U R B A N
C L A S S R O O M S
B L A C K
P O W E R
S T R O N G W O M E N
Mills Quarterly Spring 2021
JESSICA GREELY ’21 Major: Politics, economics, policy, and law (PEPL) Goal: PhD and public service
A first-generation college student who at one time worried she might not fit in on campus, Jessica has advanced her academic and activist career by huge strides since arriving at Mills. “I was on a mission to learn as much as I could about the government and community development,” says Jessica, “so I would be prepared to act and make change.” And act she has: Jessica has sat down with Sacramento legislators to discuss the Cal Grant for private institutions like Mills, interned for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and served in student government. Beyond her Mills courses, she’s studied as a Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Leadership Scholar; attended pre-doctoral institutes at Yale and University of Southern California; and is a Fulbright grantee on her way to joining the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars Program in Beijing, where she will study China’s culture, commerce, and presence on the global stage. Jessica has a proven track record in making change for good, which could not have happened without Mills—and which could not have happened without donor support from alumnae like you. Will you make social change possible by supporting change-making students like Jessica with your gift?
Make it possible. Make it Mills. Please make a gift to the Mills College Annual Fund by calling 510.430.2366, visiting alumnae.mills.edu/give, or returning the enclosed envelope.
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Mills Quarterly
CONTENTS
Spring 2021
10 Mills Girls & Black Power: A Roundtable Discussion As a follow-up to our winter 2021 piece detailing the fight for civil rights at Mills, we speak to four Black alumnae who experienced it firsthand.
14 COVID and the Urban Classroom by Rebecca Bodenheimer The pandemic heightened the challenges that teachers face in urban schools. School of Education graduates are well-prepared for them.
18 Strongwomen by Arya Samuelson, MFA ’19 Three alumnae are defying stereotypes and finding success in the professional fitness space.
Departments 2
Letters to the Editor
3
President’s Message
4
Mills Matters
22 AAMC News 24 Class Notes 30 In Memoriam
On the cover: Ivory MacCracken-Sanders ’21 painted her message as a rite of passage for Mills seniors continued on February 16–17. Graduating students decorated the Senior Wall near the Tea Shop with their reflections and shout-outs, and to accommodate everyone safely, painting took place over two days with assigned time slots, social distancing, and masks. For more photos, see page 6. Photo by Kalie Caetano.
Volume CX, Number 3 (USPS 349-900) Spring 2021
Letters to the Editor Besides the inequities and struggles por-
Gamble). Many students had campus
President Elizabeth L. Hillman
trayed, I was disturbed by some things in
jobs; I waited tables. We chose Mills not
the article “Black Power and the Mills Girl”
to find husbands, but to get a good educa-
Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams
(Mills Quarterly, winter 2021). I was at
tion unhampered by men in our classes.
Mills from 1957 to 1961, somewhat before
Actually, after our first year, when there
Managing Editor Allison Rost
the era being described, but I do not agree
were “exchanges” with men from UC fra-
that marriage was promoted, or even being
ternities and from St. Mary’s College, it
a “lady.” We were asked to remember who
was quite difficult to find a man to date!
we are and what we represent. I took that
I met mine by joining Model U.N.
Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson Editorial Assistant Lila Goehring ’21 Contributors Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13 Rebecca Bodenheimer Arya Samuelson, MFA ’19 Editorial Advisory Committee Angela Bacca, MBA ’12 Sheryl Bizé-Boutté ’73 Melissa Bender Henley ’99 Sarah Lehman ’86 Mira Mason-Reader ’15 Mari Matoba ’03 Livi Perez ’14, MA ’17 Mason Stockstill, MFA ’09 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.
to mean to have respect for oneself and
At
my
graduation,
then-Governor
others. Child psychology courses were
Edmund (Pat) Brown spoke. When he
in the general psychology department. I
started out saying he was very honored
don’t remember a home economics class,
to be asked to speak at this “classy GIRLS’
but I did take economics and subscribed
school,” a student-wide groan was heard! –Kathrine Stacey Baxter ’61, Pacific Palisades, California
to the Wall Street Journal the whole time I was there. By 1957, there was no special mention of engaged or married students at graduation. The engagement ceremony in the residence dining hall consisted only
Share your thoughts
of passing around a champagne glass with
Your feedback about the Quarterly could
flowers and a lit candle in it. The engaged
appear on this page! Submit your letter to
woman blew out the candle and her friend
the editor via email to quarterly@mills.
made the announcement. (After mine, in
edu, online at quarterly.mills.edu, or by
May of my senior year, my friends said,
mail at:
“You can’t marry him—you are nothing
Mills Quarterly
alike!” However, almost 60 years later, we
5000 MacArthur Blvd.
are still together.)
Oakland, CA 94613
There were also many scholarship students (I had a full one from Procter &
The Quarterly reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.
Copyright © 2021, Mills College Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312 Printed on recycled paper containing 10 percent post-consumer waste.
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
A longtime favorite gets an update! The AAMC’s beloved eucalyptus leaf pins, originally created by the Class of 1948 for its 50th Reunion, have undergone a redesign, and we’re happy to share them with you. As before, the leaves are handpicked on the Mills campus and then preserved in 24-karat gold or sterling silver. These new pins feature the delicate texture of the original leaves and a more refined shape. Gold or silver plating traces the veins of the leaves to create the look of fine filigree jewelry. Gold pins are $45 each and silver are $40 each plus shipping and handling. Purchase one or browse many other merchandise offerings (all sales benefit the AAMC or Mills College) on our online store at aamcmerch.square.site.
A Message from the President of Mills College By Elizabeth L. Hillman Just as we were about to send this issue to print, President Hillman sent the following memo to students, faculty, staff, and alumnae/i via email about the College’s plans going forward. -Ed.
Breaking News: The Future of Mills Since 1852, Mills College has brought
While Mills’ role as a degree-
transformative learning opportunities
granting college will end, its
to many by breaking barriers, forging
mission
connections, and changing lives. Today,
intends to continue to foster
because of the economic burdens of
women’s leadership and stu-
the
structural
dent success, advance gender
changes across higher education, and
and racial equity, and cultivate
Mills’ declining enrollment and budget
innovative pedagogy, research,
deficits, Mills must begin to shift away
and critical thinking by creat-
from being a degree-granting college
ing a Mills Institute housed here
and toward becoming a Mills Institute
on campus. Over the next few
that can sustain Mills’ mission. The
months, Mills faculty, trustees,
Mills College Board of Trustees, after
staff, students, alumnae, and
careful consideration, has decided that
other stakeholders across our
after fall 2021, Mills will no longer enroll
community will consider poten-
new first-year undergraduate students.
tial structures and program-
We will focus our resources on building
ming for a Mills Institute. We
degree pathways for our continuing stu-
will provide regular updates as
dents, and supporting the new first-year
the design of the Mills Institute
undergraduate, transfer, and graduate
evolves. At the same time, Mills
students who will join us this fall. Mills
is pursuing promising discus-
will most likely confer its final degrees in
sions with other academic insti-
2023, pending further consideration and
tutions to continue the College’s mission.
apprised as we assess options and build
action by the Board of Trustees.
We also will keep you informed about
pathways for transition. Since it began as
those discussions.
a small seminary in Benicia, California,
COVID-19
pandemic,
We will begin to transition our aca-
will
endure.
Mills
demic programs by creating options and
Our goal is to deliver an exceptional
Mills has brought learning and inspira-
degree pathways for all Mills students.
academic and co-curricular experience
tion to those who might not otherwise
The Provost’s Office, working under the
to our students for at least the next two
have found it. The next chapter in Mills’
guidance of Mills’ accrediting agency,
academic years, with Mills faculty and
history will do likewise, serving Mills’
the WASC Senior College and University
staff at the heart of that experience.
educational mission and sustaining its
Commission, will develop plans for
Additional information will be provided
commitment to equity. We will need
each degree program that Mills offers,
in the coming weeks regarding academic
everyone’s help to navigate a successful
enabling students to either earn a Mills
opportunities for students. Similar plan-
transition and write that next chapter.
degree or transfer to another college or
ning will be launched to develop transi-
university. Our Admissions Office will
tion plans and opportunities for faculty
support students who choose to pur-
and staff.
sue transfer opportunities outside Mills
[This] news signals the end of an era in
through agreements with peer institu-
Mills College’s history. It may provoke a
tions. Mills is committed to working
variety of reactions and emotions in you,
with these institutions to provide our
as it has in me. I also expect you will
students with streamlined admission
have many questions, some of which I
processes, financial aid support, and
will not yet be able to answer. Mills takes
pathways to degree completion.
seriously our obligation to keep you
We will include much more about these developments in the summer issue of the Quarterly. Until then, visit mills.edu/announcement for the most up-to-date information.
SPRING 2021
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Mills Matters Changes coming to Provost’s Office Two valued members of the Provost’s Office are moving or have already moved on to new opportunities.
At press time, an interim provost and dean of the faculty had yet to be named.
The first is the provost and dean of faculty herself. After
In addition, Associate Provost for Student Success and
24 years at Mills, Chinyere Oparah will be the new provost
Undergraduate Education Maggie Hunter stepped down from
and vice president of academic affairs at the University of
her position at the end of January to take the role of senior
San Francisco starting this summer. Oparah initially joined
director for UC Berkeley’s Centers for Education Justice and
Mills as a faculty member in the College’s Ethnic Studies
Community Engagement. Hunter came to Mills in 2007 as
Department, working her way to the provost role in 2017 after
a professor of sociology, becoming head of the discipline in
spending time as department chair and associate provost.
2014. She ascended to the role of associate provost in 2017,
The Quarterly profiled Oparah in the fall 2019 issue for her
concentrating on bolstering first-year and transfer programs,
research on and advocacy for Black maternal health and her
as well as participating in many of the College’s equity and
commitment to inclusive excellence in the Mills faculty.
inclusion projects. As of February, Professor of Psychology Christie Chung has
ment of Dr. Julia Chinyere Oparah as Mills’ new provost and
been appointed to the role of interim associate provost. She is
dean of the faculty,” said President Elizabeth L. Hillman in her
also the director of the Mills Cognition Lab and chair for the
announcement of the change. “While the faculty who partici-
Diversity and Social Justice Committee, and she previously
pated in her selection and I both had great confidence in her
served as chair of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity
potential, little did we realize what extraordinary capacity,
Program. Chung has been a member of the Mills faculty for
vision, and dedication she would bring to leading at Mills.”
