Alumnae "Elf"—Sara Martin ’10 (left) and Tanya Thompson ’10 delight in a goodies bag from Dana Feldshuh Whyte ’60 in a re-creation of an “elfing” scheme designed to bring the two classes together.
Picture this: a couple of older women, large trash bags and flashlights in hand, creeping around a dimly lit MHC dorm in the wee hours of a February night, securing smaller bags to doorknobs. Agatha Christie likely would have followed this escapade with a series of unnerving events. But the only blood in the hallways that night was pooled in the tired eyes of members of the class of 1960 as they “elfed” the sophomore class.
That’s right. The venerable MHC tradition wherein sophomores, their identities a secret, place little gifts at the doors of first-year students over the course of a week in fall, was co-opted by these fun-seeking alums in the spirit of, well, more spirit. And while the entire sophomore class takes a week to accomplish the task, two alumnae and a few students managed to elf nearly all 593 sophomores in just one very long night.
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So that the Alumnae Association may honor deserving alumnae, please share names to be considered for the recognitions listed below. Please include documentation on the strength of your candidate(s), and names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of references. Send nominations to the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486; 413-538-2300; fax 413-538-2254; or alumnaeassociation@mtholyoke.edu. You can also use our online form to submit nominations. (More)
Alumnae can continue to learn from Mount Holyoke professors this fall through several online courses and a lecture series. This Mount Holyoke College Institute Informed Voter Series is cosponsored by MHC and the New York Times.
The courses will be: Documentary Cinema and the Political Process, taught by Robin Blaetz (film studies); Foreign Policy in the 2008 Election, by Vincent Ferraro (politics); The Basics of Stem Cell Biology, by Rachel Fink (biological sciences); and South Asia Challenges to US Policy, by Kavita Khory ’84 (politics). Also, Joseph Ellis (history) will lecture on leadership and the founding of America.
The courses will include discussions between the professors and leading New York Times reporters, critics and editors.
Details, including registration information, are now online. For general information, contact Laurie Boucher (413-538-3517; lboucher@mtholyoke.edu).
In February, W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83 announced her resignation as executive director of the Alumnae Association. Mary Graham Davis ’65, president of the association, wrote, “The Alumnae Association has enjoyed the executive director leadership of Rochelle Calhoun for the past five years. She has made a tremendous mark on the association and on alumnae and students, and we will miss her as she moves on to become the dean of student affairs at Skidmore College. Prior to taking on the executive director position at the association, Rochelle held a number of administrative positions at Mount Holyoke, including director of diversity and inclusion and acting dean of the college.
“Rochelle will be part of all our spring reunion events, and will depart for Skidmore after June 30. This will give us time to fête her accomplishments and provide an appropriate farewell tribute. Meanwhile, the board of the association will commence a search to fill the executive director position, and we hope to have our new director in place this fall.”
A tribute to Rochelle and her impact on the college and the association will run in the summer Quarterly. Please send any accolades for possible publication to Emily Weir (eweir@mtholyoke.edu or c/o Alumnae Association of MHC, 50 College St., S. Hadley, MA 01075-1486.
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher
As announced in the spring Alumnae Quarterly magazine, W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83 will step down as executive director of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College this June.
Mary Graham Davis ’65, Association president, has announced the cochairs of the search committee that will recruit a new executive director. “We are pleased to announce as cochairs Dr. Susie Beers Betzer ’65, recent past president of the association and former trustee, and Joanna MacWilliams Jones ’67, a recent association board member with a strong human-resources background in education and nonprofit work,” she wrote.
The chairs have selected the other committee members, who are Pat Crane Furnivall ’50, Cynthia L. Reed ’80, Karen M. Hendricks ’76, Carrie K. Field ’97, Lisa M. Utzinger ’02, and Sandra A. Mallalieu ’91.
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Above: Barbara Lippert ’76 of Adweek (second from left), and Pamela Maffei McCarthy ’74
of The New Yorker (center right) led a discussion on trade and mass-market magazine journalism.
