In this issue…

Volume 3 • 27 March 2008• Issue 2

	Messages from Alumnae Association President and Executive Director		Alumnae Updates How we keep in touch with you
	Campus Currents Alumnae return to MHC for conferences in communications, China		Student Reporter Beat Senior Fair 2008
	Cori’s Career Corner Staying up during a downturn		Alumnae Quarterly “Link of the week”
	Making News MHC Alumnae in the Media		Online Class Notes Read the latest news from your sister alumnae

Welcome from the Executive Director

n February, W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83 announced her resignation as executive director of the Alumnae Association. The Alumnae Association has enjoyed Rochelle’s excellent leadership for the past five years. She has made a tremendous mark on the Association and on alumnae and students, and we will miss her as she moves on to become the dean of student affairs at Skidmore College. Prior to taking on the executive director position at the Association, Rochelle held a number of administrative positions at Mount Holyoke, including director of diversity and inclusion and acting dean of the College.

Rochelle will be part of all our spring reunion events, and will depart for Skidmore in early June. This will give us time to fête her accomplishments and provide an appropriate farewell tribute. Meanwhile, the board of the Association will commence a search to fill the executive director position, and we hope to have our new director in place this fall.

We will pay tribute to Rochelle and her impact on the College and on the Association in the summer Alumnae Quarterly.

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

It is with a mixture of excitement and sorrow that I prepare to leave Mount Holyoke after more than twenty years of service. I will begin as dean of student affairs at Skidmore College on July 1, 2008, and end my work at the Association in early June. In the meanwhile, I plan to work hard to finish up here and to support my staff through this time of transition.

I cannot even begin to thank all of you in the alumnae community for the incredible work that we have done together. Thanks to you, I can leave Mount Holyoke College and the Alumnae Association with a sense of deep pride in the work we have accomplished. The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College has never been stronger—and will continue to live in my heart. The College, its remarkable alumnae, and the exceptional Alumnae Association staff, are the very best example of a “team” that I have ever been a part of. I’m inspired by all of you and I will carry that with me as well.

With warm wishes,

W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83
Executive Director, Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College

Alumnae Updates

Alumnae Survey

To help us assess our programs and services, the Alumnae Association recently surveyed a representative range of more than 2,000 alumnae. The results indicated that we’re doing a great job—and that we can also improve and/or expand some of our offerings. Here is a brief summary of our initial findings:

Findings to celebrate
The vast majority of alumnae have:

• a very positive image of the Alumnae Association
• a high level of awareness of most AA programs and services
• a high opinion of and strong interest in reading the Alumnae Quarterly

Findings to think about
Our results indicated that many alumnae would like to see:

• an increase in specifically targeted, tailored programs to address the different needs and preferences of various groups of alumnae
• new programs organized around special interests , particularly in the areas of career, stage of life, and current interests
• more regional, local opportunities for networking, socializing, professional development, and intellectual enrichment
• stronger, more flexible online services that will connect our more geographically disbursed alumnae and provide greater networking opportunities

Thank you to all the alumnae who participated in this survey. Your responses will help us continue to shape programs and services that best meet the needs of our diverse, dynamic alumnae community.

 
New Alumnae Directory

For generations, the Alumnae Association has honored Mary Lyon’s decree to publish a directory of alumnae names and addresses every five years. In keeping with this tradition, we plan to publish the next alumnae directory in November 2008. The new directory will contain up-to-the-minute information about our alumnae, including details about career, advanced degrees, honors and awards, and other highlights. It will also be available in a CD version. Once again, we’ve partnered with Harris Connect, a trusted colleague, to gather updated information for publication in the directory.

Mail and e-mail copies of the first questionnaire will be sent the week of March 17-21. If you moved, changed jobs, had a baby or got a promotion—or even if things are exactly the same—please let us know by filling out and sending the survey. (All information will be kept strictly confidential.) We’re also converting to a new, more advanced data system, so when you send that survey, you help us make sure that your alumnae information is 100 percent correct. If you don’t get a chance to respond to the March mailing, Harris Connect will contact you again by the following dates:

Early April: broadcast e-mail, with a link to the questionnaire
Early May: postcard or e-mail with information about how to call in to Harris Connect

Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.

Campus Currents

The Future in Communications

On February 29 and March 1, the Alumnae Association, in partnership with the College’s communications office and the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts, hosted “The Future in Communic@tions” at Mount Holyoke, the first on-campus gathering for alumnae and students in the fields of journalism and communications. Twenty-five students and sixty-five alumnae from a wide range of fields, including print journalism, public relations and advertising, and Web publications, attended to make connections and lay the groundwork for future networking and professional events.

The conference included dinner on Friday, distinguished keynote speakers, panels with accomplished alumnae, career discussions, Saturday breakfast and lunch, and an alumnae afternoon networking and cocktail reception. Priscilla Painton ’80, editor-in-chief of the Simon & Shuster adult trade imprint and former deputy managing editor of Time magazine, gave Friday’s keynote address. Web pioneer Elizabeth Spiers, founder of Gawker.com and former editor-in-chief of mediabistro.com, was Saturday’s keynote speaker. More…

All alumnae interested in future networking and career events in communications and journalism are warmly invited to join an online discussion group, led by Kate Axt ’01 and hosted on the Alumnae Association Web site. You can also view a photo gallery from the weekend and listen to audio recordings of both keynote speakers here.

The Rise of China

Susan Shirk ’67, a former high-ranking State Department official and author of a new book titled China: Fragile Superpower, was the keynote speaker at the March 7-8 conference at Mount Holyoke, The Rise of China. Organized by the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives, the conference drew more than 350 attendees. Shirk told the audience that China’s economic growth of 10 percent per year for the last quarter-century is “absolutely unprecedented in the history of the world.” The CIA estimates that in terms of gross domestic product China will surpass the United States (in sheer size, not per capita) by mid century.

A dozen or so leading international scholars came to the Mount Holyoke campus to talk about the implications of this extraordinary reconfiguration of the global economic scene. McCulloch Center director and economics professor Eva Paus said the papers will form the basis of an edited book that will be published next year. More…

Student Reporter Beat

amantha Silver ’10, a student reporter for the Alumnae Association, writes about the annual event, held this year on March 2, which brings together seniors with MHC alumnae for a day of career planning and advice about life after graduation.

With graduation just a couple months away, the class of 2008 is starting to realize that the real world awaits. But within that world, as hopeful seniors learned at this year’s Senior Fair, exists a very real community of MHC alumnae who started their journey just years before—and who are ready to embrace new graduates with open arms.

On a chilly Sunday the first weekend in March, 166 seniors trooped to the Willits-Hallowell Center to meet with alumnae and graduate school representatives from a variety of areas and career fields, which ranged from medicine to museums to academia. The sun was shining outside over the melting snow, but everything seniors needed was inside at Willits, with such large questions looming over their heads such as “What do I do with my major?” and “Go to grad school or get a job?” Nearly sixty alumnae were waiting to answer questions and provide assistance in summer internships, housing, and even possible job opportunities. More…

Cori’s Career Corner

Alumnae Quarterly

Making News

Online Class Notes

o read more online class notes, or post your own notes and photos, please visit our Web site.

Sandra Nichols Ward ’65 writes, “To my surprise, I have become a monthly newspaper columnist and blogger. Curiosity in 2006 about a local writing class called ‘Fun with Writing’ drew me into the world of writing. A year later, a friend urged me to submit a piece about a childhood memory to my old hometown newspaper…”

Simonne Roy ’77 writes, “Lucie Joan Gosson-Roy was born to my life partner, Renee Gosson, on Septembr 19, 2007. (I am legally recognized as Lucie’s second mother due to Pennsylvania’s allowing “second parent adoption.” My law degree was helpful there!) I am learning how to balancing parenthood with law practice and painting…”

Deborah Davis ’79 writes, “It has been years since I sent an update to the Quarterly. I live in Berkeley, CA with my husband Dwight and our 14-year-old son Eli. My third novel (and fourth book), NOT LIKE YOU, was published last summer by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin. It’s a mother-daughter story…”

Kirsten Kenerson Boucher ’90 writes, “Hi! I have been thinking about college days and friends and such lately so I thought this would be a good way to see if any reconnections could be made. Currently I am a teacher at a private Christian k-12 School in Nashua, NH, teaching Jr High Science and HS Art…”

Nancy Moss Blair ’94 and William Blair are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Anna Grace. She was born on December 6, 2007 in Princeton, NJ at Princeton Medical Center, and weighed 7 lb., 12 oz.. Older sisters, Emma 4 years and Holly 2 1/2 years, are absolutely smitten with their new sister…”

Melissa LaPlume Harvey ’94 writes, “I am the founder and Chief Executive of Will n’ Rose’s, a cottage kitchen industry specializing in natural, nourishing foods since 2004 in NH. I began the company after the creation of my first product, a 4 oz. nutrient dense grain bar called a KIZOS, continued on with a line of ‘grain-ola’…”

Tina Santos Jockin ’97 and Victor Jockin are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Alexander. He was born on December 11, 2007 in Glendale, California, and weighed 7 lb., 1 oz..

Katie Whitehead ’98 and Henri Sanville are happy to announce their marriage on August 26, 2007 in Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro, Oregon. They currently reside in Albany, Oregon. On a beautiful Oregon summer afternoon and surrounded by friends and family, Henri and I confirmed and celebrated our commitment…”

Elizabeth Agnello ’02 recently accepted a position at the Asian University for Women Support Foundation located in Cambridge, MA as Associate Director for Strategic Planning. I am extremely pleased to have joined the AUW Support Foundation team near Harvard Square in Cambridge…”

Marisa Messenger ’06 writes, “I’ve been very busy since graduation in 2006! I’m currently the East Coast Sales Assistant for a Natural/Organic food broker (more specifically I handle the administrative work for our clients at Whole Foods and other natural independent retailers) called Presence East Inc…”