14 years.
S TE V E BABUL JIAK
“Four years ago, it was my honor to announce the appoint-
Commencement 2021? As of press time, Mills College is planning a virtual Commencement ceremony with additional in-person activities for the Class of 2021, though what they will look like is still unknown. On February 16, President Elizabeth L. Hillman sent an email to the Mills community indicating that the ongoing pandemic would prevent the College from hosting a typical Commencement ceremony with thousands of guests visiting campus. Instead, a team composed of academic, events, and student life staffers are working on alternatives that will allow graduating students to celebrate with their family and friends, both virtually and in person where possible. These plans are scheduled to be announced by late March— likely by the time you receive this magazine. For the most up-to-date information on Commencement 2021, visit mills.edu.
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Mills College at a glance Student body, 2020–21 Undergraduates
609
First year
129
New transfers
62 65%
The 2020–21 Mills student body has
Budget & fundraising highlights, 2019–20
First-generation 44%
961 students
Annual operating expense budget:1 $54 million
Living on campus
24%
Students of color
Resumers 17% Graduate students
352
Women 79% Men 21% Students of color
Faculty
full time
representing 41 states and 13 countries
58% part time
Total
73
106
Female faculty
71%
81%
Faculty of color
53%
43%
Student-to-faculty ratio
8:1
Average class size
11
94% of undergraduates and
88% of graduate students receive financial aid
Affording Mills Undergraduates
Total operating revenue: 2 $66.8 million* Total operating expense: 3 $60.4 million Endowment value (6/30/20): $187.3 million * Revenue from the 2019–20 school year included several one-time, nonrenewable payments, such as funding from the Payroll Protection Plan, Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, and increased endowment payout. 1
FY20 Approved Operating Expense Budget
2
FY20 Year-End Audit
3
FY20 Year-End Audit
Tuition $29,340 % receiving financial aid
94%
Total aid $14.5M Amount funded by Mills
$8M
Graduate students Tuition $34,833 % receiving financial aid 88% Total aid $6.6M Amount funded by Mills $1.5M For undergraduates, 92 percent receive some portion of their aid directly from Mills, and the average award is $25,428.
Sources of gifts Alumnae 22% Estates 43% Foundations & Corporations 11% Trustees 10% Parents, friends, others 14%
Sources of revenue Tuition & fees...........................................29% Housing, food, & conferences........... 13% Endowment payout 18% Gifts & grants 30% Other 10%
SPRING 2021
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Senior Wall:
[Plath]
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Mills creates new antiracism commitment On January 14, Special Assistant for Equity and Inclusion
These items come out of the Board of Trustees’ passage
Kamala Green announced the finalization of Mills
of its own Commitment to Antiracism in October 2020,
College’s antiracism commitment. It will include:
as well as extensive training undertaken by the College’s
• The creation of a plan for the College to commit to racial justice and dismantle the barriers to educational opportunity that race, class, and other intersecting systems of exclusion and oppression have created.
Intersectional Antiracism Team in the summer and fall,
• The identification of goals for this academic year, including a thorough assessment of current policies and practices.
with evaluation and accountability measures still to come
• A commitment to sustained action through visible leadership and a willingness to change.
for faculty and staff.
• The acceptance of accountability in removing barriers and systemic racism.
voicing their concerns, and for providing valuable feedback
• An acceleration of three critical action items for the campus: equitable systems and inclusive culture; talent; and education and training.
antiracist campus,” Green said in her January 14 announce-
including work in “liberatory design” with the National Equity Project. Various affinity groups and departments on campus are transforming these ideas into goals this spring, that ensure this work is sustainable and ongoing. One of the biggest elements will be continuing professional development “We thank each community member who participated in and great ideas as we look toward the future in creating an ment. To learn more, visit mills.edu/blacklivesmatter and click on the “Antiracism Plan” link.
Raising awareness a world away Virtual learning over the past year competed with any number of outside distractions, but this winter, Burmese student Moe Hay Mar Kaung ’22 attempted to complete her coursework while her native country was going through an ongoing coup. While Kaung is currently in the United States, her hometown of Yangon, the country’s largest city, saw massive protests over the Myanmar military’s refusal to accept last November’s election win of Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet Kaung got to work. In partnership with the Muslim Student Alliance (MSA), she hosted an event on Instagram to demonstrate how to prepare the Burmese soup mohinga as well as provide information about current events and raise money for mutual-aid networks and grassroots organizations in Myanmar. Thus far, all proceeds from that event and other fundraisers have gone to help schoolteachers, journalists, and railroad workers in Myanmar. Kaung has also spoken on student panels with George Washington University and the College of San Mateo about Gen Z activism during the coup. “There is a chance you do not even know where Myanmar is on a map, so I strongly encourage you to read up on what’s happening,” she says. “While financial contributions are critical at the moment, what would truly guide us towards global democracy is your willingness to remember us as more than just a fleeting headline.” SPRING 2021
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Mills benefits from donor generosity Mills College thanks the following members of the com-
Mimi Miller ’50 generously gave to Mills’ Greatest Need,
munity for their gifts, grants, and pledges of $50,000 or
the fund that underwrites unexpected costs that pop up during
more, received between July 1 and December 31, 2020.
the school year, such as pandemic-related campus adjustments.
Donald Cotton, husband of the late Fin Cotton ’58,
Candace Pelissero ’68 and Brian Larsen donated to the
continued to offer significant support to the Cotton-Prieto
Summer Academic Workshop Restricted Fund, bolstering
Ceramics Endowment, with the aim of conserving the Mills
the renowned bridge program that helps new first-generation
College Art Museum’s ceramics collection.
students acclimate to the world of higher education.
The Crankstart Foundation made a pledge to the Crankstart
Cris Russell ’71 continued her support of the Russell
Re-Entry Scholarship Program, which provides support to
Women in Science Leadership Program, which empowers bud-
resumer students looking to finish their college degrees at Mills.
ding scientists through summer research, and she also made a
Cheryl Haines and Meredith Palmer both gave gifts-inkind of artworks to the Mills College Art Museum, expanding
gift to the Class of 1971 Endowed Scholarship in anticipation of her 50th Reunion. The Quigley/Hiltner Fund of the San Francisco Foundation
the institution’s collection. Kay Kewley ’65 directed an unrestricted bequest from her
made donations to Faculty Development, to help professors
late husband, Wayne T. Lyons, and these funds will help the
continue to offer top-tier educational experiences, and to Lead
College respond to urgent demands, launch new initiatives,
by Learning—formerly known as the Mills Teacher Scholars
and meet students’ needs more effectively.
Program—which enables the School of Education to cultivate the
The Lumina Foundation for Education, Taube Philanthropies, and an anonymous donor offered funds
best possible teachers through professional development. The Stuart Foundation also gave to Lead by Learning by
to support the College’s Campus Optimization Project,
funding grants for participants and the program’s marketing
which seeks out new partners for the Mills campus
and communications efforts. The estate of Katherine Zelinsky Westheimer ’42
to diversify programs and boost revenues. Karen May ’86 and Keith Schultz made a gift to Equity and Inclusion Training, which will help bring in outside experts
offered support to the Buildings and Grounds Fund to help with maintenance of the beautiful Mills campus.
to train faculty and staff as part of the College’s commitment to antiracism.
Calendar Trans Studies Speaker Series Trans Aesthetics: Juliana Huxtable and MacKenzie Wark in Conversation with Susan Stryker ■ April 8 A conversation between media theorist MacKenzie Wark of the New School for Social Research (The Hacker Manifesto; Reverse Cowgirl) and visual artist and DJ Juliana Huxtable on Black and femme trans cultural production and worldmaking. 5:00 pm PDT. Visit performingarts.mills.edu to register.
Mills College Art Museum
Contemporary Writers Series
The following exhibitions are free to view in person, but require timed ticketing. Visit mcam.mills.edu to make a reservation.
April 2 ■ Aiden Thomas Aiden Thomas ’10, MFA ’15, is a YA author who’s originally from Oakland and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Aiden’s debut novel Cemetery Boys was published by Macmillan in July 2020 and has spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list—the first time a piece of fiction by an openly trans author has earned the distinction. 5:00 pm PDT. Visit performingarts.mills.edu to register.
2021 Senior Thesis Exhibition ■ March 30–April 18 This exhibition gives these young artists their first show in a professional art museum. Presenting artists are Cecelia Bishop, Tri-an Cao, Lena Coletto, Emily Falco, Ely Gann, Lauryn Marshall, Bianca Mead, Angelica Navarro, Grace Patterson, Sophia Ramirez, Dio Ruiz, and Emma Sugarbaker. 2021 MFA Thesis Exhibition ■ May 8–June 6 The exhibition highlights each artists’ achievements as completed bodies of works. Featuring Laura DeAngelis, Ashley Garr, Sveta Gayshan, Sylvia Hughes-Gonzales, Marlys Mandaville, Thiago Mendes, Kara Nelson, Alex Salceanu, and Beau Thomas.
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
The 13th Annual Thought Leadership Conference April 8–9 ■ Unfinished: Actualizing an intersectional antiracist future Building on the Center Transformative Action’s November 2020 event, this conference will continue to center race and equity in discussions covering the intersection of business, policy, technology, education, public health, and more. 12:00–4:30 pm PDT. Visit millscta.org for more info and to register.
Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students The Mills Book Art Program won
to appeal to what they could “see with
challenges during her career, and what
the 2021 Institutional Award from the
their own eyes.”
those challenges have offered. Associate Professor of Biology
American Printing History Association,
Vice President of Student Life and
given to the department for its leadership
Dean of Students Chicora Martin was
in developing academic programming
quoted in an article for Idaho EdNews
Geographic article, “How Animals
that became the model for other institu-
following their attendance at a half-day
Choose Their Leaders, From Brute Force
tions, and for its centrality in establish-
summit hosted virtually by Boise State,
to Democracy”—just in time for the 2020
ing this “now-respected” area of study.
which focused on student needs during
election—in which she made compari-
Professor of Book Art and Lovelace
the pandemic. They remarked that col-
sons to the ways in which humans pick
Family Endowed Chair in Book Art
leges cannot simply shut their doors to
their leaders. She was also interviewed
Kathleen Walkup accepted the award
students who call campuses home.
by CNN in January about behavior in female-dominated animal groups.
for the department in January.
