Mills Quarterly, Fall 2021 by Mills Quarterly

NORTHEASTERN PROGRESS

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A LONGTIME MILLS MAN

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COMPSCI ON THE FARM

Mills Quarterly Fall 2021

Melika Sebihi ’21

left Mills with an art history degree—and more than just a few options under her graduation cap.

Fundraiser? Museum curator? Foreign ambassador? The knowledge and skills Melika graduated with demonstrate the breadth of a liberal arts education and the experiential learning that comes with a journey at Mills. Beyond her art history studies with longtime professor Meryl Bailey, she fundraised for the Mills College Annual Fund as part of her campus job, co-curated an exhibition for the Art Museum using works from its permanent collection, and traveled with faculty and classmates to participate in the National Model UN Conference, where she practiced diplomacy with students from around the world. Today, Melika is following her heart working for an art gallery, but if she decides to set off on a new path, the skills she gained here will set her apart. As Mills pursues a partnership with Northeastern University, we look forward to expanding our spectrum of hands-on opportunities for future generations of students. Your gift to the Mills College Annual Fund will support these endeavors and those students in their educational journeys.

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 5

Fall 2021 Mills to Merge with Northeastern University The September 14 announcement about the College's next steps.

12 A Buzz About Beekeeping by Sarah J. Stevenson, MFA ’04 Time in the tech world prompted Jessica Gonzalez ’13 to return home and update her family’s farm business.

16 The Lord of Lisser by Allison Rost From birth, Jim Graham’s entire life has been inextricably tied to Mills history. He recounts more than 70 years of memories.

Departments 2

Letters to the Editor

President’s Message

Mills Matters

22 AAMC News 24 Class Notes 28 In Memoriam

On the cover: Artist Jenifer K Wofford created this projected image of “MacArthur Nurses,” one of many public art installations across the Bay Area that were part of the Dear America project this summer. The College’s A+P+I artist in residence, Christy Chan, conceived of the project in response to rising anti-Asian sentiment during the pandemic. For more images, turn to page 32. Photo by Christy Chan.

Letters to the Editor I enjoyed the winter Quarterly and the

wide impact on students, families, edu-

variety of subjects addressed.

cators, and leaders to nurture a healthy

There is a small factual error in “Full

educational ecosystem.

Circle,’’ Sarah J. Stevenson’s article on

We were grateful for those among our

the Mills Longitudinal Study: Beth Cobb

community who trusted us to hear their

O’Neill was Mills’ first dean of admis-

concerns and provide me another oppor-

sions, and she actively pursued students

tunity to recast my thoughts about the

of color who had not previously consid-

redesigned program. We celebrate the

Volume CXI, Number 1 (USPS 349-900) Fall 2021

ered Mills. Because of its independent

program’s innovation through accessibil-

status, Mills was not hamstrung by the

ity and relevance while acknowledging

President Elizabeth L. Hillman

requirements of the UC system that could

the viewpoints of ECE, Teacher Education,

shut the door to some students. It gave

and Educational Leadership alumnae/i

us freedom to select resumers, as well as

work across various professional contexts

others whose academic potential was not

to improve the lives and experiences of

always reflected in numbers.

countless infants, children, adolescents,

Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams Managing Editor Allison Rost Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson Editorial Assistant Lila Goehring ’21

As Mills faces another crisis, I maintain faith in what she is, has been, and will represent in the future. –Bette Spagel ’63, Monte Rio, California A statement I made for “COVID and the

Contributors Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13 Sarah J. Stevenson, MFA ’04

Urban Classroom” in the spring Quarterly

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

aimed to highlight how the recently

has been a source of concern among alumnae/i and educators. The article restructured Educators for Liberation, Justice, and Joy teaching credential program is meeting the needs of a changing landscape of teacher and student needs as well as addressing important social and political developments, bringing the Mills School of Education (SOE) in alignment

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.

with the current reckoning with racial

leagues retired around the mid-2000s,

Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312

injustice in our nation. The following statement referencing a quote of mine raised concern among our alumnae/i: “Early childhood education used to underpin most SOE programming, he said, but once his older colthere was a shift in the school’s priorities to focus more on teachers.” While speaking about the specific focus of the teaching credential program, the statement was meant to highlight how the program is embedded within a constellation of academic programming (e.g., Early Childhood, Child Life, Teacher Education, and Educational Leadership) at the SOE and continues a long-held conviction that early childhood seeds the developmental arc of human development with

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

and adults. –Professor of Education Tomás Galguera, Oakland I graduated in 1969 after four good years at Mills. I studied for finals as tanks rolled into Berkeley and teargas and bullets were directed at protesting students. Many of us joined in. However, I am dismayed at the vehemence, rancor, and lack of civility with which the changes to Mills proposed by President Hillman are being met. If Mills is to succeed at its stated goals of educating the underserved, it must have the financial stability to do so. From reading the Quarterly, I have sensed a drift away from the school I knew toward very practical training for social action. Just as the protests I experienced were a product of the era, so are these changes. This shift in focus is a sign of our times, and one that has clearly produced effective leaders. Now Mills must face another, more dramatic change. I was heartened by the letter in the summer Quarterly from Dean of the Lokey School of Business Kate Karniouchina about her meeting with representatives from Northeastern. I encourage all who are so adamantly opposed to a partnership with another institution to carefully read it. Mills must become solvent. My thanks to President Hillman for her leadership and to the team she has assembled to address this incredibly difficult task. –Susan Bell ’69, Santa Fe

My experiences with instructors, staff,

I oppose the current legal actions the

will have been enriched at the risk of

and fellow students at Mills College have

AAMC has set in motion against the Board

the demise of a stable, bright, and long-

shaped my life since 1975. I gratefully

of Trustees and leadership team. As an

lasting future for Mills.

support Mills with annual gifts and as

alumna, I do not feel that the small group

a beneficiary.

of detractors behind this legal action rep-

There has been some speculation as to why I decided to resign as a Mills College

I have been aware since 1990 that Mills

resents me or my interests, nor the inter-

College was struggling financially. I was

ests of many of the other 26,000 alumnae.

delighted when I learned that an alliance

Yes, I was saddened to read that Mills

with Northeastern University might be

would step down from being a stand-

possible. I look forward to staying engaged

alone degree-granting institution. But

with Mills alumnae, but I have been

anyone who has been paying attention to

deeply saddened by the AAMC’s response.

the finances for the past decade-plus has

Since its inception in 1852, our alma

realized that the College has been on an

mater has changed to meet the chal-

unsustainable course. Unlike those who

lenges of each new generation. Please

have taken action against the Mills lead-

stop your legal challenges and work to

ership team, however, I have faith in the

support our Board of Trustees and Mills

substantial wisdom and experience of

The lawsuit was not launched by an irre-

community along this path.

the trustees and others who took part in

sponsible, insensitive AAMC that wished to

making this decision.

harm Mills; it was not launched by Trustee

–Anna Wilkins Henderson ’81, Palo Alto In this most recent edition of the Quarterly, I was delighted to read about the progress toward an alliance with Northeastern University. When I reflect on the many choices I’ve made in life, attending Mills College is among my top five. Thank you, Mills! I was also moved by Carol Holtzman Wolf’s tribute to Elizabeth Pope, “The Magic Beans of Mills.” Yes! Encouraging others’ curiosity and passion for learning is the magic of Mills. (Oh, and I agree: The Sherwood Ring is my favorite of the Pope books.) –Caroline Wakeman Evans ’73, Montrose, Colorado

and preferential, and correspondingly condescending to women. Being absorbed is better than closure, and better than a non-degree granting “institute,” but I don’t see much hope for Mills strengths, values, or culture surviving once NEU owns Mills. It does not appear that Mills will be a “College” in the Oxford tradition of independent character or charter. I will be relieved if I find that I am wrong about that. –Donna Luckhardt Joslyn ’67, Vancouver, Washington

My fervent hope is that now that the AAMC president has the financial information about the College as requested by the lawsuit, the AAMC will pursue no further legal action against Mills! –N.T. Lucy Do ’75, Lafayette, California

The lawsuit was launched by the “children of

I viewed it as a true blessing. This is a

the cherished fost’ring mother” who did not

chance for Mills to move forward in a pos-

feel the college was fully transparent regard-

itive way. If the actions of a passionate but

ing all that contributed to its March 2021

misguided few serve to block pursuit of

decision to close the College and, for more

an alliance with Northeastern, that would

than 148 years, have vowed—with voices full

be a shame. Those who continue to pur-

and mighty—although the earth may trem-

sue this lawsuit stand to have the collapse

ble, we shall guard thy fires forever!

of the College on their consciences. -Sally O’Neal ’83, Richland, Washington

As an alumna and former alumna trustee, my heart is saddened that the dispute seemingly could only be adjudicated by a court of

I have been very concerned for some time

law. The Viji I know is conciliatory, altruistic,

now about the direction that the AAMC is

reasonable, and fair; she is not a litigious-

headed as it pursues legal action against

minded person who is unreasonably prone

Mills College. This is where I stand as a

to pursue a legal recourse to settle a dispute.

former president of the AAMC and for• I am in total support of the work that

looks assertively white male hierarchical

making regarding the future of the College.

and AAMC President Viji Nakka-Cammauf.

mer trustee:

I’m not impressed with NEU. Its website

the decisions the Board of Trustees was

with Northeastern University emerged,

if it’s the only path, after alum trustees reported there is no other way to survive.

because I had disagreement in any way with

When the opportunity to partner

I only support the Northeastern contract have studied complete financials and

trustee last year. Please know that it was not

the trustees have done and are doing in order to preserve a future for Mills and its students, faculty, staff, and alumnae. Mills College at Northeastern University presents a bright future. I do not yet know how a Mills Institute might fit into this framework, but I believe in the diligence, focus, skills, and determination of Marilyn Schuster and her team to preserve the Mills ideology. • The lawsuit filed by alumna trustees is

The AAMC entered into and continues in litigation not because it desires to be, but because of an ongoing concern that the preponderance of evidence has not been replete. It is important to note, however, whatever the outcome based on the forensic audit called for in the lawsuit, Trustee Nakka-Cammauf (on behalf of the AAMC) has established her full commitment to work with the College toward

reconciliation,

such

that—once

again—the breach between the AAMC and the College can be healed and restored. -Judith R. James ’74, Culpeper, Virginia correction

an egregious misuse of AAMC funds

In the summer issue, we misspelled

that could otherwise be used to help

the name of the author of the essay

support Mills students in this time of

“The Magic Beans of Mills.” The correct

great uncertainty and transition. In the

spelling is Carol Holtzman Wolf ’80.

end, attorneys and other consultants

We apologize for the error! FA L L 2 0 2 1

A Message from the President of Mills College By Elizabeth L. Hillman

Mills

social media can have on

College senior dropped into my

public discourse and criti-

office hours to say hello, having

cal thought. “The Facebook

traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, with

Files,” an ongoing study of

me two years ago as part of a civil rights

Facebook’s operations by

history class. She shared that she was

The Wall Street Journal,

taking classes outside of her major (child

suggests that the social

development) this semester since she

media

had already completed those require-

fer harm, some of which

ments, and was feeling challenged and

inspired by classes in book art and

studies conducted by the

gender studies in particular. She also

companies that own these

expressed her enthusiasm for the merger

platforms.

esterday

afternoon,

users

well

often

documented

For

sufin

instance,

Northeastern

The Journal reports that

University (NU), explaining that she

Instagram knows from data

was a practical person, and had been

it has collected that teen-

researching Northeastern—along with

age girls who use its photo-

many of her Mills classmates—since

sharing app have higher

our first announcement of a potential

rates of body dysphoria,

alliance during the summer. She asked

anxiety,

about the discount on graduate degrees

Of course, we have much

that NU will offer Mills alumnae, and

more to learn about how

about NU’s innovative approach to expe-

social media affects us and

riential learning.

our

Mills

College

and

depression.

relationships.

