MHC TOPS IN SPORTS President Joanne Creighton held a reception for more than fifty civic and business leaders from South Hadley and surrounding communities February 23. In a presentation to the leaders, Creighton reviewed current cooperation between MHC and the town and mapped out her hopes for building stronger ties to local schools and residents. She also provided an overview of the College's role--and stature--within higher education. Mary Jo Maydew, vice president for finance and administration, also spoke at the event, giving an overview of the many construction projects under way or due to start on campus. SAFEGUARDING WATER Sandra Postel, senior lecturer in environmental studies at MHC, authored "Growing More Food with Less Water," one of the articles in a cover package on the world water supply that appeared in the February 2001 issue of Scientific American.

Celebrating Pratt Hall March 2 and 3

(L to R) Dorothy Rooke McCulloch '50 and her husband Norman E. McCulloch Jr., longtime supporters of the College, and President Joanne Creighton at the Pratt celebration in March.

Newly renovated Pratt Hall was formally dedicated and celebrated with tours, open rehearsals, interactive master classes, and faculty and student concerts March 2-3. More than 100 alumnae and guests participated in the celebration. Pratt's auditorium was named in honor of Dorothy Rooke McCulloch '50 and Norman E. McCulloch Jr. The McCullochs attended the weekend festivities, including the christening (with champagne and river water) of the crew team's new boat, which is now called The Rookie (Dorothy McCulloch's nickname at MHC) in her honor. Pratt's music library was named for Eleanor Pierce Stevens '25.

Commencement Speaker Announced

It was announced in March that screenwriter and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks '85, who has tackled subjects ranging from racism and homelessness to sexual hypocrisy in her avant-garde plays, would be the commencement speaker at MHC's 164th commencement May 27. Parks will receive the degree of doctor of arts and will be joined by five other honorary degree recipients. They are director of the National Science Foundation and biologist Rita Rossi Colwell, who will receive the degree of doctor of science; graphic designer Susan D. Kare '75, who will receive a doctor of science degree; humanitarian taxi driver Om Dutta Sharma, who founded and supports a school for girls in rural India and who will receive a doctor of humane letters degree; Smith College president (and future Brown University president) Ruth Simmons, who will receive a doctor of humane letters degree; and mathematician Jean E. Taylor '66, who will receive a doctor of science degree.

Ground Breakings for Science and Art Projects Held

March 31 saw two ground breakings, signaling the start of construction and renovation for the unified science center and the art building and museum projects. The big dig began in the art museum's sculpture court with the ground breaking for the new and improved art facility. After the ceremony, two master classes in the arts were offered. The day's events continued on the lawn in front of Carr Laboratories with the ground breaking for the unified science center. Two master classes in the sciences followed the ceremony. Through a virtual tour created in 3-D animation, attendees at the programs had a preview of how the final science and art facilities will actually--or virtually--appear when completed.

New Landscapes Explored Together

Rather than heading off in search of blue water and golden sand, a dozen MHC students and their advisers spent the spring break helping a group of Springfield, Massachusetts, schoolchildren create their own colorful visions of paradise. On two walls of the cafeteria of the Brightwood Elementary School are the fruits of their week of labor, murals of the pupils' own design brought to life with the MHC students' help. But just as real, if not as tangible, were the connections the college students made with each other and with the pupils."It's really wonderful to work with the kids," said Ashley Gagne '04, one of the twelve student participants in the College's third annual Service and Leadership Odyssey. "It's a lot more community building than I thought it would be. I'm enjoying that aspect of it." The idea behind the Odyssey is to give students an opportunity to serve a community while forging connections with fellow participants of diverse backgrounds. Students last year worked in soup kitchens in Washington, D.C., and in 1999 helped rebuild a church in Birmingham, Alabama, that had been destroyed by arson.

New Deal Legacies Explored March 8-9

Frances Perkins '02.

The Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership, the Frances Perkins Program, and the Alumnae Association at Mount Holyoke College presented a symposium, Frances Perkins and Her Legacies: Labor, Women, and the Unfinished Business of the New Deal, March 8 and 9. The event celebrated the centenary of Frances Perkins's graduation from MHC (a year early, since she was a member of the class of 1902) by providing a forum for discussing the impact of Perkins and her legacies on current debates about welfare reform, health care, Social Security, and working women.

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