Jean Macduff Vaux Composer-in-
The Mills Music Department was
Residence Tyshawn Sorey was profiled
featured in the Los Angeles Times article “How To Listen,” which mentioned several Mills music giants including John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, Luciano Berio, and Terry Riley. “Little Mills College in Oakland overachieves,” stated the article, which was published on Dec. 31, 2020. Adjunct Professor of Studio Art Jennifer Brandon co-curated the exhibition Magnetic Pull through the Bay Area Photographers Collective, a
Yulia Pinkusevich, Sakha Mother Spirit (Aiy Aisyt), Charcoal, pastel and pencil on paper over birch panel, 2020.
by the New York Times in the Critic’s Notebook section; the article detailed his busy fall of 2020 and praised his composing career. Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women’s Leadership Susan Stryker has been awarded the 2021 Arcus/Places Prize. She will use the award to develop a project that examines how the 1966 riot at Compton’s Cafeteria has a legacy in today’s activism.
nonprofit organization that supports
Student Noreen Swan ’21 was the
photographers and their exhibitions in
subject of a January story in Cal Matters
the community. The show, which ran from January 16 through February 20,
Jenn Smith was quoted in a National
Work by Associate Professor of
about college students and their experi-
centered on how this artistic commu-
Studio Art Yulia Pinkusevich is
ences during the pandemic, and the
nity adapts in times of isolation.
available for viewing in multiple
story was written by Angel Fabre ’21.
exhibitions. Calm Under the Waves
Swan spoke about their difficulties
was featured in a new documentary,
in the Blue of My Oblivion will be up
learning from home in Maine.
The Book Makers, which explores the
through April 16 at archergallery.space,
“remarkable resilience” of the book form.
the website for Archer Gallery at Clark
sented a webinar hosted by Pearson,
Professor of Book Art Julie Chen
Professor of Biology Lisa Urry pre-
College in Vancouver, Washington.
“Teaching Majors Biology in an Online
Success and Undergraduate Education
Rupture of the Mundane Plane can
Environment,” in October 2020, in
and Professor of Psychology Christie
be viewed in person (depending on
which she discussed her and Associate
Chung has been named digital associ-
stay-at-home orders) through April
Professor of Biology Helen Walter’s
ate editor of Psychonomic Society, an
at Qualia Contemporary Art in Palo
process for transitioning their general
organization that trumpets the study of
Alto, California. And the group show
biology courses online.
cognition.
Where the Heart Is: Contemporary Art
Interim Associate Provost of Student
Adjunct Professor of Studio Art Samara Halperin co-designed 2020 elec-
Professor of Studio Art Catherine
by Immigrant Artists is on display at the
Wagner is now represented by Jessica
Palo Alto Art Center through April 3.
Silverman Gallery in San Francisco,
Darius Milhaud Chair in Music
which featured her work as part of
with a goal to speak to viewers “who
Composition Tomeka Reid was fea-
the Art Basel Miami Beach OVR in
might vote for [Trump] out of perceived
tured in a Downbeat article in which
December 2020 and again in a thematic
pragmatism and self-interest,” and aimed
she discussed her continuous search for
retrospective show in April.
tion billboards in Central Pennsylvania,
SPRING 2021
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&
Mills Girls N THE WINTER 2021 issue of Mills Quarterly, we published an excerpt from “Black Power and the Mills Girl,” an academic article recently published in the Journal of Civil and Human Rights by Denison University professor Lauren Araiza about the occupation of then-President Robert Wert’s office in 1969. One of the ways
Black Power: A Roundtable Discussion
in which Araiza researched the piece was by interviewing a number of Mills alumnae who were involved in the Black Power movement at the College. We gathered four of those participants over Zoom in January to talk about the piece and the ups and downs of their time at Mills. The talk was lively, passionate, and filled with memories, both good and bad. A shortened transcript of the discussion begins below; read the whole thing at quarterly.mills.edu.
Mills Quarterly: Now that the piece is out, what do you think about it? Cheryl Blankenship ’72 : The article was a bit provocative. I hadn’t thought about the experience from the perspective that she laid out, nor the impact of it, so I’m still mulling it over. It was a lived experience and I’m glad we did it.
Micheline Beam ’72: What surprised me about the article was that I didn’t realize that demonstrations flew in the face of what “Mills girls” were supposed to be. I never quite had a concept of what that was, but obviously if you were a woman of color, you weren’t it. With the concerns we had, I don’t think any of us were really concerned about it not being typical “Mills girl” behavior.
Sheryl Bize-Boutte ’73: That part of the article was what I was most familiar with.1 It’s interesting how our different experiences at Mills determined what jumped out at us. One of my early experiences at Mills was having a professor call my mother and basically tell her that I wasn’t acting 10
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
1 Bize-Boutte wrote a piece in the fall 2015 issue of the Quarterly, “Pride and Pain,” that details much more about her experience at Mills from 1969 to 1973. Read it at quarterly.mills .edu/pride-and-pain. 2 In her article, Araiza cited several misogynistic Tribune columns by Al Martinez, who consistently belittled the efforts of Black Student Union members. One quote: “... riot is such a masculine term, dear, and demonstration is positively lewd.” 3 Despite her involvement with the BSU, Harrison wasn’t able to participate in the occupation of President Wert’s office due to illness.
how a Mills girl should act. And the only reason that she said was because I had a job.
Debbie Harrison ’72: I had a job, so I don’t know why that was such a big to-do. It was part of my scholarship, and I worked in the library.
Bize-Boutte: I had a work-study job with two other white Mills students. So for some reason, this professor had that old finishing school attitude toward Mills, and just did not like the fact that I was there doing something that she didn’t feel that a Mills girl should do. Generally speaking, I thought [Araiza] did a good job with the article, and she conveyed the culture, the feelings, and the things that actually happened during that period of time. I really liked her adding in the view that the Oakland Tribune reporter had of us. 2 You see, his view of us was formed by the culture that surrounded the entire institution of Mills College, which is still there to this day. The way he talked about us was so disrespectful and hurtful.
Beam: And demeaning. I had no idea that that was his perspective at the Oakland Tribune until I read the article and found out about it. [Araiza] did a fantastic job. I think she was true to the time and what was going on at that particular time; it was a great article.
Harrison: Yes, I enjoyed it. I started to look at all the pictures and thought, I remember that! And then I said, “You know what, Debbie? You weren’t there for that part!”3
Beam: And I’m struck by the similarities between some of the things we experienced way back when with what’s still going on. Not that much of a difference—nooses, professors saying inappropriate comments, stuff going on in the residence halls—so it’s disturbing to me, that all of these decades later, not too much has changed. It seems as though every generation of students has to go through this because the institution has not adequately addressed the concerns and made the fundamental changes needed to keep this from rearing its ugly head, generation after generation.
Bize-Boutte: In terms of what a Mills girl was defined as back then: even though that definition has changed, there is still a separation between
Micheline Beam ’72 (left)
students of color and white students in the way
Debbie Harrison ’72 (above)
a Mills girl is supposed to be. Many Mills women
Sheryl Bize-Boutte ’73 (below)
are now at the age where they’re writing memoirs, and white women who were students at Mills [when we were] are revealing things that would
Cheryl Blankenship ’72 (below, left)
not necessarily be considered what a good Mills girl would do, like having to spend the night at Alta Bates hospital because they had overdosed. All of this stuff was hidden from us so that they could maintain the facade.
Quarterly: The article proposes that 1969 was a turning point in Mills history. What did you see in the aftermath of those protests? Bize-Boutte : The aftermath helped to launch my writing career, because I started writing for the college newspaper as a freshwoman, and I kept doing it until I graduated. And there was no topic that I wasn’t allowed to talk about. When I go back and read some of that stuff now, I go, “Ooh, that’s really bad,” and then some of it I read and go, “Oh, that was so good! You were so perceptive!” I wrote about the war, relationships between Black men and Black women, the Black Panthers, and professors at Mills who were trying to thrust white values down our throats. Some of it [my writing] was met with a smirk, though some of it was welcomed. I really don’t know how it helped with the situation; all I can say is that the era ushered in my ability to do that. And I haven’t stopped writing since then.
Blankenship: The article opened my eyes to the fact that that woman was going back to Dean SPRING 2021
11
[Patricia] Brauel and telling her what we were talk-
Beam: You’re welcome. That groundwork was
ing about. I remember all of our meetings over by
laid in the spring,6 before we got there in the fall
the Tea Shop, and I remember pushing into Wert’s
of ’68. When a group of people feels oppressed,
office and the demonstrations. I remember when
there should be activism, and I think the activ-
we took over the bookstore,5 because most of the
ism has continued because the institution has
Black students were short: Micheline is short, and
not changed enough. If things that happened 40
Debbie and I are probably around the same height,
years ago had changed, we would not be having
but we were pushed to the front door like we were
this conversation.
4
supposed to block everything, so that was a little
We were swept up in everything that was hap-
scary. I found myself in the thick of it, but I didn’t
pening at San Francisco State and UC Berkeley. But Mills had its own unique issues. And we didn’t need men on campus—we just decided that it was enough and we were not going to accept it, and we just kept plodding right along. I drew my support from the sisters around me, as well as some white allies. Every sister that I knew at Mills has done well. We’ve had attorneys, judges, educators, scientists— all of us did well. After all of that, [our experiences] did not put out any of our lights, and it did not stop us from whatever course we were going to take. We persevered and did quite well in institutions that were not unlike Mills, except bigger, and probably more racist, but we persevered because Mills was a microcosm of the rest of the country.
Bize-Boutte: Amen! Harrison: I happened to start teaching in Los Angeles when the district made a mandatory transfer of Black teachers into the San Fernando Valley. By the way, I lived in the city of Carson, and that was 50 miles from my school. So I called my union. And ladies, that’s where I did my activism. I went from being just a teacher to the chapter chair at the school—which is like the union rep—to an officer of United Teachers Los Angeles. (I went to jail for teachers, you know.) And then I went from there to the board of directors for the California Teachers Association. Participants
know what I was doing. So yes, I think it opened up
in the 1969
activism for me, and for us, just because it was there.
occupation of
And the article laid bare that Mills women did it in
President Wert’s
a “respectful and dignified” way. I mean, we were
office
strong—which I think Black women are, period—and forceful, in the way we conduct ourselves. We’re direct, we follow through, and we keep pushing.