That’s

Her curiosity and openness charac-

why the student who visited me is think-

Our students, faculty, staff, and alumnae

terize the most frequent response we’ve

ing about graduate school, perhaps in

will help shape the future of the College.

received to our announcement of a his-

Mills’ educational leadership program,

After a year of transition, Mills will offer

toric merger agreement between Mills

or perhaps in Northeastern’s infor-

undergraduate and graduate education

College and Northeastern University.

mation science program, a new door

enriched by Northeastern’s innovative

The announcement appears in this issue

that has opened to her with the Mills-

approach to experiential learning, and

of the Mills Quarterly, and it comes just

Northeastern merger.

the Mills endowment will be used to

in time for Mills College. Without an

This is the beginning of a new chapter

academic partner whose strategy aligns

for Mills. The NU merger will allow us to

with Mills’ values and mission, and who

sustain our leadership role in women’s

It seems appropriate that while Mills

possesses the financial strength to help

education, equity and antiracism, and

is undertaking this historic transition, a

Mills to recover from both the enroll-

creative, life-changing teaching and

transition I am committed to seeing the

ment downturn of the COVID-19 pan-

learning long into the future.

College through, my own life is chang-

support education and inspiration on the Mills College campus.

demic and years of operating losses, we

Mills’ status as a historic women’s

ing in dramatic ways too. My wife Trish

would not be able to continue to serve

college will never change and will be

and I have sent four daughters off to their

students like the enterprising senior

celebrated on our campus, which will

first year of college in the past month. As

from whom I heard yesterday.

become the home of both Mills College

many of you know, it’s a remarkable learn-

Yet not all share the excitement of the

at Northeastern University and the Mills

ing experience to send young adults off to

student who visited me. Many of you have

Institute. The Institute will be dedicated

live and learn on their own, perhaps even

seen the hostility directed toward Mills

to the advancement of gender and racial

more so after the pandemic’s lockdowns

College, me, other college administra-

justice through programs and partner-

and limitations. I have witnessed their col-

tors, and our Board of Trustees through

ships that support transformative teach-

lege discernment processes firsthand, and

the social media platforms that many of

ing and learning, research, and career

they have taught me plenty. I look forward

us rely on to stay in touch. The vitriol

development for women, gender nonbi-

to using that insight, and the resources of

that has appeared on these platforms of

nary individuals, and historically mar-

Northeastern and Mills both, as we forge a

late confirms the harmful impact that

ginalized racial and ethnic communities.

new future for Mills College.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Mills to Merge with Northeastern University Below is the notice that President Elizabeth L. Hillman emailed to the Mills community on September 14. There will be much more in the winter issue of the Quarterly.

oday, the Mills College Board of

Students: Students who complete their

Mills College at Northeastern University

Trustees approved the merger of

studies before June 30, 2022 will gradu-

will continue to foster mutually beneficial

Mills College with Northeastern

ate with a degree from Mills College.

relationships with communities and insti-

University, ensuring that the educa-

Students who complete their studies after

tutions around the Mills campus, includ-

tional mission of Mills and its commit-

June 30, 2022 will graduate with a degree

ing with the City of Oakland.

ment to social justice, gender equity, and

from

Northeastern

A key next step in the transition pro-

cultivating women’s leadership will live

University. Mills and Northeastern will

cess is for Mills and Northeastern faculty

on. The merger is expected to take effect

provide transition counseling and finan-

and staff to work jointly to develop the

on or about July 1, 2022, subject to regu-

cial support to help each student evaluate

undergraduate and graduate degree pro-

latory and other approvals. When com-

options for continuing, and funding their

grams that Northeastern will offer on the

pleted, Mills will become Mills College at

degree work. That support will enable

Oakland campus through Mills College

Northeastern University, and our cam-

currently enrolled students to complete

at Northeastern University and other-

pus will be gender inclusive.

their degrees without increases in antici-

wise. Degree programs will leverage the

pated costs.

strengths of both Mills and Northeastern

The merger with Northeastern offers

Mills

College

concrete and meaningful opportuni-

Faculty: Northeastern will honor and

ties for our students, faculty, staff, and

abide by the terms of tenure of Mills

alumnae—opportunities

and will be relevant to both students and the employer community.

Mills

faculty who hold a tenured position or

Also, faculty and staff from both Mills

could not offer on its own. Aligning

a continuous contract and will also offer

and Northeastern will collaborate to fur-

with Northeastern means that Mills

tenure-track faculty and adjunct faculty

ther develop a Mills Institute to carry on

will remain a vibrant center of learning

opportunities for employment.

the Mills legacy of advancing women’s

that

Staff: Staff who are employees of Mills

leadership and empowering BIPOC and

on July 1, 2022, will become employees

first-generation students. Northeastern

At the same time, Mills will be setting

of Northeastern. Mills Employee Services

has committed seed money to launch

off on a new path, different from what

will provide details in the coming weeks

and fund the Institute.

we have known. The moment invites us

regarding employee salary increases and

Until the merger is completed, Mills

to reunite as one Mills community and,

a reinstatement of the employer match

will continue to operate as an accredited

working alongside our Northeastern col-

of the Mills 403(b) retirement program.

degree-granting institution and be led

with deep connections to the broader Oakland community.

sup-

by the current administration. Mills and

legacy of Mills and brings vital elements

port Mills alumnae to engage with their

Northeastern will also work together to

of a Mills education to new audiences

alma mater through reunions and cam-

address Mills’ operating expenses and

here and throughout Northeastern’s

pus events. Northeastern will also con-

financial needs through the completion

global network of campuses. Now is the

tinue to support the Reinhardt Alumnae

of the merger.

time to explore and pursue opportuni-

House. Alumnae of Mills will be eligible

I want to thank every member of the

ties, pushing open doors that we could

for benefits available to Northeastern

Mills community for your engagement

not open on our own.

graduates,

leagues, create a future that honors the

Most immediately, however, I know that many of you have questions about

Alumnae:

Northeastern

will

25-percent

and your passionate support for Mills.

tuition discount on degree programs in

The last 18 months have tested us on

the Northeastern campus network.

multiple levels. It is our singular dedica-

including

what this change means for you. In the

Community: Northeastern will oversee

tion to the mission and values of Mills

months ahead, transition teams will

the creation of formal procurement poli-

College that brings us to where we stand

work out the many details that need to

cies at the Mills campus to support local

today and that will provide the strength

be addressed and will provide regular

women- and minority-owned businesses.

and vision to help us shape tomorrow.

updates to the Mills community. The transition process at Mills will be led by Renée Jadushlever, vice president for strategic communications and operations. The following are confirmed agreements at this early point in the merger process, assuming the merger happens

A Word from Boston In Northeastern’s announcement of the Mills merger, President Joseph Aoun had high praise for the College and shared his optimism for the partnership: “Together we have an opportunity to create something truly unique in higher education,” he said. “We aspire to build a comprehensive, bicoastal university that leverages the complementary strengths of Mills and Northeastern for the benefit of students and society.”

on or about July 1, 2022: FA L L 2 0 2 1

Mills Matters Faculty Afghan expert speaks out Prior to joining Lead by Learning as its new director in April, Mizgon Zahir Darby’s varied career has included working as a journalist in the Bay Area and New York, directing in the nonprofit space, and founding a consulting firm. She’s also a second-generation Afghan American, her parents immigrating to the United States from Afghanistan in the late 1970s, and she grew up in the extensive Afghan diaspora of the East Bay. In August, in the midst of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan after a nearly 20-year occupation, Darby “There is a sense of betrayal, but

ripped out of their mothers’ arms at 12

media outlets—including CNN, the

more so [that it’s] another miscalcu-

or 13 years old to marry terrorists. They

Associated Press, and various Bay

lation on behalf of the government

may or may not survive. At the end of

Area news programs. She discussed

that has occurred in the story that is

the day, that question of survival is one

how the rise of the Taliban will likely

Afghanistan,” she told Brian Watt of

that is gut-wrenching.”

impact those left behind, including her

KQED Radio. “Women and girls have

own family members, and the compli-

lost their rights, but in addition, they’ve

Afghan Coalition in Fremont; learn more

cated emotions she and other Afghan

lost their humanity. My concern for

about their efforts to support the Afghan

Americans are feeling after these recent

women in Afghanistan is the same as it

community at afghancoalition.org.

developments.

would be in the US if they were being

shared her perspective with multiple

Darby has long worked with the

Donors bolster Mills during tough times Mills College appreciates the continuing generosity of our

◗ The estate of Rosalie Torres-Rioseco ’45 continued provid-

community members, including those who gave gifts, grants,

ing support to an eponymous Endowed Faculty Fund and

and pledges of $50,000 or more between January 1 and

an Endowed Scholarship, fulfilling Torres-Rioseco’s wish to

June 30, 2021.

support faculty salaries and student grants.

◗ Richard and Elaine Barrett, Mei Kwong ’70 and Laurence

Endowed Scholarship, which sponsors the studies of a

the Campus Optimization Fund, which aims to bring new

student of color in conjunction with the Alumnae of Color

revenue sources to Mills through partnerships with other

Committee of the AAMC.

organizations. ◗ Kwong and Franklin also pledged funds to Mills’ Greatest

◗ The Rogers Family Foundation made a pledge to the Rogers Foundation Lead by Learning Grant to continue its

Need, which enables the College to respond to its most

longtime support of the program formerly known as Mills

urgent needs. Catherine Coates ’65, Ann Mulally ’73, and

Teacher-Scholars.

Glenn and Ellen Voyles also donated to this fund. ◗ An anonymous donor and Alecia DeCoudreaux gave

◗ The Manitou Fund donated to the Alumnae of Color

Franklin, and Barbara Wolfe ’65 lent their support to

◗ Similarly, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation renewed its support of Lead by Learning to bolster the

generously to the President’s Fund for Innovation, which

program’s mission to provide top-notch professional

directs much-needed resources to strategic priorities.

development to teachers already working in education.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Friendship and Fulbright bring Egyptian academic to Mills The sequence of events that brought

American studies into Egyptian aca-

the pro-democracy movement in which

visiting professor Maha El Said to the

demia as a whole. “Of course, we have a

she was an enthusiastic participant.

Mills campus as a Fulbright Visiting

transnational approach, so it’s all about

“If Mills is going to have an inter-

Scholar for the fall semester can be

studying the US from the other side

national visitor, this is the international

traced as far back as 1993. That’s when

of the world,” she says. “It’s not about

visitor,” Abinader says. “She’s a Muslim

she and Professor of English Elmaz

America hating or America bashing;

feminist revolutionary who works on

Abinader first met at a conference in

it’s about how the US-Middle East

anti-harassment, who’s a scholar and

Cairo, where El Said has taught for

relationship actually impacts us and is

an English-language specialist. Mills

decades, most recently as an English

reflected in our literature and media.”

couldn’t miss out on this.”

professor at Cairo University in Giza.

Her courses have included The

This is far from El Said’s first time

Laughing Militia, a look at standup

as a scholar in the United States; in

that came running up to me to intro-

comedy and the political commentary

fact, on one of her previous trips, she

duce herself, and the energy was like an

therein, and The Dismantling of the

studied spoken word and hip hop at

explosion,” Abinader says. “Ever since,

Empire, which examined literature

UC Berkeley. This residency, though,

we’ve been trying to manipulate ways

from the Trump era. In her role as

has already taught her something new.

to be in each other’s worlds.”

the founder of Cairo University’s

“One of the first questions Maha asked

Anti-Harassment and Violence Against

me was why we have our pronouns

Women Unit, El Said also worked with

at the bottom of our [Zoom] screens,”

media studies students and won a

Abinader says.

