challenge.
declines in the bird’s population have
ager Heather Pearl, who uses a colony
Over the past years, several students
been linked to eating a diet of pesticide-
of dermestid beetles to clean the bones.
have been involved in the task of docu-
laden insects in their wintering grounds
Others may be prepared by a student
menting and cataloging every specimen,
in Argentina, and the species has been
who is interested in learning the skills of
a necessary project after a series of lab
listed as a threatened by the California
taxidermy to preserve a more complete
renovations and the construction of
Department of Fish and Game since
animal. Lauren Kong ’13, now a gradu-
the Moore Natural Sciences Building in
1983. Harris traded the hawks to the
ate student studying crayfish at Nicholls
2007, during which time the collection
Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at
State University in Louisiana, recalls find-
was moved several times.
UC Davis, a major research center. “I got
ing a dead dove while she was a student.
10
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
Kong, Susan Anthony ’13, and Chelsea
photos by l auren burk e ’16
A Cape May warbler, sharp-shinned hawk, chaffinch, tern, Ridgeway's rail, American wigeon, whimbrel, and elegant tern, pictured in columns above, illustrate a variety of bill shapes adapted for different purposes. A mounted American kestrel, opposite, is a watchful presence in the Vertebrate Lab.
and everything is in its place,” she says.
Satterwhite ’13 worked together on
“All of us had different knowledge
many of the specimens. They consulted
of different taxa, so we collaborated to
Smith is well on the way towards her
with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
get the job done,” says Kong. “I’m more
goal of completing an electronic data-
at UC Berkeley to learn how to retain
knowledgeable in dealing with reptiles
base of the entire vertebrate collection
color in bottled specimens and how to
and amphibians, for example, while
as well as a digital image library of all
clean delicate anatomies, using small
Susan is more familiar with birds. At the
the specimens, so that students can
brushes to carefully remove dust. They
end of the day, I learned a lot.”
study and refer to pieces in the collection outside of the classroom as well.
also rewrote all of the bird labels—many
Lauren Burke continued their work,
of which were missing, broken, or illegi-
painstakingly photographing each bird
“Studying and working with the speci-
ble—including details of the species, date
over the course of 18 months, correlating
men collection gave me an even greater
and place of collection, and the history
its tag number with a drawer location,
appreciation for biodiversity,” says Kong.
of the specimen over time, and entered
and entering all the information into a
“It’s all really cool stuff. There is some-
all the specimens into a master list.
database. “Everything now has a place,
thing for everyone there.” ◆
SPRING 2016
11
documentarian Meg Smaker ’12 seeks out unorthodox stories
T
he documen tary f il m Boxeadora opens with images of the Cuba we think we know: Che
Guevara’s portrait on a weather-beaten wall, Havana Harbor, pastel townhouses with bright 1950s sedans out front. In an open-air boxing gym, chiseled young men jump rope and prepare to spar. “Since Castro’s revolution,” a narrator explains, “Cuba has won more Olympic gold medals in boxing than any other country in the world.” The camera pans down a line of boxers until it comes to rest on a woman: Namibia, Cuba’s only female boxer and the star of this film. Unseen, behind the camera, is Meg Smaker ’12, Namibia’s friend, training partner, and storyteller. In 16 minutes, Smaker draws us into the story of Namibia’s struggle to train for the Olympics while living in a country where women are banned from boxing. We also join Namibia in her daily routines, on a visit to her mother, during a Santeria blessing. We gain a perspective on Cuba that few people would ever have thought to look for.