Bize-Boutte: You became a true activist! Beam: You’re a Mills woman. Bize-Boutte: That’s the key right there. We are Mills women. Mills reinforced for me the feeling that I could do anything that I wanted to do. And I
Bize-Boutte: I have to tell you three sisters, that what you did in 1968—you know, we all say that
hear that in each and every one of you, and that’s a wonderful thing.
we stand on someone’s shoulders—you laid the groundwork for me to be able to do what I did when I came in 1969. So for that, I thank you.
+ Read the full version of this conversation at quarterly.mills.edu/mills-girls-black-power.
12
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
“Every sister that I knew at Mills has done well. We’ve had attorneys, judges, educators, scientists— all of us did well. After all of that, it did not put out any of our lights, and [our experiences] did not stop us from whatever course we were going to take.” –Micheline Beam
Blankenship: It’s not so much that Mills did it; it’s the people who came together, who interacted and supported one another. It’s about the relationships. And so what Mills did was bring us together, and allowed us to understand that the sky was the limit, that we didn’t really have boundaries. And I think the activism probably pushed that perspective. At that period of time, our culture was coming out of segregation, so that helped us understand that the sky was the limit, that we could be activists, that we could push boundaries in every kind of way.
Quarterly: What were your impressions of your classmates, especially your white classmates, when you first arrived at Mills? Beam: I applied, I got in, and my mother and I went to a reception for Oakland students who had been accepted. It was at [former art professor] Ralph Du Casse’s house, and my mother and I rang the doorbell. This white lady came to the door, and she said, “Oh, you all can go around the back.” Clearly, I wasn’t there to be a student; my mother and I were obviously working! At that point, I said, “I’m done” and my mother said, “No, you got in, you’re going to go.” Du Casse came to the door and he apologized and he was ever so gracious. But this was in the middle of Oakland, and this woman was so put out by people of color coming to her door that she assumed we were there to work, as opposed to being one of the incoming students. And then we got on campus, and there were so few of us that we knew all of the Black students. You see one: “Hey, how are you doing? What’s your name? Where do you live, what dorm?” We were few and far between, but we were glad to see somebody who looked like us on campus because there wasn’t any faculty or staff who looked like us. Blankenship: When I got to Mills, I was coming
other Black students as roommates, but I remem-
4 Araiza noted in her article that the house mother of Orchard Meadow reported to the administration when the BSU met in that residence hall.
ber white students saying things: “Let me touch
5 Before the occupation of the president’s office, BSU members organized a collective action at the Mills College Bookstore, preventing any customers from entering until the financial aid committee agreed to assist students who could not afford to buy books.
were [kept] out of white schools. We all knew that
6 In the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, Black students began protesting conditions at Mills through newspaper editorials and requests to the administration to add Black professors and advisors.
Angeles, and the only white people I knew were my
your hair.” “Does your skin color come off, like get around your shirt collar or something like that?” There was a sense that we weren’t supposed to be there, that we were affirmative action enrollees. I graduated high school as valedictorian, and in the South, we had incredible educations because we were taught by PhDs—Black teachers we had to be better than the next person just to achieve, and we also knew that our success was bound up in everybody’s success. So you had to make your race proud, your family proud, and in this case, make the other Black students proud. Bize-Boutte: I only lived a few blocks away from Mills, so it didn’t make any sense for me to spend that extra money [on housing]. Once I set foot on campus to go to class, it surrounded me—it was unmistakable that the atmosphere was one of “we really don’t want you here and you need to prove why we should let you stay.” Harrison: First of all, I’m from South Central Los teachers. And I really wanted to go to Radcliffe, so I applied, but I didn’t get in because it had already reached its racial quota. One of my counselors said, “Well Debbie, if you’re truly interested in a women’s college, I know one in Oakland.” I applied to Mills and was accepted, and I received a nice scholarship. But my aunt, who was supposed to be taking me to school, refused because of everything you all are talking about. She said, “Why should I take my child over there?” But I really enjoyed my experience at Mills, because I did meet so many wonderful African American students, but I also met some wonderful white students. I wanted to live with white
from South Carolina, and that was the very first
people—I wanted to try it, see what it was like—
time I was in an environment with anyone except
and I always tell people, it wasn’t all it was cracked
African Americans, and at first I was a little intimi-
up to be. [Laughs] But I had a good experience,
dated. One of the things they did was pair us with
and the article just brought back memories. ⓦ SPRING 2021
13
and the COVID Urban Classroom
PROFESSOR TOMÁS GALGUERA is the bridge between the School of Education (SOE) faculty from before and after the turn of the millennium. Early childhood education used to underpin most SOE programming, he said, but once his older colleagues retired around the mid-2000s, there was a shift in
The Mills School of Education had already adjusted its program to better prepare teachers for the challenges of urban schools. What happens when that intersects with a pandemic? By Rebecca Bodenheimer
the school’s priorities to focus more on teachers. Galguera, who is now the chair of the SOE’s Teacher Education Department, said the faculty realized that the program “assumed a certain level of privilege, because it asked people to suspend everything they were doing for a year so they could become a teacher.” In that sense, it had a tendency to favor prospective educators who could afford to take that kind of break. More recent faculty members have committed to making the program accessible to teachers who reflect the makeup of Oakland public school students. “We have a pretty unstable workforce in our schools, teaching primarily students of color [and] families that are grappling with financial, food, and housing insecurities. It’s such a wide conflation of challenges,” said Wendi Williams, dean of the SOE, who came to Mills in 2019. “We need schools to be places of stability, which means that we need a workforce that’s going to be there, and that can afford to be there.”
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Equity is a key philosophy at the SOE—particularly issues
mics. They know how to turn their cameras off,” so it’s diffi-
of race, class, and cultural specificity. This dedication con-
cult to keep them engaged. Similarly, Durr said, “On campus,
trasts with a more traditional education curriculum, both
I used to just put them in groups all the time, to work with
for would-be teachers and their eventual students. And
whoever they wanted, as long as they got it done. But now,
along with other aspects of making the program more
you put them in breakout rooms, and they go silent, because
accessible, such as offering weekend and evening courses
they don’t want to talk on Zoom.” Many students, she added,
to accommodate students with other obligations, the SOE
are self-conscious about showing their faces or unmuting
was already planning to make the program more of a hybrid
themselves—which is a major challenge for English language
between in-person and online learning. Then, of course,
learners, who need to practice speaking.
the pandemic hit, and virtual learning became a necessity across the board.
“It’s so important for kids to be talking and interacting if they’re going to develop language [skills]. And what I worry
In a way, the challenges the field of education has faced
about is that distance learning can be very transmission
over the past year mirror the issues of accessibility being
focused,” said Laura Alvarez ’01, MA ’03, an assistant profes-
encountered across all levels of education—especially those
sor of bilingual and teacher education at St. Mary’s College
that teachers find in urban K-12 classrooms, such as those
of California. “I think that it’s really hard to figure out how
that surround the College’s East Oakland neighborhood.
to create those rich interactions.” Overall, one of the hard-
SOE graduates reported that the same issues they were
est things for her credential students right now, she said,
trained to handle during a regular school year have been
is developing relationships with their own students. Since
heightened during this virtual one.
many students have their cameras off, educators are “teach-
Learning from Home One of the biggest challenges during the pandemic has
ing to little boxes, [so] they don’t know who’s there and who’s not there. And relationships are so central to teaching,” Alvarez added.
been inequitable access to technology required for remote
This overall disengagement with school is something that
learning. (The same is true at the collegiate level; a pro-
concerns both Durr and Galguera. As Galguera said, “A lot
gram to help Mills students obtain iPads at steep discounts
of kids are just sad about not hanging out with their class-
was wildly popular.) As Galguera noted, in the beginning,
mates.” Without the social element, a number of students
many K-12 families didn’t have the means to connect to the
might say, “To hell with all this,’” he added.
internet, and some had data plans that didn’t allow them to use video. Even now, although the Oakland Unified School
From Classroom to Classroom
District (OUSD) has distributed Chromebooks and provided
Before returning for graduate work in education, Durr spent
families with access to WiFi, some of those free internet ser-
time in the AmeriCorps program, which did not emphasize
vices have expired at a time when many are struggling to
the equity issues that were the hallmark of her master’s pro-
put food on the table. There is also a lot of variation among
gram at Mills. At the SOE, “there was a heavy emphasis on
teachers, Galguera added, regarding their ability to use
making sure that all students get what they need to succeed,”
technology—older teachers have struggled more.
she said, adding that the College’s focus on racial justice and
At United for Success Academy, the OUSD middle school
centering student voices has deeply influenced her teach-
where L’aurelei Durr ’14, MA ’18, teaches, many families
ing to this day. Durr also found the attention to inquiry and
have struggled to obtain reliable internet access, and getting ahold of others has been difficult: “The biggest challenge was just emailing and calling kids and trying to figure out where they were,” she said. Lauren Ashton ’13, MA ’14, currently an assistant principal at West Portal Elementary in San Francisco, pointed out that many students in urban districts like the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and OUSD have parents who can’t necessarily sit next to them and help with homework. “They’re on their own while the parents are working,” she said. Student engagement during remote learning is another challenge Ashton mentioned, particularly for upper elementary school students: “Those kids
Wendi Williams
Tomás Galguera
are smart enough, they know how to mute their SPRING 2021
15
action research to be a novel method she hadn’t been exposed
questions the dominant ideologies and paradigms—as well as a
to in her undergraduate education.
sincere love and caring for the kids.”
