Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly Fall 2006

14 Making a Green School 16 Moving On In Widowhood 20 MHC Eyes New Dorm

Fall 2006

D�ecisive��DecadeCreighton Marks Ten Years as MHC President

8 Decisive Decade Joanne Creighton Marks Ten Years

as MHC President ByAviceA.Meehan’77

The Quarterly looks back at how our president and the institution she’s led for a decade have changed. And the president offers her own retrospective comments.

14 The Green House Effect Alumna Heads Drive to Create

‘America’s Greenest School’ByMaryannTealeSnell’86An alumna “completely self-taught in philanthropy” is well on her way to raising $6 million to build an environmentally friendly school with the highest rating established by the US Green Building Council.

16 Left Behind, Moving Forward Coping With Widowhood

ByDianaBosseMathis’70No one would choose to join the “Widows Club”; perhaps that’s why widowhood is so rarely discussed. Here, alumnae widows break the silence to discuss how to cope and then thrive in this common state for uncommon women.

20 A Dorm Is Born Campus Poised to Build First Student

Residence in Forty YearsByEmilyHarrisonWeirTrustees are expected to approve a plan to build new housing for 176 students that preserves what students love about MHC’s oldest dorms in an energy-efficient (and beautiful) new package.

24 Making Money Work Financial Basics

ByMiekeH.BomannWe begin a multipart series with advice on financial basics from an alumna financial planner. Eleanor Hotchkiss Blayney ’73 gives Faizun Kamal ’97 a money makeover.

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On the Cover

As Joanne V. Creighton completes her first decade as president of Mount Holyoke this year, we look back at how she and the institution have changed during that time.

Photo by Paul Schnaittacher

Volume90Number3|Fall2006

MAnAging direCtor of Print And online MAgAzines

Emily Harrison Weir

stAff WriterMieke H. Bomann

ClAss notes editorErica C. Winter ’92

editoriAl AssistAntMeg Massey ’08

designerBidwell ID

Quarterly Committee: Linda Giannasi O’Connell ’69, chair; Kara C. Baskin ’00, Susan R. Bushey ’96, Maya Kukes ’95, Marissa Saltzman ’07, Julie L. Sell ’83; Mary Graham Davis ’65, ex officio with vote; W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83, ex officio without vote

Quarterly deadlines: Material is due November 15 for the winter issue, February 1 for the spring issue, May 15 for the summer issue, and August 15 for the fall issue.

Ideas expressed in theQuarterlyare those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of either the Alumnae Association or the College.

Published in the spring, summer, fall, and winter and copyrighted 2006 by the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, MA 01075 and additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA by Lane Press, Burlington, Vermont.

The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College is an independent organization that serves a worldwide network of diverse individuals, cultivates and celebrates vibrant connections among all alumnae, fosters lifelong learning in the liberal arts tradition, and facilitates opportunities for alumnae to advance the goals and values of the College.

Comments concerning the Quarterlyshould be sent to AlumnaeQuarterly, Alumnae Association, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486; tel. 413-538-2301; fax 413-538-2254; e-mail:[email protected]. (413-538-3094, dsharpmtholyoke.edu for class notes.) Send address changes to Alumnae Information Services (same address; 413-538-2303; [email protected]). Call 413-538-2300 with general questions regarding the Alumnae Association, or visit www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu.

PostMAster: (ISSN 0027-2493) (USPS 365-280) Please send form 3579 to MountHolyokeAlumnaeQuarterly, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486.

Viewpoints 2Comments on “late bloomers,” “bragging rights,” how to pronounce the college’s name, and other topics

Campus Currents 4$300 million fundraising campaign launched, hip-hop goes academic, student interest in Chinese—and China—grows, fall sports preview, and more campus news

Alumnae Matters 28Association offices refurbished, Mount Holyoke club contacts list, Vespers in New York turns seventy-five, and alumnae clubs’ news

Off the Shelf 36Poetry, short stories, novels, and nonfiction by alumnae on Dolley Madison, finding your perfect career, osteoporosis, and other topics

Class Notes 38News of your classmates, and miniprofiles

Bulletin Board 74Class and club products, announcements, and educational travel opportunities

Last Look 80Life LessonsEverything you need to know you can learn from class notes.

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viewpoints

Re/ MHC ArchitectureDuringmyyearsatMountHolyoke,Iwasalwaysintriguedbythehistoryofthedynamicevolutionofthecampusanditsbuildings,sowasimmediatelyattractedtoJenniferGieseking’sstory[summer],especiallyherinsightintotherelationshipofbuildingstothechang-ingsocialmoresofwomen.Icommendherforherardu-ousworkinorganizingandcataloguingallthosebuild-ingplans,andcongratulatetheAlumnaeAssociationforitsfunding.IquestionGieseking’sdesignationoftheMandellesandnewRockiesas“cottages.”Ihadalwaysunderstoodthatthisdesignationinitiallyappliedtothepost-1896residences,modeledonnewresidencesatSmith.Whilestillcalledcottages,thelaterbuildingsweredefinitelyechoesofEnglishmanorhouses.Aninterestingbuildingfeature

oftheresidenceswasbase-mentroomsformaids,Irishgirlswho,inthesummers,workedatNewEnglandcoastalhotels.InMaryLyon’sSeminarythestudentssharedresponsibilityforcleaningandcooking,forreasonsofeconomyandtheteachingofdomesticskills.Inthecottageseratheywererelievedofthisresponsibil-ityinordertoconcentrateontheirstudies.Tostudythesocialarchaeologyofthecampus,andreadthepalimpsestbelowitssurface,revealstheconstantadapt-abilityofthecollegeandaffirmsMaryLyon’shopeandpredictionthatherschoolwouldsurviveandflourish.

Anne C. Edmonds, MHC librarian emeritus

Camden, Maine

Iamwritingtoclarifythat,whileJenniferGiesek-ing’sworkonthecollege’s

architecturaldrawingswasanimportantfirststeptowardmakingthemavail-abletoresearchers,theyarenotyetcataloged.Giesekingconductedapreliminarysur-veyofsome35,000architec-turalrecords,acrucialsteptowarddevelopingagrantapplicationtosecurefund-ingtopreserve,organize,andcatalogthedrawingsthatdocumentnearlyeveryareaofcampusfrom1891tothepresent.Withcontinuedhardworkandgoodluck,thedrawingswilleventuallybemadeaccessibletothebroaderresearchcommu-nity.Towardthatend,SarahGeisler’07spentthesummertypingGieseking’ssurveynotesandwritinganarrativedescribingthecollection.

Jennifer Gunter King, Head of MHC Archives and

Special Collections

An Inestimable TalentWhenIreadthe“InMemo-riam”notices[spring]onthepassingofRobertBerkeyandElizabethBoyd,Iexperi-encedoverwhelmingsorrowandgratitude.Sorrow,ofcourse,ontheirpassing,butgratitudeforhavingknownandbeenastudentofthesehighlylearnedandhonoredprofessors.Itmovedmeto

recallandacknowledgethatIhavebeen,assomanyofushave,thebeneficiaryofteacherswhohavepassedintothatprofessorialpantheon;JohnTeallandBettyNyeQuinnalsocametomind.ButIparticularlywanttoacknowledgeBobBerkey’scontributionbecausehewasmymentor,directedmyhonorsthesis,andwastheinspirationformygoingontograduateworkinreligiousstudiesandacareerinteaching.Hewasoneofthemostself-less,humblemenIhaveeverknown.Whilehimselfhighlygifted,thegiftthathemostprizedwashisabilitytoencourageotherstorec-ognizeandimplementtheirowngifts,aninestimabletalentinateacher.Alongwithhiswife,Carolyn,whoalsohasmadeamajorcon-tributiontoMountHolyoke,theywereanunbeatableteam.Hislifelonggifttomyhusbandandmewastheirfriendship.OurcondolencesgotoCarolyn,hisfamily,andhisfriends.

Barbara Diamond Turner ’62Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re/ “Bragging Rights”Iloved“BraggingRights”[spring].Iwanttospeak

We Want to Hear From You!

We love getting mail. Send your thoughts, with your full name, address, and class year, to Mieke H. Bomann, Alumnae Quarterly, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486 or [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit let-ters, especially for length (300 words is ideal).

Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly | Fall 2006 �

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directlytoJulianneTrabuc-chiPuckett’sfoldingtalents.Intheearly’70s,IlivedinanapartmentinSydney,Aus-tralia,where,ifwewantedtohanglaundryout,ithadtobedoneinthefurnaceroominthebasement.Aneighbor,severalyearsmysenior,sawmyking-sizedfittedsheetsandinquiredastohowtofoldsuchsheets“properly.”Spatialrelationsareaseriousweaknessforme,andwhileIsharedmyratheruntidytips(startbypushingthecornersintoeachother),Ifelttotallyoutofmydepth.Andwon-derofwonders,thequestionstillplaguesme!ImaginemytotaldelightinfindinganMHCsisterwhocandoitright!Iloveit.Sheisjustifi-ablyproud.Everyoneoftheotherentriesinthisarticlecaughtmyattentionandleftmewithatasteofdelight.

Susan Smith McLaren ’62Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

Astothearticleaboutbrag-gingrights,Ihavesome,butoneinparticularthatisunique.BecauseIamdyslexic,Iamalsototallyambidextrous:Icandoevery-thingwitheitherhand.That,however,isnottheunusualpart.Ialsocanwritewithbothhands,simultaneously:

upsidedownandbackwardswithone,whilewritingrightsideupandforwardwiththeother.Intruedys-lexicfashion,thefirstthingIwrotethatwaywas,“Ican’treadright,butIcanwritewrong!”Dyslexia,causedbyadifferenceinbrainstruc-ture,isincurable.Livingwithandarounditcanbealife’snightmare,becausedyslexicsoftencannotdoevensimpletasks,whichmostpeopletakeforgranted.Dyslexiahastaughtmemuchaboutlife—especially,nevertotakemyselftooseriously!

Joan Lichtman ’65Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Re/ “Late Bloomers”ManytimesoverthesummerIwonderedwhatIwasget-tingmyselfintoasIpreparedtostartschoolattheUni-versityofKansastoobtainamaster’sinsocialwork.Ithadbeentwenty-fiveyearssinceIhadlastbeeningrad-uateschool,andmyMBAwasdefinitelyattheotherendofthespectrumfromsocialservices.ImaginehowencouragedandrelievedIwastoreadthearticle[summer]aboutalumnaelatebloom-ersjustoneweekbeforethestartofmyclasses!ManyfriendsthinkIamcrazy,and

othersarejealousbutskepti-cal.Afterall,Ifinallyhavetimeformyselfwithmylastdaughterheadingtocol-lege.HavingtimeformyselfispreciselywhyIenrolledinschool.MountHolyoketaughtmethatIwillalwayshavesomethingtoofferandgavemethetoolstosuc-ceed.ItistimetotakewhatIhavelearnedoverthepasttwenty-fiveyearsinbusinessandthecommunityandgiveitauniquefocus.Readingthestoriesofothersventur-ingintonewanddifferentarenasinallphasesoftheirlivesemphasizesthatMountHolyokegraduatescontinuetolearnandgrowthrough-outtheirlives.Thankstoallwhosharedtheirstoriesforencouragingmeduringmylatestbloomingperiod.

Pamela Crandall ’77Leawood, Kansas

Scrambled Pronunciation WhenIattendedmyreunioninJune,myclassmatesandIwereshockedtohearthenameofouralmamatermis-pronouncedbyspeakersatthealumnaemeetingandevenbythecollegeoperator!DuringourfirstfewweeksatMountHolyokeweweredrilledthattheschoolnamewas“acompleteegg”and

nevera“sacredtree.”Whathasoccurredinthepastfivetotenyearstochangethesituation?I’vereturnedforeveryreunionanddonotrecallencounteringthisproblembefore.JustcheckthemusicandsingtheAlma Materandyoucanheartherearejusttwonotes,fortwosyllables,notthree.

Alice J. Capson ’71Overland Park, Kansas

Third-Age ReadingInresponsetoElinorMillerGreenberg’scommentsin[summer]“Viewpoints”andthe[spring]“Rethink-ingRetirement”piece,thesuccessofThe Third Age: Principles for Growth and Renewal After 40,writtenbymyfather,speakstothedireneedforthepopularpressandusualnonfictionbooksthatMs.Greenbergsaysdon’tdojusticeforpeopleintheirthirdtrimester,orthirdage,orwhateveronecallsit.Iagree,asdoesmydad,andhencehissecondbookonacreativeretirementisinpress,andsoontobefill-ingthatvoidonbookstoreshelvesforvibrantwomenlikeMs.Greenberg,andthoseprofiledinyourpiece.

Kirsten Sadler Edepli ’90New York, New York

“Reading the stories of others venturing into

new and different arenas in all phases of their

lives emphasizes that Mount Holyoke graduates continue to learn and grow throughout their lives.”

Pamela Crandall ’77Leawood, Kansas

This fall, Mount Holyoke College embarks on a five-year, $300 million fundraising campaign, the largest in the school’s history. Formally announced by the board of trustees in October, The Campaign for Mount Holyoke 2010 has as its top priorities a substantively increased endowment, additional support for the Annual Fund, capital for new buildings, and resources in support of the faculty and programmatic initiatives.

The campaign is designed to support the goals laid out in the college’s strategic Plan for 2010, which includes a transformation of the curriculum focused on interdisci-plinary connections that address the impact of technology and globalization. “The Plan challenges Mount Holyoke to educate all students for global citi-zenship in the twenty-first century,” said President Joanne V. Creighton in a message announcing the campaign. “In order to accomplish this ambitious work, trustees and the college leader-ship call upon our alumnae and friends to rally around Mount Holyoke.”

Endowment the Tallest OrderThe fundraising effort seeks new gifts and pledges totaling $175 million for the college’s endowment over the next five years. The endow-ment in May 2006 was approximately $521 million, and in 2005 was ranked ninth among eleven selective liberal arts colleges. “The endowment is one of the most critical contrib-utors to any college’s annual budget,” notes Barbara McClearn Baumann ’77, cochair of the campaign and chair of the col-lege’s Finance Committee. “So, the bigger the endowment, the more dollars are available for immediate use. A more robust endowment translates into the sorts of tangible things that students consider in selecting their college, and perhaps more important, the things that make colleges preeminent: more programs, more financial aid, more faculty support.”

Annual Fund, Projects, and ProgramsSome $50 million of the campaign goal is earmarked for the Annual Fund, which accounts for approximately 10 percent of the college’s yearly budget. The goal is not only to increase annual giving to $10 million a year, but also to increase the overall participation rate of alumnae from 45 percent to at least 50 percent. The campaign seeks another $50 million in expendable, programmatic funds to support

innovations in technology inside and outside of classrooms, arts and sum-mer research programs, and landscape enhancements, as well as for the col-lege’s many study centers.

New Buildings and RenovationsOf the $25 million to be raised for facilities, $15 million is earmarked for a new residence hall. (See p. 20.) The col-lege will also attend to $1.5 million in renovation needs of nine older dorms in the next ten years. Athletics will benefit from $10 million of the cam-paign, as the college looks to build an artificial turf field with lights so sports can proceed later in the season and the day and in inclement weather. Also on

the drawing board is a new, synthetic outdoor track, a boat-house to accommodate the crew team, and renovations to the Kendall sports complex.

Mary Graham Davis ’65, president of the Alumnae Association and a member of the campaign steering commit-tee, said alumnae understand the importance of continued support for the college to sustain faculty quality, program-matic resources, and building upgrades. But emotional ties are important, too, she added, as alumnae also “give in memory of the many friendships and experiences of their college days and often their ties to the college that continue to this day.”—M.H.B.

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campuscurrents

College Launches $300 Million Fundraising Campaign

Campaign Cochairs Leslie Anne Miller ’73, left, and Barbara McClearn Baumann ’77


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Last summer, Claire Thomas ’08 went to Beirut for a newspaper internship at The Daily Star. Her work was inter-rupted by the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, and she was evacuated back to America. She agreed to describe some of what she experienced on her final day in country.

The last meal I ate in Beirut was an exception-ally greasy mozzarella and pesto crepe. It was by far the worst food I’d had while in Lebanon, which otherwise was some of the best I’ve ever eaten. But I was lucky to even find that crepe, on the relatively abandoned Bliss Street, an eatery-packed avenue in front of the American University in Beirut.