Smaker faced a number of hurdles herself in making the
Smaker, a competitive boxer herself, met Namibia while vis-
film, including funding its production. “I applied for—and was
iting Cuba to train during a break between semesters while
denied—over 30 grants,” she says. “Foundations always want to
attending Stanford University’s MFA program in documentary
know what your ‘impact’ is. But I don’t want to save the world, I
film. She completed Boxeadora, her MFA thesis, in 2014, and
just want to understand it.”
since then the film has screened at more than 30 festivals from San Francisco to Cannes; it is now showing (through July) as
Smaker’s desire to understand the world animates her
part of Lunafest, a traveling festival of award-winning short
life as well as her filmmaking. Raised in Contra Costa county,
films by women. Its accolades include a Student Academy
Smaker attended Butte Fire Academy and Chico State, then
Award from the organization that presents the Oscars and a
worked for several years as a firefighter. In 2002, in the wake of
Jury Award from the SXSW Film Festival. Just as important to
al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks, she made a solo trip to Afghanistan. “My
Smaker, Boxeadora helped secure a visa for Namibia to speak
questions about why the world had changed so much weren’t
at film festivals and to train in the United States, as well as
answered by mainstream media, so I went to find the answers
a tentative agreement from the head of the Cuban Boxing
myself.” A family in a small village took her in and there, she
Federation to lift the ban on women in the sport in time for the
says, “I realized my whole perception of the world was wrong.
2020 Olympics.
This fueled my desire to understand more about the world.”
“Most films about Cuba are very political,” says Smaker. “But
In 2003, she and two friends travelled to Colombia to camp
Boxeadora is personal. You see that this person has a dream
in the Darien Gap, a rainforest along the Panamanian border.
she wants to go after. Everyone can relate because we all have
They were abducted at gunpoint by a right-wing paramilitary
had hurdles in our lives. The universality of the struggle opens
group and held hostage for 10 days. After her release, Smaker
up the world of Cuba in a way that a political documentary
told reporters, “I learned more in those days about the region
would not.”
and its politics than I had in my whole life.”
12
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
filmmaking from the
other side of the boat By Dawn Cunningham ’85
Smaker returned home, but was soon
after she graduated from Mills, and has continued to serve
traveling again. She went to Yemen to learn
as her mentor. “Samara never tried to censor my films,” says
Arabic, then found a job as head instruc-
Smaker. “She had faith in my abilities and pushed me to try
tor at a fire academy there. She stayed in
new things. She gave me faith in my own vision as a filmmaker
Yemen for more than four years—with visits
and the confidence to take risks. That woman is like magic
to Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Tanzania—
fairy dust for filmmakers.”
and spent another year in Qatar.
At Stanford, Smaker persisted—despite some opposition—in
While in the Middle East, she decided
making films that focus on underground or obscure subjects.
to return to college as part of her quest
These included Pistols to Porn, about the preservation of the
to understand more about the world. She
historic San Francisco Armory by a bondage porn film com-
knew she wanted to tell stories through
pany, and Methel Island, about methamphetamine addiction
documentary films that were grounded in
on Bethel Island in the Sacramento Delta.
research, and her former high school English teacher—Susan
“I like stories that take an unorthodox point of view on con-
Klassen MacDonald, who received her teaching credential
troversial issues that we think we already know about,” says
from Mills in 1991—recommended that she apply to Mills.
Smaker, who now lives in the Maxwell Park neighborhood, just
At the College, she majored in political, legal, and economic
minutes from Mills. She’s exploring a number of ideas for her
analysis (PLEA) while studying video production with Samara
next film, including one looking at the effect of rapid economic
Halperin, visiting assistant professor of studio art.
development in the Middle East from the perspective of three women of different generations.
“Meg isn’t scared of telling stories that need to be told, even
Smaker has also founded Doc Farm Films, a nonprofit organi-
if they’re shocking or halfway around the world,” says Halperin.
zation, to help secure funding both for her own projects and for
“She pushes boundaries in her storytelling, and as a director she
other filmmakers creating story-driven, controversial, or diffi-
identifies with people who live outside of society’s norms.”
cult documentaries. Smaker’s track record inspires confidence
At Mills, Smaker made films about two such outsider groups.
that she will pull this off, too. “The thing that makes Meg so
Sex, Drugs, and Student Loans featured interviews with stu-
successful,” says Halperin, “is she goes for it. She fights for what
dents who meet the rising cost of college education through
she believes in.”
