TAKE THE LEAD NEWS When she came to Take the Lead last fall, high school student Lindsay Mecca was interested in addressing what she saw as the injustices of capital punishment. According to Mecca, the program helped her identify her action project's goal, which she decided was raising awareness about state-sponsored executions. "I came to MHC pretty sure that I would write a play about capital punishment, but the weekend and, especially, my mentor, helped me hone the play's topics and issues," she says. Mecca went on to pen The Nearly Departed, a one-act play, and it won her a spot as one of four finalists in the Young Connecticut Playwright's Festival. As such, it was read professionally May 18 and 19 at Stamford, Connecticut's Rich Forum. In other Take the Lead news, Teen People's May issue includes a half-page article about Take the Lead. Titled "Learning to Lead" and written by Take the Lead participant Aisha Muharrar, the piece discusses how difficult it can be for individuals to make a difference in the world. Muharrar, a member of the magazine's teen news team, writes that the program gave students "the confidence that we could accomplish anything as long as we believed in each other--and in ourselves." KUDOS Bridget Lee '02, Megan Schmidt '02, and Veronica Stork '04 won the Freeman Award for Study in Asia, a new program administered by the Institute of International Education. This summer, Lee will study Chinese language at the Beijing Education Institute in China; Schmidt will focus on economics at Japan's Sophia University; and Stork will learn about the Japanese language at the Princeton-in-Ishikawa Program in Japan. The goal of the Freeman-ASIA Program is to increase the number of American undergraduates studying in Asia by providing information and financial assistance. Awardees are expected to share their experiences with their home campus to spread understanding of Asia. ACKMANN FLYING HIGH In 1961, thirteen highly trained women aviators were summoned to New Mexico by Randolph Lovelace II, head of NASA's Special Advisory Committee on Life Sciences, for secret astronaut viability tests. The women performed beyond expectations, even better than some of their male counterparts, but NASA curtailed Lovelace's experimental program just as the women were about to begin space-simulation exercises. As the American women waited in the wings, Valentina Tereshkova of Russia became the first woman in space. This pioneering group of women pilots became known as the Mercury 13, now credited with opening the doors of space for America's women astronauts. Martha Ackmann, MHC lecturer in women's studies, is writing the first full-length study of the secret women's astronaut program in a book to be published by Random House in 2003. In addition, CBS has optioned the book for a television event or miniseries. Ackmann first wrote about the Mercury 13 three years ago in a series of editorials, columns, and feature stories that appeared in more than two dozen leading newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. An announcement of Ackmann's upcoming book and CBS project recently appeared in Publisher's Weekly and Variety.

Largest Applicant Pool in History for MHC's Class of 2005

The admission story at MHC gets better every year, and statistics bear this out. For the third year in a row, the College had a record-breaking year for applications. The total number of applications was up from 2,614 to 2,881, an increase of more than 10 percent over last year. The class of 2005 applicant pool was one of the strongest in the College's history, and MHC increased its selectivity, accepting only 48 percent of those who applied. (The class of 2004 had a 55 percent acceptance rate, and the class of 2003's rate was 60 percent.) As of May 16, 509 students had accepted an offer of admission, and ultimately 500 are expected to enroll this fall. The College continues to experience a strong yield of 36 percent on acceptances (accepted students who decide to come to MHC). What is the profile of the next incoming class? SAT scores among enrolling students are strong again this year. The verbal mean is 644 and the math mean is 616. A diverse group of women from thirty-eight countries and forty-three states will be representing the incoming class. International students will constitute 13 percent of the class, and African Americans, Latina, Asian Americans, and Native Americans will make up 22 percent of the class. Thirteen percent of the students have legacy connections--mothers, aunts, or other relatives who graduated from Mount Holyoke. Says Dean of Admission Diane Anci, "The class of 2005 is an embodiment of Mount Holyoke's commitment to excellence and diversity. It also reflects the collaborative work of the enrollment division and the College at large. While the numbers look good, they only begin to describe a class that is intellectually curious, imaginative, and socially conscious. The class of 2005 will make a substantive contribution to the MHC community."

Campaign Reaches $180 Million

As of this month, nearly $180 million in gifts and pledges were made by more than 21,000 supporters to The Campaign for Mount Holyoke, which was launched two and one-half years ago. Thanks to the generosity of alumnae, parents, and friends, the campaign is within sight of its $200-million goal. Endowment, the behind-the-scenes lifeblood of MHC, is the campaign's number-one priority and has reached $95 million of its $110 million goal. More visibly, the campaign's success has also launched a veritable building boom on campus during this past year, resulting in the rededication of the updated and renovated Pratt Hall and the groundbreakings for the Unified Science Center and art building art museum project.

A Sabbatical for the President

President Joanne Creighton announced in May that she will take a sabbatical from January 1 through July 1, 2002. During Creighton's leave, the responsibilities of the presidency will be shared by Donal O'Shea, dean of the faculty, and Beverly Daniel Tatum, dean of the College. O'Shea will have authority over the academic affairs of the College, including faculty appointments. He will work in close consultation with Tatum, who will be named acting president and will be responsible for all other functions and duties of the office.

Speaking, Arguing and Writing Program Awarded Major Grant

In May, the Davis Educational Foundation, established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis, awarded the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center's Speaking, Arguing and Writing Program a $329,340 grant that will be paid over three years. The grant will support the speaking- and writing-related portion of a new curriculum designed to enhance the first-year experience at MHC. This initiative was recommended by the Committee on the First Two Years, a special committee made up of faculty, administrators, and students that began its work in 1999. As part of the new curriculum, it is expected that all entering students will take small courses that are speaking and writing intensive.

Kiyoko Takahashi ‘01 Awarded Fulbright

Kiyoko Takahashi '01.

When Kiyoko Takahashi '01 came to Mount Holyoke four years ago, she intended to major in international relations. But an introductory course in biology, which she took to satisfy a distribution requirement, inspired an entirely new passion. Graduating this month with a bachelor's degree in biology, she has completed a thesis on cell adhesion molecules in microscopic organisms known as Dictyostelium discoideum and has just been awarded a Fulbright fellowship for a year in Japan to study cancer prevention. As one of twelve students from a nationwide pool of applicants selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship board for projects in Japan, she will conduct research in the development of chemotherapeutic agents derived from traditional medicines and natural resources. The fellowship will support tuition costs, housing, travel, and living expenses, and also includes Japanese-language study.

Dar Williams Performed Free Concert at Mount Holyoke

Dar Williams, one of the hottest acts on the national folk-music scene, performed for the MHC community May 8. Williams performed songs from her new album, The Green World, which was appropriate for an event that celebrated the last day of classes for MHC's "green" class of 2001 and the College's construction and renovation projects, including the campus master plan and the "green" science building. President Creighton and the Network sponsored the concert.

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