At their May meeting, the Mount Holyoke trustees approved the Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003, a framework for the College's priorities in the coming six years. The August Alumnae Quarterly will carry an article on what the plan will mean to the College. If you'd like a copy now of the final plan, write the Office of the President, Mary Lyon Hall, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075, or send email to planning@mtholyoke.edu.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright		Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (left) was slated to take a break from international affairs to receive an honorary degree and to speak at Mount Holyoke's May 25 commencement ceremonies. Also honored that day with honorary degrees were Linda Chavez-Thompson, first executive vice president of the AFL-CIO; Aminata Sow Fall, considered the most distinguished female writer in Senegal; groundbreaking mathematician Anneli Lax; Arturo Madrid, known for his support of Latinos and scholarship on Chicano literary and cultural expression; and Gloria Johnson Powell '58, a former MHC trustee and pioneering doctor currently serving as director of the Camille Cosby Ambulatory Center at Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston.
		Applications for first-year admission topped 2,300 for the first time since 1982, representing the third largest applicant pool and the largest one-year increase in applications in the College's history! A total of 2,300 applications for the class of 2001 represents a 274-person increase, or 13.5 percent increase, over last year's figures. A Vision Realized, a 128-page coffee-table book of color photographs of Mount Holyoke, is expected to be for sale by early June. The book also includes an essay about Mary Lyon by Professor Joseph Ellis and selected quotations from Lyon. To order, contact the Alumnae Association at 413-538-2300.
Celebrations for the 200th anniversary of Mary Lyon's birth took place throughout the academic year, but the entire campus community joined to mark February 28 (Lyon's birth date) by sharing pieces of an enormous decorated sheet cake (right). Between chocolate College "gates" with a real light atop them was an edible portrait of Lyon created by airbrushing blueberry stain onto white icing. Balloons wishing the founder a "Happy 200th" had to be custom-made, since most birthday parties don't require imprinted balloons numbered higher than one hundred years. Tuition, room, and board charges for the 1997-98 academic year will be $28,725. This represents a 4.5 percent rise from current fees, a smaller rate of increase than last year's 5.4 percent hike.
What's the most popular accouterment for those sporting MHC T-shirts and caps? Why, a bottle of Mount Holyoke spring water, of course. Hundreds of pint-sized bottles of the crystal-clear refreshment have been quaffed on campus since the fall, and there's a choice of six scenic label designs. For the record, the water comes from Carrabassett Springs in Maine, not from Lower Lake! People are used to seeing equestrian center director Joanne Bonano's quarter horse "Brian" trotting around campus, but some were surprised to see megahot singing star Jewel riding him the day of her February campus concert. The Grammy Award-nominated songster was greeted by a throng of admirers when she returned to the stables; fans even helped Jewel groom her mount. Other musical visitors this semester included The Wallflowers and the ever-popular Indigo Girls.
Mary Lyon not only has her own college; this year, she also had her own month. Governor William Weld proclaimed February 1997 "Mary Lyon Month" throughout Massachusetts. The official proclamation, read at January convocation, lauds Lyon for her pioneering work and concludes, "It is fitting for the citizens of Massachusetts to pay tribute to Mary Lyon's courage, convictions, and moral stamina, as well as her lasting contribution to women's education." President Clinton also sent his regards that night, in the form of an official letter noting that "because of heroes like Mary Lyon, women today enrich every facet of our national life, excelling in professions once tacitly closed to them and attaining ever greater heights of achievement." "Love yourself" was the essential message Essence magazine editor Susan Taylor brought to an appreciative campus audience in February. The opening speaker of Black History Month events, Taylor said people should be good to themselves because "You can't fill anyone else's cup until you fill your own." Career Exploration Programs (CEPs) are an increasingly popular way for students to "try on" a career. More than 200 students--three times the number participating in 1990 --did CEPs this year in fields ranging from marine biology and theatrical stage management to journalism.
Journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault spoke informally with students at a dinner before opening the Mary Lyon Lecture Series in February. She charmed the audience with tales of her struggles in the civil rights movement and her rise in the world of journalism.		Noted journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, national correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, was the inaugural speaker for the new Mary Lyon Lecture Series, begun spring semester to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lyon's birth. Other speakers in the series, each of whom shares Lyon's determination to make a difference in the world, include American Civil Liberties Union president Nadine Strossen and nationally recognized educator Lorraine Monroe. The board of trustees welcomed Elizabeth "Betty Ann" Allen Wilson '72 to the board of trustees for a five-year term. The Denver, CO, resident is president of Methane Resources Group, Inc., which does geological exploration and oil and gas consulting. She has also been active with MHC volunteer activities and is a member of several international geology organizations. In addition, Ashanta N. Evans '95 was chosen for a three-year term as young alumna trustee beginning July 1. Evans, a New Orleans resident, is dean of faculty for Benjamin Franklin High School's Summerbridge Program, a fourth-grade teacher at Valena Jones Elementary, and a corps member with Teach for America.
This spring, both buds and protests blossomed. A mid-March gathering drew more than 150 people to protest against racism. In mid-April, about 200 students rallied to protest what they saw as insufficient administrative action on a variety of issues. Later that month, they staged sit-ins and two brief building occupations to draw attention to eleven issues. Intensive discussions identified common ground between students and administrators, and most issues were resolved to the groups' mutual satisfaction. The MHC communications office won a "grand-gold" medal, three gold medals, and a bronze medal in the prestigious annual communications competition sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Vista was awarded gold and bronze medals; the College also won gold and grand-gold medals for the World Wide Web site about Mary Lyon's life and work (www.mtholyoke.edu/marylyon), and a gold medal for the comprehensive public relations and media campaign for the 200th anniversary of Mary Lyon's birth. Mhc ran a full-page ad in the February 5 New York Times to commemorate Mary Lyon's 200th. The ad was headlined, "She used her wits so generations of women could use their minds." Posters made from the ad are available for $5 from the Alumnae Association. To order, call 413-538-2300.		Two professors were granted tenure and promoted to associate professor this spring: Satyananda Jordan Gabriel, assistant professor of economics, and Sandra Lawrence, assistant professor of psychology and education. Inclusiveness program events during spring semester included an exhibition and demonstration of Asian calligraphy and a one-woman show by actress Deborah Lubar (below) portraying two immigrant women--a Polish Jew and an Italian Catholic--who share a common human core despite strikingly disparate backgrounds. Deborah Lubar