jejejeje •
TRANSITIONS: GROWTH & A GRADUATE SCHOOL As Mills currently faces a major change, the Quarterly takes a look at some of the other transitions the College has experienced over the course of its esteemed 170-year history. This is the second story in a series of three. BY MOYA STONE, MFA ’03
In the spring of 1916, a tall, command-
Students of Mills College (ASMC), an orga-
ing woman—with upswept dark hair and
nization that still exists today to give stu-
two young sons in tow—arrived on cam-
dents a voice on campus issues. Reinhardt
pus. Aurelia Henry Reinhardt was ready
herself was in full support of the ASMC.
to take her place as the sixth president
In her first year, enrollment jumped
of Mills College. Although some trust-
from 153 students to 212, and by 1920 it
ees feared her lack of experience, it soon
was up to 432. With the exception of sev-
became clear that Reinhardt possessed an
eral years during the Great Depression,
unrelenting force that would guide Mills
the student population continued to grow
through a series of transitions and lift the
under her reign. “What was the secret?
College to admirable heights.
There were many,” Hedley wrote. “Among
When the 39-year-old widow accepted
them a vital curriculum, a strong fac-
Mills’ offer, according to the 1961 biogra-
ulty, attractive buildings, [and] adequate
phy Aurelia Henry Reinhardt: Portrait of
equipment.”
a Whole Woman by George Hedley (who
with a PhD from Yale and years of public-
served as College chaplain and professor
speaking experience, traveled exten-
of economics from 1940 to 1965), she
sively all around the country and abroad,
called a good friend of hers: “My dear,”
meeting young women over cups of tea
she said, “it will interest you to learn that
and spreading the good news of Mills. The increase in enrollment was wel-
College; which is, as you know, a mori-
comed, but it also created an urgent
bund institution.”
problem—space.
Although
there
was
Indeed, the College was not thriving.
plenty of room on campus, there were
It had been four years since Mills had
only 11 buildings, and they were bursting
shifted from a seminary to a college,
with students, faculty, and necessary “aca-
but after a period of increased enroll-
demic equipment” such as musical instru-
ment, numbers were declining. Rosalind
ments. Upon arrival, Reinhardt set her
Keep said in a 1931 article for the Pacific
sights on the first of several residential
Coast Review, “Mills College–The Pioneer
halls. Olney Hall was completed in 1917,
Woman’s College of the West,” that the
and two more followed. Even so, while
1916 trustees “felt that a new leader, free
Ethel Moore Hall was under construction
from associations with the old regime,
in the 1920-21 academic year, the College
was needed to meet the administrative,
rented out all the rooms of a local hotel to
educational, and financial challenges
house 60 of its students.
of a new era.” Although Seminary co-
Funds were always an issue, and as
founder Susan Mills died in 1912, her
buildings went up, a series of capital
old-fashioned style lingered, like another
campaigns began. In a 1920 College fun-
ghost haunting the corridors of Mills
draising pamphlet, Reinhardt made her
Hall. Students complained that they were
argument: “Unless Mills can get sufficient
being treated as “school girls” and not the
funds to meet successfully the imperative
“college women” that they were.
demands made by the new set of conditions, she must not only stop growing, but must begin immediately a process of
Reinhardt got right to work, meeting
retrenchment, which means stagnation
with students and addressing their com-
and failure.”
plaints. A member of the Class of 1917 said: “Naturally she didn’t approve of all our requests for more power and more
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Reinhardt,
I have accepted the presidency of Mills
New Beginnings
20
Additionally,
Graduate Programs
On August 26, 1920, the Mills College
freedom, but she was understanding and
Weekly
showed a sincere interest in what we were
“Graduate School Now at Mills.” The front
thinking, and we adored her.” Just before
page article explained that, for the first
her arrival, the trustees and faculty had
time, the College was offering advanced
approved the founding of the Associated
study for master of arts degrees, as well
ran
a
bombshell
headline:
