AAMC News

AAMC NEWS & NOTES

A Message from the AAMC President

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC) to work in very different ways, especially since the campus continues to be closed to visitors—including most alumnae—to reduce the risk of contagion. Fewer students are living on campus than usual, and almost all of their classes are online.

A major part of our mission is to support Mills students, and we’ve been able to continue to do so through socially distanced and virtual events. At the end of last semester, Alumnae Student Relations Committee members assembled and distributed 150 finals snack bags on campus. 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 an online Winter Celebration for students who completed their degrees in December. Family members from near and far joined in the celebration and made it a memorable and moving experience. We are looking forward to more such gatherings this spring.

During the pandemic, the Board of Governors (BOG) and its committees have been meeting regularly online or by conference call. We continue to renew the leadership of the AAMC through our nominations process and the annual election of a new alumna trustee. Please cast your vote for this year’s candidate for alumna trustee. You can read the nominee’s statement, as well as more information on how to cast your vote, on the next page.

Another way to get involved and lend your support is by serving on one of the committees of the AAMC BOG. I encourage you to peruse the AAMC website at aamc.mills.edu for a list of committees. You can always reach out to me if you’d like to know which committees are currently seeking new members. The BOG has also continued to assess its programs and make changes when needed. Three years ago, the AAMC and Mills College together launched MillsConnect, a networking and mentorship platform created for Mills alumnae and students. We want to thank those of you who supported and participated on this platform. The students who used MillsConnect benefited greatly from your mentorship, perspective, and advice. In the years since we first launched, though, we found that students did not use the platform as much as we had anticipated or hoped. Because of this, the MillsConnect Steering Committee decided not to renew our contract with the platform provider, PeopleGrove, and MillsConnect shut down on February 13. We encourage you to join at least one of the two Mills-oriented groups on LinkedIn: Mills College Connections, which is open to students and alumnae; and Mills College Alumnae, specifically for alumnae. Joining one or both of these groups can keep you up-to-date with what Mills graduates and students are doing professionally and help you to make valuable connections.

One program that will make a big impact on students far into the future is the Alumnae of Color Endowed Scholarship, established by the AAMC’s Alumnae of Color Committee. We will share updates about it in the future as fundraising continues, but this winter we received very sad news about the first recipient of the scholarship: Sharon Robinson ’14, MPP ’15, passed away after a battle with cancer. I was blessed to know Sharon and experience her generosity, optimism, and ability 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

Elect your alumna trustee

Vote by Friday, May 7, to approve the nominee of the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC) to serve as the voice of Mills graduates on the Mills College Board of Trustees from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024. The alumna trustee will also serve as a member of the AAMC Board of Governors during this same period. Alumnae trustees present the views of alumnae and of AAMC governors to the leadership of Mills College. They are full members of the boards of both the AAMC and the College, responsible for participating on committees as well as in board meetings, and serving as liaison between the two boards. Please review our nominee’s statement, then vote to approve or disapprove her appointment using the paper ballot on the inside back cover of this magazine or the online ballot available at alumnae.mills.edu/alumna-trustee-ballot. See detailed instructions about how to vote on the inside back cover.

All members of the AAMC are eligible to vote; any former Mills student who has completed at least one full-time semester and whose class has graduated from Mills is considered a member of the AAMC. All ballots must be completed and received

at Reinhardt Alumnae House by 5:00 pm on May 7.

If approved, Jacki Brown ’74 will join continuing alumna trustees Deborah “Debi” Wood ’75 and Adrienne McMichael Foster ’74 on both boards. Tara Singh ’05 is completing her term as alumna trustee in July. We proudly thank her for her service to the AAMC and the College.

For more information about AAMC bylaws, scheduled meetings of the Board of Governors, or the nomination and election process, call 510.430.2110 or email aamc@mills.edu

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 alumunder 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 alumdent applicants, reviewing, and interview- nae, Mills will not be able to retain its traing 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 resoluback 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 applying them to the for- my professional life for many mation of what Mills will become. I foresee that the Honorable Jacki C. Brown ’74 years now and would love the opportunity to bring them time of the “small, elite, Orange, California into service for the alumnae private women’s college” Education: BA in American history, community and the future of is probably over, but like Mills College; JD, University of San Francisco Mills College.