sex work and selling drugs. Somalia and The Piracy Bell Curve
To explain why she’s so committed to promoting such alter-
explored the reasons pirates base their operations in Puntland,
native narratives, Smaker says, “Imagine you’re on a boat, and
a region in Somalia. The film evolved from field research for
someone yells ‘whale!’ Everyone runs to the side of the boat
an academic article Smaker co-authored with government pro-
and takes pictures of the whale. There are lots of beautiful pic-
fessor Martha Johnson. “It was a hand-drawn, animated doc-
tures, but it’s the same old whale. I like to hang out on the
umentary, but I had never done animation before. I went to
other side of the boat. Maybe I see nothing, maybe I see an orca
Samara with my idea and she said, “You can do this!’”
shagging a mermaid . . . . I’d like to have more people on that side
Halperin encouraged Smaker to enter Stanford’s MFA program
of the boat with me.” ◆ SPRING 2016
13
Elect your
alumna trustee one of the three women described on these pages will be your next alumna trustee. Help determine who it will be by taking part in this important election to ensure that alumnae continue to provide a strong voice in the leadership of the College. Serving for three years (July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2019) as a full member of both the Mills College Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors of the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC), this alumna trustee will help ensure that alumnae are well represented in the leadership of the College by conveying the views of the AAMC board to the College board. She will join continuing alumna trustees Susan Ardisson ’77 and Judith James ’74. We offer our thanks to Melissa Stevenson Diaz ’91, who is concluding her 2014–16 term. Note: You may vote either by paper ballot or online at the Mills College online Alumnae Community (a simple registration is required if you are not already a member of the online alumnae community). See detailed instructions on how to cast your vote on the inside back cover of this magazine! Whether you vote online or by paper ballot, only one vote per alumna will be accepted. Any alumna casting multiple votes will invalidate all of their votes. All voting must be completed and received at Reinhardt Alumnae House by 5:00 pm (PDT) on Wednesday, May 4.
This year, seven candidates will be recommended to the Board of Governors by the AAMC Nominating Committee to fill seats on the AAMC board. In addition, officer positions (president, treasurer/ secretary, and vice president) will need to be filled. All Mills College alumnae are encouraged to apply to aamc@mills.edu or by mail to AAMC, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., MB #86, Oakland, CA 94613. Applications are due April 8, 2016. For BOG responsibilities and AAMC by-laws, please visit alumnae.mills.edu/aamcLeadership.
14
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
Yvonne Payne Daniel, MA ’75 Castro Valley, California Education: BA, music, California State University, Hayward, 1972; MA, dance, Mills College, 1975; MA, PhD, anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1989. Employment: Professor emerita of dance and Afro-American studies, Smith College, 1989-2004. Volunteer experience: BrazzDance and ASWAD advisory boards, present; Caribbean Studies Association, Brazil Conference Committee, 2006–2007; ASWAD Rio Conference, US Program Chair, 2003–2005; ASWAD, Secretary and Founding Board Member, 2000–2010; CORD Program Committee, 1994–1995. AAMC/College involvement: Dance Alumnae/i Association, 2015– 2016; Alumnae of Color Committee, 2013-2015; Reunion Committee, 2006–2009; Women’s Leadership Fellow, 1999–2000; Adjunct instructor, 1976–1985. How has Mills College affected your life? Mills College is one of three women’s institutions that continue to influence my life, including Riverdale (then an all-women’s prep school in New York City, where I was born and raised) and Smith College (where I taught for 15 years after earning a PhD). Mills propelled my dance and music specialization into Australian to Uruguayan research; Spanish, French, and Portuguese exchanges; and publishing. I won Ford, Rockefeller, and Smithsonian fellowships with Mills’ pivotal role in my life. Consequently, I enjoyed a second career as an international researcher, full professor, award-winning author, and cultural consultant. How do you view the future of the AAMC and its relationship with the College? The AAMC is critical to making the educational shifts necessary for today’s changing world and for a still-necessary women’s liberal arts education. Recent AAMC and DAAMC (Dance Alumnae/i Association) volunteering has given me deeper insights into the serious challenges and interdependent connections between College administrative bodies and the legacy of a Mills education. I dedicate my expertise and experience to meaningful communication and impact on the common goals of AAMC and the College. What are your hopes and expectations for the future of Mills College? Stellar, 21st-century education—characterized by rigorous, flexible, and creative curricula; continued graduate and undergraduate program interactions; a permeating global perspective; and improved campus/community relations are my hopes. I expect equity and inclusion across all College populations.
Elizabeth Kelley ’86
Samira Kirmiz ’98 Spokane, Washington/ New York, New York Education: BA, English/French, Mills College; MA, University of Chicago; JD, Case Western Reserve University. Employment: Nationwide criminal defense practice specializing in representing persons with mental disabilities.
Volunteer experience: Board, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2006–Present; National Advisory Committee, The ARC, National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability. AAMC/Mills College involvement: ASMC president; class secretary, 2011–present; Reunion Committee, 2011, 2016. How has Mills College affected your life? Because of an outstanding liberal arts education plus the leadership opportunities offered on a human-scale campus, I gained the skills and confidence to succeed in a predominantly male-dominated profession. How do you view the future of the AAMC and its relationship with the College? The AAMC must work with the administration to ensure that the College remains financially stable in order to recruit and retain a strong, diverse student body. Moreover, the AAMC, particularly the alumna trustees, should continue to regularly and frequently communicate with alumnae. As a “non-Californian,” I am committed to reaching out to alumnae across the planet, whether through social media, printed communications, or in-person contact. Additionally, as an alumnae trustee, I plan to use my voice to ensure that the magic of a Mills education is passed to future generations. But I also pledge to listen to others as we strike that delicate balance between academic excellence, real-world relevance, and financial stability. What are your hopes and expectations for the future of Mills College? My vision of Mills is one shaped by love, loyalty, and gratitude, all tempered by realism. I am acutely sensitive to the challenges which small liberal arts colleges for women confront. Running a quality academic environment is expensive, requiring state-of-the-art facilities, competitive salaries for faculty, and generous financial assistance in order to maintain a diverse student body. Meanwhile, the economy seems hostile to liberal arts graduates, although time has proven that the flexibility of our diplomas is exactly what the ever-evolving marketplace demands. As women’s colleges become co-educational, we are continually forced to defend our relevance, where, in theory, all barriers based on gender have been removed. Looking into the future, I see that Mills will continue to face financial, demographic, and even existential challenges.
Sunnyvale, California Education: BA in biochemistry and molecular biology, Mills College, 1998; MD, University of California, San Diego, 2003. Employment: Endocrinologist, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Mountain View, California. Volunteer experience: Rotacare clinic in Mountain View ; Medical Systems Information Technology Committee Member at El Camino Hospital. AAMC involvement: Mills Ambassador, 1995–1998; Member, Palo Alto Area Mills College Club (PAAMCC). How has Mills College affected your life? As the daughter of a shoe repairman and homemaker, my attending college seemed financially out of the question. Through Mills’ generous financial aid program, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Mills. I benefitted not only from an education which helped fulfill my dream of becoming a physician, but also made friendships for life. I owe everything to the educational foundation I developed at Mills, which I use each day in my life. How do you view the future of the AAMC and its relationship with the College? The AAMC brings together the resources of the alumnae to provide for the success of current Mills students and the College, and through this we all benefit. I also believe in a strong endowment for the College so that we can weather any financial picture in the future. Alumnae play a big role in growing the endowment which will protect the College and preserve its educational mission. What are your hopes and expectations for the future of Mills College? Mills is going through many changes. The small classes and supportive professors at Mills College enabled me to achieve my dreams. I want to ensure that this environment continues to inspire and fulfill the dreams of future Mills students. I want to help grow the financial health of the College so we can continue to provide generous financial aid to current students and offer a full spectrum of majors, classes, and opportunities. Last year the election was very close. I want to urge every alum to vote, and would be honored if you vote for me!