“There was this voice with a big laugh

“We have become sisters, I have to say,” El Said adds. That sisterhood is not just personal— it extends to their shared research inter-

grant to create the project “Rewriting

ests as well, which include literature of

the Story of Violence.”

various diasporas in the United States

While at Mills, El Said is teaching

“We haven’t gotten there yet in Egypt,” El Said says. “This [Fulbright scholarship] is offering me this

and gender studies. El Said was one of the

Arabic literature, and in the first few

beautiful campus and students, but it’s

Arab region’s first “Americanist” profes-

weeks of classes was already showing

also offering me this opportunity to see

sors, and she introduced the discipline of

a documentary about the Arab Spring,

the world from a different perspective.”

Lisser lauded by preservation specialists The California Preservation Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state’s many spaces of cultural and historic import, has granted a 2021 Preservation Design Award to Mills College for its restoration of Lisser Hall. The award, in the Rehabilitation category, will be given at the 38th Annual California Preservation Awards on October 21. Other honorees in the category include the Darling Hotel in Visalia and the Geneva Car Barn & Powerhouse in San Francisco. The foundation called the Lisser project an “exemplary contribution to the preservation of California’s rich and diverse historic resources.” Lisser’s rejuvenation wrapped up in 2018 after two years of intensive work, and the team responsible for its success included ELS Architecture and Urban Design, especially Diana Hayton; and Senior Director of Facilities, Compliance, and Sustainability Karen Fiene, who recently retired after more than 15 years at the College.

FA L L 2 0 2 1

Summer research programs roar back to life Abigail Jeffers ’21, who graduated last winter with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, just experienced

Left: Barrett Scholars Amelia Binnett, Mimi Lucking, and Liv Colletta with a study beaver.

her fourth summer in scientific research with Mills faculty. Between conducting some sessions in person and others completely online, she was ready for whatever this summer might throw at her. “My experience two years ago allowed

Below: Hellman Program participants hard at work— inside the lab!

me to develop important skills that help me work independently now, while my work last summer allowed me to sufficiently understand the background of my current project such that I am able to more effectively conduct research on inteins now,” Jeffers says. There are three summer science research programs at Mills—Russell

eagerly awaited the day when we would

’70 is the benefactor of this program, which

Women in Science, Jill Barrett

be able to set foot in the lab for the first

also involves an annual lecture event dur-

Undergraduate Research Program in

time,” she says. “In the meantime, we

ing most spring semesters—after a two-year

Biology, and Hellman Summer Math and

made the most of our virtual Barrett

absence, the event will restart in spring

Science Program—and after a year away

summer and built a database that cata-

2022. Mills students who join the program

from the lab, they all returned with

logued more than 1,600 inteins, such

help stage the event, and they also partici-

renewed force in 2021.

that we could make these self-splicing

pate in literature reviews and present at

intervening proteins more widely avail-

conferences.

Jeffers was a Barrett Scholar in summer 2019 and applied again for 2020, only to find those plans dramatically altered by the pandemic. “Our lab group

able as a tool for biochemical research.” This year, Jeffers is a member of Russell Women in Science. Cris Russell

Nine Russell scholars worked on campus this summer, and they were split between four “labs”: • The Chu Lab, which studied ways to chemically transform carbon dioxide and turn it into sustainable products that consumers can buy and use. • The Faul Lab, which pursued two research tracks: one that examined how nutrients and carbon cycled through the oceans in the early Cenozoic Era, and another that looked at how East Bay watersheds are affected by acid mine drainage and other pollution. • The Kochly Lab, which explored new synthetic methods using environmentally-friendly ionic liquid solvents. • The Mostafavi Lab (where Jeffers worked), which focused on inteins: small proteins that go through the process known as protein slicing.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Inteins were also the focus for Jeffers as a Barrett scholar. Established in 1998 in memory of Jill Barrett ’93, this program gives students the opportunity to work alongside faculty members on established projects during the summer break and into the new school year. Professor of Biology Jenn Smith, who is also director of the Barrett Program, recruits her undergraduates to “Team Squirrel” to help gather samples and crunch data for a long-term project on California ground squirrels at Briones Regional Park. In fact, because of the sensitive nature of the data being collected, Barrett Scholars were allowed to con-

This summer's Hellman Summer Math and Science Program participants.

tinue their outdoor fieldwork in summer 2020. “We were allowed to do so because it was crucial [to] study popu-

In 2021, those data included the effects

lations every year as part of a long-term

of “stress” hormones on the squirrels

study,” Smith says. “However, last year,

when they’re exposed to human activity

we were unable to get into the lab and

and how a squirrel’s social connection

this advancement has been crucial this

affects the microbes in their stomachs.

year for supporting data analysis and

The long-term work of Team Squirrel has

opening up opportunities for learning

even attracted the attention of an upcom-

and making discoveries.”

ing PBS documentary, Squirrel Movie!, which gathered footage in early June.

Mimi Lucking marking Alpha in Briones Regional Park.

The third program, Hellman, helps

The annual Jill Barrett Undergraduate Program in Biology Symposium returns in the 2021–22 school year! Hear from students about their research findings in Lisser Hall on Monday, October 11; visit tinyurl.com/jill-barrett-21 to register for free tickets. Capacity is limited, and masks are required regardless of vaccination status.

students get up to speed on how to work in laboratories and approach scientific coursework. Participants live on

without time in a physical lab; and the

campus while taking course modules in

latter to refresh their lab skills.

environmental chemistry and forensic

“I’ve been hearing from students who

biology, along with other activities both

graduated that people aren’t hiring

on-campus and off. Last year, it was

folks who haven’t been in a lab in a

entirely online, with students glued to

year,” Walter says. “Besides that, their

their computers for many hours a day

health and safety are at risk.”

during the program’s two-and-a-halfweek running time. The in-person lab exposure was

Hellman, which had seven students in the program, also sends participants to local institutions, such as the

especially important in 2021, accord-

Exploratorium and the California

ing to program director and Associate

Academy of Sciences, on Fridays. Of

Professor of Biology Helen Walter. She

course, those plans were complicated by

also ran a “STEM reboot” for rising

continuing pandemic restrictions. The

sophomores and juniors: the former,

Hellman Foundation of San Francisco

because they went their entire first year

underwrites this program. FA L L 2 0 2 1

Calendar Mills College Art Museum The following exhibition is free to view but requires timed ticketing. Visit mcam.mills.edu to make a reservation. Tabitha Soren: Surface Tension ■ Through December 12 In conversation with Sarah Thornton, October 6, 7:00-8:30 pm, Danforth Lecture Hall Featuring photographs by Bay Area artist Tabitha Soren, Surface Tension explores the intersection of everyday technology with culture, politics, and human contact. Using an 8x10 large-format camera, Soren shoots iPad screens under raking light to reveal the tactile trail we leave behind. The images beneath are a compendium of private and public experiences, from a young child blowing a kiss good night to her mother to the protests following the fatal 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Music Now Concert Series Visit performingarts.mills.edu for more information on times and tickets. October 16 ■ XSound October 23 ■ David Tudor Composer-inResidence Mendi and Keith Obadike

CHRIS TINE ALICINO

October 30 ■ Sarah Cahill November 12–13 ■ Meredith Monk Through a generous grant from the Hewlett 50 Arts Commission, Mills College has commissioned legendary composer, director, and choreographer Meredith Monk to create an immersive performance piece titled Indra’s Net. The piece is inspired by the Buddhist metaphor of the same name, which illustrates the spiritual concepts of emptiness (śūnyatā) and dependent origination (pratı̄tyasamutpāda). Indra’s Net will be Monk’s third eveninglength work dedicated to the examination of humanity’s relationship to nature. An exploration of the interplay of music, movement, architecture, and space, the work focuses on the viewer’s perception and how that influences an individual’s relationships in the world. Monk will work with members of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble and chamber musicians from the San Francisco Symphony in the final performance.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

We Are The Voices

Contemporary Writers’ Series

These online events take place at 5:00 pm and are free to attend. Visit performingarts .mills.edu for tickets.

These online events take place at 5:00 pm and are free to attend. Visit performingarts.mills.edu for tickets.

October 14 ■ Labor and the Conditions of Protest: Critical University Studies with Abigail Boggs and Nick Mitchell In their pivotal 2018 essay on the “crisis consensus” in higher education, Abigail Boggs and Nick Mitchell described questions with which an abolitionist approach might begin. Should the university be saved? What parts of it are worth saving? Co-presented with the Mills College Art Museum and the English Department.

October 8 ■ Paisley Rekdal Rekdal is the author of a book of essays, The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee; the photo-text memoir Intimate; the book-length essay The Broken Country: On Trauma, A Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam; and a forthcoming book on cultural appropriation in literature titled Appropriate: A Provocation. She is also the author of six books of poetry. A distinguished professor at the University of Utah, she guest-edited The Best American Poetry 2020 anthology and is currently Utah’s poet laureate.

October 28 ■ micha cárdenas in Conversation with Susan Stryker Speaker cárdenas, author of Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media (forthcoming from Duke University Press), and Susan Stryker will discuss cárdenas’s new book and trans of color poetics. This event is part of the Mills Trans Studies Speaker Series, which is now housed under We Are The Voices. November 18 ■ Labor and the Conditions of Protest: Militancy, Representation, and Aesthetics with Tobi Haslett and Rachel Kushner How can artists and writers engage protest without, as the critic Tobi Haslett describes, becoming part of the apparatus through which “radical passion has been gutted, blunted, deflected, suppressed—and frozen into rhetoric, peddled as commodity”? Kushner, whose novels explore crucial histories of resistance, will join Haslett in discussion about what it means to represent militancy now. Co-presented with the Mills College Art Museum and the English Department.

October 22 ■ Tina Chang Chang, Brooklyn poet laureate, is the author of three poetry collections: Half-Lit Houses, Of Gods & Strangers, and Hybrida. She is also the co-editor of the W.W. Norton anthology Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond. Chang is the director of Creative Writing at Binghamton University. November 5 ■ Julie Lythcott-Haims Lythcott-Haims is The New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, which gave rise to a TED Talk with more than five million views. She is also the author of a poetry memoir, Real American, and a third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult. She has served on the boards of organizations such as Common Sense Media, The Writers Grotto, and Challenge Success.

Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students Celebrations of the Mills Music Department continue, with public radio station KQED producing a piece on June 24 with the headline “You’ve Heard Experimental Sounds from Mills College (Even If You Don’t Realize It).” Professor of English Elmaz Abinader participated in a showcase of Write Now! SF Bay’s latest anthology, Essential Truths, the Bay Area in Color, in partnership with the Oakland Asian

Elmaz Abinader

Jay Gupta

Cultural Center. The event took place online on July 22. Valeria Araujo ’24 contributed a

won the Dell 2021 Erase E-Waste

Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair

“Perspective” to KQED on June 24, titled

Sweepstakes and an accompanying

in Women’s Leadership Susan Stryker

“Valeria Araujo: Reconsidering Her

$30,000 classroom technology setup

spoke with Time for a June article

Future at Mills,” in response to the news

for their work in “rethinking, redesign-

about the transgender liberation icon

of the Mills transition and potential

ing, reusing, and recycling” electronic

Sir Lady Java. She was also a guest on

partnership with Northeastern.

waste. The team sponsored a campus

the Armchair Expert podcast on May 27,

drive this spring to recycle batteries,

speaking about the modern trans expe-

computer waste, and small appliances.

rience and her research on the topic.

Professor Emerita of Dance Molissa Fenley participated in Q&As at the American Dance Festival in Raleigh,

Associate Adjunct Professor of

Professor of Practice Victor

North Carolina, on September 12

Education Nolan Jones participated

Talmadge was a cast member in the

following performances of her chore-

in a roundtable discussion on the plan

California Shakespeare Theater’s

ography to “Right of Spring” by Igor

by music producers Dr. Dre and Jimmy

production of The Winter’s Tale, which

Stravinsky.

Iodine to open a high school that

played September 1–26 at Bruns

focuses on entrepreneurship in the

Amphitheater in Orinda.

Rosina Ghebreyesus ’22 received

Works by Professor of Studio Art

an invitation to join the Bay Area

Los Angeles Unified School District.

