President’s Message

By Elizabeth L. Hillman

AS MANY LOYAL READERS of the Quarterly well know, challenges related to enrollment and finances are not new to Mills College. While we’re now in the first spring of a brand new decade, those challenges have not abated. The overall demand for college degrees continues to grow because of both increased affordability and accessibility and the economic payoff of a college degree has never been higher, yet liberal arts and women’s colleges face increasing headwinds. Just as the battle to make the Mills campus environmentally sustainable—the focus of an article in this issue—is one that we must win, so is the battle to find a sustainable economic structure in which Mills can serve its students and pursue its mission.

The College’s efforts to adapt and respond to the changing climate of higher education have, of course, been fervent and extensive. In just the past three years, we’ve reset tuition to better communicate the actual cost of a Mills education, restructured academic programs to offer innovative paths to the most sought-after majors, explored adult degree completion to open doors for students with some college credits but no degrees, and launched Mills’ first-ever fully online degree, a master’s degree in educational leadership. There’s a lot to be excited about—MPOWER, our signature undergraduate experience, has great potential to improve retention; interest continues to grow globally in STEM equity (Mills sends the same percentage of its biology majors into PhD programs as Stanford!), which will accelerate interest in Mills’ science programs; and the promise of the new tech economy to elevate the liberal arts by prizing creativity and transforming the jobs and professions of the future. The support and engagement of our Mills alumnae and friends continues to provide the foundation to all of these efforts, and they make a tremendous difference in our students’ and faculty’s abilities to excel, as evidenced by our recent citation as a top producer of Fulbright Scholars (see below for more).

As Mills embraces changes in our undergraduate and graduate curricula, we also recognize that a rapid increase in our enrollment is unlikely; indeed, despite all the changes to date, we are now enrolling about 20% fewer students than we did just five years ago. In the years ahead, our enrollment—and the economic model that supports the success of our students—will continue to be constrained by rising competition in higher education as well as alternative educational pathways; the widening divide between highly selective colleges and universities and those that, like Mills, are committed to access; and the shifting preferences of students who often select online, low-residential, or very low-cost programs.

Because of this new climate, Mills has been actively courting strategic partners to create synergies, build new revenue streams, and reduce costs. Sharing our campus with other mission-congruent partners and considering the possibility of building on undeveloped parts of the campus will enrich our academic programs while engaging the communities around us. For example, the Starr King School for Ministry will join several other non-Mills programs on campus

this summer, and we are seeking deeper collaboration with UC Berkeley. Many other women’s colleges are likewise altering their programs to serve more students by opening new enrollment and revenue possibilities. The College’s location in the suddenly fast-growing and diverse city of Oakland, the thriving economy of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Northern California’s diverse higher educational sector offer us many opportunities for creative, strategic partnerships that can provide the sustainable future our mission demands.

A Note from the Editor We sent this issue of Mills Quarterly to the printer in mid-March, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began to drastically change life at the College. Classes went online for the rest of the 2019–2020 school year as the entire Bay Area was placed under a shelter-in-place order, and Commencement was postponed as the extent of the crisis remained unknown. By the time you’re reading this, life will have undoubtedly changed even more.

For the most part, this issue is basically the same one we sent to print. We were able to make some last-minute changes (including this note), but you may still spot some details that we didn’t get to in time. Please forgive us, and know that we are working diligently—from home—to cover this situation in its entirety in our summer issue.

We send our gratitude to everyone fighting the pandemic and helping out however they can. Wishing good health to you and yours.

–Allison Rost, Managing Editor