Merger Updates

Additional perks now accessible for Mills alums

Representatives from Northeastern’s alumni relations office outlined new benefits available to Mills graduates at two separate sessions last fall.

Northeastern’s Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving Lori Jacques was joined by Senior Director for Engagement Initiatives Adrianne Denenberg for an in-person info session at Reunion 2022, then reviewed much of the same info in an online forum on November 16. “Everything that we’re doing is available for Mills alumnae,” Jacques said. “We are very excited to partner with Nikole (Adams) and her team. We are here to collaborate!”

In addition to benefits available through the AAMC and the Office of Alumnae Relations—which includes pool/library access, receipt of the Quarterly and (e)ucalyptus, Reunion, and much more—Mills alums can now access the following: • The Lifelong Learning program, which includes on-demand learning modules presented by Northeastern faculty members and a video library with conversations among faculty members, alumni, and university leaders. The Northeastern alumni

YouTube channel also features video content on a wide variety of topics. • Eligibility for the Double Husky Scholarship, which provides a 25% discount off tuition for graduate programs—of which there are more than 120.

• Strategic career-focused opportunities, including dedicated coaching for alums, on-demand webinars, and NUSource, a mentoring platform that brings together students and graduates. (NUSource uses the same software that powered MillsConnect.) • A broad alumni network organized by affinity and region, with established presences in regions that have historically not hosted

Mills events due to small alum populations. • Discounts for retailers and services such as Dell computers. • Newsletter subscriptions that provide info on the various Northeastern campuses; sign up for those at news.northeastern.edu. To access these resources or learn more about them, visit alumni .northeastern.edu. An email with a link to the recording of the full November 16 online session was sent to Mills alums on November 21, 2022; if you did not receive it but would like to view the video, visit tinyurl.com/northeastern-benefits.

RUBY WALLAU This past fall, more than 500 first-year students made their way to the Mills campus—the largest incoming class ever. They underwent an extensive orientation week with sessions on Mills history, outings to nearby stores for residence-hall needs, and a large fair on Holmgren Meadow for new arrivals to learn about the various organizations and clubs available for students. When returning Mills students joined the following week, the populations began to mix through gatherings of food trucks and a large outdoor party at the Art Museum to celebrate the start of the new year.

Familiar fare is among the first four undergraduate programs that will commence on the Mills campus next year.

Northeastern programs in Computer Science, Business Administration, Health Sciences, and Biology will grant degrees in those four subject areas as well as a total of 10 combined majors. Several of those will incorporate the humanities, such as computer science & design and business administration & communication studies. Recruitment is underway now for students to enroll starting in fall 2023.

“These are Boston-based programs that we’re bringing onto our campus, but we’re going to add our own flair,” says Interim Dean Beth Kochly. “There will likely be some new courses that our faculty have historically taught and want to bring in as electives.”

Graduate offerings are also starting to come into focus. Eight of them are existing Northeastern master’s degrees that will find another home on the Mills campus, such as information systems, analytics, and game design. The Mills School of Education also plans to re-implement its graduate-level coursework for single-subject and multi-subject credentials, contingent upon approval from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and for early childhood education and educational leadership.

Kochly emphasizes that these moves are happening while work is underway for developing the full curriculum for Mills at Northeastern—and that she understands the intense interest behind what those programs will be. But because of the nature of how courses and majors need to be approved (by Northeastern’s Faculty Senate) and re-accredited (by the New England Commission of Higher Education), that information won’t be publicly available until the processes are complete.

“Our faculty are really driving this, and they’re the ones coming up with these ideas. For instance, how do we train computer scientists to have a lens of antiracism and gender equity?” she says. “We’re really trying hard to bring our legacy forward, but we won’t be able to make a formal announcement on what that will look like for a while.”

A partial list of courses offered on the Mills campus in the fall 2022 semester:

Ancient Philosophy & Political Thought Current Issues in Cities & Suburbs Ecology Fundamental Architectural Design Global Literature International Business & Social Responsibility Making a Musical Modern Art & Design History Native American Resistance Nonprofit Organizations & Social Change Principles of Microeconomics Race, Class, & Gender Sex, Gender, & Pop Culture Social Change & Human Services Sustainable Development Technology & Human Values Topics in Genre Typography Understanding Today’s News

Mills Institute names director

Nicole M. Guidotti-Hernández has been appointed executive director of the Mills Institute. Her tenure started on December 1, 2022.

She grew up in the Salinas Valley and attended UC Santa Cruz for her undergraduate degree, later earning a master’s degree and doctorate in English at Cornell University. After stints as associate professor of gender studies at the University of Arizona and the inaugural chair of the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas, Guidotti-Hernández most recently taught English, history, Hispanic studies, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Emory University. Her 2011 book Unspeakable Violence: Remapping U.S. and Mexican National Imaginaries received a prize from the Modern Language Association, and her writing has appeared in Ms. Magazine.

Guidotti-Hernández returns to Northern California as a well-known feminist thought leader, and she told News@Northeastern that the role is a perfect fit. “My vision is to have a tremendous impact both locally and globally,” she said. “We will find our place in the community. It has always been a dream to work in a setting like this one, where the mission is ripe for opportunity. I feel really lucky—really lucky.” She was selected after a nationwide search conducted by a committee of faculty representatives from both Mills and Northeastern.

With Guidotti-Hernández in place and $30 million in seed money, planning for specific offerings at the Mills Institute will now begin in earnest. The organization’s founding purpose is to propagate the longtime Mills legacy of serving women, gender nonbinary individuals, and other marginalized and underserved communities that have historically faced barriers to higher education. More detailed programs for the Institute will now begin to come into focus over the next few months.

ALYSSA STONE