Bliss Street is well known for its cheap food, and is usually inundated with hordes of university students. Now only a few lonely and somber groups milled around whatever was still open, which wasn’t much. The street, which only a week ago had been jam-packed with impossibly sluggish Beirut traffic, lay wide open. I passed a man loading his family into a car, a mat-tress tied to the roof.

It turned out the only crepe supplies available were cheese, congealed pesto, and Nutella. The young man behind the coun-ter chatted as he put the crepe batter on the propane-fueled grill; there was no electricity. He asked my friend and me if we were leaving. We responded that we were trying. His smile was understanding, and more than a little sad. My friend asked what his thoughts were on what was happening. He said he didn’t blame Israel so much as see it as one of life’s inevitable evils, an inhuman leviathan that Hezbollah had misguidedly stirred from its slumber. Later that afternoon I bid Beirut farewell from the deck of the cargo freighter the Hual, chartered by the Swedish government for the evacuation.

Less than two months before, I had arrived in Beirut for an eight-week internship at The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper. While I don’t study journalism, I am majoring in international relations and have studied Arabic and Middle Eastern politics, which is what drew me to Beirut. Interning at The Daily Star was incredibly interesting—I was even able to write articles that were published. On weekends, I traveled with friends north to Byblos and Tripoli, south to Sidon, and east to the Bekaa Valley and Baalbeck, places that, along with Beirut, I now hear about daily on CNN in reports about their destruction.

Student Edge

Summer Intern Evacuated from Beirut

By the NumbersWelcome, Class of 2010!3,065 students applied1,632 were accepted565 enrolled129 (23 percent) are African American, Asian American, Latina, and Native American students72 (13 percent) have alumnae relatives 38 states are represented37 foreign countries sent us their best3.7 is the class’s high-school grade-point average

The Drone, Thud, and Clunk of Summer Construction If you imagine summer on the MHC campus to be spa-like in its stillness and contemplative seren-ity, think again. The high energy of students and returning alums vanishes only to be replaced by cherry pickers, bucket loaders, and a variety of other machinery with functions best observed from a distance. Some of the construction and renovation projects that kept Facilities Management crews busy this summer were:• Excavation of the lawn in front of Mary Woolley

Hall to extend underground utilities to the site of the new residence hall adjacent to Pratt Hall

• Five separate projects at Prospect Hall, including expansion of the kitchen

• Extensive renovation to the interior of Mead Hall, including all bathrooms

• Repair damage to Wilder Hall from a fallen tree limb; cleaning and repointing of brick exterior

• Installation of new ventilation, lighting, and sound systems in Hooker Auditorium; repainting and recarpeting the interior; reupholstering the seats

• Removal of five dying hemlock trees • Recarpeting the library’s main reading room

Newsbriefs

Claire Elizabeth Thomas ’08 at the Roman temple complex in Baalbeck, Lebanon


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] Tidbits• Susan Barry’s remarkable, lifelong journey from monocular vision—lacking in depth percep-tion—to binocular stereoscopic vision— the ability to perceive a three-dimensional world—was chronicled in an article by Oliver Sacks in the June 19 New Yorker. Barry is associate pro-fessor of biological sciences and a member of the program in neuroscience and behavior at MHC.

• Costa Rica President Oscar Arias knows a good read when he sees one. He recently met with Eva Paus, director of the Center for Global Initiatives, to talk about economic policy and said her recent book, Foreign Investment, Development and Globalization: Can Costa Rica Become Ireland? was on his nightstand.

• The papers of Dr. Virginia Apgar ’29, cre-ator of the widely used Apgar Score to evaluate newborns’ health, are now on available on the National Library of Medicine’s Profiles in Science Web site. That library collaborated with MHC archives to digitize her papers and make them widely available. See them at www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov.

• From the “You Don’t Say” department: Students at women’s colleges spend more time on produc-tive activities and gain more from their col-lege experience than women at coeducational institutions, according to a recent study by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. Findings were based on a national survey of students.

More Changes in Religious LifeThe Rev. Sherry S. Tucker, MAT ’92 has been appointed interim dean of the Office

of Religious and Spiritual Life. She also will continue to serve as chaplain and adviser to the Protestant com-munity, as she has done since last year. Tucker replaces Rabbi Lisa Freitag-Keshet, who this past sum-mer moved with her

partner and two children to Israel. Tucker is a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School and is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Her husband is a professor of sociology at the college.

The rise of China as an economic behemoth and its longstanding cultural importance have increased student demand for Chinese language instruction at Mount Holyoke. Ying Wang, associate professor of Asian studies and the college’s primary instructor of Chinese, had nineteen stu-dents when she arrived in 1999. This fall, she and two visiting instructors welcomed more than seventy.

“It’s important to know a different culture,” says Wang, who first came to America to study while teaching at Beijing Language and Cultural University (BLCU). China is on the radar screen of many MHC students and alumnae who have trav-

eled to China for pleasure, are there teaching English, are looking at graduate schools in disciplines that could involve fieldwork in China, or are interested in business careers with corporations active in Asia.

Tonal rather than phonetic, Chinese is a tough language for native English speakers to learn. While students can build their skills in class, nothing hones language abilities as well as visiting a coun-try where the language is spoken. So Wang last year put together a summer-study program at her old school in Beijing. Seventeen stu-dents signed up for this summer’s pilot program at BLCU, which included lectures and drills in the morning, and practice and field

trips with a native-language partner in the afternoon. Working four hours a day, five days a week, students

completed a full year of Chinese in just eight weeks. Kaitlyn Szydlowski ’09 wrote about her experiences in a

blog. “Each and every day my Chinese is improving,” she exclaimed. “Apart from speaking the language both in class and at tutoring sessions, getting out into the city really tests my skills.”

Wang, who also teaches contemporary Chinese fiction at MHC, brings considerable life experience to the classroom. During Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, she was twice moved from Beijing to a rural village to work and live with peasant farmers. “Of course, I would have liked to have had a peaceful childhood,” Wang says. But she insists that endur-ing hardships in one’s youth can be rewarding over time. “My generation became very strong and contributed to China’s current changes,” she points out. —M.H.B.

Awakening DragonStudent Interest in Chinese Language Mirrors Nation’s Growing Importance

Brainstorms

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On a Tuesday late last March, Skinner 216 is jam-packed with students from all five area colleges listening intently, taking notes furiously, bobbing their heads and tapping their feet. This is African-American Studies 313: The Cultural and Literary History of Hip-Hop.

Professor Anthony Ratcliff is standing at the front of the room, also bobbing his head and shoulders to the beat of Lauryn Hill’s song “Final Hour,” as the class reads the song lyrics on a handout. The windows are vibrating slightly. “We want to get deep into the song,” says Ratcliff, after the music stops. The song’s hook, “You can git the money/you can git the power/ keep your eyes on/ the final hour,” occu-pies much of the discussion. Students talk about the lyrics’ polysyllabic rhyme structure, the religious themes of the song, and the message to fellow hip-hop artists not to get so focused on money and fame that they forget their faiths.

Getting deep into hip-hop is a relatively recent phe-nomenon in academia. Like jazz in its youth, hip-hop has not been considered serious enough to merit academic study. As it grows and shapes the wider culture around it, however, hip-hop is finding a place in classrooms. This course is truly a multimedia endeavor and includes books, such as Gwendolyn D. Pough’s Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere, articles, films, and naturally, music, from more mainstream “gangsta” rap by 50 Cent to more populist

pieces by Mos Def and Lauryn Hill.

Tsehay Shaw ’06 is from the Bronx, thought to be the birthplace of hip-hop. “I lived there, but I didn’t know much about [hip-hop],” she says. The class looks at the culture and his-tory of hip-hop, and explores the lyrics, showing that it is “more than just girls in booty shorts,” Shaw says, referring to the scantily clad women in most music videos. She says the course is widening her view of the genre.

Danielle Brennan ’06, an English major familiar with hip-hop, wanted to get exposure to its deeper meaning. “This class has broadened my horizons,” she says, by revealing the social and political issues both created by and reflected in this art form. “It’s not just about the beat.”—E.C.W. ’92

Hip-Hop Goes Academic

Crew: MHC rowers hope to improve on last year’s fourth-place regional ranking. This will be a challenge with the loss of ten seniors, but many talented juniors are ready to fill the boats.Cross-Country: Academic All-American Christine Klepacki ’09 led the MHC harri-ers last year and looks to power a stronger squad this season, as fifteen returners and several swift first-years fill the roster. Field Hockey: Coming off a 14-8 record and an ECAC New England title game appear-ance, the field hockey team hopes to continue its winning ways. The loss of six seniors is daunting, but the team can count on nearly a dozen returnees and a large incoming class. Golf: The golf outlook is bright as four out of five players return from last year, includ-ing senior captain Erin Weimer and sopho-more Martha Elson.

Riding: The 2006 national riding champions don’t have much room to improve. National contenders Nathalie Cooper ’07, Christine Gunn ’07, Marie Hilliard ’07, and Dani Johnson ’07 hope to lead the Lyons to their fourth straight national championship appearance. Soccer: Lots of newcomers will add depth and flexibility to the 2006 squad, while a solid core of returners aims to reach new heights.Tennis: With the return of seniors Anjali Bhalodia and Anna Boatwright from study abroad, as well as national singles qualifier Angela Horner ’09, the Lyons look to be a formidable force on the court this year.Volleyball: The 2006 campaign looks prom-ising as many talented newcomers join the squad, while veteran outside hitters Emily Groth ’07 and Chelsea Tracy ’09 and setter Rachel West ’08 power the attack. —Bridget Gunn, sports information director

In Session

FallSportsPreview


Field hockey player Meaghan Murphy ’08

Ratcliff and students

Creighton Marks Ten Years as MHC President Ji

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1996Shown here posing during a pre-inauguration lighting check, the brand-new presi-dent was constantly in the campus spotlight throughout her first year.


Joanne Creighton walks the bounds of Mount Holyoke every day. Tall and

auburn-haired, Creighton is a familiar sight as she circumnavigates

Upper and Lower Lake, loops around the Equestrian Center, or makes

an early Monday morning pilgrimage to the golf course in the com-

pany of her husband, Tom. Always to be found at Creighton’s side—

or, more likely, tugging at the leash—is the irrepressible Maisie.

Like Creighton, the energetic beagle is known to demonstrate a

purposeful single-mindedness.

Decisive� Decade

By Avice A. Meehan ’77

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1996Past MHC presidents David Truman and Elizabeth Topham Kennan ’60 join Creighton for inauguration weekend.

“I have always been a walker,” says Creighton, president of Mount Holyoke since 1996. “It’s a beautiful campus, a won-derful place to walk. I have always felt about this campus that it is so restorative, that it has such power. [Walking] allows you to connect to this mesmerizing place, to admire the natural beauty and architectural loveliness of it.”

The poetry not-withstanding, Creigh-ton’s perambulations serve a purpose for a woman described as “intensely practi-cal.” Simply put, she likes to keep an eye on things—to the occasional dismay, Creighton admits, of her staff. Even after a decade, there are many details—large and small—that bear watching, from newly planted trees to the quality of the con-tinental breakfasts

offered in each dorm to the deliberations of the Investment Committee of the board of trustees.

The ten-year milestone puts Creighton in a rarefied group. Nationally, only about a quarter of college presi-dents serve longer terms; on average, presidents serve fewer than seven years, according to the American Council on Education. And some decade it’s been. For all intents and purposes, Mount Holyoke has been transformed under the leadership of this shy scholar of twentieth-century English literature with an ear for a well-turned phrase, a passion for planning, a practical cast of mind, and a magpie’s insatiable curiosity—not to mention an eye for talent at the senior-staff level.

“She has been an extraordinary steward of Mary Lyon’s legacy and of this institution,” said Leslie Anne Miller ’73, chair of the board of trustees. “Joanne has rather a shy side to her which some can initially find off-putting, but when you get past that, you see a strong, committed individual. I think this has been a 24/7 labor of love.”

The positive benchmarks are unmistakable. The college’s structural budget deficit has been wiped out; budgets now balance—albeit with difficulty—and the draw on the en-dowment has decreased. The endowment itself has moved past the $500 million mark. Applications hit a record high in 2006 at 3,065; the overall percentage of students admit-ted stands at a respectable 53 percent. The academic quality of students is high, and they are emblematic of the college’s global reach. The faculty is younger, more diverse, and attracting outside grant support. The curriculum has been refreshed. The physical plant has been renewed, newly built Kendade Hall has unified the interdisciplinary science center, and Blanchard, where generations of students went for mail and courses in classics, has morphed into a vibrant campus hub. One capital campaign has been completed; a second is about to commence.

“I am very satisfied with the progress we have made, but it is hard to maintain,” says Creighton, who sat for an inter-view in the relative quiet of mid-August. Two weeks before the arrival of the first students, Mead Hall was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Mary Lyon Hall shook periodically as highway crews, working around signs reading “rough road ahead,” excavated Route 116 right up to the college gate.

Creighton arrived at Mount Holyoke with a similarly rough road ahead of her. Setting the college to rights re-quired difficult decisions and the sacrifice of a few tradi-tions: need-blind admission, dining in every residential dorm, and a placid relationship with the college’s Alumnae Association. Yet even with the shift to need-sensitive admis-sion, Mount Holyoke still admits more students from less affluent families—those with reported incomes of $30,000 or less—than its peers. After deep expressions of concern,

1996Creighton christens her namesake crew shell with river water and champagne.

1997The president serves cake to stu-dents to celebrate Mary Lyon’s 200th birthday.

1997Creighton welcomes then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was that year’s com-mencement speaker and received an honorary doctorate.

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10 www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu

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students have adapted to dining options that regionalize meals in six dorms, along with Blanchard and a lunch spot in Kendade. With a rancorous two-year conflict over con-trol of alumnae contributions to the Annual Fund behind them, the college and the association are working together amicably and collaboratively, holding regular meetings and working on joint programs.

“Joanne gave us a sense of renewed pride and confi-dence in the college,” says Harriet Levine Weissman ’58, an avowed fan and trustee. “She came when the college was not in good financial straits, and her leadership has brought financial stability. For that alone, she will go down in the history of the college.”

Creighton began her tenure at MHC with a famously open mind about its mission as a women’s college. Ten years later, she fully embraces the “historical coherence and resonance” of that mission and Mount Holyoke’s capacity for global leadership, showing the way through high-profile initiatives that bring together leaders from women’s colleges around the world, as well as activities that range from visits to a new women’s college in Kenya to leadership in the Women’s College Coalition.

“I hear her stepping out and really committing to some-thing that could be risky,” says Rochelle Calhoun ’83, execu-tive director of the Alumnae Association and former dean of students. Creighton’s commitment to women’s education worldwide “is a coming together of the personal, the politi-cal, and the intellectual,” Calhoun says. “There’s a political reason that women’s education has not been improved—it challenges the politics of the world, and we need to rally to that. Joanne sees the centrality of Mount Holyoke in that agenda as the oldest women’s college.”

Women’s colleges remain a tough sell to prospective students, and Creighton sounds the opposite of satisfied or smug as she looks ahead. “The most significant issue stems from underfunding. Mount Holyoke is more excellent than its resources would lead you to believe, given its endow-ment and the [financial] neediness of its students,” she says, making an emphatic case for increasing the college’s endow-ment in order to support both students and faculty.

Creighton was tested early. Little more than a year into her presidency, with the Plan for 2003 ready to ship to the printer, student protests erupted over a panoply of is-sues that included need-blind admission and religious and cultural life on campus. Nine years later, the experience remains vivid and startling. It was, Creighton says, the first time she had been “thrust into the limelight as a person of allegedly malign motives.”

At a faculty meeting that May, Creighton spoke about com-promise. She had, in response to student demands, agreed to add distinct cultural spaces to the Plan for 2003, and defined her approach to leadership. “One of my goals in this planning process has been to move us away from a too-personalized presidency, she said. “I am not the mother, or father, or arbiter of all things. I am committed to the view that we must all be responsible adults in a self-governing community if we are to be a strong and self-confident Mount Holyoke.”

1998The president pouts in a Faculty Show “Alice in Wonderplan” skit spoofing the Plan for 2003.

1999Creighton tells Helen Huarca Witte ’00 she’s won a Truman Award.