Video Coalition (BAVC) Serial

The roundtable appeared on the

Catherine Wagner appeared in the

Storytelling summer program this year.

website The Conversation on July 27.

exhibition California Girls 2 at the

The program lifts up filmmakers from

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Richmond Art Center and in a solo

underrepresented backgrounds, includ-

Ana Mostafavi led the Virtual Summit

show, Clues to Civilization, at Jessica

ing women and BIPOC, LGBTQIA+,

on Science Literacy in Higher Education

Silverman Gallery in San Francisco.

disabled, and low-income communities.

on June 14–16. The workshop aimed to

Associate Professor of Philosophy

further science literacy in a variety of

Wendi Williams was a panelist on

educational settings.

“Women of Color in the Academy,”

Jay Gupta, the review editor of Telos: Critical Theory of the Contemporary,

Hannah Pozen, MFA ’22, was

Dean of the School of Education

part of a lecture series hosted by

appeared on the Telos Press Podcast in

interviewed by The College Voice,

St. John University’s Vincentian Center

July on the topic of the changing charac-

the student newspaper at her under-

for Church and Society, on April 29.

ter of the public sphere, which was also

graduate alma mater, Connecticut

She also wrote a June 18 article for

the theme of the summer 2021 issue.

College. Pozen spoke about the illus-

Inside Higher Ed titled “Lightening

A group of Mills staff members—

tration work she pursued as an under-

the Burden” on how colleges and

Kellie Kendrick, Karen Fiene, Corrie

graduate and the creative journey she’s

universities can alleviate the amount

Klarner, Jackson Riker, Ellen Rush,

been on since then.

of emotional labor carried out by their

Luan Stauss, and Joanne Wong—

BIPOC faculty members.

FA L L 2 0 2 1

A Buzz About Beekeeping

Jessica Gonzalez ’13 puts her Mills computer science degree to work on her family’s Central Valley farmstead. By Sarah J. Stevenson, MFA ’04

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

JONATHAN V ENTUR A

ust a few miles off California

if any; profit margins are low, financial

“I think he saw how unhappy I was

Highway 99, in an area of Merced pep-

resources are scarce, and competition is

after my mom passed, so he would bring

pered with small farms and ranchettes,

high. Enter Gonzalez, and the degree she

me along to whatever he was doing

is Happy Organics, a family farm special-

earned from Mills in computer science.

out there,” she says. “He was the one

izing in honey and managed by Jessica

“Traditionally, in agriculture, every-

maintaining everything, and when he

Gonzalez ’13. The 10-acre farm, which

thing is like a trade secret,” Gonzalez

couldn’t physically do that anymore,

also includes citrus trees, fig trees, and

says. “Nobody really shares information

it was really sad. He talked about hav-

a variety of flowering plants that provide

with each other.” She has long been inter-

ing to sell everything, because he knew

forage for bees, is a sustainable oasis in a

ested in fostering a more community-

what was coming.”

part of California that’s better known for

minded approach—one that leverages

its large-scale agriculture.

technology to bring farmers together.

Though Gonzalez was interested in the idea of beekeeping, the reality was

You’d recognize many of the names

somewhat different. “I was always really

throughout this part of rural Merced

scared,” she says. “I mostly started learn-

County: E&J Gallo, Foster Farms, Blue

ing about them because of my fear of

Diamond. Dairy products, cattle, and

After her Mills graduation, Gonzalez

them.” Over time, she discovered a true

poultry

and

initially went to work in agricultural

passion for beekeeping. The focused

almonds are one of the most widespread

technology, or AgTech—an industry that

attention required to tend to the hives

and lucrative crops in the region.

covers everything from irrigation sys-

also helped take her mind off her grief.

are

major

industries,

Of course, almonds rely heavily on

tems and farm equipment to “precision

When her father got sick, they began

bees, also a multimillion dollar indus-

agriculture,” such as the installation of

exploring cannabis—specifically canna-

try in the county. But small farms need

sensors to track water usage. After work-

bidiol, or CBD—for his pain management.

bees too, and it’s those farms Gonzalez

ing as a software developer for a while,

“I started to mix it with the honey

is interested in partnering with—par-

she went on to co-found an AgTech

to make it a more enjoyable, pleasant

ticularly those owned by people of

software company in Salinas called

experience for him,” she says. “Then I

color. POC comprise just over a quar-

HeavyConnect.

started giving it to friends and family,

ter of Merced’s farm producers, and

Before long, she became disenchanted

and then slowly it became a business.”

that number has been slowly growing,

with the “bro culture” of the tech world,

In 2018, Happy Organics was born, spe-

according to findings from the National

and in 2016, she returned to the fam-

cializing in honey (with and without

Agricultural Workers Survey and the US

ily farm to help her ailing parents. Her

CBD infusions), beeswax, candles, and

Department of Agriculture.

mother died later that year, and then

CBD-infused wellness products such

Networking can be a serious chal-

her father was diagnosed with cancer.

as muscle balm, pain relief salve, and—

lenge, though. Many small farmers

Around that time, he began teaching her

Gonzalez’s personal favorite—massage

have only a minimal internet presence,

how to take care of the farm and its bees.

oil that also helps soothe burns and cuts. FA L L 2 0 2 1

By the time her father died later that

own. She wants to mimic their existence

nities, larger agribusinesses, and poten-

year, Gonzalez was managing the farm

in the wild as much as possible, while still

tial funding sources as well. She started

with the help of several of her siblings

providing them with ample flowers to for-

with a simple goal: trying to gather every-

and a nephew. They sold the sheep and

age on all year. “I want them to continue

one in one place. The result was Our

horses her parents had owned, and most

on even when I’m not alive,” she says.

Farmers, a national directory of BIPOC-

of the chickens, and focused instead on

owned farms that has garnered attention

the fruit trees and bees. (In fact, she is a

from the likes of Forbes magazine. “It’s been so great connecting with

third-generation beekeeper!) She made a few changes to the beekeeping methods

Gonzalez can manage only a limited

farmers and placing my hives somewhere

used by her parents, moving in a more

number of hives at the farm, which is why

reliable where I know they won’t get sto-

sustainable direction. Many of the bee-

she started looking into placing some else-

len, or where they’ll have the best chance

hives on the farm are now covered by

where. She wasn’t interested in commer-

of survival,” she says. “It’s just been really

a layer of dried weeds and branches to

cial pollination, so she started researching

reassuring, and this season is not as stress-

naturally keep them more shaded and

smaller farms in the region, particularly

ful as last season.” So far she’s been work-

cool, and she’s looking into different

those run by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous,

ing with two farms, one in Hayward and

types of hives other than the usual com-

and people of color) farmers—but only

another in Livermore, tracking the hives

mercial bee boxes.

after searching far and wide could she

from a distance with sensor technology.

Additionally, she stopped treating the

even identify them.

Right now, she’s in the process of rede-

bees for mites and other diseases, which

Putting her AgTech experience to good

fining the purpose of the directory, as well

many beekeepers do on a seasonal basis.

use, Gonzalez put her mind to the prob-

as exploring how small farmers might be

Instead, she relies on natural selection,

lem of connecting small farmers—not

able to benefit from direct community

letting the bees do their best on their

only to one another, but to their commu-

support rather than having to rely on uncertain government funding sources. “Most government funding goes to big commercial farms,” Gonzalez says, adding that only recently has there been more of a focus on grant and loan programs for historically disadvantaged groups. “It’s hard to be a small farmer. The profit margins for farming are very low. If you’re not growing in huge amounts or in bulk, your pricing isn’t the same as the grocery store, so sometimes people are put off.”

Growing up on the farm gave Gonzalez a first-hand look at the difficulties of operating a small plot. Her parents were immigrants from rural, mountainous Michoacán, Mexico, a place she describes as idyllic in many ways yet lacking in opportunity. Her parents initially settled in the Salinas area, where they worked in the fields. “After nine kids, my dad realized he had to make more money, so he started selling produce door to door, and eventually that turned into a wholesale business,” says Gonzalez. They sold at Bay Area flea markets, which was sustainable at first, but competition kept increasing. 14

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

The family moved to the Central

leave the Central Valley. “In high school,

are going to make readily available to us,

Valley when Gonzalez was five years old,

they never really told us to stay and

we as citizens can decide: ‘This is where

living in Dinuba for a year before land-

develop the community here, or try to

I want my food to come from,’” she says.

ing in Merced. There, her parents were

give back,” Gonzalez says. But her years

She’s not sure yet whether it would be

able to buy a 10-acre farm. “I think my

working in software development and

a subscription service, a direct donation

parents probably wanted to recreate

AgTech changed her perspective, and

system, or some other funding model,

what they had in Mexico, so they started

the reality of having to grapple with

but no matter what, she wants it to start

getting sheep, chickens, other birds, lots

her parents’ failing health prompted

from the community.

of animals—to try to either recreate it for

her to move back to where it all began:

themselves or for us,” she says.

“Everything seemed to kind of fall into

Her older brothers did most of the heavy lifting to help maintain the family

place after that, either in the right way or the wrong way.”

For Gonzalez, farming has always been a

produce business, but even as a young-

Now that she’s returned to farm-

family endeavor and a community effort,

ster, Gonzalez had some farm chores,

ing, she’s been looking for ways to use

and that hasn’t changed. She, her siblings,

pitching in to help pick fruit and pack

her degree and experience to get back

and her nephew still sell produce at the

it into containers to be sold at the local

into AgTech, starting with community-

little local market down the street, plus

market. “Growing up, I hated it,” she

minded ventures like the Our Farmers

donate some of it to those in need. A lot of

said, adding that she’d make up excuses

directory. One of her ideas is similar to

what they grow is just for the family, such

not to work in the heat and dust.

the existing directory: connecting small

as the herbs in the medicinal garden next

beekeepers to farmers with sustainable

to her parents’ original farmhouse.

When two of her older sisters left Merced to attend UC Berkeley, Gonzalez

practices for long-term hive placement.

A few years ago, her sister built a new

was motivated to follow in their aca-

Gonzalez is also working on ways to

house on the property, which is where

demic footsteps. Private colleges weren’t

support and empower small farmers in

they live now, along with three small

really on her radar, but after recruiters

their communities, connecting them

family dogs. Five more dogs live out-

from Mills came to her high school, she

more directly with consumers and, as

doors on the farm, along with the few

decided to apply, and a full-tuition schol-

she puts it, decentralizing agriculture.

remaining chickens and an active, noisy

arship made the College an easy choice.

“You think of CSA boxes—community-

colony of blue jays. And, of course, the

At that point, she didn’t necessar-

supported agriculture—but I’m thinking,

bees, roaming the citrus and fig trees,

ily plan to end up back in Merced. She

what if we do community-funded agri-

the sunflowers and tomatoes—the self-

was often told that if she wanted to

culture, and instead of relying on the

sustaining, living network making all of

make something of herself, she had to

government to decide what food they

it possible.  FA L L 2 0 2 1

D R O L THE ISSER L F O

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

BORN TO A DANCE PROFESSOR, HE STARTED PULLING THE CURTAIN AT AGE 10. NOW, AFTER NEARLY 50 YEARS OF WORKING AT MILLS, JIM GRAHAM REFLECTS ON HIS LIFE AT THE COLLEGE. It is a truth universally acknowledged

a communist. So, my father was black-

home baking cookies! I thought, “This

that Jim Graham tells the best stories

listed, and he couldn’t get any work in

is ridiculous. My mother does important

about Mills. After all, he’s had a front-

Chicago.

things, and I don’t care if she’s baking.” I

row seat to campus happenings nearly

mother’s

replacement

the

was a feminist without even knowing it.

dance department here was leaving,

So, while I went to elementary school, I

The son of the renowned dancer

so my mother asked for her job back!

was still around at Mills. When my father

Eleanor Lauer, MA ’40, who was instru-

So, I arrived in utero from Chicago in

had to work late, I would come along to a

mental in building the College’s dance

the summer of 1950—I was born in

rehearsal for a dance concert or for a per-

department, Graham has had a bingo

November—and then my mother started

formance, though I had no desire to be a

card of Mills experiences: growing up

teaching in the fall of ’51. A professor of

dancer. The College used to run Saturday

on campus, attending the Children’s

home economics—when Mills had home

morning classes for children, and there

School, working backstage at dance and

economics—was my god-

were classes in art,

music performances and as a summer

mother.

music, and dance. I

his entire life.

camp counselor, auditing graduate-level

When it came time for

can say that I studied

classes, and being one of the longest-

me to start school, there

with Robert Arneson

serving employees in Mills history. This

was

when

fall, Graham marks the 50th anniversary

school. We were living in

years old! However,

of his official start at Mills and a career

San Francisco then, so we

while I was imbued

that has taken him from backstage tech-

moved to what is now the

with the arts from the

nician to director of audiovisual services

western half of Ross House.

cradle, I was always

and back to the theater again.