Vote!
Find your ballot on the inside back cover
SPRING 2016
15
In Memoriam Notices of death received before January 10, 2016 To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123
Alumnae Elizabeth “Betty” Lane Baker ’38, MA ’41, September 20, in San Jose, California. She earned her degrees in botany and taught briefly before marrying and raising her family. She also served as class secretary. She is survived by two children, six grandchildren, sisters Mary Bogue Koontz ’42 and Mildred Selden Anderson ’44, and niece Mary Aiden Gallagher ’92. Paulette Thomas ’38, July 2015, in Paris, France. A native of France, her time at Mills was influential in guiding her intellect, career, and social life. Survivors include three children. Barbara Quinlan Dessy ’41, May 23, 2015, in San Rafael, California. Dorothy White Datel ’46, November 9, in Vacaville, California. She volunteered extensively in Girl Scouting, traveled often to Great Britain, was a costume research librarian in Hollywood, and served as president of the American Quilt Study Group. Mills president Aurelia Henry Reinhardt inspired her to become a Unitarian. Her daughter Kerry Datel ’73 predeceased her; she is survived by her husband, Bob; a daughter; and three grandchildren. Elizabeth Alexander Smith ’47, October 3, in Plano, Texas. An avid golfer and a lifelong community volunteer, she was active with the Girl Scout Council; the Women’s Club of Owatonna, Minnesota; American Field Service; and the Assistance League of Inland North County in southern California. Survivors include two children and two grandsons. Barbara Grutze Roessner ’48, November 5, in Milwaukie, Oregon. She taught high school Spanish classes as well as piano, composed music for several school plays, served as a church organist, and enjoyed educational travel to many destinations. She is survived by three children and five grandchildren. Catherine “Missy” Yoell Saveri ’52, December 15, in San Francisco. She was a performer, playwright, and past president of Children’s Theater Association of San Francisco (CTA); in 2008, CTA created the Missy Saveri Award to recognize outstanding contributions to the organization. She wrote the first docent training program for Davies Symphony Hall, was a member of the Museum Society Auxiliary, and was a founding member of the Northern California Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Guido; four children; and five grandchildren.
22
M i l l s Q u a r t e r ly
Gifts in Memory of Lucia Grossmann ’53, in November, at her home in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Received September 1–November 30, 2015
Sandra Sollom Kretchmer ’56, October 6, in San Rafael, California. An animal lover and volunteer, she operated Great Escapes travel agency and journeyed throughout the world. She is survived by two children and four grandchildren.
Jeanne Aurel-Schneider ’51, P ’74, by Evelyn Zwierlein Fox ’51
Favour Hazeltine Slater ’58, December 1, in Phoenix, Arizona. She was the society editor of the Arizona Republic; served as executive director of an organization that raised money for local cultural institutions; and worked at First National Bank of Arizona. She was active in numerous community and philanthropic organizations and was a docent at the Desert Botanical Gardens. She is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren, and her cousin, Allison Kravetz ’63. Patricia Ann Kelley, MFA ’76, November 12, in Chico, California. She was a professional photographer with a keen interest in weather, musicians, and the stark landscapes of northern California and the Nevada desert. She is survived by her husband, John James. Marylee Bytheriver ’91, November 29, in Eureka, California. She lived at various times in Sweden, Spain, the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, India, and Mexico. She produced limited-edition prints and artist’s books; volunteered teaching children in rural Mexico, served as the executive director of Hospice of Humboldt, and was a founder of the Environmental Protection and Information Center in Garberville. She is survived by her husband, Allan Katz; four daughters and their families; and her niece Jennifer Mack ’95. Sheryl Coey ’99, MFA ’01, December 22, in Santa Clara, California.