2004MHC hosts a conference on “Women’s Education Worldwide: the Unfinished Agenda” that attracts leaders from women’s institutions on five continents.

2002Joanne and husband Thomas Creighton, on the president’s sabbatical in South Africa

Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly | Fall 2006 11

2001Marking the start of renovations to the Art Museum

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If deSTIny SHAPeS our endS, it was at work in my alliance with Mount Holyoke College over a decade ago. After being nominated for the presidency, I initially had doubts about whether it was the right job for me, but inexorably, step by step, I came to see that the opportunity was right, the time was right, and the match might well be right, too, between what Mount Holyoke needed and what I could offer. I sensed that I was the favored candidate of the search commit-tee, a flattering and head-turning experi-ence. Moreover, after deciding to check out the campus with my family one afternoon in late autumn 1994, I remember feeling lured in by the mesmerizing presence, power, and beauty of the campus: “yes, I can imagine myself here,” I instinctively thought. I read everything I could find about the college and engaged in probing conversations with the people I met. The more I learned, the more I was drawn in: I could see what needed to be done; I could make a positive difference; and I would stretch and grow in the bargain.

I’m not sure why I felt so confident. At that time, the budget was out of balance and worsening each year; the admission outlook was weak and worrisome; morale was low; and a free-floating anxiety had set in about the sustainability of Mount Holyoke as a top-notch college. That the whole of the Col-lege seemed somehow less than the sum of its parts, however, was to me an irresistible challenge. I could see its impressive history and parts; I could sense its latent power and potential. When I accepted the position, the welcome in Chapin Auditorium was so warm and hopeful that I was determined to reciprocate this leap of faith. from that moment, I pledged myself to demonstrating that the whole of this special college could, in fact, be much greater than the sum of its parts. And that, I believe, is now proven beyond a doubt. Mount Holyoke has never been stronger or more robust, more ready to take on the world.

I’m proud of what we have together accomplished these past ten years and know we are positioned for greater heights in the years ahead. The key to our success

has been getting all constituents working together and pulling in the same direc-tion. That we can do because our resonant mission compels and inspires our best collective effort. But, when I first arrived, the mission was unacknowledged, unarticu-lated, and uncelebrated. not so now. Ar-ticulating the mission was the essential first step of the planning process. Summing up the essence of Mount Holyoke in a single sentence warms my english professor soul: We reaffirm our commitment to educating a diverse residential community of women at the highest level of academic excellence and to fostering the alliance of liberal arts education with purposeful engagement in the world. This mission continues to say it all; it has been the touchstone of institu-tional renewal.

I feel extraordinarily blessed to serve as president of this inspirational college, an experience that has deeply enriched my life and afforded many highs and, admittedly, a few lows—the latter including the student sit-ins of spring of 1997, the Joe ellis scandal that landed us in the national press in the summer of 2001, and the painful dispute with the Alumnae Association that erupted about the same time. But now, in retrospect, these seem like unfortunate bumps in the road on what has overall been a remark-ably harmonious and “very fast” ride forward—on what Mary Lyon has strikingly called “this great intellectual and moral ma-chine”—out of disunity, disarray, and fiscal disequilibrium and into collective purpose, balanced budgets, record-high numbers of applicants and fund-raising totals, an ever-stronger faculty and student body, vital new academic centers, beautiful new indoor and outdoor spaces, and increased national and international presence. now unmistak-able confidence and buoyancy infuse our community. Mount Holyoke is recognized on campus and off as an institution on the move, boldly reasserting its leadership in lib-eral arts and women’s education worldwide.

What are the highs of the job? one is sharing in the intellectual energy and moral passion of the place, the finest educational

environment I have ever been part of. It is gratifying to note how it has appreciably improved these last several years. What a privileged job I have, really, serving as an advocate for such a fine institution! Moreover, I, who have no daughters of my own, have now the pleasure of seeing the palpable coming to selfhood of wonderful young women, so full of earnestness, pur-posefulness, and joie de vivre. And speaking of children, that’s how I view our various campus building projects—music, art, sci-ence, Blanchard, newhall—each a precious child more beautiful and wonderful than the next. I’m eager to get our next offspring, the new residence hall, into the ground late this fall; it too will grace our family of memora-bly classic and with-it buildings.

Perhaps the greatest joy is being part of a team of smart and dedicated people working together on something greater than any one of us. We know that the excellent and purposeful education offered by Mount Holyoke College is a pearl of great price and an endangered commodity. There is no more powerful instrument for educating the next generation of women for enlightened citizenship and leadership. no cause is more worthy of our energy and support. no need is greater in our trouble-ridden world than the kind of graduates we produce. A variant on “the little engine that could,” Mount Holyoke College has been improb-able from the beginning. It has continued to overachieve, surpassing any reasonable expectation one might have about the influ-ence of such a small college in such a large world. We must continue to defy the odds and secure the legacy of this extraordinary institution. What could be more rewarding and fun than that?

Presidential�� Ref lectionsBy Joanne V. Creighton

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2004Creighton joins alumnae and major media representatives for the first of several collaborations in New York City.

2004Creighton meets with the associa-tion’s Strategic Planning Committee to discuss how the association can help the college educate students for global citizenship.

2006At a trustees gathering with Leslie A. Miller ’73, chair of the board, and Richard E. Neal, U.S. represen-tative and trustee

2005Creighton institutes community breakfasts to provide a casual forum in which to share news and answer questions.

If her style is far from parental (or micromanaging, for that matter), there’s little doubt who leads the self-govern-ing community. Described by Dean of Faculty Donal O’Shea as “collaborative and consultative with a vengeance,” Creighton tests her own ideas as strenuously as she tests everyone else’s. She is, O’Shea observes, “supportive by being tough,’’ a skeptical listener. It’s a perspective echoed by Kori Binette ’04, who worked with Creighton on her

senior thesis about mother-daughter relationships in the novels of Joyce Carol Oates. “She made it very easy and ap-proached the project as if we were equals, not as though I was a lowly student,” says Binette, now a gradu-ate student in English at the University of Massachusetts, and coauthor with Creigh-ton of a scholarly article. “She wouldn’t let me rest with an easy answer, and she wasn’t prepared with an answer herself.”

A self-described magpie—“if I hear a

good idea, I pick it up,” she says—Creighton discovered a gift for pulling together disparate ideas while writing her own undergraduate honors thesis about the unity of James Joyce’s collection of stories, Dubliners. That gift carried Creighton through a dissertation and successively complex administrative roles. Although she has little time these days for scholarly writing, Creighton nonetheless wields the power of the pen—and revision—for documents of

fundamental importance, such as the strategic plans or major grant proposals.

“I am always the writer. I will not relinquish that be-cause I know … that there is great power in putting things together,” she says, making the wry observation that most writing can be improved after “ten, twenty, forty” drafts.

Creighton guards her privacy as closely as her words, saying that it is hard to have “a more personal role” within the college community when students and colleagues alike

see the official role before the person. That aloofness, balanced by what some describe as candor about her own views and feelings within a smaller circle, is part of what colleagues say gives Creighton an ability to understand the college, what makes her effective rather than popular.

“Joanne is a perfect example of what a Mount Holyoke education can do for a person,” says Leslie Anne Miller, who believes that Creighton has blossomed over the decade into a self-confident leader. “She’s a product of a Mount Holyoke education; she just got it later in life.”

2006MHC’s delegation to Dubai Women’s College, where our students taught a leadership workshop

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That’s the sort of conviction the 1995 MHC alumna displays in almost ev-erything she does. A wife and mother of four young children, she has put family first. But now, as chair of a more than six-million–dollar campaign for the Charlottesville Waldorf Founda-

tion (CWF), she’s giving her all to promoting the building of “America’s greenest school”—an environmen-tally friendly facility with the highest rating established by the US Green Building Council. (See sidebar.) A Waldorf parent (her three boys attend

the Charlottesville Waldorf School) Lund is “completely self-taught” when it comes to philanthropy. What propels her to succeed, besides unmistakable self-confidence, is an earnest interest in the environment.

Born and raised in Argentina (she came to the United States in 1984), Lund “lived in nature,” spending a lot of time in and on the water, on a boat her grandfather built. Her great-grand-parents were farmers, and she acquired the gardening bug. It makes her feel “connected to a grander purpose,” she says. Her environmental consciousness is evident in other ways too. Lund has “never quite gotten used to the excess in this country”—which may explain her chronic endeavor to reuse, recycle, and rethink.

Overseeing the recent remodeling of her house gave Lund an opportunity to make choices that would have the least

By Maryann Teale Snell ’86

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The Green House Effect

Alumna Heads Drive

to Create ‘America’s

Greenest School’

A couple of years ago, Hurricane Isabel brought down

a pair of 150-foot trees—an oak and a hickory—

in Marianne Lund’s yard in Charlottesville,

Virginia. She could have had them hauled away or chopped

into firewood. Instead, she found someone to mill the trees

on-site and brought the wood indoors. The hickory became

a staircase; the oak is now a floor. Lund says the feeling of

giving these fallen trees a new and useful life is “fabulous.

I’m not leaving this house.”

This architect’s conception shows what “America’s greenest school” will look like when Lund’s work is complete.

possible environmental impact. She took a “green” approach to demolition, sorting materials to be recycled, donat-ed to Habitat for Humanity, or carted to the landfill. New building materials included insulation made from recycled blue jeans, Energy Star–rated win-dows, and solvent-free construction adhesive. (“I’m really proud of that because I didn’t want the house reek-ing of chemicals,” Lund says.)

It was difficult convincing certain tradespeople to use unfamiliar prod-ucts. (“The painters were the worst. They kicked and screamed the whole way.”) But the educational component proved valuable—not just for Lund and the workers she hired, but also for her family members. By her example, her children are gaining an apprecia-tion for the impact they can have on the environment. “Telling them to take their newspapers out to the recycling bin … We have to do more than that,” Lund says. This is why she’s so com-mitted to the Charlottesville Waldorf Foundation.

Lund (a schoolteacher before she and husband Jim, an Amherst College graduate, started their family) says Waldorf philosophy is steeped in envi-ronmental conservation, so by endeav-oring to build a platinum-rated green school, the foundation is truly put-ting its money where its mouth is. But Lund’s goal is to reach farther afield, into the community and beyond. This project is “not simply about a school,”

she says. “We are a model for building green because we are fiscally respon-sible as well as green.”

For two years, the CWF has hosted “green symposiums” for local resi-dents. Homeowners, builders, and sup-pliers turn out in droves, Lund says. Charlottesville—which did not even have a recycling program until this fall—has gone from knowing virtu-ally nothing about environmentally conscious building (e.g., how to create sustainable sites, select materials, and design structures that take into ac-count rainfall, wind, and sun patterns) to having several green houses built to USGBC standards.

Lund is encouraged “to see how this community has evolved and be-come aware that what we do here has a connection to what’s going on every-where else in the world.”

She also feels a debt of gratitude to Mount Holyoke and its founder. “Mary Lyon truly understood the importance of women respecting themselves and believing that their actions, no matter how large or small, are meaningful,” she says. MHC “taught me to under-stand that I am part of something larger and that what I do makes a difference, whether it’s the way I change my kids’ diapers or the way I run a committee. I believe in making a contribution, in adding value to society.”

And Lund urges others to do the same—supporting the green-building movement or something else entirely. “It really needs to be something that’s important to people; otherwise they’re not going to maintain it. If you care about the water—what happens when it rains, where the water goes, what was on the streets that went into that water—then you’re going to take on that cause. If you couldn’t care less, then you’ll throw your cigarette butt or your dog poop into the storm drains. Who you choose to give your energy, time, and money to—that’s your call. But wake up and care, about something.”

Maryann Teale Snell ’86 is a writer and editor in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The Meaning of ‘Green’The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design) Green Building Rating System® provides the “national standard for developing high-performance, sustain-able buildings” and was created in part to “stimulate green competition” and “transform the building market,” accord-ing to the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org/leed). The LEED System includes—from least to most stringent— certified, bronze, silver, gold, and plati-num levels.

Marianne Lund ’95, who recently won an award from the Virginia Sustainable Building Network for her “leadership and vision,” says ”green” building is more than just a fad. And judging by the Council’s pages-long list of LEED-certified projects, she’s right. MHC’s own Kend-ade Hall science center and Blanchard Campus Center have a LEED “certified” rating, and a proposed residence hall will also be LEED-rated.

Lund’s project will be among a hand-ful of platinum-rated projects that exist nationwide—including the Genzyme Cen-ter (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Lewis and Clark State Office Building (Jefferson City, Missouri), Audubon Center at Debs Park (Los Angeles), and Artists for Humanity EpiCenter (Boston).—M.T.S.


Marianne Lund and husband Jim Zuffoletti with children Nicolas (7), Mattias (5), Alex (4), and CassiopeiaC

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Widowhood both mimics and mocks marriage. Both involve ceremonies, changes in lifestyle, and a change in family alli-ances and friendships. But the loss of “single-ness” to marriage is quite different from becoming single again when you lose your core life relationship. No one would choose to join the Widows Club. But the good news is that bereavement can be managed and directed toward positive ends.

“Nobody wants to be a widow; it can be very lonely, very sad,” agrees Gilda Gellin Zalaznick ’56. “However, it can, after a period of healing and acceptance, be a time of growth and opportunity … a time of getting to know oneself, asserting one’s own views and desires. Being a widow for me has meant remembering an exceptional marriage with love, but moving on to become even more of my own person than ever before.”

are expected deaths easier?“Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant.” In her most recent book, The Year of Magical Thinking, that’s how author Joan Didion sums up the sudden death of her husband at the

dinner table and the death of her daughter shortly thereafter. Regardless of the speed with which it arrives, death always shocks. As Elizabeth Clark Nelson ’74, married twenty-nine years, remembers, “My husband, Stan, was diagnosed with leukemia in July 2004. We received news that his bone mar-row was clear in March 2005, on a Friday morning. At 4 p.m. he spiked a high fever and on Saturday at 6:30 a.m., he died. It was expected and sudden at the same time.”

In other cases, it is the final victory of death that stuns, defies belief. Married for fourteen years, Marie Dillon Dahleh ’85 explained, “My husband died of cancer at age thirty-nine. Knowing [beforehand] didn’t make too much difference because it was about not wanting to admit where you’re going until you’re there; he didn’t want to believe that he couldn’t overcome it. You need to fight so hard to win the fight that you can’t think about death.”

We may also be shocked at how the reality does not match our expectations of becoming a widow. Approaching the fifth anniversary of being widowed, Freya Allen Shoffner ’76 notes

c oping with wid owho od

three months after the death of her husband of thirty-nine years, Bess Pazeian

Vickery ’37 asked the Quarterly why the common experience of widowhood had not been

addressed in its pages. Bess had hit on a truth: widowhood is indeed a topic that deeply

touches the lives of MHC alumnae—whether widowed, friends of widows, or not yet

widowed—but is rarely discussed anywhere. In this article, alumnae who have coped

with the death of their spouses share their experiences and offer their coping strategies.

We hope these thoughtful tidbits will be both useful and informative as alumnae move

into widowhood, a common state for uncommon women.

Left Behind, Moving Forward


By Diana Bosse Mathis ’70


that, while she had plenty of warning about her ap-proaching widowhood and she and her husband discussed it throughout his dying process, the experi-ence has been far different

than they imagined. “I expected that as a young widow society would view me as being similar to a divorcée, a woman who was entering a new, exciting, scary, challenging, poten-

tially wonderful phase of her life. Wrong. My friends and acquaintances [soon] pretended I never existed, and single men viewed me as if I had two heads.”

does time truly heal?Shirley McNally, author of When Hus-

bands Die: Women Share Their Stories, writes that while widows heal at different

rates, three years seems to be the average time spent grieving. “The pain is something that

subsides over time. You can’t sustain it. It recedes, and after a while you forget—but it takes a while.

I lived in that shadow world of thinking, ‘What would Robert do?’ Then finally I got my legs under me,”

remembers Eloise Prescott Killeffer ’68, who lost her husband of twenty-two years in 2000.

“Time is definitely the critical factor,” said Luise Mallinger Erdmann ‘63, whose husband committed suicide in 1980. “You never get over anything—you learn to live with it. It’s part of you; you incorporate it and try to deal with it. I was lucky that we had been separated, that we didn’t have kids, and I wasn’t financially strapped. [But] the first year was very hard.”

who and what helped?Alumnae widows have found help in many ways, including channeling strengths into creative diversions. Jetta Norris Jones ’47 found comfort in writing when her husband of fifty-three years died. “For the obituary for Jimmy’s funeral, I sat up late one night and wrote about him—what he was like, what I thought made him so different. I keep a journal; I’d write a page every once in a while. Now I find it’s very help-ful to sit down every day to write; it’s such a release.”

Gilda Zalaznick, widowed after thirty-seven years of mar-riage, notes, “I went to the library and looked up and read everything I could [on widowhood] because that’s what Mount Holyoke women do. Nothing remains in memory of what I read; it was the process of reading that helped.”

Accepting support and asking for help, while often difficult, are essential, widows relate. Karen Klussman Lewis ’77 recalls, “At first, life came to a standstill.” But friends soon began to visit and encourage her. Some of the other wives in her closely

knit fishing community set up a gardening day, complete with food, lots of kids, seeds, garden tools, and blooming plants. They helped plant the garden that she and her husband had hoped to do. Many of these women have moved on, she says, “But I still hear their voices when I am in the garden, remem-ber how they taught me so much, gave me so much, in that one afternoon.”

“One simply cannot get too much attention,” said Leslie Raissman Wellbaum ’64, who married one of her MHC profes-sors in 1967 and was widowed in 1999. “There were a few friends who seemed to need to distance themselves from me,

from my pain, but with few exceptions, people were more than willing to give.” A couple of people in Marie Dahleh’s life simply took charge when her husband passed away. No discus-sion needed. “It’s hard to admit that you need that much help. But because of these key people, I’m where I am today.”

Family members can work wonders, too. Gracia Chin Barry ’66, who lost her husband of thirty-three years, said her daughter and a good friend took over the chore of meal planning and preparation as well as writing condolence acknowledgements. A month later, she was invited to join a daily walking group. This turned out to be helpful not only for her physical well being but also for her mental and spiritual health.

While Elizabeth Topham Kennan ’60 was devastated to suddenly lose her husband when their handicapped son was five years old, a group of priests with whom she was teach-ing at Catholic University proved an enormous source of help. They cleaned out the gutters, climbed on the roof, things she says she could not have done herself.

reconnecting with mount holyoke“My classmates have been wonderful,” reports Roberta Albert Kaufmann ’56. “We have a class e-mail network with more than 100 people participating. We’ve lost a lot of

husbands. For our fiftieth-reunion book, which I edited, what classmates wrote was very inspirational! We feel lots of class support, support from friends, families.”

Jetta Jones became friends with Joanne Hammerman Alter ’49 through the Mount Holyoke

Club in Chicago, where she had moved with her husband. Jones recalls that, the day after her husband died, “When I came into our building, in the lobby was

WeB extrasYou can find additional resources on this topic at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/widows. these include suggestions for managing the stress of bereavement, discussing crucial end-of-life wishes, and a reading list.

“ You never get over anything—you learn to live with it. It ’s part of you; you incorporate it and try to deal with it.”

“ The pain is some-thing that subsides over time. You can’t sustain it.”

http://www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/widows


Joanne, waiting for me. She had been so sick herself, and here she was. That was awfully impressive to me.”

Gilda Zalaznick suffered both parents’ deaths within months of her husband’s, and in 2004 the death of her son, his family, and his inlaws—eleven in all—in a plane crash. “The outpouring of love and support was overwhelm-ing. The class was really there for me. The knowledge that these women really cared and were remembering us in their prayers was very comforting to me.”

Kim O’Donnell FP’02 knew while she was attending MHC that her husband of some twenty years was going to die, although not how soon. The college and the professors were very approachable, she said, giving her lots of leeway to get things turned in. When her husband died, the Sep-tember after graduation, a professor from Mount Holyoke gave the eulogy.

Maureen A. Flannery ’71 married in 1972 and lost her husband suddenly in January 2005. A classmate sent out an e-mail to other classmates and a notice to the class notes sec-tion of the next Alumnae Quarterly. “The cards from MHC friends were wonderful. I never had a clue how comforting reconnection with friends from the past can be in a time of grief,” says. “I was so grateful that I had been a part of a mini-reunion of classmates several years earlier that had in-cluded Rose E. Fujimoto ’71, widowed a few months before. I went to my first-ever MHC reunion earlier this summer because this experience reminded me of the importance of those reconnections.”

sharing wisdom, self, memoriesGilda Zalaznick gave a short presentation at her fortieth reunion about coping and being prepared for the possibil-ity of widowhood. Know your family’s finances and where important papers are kept, she instructed. Have discussions

with your spouse about what he and you expect when one of you dies. “Say everything you need to. Don’t leave old wounds to fester. Resolve as

much as possible.” During her

bereavement, Karen Lewis didn’t know anyone else with small children who had lost her hus-

band. Now, with the Internet, it’s easier to tap into support groups, she says, and to know that you are not the only one. As a physician, Elizabeth Nelson shares parts of her

experience with her patients who in turn have shared their own with her. A year after her husband’s death, Maureen Flannery held “gatherings for celebration and remem-brance,” for people to visit, eat, celebrate friendships, and share memories.

using talents, pursuing goalsKeeping busy with the things they enjoy doing characterizes many women who suddenly find themselves with a lot of time alone. That can range from arts and crafts to going back to school, traveling, and reviving a career. “I have found creative activity to be a real boon to deal with loss, depression, or weari-ness of spirit,” said Bess Vickery. Marie Dahleh focused her energy on rebuilding her career. Eloise Killeffer was in school when her husband died. She attended part-time (encouraged to continue by her grief counselor) and graduated in 2004 with a master of divinity degree. “One thing I’ve been doing is major travel,” said Roberta Kaufman. “For the last six years [of his life] my husband was unable to leave the country. Now I go all over the world.”

Sarah Cummings Goodrich ’51 sailed to the Bahamas on classmate Di Fulton Hunter’s new thirty-four-foot catamaran with Di and a seventy-year-old friend, widows all. Their motto, inscribed on T-shirts they had made for the trip, is “Life is short. Do it now.” Other bits of advice from these any-weather sailors: laugh a lot and enjoy good times with as many friends as you can.

finding closure“One day Willy led me into the yard,” Karen Lewis remem-bers. “He showed me salvaged treasures his daddy had put there. A huge ship’s anchor. Some glass floats. A bronze sundial that says, ‘Time takes all but memories.’ That was a pivotal moment for me. My child showed me this path out of grief—to just be in the moment, to point at butterflies, to listen to the wind, to realize that time takes all.”

Diana Bosse Mathis ‘70 earned a BSN in 1978 and practiced nurs-ing part-time for six years before returning to full-time writing and editing in the life sciences.

ConneCt With other alumnae WiDoWsmore than a dozen alumnae widows have expressed willingness to be contacted by other alumnae to share experiences. to request the list of these alumnae and their e-mails and/or phone numbers (or to add your-self to the volunteers list), contact emily Weir ([email protected], or 413-538-2301).

“It ’s hard to admit that you need that much help. But because of these key people, I’m where I am today.”

“ The cards from MHC friends were wonder-ful. I never had a clue how comforting recon-nection with friends from the past can be in a time of grief.”

20

A Dorm is BornCampus Poised to Build First Student residence in Forty YearsBy EmILY HArrISon WEIr

ComIng Soon to mHC: a new gener-

ation of student housing. If the board

of trustees gives the go-ahead during

its october meeting, mount Holyoke

will break ground in november for the

first new student residence hall since

macgregor’s construction in 1967.

20

Itwillarguablybethelargestdormoncampus,andDeanofStudentsLizBraunanticipatesthatthebuildingwillbecomestudents’firstchoiceatroom-drawingtime.“Firstofall,it’sgoingtobestunninglybeautiful,”shesays.“ThearchitectslistenedcloselytowhatthecommunitytoldthemaboutMountHolyoke’sloveoftraditionandgor-geousarchitectureandaboutourdesiretobehipandcontemporary.They’vecreatedabuildingthatfitsaestheticallywithothercampusbuildingsstu-dentslove,butalsohasmodernamenitiesIthinkthey’llbeexcitedabout.”

ThebuildingwillbelocatedinwhatisnowPrattHallparkinglotandwillhouse176studentsinsingles,doubles,andsuitescomprisingmultiplesingleordoublerooms.DesignedbyConnecticut’sS/L/A/MCollaborative,the72,000-square-footbrickandstonestructurewillhavetwosectionsjoinedbycommonspace.Anambitiousconstruc-tiontimelineshouldallowthefirstoccupantstomoveinforthefallof2008.

Helpingtomeettheprojected$30millionpricetagforthenewdormisonegoalofthecollege’s$300millioncomprehensivefundraisingcampaignbeinglaunchedthisfall.

If You Build It, they Will ComeWhydoesMHCneedanewdormwhenthestu-dentbodyisn’texpanding?Accordingtoa2004ResidentialMasterPlanningCommitteestatusreport,housinghasbeenmaxedoutsinceatleast2001,withmanydoublesservingastriples,singlesbecomingdoubles,andformerfloorloungesturningintoquads.“Thenewdormwillendthehousingcrunch,allowingcommonroomsinotherdormsthathavebeenconvertedtostudentroomstoservetheiroriginalpurpose,”saysAlisonMillsGrantham’09,whoservesonthedormitoryplan-ningcommittee.“Thisallowsformoresocializingandminglingandgenerallyimprovesthequalityoflifeforallstudentsinalldorms.”

Also,today’sprospec-tivestudentsweighMHC’samenitiesagainstthoseofcompetitorschools,manyofwhichalreadyboaststate-of-the-artstudenthousing.“Whenstudentsarelookingatcolleges,it’stheacademiccorethat’smostimportant,butthey’relookingatthewholepackage.Andthelivingenvironmentisparticularlyimportantatawomen’scollege,”saysJaneB.Brown,vicepresident

Large image: Creating spaces where students will naturally want to gather was an important part of the new dorm’s design. This is the main common area. Below: In this aerial view, the top faces Stony Brook, the left side faces Pratt Hall, and the bottom faces Rooke Theatre.


forenrollmentandcollegerelations.“Wehavebeenlaggingbehindcompet-itorsinthatprospectivestudentsoftenseemoreopportunitiesforindependentlivingatotherinstitutions.”Thenewbuilding’ssuites—andthefactthatitwillhousestudentsfromallfourclass-es—willhelpMountHolyokecompetefortopstudents,Brownbelieves.KateJackson’06,whowasanotherstudentmemberoftheplanningcommittee,saysshe“reallypushedforasmanysuitesaspossible;friendsatothersmallliberal-artsschoolsarereadilyabletoliveincampusapartmentsandsuites.”

Andevenifhousingexpectationsweren’tconstantlyrising,MHCwouldneedanewdorm.“Wehaveasubstan-tialbacklogofdeferredmaintenanceinmanyofourhistoricbuildings.Theyaregorgeous,butinneedofextensiveupdating,whenitcomestooriginalheatingsystems,windows,slateroofs,etc.,”saysJohnS.Bryant,directoroffacilitiesplanningandmanagement.“Thatmeansweneed‘swingspace.’Withoutit,we’veonlybeenabletoundertakerenovationsthatcouldbecompletedoverthesummer,sothey’vebeenfairlysuperficial.”Thenewdormwillallowolderonestobeclosedfortop-to-bottomrenovation.

Decisions, DecisionsButiftheneedforanewdormisclear,preciselywhatformitshouldtakewasthesubjectofintensediscussionsthatspannedseveralyears.Itbeganwithalonglookattheentireresidential-lifeprogram,andincludeda2004surveytoascertainstudents’currenthousingpreferencesandwhatwouldconstitutea“dream-dorm.”(Seeboxbelow.)

Onemajordecisionforthecol-legewaschoosingabuildingsite.Theplanningcommitteeconsideredseverallocations,includingtheparkinglotacrossfromHamandMacGregor,andtheemptylotatthecornerofRoute116andMorganStreet,behindAbbeyHall.ThefinalsiteistheparkinglotontheslopebelowPrattHall,themusicbuilding.Thenewdorm’sotherneigh-borswillbeRookeTheatreandGorseChildCareCenter,anditwilloverlookStonyBrook.(ParkingwillmoveacrossMorganStreet.)Siteplannersheededastrongstudentpreferencefordormsclosetothecenterofcampus,accordingtoBraun.“Whenstudentswalkoutofthenewbuilding,they’llbeabletoseeBlanchardandtheotherolderbuild-ings,andcanwalkrightintothecenterofcampus.Havingthatsightlinewillbeimportant.”

Thestudentsurveyalsorevealedthat,asJacksonputit,“Moststudentslovetheolderdorms,butwiththebeautyofthesecentennialdormsalsocamedraftywindows,dimorharshoverheadlighting,peelingpaint,finickypipes,andloudradiators.Thenewdormwillbeagreatcombinationofnewertechnologyandhistoricarchitec-ture.”Bryantsaysthatwasachievedbyincorporatingtheaestheticsoftheolderresidenceswithinamodernbuildingshell.“Thebuilding‘envelope’isfullofanglestofittheslopingsiteandtoprovidevisualinterest,”hesays.“It’sabitmoreexpensivethantobuildaboxwherealltheroomsareidentical.Thedifferingroomsizes,theslopedroofs,thescale…Therearealotofthingshereyouwon’tseeinmostothercollegedorms.”Inaword…character.“Thisisnotacookie-cutterresidencehall,”agreesBraun.

Onesurveyresultthatsurprisedadministratorswasthestudents’prefer-enceforcommunalbathroomsoneachfloorversusprivatebathrooms.“Wefoundoverandoverthatstudentswantedthatopportunityforsocialinteraction,talkingaboutlastweekend’spartywhilebrushingtheirteethorget-tingreadytoshower,forexample,”says

A 2004 survey revealed strong student preferences for where and how they live on campus. Dean of Students Liz Braun shared these results:

• Most popular dorms: Wilder, Safford, Mead, Pearsons, North Rockefeller

• Least popular dorms: 1837*, Prospect, Dickinson, South Man-delle*, Torrey [* dorms that have been renovated and regained popularity since the survey]

• Room preferences: 50% prefer a single suite (four singles with shared common space); 33%, stand-alone single; 9%, double suite (two doubles with a shared common space); 7%, stand-alone double; 1%, triple; 0%, quad (four people in one room)p

op

ul

ar

ity

co

nt

es

t This view is what someone standing between Morgan Street and Rooke Theatre would see; the dorm’s main entrance is partially hidden at left center.


Bryant.“Andtheysaidcommunitywasallthemoreimportantnowthatdiningisn’tavailableineveryresidencehall.”(Residentswillbeabletoeatcontinen-talbreakfastwithoutleavingthenewbuilding,butforothermealswilldineintheirchoiceofsevenothercampuslocations.)

Creating CommunityPlanningspaceswherestudentswillnaturallycongregatebecameanin-tegralpartofthebuilding’sdesign.“BlanchardCampusCenterhasbeensuchasuccess,asacenterofvitalityandactivityoncampusandaplacetoseeandbeseen,thatitmayhavedrawnsomeofthecommunityawayfromtheresidencehalls,”saysBryant.“Socreat-ingcommunityherewasveryimportanttous.”Roomsarepurposelyarrangedinclusters—alongahallasinatraditionaldorm,orontwofloorsjoinedverticallybycommonareas—tocreatenaturalsubcommunitieswithinthebuilding.

Inadditiontoalargecentralcom-monspacenearthemainentrance,severalsmallercommunityspacesthroughoutthebuildingwilllurestudentstohangout.Theseincludeaninformal“greatroom”andanexpandedkitchenette(alsoknownasa“GoldenPear,”withcookinganddiningfacilitiesandupholsteredseating)wherestudents

canbakeabirthdaycakewithfriends,prepareanintimatedinnerparty,orcookafavoritemealtogether.Granthamisparticularlylookingforwardtothestudentkitchen.“Ilovetocook;thiswilldefinitelyimprovemyqualityoflife,”shesays.

Adding AmenitiesWhenitcomestopleasingstudents,howmuchisenoughandhowmuchistoomuch?AsNortheasternUniversity’sLarryMucciolotoldtheBoston Globeinanarticleonnewcollegehousing,“Whenkidsarepaying$40,000ayeartogotoschool,youcan’tjuststicktheminbunkbeds.”Ontheotherendofthespectrum,AdamWeinberg,deanofthecollegeatColgateUniversity,worriedintheChronicle of Higher Educationaboutcampusesbecoming“mini-versionsofClubMed.”Fortherecord,therearenobunkbedsorhottubsplannedforMHC’snewdorm.

Treadingthelinebetweennecessityandluxury,MHCisprovidingimprovedversionsof“necessities.”Allroomswillhaveradiant,ceiling-mountedheatthatwillgivestudentsmorewallspaceandtemperaturesthatcanbecontrolledroombyroom.Thesurveyshowedthatstudentswantmorelightintheirrooms.They’llgetabuildingrichwithnaturallightandindirectlightingfixturesthat

providebrighterlightandcanbevariedfromonesideoftheroomtotheother,accommodatingroommateswithdiffer-entsleep/studycycles.Granthamsaysinteriorpaintcolorchoiceswill“softenthedorm-feelandmakeitseemlessinsti-tutional;homierandfun.”OntheStonyBrooksideofthebuilding,therewillbelandscapedgardenspacewithstoneter-races,andoutdoorfurnituretodrawstu-dentsoutsideingoodweather.“Count-lesshoursofcarefulcollaborationamongarchitects,administrators,andstudentsareallowingamagnificentlystyledbuild-ingtoevolve,”saysGrantham.

Building greenMHC’senvironmentalawarenesswillbeevidentinsideandoutsidethenewbuilding,whichwillbeLEED-certified(builttoexactingecologicalstandards,aswereKendadeandBlanchard).“Green”featuresincludeenergy-efficientwin-dowsandinsulation,corkandbambooflooring(botharerapidlyrenewingresources),andhotwaterpoweredbyabout700squarefeetofsolarcollectorpanelsonthesouth-facingroof.“Thebuildingshouldbeatleast45percentmoreenergyefficientthanisrequiredbythealreadystringentMassachusettsbuildingcode,”accordingtoBryant.Otherpossibilitiesincludeasyntheticslateroofthatmatchestherealslateroofselsewhereoncampusbutislighterandmadewithrecycledmaterials.

Jacksonlaudstheplanningcom-mitteeforbeingreceptivetostudents’environmentalconcernsandtotheir“opinionsontopicsfromthepossiblelocationofthedormtothewidthofthecorridors.”Shesaysthenewbuild-ingwillincludethethreethingsshebelievesstudentswantmost:avarietyofroomoptions,aplacetocookandeat,andabeautifullivingenvironment.“Weallwantawonderfulbuildingtocomehometoattheendoftheday,”shesays.Jacksonhasalreadygraduated,butameretwoyearsfromnow,nearly200luckystudentswillhaveagorgeousnewhousetocallhome.

The new building will bring more variety to MHC’s student housing stock, adding:

59 singles

30 doubles with window seats

11 suites with single rooms (These include a combination of three or four single rooms off of a central common area. Half of the four-room suites include bathrooms.)

3 suites with double rooms

1 suite with mixed rooms (These include a double and a single off of a common area.)

2 singles with private bath

1 double with private bath

Ro

om

Co

un

tTop: Natural light floods into a dorm corridor. Center: floor plan for the first floor; Bottom: Looking through these windows, residents will see Stony Brook.

24� www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu

Making Money Work

Get a money makeover Young Professional Faizun Kamal ’97

Financial Basics By Mieke H. BoMann

In response to alumnae requests,

the Quarterly has planned a series

of articles on making your money

work harder. In this issue, financial

planner Eleanor Hotchkiss Blayney

’73 presents a basic financial plan

for 1997 alumna Faizun Kamal. In

upcoming articles, we will feature

more alumna-to-alumna advice on

saving, credit and loans, and han-

dling unexpected financial events.

Mount�Holyoke�Alumnae�Quarterly�|�Fall�2006� 25

Student�loans�and�credit-card�debt�are�tops�on�the�list�of�“things�to�get�rid�of”�for�many�young�professionals.�Buying�a�house�is�often�the�primary�financial�goal.�How�to�do�these�things�simultaneously�usually�involves�a�bit�more�work�than�forgoing�the�daily�latte�or�bringing�your�lunch�to�work—although�those�are�good�first�steps.�What�follows�is�the�story�of�one�alumna’s�financial�goals,�and�recommendations�from�a�professional�planner,�also�an�alumna,�on�how�to�get�there.

Making a Dollar HollerFaizun�Kamal�’97�leads�a�full,�if�uncluttered,�life.�The�Baltimore�resident�lives�alone�in�a�one-bedroom�apartment,�rises�early�to�meditate,�works�full-time�as�a�program�officer�at�JHPIEGO,�an�international�health�care�organization�affiliated�with�Johns�Hopkins�University,�and�also�is�going�to�Hopkins�part-time�to�get�her�MBA.�

Although�Kamal�lives�frugally—few�clothes,�no�gym�mem-bership,�no�hairdresser�or�nail�splurges—she�has�$19,000�in�credit-card�debt,�some�of�which�is�being�paid�off�at�a�rate�of�30�percent.�A�dedicated�shopper?�Hardly.�Unlike�many�other�young�professionals,�Kamal,�born�in�Bangladesh,�lacks�a�spendthrift�sensibility.�“My�mother�could�make�a�dollar�hol-ler!”�she�says�of�her�pragmatic�upbringing,�and�Kamal�has�a�pretty�good�understanding�of�what�she�needs�to�do�to�get�her�financial�life�on�track.

But�her�past�financial�support�of�a�friend�has�left�her�pay-ing�off�considerable�debt�while�at�the�same�time�hoping�to�buy�a�house.�What�she�needs�are�specific�strategies�to�reach�her�goals,�says�financial�planner�Eleanor�Hotchkiss�Blayney�’73�([email protected]; www.sbsinc.com),�manag-ing�director�at�Sullivan,�Bruyette,�Speros�&�Blayney,�a�sub-sidiary�of�the�Harris�Private�Bank,�and�she�agreed�to�provide�that�blueprint.

Foundation for Success“Faizun�has�just�about�everything�it�takes�to�be�financially�and�personally�successful,”�says�Blayney,�who�is�based�in�McLean,�Virginia,�and�interviewed�Kamal�at�length�by�phone.�“She�has�intelligence,�discipline,�a�good�sense�of�where�her�money�goes�each�month,�and�a�well-articulated�vision�for�her�future.�This�is�a�young�woman�who�will�undoubtedly�achieve�her�goals.”

She�also�has�a�huge�heart:�Kamal�has�started�a�business�venture�to�import�clothing�and�household�items�made�by�women�in�her�native�Bangladesh,�and�then�return�the�pro-ceeds�to�help�educate�and�provide�nutrition�for�the�craft�women’s�children.�But�Kamal’s�first�priority�is�to�eliminate�her�own�debt�and�improve�her�credit�score�so�she’ll�qualify�for�a�home�mortgage.�Evidence�of�her�determination�is�the�fact�that�she�has�paid�down�$5,000�in�debt�in�the�past�year.�

assets and LiabilitiesWhile�Kamal�currently�has�a�negative�net�worth�of�approxi-mately�$7,500—the�value�of�her�retirement�fund�and�auto-mobile�minus�her�car�and�student�loans,�and�credit-card�debt—her�long-term�financial�outlook�is�promising.�“Once�her�human�capital�is�factored�in,�namely,�her�earning�potential�as�a�result�of�her�education,�international�experience,�and�tremen-dous�ambition,�the�financial�picture�is�considerably�brighter,”�says�Blayney.�

Kamal�makes�between�$45,000�and�$60,000�annually.�She�would�like�to�continue�in�her�present�position,�since�it�affords�her�$5,600�in�annual�tuition�reimbursement�that�she�puts�to�good�use�with�her�MBA�classes.�On�a�cash-flow�basis,�notes�Blayney,�she�is�making�ends�meet,�although�there�is�no�room�for�any�unexpected�expenses.�Kamal’s�one�indulgence�is�buy-ing�books,�a�cost�she�offsets�by�using�a�discount�card.

MonEy. It frames our daily lives and shapes the way we live, work, and play.

Women, traditionally skilled in stretching a household dollar, now often face

the complex responsibilities of securing a mortgage, planning for retirement,

handling savings and investments, and running sizable households. For young

professionals, and retirees living on modest pensions, making ends meet in an

increasingly pricey world poses a considerable challenge.

Gen

e S

wee

ney

, Jr.

RecommendationsAfter�reviewing�Kamal’s�financial�situation,�Blayney�made�these�recommendations:�n She�should�sign�up�for�her�employer’s�disability�program.�Since�

her�earnings�potential�is�her�biggest�asset,�she�needs�to�protect�this�against�any�accident�or�illness�that�might�prevent�her�from�working.

n She�currently�contributes�$250�a�month�to�her�retirement�plan,�but�does�not�know�if�Johns�Hopkins�makes�a�matching�contri-bution.�She�needs�to�find�this�out,�and�contribute�as�much�as�is�needed�to�get�the�full�match.�She�also�needs�to�investigate�what�a�recurring�$10.26�charge�represents�every�pay�period.�Is�this�eye�or�dental�insurance�coverage?�

n She�should�consider�buying�renter’s�insurance.�While�she�has�very�few�personal�possessions,�the�cost�of�this�insurance�is�far�below�the�replacement�cost�of�these�items.

n The�cost�of�Kamal’s�auto�insurance�appears�excessive.�It�turns�out�that�she�is�rated�an�“inexperienced�driver”�because�she�only�got�her�license�last�year.�After�three�years�of�driving�

experience�and�no�accidents,�this�rating�should�go�away.�Her�policy�shows�no�dis-count�for�anti-lock�brakes,�nor�a�“good�stu-dent�discount.”�Kamal�should�investigate�whether�she�is�eligible�for�these.�If�pos-sible,�she�should�also�make�her�premium�payments�every�six�months,�rather�than�monthly,�avoiding�a�$4�surcharge�each�month.�There�is�also�a�possibility�that�she�is�being�charged�higher�rates�as�a�result�of�a�suboptimal�credit�score.�(Some�insurance�

companies�do�this.)�Any�steps�taken�to�improve�her�score�may�reduce�her�premiums.

n Kamal’s�withholding�for�federal�taxes�is�60�percent�higher�than�it�needs�to�be;�she�is�also�overwithholding�for�state�taxes.�While�many�taxpayers�think�it�is�great�to�get�a�refund,�it�is�usually�a�big�mistake.�In�Kamal’s�case,�she�is�lending�$3,200�interest-free�to�the�government,�while�struggling�to�

pay�off�her�high-interest�debt.�She�should�immediately�adjust�her�withholding�to�increase�her�take-home�pay,�and�use�the�excess�to�pay�down�her�debt.

n Kamal�mentioned�that�her�father�is�willing�to�give�her�some�money�to�help�with�her�credit-card�balances.�She�is�reluctant�to�accept�this�offer�because�she�wants�to�be�financially�auton-omous�and�responsible.�She�might,�however,�consider�a�bona-fide�loan�from�her�father,�on�which�she�would�make�regular�interest�and�principal�payments,�just�as�she�is�doing�with�her�car�loan.�The�difference,�of�course,�would�be�that�the�interest�rate�could�be�far�lower,�even�if�it�is�set�at�the�normal�market�rate�between�unrelated�parties.�If�he�could�lend�her,�say,�$2,000,�the�loan�might�be�structured�at�6�percent,�amortized�over�five�years.�The�monthly�payment�for�such�a�loan�would�be�approximately�$39.�She�could�then�use�the�borrowed�funds�to�pay�off�the�high-interest�Chase�card.�Then�Kamal�needs�to�aggressively�attack�her�MBNA�credit-card�balance.�If�she�were�to�pay�approximately�$425�each�month�to�MBNA�(this�is�the�amount�she�was�paying�monthly�to�both�Chase�and�MBNA�minus�the�$39�she�will�now�be�paying�to�her�father)�her�MBNA�card�would�be�at�a�zero�balance�in�about�4.5�years,�assuming�no�further�purchases�are�made�on�the�card.�Better�still,�however,�would�be�if�Faizun�were�to�add�some�of�the�extra�cash�she�will�have�as�a�result�of�lower�withholdings�to�her�MBNA�payment.�By�adding�$250�to�the�monthly�pay-ment,�bringing�it�up�to�$625,�her�MBNA�card�would�be�paid�off�in�three�years�and�seven�months.

n There�is�a�possibility�Kamal�might�find�another�credit�card�that�has�a�lower�rate�than�her�MBNA�card�(which�charges�10�percent),�and�transfer�her�balance�there.�However,�this�may�result�in�another�black�mark�on�her�credit�score,�since�fre-quent�balance�transfers�from�one�credit�company�to�another�is�generally�viewed�negatively.

n If�Kamal�can�aggressively�pay�down�her�card�debt�by�paying�considerably�more�than�the�minimum�required,�her�credit�score�should�increase�to�the�point�where�she�can�consider�a�home�purchase�and�mortgage.�Without�an�increase�in�her�sal-ary,�she�could�consider�a�purchase�of�approximately�$200,000�with�$10,000�down.�This�may�limit�her�to�a�small�condo�in�the�Baltimore�area,�but�it�is�important�that�she�get�her�start�as�a�homeowner,�both�for�personal�and�financial�reasons.�As�her�salary�increases—which�it�undoubtedly�will—she�can�buy�more�house.

n For�her�403(b)�retirement-fund�allocation,�Kamal�should�keep�it�simple,�long-term,�and�growth-oriented.�I�would�recom-mend�a�70–80�percent�equity�allocation�(50�percent�US�and�the�remainder�in�international�equity�funds),�with�the�bal-ance�in�a�high-grade�bond�fund.

Kamal�was�thrilled�with�the�review�process.�“Having�Eleanor�review�my�financial�picture�has�been�invaluable,”�she�said.�“Her�suggestions�are�simple�and�direct.”�Kamal�has�already�filled�out�the�paperwork�to�adjust�her�withholding�for�federal�

Faizun kamal’s Current Monthly expensesRent�...................................................................... �$700Utilities�..................................................................... 50Food�....................................................................... 150Car�payment�............................................................ 206Car�insurance�.......................................................... 225Gas�........................................................................... 50Cell�phone�................................................................. 80Cat�food�and�supplies�................................................. 30Books�........................................................................�20Personal�(toiletries)��................................................... 30Credit-card�payments��.............................................. 465Anything left over at the end of the month, Kamal applies to her highest-interest credit card.

Lise

Met

zger

Blayney

Mount�Holyoke�Alumnae�Quarterly�|�Fall�2006� 27

How to EducatE YouRsElf about MonEYWeB SiteS�www.wfn.com www.smartmoney.com www.money.cnn.com www.bankrate.com www.troweprice.com (includes calculators for investment, education, and retirement planning)

BookS �Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People, by Jane Bryant Quinn, Simon & Schuster, 2006. On Your Own: A Widow’s Passage to Emotional & Financial Well-Being, by alexandra armstrong and Mary Donahue, Dearborn, 2000. (although written for widows, advice is applicable to any woman seeking financial independence)

CaBLe teLeviSion�Nightly Business Report, PBS

RaDio �Marketplace on nPR

neWSPaPeRS�Wall Street Journal

MaGazineS�Fortune Money Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Barron’s

Web extra

this May, alumnae financial-planning profes-sionals offered a “back-to-class” session during reunion on financial planning for young alumnae. you can download the forty-five minute video, chock full of practical advice, from our Web site at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/reunions/2006/index.php.

sEvEn stEps to funding YouR dREaMs

By Lili a. vasileff ’77

1. Find your passion and do it well. n Jumpstart your career.n Uncover opportunities.n Make your pitch.n Mark your territory.n expand your network.

2. invest in yourself first and foremost. n Pay yourself first.n Ratchet up your savings and n Do it with discipline.n Save at least 10 percent of your net income.

3. Max out your retirement savings. n invest the max. n Max out your employer’s contributions.

4. Get out of debt. n elect “plastic surgery” by cutting up those

credit cards! n Lower your rates.n tackle those balances.

5. invest smarter. n Do your homework.n Understand the risk-reward relationship in

investing. n Get professional help if needed.

6. Spring for a spending plan.n Cover the fixed costs first.n target some realistic goals.n Pick a prize to splurge on and make it real

—put a price tag on it and buy it!n Stay on track with your spending plan.n Realize that a spending plan is about making

good choices.