When they converted it,

more interested in the

Of course, his story goes back fur-

the house had been gutted

technical side.

ther than that—to November 1950, to be

on the inside but what had

I was also often the

exact. We sat down with Graham this

been my bedroom was still

page turner for Doris

summer for nearly two hours to hear

there. They dedicated it in

Dennison, the music

more about that story, and to collect oth-

1993 and a student was sit-

professor in the Dance

ers about the Mills of yore.

ting in that room, studying

Department. I couldn’t

at her desk. I told her that

read music, but she

the

Mills

nursery

would

was

go,

eight

“Now!

Mills Quarterly: Were you born while your mother was on the faculty at Mills?

it had been my bedroom when I was a small child, and her jaw

Now! Now!” When I was backstage, I just

Jim Graham: No. She received the first

dropped!

watched the lighting people, and that got me interested. I’ve been doing theater

master’s degree in dance at Mills in

We lived on campus until 1955 when

1940, and immediately joined the fac-

I graduated from the nursery school.

ulty from 1940-47. And then she mar-

My parents wanted me to go to Burbank

ried my father (the late Robert Graham),

Elementary School, so they bought a

Was that in Lisser?

and they moved to Chicago. My father

house five blocks from Mills, and I’m

It was, in old Lisser. The first time I

was a stage and lighting designer, and he

still living in it.

worked on a concert—I pulled the cur-

lighting ever since.

designed the stage for a big Progressive

When I was growing up, I would be

tain in Lisser for a dance performance—I

Party rally in Wrigley Field in 1948,

with classmates or teachers or whatnot,

couldn’t have been more than 10. Back

which was a perfectly ordinary thing

and I’d say that my mother worked, and

in the ’50s, television was in its infancy,

to do then. But by 1950 and the rise of

the response was always “Oh, you poor

so a student dance concert could practi-

McCarthyism, that must have made you

thing.” As though she’s supposed to be

cally fill Lisser, which had 600 seats at

Above, a young Jim Graham picks up a package from Mr. Taylor at the Mills Post Office, circa 1955. Opening page, Graham working a light board in 1968.

FA L L 2 0 2 1

set, one camera, and one reel-to-reel

could also run the lights in the concert

How did your role at Mills evolve over the years?

hall, and there was nobody else to do it.

Well, when Mary Metz became president

(but weighed 42 pounds).

So, while I was in junior high and high

in 1980, the buzzword in higher edu-

Basically, my time has involved the

school, I ran lights for the music depart-

cation was “strategic planning.” At that

introduction of computers and computer

ment—though I didn’t get paid!

point, the provost was Charles Larsen:

projection in the classroom. I brought

When I went away to college, I didn’t

professor of history, wonderful man,

the College into the analog world of

do much with theater. I majored in his-

great sense of humor. As we were doing

video, and we started putting big screens

tory and thought I’d be a high school

all this strategic planning, I asked him

and televisions in classrooms. When the

teacher, but my father always said,

if anybody was doing anything about

video projector came along, we were

“Don’t plan too much.” So, I came to

audiovisual. And he said, “No, of course

really able to go to town. I think there are

[work at] Mills for a couple of years while

not.” The audiovisual department was

no classrooms now without projectors

I figured out where I was going to gradu-

one guy with a few projectors in the

and screens, connections for computers,

ate school. My first year, I was part-time,

Cowell basement. So, I wrote up some

and halfway-decent sound systems. Of

and I earned about $4,000. It was 1973,

ideas about how to organize an audio-

course, it’s all gone digital, so the types

but $4,000 wasn’t much even then! I was

visual department, plus the desperate

of equipment we need are fewer. And it

[working in] the dance department’s new

need for better equipment—faculty mem-

worked out incredibly well, because that

theater in Haas Pavilion, but I couldn’t

bers were bringing in their own audio-

was not only the point when I wanted to

report to my department head because

visual equipment because the College’s

do less, but it was time for me to do less.

it was my mother. So, I reported directly

resources were so poor.

that point. By the time I was 12 or 13, I

to the provost, Mary Woods Bennett, the lowest ranking person to do so.

I turned in my proposal in the fall, and

video recorder they said was portable

when I came back after the holidays, I

Do you feel like that’s your legacy, bringing tech up-to-date for the time?

When I was finishing college, Haas was

ran into Charles at the Faculty-Staff

Yeah. Bringing us into the modern

being built, and that was the new home

Club.* We were standing at the bar, and

world—in terms of the 1980s—I think I

for the dance department, including the

in his most conspiratorial voice, he said,

did a pretty good job.

department theater. However, Haas was

“Make an appointment to see me, and

And little Lisser (as I call it) over there.

also the gymnasium. The athletic pro-

don’t tell anybody.” That was Charles—he

The black-box theater in Rothwell was

gram was relatively small then, but they had to move out for the dance department to move in [for performances]. We got very good at installing the stage—we’d come in on a Friday night, and we’d work through Saturday, get it set, rehearse Sunday through Wednesday, perform Thursday through Saturday

my idea. We’d been trying to figure out

what to do with performances during

Read more about Graham’s experiences with the FacultyStaff Club in the expanded online version of this piece at quarterly .mills.edu/the-lord-of-lisser.

night, then we’d pull it all out. By the next

the renovation. Like every intractable problem, we just kicked the can down the road as long as we could, and then we finally had to do something. I went off to England in summer 2016 and came back to no bookstore. The books had all gone online. So, I walked in

Sunday morning, you’d never know we’d

loved intrigue. Apparently, what I’d writ-

and looked at the space, and it took about

been there, but it was a huge amount of

ten up had rather impressed Mary Metz.

two milliseconds to say, “We could make

work. When Haas was built, it had these

So, they decided to form a real audiovi-

this work.” I wrote up a report, did some

seating sections on all four sides, so you

sual department, which would include

simple drawings, and presented them.

could have all these different combina-

audiovisual services; the language lab,

There were other people who wanted

tions: modified proscenium, thrust or

which was Stern 104; and my part of the

the space, but I got it because replacing

arena (boxing ring) style. And it took us a

dance department, theater production—

Lisser was the most immediate need.

while to figure out the best one, and how

and put me in charge of all of them.

We were able to do it almost entirely

We shortly thereafter got a new pro-

with stuff we’d pulled out of Lisser: the

Dance was in Haas from 1971 until

vost, Steve Weiner, who was very gung

seats, the platforms, the lighting—we had

around 2000. When the drama depart-

ho on technology in education. I remem-

$25,000 worth of lighting control equip-

ment went away in the early 2000s, dance

ber when he told us we were getting

ment that had been on a shelf since the

moved back over to Lisser, and both

$80,000 from a grant. That was the first

new control system was installed in Lisser

dance and athletic people were ecstatic—

time I’d gotten any money in five fig-

in 2005. We did that whole black-box

it was the happiest divorce in history.

ures; at that point, we were able to really

project for less than $200,000 because of

Except for the renovation in 2017–18,

establish a department. When I took

things like that. Jane Watanabe, one of

dance has been there ever since.

over audio-visual, we had one television

our retired dance faculty, had given us

Right: Jim Graham with Hallie Johnson and Irving Wiltshire at Haas Pavilion in the 1970s.

big our audiences were going to be.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

a portable performance floor she’d take

for a while, especially how I might reduce

around to different performance venues.

my hours without leaving entirely. We

It sat under the stairs in Haas—and the

decided I could leave the audiovisual

fire department hated it. You can’t dance

department but stay working in the the-

directly on either concrete or carpeting,

ater, especially since I had been brought

which was what was there. So, I set up

in from the theater.

Read more about the process of renovating Lisser Hall at quarterly.mills .edu/lisser-halls-21stcentury-encore.

a couple pieces over here and the dance

So, on June 30, 2014, I officially retired,

faculty pranced around on it, and they

and I was unemployed for two months

Somebody said, “Oh, you were in charge

said, “Yeah, this’ll work fine.” There’s

and three days—or something like that.

of the renovation.” No, I wasn’t! I’m not an

another cost we didn’t have.

Then, as was planned in advance, I was

architect, but I worked very closely with

In any case, we used the [black-box]

hired back to run Lisser at one-quarter

Karen Fiene and the architects and the con-

theater for a year, and everybody loved

time. Of course, running a theater that’s

sultants. It was a long process—and it should

it. The performers loved being close to

operating a regular program has no

be—to prepare for something like that.

the audience and vice versa. When Lisser

problem filling up 10 hours a week.

As my father used to say, no matter how

reopened, the College really didn’t have

Then, when the College did the reno-

much technology advances, the baby still

anything else to do with that space, so we

vation in 2017, they reorganized all the

takes nine months. What happened in

kept it. It is now one of our critical perfor-

production services. When this reorga-

2017 is very different from what was on

mance facilities.

nization came along, they were hiring

paper in 2014 when the design process

for someone who could oversee all of it.

began, because they had to figure out

How did you get to the role you have now?

But I was also working at the Head-Royce

what Lisser Hall was made of. There were

I ran the audiovisual department from

School, and I didn’t want to go back to a

no blueprints!*

1981 to 2014. I was working with the pro-

full-time job at Mills. And so they ended

We had a wonderful structural engineer

vost’s office primarily until 1997, and then

up hiring Alex Zendzian, who is perfect

who was brought in to figure out what

my department was transferred to infor-

for that job, and his computer skills are so

was under the plaster. She’d be crawling

mation technology. I never could figure

much better than mine. In this era, you

around in the attic or under the floor and

out why that didn’t happen when infor-

can’t survive without them.

I’d hear her go, “Oh, my. Wow.” Finally, she

mation technology was initially formed.

Assuming that some theatrical activity

just looked at me and she said, “You know,

I can only think that the provost at the

does come back next year, I will have com-

this building is standing up out of force

time, Faith Gabelnick, didn’t want to give

pleted 50 years of employment at Mills

of habit more than anything else.” As a

up too much!

College. I didn’t come to Mills expecting

result of all her investigations, we learned

to stay here 50 years, but the College kept

about tasks that we didn’t know we had to

giving me interesting things to do.

do, but we really needed to do. A lot of the

The day after Commencement 2014, the College announced an early retire-

renovation is stuff you don’t see because

ment incentive program. Bruce McCreary was my boss at that point, and he was great. Since I was getting close to retirement age, we had been talking [about it]

You know Lisser probably better than anyone. What was your experience with the 2017 renovation?

the construction standards of 1901 and 1925 (when the stage was added) were not the same as they are today. We did like the idea of making Lisser more a multi-use building than the old fixed seats on the floor would allow. But even now, when you pull out that solid set of seats—like the Rock of Gibraltar— the rack is liable to drift to the downhill side at the front, just an inch or so on the 120-year-old floor!

How many Mills presidents have you been under? Or, how many do you remember? The first president I remember, only vaguely, was Lynn White, but he left when I was eight years old. You can count Mary Woods Bennett, who was dean of the faculty and twice interim president. The first president I really remember—and the FA L L 2 0 2 1

first one who would remember me—was

we had Virginia Smith for a year, and then

100 students to 300, with an expanded

Easton Rothwell, who came in 1959.