Alvarez agreed with Durr, saying that her time at Mills was
At the heart of this equity-driven approach, Galguera added,
foundational, particularly the emphasis on social justice and
is an inquiry stance and practice, i.e., using empirical evidence
student-centered education that is responsive to the needs of
to guide decisions as educators: “You really have to gather data
students and their community. While Alvarez now mentors
and find out how your teaching favors some students over oth-
educators-in-training at St. Mary’s, she also taught in OUSD
ers.” As an example, he feels that code-switching, or the way
schools for 12 years.
in which those from non-dominant cultures switch back and
As a 2003 graduate with her master’s in teaching, she
forth between different dialects to accommodate their circum-
caught the very beginning of a broader shift in the School of
stances, is “an oppressive and deficit mindset because the way
Education’s philosophy and curriculum undergirding both
[they’re] speaking is not acceptable in the classroom.” Instead,
the undergraduate and postgraduate (credential and master’s)
he encourages “code-meshing,” explaining: “These kids have
programs. As Galguera noted, the guiding principles of urban
such amazing linguistic resources. Why don’t they tap into
education are “our serious and genuine concern for social jus-
some of them and create a hybrid, something different that is
tice and an almost obsession with an antiracist and culturally
even better than just ‘academic language’?”
and linguistically inclusive kind of approach—one that really
Nonetheless, Galguera is a realist. He recognizes that teachers have to balance cultural inclusivity with the real-world constraints and needs of mainstream education, and that they’re going to have to deal with this contradiction: “Do you teach
What does an urban school district look like? Every year, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) publishes statistics on its student body. The information below is from the 2019–2020 school year, reflecting OUSD students before the pandemic set in. Out of:
we live in, with standardized testing and all of those things? Or do you teach your students to change the world into something that’s better, more democratic, more caring?” The answer, he said, is both. The teaching credential program has now been revamped as “Educators for Liberation, Justice, and Joy” and is designed for teachers who have to work while earning their credential. “We
35,938 students
feel like joy has been really left out of the conversation with
902
schools,’” Williams said. “We have to bring that laughter and
are homeless
679
are unaccompanied immigrant youth
32.9%
are English language learners
50.7%
speak a language other than English at home
13.5%
receive special education services
31.8%
are chronically absent
71.2%
are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches
72.6%
graduate from high school in four years *Source: OUSD.org 16
your students to be successful in the rotten, unfair, biased world
regards to learning, particularly when we talk about ‘urban joy back.” Faculty members also want to make explicit their commitment to addressing racism and anti-Blackness, and issues of gender and class. Thus, they have decided to integrate urban education better into the undergraduate major, and to rename it “Critical Studies in Education,” which will incorporate critical race theory and other approaches informed by experiences of marginalization. And, Williams added, they want their programs to center on the fundamental humanity of both the teachers themselves and the children they teach. She views this move as counteracting the “technocratic perspective” of education that sees students and teachers as interchangeable widgets.
What Happens After? There has been some preliminary research on the predicted long-term effects of the pandemic and remote learning on educational outcomes and academic achievement. English language learners and Black and Latino students, who are disproportionately represented in large, urban school districts, will likely face the highest toll. While both Williams and Ashton echoed this concern, Ashton said, “I would hate for that to be what teachers focus on when we come back in person,” feeling that the social-emotional toll is a more important long-term effect. Alvarez also
Williams noted that teachers and unions have successfully emphasized how difficult teaching was prior to the pandemic— something that has simply been made more visible to the wider public: “I feel like it’s interesting that they have been called essential, because we just haven’t treated them like they’re essential.”
noted that a myopic focus on learning loss would be harmful:
was prior to the pandemic—something that has simply been made
“I’m worried that what’s going to happen is a really back-to-
more visible to the wider public: “I feel like it’s interesting that they
basics remediation for kids of color, for English learners, for
have been called essential, because we just haven’t treated them
students who are seen as ‘struggling.’” She predicts that testing
like they’re essential. We’ve treated them pretty disrespectfully.”
will focus on how many months of school a child has lost, and
She hopes that when the pandemic is over, policymakers and the
the solution will involve “a bunch of really boring, disrespect-
public will be more responsive to the needs of educators.
ful, non-compelling curriculum thrown at [them] instead of something that’s rich and rigorous and inviting.”
“Kids will be happy to be back in school, and that will make for some good initial times, but then things could go back to
And then there are the economics of schools’ recovery from
normal,” Galguera said. He hopes some of the online innova-
the pandemic, Ashton pointed out: “I know that based on the
tions that teachers and school districts have been forced to
amount of money SFUSD has spent on distance learning, we’re
implement become a more regular part of pedagogy. Describing
probably going to see some really big budget cuts, which is not
education as a conservative profession, he said, “You’d be
what we want to see when we’re hoping to hire a reading or
surprised how many chalkboards there are still out there in
a math interventionist to support us with coming back from
schools. The ways we do teaching haven’t really changed much
distance learning.” Beyond the problems students are facing,
at all for centuries.” He hopes the use of technology will now be
Durr is also concerned about teacher burnout because of how
more normalized.
difficult and time-consuming the challenges of remote learn-
Finally, he worries that the educational inequities that have
ing have been, as well as the safety concerns of going back to
been made visible during the pandemic, and how they affect the
school in-person.
students themselves, will be forgotten: “Unfortunately, humans
Williams and Galguera are somewhat hopeful about other
have a sort of a collective memory that resembles how we deal
lasting impacts of the pandemic. Williams noted that teachers
with chewing gum. You know, we chew it for as long as it has
and unions have successfully emphasized how difficult teaching
flavor, and then we spit it out.” ⓦ
SPRING 2021
17
Strongwomen The Fight for Feminist Fitness What do this Strongman champion, an
has competed in numerous Strongman
misogyny, and debasing behavior expe-
opera singer turned world-class boxer,
national and world championships.
rienced by women boxers. As a mentor
and the founder of the nation’s first queer
Kromer considers herself lucky to
once told her: “Once you turn pro as a
gym all have in common? They’re all
have discovered a powerful community
woman, it’s a steep climb. There’s not a
badass Mills alumnae who are, in incre-
at Strongman: “There isn’t the negativ-
lot of competition, and they’re good.” By
mental and momentous ways, charting
ity you might encounter in other parts
contrast, male boxers are able to match
new ground in the landscape of profes-
of powerlifting. The vibe is like, ‘You’re
in more fights, allowing significantly
sional fitness. They don’t fit a stereotype,
weird like me, let’s go do this.’” In the
more opportunities to practice and pad
and are instead bringing their full selves
last decade, Kromer has been thrilled
their resumes. “Women aren’t supposed
to their practices and redefining success
to see increased representation and par-
to be 40-year-old boxing heavyweights,”
in their own terms.
ticipation of women in professional lift-
says Hafner, now 43. “After winning my
ing, particularly due to the popularity
pro debut, I realized that maybe I could
When Lisa Pollari Kromer ’98
of CrossFit. However, Kromer laments
make a difference by showing people
(pictured at right, in competition on
the limited coverage of female heavylift-
what women can do.”
January 23) transferred to Mills from
ers who don’t fit conventional notions
However, long before Hafner entered
College of Alameda, she was seeking a
of beauty, and she wishes that amaz-
the boxing ring, she fell in love with
safe refuge from an unhealthy relation-
ing feats such as the World’s Strongest
music. “Mills College shot me like a can-
ship. Her sociology classes illuminated
Woman competition received the cover-
non into my dream of being an opera
structural systems of gender and power,
age they deserved.
singer,” she says. “It blew my mind. I had
helping her reconnect with her innate
In 2016, Kromer won the US Strongman
a to-do list of traveling the world and
worth. Meanwhile, Kromer discovered
Middleweight 148 class title, the highest
studying opera in Italy, and I got to do it
exercise as a powerful outlet. She fell
honor in the country for her weight class.
all. Nobody put a cap on me.” Hafner was
in love with the abundance of dance
In 2019, she competed in Russia for an
especially inspired by the camaraderie
classes, worked as a head lifeguard, and
arm-lifting competition and became one
among her peers at Mills, who taught her
learned basic lifting. “At Mills, I learned
of only two women in the United States to
it was OK to be herself, even if she still
how to take care of myself and how to
qualify as both a pro Strongwoman and
harbored insecurities.
value myself,” she says. “The sports com-
pro armlifter. Kromer, whose day job is
After graduating, she traveled across
plex was my lifeline.”
in supply-chain management, now lives
Europe as an opera singer and intro-
After graduating, Kromer moved home
in Kennewick, Washington, with her hus-
duced Black American opera to new
to Washington state and began working
band and two sons—and both of them love
audiences. She moved to Montréal and
with a trainer at her local gym. The trainer
sports and training with their parents.
staked out a place in the Canadian opera scene, pursuing a master’s degree
introduced her to the riveting world of power lifting and Strongman, a competi-
“The hardest part about boxing
in music at the University of Ottawa.
tion that tests its participants’ strength
isn’t boxing; it’s everything outside the
Hafner founded an opera company and
in non-traditional ways, such as carrying
ring,” says Claire Hafner ‘99, Universal
discovered a passion for directing operas
refrigerators, pulling vehicles, and hauling
National
(UNBC)
with a contemporary twist—for instance,
stones. Her trainer became her husband,
Women’s
Champion,
infusing a production of Julius Caesar
and over the last 20 years, the couple
referring to the economic inequities,
with a Game of Thrones thrill ride. In a
18
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Boxing
Council
Heavyweight
CHERRY TREE IM AGERY
By Arya Samuelson, MFA ’19
SPRING 2021
19
later opera, she fused her passions by
ethical quandaries. Having witnessed
In the meantime, she is pursuing new
reimagining the protagonist as a boxer.
coaches slut-shame athletes, spread false
passions. “Boxing isn’t who I am,” she
“The less of a budget I have, the more
rumors, and generally treat women as
says. “I think it’s very dangerous to be
creative I am,” she says.
the weaker sex, Hafner has been contin-
only one thing.” Hafner is currently
Hafner was first recruited by a boxing
ually forced to make tough calls about
enrolled in law school and, upon gradu-
coach at age 36. “I didn’t start boxing
when to leave and when to fight back.
ation, is considering working as an advo-
to be a champion in the spotlight,” she
She also understands intimately how
cate for surrogate mothers. “Court is
insists. “I just wanted the most intense
the anti-feminist, money-driven nature
where the fight really happens,” she says.
workout possible.” Her extraordinary
of the sport pits participants against
discipline and drive led her to win a vari-
each other. After winning the Canadian
By the time Nathalie Huerta,
ety of amateur fights and ultimately to
Nationals, her coach—a woman herself—
MBA ’15, enrolled at Mills, she was per-
win the Ringside World Championship
dropped Hafner in favor of a younger
sonally familiar with the challenges
in 2015 and take silver at the Canadian
boxer being groomed for stardom. “If I
queer people faced at the gym. Working
Nationals in 2016. At age 40, she made
weren’t a woman in my late 30s with a
as a fitness trainer, Huerta felt frustrated
the leap into pro boxing, and after her
feminist background from Mills, I never
by the constant harassment she experi-
fifth match, she won the UNBC, an inter-
would have survived,” Hafner admits.
enced as a masculine-of-center lesbian.
continental fight that put her in line to
Once COVID-19 boxing restrictions
“The gayer I looked, the weirder going
are lifted, Hafner is thrilled about the
to the gym became,” she says. “I would
However, the road to the top has
opportunity to compete for a Canadian
train my clients at the gym and go home
been rife with degrading treatment and
boxing title, one of her lifelong dreams.
to work out.” As a business student,
compete for the world title.
