Alumnae Asks and Wants

Last updated March 20, 2021. This is a work in progress and we will continue to add to it.

In the AAMC Town Hall on February 24, 2021, the Board of Governors asked alumnae to let us know what they are thinking about the future of Mills and the AAMC. A number of letters, emails, and calls were received. We have compiled the responses. They are below. This will begin the list of terms in what will become our position in negotiations with the College

A survey will go out on Wednesday to all alumnae. Please be on the look-out and complete it as soon as possible. The results of the survey, the below list, and what comes from the upcoming AAMC Town Hall will be given to the College prior to their April 6th Town Hall.

Please attend the AAMC Town Hall this coming Wednesday, March 24, to add to this list. (Please read the below so that our limited time together is not too repetitive.)

I. We have questions:

Merger / Institute: What happened to Mills being a college inside the UCB umbrella?

How will AAMC be involved in the process?

How will transcripts be handled?

Can the Institute remain completely autonomous and independent of the UCB?

How will the new entity align with the mission? President Hillman says the Mills Institute will “foster women’s leadership and student success, advance gender and racial equity, and cultivate innovative pedagogy, research, and critical thinking.”

II. WHAT WE WANT FOR MILLS (of today):

• Job pathway for ALL Mills employees to UC / or 2-year severance Security for faculty is a huge priority.

• Mills degrees for all current students

• Help for current students if they want to go somewhere else.

• Future degrees

• What happens with the graduate programs? (Business school, education, music, art, etc.). How do these programs fit into what is happening?

III. Re: The Mills Institute:

We want to know what this INSTITUTE is – What is the mission and vision???? • Who will be running it? • Why is this good for Mills? • How will it fulfill the Mills mission? o Will there be a focus on women / nonbinary ?

How will the Institute support itself?

Mills Hall should be the center and home of the Institute. It does not go to another institution. Rooms available for Mills emeriti faculty.

Worries about the land: • The Institute to control / own the below listed buildings, and if the Institute no longer exists that they are part of AAMC o Mills Hall o Olin Library o Art Museum o Lisser Hall o Littlefield Concert Hall (in Music Building) o Bender Room (in Carnegie Hall) o President’s Cottage o The name MILLS COLLEGE is added to all the above buildings and below spaces. • $$$ for the assets we are giving over • Toyon Meadow to go back to original name – or Mills Meadow. • Signs on buildings that this was once Mills College – including but not limited to ALL of ’s buildings. • A clause that stipulates all current tree groves and meadow be preserved in their original condition. • New development takes advantage of opportunities to increase accessibility. • What will happen to the fence around the parameter?

• If the Mills campus is transferred to any other owner, historic landmarks on the Mills campus should be preserved, and alumnae should continue to have the right to access the campus. • Mills College remains a semi-independent subsidiary of the parent institution with a social justice and gender lens whose programming remains focused on prioritizing women, nonbinary and transgender students. Within that model, a plan is shared with current and former students for retaining control over Mills programming, degree options, and offerings. Future graduates receive degrees from the parent institution with • Any adopting institution adopts Mill’s College’s specific equity and social justice statement University-wide (https://www.mills.edu/uniquely-mills/what-we-stand- for/diversity-social-justice.php) and agrees to maintain all existing Mills partnerships (STEM, Girl Scouts, Children’s School, Julia Morgan School for Girls) that fall within this focus area. • Mills still provides a haven for transfer, resumer, and other non-traditional students. • One “Mills dorm” for women/ nonbinary members of the Institute that need to live on campus. • Save the cemetery

• Programing / mission remains focused on prioritizing women, nonbinary, and transgender students, BIPOC and 1st Generation. • Continued commitment to the environment. • Commitment to ethical business development • Continued support for the Julia Morgan School for Girls. • Commitment to music, dance, the arts, and children’s education. These are key parts of Mills College legacy and should be part of the future.

IV. If part of BERKELEY:

All of the above in III. Mills alums to have access to UCB labs and libraries. Mills alums to have UCB alumni privileges. Mills Institute employees to have options for UCB health care.

V. WHAT WE WANT FOR AAMC:

• Continued exclusive use of Reinhardt Alumnae House (acknowledged and recorded) • Repayment of the loan from AAMC to Mills College. • Acknowledgement of the assets owned by AAMC and no interference with said assets. (teapots) • Unencumbered ownership of the alumnae database. • The Quarterly! • Mills Hall to be owned by the institute and marked historical • AAMC to have the artwork and Museum (unless part of the Institute – but if the institute no longer exists the art and special collects go to AAMC.) • Endowed scholarships for the new Institute to be governed by us • OIA is fine – we want Alumnae Relations back • Trademark and branding of Mills College to be owned by the AAMC (if there is no Mills College or degrees granted) including the school seal, mottos, and any other protected identifier, including the image use of the Campanile. • Reunions • Meaningful representation on the governance and leadership of the new Institute. • A one time funding investment in the AAMC endowment (to manage contacts and events, annual maintenance, insurance, improvements). • Mills alums retain use rights for facilities including the gym, pool, chapel, library, gallery, and all special collections. • Mills memorabilia and other tangibles housed the plant be given to and managed by the AAMC. • No memorabilia to be trashed or sold no matter where it is found.

VI. Disrupters: An injunction filed to prevent the College from moving forward, forcing them to admit their fall class. This was done at in 2015 and succeeded in saving their school.