The screen behind Elizabeth Spiers, founder of Gawker and Dead Horse Media, had a banner headline eliciting chuckles from all corners of the room: cryingwhileeating.com.
“There’s never going to be a ‘crying while eating’ magazine or TV channel,” Spiers said. But in an age where traditional print media are scrambling to hold on to subscribers and searching for traction and profit, such niche markets have taken hold on the Internet. Online pioneers like Spiers may hold the key to how we get our news in the future.
This was the subject of a winter conference, The Future in Communic@tions, coproduced by the Alumnae Association and the MHC Office of Communications. As the printed word adapts to life with the Internet, alumnae working in communications gathered to network with students and each other—and to hear about their profession’s future.
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Two young alumnae whose promise and sustained achievement are consistent with the humane values Mary Lyon exemplified in her life received Mary Lyon Awards in February. The award honors young alumnae who graduated no more than fifteen years ago.
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Would you like to spend an afternoon immersing yourself in Spanish? Want to know more about women leaders in South Africa? The Back-to-Class program offers more than twenty classes on the Friday of each Reunion weekend (May 23 and 30) for returning alumnae and their guests. With no cost and no homework, there’s just the pure pleasure of enriching your mind. Sign up when you register for the weekend. Or arrive Thursday night (we’ve got plenty of rooms on campus) to register and ensure a seat.
Photo by Paul Schnaittacher
Chef shares Quick and easy recipes
Members of the Mount Holyoke Club of Fairfield Villages grabbed their whisks in January and joined chef Nicole Straight for an interactive cooking class featuring easy-to-make meals—in fifteen minutes, no less—for singles or families. “We had eleven alums and one daughter turn out for the class,” said organizer Kathleen Turland ’90. “It was a lot of fun.” Dishes prepared in class at Christopher Peacock Cabinetry in Greenwich included Baja fish tacos, moo shoo beef, and spinach tortellini with garlicky swiss chard. “I have already made the fish tacos at home with great success,” added Turland. Check out Straight’s Web site and cookbook.
By now you should have received a questionnaire in your e-mail inbox
(or in your mailbox) from our alumnae directory publisher, Harris
Connect, asking for updates about you. If you have moved, changed jobs,
had a baby, or have been promoted—or even if things are exactly the
same—please let us know by completing the questionnaire. (If you
haven’t had a chance to complete it yet, you’ll receive a reminder
postcard or e-mail in early May with information about how to call in
to Harris Connect.) We’re preparing now for the next alumnae directory,
which will be published (in book form and online) in November. We’re
also converting to a new, more advanced data system, so when you send
that questionnaire, you help us make sure that your alumnae information
is 100 percent correct.
Robin Blaetz understands film. An associate professor of film studies at MHC, she has collaborated with the New York Times
in creating the immensely popular online course, Inside the Art and
Craft of Film, and more recently offered insight into the aural and
visual elements of film as part of the Lyon Lecture Series. The best
news is that Blaetz is also a member of the Speaker’s Bureau for the
Alumnae Association and is willing to speak to your club. Call or
e-mail Krysia Villón ’96, at kvillon@mtholyoke.edu for more information, or go to alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/volunteers/res/speakers/index.php.
Photo by Mary Noble Ours
The Nominating Committee has begun its triennial task of selecting
the next president to lead the Alumnae Association. The committee
strongly encourages alumnae to participate by recommending qualified
candidates. The president’s responsibilities include setting priorities
for programs and the budget, representing the Association on the
College’s Board of Trustees, communicating with College President
Joanne V. Creighton and senior staff, overseeing the policy function of
the Association board, evaluating the executive director, serving as a
role model for students and alumnae, and maintaining a strong Alumnae
Association with an increasingly global reach. Jill M. Brethauer ’70,
nominating committee chair, asks that alumnae submit candidates’
names—along with details about their qualifications—to her by e-mail at
Jill_Brethauer@alumnae.mtholyoke.edu, by phone at 724-443-6575, or by regular mail at 4046 Dickey Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044-9714.