Huerta hatched her dream of founding a queer gym.
“If I weren’t a woman in my late 30s with a feminist background from Mills, I never would have survived,” –Claire Hafner
She connected with a crew of entrepreneurs who supported each other as they grew the roots of their businesses: “Mills held the umbrella and helped all of us move faster in a more
intentional way through the business world.” By her second semester, Huerta was working as a personal trainer with lesbians across the Bay Area (including a fellow Mills student, who is still her client 10 years later). By the end of her first year, Huerta had enough money to rent a brick-and-mortar in Oakland. “I moved out all of the couches, started doing burpees, and declared it a gym!” she says. The first five years were dedicated to learning the how-tos. Huerta asked herself the hard questions: “Is it going to be The Lesbian Gym, or will it be The Queer Gym? If it’s going to be The Queer Gym, there’s so much I need to learn.” After deciding on the latter, Huerta reached out to trans clients for honest feedback and sought professional guidance at Lyon-Martin Health Services in San Francisco on how to make the gym experience for trans and gender nonconforming people as affirming as possible. “This is truly a safety issue for them,” Claire Hafner ’99 (on the right) before a competition as a professional boxer. 20
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
she says. “To make sure this gym was a
that her vulnerability could be channeled into strength, and she learned to lead and coach with love. Now Huerta shares this perspective with her coaches, creating a safe space where they can be vulnerable about their struggles. “You can’t have an employee kill it at work if their life is a mess,” she says. Operating
fully
and
permanently
online, The Queer Gym is celebrating its 10th year and flourishing with more than 300 clients around the US. Huerta regularly trains gym instructors across the country on integrating queer-affirming practices into their fitness spaces. She is proud that her gym is no longer the only queer gym in the country.
Though feminist reformation of the fitness world has a long way to go, Hafner, Kromer, and Huerta are triumphing in fields dominated by men and misogyny and reconsidering the true meaning of success. “I like how sports allow me to push my limits—and if my personal goals intersect with winning, that’s great,” says Kromer, who is currently training for several world competitions. “The most important thing is
Nathalie Huerta, MBA ’12, founder of The Queer Gym.
that I’m always getting better.” Huerta, who comes from a large Latinx family in Southern California, has learned
safe place for them, I needed to find out
the community, Huerta also offers addi-
to align notions of success with her core
what they needed.” Huerta now requires
tional services at the gym, including
values around relationships: “I feel proud-
all of her fitness coaches to participate
coaching on time management, money,
est and richest when I have enough
in trainings on LGBTQ+ issues multiple
and nutrition for coaches and clients:
money to send home to my family. That’s
times a year and has sought to eliminate
“My goal is to create happy, healthy,
what drives me to be an entrepreneur.”
as much gendered language as possible.
wealthy homos.” Knowing many of her
While Hafner waits out pandemic
“I’ve never seen genitalia on exercise
trainers hope to start their own coach-
boxing restrictions, she is training for
equipment,” Huerta jokes, regarding
ing businesses, Huerta celebrates their
a competitive biathlon in skiing and
popular fitness terms like “women’s” or
entrepreneurship
them
rifle shooting. “I’m awful at skiing,” she
“men’s” barbell.
firsthand how to launch and sustainably
admits, “and it’s so much fun. When you’re
operate their own companies.
the best, you can’t do anything wrong.
At The Queer Gym, Huerta has also
by
teaching
Everyone should do something where
cultivated a space where it’s safe to make
In 2016, Huerta began to experience
mistakes. Though she trains her coaches
challenges related to the intense scrutiny
how to avoid misgendering or unin-
garnered by her queer approach to fit-
All three women credit Mills for its role
tentionally harming clients, she also
ness: “I had started the first queer gym,
in their rejection of patriarchal norms.
trains them what to do if it does happen.
but everyone kept criticizing it. I kept say-
Using lessons and relationships from
“There’s a lot of relationship-building.”
ing, ‘Come join me. Let’s do this together.’”
Mills, they are creating new paradigms for
Huerta says, “[This environment] is not
These critiques led her on a long journey
fitness that center women and queer folks
a machine. It’s a garden. You have to
of self-discovery in order to re-envision
and embrace new ways of supporting one
water it, cut the weeds, make sure it has
how she approached leadership. “I real-
another. As Hafner says of her time at the
enough sun. You’re always growing it.”
ized I was leading with toxic masculinity,”
College: “It wasn’t us against men. It was
In recognition of economic disparities in
she admits. Huerta finally comprehended
they have permission to be terrible.”
just about us.” ⓦ
SPRING 2021
21
AAMC NEWS & NOTES A Message from the AAMC President The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the Alumnae
know which committees are currently seeking new members.
Association of Mills College (AAMC) to work in very different
The BOG has also continued to assess its programs and make
ways, especially since the campus continues to be closed to visi-
changes when needed. Three years ago, the AAMC and Mills
tors—including most alumnae—to reduce the risk of con-
College together launched MillsConnect, a networking and mentorship platform created for Mills alum-
tagion. Fewer students are living on campus than usual, and almost all of their classes are online.
nae and students. We want to thank those of you
A major part of our mission is to support Mills
who supported and participated on this plat-
students, and we’ve been able to continue to do
form. The students who used MillsConnect
so through socially distanced and virtual events.
benefited greatly from your mentorship, per-
At the end of last semester, Alumnae Student
spective, and advice. In the years since we
Relations Committee members assembled and
first launched, though, we found that students did not use the platform as much as
distributed 150 finals snack bags on campus.
we had anticipated or hoped. Because of this,
Students always look forward to this finals tradition and were delighted to pick them up and chat—at a safe distance—with alumnae. The committee also co-sponsored
the
MillsConnect
Steering
Committee
decided
not to renew our contract with the platform provider,
an online Winter Celebration for students who completed their
PeopleGrove, and MillsConnect shut down on February 13.
degrees in December. Family members from near and far joined in
We encourage you to join at least one of the two Mills-oriented
the celebration and made it a memorable and moving experience.
groups on LinkedIn: Mills College Connections, which is open to
We are looking forward to more such gatherings this spring.
students and alumnae; and Mills College Alumnae, specifically
During the pandemic, the Board of Governors (BOG) and its
for alumnae. Joining one or both of these groups can keep you
committees have been meeting regularly online or by confer-
up-to-date with what Mills graduates and students are doing
ence call. We continue to renew the leadership of the AAMC
professionally and help you to make valuable connections.
through our nominations process and the annual election of a
One program that will make a big impact on students far
new alumna trustee. Please cast your vote for this year’s candi-
into the future is the Alumnae of Color Endowed Scholarship,
date for alumna trustee. You can read the nominee’s statement,
established by the AAMC’s Alumnae of Color Committee. We
as well as more information on how to cast your vote, on the
will share updates about it in the future as fundraising con-
next page.
tinues, but this winter we received very sad news about the
Another way to get involved and lend your support is by serv-
first recipient of the scholarship: Sharon Robinson ’14, MPP ’15,
ing on one of the committees of the AAMC BOG. I encourage
passed away after a battle with cancer. I was blessed to know
you to peruse the AAMC website at aamc.mills.edu for a list
Sharon and experience her generosity, optimism, and ability to
of committees. You can always reach out to me if you’d like to
lift anyone’s spirit at any time. All who knew her will forever cherish Sharon. You can learn more about her in this issue’s In Memoriam section. As we continue to navigate these challenging times, I gain strength from those who have journeyed ahead of us. These affirming words of Maya Angelou grant us wisdom: A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself. I am grateful to have met so many Mills alumnae who embody this spirit. Until we can safely meet together in person, be safe and well and enjoy the spring. Warmly, Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82 AAMC President
22
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Elect your alumna trustee Vote by Friday, May 7, to approve the nominee of the Alumnae
All members of the AAMC are eligible to vote; any former
Association of Mills College (AAMC) to serve as the voice of
Mills student who has completed at least one full-time semester
Mills graduates on the Mills College Board of Trustees from July
and whose class has graduated from Mills is considered a mem-
1, 2021, to June 30, 2024. The alumna trustee will also serve as
ber of the AAMC. All ballots must be completed and received
a member of the AAMC Board of Governors during this same
at Reinhardt Alumnae House by 5:00 pm on May 7.
period. Alumnae trustees present the views of alumnae and of
If approved, Jacki Brown ’74 will join continuing alumna
AAMC governors to the leadership of Mills College. They are
trustees Deborah “Debi” Wood ’75 and Adrienne McMichael
full members of the boards of both the AAMC and the College,
Foster ’74 on both boards. Tara Singh ’05 is completing her term
responsible for participating on committees as well as in board
as alumna trustee in July. We proudly thank her for her service
meetings, and serving as liaison between the two boards.
to the AAMC and the College.
Please review our nominee’s statement, then vote to approve or disapprove her appointment using the paper ballot on the
For more information about AAMC bylaws, scheduled meet-
inside back cover of this magazine or the online ballot avail-
ings of the Board of Governors, or the nomination and election
able at alumnae.mills.edu/alumna-trustee-ballot. See detailed
process, call 510.430.2110 or email aamc@mills.edu
instructions about how to vote on the inside back cover.