Jan Holmgren and Alecia [DeCoudreaux].

curriculum. While we couldn’t keep it

I was young enough that I was just a

And then Beth [Hillman] came along—

at $100, we tried to keep it low. As long

cute kid to him. I’d come to campus after

and she and I get along great! I think

as we didn’t lose money, the College was

school, and by the time I was in fourth

what cemented me with her was when

just happy to have us because there were

or fifth grade, I’d make the rounds in the

COVID came along, and in the first big

no summer session programs in those

offices. The woman in the Office of Public

Zoom meeting she was leading, she was

days. The campus was just sitting here.

Information would have me cut up old

almost a silhouette sitting in front of a

But when I got the audiovisual job, I gave

paper to make scratch pads. When I was

window. I immediately wrote to her and

up the summer program.

old enough to really read, the provost’s

said, “Let me give you a hand with this.” I

secretary had me do filing. Easton was

brought over some high-intensity lights,

grandfatherly, but he would take me very

and we marked the floor where I thought

seriously and make sure that his secretary

she should sit and the direction she

Is there something that happened in Mills’ past that surprises people when you tell them about it?

had things for me to do. But when you’re

should face. I think her public presenta-

One thing people are surprised [by is]

10 or 12, there’s no reason for you to be

tions are much better.

when they learn that we’ve always had

called upon to advise on college policy.

So, that’s nine presidents!

men in the graduate programs. There

Actually, sitting right here (in the

are also a lot of people who live nearby and don’t know about Mills. I was on

due to Easton Rothwell. There was a big

How much interaction have you had with students over the years?

earthquake in 1957 that a lot of people

Oh, quite a lot, especially in the theater.

that I worked at Mills College. He said,

don’t remember, but I sure do. It wasn’t

I was always consulting with students

“Where’s that?” and I said, “It’s out in

as big as Loma Prieta or 1906, but it was

on their projects. And when I was in the

East Oakland where the freeways meet.”

a hefty jolt. And when Easton came in,

dance department, I was the whole thing:

And he said, “Oh, I drive by there all the

the first thing he did was survey all the

I was the stage technician, so I installed

time, but I thought it was a cemetery.”

buildings.* They discovered that there

the stage every time we had to use it, but I

Honestly, [the cemetery] saved us

were three buildings in really bad shape:

was also the lighting designer. It was really

when [Interstate] 580 was being built;

The old life science building, which was

only after about 2000 that the dance

they were going to plow the freeway

where Lucie Stern is; the gymnasium,

department started bringing in other peo-

right through the center of the College.

which was right here; and the Children’s

ple, because I was stretched so thin.

Cyrus and Susan [Mills] are buried off

Faculty-Staff Dining Room) is probably

School, which was in this small building

jury duty once, and I told some guy

But also, in the 1960s, the College

in the corner, and you can’t put a public

started the Upward Bound program

road through a cemetery. So, they had to

Well, the old life science building and

(which my mother taught in), and the

move the whole freeway, though we did

the gymnasium were the two buildings

dance department started a Children’s

still lose the stables and the riding ring.

that housed the dance department, so

Summer

was

Cornelia Van Ness Cress taught equi-

the entire department was suddenly

designed to be affordable for the local

tation from the stables behind the lake.

without a home. Soon, they were danc-

community. There was a lot of criticism

If you went to the right, basically where

ing in the art gallery! The gallery got

that Mills was not doing enough for the

the off-ramp for Seminary Avenue is

split in two: half for the dance depart-

local community, and there was some

now, you got to the stables. She also built

ment and half for the graduate painting

validity to that. I think it was a half day

one of the houses in Faculty Village, and

studio. Finally, there was another space

for six weeks at $100, but it brought in

I remember that she had a very mean

to move one of the groups, so they asked

the local community, it propagandized

dog. When I was a kid, he barked at me

Alfred Neumeyer, who was the curator:

for the arts, and it gave employment to

whenever we ran into each other in the

“Do you want to keep the painters or do

Mills students during the summer.

post office. Cornelia retired, but she

where the Pomodoro sculpture is.

Arts

Program,

which

you want to keep the dancers?” And he

I was a group leader for a couple of

stayed in the house and became a huge

said, “Oh, keep the dancers!” because all

years, so I took a group of 25 around to

John Bircher, and the College finally had

they needed was a bare floor and a piano.

their various classes, held their hands

to tell her that she couldn’t put Mills on

Easton was here until 1967, then came

when they got a cut, and disciplined

the return address of her mailings!

Rob Wert, who was the president who

them as best I could. They didn’t need

hired me. Then Barbara White, who came

much; they were happy kids. We then

and went fairly quickly, and then Mary

added programming for 12 to 15 year

Metz. She was the epitome of Southern

olds. I taught photography for a few sum-

charm. I had no complaints about her;

mers, and then I became the head of the

hell, she gave me a full-time job! But when

program for about six years. I’m happy

the Strike came, she decided to leave. Then

to say that during my time it went from

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Read more about the changes to the Mills campus over the years at quarterly.mills .edu/an-ever-evolving-campus.

ALE X ZENDZIAN

Jim Graham in September 2021, at the start of the school year that marks his 50th anniversary of official employment at Mills.

The freeway changed a lot. At the

College even before my time has inter-

that we’re a women’s college was our most

end of the year, we always had the

ested me. When you arrive at Mills in

unique feature. Good liberal arts colleges

Pinetop Picnic, and you couldn’t eat in

2021, you see what it is now and you have

are not hard to find.

the dorms that day because they served

no idea what got us to where we are today.

When the decision was reversed,

fried chicken up there. There was a big

Mills definitely doesn’t even begin to

Warren Hellman, the chair of the board

fireplace and a stage, and skits were per-

look like [what it did] when I was a child.

who had really pushed the coed thing,

formed after dinner. Then, seniors would

Back then, the school had about 600

said, “Well, this isn’t going to kill you.

walk two by two in their caps and gowns

to 700 students: almost all white, pre-

You’ll survive at least for a while, but

carrying little lanterns. The juniors

dominantly Republican, a lot of big San

you’ll never thrive. You’ll continue to

would walk behind them with lanterns,

Francisco families. Mills has changed,

struggle as you have for the last 20 years

though without the caps and gowns.

but Mills has changed in response to

until something over which you have

And they would all march down to the

changes in the bigger society.

no control comes along.” I thought the Big Recession in 2008 would be it, but

Oval singing Mills songs, and the dean

I think the hardest thing for Mills is

of students would deliver the “you are

figuring out what it wants to be, because

going out into the world” speech. Then

women’s colleges were formed in the 19th

And then, I remembered what a finan-

[the students] would walk back to Lake

century because men wouldn’t let women

cial adviser once said: “If you own a

Aliso, and the classes would stand on

into other colleges. Like so much else,

stock and it drops 25 percent in a day,

opposite sides and sing back and forth

everything changed after World War II,

don’t worry. But if it goes down half a

to each other. Then, they’d come back

and a lot of the previously all-male schools

point, then it goes down three quarters

down to the Student Union and have hot

went coed. There were 300 women’s col-

of a point, then it comes up half a point,

chocolate and cookies.

enrollment topped out after that.

leges in 1960, and now there are about 30.

but then it goes down a point, and the

It was a wonderful experience. But

They either found another men’s school

continual trend is down—that’s when

when the freeway came in, the noise

to affiliate with, like Bryn Mawr with

you’ve got to worry.” That’s exactly what

up there [was too much]—now, Pinetop

Haverford, or they went coed themselves.

happened—enrollment went down from

is more or less abandoned. I don’t think

Some succeeded, some didn’t. Quite a few

almost 1,600 [students at our peak] to

there’s anything up there anymore. And

just went out of business.

about 1,100 six years later. And then, along came COVID!

the lake is about half the size it used to

For Mills, there was no men’s school to

be because of changing water flow pat-

merge with. In 1990, the school decided to

There comes a point where no mat-

terns caused by the freeway.

go coed... well, the trustees decided to go

ter how good you are, no matter how

coed. I remember the hue and cry from the

much you believe in what you’re doing,

How else have you seen Mills change?

students, the faculty and staff, the alum-

if you can’t pay the bills, you’ve got to do

Well, I have a fairly unique perspective in

nae—it was just overwhelming. I was fairly

something else. So, we’ll see what hap-

that it’s so long-term. The history of the

agnostic about it, but I did think the fact

pens next.  FA L L 2 0 2 1

AAMC NEWS & NOTES A Message from the AAMC President Dear Alumnae Community:

new ways to sustain or evolve Mills College with the Board

It is wonderful to welcome students, staff, and faculty back to the

of Trustees. You can read more about the organizing of these

Mills campus after such a long time apart. The beauty of Mills is

groups and other alumnae on the Mills Quarterly website:

reflected all over the campus and I feel lucky that we are finally

quarterly.mills.edu/alumnae-fight-to-save-mills. A basic time-

able to gather here on the grounds, even if in a limited capacity.

line of events runs at the bottom of this spread.

This August, the Alumnae Student

To say this year has been unprecedented is an

Relations Committee (in partnership with

understatement. Those of us who relished our

the College’s Alumnae Relations Office)

time at Mills, who have supported our alma mater

welcomed students new to campus from

through the years, and who want the best for all

both 2020 and 2021 with our annual Taco

Mills constituents have had several challenges pre-

Tuesday, including raffle prizes and spe-

sented to us this year.

cial desserts. It is always a fun and cel-

To be on the opposing side from people I value,

ebratory event, and students enjoy being at

respect, and have worked with for these past five years

Reinhardt Alumnae House and engaging

has been incredibly painful and challenging. I know

with alumnae.

that Mills alumnae have strong and differing views,

In addition to connecting alumnae to

and I have received many emails and letters express-

students, it is always such a pleasure to

ing those perspectives. Amidst it all, I have been sus-

recognize alumnae who have made sig-

tained by your writing and phone calls in expression of support, as well as financial gifts to the AAMC to

nificant contributions to the AAMC, Mills, and the professional world. The Alumnae Awards Committee

aid in its pursuit of clarity and longevity for Mills College.

has announced the awardees for 2021. Congratulations to Carol

Many others have walked before us in paths of adversity

Alcalay ’52, Outstanding Volunteer; Amanda Page Harper ’09,

amidst uncertainty, standing up for what they believed was

Recent Graduate; and Joan Millar Lincoln ’66, Distinguished

right. They left us an example to follow:

Achievement. Awardees from both 2020 and 2021 will be honored at this year’s Reunion Awards Ceremony. You can read about this year’s awardees on the facing page. The College’s closing announcement this spring was a shock, but as a result the alumnae community has been more engaged

The time is always right to do what is right. –Martin Luther King, Jr. Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better. –Maya Angelou

than ever. The Board of Governors (BOG) has met monthly since March, with many giving very generously of their time

By the time you read this letter, I hope and pray that Mills stu-

and resources, filling their lives with all things Mills!

dents, faculty, and staff are on a sustainable path towards the

Many alumnae have been vocal and visible in their sadness,

future and that Mills can be saved for generations still.

with protests and organizing to support Mills and the BOG.