In accordance with Article IV, Section 1, Paragraph 3 of the Bylaws, Mary Graham Davis ’65, president of the Alumnae Association, has appointed the following alumnae to serve as indicated. Terms end June 30, 2009.
APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Director-at-Large for Marketing (to 2009): Maureen McHale Hood '87, Cincinnati, Ohio. Alumnae Association Director-at-Large (elected), Affiliate Group Ad Hoc Committee, Communications Ad Hoc Committee; class agent. Former Reunion gift caller, class agent, Reunion welcome/hospitality chair; president, program chair, vice president and program chair, newsletter/directory editor, Cincinnati Club. Alumnae Medal of Honor. MBA, Georgetown University. Marketing director, Procter & Gamble.
Director-at-Large for Communications (to 2009): Adrienne Wild Skinner '77, Larchmont, N.Y. Alumnae Association Alumnae Relations Committee, Reunion gift caller, Cornerstone Representative. Former Reunion dinner chair, Reunion gift caller, class agent. Vice president, Partner Sales, Comcast Interactive Media. Former strategic account director, Yahoo!; executive vice president, GiftCertificates.com; vice president of sales and marketing, WebWide Guides Inc.; founder and president, WinStar Interactive; sales positions with Newsweek, ActMedia, and Whittle Communications.
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In accordance with Article VI, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, the Nominating Committee has prepared and recommends the following slate for election at the Annual Meeting to be held on May 24, 2008. Each candidate has been fully informed of the responsibilities and rights of the position and has indicated consent to serve if elected. Alumnae may submit additional nominations according to the procedure outlined in Article VI, Section 4 of the Bylaws. Terms are for the three years ending June 30, 2011 unless a different year is noted.
FOR ELECTION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Young Alumnae Representative: Akua S. Soadwa '03, Brooklyn, N.Y. Former membership co-chair, New York Club. Founder, Gye Nyame Empowerment Project and A Touch of Soadwa. M.A., urban planning, design, and development, Cleveland State University. Urban analyst, N.Y. State Banking Department.
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The following bylaws amendments (changes are in bold type) will be considered at the annual meeting of the Alumnae Association on May 24.
Article IV, Board of Directors
Section 1, Membership
2. Elected members. All members of the Board except two approved members-at-large shall be elected by the Membership.
3. Appointed Directors. No more than two (2) members-at-large may be appointed by the President to serve as shall be determined by the President, but in no event shall a term of an appointed director run beyond the term of the President appointing her.
Article VI, Nominations and Elections
Section 1, Nominating Committee
2.a. Members Rotation. … The number of members of the Nominating Committee shall be determined by the Board.
Article VII, Standing and Special Committees
Section I, Standing Committees
There shall be the following standing committees of the Board: Alumnae Honors Research Committee, Alumnae Quarterly Committee, Alumnae Relations Committee, Classes and Reunion Committee, Clubs Committee, Finance Committee, Nominating Committee, and Nomination of Alumnae Trustees/Awards Committee.
Section 4, Composition and Responsibilities of Standing Committees
2.a. Alumnae Quarterly Committee Composition. … Editor of the Quarterly shall be an ex officio member of the Alumnae Quarterly Committee without vote.
4.b. Classes and Reunion Committee, Responsibilities. The Classes and Reunion Committee shall be a resource to encourage, support and coordinate class organization of alumnae and to be responsible for reunions.
5.a. Clubs Committee, Composition. The Clubs Committee shall include the chair and eight members elected by the Alumnae Association membership.
5.b. Responsibilities. The Clubs Committee shall be a resource for alumnae who organize or wish to organize into a club based on their geographic location or an affiliate group based on special interests and to encourage, motivate and coordinate with such clubs/affiliate group.
7.a. Nomination of Alumnae Trustees/Awards Committee, Composition. … No member of the Nomination of Alumnae Trustee/Awards Committee, with the exception of the chair, shall be a member of the same class or from the same club area as any other member of the committee.