MY MILLS EDUCATION INSPIRED ME to achieve whatever
the willow tree that can bend under a strong wind yet never
heights I could reach by delivering an excellent academic envi-
break, Mills has shown repeatedly that resilience and wisdom
ronment and providing me with a social structure of women
can bring the College through the worst of eras. The institution
committed to excelling in whatever field they chose to pursue.
may change, but as long as it continues to deliver its message to
The practice of law requires skills in dispute resolution,
the hearts and minds of its students, it will survive, just as it has
problem-solving, and issue analysis. As a judge, I have honed
since 1852.
those skills and execute them quickly and efficiently while
I am optimistic that Mills will continue to value its alum-
under the greatest stress. I have reached the pinnacle of my
nae and their support of and for the College. I am encouraged
field, one traditionally controlled by men,
by the current administration’s openness
and therefore have directly contributed to
to alumnae contributions and the respect
the changing demographics of the field.
I see alumnae hold for the administration
Moreover, as a long-term Alumnae
as it struggles with the changes wrought by
Admissions Representative, I am quite
the economic and social hardships of recent
familiar with the process of finding stu-
years. Without the contributions of alum-
dent applicants, reviewing, and interview-
nae, Mills will not be able to retain its tra-
ing them for their possible admission.
ditional unique strengths while developing
I have also interviewed, selected, and
new abilities in the face of the challenges of
supervised law clerks in their training
the 21st century.
to become attorneys. Good management
I can relate to and empathize with the
skills and procedures affect any program’s
emotional component of young people’s
success rate.
difficulties in life. I also understand the
I want to give back by bringing these skills
mature person’s need for efficient resolu-
back to Mills College—the true source of
tion of issues and for fiscal responsibility.
my personal and professional success—and
I have been employing these capacities in my professional life for many
applying them to the formation of what Mills will become. I foresee that the
Honorable Jacki C. Brown ’74
time of the “small, elite,
Orange, California
private women’s college”
Education: BA in American history,
is probably over, but like
Mills College; JD, University of San Francisco
years now and would love the opportunity to bring them into service for the alumnae community and the future of Mills College. SPRING 2021
23
Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of Mills Quarterly. Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College alumnae community. To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills. edu.
Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of the Mills Quarterly. Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College Alumnae Community, alumnae.mills.edu. To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills.edu.
In Memoriam Notices of deaths received before January 6. To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123 Marian Cobb Carlson ’42, September 21, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. After Mills, Marian graduated from Oregon State and taught business and accounting in Portland public schools while raising her family. Though petite in stature, Marian was “towering” in intellect and curiosity, particularly enjoying gardening, politics, and an evening glass of wine. She is survived by four children; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and cousin Deborah Campbell Dittman ’68. Mary Donovan Bunning ’42, October 2, 2020, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. After Mills, she graduated from the Tobe Coburn School of Fashion Careers in New York and operated a shop, Hetts Ladies Ready to Wear, with husband Bob for 12 years. Mary volunteered extensively and served as an executive director with Girl Scouts of America in Sweetwater County. She is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. Marjorie “Marge” Kaljian Chomiak ’47, September 9, 2018, in Hamilton, Montana. She is survived by two children and a sister, Sybil Kaljian Balatti ’45. Joy Randall Eoff ’47, July 17, 2016, in Salem, Oregon. Joy graduated from Mills in three years. A woman of many talents, Joy was a ski instructor in Sun Valley, a pilot with a floatplane rating, a gourmet cook, and the founder of a “candy stripers” organization at Salem Hospital. She is survived by her husband, Joe; two children, including Jennifer Johnson Francis ’73; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Helen Rode Conrad ’47, October 26, 2019, in Petaluma, California.
Katherine “Kate” McGinity, MA ’10 Adjunct Professor of Dance Kate McGinity, who also earned a master’s in dance from Mills in 2010, died of cancer on January 12. She is survived by her husband, Chris Griffin, a lighting designer with Mills Performing Arts. Kate had taught at Mills ever since she graduated, elevating the Dance Cultures class she took over from department chair (and her former teacher) Ann Murphy, as well as working with students in pedagogy and ballet courses. She was developing a comprehensive pedagogy program within the department at the time of her death, which was to serve as a cornerstone of a future dance credential, and she had one more course to complete to take her MA to an MFA. A professional ballet dancer, Kate performed with the Eugene Ballet, State Street Ballet, and Inland Pacific Ballet, among other companies, but she was also renowned for her skills in tap dance and comedic timing. Her love of the comic mixed with the tragic led her to write her master’s thesis on the dances of Pina Bausch and the antics of clown Bill Irwin. “Few could match Kate’s tough, funny, and deeply ethical style of teaching. Students adored her,” Murphy said. “Being part of the Dance and Theater Studies Department was exactly where she wanted and loved to be. Her loss is immeasurable.”
30
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Jacqueline Johnson Miller ’48, September 26, 2020, in Denver, Colorado. She was a longtime resident of Chicago, spending 65 years there after graduating with her master’s in musicology from the University of Chicago, before moving to Denver in 2014. Her piano playing and sparkling blue eyes will be greatly missed. She is survived by three children and three grandchildren. Nancy Lindauer Garrison ’48, July 20, 2017, in Snohomish, Washington. Ellen Myers Taves ’48, October 19, 2020, in Redmond, Washington. A Seattle native, Ellen met her husband, Don, while volunteering at the University of Washington’s student center. She later earned a teaching credential and her master’s in counseling. Ellen took those degrees to Planned Parenthood, serving as counseling director at the branch in Rochester, New York, for 14 years. After retirement, she took to the airwaves for her senior center’s radio station. She is survived by Don, four children, and four grandchildren. Kathleen “Kay” Hall Porter ’49, September 15, 2020, in San Diego. Kay was a giant in the movement to restore historic buildings in San Diego, from replacing the organ at the Balboa Theatre to physically moving the Sherman-Gilbert House to Heritage Park. With four friends, she purchased Villa Montezuma in 1969 and helped turn it into a museum. She is survived by four children, including Leslie Porter Whalen ’74; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Nadine Dolnick Gelman ’52, December 13, 2018, in Evanston, Illinois. She is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and a sister. Patricia “Patti” Reiswig Morrow Moulton ’52, December 14, 2020, in Issaquah, Washington. Patty graduated from high school at 16, and as her family puts it, she was a strong woman before it was cool. She loved to be active, whether through skiing, tennis, hiking, or pickleball. Over the years, Patti taught school, sold real estate, and traded stocks. She is survived by a son, three stepchildren, and four grandchildren. Olive Duncan Lookabaugh ’53, December 7, 2020, in San Antonio, Texas. Olive graduated from Mills with a degree in teaching, which she took with her to six states and four countries due to her husband’s work in the oil industry. She was deeply spiritual and, among other hobbies, wrote a book of poetry and devotionals. Before Olive’s husband died, the couple established a foundation to support those studying geriatric medicine. She is survived by two children and two grandchildren. Dorothy Czerny Britton, MA ’54, October 10, 2020, in Castro Valley, California. She graduated from San Jose State with a bachelor’s degree in art, and while teaching art at Washington High School in Fremont, she pursued her master’s at Mills. Overall, she inspired budding artists—including renowned painter Kurt Walters—for 37 years, retiring in 1983 to enjoy her own artistry in ceramics, leather working, and jewelry. Her late husband, Donald “Curly” Britton, died in 1993. Sally Schrepferman Reeds ’55, November 17, 2020, in Broomfield, Colorado. While raising her family, Sally worked for what is now the Aspen Skiing Company. She and her late husband, Ted, moved the family to England in 1978, and after they moved back to the US, Sally became a travel agent to fund the couple’s love of travel. She also founded the League of Women Voters chapters in Aspen and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She is survived by three children, three stepchildren, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Sharon Robinson ’14, MPP ’15 Sharon Robinson, the first-ever recipient of the Alumnae of Color (AOCC) Committee’s Endowed Scholarship—and the only one to receive it twice—died on December 24, 2020, in San Leandro. She is survived by her partner, Rahman Batin; five brothers; and many nieces and nephews. The eighth of nine children, Sharon enrolled in the BA/MPP program at Mills in her 50s after a career as an entrepreneur and activist (including with the West Oakland Community Collaborative and the United Way of the Bay Area). She was fiercely dedicated to educational equity and took her degrees to her work with the Oakland Public Education Fund, where she led the development of Oakland Unified School District’s Central Kitchen, Instructional Farm, and Education Center, with the goal of tying nutrition to education programs and preparing 35,000 meals a day for students. She will be remembered for her advocacy; her love of travel, adventure sports, and African drumming; and the family reunions she organized that brought people together from around the world. And through Sharon’s continuing work with the AOCC to raise funds for the Endowed Scholarship, she strove to ensure that other Mills students of color had the same opportunities she did: “I remember her saying on numerous occasions that contributing to our scholarship was making an investment,” said Lynette Castille-Hall ’75. “An investment in a student just like herself.”