In strength,

Two groups, the UC Mills Campaign and Save Mills College

Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82

Coalition, worked with the BOG and shared their proposals for

AAMC President

see the fuller picture at aamc-mills.org

June 25, 2020: In a video conference with donors, President Hillman mentions partnership discussions with UC Berkeley

March 24, 2021: The AAMC holds a town hall to discuss the future of Mills and the AAMC; more than 600 alumnae participate

June 30, 2020: Amidst talk of the UCB partnership, Lisa Kremer ’90 and Jennifer Gallison ’97 start the Strong Proud All Mills Facebook group

April 2, 2021: The AAMC BOG issues a position statement in an email to alumnae, outlining their demands for the trustees to consider

March 17, 2021: The College announces its anticipated closure as a degree-granting college

April 2, 2021: The campaign to create a standalone UC Mills emerges on Facebook and ucmills.com

March 17, 2021: Paige Chamblin, MBA/MPP ’21, starts the Save Mills Facebook group, from which the Save Mills College Coalition grows 22

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

April 23, 2021: The Coalition’s lawyers send a memo to the California attorney general asking for an investigation into the decision to close Mills

2021 ALUMNAE AWARDS PROFILES

Joan Millar Lincoln ’66; Carol Alcalay ’53, with nominator Julia Almanzan ’90; Amanda Harper ’09

Joan Millar Lincoln ’66, Distinguished Achievement Darius Milhaud and Morton Subotnick at

Carol Alcalay ’53, Outstanding Volunteer

Mills, she went on to teach music at Simon’s

Carol

with

training instructor for the Sierra Army

Rock. She and her husband, Albert Lincoln

Los Angeles Mills College Alumnae

Depot Training Division shines through

III, then immigrated to France, where she

(LAMCA) for more than 50 years, serv-

in her creation of collaborative and wel-

nurtured their first child and traveled and

ing on the executive board for several

coming spaces for creativity, inclusion,

performed as a bilingual folk singer.

decades in various leadership positions—

and professional growth. In Amanda’s

Starting in 1972, the Lincolns spent

most recently as vice president. Carol

three years with the division, she has

11 years in the Central African Republic,

goes beyond mere leadership by hosting

significantly developed its leadership

where Joan’s original musical capacity con-

numerous monthly board meeting lun-

programs with her guidance and exper-

tinued developing. Throughout her years

cheons each year, engaging every guest

tise. This past February, she was awarded

there, Joan accompanied young Africans

with her personal affection for Mills.

Training

Following Joan’s musical studies with

has

been

volunteering

Amanda Harper ’09, Recent Graduate Amanda’s dedication to her work as a

Magazine’s 2020 Emerging

on the guitar as they performed their own

Carol is also an ambassador for the

Training Leader Award for her efforts.

music, performed in jazz and Dixieland

College. When her nominator, Julia

Although not a supervisor, Amanda is

groups, and wrote her own songs about

Almanzan ’92, was a student at Loyola

clearly a key leader at the depot and is

her unique life experiences. Eventually,

Law School in Los Angeles, she wound

often part of command meetings, plan-

she earned a master’s in ethnomusicology

up volunteering in Carol’s bilingual

ning committees, and other initiatives.

at l’Institut National des Arts with her the-

elementary school classroom. The two

As her nominator, partner Loren

sis “Chansons de Maternité Adioukrou”

immediately discovered their Mills con-

Harper, puts it: “She is an advocate for

(Maternity Songs of the Adioukrou Tribe).

nection because of Carol’s swift mention

leadership, in and outside of work, and

Joan has been invited to speak at con-

of her involvement with the College. Julia

strives for excellence in all that she

ferences all around the world, eventually

has been deeply involved with LAMCA

does. She is a true representation of

returning to the US in 2014. During the

ever since. It is that sort of advocacy that

Mills College. I believe she deserves this

pandemic, she self-published a booklet

has helped build Mills’ reputation and

award because of her dedication to self-

of 15 original four-part a cappella cho-

engaged alumnae to stay connected to

less service.” With this much achieved

ral pieces, and having written approxi-

each other and to the College.

already in her career, we are certain that

mately 70 songs over the decades, is now

Carol embodies the true alumnae

Amanda will go on to do even greater

compiling some of those into a second

spirit of selflessness and commitment to

things, and therefore we award her

booklet. It is nearly impossible to sum

our alma mater. She is an extraordinary

2021’s Recent Graduate Award.

up Joan’s accomplishments in just a few

example of how the AAMC, through its

paragraphs, and that makes it clear that

regional branch clubs, brings alumnae

she is more than deserving of this year’s

together across generations. We are proud

Distinguished Achievement Award.

to call her 2021’s Outstanding Volunteer.

May 3, 2021: Mills faculty announce a 73% vote of no confidence in the Mills College administration

June 14, 2021: The AAMC sends a survey to alums asking for their opinions on their potential legal proceedings

May 14, 2021: AAMC Vice Presidents Alexa Pagonas ’91 and Dawn Cunningham ’85 ask Mills trustees to allow one year to study financially sustainable models that would keep Mills a degreegranting college or university

August 5, 2021: The judge issues a restraining order blocking the College from immediately partnering with Northeastern University

June 7, 2021: Three alumna trustees and AAMC President Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82, file a legal complaint with Alameda County

August 16, 2021: The AAMC is added as plaintiff to the lawsuit; the judge grants Nakka-Cammauf until September 3 to review financial documents September 13-14, 2021: The judge rules that the College has complied with the court’s ruling and allows the Board of Trustees to vote on the proposed merger with Northeastern F A L L 2 0 2 1 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 July 7 To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123 Natalie Feldman, MA ’40, June 6, 2017, in Batavia, Illinois. Natalie loved attending Chicago Alumnae Club events. She is survived by three daughters, including Janis Feldman Siner ’69. Lois “Loie” Johnson Cuthbertson ’41, June 2021, in Germantown, Tennessee. Loie was born in Phoenix and spent most of her life in Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area before settling outside of Memphis. She was passionate about working in her garden and about her family, and she was an excellent seamstress. She is survived by a daughter, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Muriel Oppenheimer Levinson ’43, October 27, 2020, in Leawood, Kansas. Muriel died one day before her 98th birthday. A fervent reader, she also taught English as a second language to newly arrived immigrants and read stories to elementary students. Muriel’s sense of adventure took her to six continents, and she loved supporting her local opera and repertory theater. She is survived by three children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

FREDERIC L ARSON

Marilyn Malm Linscott ’44, April 26, in San Rafael, California. Marilyn was a dedicated volunteer, giving her time to St. Luke Presbyterian Church, the American Cancer Society, San Pedro School, and PEO International. She is survived by a sister, four children, four stepchildren, 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Barbara Johnson Penhallow ’46, April 9, 2020, in Litchfield Park, Arizona. After Mills, she received a master of library science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and worked as a children’s librarian. She is survived by a daughter; a sister, Sally Johnson Stewart ’56; and two nieces, Susan Dray ’72 and Laura Bramble ’90. Lenore Mayhew Laycock ’46, May 13, in Oberlin, Ohio. Lenore taught courses on Japanese literature at Bowling Green State University and Oberlin College, and her translations appeared in A Gold Orchid: Love Poems of Tzu Yeh and Anna Akhmatova’s A Poem Without a Hero. She published original poetry from throughout her life in 2016. She is survived by three children, including Vera Laycock Lenore ’70; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Leona Frick Lepage ’47, December 11, 2020, in Petaluma, California. In the late 1970s, she returned to school to earn an MA in education at the University of San Francisco. She is survived by three children. Elizabeth “Jo” Reynolds Hazen ’47, January 21, 2020, in Walnut Creek, California. After Mills, she graduated from the University of Minnesota. She is survived by two children. Kathleen “Kay” Edwards ’49, April 4, in Kenmore, Washington. Kay graduated from Washington State with a degree in communications. She later opened her own bookstore, Kay’s Bookmark, in Seattle, which she operated for nearly 30 years. Kay also loved learning new ways to create works of art, from watercolor to woodworking, and she was dedicated to women’s and children’s causes. She is survived by a sister, and many nieces and nephews.

Professor Emerita of Studio Art Hung Liu The prolific, esteemed artist Hung Liu, who taught studio art at Mills from 1990 to 2013, died in Oakland on August 7. Multiple exhibitions of her work were planned or underway at the time of her death, including at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. The striking portraits she painted elevated the experiences of the Chinese and Chinese American working class and immigrant populations, harkening back to her own time growing up in China during Mao’s rule, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. Liu first came to the United States in 1984 to study at the University of California, San Diego, with a full scholarship. Not long after finishing her studies there, she arrived at Mills where she remained for 24 years. Pieces of hers have appeared in the Mills College Art Museum (MCAM) as part of a joint exhibition with the Oakland Museum of California. Liu was “fearless and generous, an inspirational teacher, mentor, and internationally recognized artist beloved by students, colleagues, and curators,” said Stephanie Hanor, director of MCAM. “Her work always feels authentic and resonates with a wide audience yet comes from her own very personal perspective as an immigrant, feminist, and artist.” She is survived by her husband, Jeff Kelley.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Professor Emerita Moira Roth A renowned and beloved professor at Mills, who retired as the Eugene E. Trefethen Professor of Contemporary Art History in 2017 after 32 years on the faculty, Moira Roth died on June 14 in Albany, California. Moira was born and raised in Europe, attending Vienna University and the London School of Economics before relocating to the United States. She then moved her studies to NYU and UC Berkeley, earning her PhD with a dissertation on Marcel Duchamp. She came to Mills in 1985, but throughout her career, she edited a wide range of titles, including Amazing Decade: Women & Performance Art in America, 1970-1980; Connecting Conversations: Interviews with 28 Bay Area Women Artists; and We Flew Over the Bridge: The Memoirs of Faith Ringgold. She also wrote for publications such as Archives of American Art Journal; Artforum; and Nka, Journal of Contemporary African Art. Students and coworkers alike delighted in Moira’s buoyant personality. In her memory, her compatriots at the Faculty & Staff Club raised a glass in her honor. “If you had the good fortune to encounter Moira, you too were lifted by her joy and independent spirit,” wrote President Elizabeth L. Hillman in announcing Roth’s death. “She welcomed generations of artists, students, and faculty to Mills College and inspired all of us.” One of Roth’s favorite (and final) projects was The Library of Maps, which was a collection of 41 texts about a fictional library. She delighted in sharing this work with her many friends at Mills.

Mary Chase Bublitz ’50, October 28, 2018, in McMinnville, Oregon. After Mills, she taught kindergarten in Wisconsin before meeting and marrying her late husband, John. The family moved to Minnesota for John’s career, then settled in the Pacific Northwest where Mary was a homemaker. The couple loved to travel, and Mary was an active member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. She is survived by a son and two grandchildren.

Beverly Brown McCall ’55, August 21, 2020, in La Pine, Oregon. She worked as a terminal agent with Greyhound before starting a business with her husband, James. They were in operation for 30 years before retirement to Oregon, where they enjoyed travel, garage sales, and the High Lakes Car Club. She is survived by James, three daughters, nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Janette Coon Younglove ’50, June 2021, in Newport Beach, California. She met her husband, Ben, during summer break while attending Mills, and they married in 1948. Janette helped out with the family car business. Later in life, she and Ben bought a second home in Utah, and they enjoyed camping there and taking family vacations to Santa Catalina on their boat. She is survived by Ben, four children, seven grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

Cecilia “Ceil” Moller Murdoch ’57, May 1, in Middlebury, Vermont. After Mills, she taught in Monterey, where she met her late husband, “Wedge.” They raised their family through three Army tours before settling in Vermont. Ceil and four neighborhood moms raised their collective group of 18 children together before she ventured back to work as the parish secretary at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. She is survived by four children and eight grandchildren.

Elizabeth “Betsey” Wallick Danon ’51, April 17, in Sonora, California. She was the first woman in her family to earn a college degree, taking it into teaching and cofounding Keys School in Palo Alto. Betsey’s longtime love for Pinecrest prompted her to move to the mountains 40 years ago, where she retired as manager for Sierra Foothills Residential Care Home. She is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Verna Ness, MA ’58, March 11, in Seattle. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Washington and returned there for a PhD in English. Later, she served as editor for Mountaineer magazine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. After Verna turned 60, she taught English language and literature around the world, including at Hunan Medical University in Changsha, China, and at Gaziantep University in Turkey.

Ann “Holly” Speir Clement ’54, June 3, 2020, in Vero Beach, Florida.