7. Delete the “Prince Charming action hero” from your thinking.n Be successful in your own right.n Be independent financially.n Share and share alike!

Lili A. Vasileff is a Connecticut-based certified financial planner and registered investment advisor. Her Web site is divorcematters.com.

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and�state�taxes,�which�produces�immediate�results.�She�plans�to�sign�up�for�disability�insurance�at�work.�Finding�better�credit-card�rates�and�determining�the�fund�allocation�in�her�retire-ment�account�will�take�a�bit�of�research.�But�the�exercise�has�given�Kamal�hope.

“It�is�ironic�that�those�who�need�financial�help�usually�do�not�have�resources�to�get�such�help,”�she�says.�“So�this�was�serendipitous.�I�will�continue�to�aggressively�monitor�my�situ-ation�until�I�get�to�the�place�I�want�to�be.�Thanks,�Eleanor.”�

For more information about Faizun Kamal’s clothing and accesso-ries from Bangladesh, contact her at [email protected].�

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http://www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/reunions/2006/index.php

Just in time for reunion 2006, the Alumnae Association welcomed returning classes not only back to campus but also to its beauti-fully renovated first-floor offices in Mary Woolley Hall. Worn carpets, dull paint, and furniture on its last legs were replaced by polished wood floors, fresh paint, new carpets, and new or refinished furniture.

One of the most striking features of the renovation is the new presentation of four stained-glass panels depicting Mount Holy-oke class animals. Created for the Alumnae Association by Traver Artisans in 1983, the panels are now encased in dramatic arched wood frames set against a reconstructed barrel-vaulted ceiling. Viewed from the entrance, the artworks draw the eye down a spacious corridor all the way to a freshly painted vintage fireplace set in the far wall of the rear offices.

An additional highlight of the renovation is the new entrance. Formerly, visitors faced two thick, windowless metal fire doors. “As an organization dedicated to supporting and welcoming alumnae, we were eager to replace an entrance that seemed to say ‘Go away!’” laughs W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83. Executive director of the Alumnae Associa-tion, Calhoun was a driving force behind both the office renovation and the associa-tion’s successful relaunch in 2006. The new entry door is made of stained white oak and fireproof glass panels, through which visitors can see the welcoming lobby area. Inside, Mary Woolley’s original desk and chair, refinished by expert furniture restorer Barbara Roberts, are displayed, along with an antique glass-encased “Mary Lyon” doll.

Working within a tight budget and strict time frame, the architectural firm

Hill Engineering designed the renovations. Interior designer Anik Porter created the office’s elegant, color-coordinated look, selecting recessed lighting, sage-green wall paint, and a carpet pattern that comple-ments the colors of the new wood trim and ebonized original doors. Teagno Construc-tion completed the work within three months, during which time first-floor staff relocated operations to the basement of Wilder Hall. According to Michael Donais, Mount Holyoke facilities project supervi-sor, the renovations are “a complete suc-cess. I’m proud of what we accomplished

and grateful to the staff for their incred-ible patience and cooperation—especially during their banishment to a concrete basement.”

“We are thrilled that our renovated offices now reflect the true spirit of the association and the alumnae community we represent,” says Calhoun. “Our new look combines the best of Mount Holyoke tradition with innovation and imagination—and that’s what our work is all about.”

For more information on the renova-tions, please go to alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/go/renos.—Leanna James Blackwell

alumnaemattersupdates from the alumnae association

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Association Recommends Susan d’Olive Mozena ’67 as College Alumnae Trustee

The Clock Is Already Ticking for Reunion 2007!It’s never too early to start planning for your reunion. Some of your classmates are already thinking about fun things for you and your friends to do on the two weekends we’ve set aside. On May 25–27, we will welcome back the classes of 1932, 1937, 1947, 1957, 1967, 1982, 1997, and 2005. The following weekend, June 1–3, members of the classes of 1942, 1952, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1987, 1992, and 2002 will return to campus. If you are a member of one of these classes, look for a preliminary schedule of events in your mailbox in March 2007. Information also will be posted at www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu. We look forward to seeing you.

Nominations Sought for Loyalty AwardThe Alumnae Association’s new Loyalty Award and Young Alumna Loyalty Award honor alumnae who have demonstrated con-sistent effort and active involvement on behalf of a class, club, affinity group, the association, or the college over an extended period of time. The winter Quarterly will note the first win-ners of this award; here’s how to nominate an alumna for the next round. Nominees should be from classes that will hold reunions in 2007 (those whose graduation year ends in 2 or 7). Young Alumna Loyalty Award nominees may be from any class that has graduated ten years or fewer from the date of the upcoming reunion. Nominating forms are available at www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu. The nomina-tions deadline is January 15, 2007.

Susan d’Olive Mozena ’67, who has served as a heath care and human services executive for more than twenty years, and is currently president and chief executive officer of Mid-west Eye-Banks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been nominated as alumnae trustee of Mount Holyoke College by the Nominating Commit-tee of the Alumnae Association. Election to the five-year term will take place during the associ-ation’s annual meeting in May 2007.

Mozena majored in political science and was active in class choirs, Glee Club, and inter-dorm athletics, and served as her class president from 1966 until 1972. She earned a master’s in teaching degree from Northwestern University in 1968 and a master’s in health services administration from the University of Michigan in 1984. She is currently enrolled in the cooperative master’s of divinity program of Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit and McCormick Theological Seminary in Chi-cago and expects to receive her degree in 2009. She is pursuing ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and hopes to be a hospital chap-lain in her retirement.

In 2002, Mozena was awarded the Alumnae Association’s Medal of Honor for her tireless work on behalf of the college and the associa-tion. She has served as a member of the associa-tion’s board of directors, 30th reunion cochair, 35th reunion gift chair, president of the Detroit Club, class agent, and as a member of the college’s Enrollment Task Force. She is active in numerous community groups and currently serves on two nonprofit boards.

Mozena, in her response to the Nominating Committee’s query, noted that she hoped to use her experience as a senior manager in nonprofit organizations, including those with residential components, to the board’s benefit. She also said that her current seminary schooling is motivated by a “spiritual journey” and that she is pleased to know there is an “active and diverse spiritual dimension of life on campus.” She hoped to contribute to discussions the board may have on that subject.

Note: As the association bylaws state: Names of additional candidates may be submitted to the Committee on the Nomination of Alumnae Trust-ees/Awards provided that the nominations shall be by written petition, signed by at least 100 voting members, no more than 30 percent of whom shall be from the same class or from the same club area, and such written petition is received by the execu-tive director by January 15 of the year of the elec-tion. Nominations by petition shall include the written consent of the nominee to serve if elected.

Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly |Fall 2006 29

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Alumnae Association Board of Directors

*PresidentMary Graham Davis ’65

*Vice PresidentKayla R. Jackson ’86

*ClerkSandra A. Mallalieu ’91

*TreasurerPatricia Steeves O’Neil ’85

Alumnae QuarterlyLinda Giannasi

Matys O’Connell ’69

Alumnae TrusteeDeborah A. Northcross ’73

Alumnae RelationsCynthia L. Reed ’80

Classes and ReunionMaureen E. Kuhn ’78

ClubsLily Klebanoff Blake ’64

Directors-at-LargeMaureen McHale Hood ’87

(others TBA)

Nominating ChairCatherine C. Burke ’78

Young Alumnae RepresentativeLisa M. Utzinger ’02

Executive Director*W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83

ex officio without vote

*Executive Committee


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MHC Medical Pioneers Featured in National Exhibit The lives and accomplishments of US women doctors over the last 150 years, including three of MHC’s own, are the subject of an exhibition organized by the National Library of Medicine and traveling nationally.

A smaller version of the exhibit, Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians, stopped during Sep-tember in South Hadley. Hosted by MHC’s Library Information and Technology Services, the interactive, multimedia display was complemented by several guest speakers and two related exhibits of materials on Drs. Virginia Apgar ’29 and Mary Phylinda Dole 1886. Apgar, Dorothy Hansine Andersen ’22, and Janet L. Mitchell ’72 are featured in the exhibit.

Apgar, a pioneer in the field of anesthesia, earned her medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where in 1949 she became the first woman to achieve the rank of full professor. She is best known for designing the first standardized method for evaluating a newborn’s transition to life outside the womb. Introduced in 1952, the Apgar Score is still used throughout the world.

Andersen, an award-winning pathologist, earned her medi-cal degree from Johns Hopkins University. After being denied a surgical residency at Strong Memorial Hospital because she was a woman, she joined the department of pathology at Columbia and went on to earn a doctorate of medical sciences. Andersen in 1938 was the first to identify cystic fibrosis and helped create a diagnos-tic test still in use today. In 1958, she was named chief of pathology at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.

Mitchell went to Howard University College of Medicine and earned a master’s degree in public health from Harvard. In the 1990s, while chief of perinatology in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Harlem Hospital Center, she ran the largest pre-natal program for pregnant, drug-addicted women in New York City. Then she became chief of obstetrics and residency director at Lin-coln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx. Mitchell has received awards for her commitment to the health care of women, particularly women of color and those with HIV.

Jennifer King, director of archives and special collections, says host-ing the exhibit allowed MHC to “lead the discussion on the history of women in medicine to the broader world represented in the [Pioneer Valley]. It should be an inspirational story for everyone,”she added.

The medical library’s exhibition will travel for five years through sixty-one libraries. For an itinerary, see www.nlm.nih.gov/changing thefaceofmedicine.—Maryann Teale Snell ’86

In Search of Board and Committee MembersAre you interested in volunteering for an Alumnae Association committee? Or do you know of someone who might be just right for one? The Nominating Committee is always eager to hear from and about potential volunteers. Recom-mendations should be sent to Catherine C. Burke ’78, Nominating Committee chair, at [email protected] or 310-376-5858, or to W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83, association executive director, at rcal [email protected], or 413-538-2300.

Virginia Apgar ’29 is among the pioneering female physicians lauded in a new exhibit.

VOLLEyBALL MATCH SERVES UP CAMARAdERIE—Alumnae who once played on the varsity volleyball team joined current members of the MHC team in a weekend match in early fall. In addition to making connec-tions, the goal of the sport-ing get-together was to help raise funds for a team trip to Trinidad to promote women’s athletics and compete with top clubs. A potluck and brunch followed the event.

Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly |Fall 2006 31

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The MHC tradition of Christmas vespers concerts will be celebrated December 8 at 8 p.m. with the seventy-fifth anniversary performance of the concert in New York City. An annual event in Manhattan for many years, vespers more recently has rotated between Boston and New York and this year will pay special tribute to play-wright and novelist Wendy Wasser-stein ’71, who passed away in January.

The ninety-minute concert, which in recent years has featured a mix of musical styles and cultural traditions representative of today’s student body, has its roots in the Carol Choir orga-nized by Professor William Hammond at the turn of the twentieth century. Widely celebrated, that group per-formed in Hartford, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York and, in 1926, sang at the White House.

Celebrated and reviewed by area newspapers, the group drew these words of praise from the New York Times in 1929, “There is no other group of women’s voices … which has quite the quality of freshness, eager-ness and above all the meticulous per-fection of training which these girls bring to our city of harsh noises.”

Professor Ruth Douglass ’23, who took the reins from Hammond when he retired in 1937, continued the annual Christmas concerts in New York until 1967. The Glee Club, with some 100 members, performed it for more than two decades at Town Hall. After that venue closed, the concert was moved to St. Thomas Church, which has the best acoustics in the city, according to Cath-arine Melhorn, who directed vespers from 1971 until her retirement this year.

A growing audience of family and friends—due largely to the increas-ing numbers of singers and musicians drawn into the concert by Melhorn—initiated a move to St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue in the 1980s. In 2004, the concert included perfor-mances by the Chamber Singers, the Concert Choir, the English handbell choir, and the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, among others.

Mindful of the ecumenical stu-dent body, but faithful to its roots in Christmas text and themes, Melhorn fashioned the concerts around diverse musical selections that centered on the universal religious themes of light, hope, and community. “Ours is not a festival of lessons and carols, it’s just a celebration of music for the season,” said Melhorn. The college has named Kim Dunn interim choral director. —M.H.B.

Fall is one of the busiest hiring times on the job-recruitment calendar. If you’re looking for new work, your first job, or a return to the workplace after spending time way, a good résumé is essential, says Cori Ashworth, career and professional consul-tant for the Alumnae Association.

“It’s a marketing tool,” notes Ashworth, and must be appealing enough in its clarity and emphasis to spark an employer’s inter-est in talking to you. While hammering out a chronological summary of past accom-plishments may seem just an evening’s work, it is, in fact, one of the hardest forms of writing there is, she says. Because it is so personal and close to you, getting multiple perspectives from friends and colleagues is a good idea.

Résumés fall into two basic categories: chronological and functional. The latter is best used by someone who has an eclec-tic background or who is returning to work after a hiatus, or

shifting emphasis. Every résumé should emphasize accomplish-ments and how the work was done rather than duties. Highlight the span of your control and the size of a project with particulars about context, and use action verbs to emphasize results, she adds. Ashworth says you can use either a paragraph or a bulleted format, but don’t include every last detail. You want an employer to want more information—in person.

For midcareer résumés, it’s best to emphasize the last ten years, says Ashworth. Whether or not to date the year of your college graduation is up to you, but don’t leave off any relevant credentials. A trend in résumés is to use a summary or profile at the top to identify who you are and how you do your best work. People in education, science, and computer science often use this space to identify particular skills.

Finally, remember that a résumé is a work in progress and is most effective when tailored to a particular organization and position. It’s common to make lots of changes before you’ve got a version you’re happy with. If you get stuck, Cori is happy to help. Contact her at [email protected].—M.H.B.

Career Corner: The Résumé

Vespers in New york Turns Seventy-Five

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The Glee Club performs its annual Christmas concert in the late 1940’s.


off the shelf

A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American NationBy�Catherine�Allgor�FP’92,�Henry�Holt�&�Co.Long before Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt influ-enced their husbands’ presi-dencies, there was Dolley Payne Todd Madison, wife of James Madison. A Perfect Union is the first major biog-raphy of a First Lady who is known for rescuing a portrait of George Washington from the White House and popu-larizing a line of pastries. Allgor’s book reveals that while Dolley’s gender pre-vented her from openly play-ing politics, the constraints of womanhood were what allowed her to grant political favors, to construct an Amer-ican democratic ruling style, and to achieve her husband’s political goals.Catherine Allgor is a professor of history at the University of California-Riverside and received a Bunting Fellowship for her work on Dolley Madison. Her previous book, Parlor Politics, won a number of awards.

Elements of StyleBy�Wendy�Wasserstein�’71,�Alfred�A.�KnopfAfter writing scores of scripts, essays, and a children’s book, Wendy

Wasserstein produced this first novel, which examines Manhattan’s rich and rich-est in the post-9/11city. The protagonist, a pediatrician, is drawn into the world of thoroughbred heiresses, “botoxed” serial lunch ladies, and middlebrow mavens des-perate to pry their way into the better classes. It is, said a Booklist reviewer, “a tart tale of excess and retribution in the city.”The late Wendy Wasserstein was the author of, among other works, The Sisters Rosensweig, An American Daughter, and The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. She died of lymphoma in January at age fifty-five.

River, FarmBy�Wendy�Elizabeth�Ingersoll�’69,�Bay�Oak�PublishersIn her first collection of poetry, River, Farm,

Ingersoll examines her child-hood on the Chester River farm in Delaware, to which she returned after a marital breakup. Delaware Poet Lau-reate Fleda Brown says of Ingersoll’s poems, “I admire the consciousness and the clarity of the voice here. I never get bored or lose con-tact with the earth in these poems.” To see photos of the river and farm, visit www.wendyingersoll.com.Wendy Elizabeth Ingersoll lives outside of Wilmington, Delaware, where she teaches piano and plays in a hand-bell choir.

Lives of MapmakersBy�Alicia�L.�Conroy�’85,�Carnegie�Mellon�University�PressIn this collection of stories, Conroy’s characters seek direc-tion in their lives, whether they are contemporary farm workers or a sixteenth-century cartographer. Their journeys are magical––a mythical crea-

ture on the prairie exposes the best and worst in people; teen-agers puzzle over their chang-ing bodies; and a mapmaker’s quest to make the perfect map becomes part of a story that spans centuries. Conroy works with nontraditional narrative forms, and she stretches the boundaries of form and lan-guage in her stories.Alicia L. Conroy lived in Denmark and Wales, and worked in Boston for thirteen years before returning to her hometown of Minneapolis. She received an MFA from Bowling Green State University, and publishes fiction, feature arti-cles, and reviews.