Spouses and Family Peter Jorrens, husband of Katherine “Kit” Farrow Jorrens ’57, June 10, in Middlebury, Vermont. Mike Chadwick, husband of Kathryn Mallett Chadwick ’60, November 4, in Friday Harbor, Washington. John Parsons, husband of Alene Jensen Parsons ’48, in Buttonwillow, California. Aundrea Walker, mother of Lisa Walker Gassama ’89, October 13, in Reno, Nevada.
Elizabeth “Betty” Lane Baker ’38, MA ’41, by Jeanne Arens, Barbara Haas, P ’96, Mary Lane Koontz ’42, Ruth Ann Watkins Marcia Hancock Carlson ’57 by Patricia Reid Harmon ’57, P ’82 Katie Dudley Chase ’61 by her husband, William Chase, Barbara Evans ’63, Bridget Irving, Anne-Marie Saegesser Logan ’58 Lillian Ching ’45, P ’75, by Betty Chu Wo ’46 Susan Marks Craven ’63 by Barbara Goldblatt Becker ’63, Connie Young Yu ’63 Wendy Engebretson ’62 by William Beadie Leone La Duke Evans, MA ’45, by Kathleen Burke, Lucy Harrison Campbell, Irene Harville Hannaford ‘54, Mabel Lee, Leah Hardcastle MacNeil, MA ’51, P ’75, Jacquelyn Jagger Parsons ’52, Josephine Shuman, Glenn and Ellen Voyles Sally Gross by Anonymous Judith Ireland ’56 by Patricia Sawyier Eldredge ’56, Nieda, Gassmann and Lane Families, Judith Templin Ratte ’56, Karen Tsujimoto Jane Cudlip King ’42, P ’80, by Barbara Hunter ’57, Catherine McCormack McGilvray ’56, Marion Ross ’44, Evelyn “Muffy” McKinstry Thorne ’48 Sandra Sollom Kretchmer ’56 by Jeannette Dold Bernhard ’49, Barbara Parsons Sheldon ’56 Elizabeth Bryant Miles ’34 by Susan Shea Christina Miller ’71 by her sister, Kathleen Miller Janes ’69 Paula Williams Remington ’51 by Joan Thompson Armstrong ’51, P ’95 J. Roussel Sargent by Linda Barkley Bernwanger ’70 Anne Sherrill by Willa Berliner Anderson ’65 Leda Soffran Silver ’68 by Pamela Hunt ’68 Barnabas Smith, P ’90, P ’92, by Yuri Chiamori Mok ’60, P ’91 Donald Spagel, husband of Bette Krause Spagel ’63, P ’79, by Liisa Karne Hale ’77 Tomoye Tatai, P ’80, by Michelle Balovich ’03 Aundrea Walker, P ’89, by Barbara Booth, Donna Coggins, Renee Harper, Stacy Henry, Joanne Mealia, Donna Morris, Lance Wyndon Katharine Mulky Warne ’45 by her daughters, Carolyn Warne ’83 and F. Katharine Warne Riggs
p=parent. For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.
SPRING 2016
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8
A portal to t he past
“ The Rose Porch Entrance is so named from the Lady Banksia Rose which completely hides the great fluted columns and runs up on the building forty-five feet. It is all from two roots and has several branches as large around as one’s wrist. It blossoms in early May in immense clusters of snowy white, and is a sight which visitors come many miles to see.” —Reverend Rodney Tabor
Like many visitors to the bucolic grounds
of Mills College, the Reverend Rodney Tabor was struck by the beauty of the
landscape and elegant campus buildings.