Diane “Dee Dee” Diamond Foreman ’62, April 28, in Phoenix. Dee Dee graduated from the University of Washington with dual degrees in psychology and education, and she taught for three years before becoming a full-time mother. Years later, she founded the property management company Columbia West, which is still going strong. She is survived by two children and four grandchildren.

Jocelyn Sykes Cushman ’54, December 14, 2020, in San Juan Capistrano, California. She was the great-granddaughter of the renowned British artist Godfrey Sykes. For 15 years, Jocelyn was chair of the math department at Corona del Mar High School. She split time between Nova Scotia and Southern California, but in both spots, she loved historical houses, the ocean, and the arts. She was predeceased by her husband, Trevor.

Susan Farr Armstrong ’62, May 6, in Lake Wylie, South Carolina. She majored in French at Mills and lived in Paris for some time, later moving to New York FA L L 2 0 2 1

Gifts in Memory of Received March 1, 2021 – May 31, 2021 Barbara Goldblatt Becker ’63 by Marcia Bradley Gifford ’69 and Patricia Yoshida Orr ’63 William Campfield, P ’00; father of Lynda Campfield ’00, SES ’01, MA ’02; by Michelle Balovich ’03, MBA ’18 Marilyn Grimes Hill ’56, P ’83 by her daughter, Linda Hill ’83 Katherine Farrow Jorrens ’57 by Nina Thorp Sandra Munch Kelleher ’61 by Kevin Kelleher Leon Kirchner by Mona Monroe Lands ’60 Eleanor Lauer, MA ’40 by Yvonne Payne Daniel, MA ’75 Marcia McElvain ’61 by Elizabeth “Betsy” Frederick ’61 Katherine McGinity, MA ’13 by William Beeson, Elizabeth Bennett, Charles Brunk, Dawn Burdick, Linda Enger, Melanie Knutson, Michael Neff, Robert Leff, Suzanne Petranek, and Pam Wegner June Ames Millard-Smith ’36 by her daughter, Judith Millard Donna Riback ’61 by Elizabeth “Betsy” Frederick ’61 Marion Ross ’44 by Linda Tu ’91 Diana Russell by Robina Royer ’80 Kathleen Scott ’87 by Martha Sellers ’86 Patricia Ellis Severn ’64 by her husband, Alan Severn; Alexandra “Alex” Orgel Moses ’64; and Mary Wallon ’64 Charles and Mary Tateosian, P ’89 by their daughter, Lisa Tateosian ’89 Amy Tokioka, P ’74 by her daughter, Pamela Tokioka Carlson ’74 P=parent. For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.

City, where she met her late husband, John. They came back to the Bay Area, where Susan was a property manager, then retired to North Carolina to enjoy the beach, traveling abroad, and hosting friends and family. She is survived by two children and two grandchildren. Carolyn Natella Ferguson ’62, April 7, in Happy Valley, Oregon. After Mills, she earned a master’s degree in teaching from Reed College, later teaching at what is now McDaniel High School. She is survived by two children. Sheraldine Pedersen Redd ’65, April 19, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She worked for many years as a corporate recruiter. Alexandra Swaney ’67, December 1, 2017, in Helena, Montana. The PhD she earned in cultural anthropology from the University of Colorado was just the beginning of her exploration of other heritages and traditions. Alexandra was also a keyboarder who studied composition at CalArts and co-creator of the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, among other activities. She was preceded in death by her partner, Lillian, and is survived by many friends and colleagues.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Marilyn Cole Arrington ’68, April 19, in Gardena, California. Due to a heart defect, she couldn’t play with other children, so she filled her days with books. She began her teaching career in Watts, later earning an MA from Pepperdine, and she loved cultivating lifelong learners. Marilyn enjoyed traveling across the US with her family, especially her sister, and later, her grandchildren. She is survived by three children, five grandchildren, and a great-grandson. Cynthia Schmidt Baker ’71, June 2, in Walla Walla, Washington. An Army wife, Cynthia moved with husband Jim around the world for 26 years, later settling in his hometown of Walla Walla. Along the way, Cynthia earned a master’s degree at the University of Virginia and worked in early childhood education. She was also a lay Eucharistic minister at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. She is survived by Jim, two sons, and two granddaughters. Valerie Armenis Rubendall ’72, February 14, in Citrus Heights, California. Family was the driving force in Valerie’s life. She was married to her husband, Bill, for 50 years, and she inspired her three children to achieve great things. They say that the hole left by her absence is “impossible to fill.” She is survived by Bill, three children, and two grandchildren. Sarah Robinson Johnson ’72, December 17, 2020, in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. After Mills, she attended the University of Southern California for her MA in education, later owning and operating her own mail shop. She is survived by her husband, Robert; a daughter; and two granddaughters. Roxanne Jones Overton ’73, June 8, in High Bridge, New Jersey. Roxanne retired as a programmer for Verizon Wireless, taking on a full schedule of volunteering for organizations such as Open Cupboard Pantry and Meals on Wheels, playing handbells at Spruce Run Lutheran Church, participating in book clubs, enjoying the arts, and traveling. She is survived by two daughters, two stepsons, and four step-grandchildren. Martha Gates Hays, MA ’77, April 23, in San Francisco. Martha’s first career in TV production led to a campaign that saved the San Francisco Ballet. She taught preschool while earning her MA, then took on eighth-grade English. The last 40 years of her life were spent reckoning with a traumatic brain injury, but she pushed through by pursuing her love of painting, producing hundreds of works. She is survived by her husband, Christopher; and two sons. Cynthia Muse ’98, January 3, in Brentwood, California. Tana Polansky Maurer, MFA ’99, April 26, in Madison, Wisconsin. She pursued her MFA in editing after she earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing at Hunter College and was recognized with the National Arts Club for Writing Award on two separate occasions. Tana was a fighter, surviving two close calls on her life with a resilient spirit. She is survived by her partner, Eric; her mother; a brother; and a sister. EB Troast ’05, January 11, in Petaluma, California. After Mills, EB finished her degree at San Francisco State, and later received her MPH from San Jose State in 2016. EB was a queer educator who specialized in LBGTQIA+ families and sex education, and had previously worked in various roles at Planned Parenthood and written curricula for the San Francisco Unified School District. She is survived by her partner and two children.

Spouses and Family Karl Au, parent of Linda Au ’87, January 22, in Walnut Creek, California. William Campfield; parent of Lynda Campfield ’00, SES ’01, MA ’02; November 11, 2020; in Sacramento. Herbert Chew, parent of Catherine Chew Smith ’84, August 7, 2020, in Albany, California. Edwin Crocker, parent of Fiona Crocker Golden ’90 and former Mills treasurer, August 25, 2020, in Alexandria, Virginia. Ronald Foster, spouse of Adrienne McMichael Foster ’74, May 4, in Los Angeles. Robert Hale, spouse of Mary Schratter Hale ’82, April 12, 2019, in Oakland. Jeremiah Hallisey; spouse of Alison Warriner ’74, MA ’75; March 6; in Oakland. Ofelia Lujan, parent of Elizabeth Gomez ’03, December 12, 2019, in Inglewood, California. Leonard McCain, spouse of the late Eloise Randleman McCain ’57, October 12, 2020, in Brighton, Colorado. Richard Newman, parent of Anna Newman ’89, January 18, in Reno, Nevada. Robert Peng, son of Patsy Chen Peng ’51, November 16, 2020, in San Francisco. George Sorter, spouse of Dorienne Lachman Sorter ’54, May 23, 2019, in New York City. Charles Tateosian, parent of Lisa Tateosian ’89, March 31, 2020, in Walnut Creek.

Ravenna Helson Ravenna Helson, pioneering research psychologist at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Personality and Social Research, died this past spring. She studied the Mills classes of 1958 and 1960 for more than 50 years, with her resulting study yielding more than 100 research articles about women’s personality, creativity, and development. It culminated in a book, Women on the River of Life: A Fifty-Year Study of Adult Development, published by UC Press in 2020. In the early years, the study was conceptualized as about women’s creativity and leadership potential. In 1980, it shifted to an adult developmental perspective, contacting the participants about every 10 years into their 70s. Research focused on personality change, work, marriage, parenting, wisdom, creativity, and purpose in life. Ravenna thoroughly knew the stories and the personalities of all 142 Mills participants—she was even made an honorary member of the Class of 1960! Her soft Southern style combined with rigorous scholarly standards and a great enthusiasm for exploring what it meant to be a woman at this time in history. She is survived by three children.

Sister Mary Joseph of the Trinity/ Mary “Ann” Russell Miller ’50 On the weekend of June 6-7, the Twittersphere erupted with the news of the death of an unusual woman: Sister Mary Joseph of the Trinity. As related by her son, Mark Miller, Sister Mary Joseph said goodbye to her life as a San Francisco socialite at the age of 61 and entered a Carmelite monastery in Illinois in 1989, living the remainder of her life behind the stone walls and never touching her family members again. Missing in the ensuing coverage was that Sister Mary Joseph was a Mills woman. Mary “Ann” Russell Miller was a member of the Class of 1950, though she left the College early to marry her late husband, Richard. Her post-Mills, pre-convent life saw her give birth to 10 children and raise them in Pacific Heights, where her husband was chair of the San Francisco Opera Foundation and she rubbed elbows with the glitterati. She was also a dedicated volunteer and fundraiser, founding the Northern California chapter of the organization Achievement Rewards for College Students, and unsurprisingly, she was a devout Catholic. A 2005 article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that she once gave up the phone for Lent, a tough choice for someone as social as she. Before leaving for the monastery, Sister Mary Joseph threw a farewell bash for 800 guests at the San Francisco Hilton and distributed her jewels among her daughters. She spent the rest of her life in near silence, sleeping on a thin mat and asking forgiveness for her habitual lateness. She could only visit with family and friends from behind metal bars, never holding many of the 28 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren who also survive her.

Mary Tateosian, parent of Lisa Tateosian ’89, December 7, 2020, in Walnut Creek. Amy Tokioka, parent of Pamela Tokioka Carlson ’74, May 7, in Honolulu. Rita Weber, mother of Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Renée Jadushlever, January 22, in Morristown, New Jersey.

Faculty and Staff Yvette Fallandy, former assistant professor of French literature, January 15, in Santa Rosa, California. Margarethe Kulke, former professor of biology, January 24, in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Friends Lucy Campbell, former Associate Council member, January 22, in Berkeley. Guyla Cashel, former Associate Council member, June 3, 2020, in Lafayette. Edwin Strader, January 14, 2020, in Portland, Oregon.

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Lighting the Way to a Kinder World A+P+I Artist-in-Residence Christy Chan had something to say about the other pandemic brought on by COVID-19: rising anti-Asian racism and hate crimes. She turned to her filmmaking toolbox and set out to create the Dear America project, a series of works by herself and five other AAPI artists—including Professor of Studio Art Cathy Lu—that were projected guerrilla-style on buildings around the Bay Area. (Several installations were unsanctioned, and fans had to answer questions about Asian history on the project’s Instagram page to learn their exact locations.) Locales included high rises around Lake Merritt, Grace Cathedral, and Mills Hall. The finale was held at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga on August 12. One of the projections on Mills Hall, by artist Christine Wong Yap (below left), reads “Less discrimination, more understanding” in Chinese, one of eight Asian languages used in the project. “In a time when the right to belong of Asian Americans is being questioned, taking up space matters,” Chan says. “This project is about Asian Americans unapologetically taking up space, celebrating each other’s presence, and not asking permission to do so.” The project was supported by the Mills College Art Museum and Stand With Asian Americans. See more at dearamericaprojections.com. Images by Christy Chan.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

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2021

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Mills Quarterly, Fall 2021

Articles inside

In Memoriam

Class Notes

Mills Matters

AAMC News

The Lord of Lisser by Allison Rost

A Buzz About Beekeeping by Sarah J. Stevenson, MFA ’04

Mills to Merge with Northeastern University

Letters to the Editor

President’s Message