Dominirican Love PoetryBy�Angelica�Acevedo�’01,�Author�HouseDominirican Love Poetry is a collection of poems about author Acevedo’s coming out as a Latina lesbian. Her poems explore coming to grips with identity issues and falling in love. The words

Mount�Holyoke�Alumnae�Quarterly�|�Fall�2006 37

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lf ]expressed in each poem show all the emotions possible in living life. Acevedo stresses the importance of staying true to yourself and not hiding who you really are.Angelica Acevedo is a half Puerto Rican, half Dominican Latina woman born and raised in Massachusetts. She has completed her studies as a licensed certified social worker, practicing in an out-patient community mental health center for the past year.

Foreign Investment, Development, and Globalization: Can Costa Rica Become Ireland? By�Eva�Paus,�Palgrave�MacMillanMHC Professor of Economics Eva Paus has written a book that engages the question of how a developing nation’s pursuit of foreign direct investment affects its develop-ment prospects in a global-ized world. Using the cases of Costa Rica and Ireland, Paus argues that unless these small latecomers to economic devel-opment address pervasive market failures, foreign invest-ment will not advance their knowledge-based assets, on which development depends. Eva Paus directs the Center for Global Initiatives at MHC. She is the coauthor of Rates of Changes: Modeling Population and Resources, as well as numerous journal articles, book chapters, and reviews.

Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect CareerBy�Sheila�J.�Curran�and�Suzanne�Greenwald,�Ten�Speed�PressThis book outlines the career twists of twenty-three lib-eral arts graduates, including Kathleen Maurer ’84, seeking

their life’s work. At the heart of Maurer’s success in becom-ing chief financial officer at the Andy Warhol Foundation were school relationships outside of class, continual self challenge, and fine-tuning the hunt with career-specific ques-tions. An excellent handbook for any student seeking proven strategies to follow a passion.

War and Cultural Heritage: Cyprus After the 1974 Turkish InvasionBy�Michael�Jansen�’62,�Minnesota�Mediterranean�and�East�European�MonographsIn the introduction, Michael Jansen points out that cultur-al looting is the second oldest profession. In this book, she explores the 1974 Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus, when many irreplaceable treasures from museums and churches were looted and placed on the black market. Part of this treasure––sixth-century mosaics looted from Kanakaria––became the focus of a trial in the United States, where the verdict returned the mosaics to the people of Cyprus.Michael Jansen received her MA from the American University of Beirut, special-izing in the politics of the Middle East. She is Middle East analyst for The Irish Times, and works as a colum-nist for several other papers. She has written four other books and resides in Cyprus.

The Secret ThiefBy�Judith�Jaeger�’95,�Behler�PublicationsConnie Gray is a champion distance runner with a chron-ic stomach ulcer, a wry sense of humor, and kleptomania. She is spending the summer with her grandmother in the fictional town of Green Hill,

New Hampshire, helping to pack the family homestead for a move. Connie is certain about two things: her grand-mother is her enemy, and her mother is her ally. But a family secret revealed through the objects Connie finds in her grandmother’s attic proves that things aren’t what they seem. As Connie uncovers horrifying secrets about her relationship with her mother, she comes to a chilling under-standing of what’s at stake if she can’t face the truth.Judith Jaeger wrote The Secret Thief as her MFA thesis at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt. She has also worked as the writer and editor at the Public Affairs Office at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

100 Questions & Answers About Osteoporosis and OsteopeniaBy�Ivy�M.�Alexander�and�Karla�A.�Knight�’74,�Jones�and�Bartlett�PublishersTen million Americans suffer from osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become less dense and lose strength. Thirty-four million more have osteopenia, or low bone mass. Knight, who is a nurse, and Alexander, a nurse practitio-ner, provide authoritative and practical answers about each disease and treatment options, sources of support, and

comments from men and women with bone loss. The book is a great resource for anyone coping with the chal-lenges of either condition. Karla A. Knight is a nurse and health-care writer in Massachusetts. She is also the coauthor of 100 Questions & Answers About Menopause.

HitchedBy�Carol�Higgins�Clark�’78,�ScribnerRegan Reilly, the private investigator in Clark’s popu-lar mystery series, is getting married. Too bad her wed-ding dress has been stolen and the bridal shop’s own-ers bound and gagged. In a seemingly unrelated case, her fiancé, Jack, is trying to catch a banker robber, dubbed the Drip, before his nuptials. This charming, humorous tale of April brides has an ingenious twist that will engage readers and keep them laughing, too. Carol Higgins Clark is the author of eight bestsell-ing Regan Reilly myster-ies, including Burned, just released in paperback. She also is coauthor, with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, of a bestselling holiday mys-tery series.

announcements

Museum Exhibition Explores Changing EnvironmentAt the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum through December 17, Looking Beneath the Surface: The Quabbin and Hetch Hetchy Canyon explores the political, ecological, and personal implications of significant changes in the environment. A center-piece of the exhibition is Albert Bierstadt’s well-known depiction (above) of Hetch Hetchy Canyon, in Yosemite National Park. Massachusetts had its own urban water problem in the early twentieth cen-tury. Searching for a solution to a water shortage in Boston, the state legislature endorsed a plan to dam the Swift River and inundate the valley to form what became the Quabbin Reservoir. Looking Beneath the Surface showcases rare photographs recording the process of clearing the valley of structures and trees.

Christmas Vespers Through the Years CDVolume three (vol-umes one and two are sold out); Glee Club, Concert Choir, Orchestra, Handbells, V-8s, Voices of Faith, more! $15 (MA residents $16) plus $3 mailing. Benefits MHC Choral Music Fund. Send checks [Mount Holyoke College] to Cindy White Morrell ’68, [email protected], 135 Woodbridge St., South Hadley, MA 01075.

Alumnae Expertise and Sponsorship Sought by CDCThe Career Development Center (CDC) is seeking alumnae who would like to sponsor MHC students for summer internships. Internships have become a vital part of the college experience, and what better way for students to connect with Mount Holyoke alumnae! Students traditionally seek summer internships in areas such as financial institutions, management, scientific and medical research, media outlets, social-service agencies, not-for-profits, law and government agencies, museums and historical societies, and in education. If you would like further information, please contact the CDC at 413-538-2080, or register online at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/careers/employer/ipo_form.htm.

Art Museum Brings Egypt to MHCThe Art Museum will welcome to campus Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College, London February 17–July 22, 2007. This comprehensive look at the discoveries of pioneering British archaeolo-gist Sir William Flinders Petrie features more than 200 of the Petrie Museum’s most important objects. They include one of the world’s earliest surviving dresses (circa 2400 BCE), decorative art from the palace-city of the “heretic pharaoh” Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, gold mummy masks and funer-ary trappings, jewelry, sculpture, and objects from daily life. Excavating Egypt traces the development of Egyptian archaeology from its beginnings in the 1880s to the present day through spectacular artwork and rare archival materials. The Mount Holyoke Art Museum will be the only New England venue for the exhibition. “Mount Holyoke is immensely fortunate

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This column carries announcements of services and events sponsored by the Alumnae Association, alumnae clubs, and College-related organizations for the benefit of MHC. Announce-ments are free, but space is limited. Club and class prod-ucts, which benefit classes, clubs, and/or the Alumnae Association’s Alumnae Scholar Fund, are included each fall. Products are always viewable at www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu, or a listing may be requested by calling 413-538-2300.

To submit an announce-ment, contact Mieke Bomann (413-538-3159; [email protected]).

deadlines

NoTe: Material is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Sometimes the column is filled before the deadlines below, so submit items early.

WINTeR ISSUe (received in early February) November 15

SPRING ISSUe (received in early May) February 15

SUMMeR ISSUe (received in early August) May 15

FALL ISSUe (received in early November) August 1


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both to be on the itinerary of a world-class Egyptian art exhibition and to be able to draw attention to its own acquisitions from Petrie’s important excavations,” says Museum research associate Diana Wolfe Larkin.

class and club productsFor the benefit of the Alumnae Association’s Alumnae Scholar Program

ClASS oF 1988Commemorative Jewelry and GiftsUnique solid sterling, hand-engraved jew-elry and gifts are available for purchase for a limited time. Hurry and order your piece now! We offer heart tag oval link toggle bracelet, oval tag oval link toggle bracelet, pill box, and necklace slide/key fob. All pieces are hand-engraved with your choice of MHC class symbol (lion, griffin, pegasus, or sphinx) and year of graduation or MHC initials and year of graduation. Designed by the class of 1988, these are great gift ideas for gradua-tion, reunion, bridesmaids, or other special occasions. To see professional photos (donated by www.JohnLawton.com) of the pieces, or to place an order, go to www.MFJinc.com and click on Mount Holyoke Jewelry and Gifts.

ClASS oF 1991MHC Alumna logo Apparel and MerchandiseUncommon goods for uncommon women! Unique clothes and merchandise designed by

the class of 1991 with a custom MHC alum-na logo are now avail-able for pur-

chase online. Items include T-shirts (for people and dogs!), sweatshirts, hats, children’s items, tote bags, stickers, and more! To purchase, go to www.cafepress.com/mhcalumnae. Class of 1991 logo merchandise is also available at the class Web site, www.mhc91.com.

ClASS oF 1992Brigham Blend and Deacon Porter Decaf Fair-Trade Coffees The class of 1992, in conjunction with Dean’s Beans, is selling MHC-themed fair-trade, whole-bean coffee. Brigham Blend and Deacon Porter Decaf, certified by the Fair Trade

Federation. Brigham Blend: $9/lb. + s/h; Deacon Porter Decaf: $10/lb. + s/h.

MHC Beach Towels Plush white beach towels with the new Mount Holyoke logo. A great gift for current students and alums! $15.

Poster of Mount Holyoke Blue laws Calligraphy by Andrea Pax ’92. $20. Ten actual blue laws transcribed from the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram of 1862. Think the rules are tough now? Be thankful you weren’t at MHC then.

To purchase any of these items, please contact Erin Ennis ’92 at [email protected] or go to www.mhc1992.com/devo/stuff.asp.

ClASS oF 1995Got Milk (and Cookies)?This onesie is perfect for any future alum or her brother! Gerber 100% cotton onesie in sizes 6 and 12 months. The front reads, “Got milk (& cookies)?” and on the bum is mhc. Cute, comfy, and necessary in every baby’s wardrobe. $12, shipping included. Pay by check made out to Mount Holyoke College Class of 1995 and send it to Michelle Chuk at 231 14th Street NE, Washington, DC, 20002 (include size and quantity). You can also pay

by credit card through PayPal. Visit www.mhc1995.com/shopping.htm for order forms.

ClASS oF 1996MHC Visors Visors are back—and why shouldn’t they be? They’re streamlined, sporty, and they keep the sun out of your eyes! You can show off your fashion sense and your school pride with a Mount Holyoke visor of soft, brushed cotton. These light-blue visors sport the MHC logo, with the arched “H,” in royal blue embroidery. $11 each, with $2.25 s/h (within the U.S.) for up to four visors. Send orders, with checks payable to MHC Class of 1996, to Jessica Dial ‘96, 955 Jane Place, Pasadena, CA 91105.

ClASS oF 1999Mountain Day Care PackagesCraving a taste of Mount Holyoke? The class of 1999 is offering Mountain Day care pack-ages (available year-round) from Atkins Farms for $20 plus $6 s/h. Please check out our Web site (www.mhc1999.com) for the order form or call Atkins Farms Country Market (800-594-9537) directly.

BoSToN ClUBMount Holyoke Mirrors, Desk Boxes, and PaintingsMary Lyon Tower and Field Memorial Gate in reverse painting on glass surmounts a handsome mirror, the whole framed (15” x 26”) in antique silver and gold tones. Crafted by Eglomise Designs of Boston’s University Series, the view is also available atop a walnut desk box with brass fittings (12¾” x 7¾” x 2⅝”). Painting also comes alone in silver-toned frame (15” x 10”). Prices: mirror, $180;


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handling, and sales tax included.

Mount Holyoke ChairsFinished in semigloss black with hand-screened gold leaf college seal on back, they’re great for home or office. Armchair (natural cherry arms), $310 + $35 freight prepaid; Boston rocker, $300 + freight (billed after shipment, estimated at $100–$150 pre-assembled; $25–$50 unassembled); child’s rocker, $190 + $25 freight prepaid; swivel desk chairs and lamps (prices available upon request). Freight via UPS except for rocker. Prices subject to change; allow 12–16 weeks for delivery.

Reed & Barton Silver-Plated Paul Revere BowlsFrom Taunton, Massachusetts. 4 ¼”, $38; 5 ¼”, $42; 6”, $49; 8”, $65; 9”, $73. Plus $5 s/h. Engraving, $5 flat fee for simple name or date; additional text 35¢/letter. Gift-boxed with clear plastic liner. Massachusetts resi-dents, add 5 percent tax.

lobsters by Mail Live lobsters shipped to your destination by UPS next-day air. Call number below for prices at seasonal market rates. Tax, shipping/handling included.

Chelsea ClocksFrom Chelsea, Massachusetts: Paperweight brass desk button clock (2” diameter), $105; Newport: wall-mounted clock (4½” diameter), $170; Chatham: round dial with mahogany base (4½” high), $215; Carriage clock: Roman numerals (6¾” high), $245; Presidential: mahogany base (7½” high), $315. Plus $5 s/h, plus $25 flat fee for engrav-ing costs, plus $5/line; MA residents, add 5 percent tax. Gift-boxed.

Ordering Through the Boston ClubSend all orders, with checks payable to Boston Mount Holyoke Club, to Jane Chandler Weiss ’59, 492 Beacon Street #33, Boston, MA 02115-1002 (617-267-5504).

BRIDGEPoRT ClUBMHC Wine Charms and Cell-Phone lariatsHigh-quality charms made in the USA from cast pewter with silver plating. Great gifts for alumnae and college friends!

Wineglass charms were selected especially for MHC alumnae and feature each of the class emblems and colors along with a graduation cap and female graduate to round out a set of

six. Use them on stems of your wine glasses to distinguish yourself at your next party. Your guests will never have

to ask, “Whose wine is it?” Also available is a set of six travel-related charms to further identify your glass-es. $20 each or two for $38, includ-

ing s/h and blue drawstring storage pouch. Specify “MHC” or “Travel.”

Cell-phone lariats are threaded through the small hole in your cell phone to identify your device and provide a strap to hold on to the phone. Choose any of the four emblems and colors (lion/blue, griffin/green, pegasus/red, sphinx/yellow). $8 each or two for $15 (includ-ing s/h).

To purchase, contact Laura O’Brien ’73 at 203-374-9300.

BRITAIN ClUB Mount Holyoke Placemats and CoastersElegant and useful—the perfect gift! The beauty of our campus is reflected in these traditional English solid placemats and coasters, each scene set off by a green border, gold trim, and hand-gilded edges. Lady Clare Ltd. of England, world renowned for quality of design and craftsmanship, specially produces these beautiful and unique mementos of Mount Holyoke. Placemats and coasters have a high-quality, hard-wearing lacquered surface, heat-proof to 100°C, and with a green felt backing. Placemats are 11¾ x 8¾ inches and come in gift-boxed sets of four campus scenes, $70 per set. Coasters are 4⅜ x 3½ inches and come in gift-boxed sets of six campus scenes, $35 per set. Postage and packing: $8 flat rate for up to two sets of placemats, or for one set of placemats and up to four sets of coasters; or $4 flat rate for up to two sets of coasters.

Optional insurance: $1.30 to insure a value up to $50; $2.20 to insure a value up to $100. Add $1 for each additional $100 in value to be insured. To order, send check, payable to Mount Holyoke Club of England, to Julie Ogg, Alumnae Association of MHC, Mary E. Woolley Hall, 50 College St., S. Hadley, MA 01075. Proceeds support the Alumnae Scholar Fund. Color photos and ordering information can be found at www.mtholyoke.co.uk.

