never fear / redesign is here
-
- April 1923
-
- 1937
-
- 1940
-
- Fall 1958
-
- Summer 1958
-
- Spring 1967
-
- Spring 1971
-
- Fall 1986
-
- Summer 1986
-
- Spring 1990
-
- Summer 2001
-
- Winter 2002
-
- Fall 2003
-
- Fall 2005
-
- Winter 2005
-
- Winter 2006
-
- Winter 2009
-
- Spring 2011
-
- Summer 2011
-
- Winter 2011
Dear Alumnae,
It’s an understatement to say that Mount Holyoke is abuzz with activity these days. No sooner did the College wrap up its 175th anniversary than it launched a new campaign aimed at prospective students: never fear / change. In the meantime, the Alumnae Association continues to work hard to meet the present and future needs of all alumnae. Part of that effort includes making it easier for you to stay connected to one another and your alma mater.
For example, the Association launched an improved website last winter and has been growing its alumnae-focused social media efforts—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram— ever since. Now, we’re proud to have completed the first comprehensive overhaul of the Alumnae Quarterly magazine in more than a decade. A year in the making, the process of rethinking the magazine has been an extensive one with input from many alumnae along the way. In addition to offering a more intentional editorial mix of alumnae faces and voices and College news and nostalgia, we have also modernized the look and feel of the publication. We hope that you find your reading experience heightened and your love of Mount Holyoke strengthened as a result!
Sincerely,
Chair, Quarterly Committee
Chair, Communications Committee
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Alumnae Association
Tell us what you think »
Read the magazine »
November 18, 2013
It’s captivating. Call me anti-intellectual, but I read a whole lot more of it than I ever did before because I found a lot more of interest. I found the increasing political correctness (disproportionate, to my mind, attention to sexuality and multiculturalism) of the past few years tiresome. Having said that, I’m all in favour of both, but get tired of having it shoved down my throat! So, for me, there was a lot more of interest in this issue, which I found varied, imaginative and fun, while still retaining the multicultural element.
I confess I found the new Quarterly format underwhelming. Graphically, the magazine is attractive but the quality of the content leaves something to be desired. Too many snippets–the written equivalent of sound bites–rather than the more substantive and in-depth articles that have been featured in past issues. There seems to be a mismatch between the high intellectual caliber of the Quarterly’s readers (smart MHC alums!) and the level at which the magazine’s content is now pitched. I always eagerly anticipate getting my issues of the Quarterly but I’m looking for something with greater depth, not a Twitter feed. After reading the latest issue cover to cover, my reaction was “Is that all there is?”
As a person who started at MHC and then moved on from there, I still find that I question and challenge myself through reading some of the articles in the Quarterly……thank you.
Three words: Drop dead gorgeous.
I don’t know enough about computers to know if my comments have been posted. Your instructions
are not clear enough for older alums. I can’t figure out how to get this sent and get out of the system.
This is my second time to try to use this site to reach you– the first disappeared because I didn’t send it fast enough. I am extremely dismayed to see the new Quarterly and disappointed that you seem only to care about the younger alums and show little thought about the older group of alums in the decisions you made about making the magazine more “up-to-date”. The size and slickness of the new copy is cold and distant to me, more like a copy of Cosmo or a fashion magazine, and the layout changes many familiar parts and features. I don’t need a lecture on ‘not fearing change’, indeed have had to make many adjustments in contemporary life, but the new Quarterly makes too
many old things new. Maybe young alums will be happy, but you have discarded much that an older segment of your readership expected from Mount Holyoke; we deserve to be reached too.
Who pushed for these changes? What audience were you trying to please? Why did you do such a total job of making the magazine “new”? Did no one consider the response of the audience to your vigorous changes? I once served on the Quarterly committee and would never have defined its audience as only the young, recent grads. I do NOT look forward to the next issue of the magazine. It won’t change my gifts to the College, but it certainly will affect how I get news and information about the College. Even the Class Notes are changed, and that section is one that older
alums look forward to. It will be interesting to know what the general response to changes is, and whether the negative responses are from new alums or older ones. I’m really disappointed in what you think is a good way to freshen up alumnae knowledge of and interest in Mount Holyoke.