Gifts in Memory of Received September 1, 2020 – November 30, 2020 Robert Ashley by Kazuko “Koko” Tsunematsu Tajima ’69, MA ’71 Marjorie “Midge” McLaren Bolton ’35, TCRED ’36, P ’69 by her daughter, Jorie Bolton Townsley ’69 Katie Dudley Chase ’61 by her spouse, William Chase Ella Marie Crain by Susan Crain Hansen ’78 Jennifer Ewing Bolton ’56 by Deborah Boisot ’59 Barbara Coleman Frey ’68 by Clarence B. Coleman & Joan F. Coleman Charitable Foundation Susan Clark Gillum ’66 by Carole Kieley Hayes ’66 Laura Gobbi by Beverly Curwen ’71, Linda Jaquez-Fissori ’92, Gayle Rothrock ’68, and Molly Fannon Williams ’75 Jerome “Moe” Graham by his spouse, Barbara Manning Graham ’61 Marilyn Grimes Hill ’56, P ’83 by her daughter, Linda Hill ’83 Elijah Clair Keller, son of Nicki Benkula Keller ’03, by Michelle Balovich ’03, MBA ’18 Donaldina “Donnie” Cameron Klingen ’63 by Kathryn Forsyth Ashworth ’63 Michael Lovgren Langner ’48 by Dorothy “Dotty” Braaten Kennedy ’48
Mary Emde Auble ’56, October 1, 2020, in Sacramento. Mary spent much time volunteering with the Assistance League of Sacramento and the Cerebral Palsy Guild. She and friend Pat also won many domino tournaments. Mary is survived by her husband, Jim; three children; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Jo-Ann Ordano ’58, October 29, 2020, in Half Moon Bay, California. After Mills, she moved to New York for a career in public relations and broadcasting, eventually returning to the Bay Area as public information officer for the San Francisco mayor’s office. Jo-Ann was also an accomplished photographer, publishing her own shots and teaching many others. Retirement in Half Moon Bay was busy and joyful, with lots of friends and time to create. Kristin Palmquist Warriner ’59, January 7, 2020, in Redmond, Washington. She is survived by three children, including Elisabeth Anton-McIntyre ’85. Sharon Graham Niederhaus ’63, October 24, 2020, in Palo Alto, California. She was an accomplished educator, earning five teaching credentials and developing more than 100 Adopt-A-School partnerships. Sharon also co-authored a book with her brother titled All in the Family: A Creative Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living, which she discussed on Good Morning America. She is survived by her husband, Don; two children; three stepchildren; and six grandchildren. Lynne Stein Gilberg ’63, January 1, in Los Angeles. After staying at home while raising her children, she was an assistant curator of Jewish objects at the Skirball Cultural Center, a book editor for Sunset magazine and its books division, and a professional organizer. Lynne celebrated her 60th birthday with a six-week backpacking trip along the Campostela Del Santiago trail in Spain, just one of many enjoyable hikes. She is survived by two children, including Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, PMC ’91; and four grandchildren.
Charles Larsen by Kazuko “Koko” Tsunematsu Tajima ’69, MA ’71 Richard Lee by Rosita “Rosa” Montalvo Schloss ’57 Carol Lennox ’61 by Angelique Di Schino Felgentreff ’90 Leah Hardcastle MacNeil, MA ’51, P ’75 by Barbara Sachanko Dalmau ’75, Linda Jaquez-Fissori ’92, and Carolyn Wade-Ouse ’67 Marcia Miller ’63 by Mary Root Campbell ’63 Barbara Forster Mitchell ’63 by Diane DeFreitas Stein ’63 Robbyn Panitch ’79 by Betsey Shack Goodwin ’76 Lee Simpson Phillips ’44 by The Phillips Family Trust Marion Ross ’44 by Susan-Ellen Gilmont ’64 and Linda Tu ’91 Margaret “Marge” Feldman Senders by Lorinda Bader Reichert ’67 Ellen Myers Taves ’48 by Dorothy “Dotty” Braaten Kennedy ’48 Katherine Zelinsky Westheimer ’42 by Susan “Susy” Stern Fineman ’68 Marian McCormack Wilkie ’45, P ’78 by Eileen McCormack, Allan Treseder, and Marian Treseder Robert and Betty Chu Wo ’46 by Wendell Wo Ann Sulzberger Wolff ’42 by Linda Cohen Turner ’68 Peggy Woodruff ’58 by Deborah Boisot ’59 and Gwendolyn Jackson Foster ’67 Helen Wood Wyatt ’49 by Laura, Gillian, and William Wood
P=parent. For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.
Patricia “Pat” Ellis Severn ’64, December 3, 2020, in Colorado Springs, SPRING 2021
31
Lenn Keller ’84 A groundbreaking photographer, archivist, and Mills volunteer, Lenn Keller died on December 16, 2020, in Oakland. The Class of 1984 knew Lenn as an enthusiastic class secretary, but the LGBTQ+ community knew her as a trailblazer. After growing up in Chicago and exploring photography with other Black artists in Harlem, Lenn moved to California in 1975. She eventually made her way to San Francisco and then to Berkeley, becoming involved in the Bay Area’s fledgling queer movement and documenting it for the ages, particularly Black lesbian activism. The artistic skills she picked up in New York came in handy as she shot photos and videos of the movement, from protests to Pride, that were later exhibited to the public in shows such as Queer California: Untold Stories at the Oakland Museum of California in 2019. Lenn enrolled at Mills in the early ’80s to bolster her documentary skills with a degree in communications, later making several films—including one that remains unfinished. It was in 2014 that Lenn co-founded the Bay Area Lesbian Archives, a repository of materials that she herself had collected over the years. A permanent location is still in the works. “Marginalized histories are often not documented,” she said to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2018. “This history is very important, not just for posterity, but it’s important for us now.” Just months before Lenn died of cancer, she traveled back to Chicago to care for her brother, Otis, who succumbed to it himself on August 21. She is survived by one other brother and her daughter, Nakiya.
Josette “Josie” Antaki ’79, March 29, 2020, in Beaverton, Oregon. Josie was a beloved math teacher at Cochabama Cooperative School in Bolivia. After returning to the US, she worked as a migrant education program recruiter and student development specialist. Josie’s time in Bolivia inspired a love for adventure travel, and she also enjoyed gardening, camping, and cooking. She is survived by her husband, two children, two grandchildren, and two sisters: Vivian Antaki ’70 and Amy Antaki Herszenhorn ’72. Lois “Betsy” Boycott Allbright ’89, TCRED ’90, December 10, 2020, in Prescott, Arizona. A resumer, Betsy used her credential to teach English as a second language, as well as general education at the Vacaville prison. She also published a book, Refugees, a ChineseHawaiian Memoir, inspired by her childhood in Honolulu after evacuation from China during World War II. She is survived by five children; seven grandchildren, including Lily Page ’09 and Rosa Page ’13; and five great-grandchildren. Giulia Shanahan, MA ’94, December 1, 2019, in San Francisco. She met her late husband, William, while both were in Indonesia in 1954. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 1982 at the age of 56, later coming to Mills to study for a master’s in liberal studies. Jane Schwartz Deer-Hileman, MA ’99, July 15, 2018, in Seattle. Community was her life: before moving to Seattle, she started food co-ops, community Shabbat dinners, childcare centers, and more in Berkeley. She retired as director of volunteer services with Jewish Family Services in 2018. In addition to her love for her family, she wanted to be remembered as a great dancer. She is survived by three children and five grandchildren.
Spouses and Family Colorado. Pat earned an MA in history from the University of Pennsylvania before becoming one of the few women in programming at IBM. After obtaining an MBA from Temple University, she rose through the ranks, retiring as an IBM certified project manager in 2015. Pat loved the mountains, and she enjoyed making her own professional clothes with Vogue patterns. She is survived by her husband, Alan; two daughters; two granddaughters; and great-niece Laura Cavanaugh ’20. Sandra Myers Howard ’69, July 12, 2019, in Alameda. Meena Surie Wilson ’71, June 1, 2020 in Sausalito, California. After Mills, she earned a master’s in television and radio journalism and a doctorate, and she worked in international leadership at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. She founded and chaired Alliances for Women, served as director of Asia Pacific Leadership, and authored a book, Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: Insights from Corporate India. Meena’s laugh was delightfully infectious. She is survived by a son and a brother. Elaine Li Chu ’72, December 5, 2019, in Calgary, Alberta. She immigrated to Canada in 1974 after spending her childhood in Hong Kong, and she enjoyed traveling around the world throughout the rest of her life. In 1987, she bought an apartment building, eventually expanding that holding into Elite Property Development Limited in Calgary. Elaine is survived by her husband, William; two sons, and a grandson.
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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
James Baker, father of Kimberly Baker ’95, January 3, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Ed Crocker, father of Fiona Crocker Golden ’90, August 25, 2020, in Alexandria, Virginia. Charles Gelman, husband of the late Nadine Dolnick Gelman ’52, May 23, 2020, in Evanston, Illinois. Elena “Michelle” Lopez-Watt, mother of Laura Combs ’15, December 6, 2020, in Modesto, California. Ray Tsukimura, husband of Peggie Honda Tsukimura ’57, April 8, 2017, in Walnut Creek, California.
Faculty and Staff Robert Sheff, former instructor and technician in the Music Department and a composer/musician with the stage name of “Blue” Gene Tyranny, on December 12, 2020, in Long Island City, New York. Charles Shere, former professor of music, December 15, 2020, in Healdsburg, California.
Alumna Trustee Ballot The statement of the AAMC’s 2021–24 alumna trustee nominee is printed on page 23.
We offer two ways to vote—online and by paper ballot! To vote online: • Go to the Mills College Alumnae Community, 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 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 Friday, May 7.
To vote on paper: • Do you approve or disapprove the appointment of Jacki C. Brown ’74 as alumna trustee?
VOTE ONLINE OR ON PAPER BY MAY 7
Yes, I approve No, I do not approve
• 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 Friday, May 7.
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.
2021
AAMC Travel Programs Journey through Southern Africa September 14–29, 2021
Encounter exotic wildlife and wonder on this 12-night adventure through South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. With expert trackers leading your small group, you can scout lions, elephants, leopards, and rhinos, and learn about these majestic African animals and efforts to conserve them and their habitats. Explore Cape Town, where Table Mountain towers over colorful streets and glistening beaches. Spot penguins on a drive along the Cape Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope. Travel to Johannesburg and Soweto to see the home of Nelson Mandela and visit community leaders at a local youth program. Relish the riches of Hwange National Park on a game drive, feel the power of crashing Victoria Falls, and spy elephants along the Chobe River during a safari cruise. For more information, including a full itinerary for this and other planned trips for 2021, please visit the AAMC travel program webpage at alumnae.mills.edu/travel.
A cheetah lounges in a tree in the wilds of Southern Africa.
Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu
CALL FOR ALUMNAE AWARDS NOMINATIONS Honor our best and brightest with the 2021 alumnae awards
Nominate honorees for the AAMC’s coveted alumnae awards, presented at Reunion in September. We are seeking qualified candidates for: • Distinguished Achievement, for distinction in professions, arts, or sciences; • Outstanding Volunteer, for commitment in serving the AAMC and the College; and • Recent Graduate, for volunteer efforts that exemplify a spirit of caring and community.
Nominations must be received by July 15 and candidates must be able to attend the awards ceremony in September. To nominate candidates, please send information about their achievements to co-chairs Kristen Oliver ’17, MPP ’18, and Courtney Long ’01 at aamc@mills.edu or AAMC, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., MB #86, Oakland, CA 94613.
