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2018 Black Alumnae Conference

  • Black Alumnae Conference 2018
Photography by Michael Perryman

 

Alumnae return to campus for Black Alumnae Conference

The 2018 Black Alumnae Conference took place on campus during the weekend of November 9–11, bringing together 110 accomplished alumnae, faculty, staff, guests, and current students who spent the weekend networking, celebrating their achievements in life and at work, and discussing ways to empower each other and plan for the future of black women. Organized by a committee of 14 alumnae led by C Dale Gadsden ’84 and Deborah A. Northcross ’73, the conference, titled “Creating Connections, Celebrating our Sisterhood,” included a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of black women’s leadership on campus.

The weekend kicked off on Friday with an alumnae-student lunch in the College’s Dining Commons and, later, a cocktail reception with Mount Holyoke President Sonya Stephens at the President’s House.

On Saturday attendees began the day with a welcome from organizer Deborah Northcross as well as from Alumnae Association President Maria Mossaides ’73 and Executive Director Nancy Perez ’76, Mount Holyoke Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, and President Stephens. The program continued with a panel discussion, featuring alumnae presenters in Gamble Auditorium, followed by lunch and a “State of the College” panel by current faculty, staff, and students. Saturday afternoon activities included a town hall discussion focused on the “State of Black Women in America,” as well as a screening in Gamble Auditorium of “Capturing the Flag,” a film co-produced by Laverne Berry ’71.

A highlight of the weekend was the award presentations to several alumnae during a formal dinner on Saturday night in the Willits-Hallowell Conference Center.

The weekend concluded on Sunday with a master coaching session, worship service, and a Voices of Faith Choir reunion at Abbey Memorial Chapel, brunch at Willits-Hallowell, and an “At Home” at the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center.

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