He was also an early adopter of the newest technology—in 1885, that was photographic cameras and film plates. “The grounds consist of ninety acres of hill, glen, meadow, wood, and stream—a natural park immensely improved by culture, which is full of pictures,” he wrote in an album of images he recorded of this lovely place. “We have over 80 negatives taken here, and the picturesque effects are by no means exhausted.” One hundred and thirty years later, Tabor’s album resides at the California State Library, which recently digitized the entire book and has made it available for public view at www.library.ca.gov/calhist/ flipbooks/mills.html. The State Library retains an extensive Mills College collection—including annual catalogs, biographies of past presidents, and works authored by Mills alumnae—most of which are kept in the California History Room. Photo digitiz ation courtes y of V ince Beiderbeck e, C alifornia S tate Libr ary
Alumna Trustee Ballot Nominee statements for the 2016–19 alumna trustee are printed on page 14.
To vote on paper:
We now offer two ways to vote—online and by paper ballot!
Yvonne Payne Daniel, MA ’75 Elizabeth Kelley ’86 Samira Kirmiz ’98
To vote online: • Go to the Mills College Alumnae Community, http://alumnae.mills.edu/alumna-trustee-ballot • Alumnae must be registered with the online community in order to cast their vote online. • Registration is free and easy! Visit http://alumnae.mills.edu/ alumna-trustee-ballot to register and to vote. Your alumna ID is required to register and can be found at the top of your Quarterly mailing label. • Online voting will end at 5:00 pm (PDT) on Wednesday, May 4.
• Use this printed ballot and indicate your choice below:
Vote online or on paper by May 4
• Please mail ballot in a private envelope to: Chair, AAMC Nominating Committee, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, MB #86, Oakland, CA 94613 • Paper ballots must include the mailing label on the reverse side. To maintain confidentiality, voter names will be inked out before ballots are passed on to the Nominating Committee chair. • No faxed ballots or call-ins will be accepted. • Ballots must be received at Reinhardt Alumnae House by 5:00 pm (PDT) on Wednesday, May 4.
NOTE: Whether you vote online or by paper ballot, only one vote per alumna will be accepted. Any alumna casting multiple votes will invalidate all of her votes. Upon request, the Alumnae Association of Mills College will send a spring Quarterly to replace the one from which you have removed this ballot. Call 510.430.2110 or email aamc@mills.edu.
Alumnae tr avel 2016 Treasures of Southern Africa October 12–26 Walk in the late Nelson Mandela’s footsteps on Robben Island, visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and thrill to magnificent wildlife and spectacular landscapes, including thundering Victoria Falls (at right), one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Machu Picchu
See the AAMC travel website at aamc.mills.edu for full itineraries of these and other upcoming trips. For reservations or additional information, call the Alumnae Association of Mills College at 510.430.2110 or email aamc@mills.edu.
October 31–November 5 Travel to this remote mountain citadel and explore the famous city of Cusco in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Ride the train through the Urubamba valley to visit a traditional Andean rural community and a modern artists’ colony.
Cuba November 7–14 This people-to-people exploration provides opportunities to learn about contemporary and historic Cuba through insightful discussions with local experts. Meet artists, musicians, religious leaders, and teachers and venture to a model socialist community in the Sierra del Rosario mountains, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Victoria Falls, South Africa
Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu
Join us for Commencement! Saturday, May 14 ◆ 9:45 am ◆ Holmgren Meadow ◆ All alumnae are invited to come to campus to celebrate the graduating class of 2016 and bid farewell to President Alecia DeCoudreaux. ◆ Oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer Sylvia Earle will present the keynote address. ◆ The annual general meeting of the Alumnae Association of Mills College will take place at Reinhardt Alumnae House following the president’s reception after the ceremony.
Sylvia Earle is a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence and was named the first “Hero for the Planet” by Time magazine. A former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), she has led more than a hundred expeditions— and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. Her research concerns exploration and conservation of marine ecosystems with a special focus on preserving a global network of areas on land and sea to safeguard the planet’s living systems, maintain biodiversity, and provide resiliency in the face of accelerating climate change. She holds a BS from Florida State University, MS and PhD from Duke University, and has received more than 100 national and international honors. p h o t o b y b at e s l i t t l e h a l e s , n at i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c