A Special Message from the AA President:
The green velvet purse

There is no other way to say it: Mount Holyoke needs your help, and needs it now. The current financial downturn is affecting every college in the nation, and MHC is not immune. Families’ circumstances are changing, and current students need more financial aid—in some cases, a great deal more.

It is a rare occasion when the Alumnae Association directly asks alums for help. We wholeheartedly support the College but our mission is, and always has been, supporting alumnae. In times like these, though, the College’s well-being must be our concern, too. Mount Holyoke is, in large part, its alumnae, and we can make a difference.

As we remember Mary Lyon’s birthday in February, recall the green velvet purse she used to collect contributions to fund our College. Please, if you can, help your alma mater at this time of need. If a dollar is all you can spare, send it. Your generosity not only advances the College’s excellence in the liberal arts, but also helps a current student continue to receive it.

Please visit the College’s giving page now. In the spirit of Mary Lyon, our deepest thanks for your support.

Mary Graham Davis '65, President
Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College

p.s. Please read this latest update from President Creighton on Mount Holyoke’s finances and budget.

Web Corner: Global images contest
For our first annual global images contest, the Alumnae Association seeks original photographs from alumnae who live and work outside of the United States or who came to MHC as international students. We are looking for photos that reflect a key or essential aspect of life in your city or area. What do you want the Mount Holyoke alumnae community to know about your ancestral or adopted home—its landscape, customs, or people—and how does your photo express that knowledge? Winning photos will be posted on the AA’s upcoming global Web page. More…

Online Class Notes: Inauguration Day thoughts
Sawsan Eskander ’02 posted this thoughtful class note from London on Inauguration Day: "Having been to Mount Holyoke College where I spent four crucial years of my life, I was brainwashed with idealistic values…. But once I graduated and left school, I was met with a society that lacked selflessness, kindness and compassion. Soon I had to undo my defenseless ways and retrain myself to be more guarded and skeptical. But today…I sense a return of all those idealistic values that a small American liberal arts college had once infused in me…" Read more and respond to Sawsan…
Read more class notes...

Making News: MHC alumnae in the media
Helen Gannon Drinan ’69, the recently appointed president of Simmons College, spoke on January 6 to Women’s Business News in the online Boston Herald about the value of women's colleges in today's society. More…
More Making News…

Quarterly “Coming Attractions”
We need alumnae voices for . . .
How Are You Coping with the Recession?
The Alumnae Quarterly staff is gathering information for a feature article about how alumnae are coping with the recession. If you are willing to be interviewed by the article’s author—please e-mail a summary of your recession-related experience to Emily Weir.
More…

Campus Currents: Career Support at MHC
Career? What career? Whether you’re changing it, building it, or up at night worrying about it (or all three), you need to know the Alumnae Association is here for you. Our director of alumnae career services, Cori Ashworth, has expanded her hours for one-on-one counseling and career advice. More…