CAPE CoD ClUBMount Holyoke College Gate PrintLimited-edition fine art giclée prints by renowned artist Heidi Willemain Coutu ’79 are offered exclusively through the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Club of Cape Cod. Twenty percent of the retail price of each print sold goes toward the club’s scholarship fund. Print size 4” x 5” (open edition), $30 unframed, $65 framed; 8” x 10” (800 edition), $65 unframed, $150 framed; 11” x 14” (800 edition), $150 unframed, $275 framed. Order direct by call-ing 413-739-1494, ext. 11 or 12.

Note Cards and Postcards “Boats and Fishing Shacks” note cards (6” x 7” with match-ing envelopes in packets of four) repro-duced in six colors from an original hand-cut woodblock. “Sandpipers on the Beach” postcards repro-duced from an etching in aqua in a packet of ten. $5 each. MA residents, add 5 percent sales tax. Make checks payable to Mount Holyoke Club of Cape Cod; send with order to Barbara H. Tucker (daughter of the artist, Marcia Herrick Howe ’24), 175 Winter Street, Lincoln, MA 01773 (781-259-0204).

GENESEE VAllEY ClUBPet leashesSturdy, polypropylene pet leashes are each six-feet long and 3/4-inch wide with a heavy-duty metal clasp. Leashes are royal blue, with MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE woven in white block letters with decorative paw prints. $13 each (includes shipping). Please send a check payable to the “Genesee Valley Mount Holyoke Club” to Sara Greenleaf ’92, 10 Bay Heights Circle, Geneva, NY 14456.


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Cocktail Napkins White, two-ply with college seal in royal blue. Packages of 25, $3 each. Minimum of four packages if order is to be shipped, add $3 for shipping.

Hand Towels 11” x 16” white terrycloth with blue MHC seal. A subtle, but distinctive, way to pro-mote MHC to your guests. $5 each.

luggage Straps 1” woven luggage straps, quick-release buckle, small plastic luggage tag, royal blue, MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE in white block letters written four times. $15 plus $1 s/h.

100 Percent Silk Scarves Scarves are 8” x 54” or 12” x 60” depicting the Mount Holyoke Range in color groups of sunset (red/purple and black), summer (blues and white), and winter (black, gray, and white). Hand painted by Sally Hall Dillon ’68 of Amherst. $62 includes s/h, no tax. New size: 12” x 60”. Same color selections. $82 includes s/h, no tax. New choice: order charmeuse (plain) or jacquard (patterned fabric). Allow three weeks for delivery. Be sure to specify size, color group, and fabric choice when ordering.

Ordering information: send order and check, payable to the MHC Club of Greater South Hadley, to Cindy White Morrell ’68, [email protected], 135 Woodbridge St., South Hadley, MA 01075. MA residents, add 5 percent tax for all items except scarves.

HoUSToN ClUBMontblanc Pens

Meisterstück Solitaire Doué PensJet black with 925 sterling silver Mount Holyoke College engraved on pen cap. Fountain pen (18 kt. gold nib)—#144DS, $495; roller ball—#163DS, $375; ball-point—#164DS, $375; and pencil—#165DS, $375. Black leather pen case available for one (#30301, $85) or two (#30302, $95) writing instruments. All nibs are medium (nib exchange possible through Montblanc); Generation writing instruments can be engraved on L or R side (please specify).

Generation PensRich medium blue. MHC seal engraved on pen cap. Fountain pen (14 kt. gold nib)—#13101, $235; rollerball—#13301, $175; ballpoint—#13201, $165; and pencil—#13401, $115.

Special Edition Millennium Noblesse oblige PensAvailable in red, green, blue, or black with MHC seal engraved opposite “1837-2000.” Pencil—#15440, $120; ballpoint—#15240, $120; roller ball—#15340, $135; and foun-tain pen—#15140, $200.

Be sure to include full mailing address with order, and indicate if you are right- or left-handed. Send order and check to Mount Holyoke Club of Houston, c/o Mary Dethloff Dryselius ’66. Contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.

NoRTHERN NEW JERSEY ClUBGift Candy Mints for Mount Holyoke are thick and creamy, covered in dark chocolate, leaf-shaped, and individually wrapped in green foil. Eight oz. box, $11. Almond Butter Crunch, 9.5 oz. box with MHC seal, $12.

From Buddy Squirrel in Wisconsin, bite-size Almond Butter Toffee, 7.5 oz. box, $11. Add $7 s/h. Send check, payable to Mount Holyoke Club of Northern New Jersey, to Suzanne Fresh Anderson ’58. Contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.

Alumna Window DecalAn alternative to conventional college decals, ours includes the MHC seal in blue with the words “Mount Holyoke” around the top and “Alumna” below the seal, approximately 3” in diameter. Get several for cars and other windows. $2, payable to Mount Holyoke Club of Northern New Jersey; send to Carolyn Conant-Hiley ’83.Contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.

PITTSBURGH ClUBBlazer Button “Closeout Sale” The Mount Holyoke Club of Pittsburgh still has several sets of 24 kt. gold-plated blazer but-tons with enameled logo from the Ben Silver Collection, originally $125, now only $70 per set! One set includes six small and three large buttons, the perfect gift for all MHC women. To order, send your check for $70 made out to Mount Holyoke Club of Pittsburgh to 1462 N. Euclid Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

ST. loUIS ClUBPostcards The Mount Holyoke seal in blue embel-lishes functional postcards. Great for invita-tions, reminder notices. Packages of fifty, $10 includes s/h. Make checks payable to Mount Holyoke Club of St. Louis; send to Wendy Weil Walsh ’85. Contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information.

TURKEY ClUBHandmade FIMo Necklaces

FIMO is versatile, pliable polymer clay with brilliant color intensity. The clay is kneaded by hand and sculpted by layering, press-ing, squeezing, pinching, rolling, and cutting. Once baked, it becomes a sturdy,

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educational travel opportunities

Temples and Waterways of Vietnam and CambodiaJanuary 6–17, 2007—Accompanied by Professor of Politics Calvin Chen, a special-ist in the political economy of East Asia. We arrive in Hanoi to view its ornate colo-nial buildings, Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, and the Museum of Ethnology. After a trip to world heritage site Halong Bay, we explore Hue and its impressive temples and pagodas. Next we tour the ancient town Hoi An, then fly to Saigon and the Cu Chi tunnels of the former Vietcong. Finally, we drive along the Mekong Delta. An optional four-night stay in Cambodia is available at the end of the tour.

Gardens of the CaribbeanFebruary 25–March 5, 2007—Accompanied by Professor of Spanish Dorothy Mosby and horticulturalist Anna Pavord. Aboard the elegant yacht Sea Cloud II, we journey from Barbados to the sister islands of Trinidad and Tobago, the “Spice Island” Grenada, tiny Bequia, sophisticated Martinique, lush Dominica, and the archi-pelago Iles des Saintes and Antigua. Our focus is the islands’ lush botanic gardens, pristine beaches, and azure-blue waters.

Village life in Holland and Belgiumapril 6–14, 2007This seven-night round-trip cruise departs Amsterdam aboard the MS Amadeus Royal with stops in historic Delft, the windmill town of Kinderdijk, and the medieval town

of Middelburg, and then moves on to the Belgian treasures of Bruges and Antwerp before returning to Amsterdam via Gouda and the flower fields of Keukenhof.

Aegean odyssey: The Greek Isles and TurkeyJuly 8–18, 2007—Accompanied by Professor Faith Dillon Hentschel ’65, a specialist in classical archaeology and art history. On this trip we travel aboard the elegant Sea Cloud from Athens to Istanbul. We focus on the Acropolis and Piraeus in Athens before sailing for beautiful Santorini, the important archaeological site of Delos, and Patmos, once home of St. John the Evangelist. In Turkey, visit the ancient sites of Ephesus and Pergamum. There is an optional two-night stay in Istanbul at the end of the trip.

Celtic landsaugust 10–20, 2007Cruise for ten nights aboard the deluxe Andrea from the beaches of Normandy and historic Mont-St.-Michel in France across the English Channel to magical Cornwall and on to Cork, Dublin, and North Wales. We then visit Scotland’s Iona, and Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides, and Kirkney in the Orkney Islands. There is an optional two-night stay in Edinburgh following the trip.

Village life Along the SeineOctOber 5–13, 2007Enjoy a memorable seven-night cruise along the Seine River combining the scenic coun-

Athens’ famous Acropolis (Aegean Odyssey trip)

durable object. A talented young friend of our club is making incredible necklaces with this material. Each bead of each necklace is unique. These exquisite necklaces are hand-crafted to delight you and your close friends and family. Each necklace costs $15 plus $5 for s/h. The necklaces can be seen at www.angelfire.com/mt/holyoke/products.html. To order, please contact Arzu Gurz Abay ’94.

WASHINGToN STATE ClUBLet’s Go Camping in a National ParkDelightful book about a family’s first camping trip, by Jean Valens Bullard ’46, for children and grandchildren. Full-color drawings by a national park naturalist are highlighted by “scratch-and-sniff” scents (pine tree, campfire smoke, skunk, wildflowers, etc.); some pages have music for singing. $5 postpaid; half of book price goes to club. Write “MHC Gift” on check, payable to Sirpos Press, 4611 35th Ave. SW, Apt. 513, Seattle, WA 98126 (206-938-0837). Autographed if desired. Give informa-tion for names or special message. Guaranteed to delight. More than 105,000 copies sold.

Catch a Falling Star: Living with Alzheimer’s by Jean Valens Bullard ’46 and Betty Spohr.Catch a Falling Star is an informative, com-forting, true story of an artist whose husband had Alzheimer’s. Full of ideas on how to cope, it offers spouses, relatives, caretakers, nurs-ing-home attendants—anyone who is facing this disease—a clear understanding of what actually happens to the Alzheimer’s patient. The late Siegried Achorn Centerwall ’46, MD, once described this book as “compelling; in truth, the ultimate love story.” $9.95 postpaid (one-third of price goes to club); paperback, 215 pp., 103 drawings. Order from the author at Sirpos Press (see above).

WESTCHESTER (N.Y.) ClUBCollege Seal Embroidery KitsThe original version of these cross-stitch kits sold well during MHC’s sesquicentennial. This improved version features an easy-to-follow, full-color, inkjet-printed design chart. The seal, in three shades of blue, measures 11” square, just the right size for a 14” square frame or pillow form. Also included are

fourteen-count ivory Aida cloth, DMC floss, tapestry needle, and full instructions from which the uncommon woman can teach her-self this easier-than-it-looks craft. One alum-na reports that her

framed, cross-stitched seal hangs on her office wall, where it attracts far more attention and admiration than the law-school diploma hang-ing next to it! $23 per kit plus $4 postage for any quantity. Add $2 each if you would also like a 5” spring-tension embroidery hoop. NY residents, please add sales tax. Send orders, with check payable to Sharon Campbell Rubens ’73. Contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2303 for mailing information. The Mount Holyoke Club of Westchester receives one-quarter of the proceeds.



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Sponsored by the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College

tryside of Normandy with its great historic and artistic heritage. We embark on the MV Cezanne in Paris and visit Rouen, the D-Day landing beaches, Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny, and the Maison van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise.

The Janet Tuttle Alumnae and Student Service Travel Program March 18–25, 2007This new travel program, a Habitat for Humanity project, will enable alumnae to travel internationally with Mount Holyoke students to work on a service project in Costa Rica. Check our Web site, www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu or contact Rochelle Calhoun, number below, for further details.

INTERESTED? For more information on Association-sponsored travel, please contact W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486; 413-538-2300.

Clockwise from top: Grenada Beach (Caribbean trip), Hanoi (Vietnam/Cambodia trip), Delos (Aegean Odyssey trip), Trinidad Botanical Gardens (Caribbean trip), Santorini (Aegean Odyssey trip)


Since I joined the Quarterly staff, I’ve read approximately one million words of class notes. Among the stories of joy and sorrow, trauma and triumph were many life lessons well worth repeating. So, with thanks to the dedicated class scribes who reported the events, here are a few things I’ve learned from class notes about living well.—E.H.W.

Do things with flair.—After Val�Taylor�Ahrens�’56 moved to a senior community with “tons of activities,” she found golf carts the best way to get around, So she ordered one styled like a ’57 Chevy.

Be resourceful.—Nancy�Miller�Wynne�’49�“wove the fabric for her church’s anniversary tablecloth from cotton collected from friends’ pill bottles!”

Celebrate in style.—Barbara�Lemperly�Grant�’74 “celebrated her birthday in Paris during Fashion Week … Barb has been in Paris on every birthday for the past twenty years, save when she was pregnant with daughter Eva. That birthday husband Fred whisked her off to Paris, Maine, where they dined in a French restaurant.”

Look at the up-side of life.—Julie�Shaw�Bliss�’37 “cruised to Alaska with a group of younger women who looked out for me because of my low vision. I said, ‘It doesn’t matter that I can’t see well because I will look at big things, like glaciers, whales, and mountains.’”

Maintain close friendships.—While Carolyn�Captain�Johnson�’66 was battling cancer, her “sisterhood” of MHC friends “loved elfing her weekly with special gifts so that Carolyn would know that we were with her every inch of the way.”

Take charge when it counts.—When Mississippi moved to discontinue nursing care for 1981 alumna�Kamala�Tribus’s son Jason, who was born without a brain cortex, Kamala “called the press, loaded him into the car, and drove right to the State House.” (Jason kept his beloved nurse.)

Take good advice to heart.—“Ellen�Dangler�Weiner�’94 was set up with now-husband Robert. She writes, ‘Our daughters are just eight months apart in age, and immediately became best friends. When they found out we were dating, they begged us to get married so they could become sisters!’”

Think outside the box.—In a tribute to Martha�Silberman�Newman�’52, Jan�Chamberlaine�Pierce�’52 recalled one of Martha’s creative ideas. “Several couples had volunteered for a dorm party entertaining children from the neighborhood, but were stymied about activities to involve them. Marte suggested measuring their smiles!”

Persevere through tough times.—When Mirja�Perkko�Muncy�’63�“had a major fire … They got out of the burning house thanks to smoke detectors and moved into a hotel. The house was unoccupied the next night for a visiting robber. They moved some things into storage as record rains hit Northern California and flooded the storage unit.” (By the time Mirja wrote, home reconstruction was under way.)

Go after your dreams.—After finding her “dream property,” Julia�Parker�Cronin�’92 sold her house and moved (with ONE HUSBAND, three children, three dogs, two cats, ONE PONY, four ducks, and fifteen chickens) into a yurt on the site of their future home. “Yurts don’t come with plumbing and electricity, so we made do with a composting toilet and a generator. [And] we decided to pursue one of my biggest dreams and become farmers. … We are also acting as general contractors in the construction of our dream home. Hope you are all living your dreams—life is too short not to take a few chances and do what is right for you.” M

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lastlookLife Lessons

Everything you need to know you can learn from class notes

1989: Promising alumna wins Mary E. Woolley award for postgraduate work in theatre.

2003: Celebrated playwright wins Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Coincidence? (We don’t think so, either.)

At the Alumnae Association, we know genius when we see it. While we can’t predict that every alumna who wins our highest award will pick up a Pulitzer down the road, we’d be remiss to rule it out.

For more than 70 years, the Mary E. Woolley award has helped Mount Holyoke alumnae begin brilliant careers. What makes this award—and many association programs and fellowships—possible is the Founder’s Fund. The endowment fund of the independent Alumnae Association, the Founder’s Fund supports postgraduate projects from playwriting to politics, music to medicine.

Please give generously to the Founder’s Fund—and become part of an alumna’s great beginning. (You never know who might be the next Suzan-Lori Parks.)

To make a gift to the Founder’s Fund, visit our Web site at www.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu, or make a check out to the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Mary E. Wooley Hall, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075.

Founder’s Fund

Founder’s FundPhoto by Stephanie Diani

First-Years Have Arrived9 ways to tell that the

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1 One-cards and room keys on lanyards are the latest in neck-lace fashion.

2 The campus store is sold out of red MHC T-shirts.

3 High gas prices are forgotten, since the Five College buses are free.

4 Marilyn Monroe and John Belushi appear all over campus—in poster form.

5 “Elfing” is still associated only with fairy tales.

6 Cell phones and iPods are as ubiquitous as the ducks by Prospect.

7 Tote bags and backpacks are rapidly expanding.

8 Questions abound: why is that little fourth-floor room in Wilder never open?

9 The idea that M&Cs are served every night at 9:30 seems too good to be true.

Documents

Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly Fall 2006