MHC Forward Momentum
Our strategic vision becomes a daring reality.
Academic excellence
Innovation Fund sparks bilingual science learning
MHC Stories
Supported by Mount Holyoke's new Innovation Fund, Cerebro 101 brings together faculty, students and an alum to teach dual-language elementary students about neuroscience and behavior.
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Becky Wai-Ling Packard named ACE Fellow
Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Mary E. Woolley Professor of Psychology and Education, has been named an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for the 2026–27 academic year.
MHC faculty named an AI education fellow
Mount Holyoke College Assistant Professor of Computer Science Diane Uwacu is a member of the inaugural cohort of NSF NAIRR AI Education Fellows of the Computing Research Association.
Mount Holyoke College receives grant to explore courage and care in higher education
Mount Holyoke has received a grant to expand conversations about character education, engaging faculty, students and staff in a yearlong initiative centered on the virtues of courage and care.
New Climate Justice Lab
Mount Holyoke College is moving to the front lines of environmentalism with the launch of the Climate Justice Lab. Housed within the Miller Worley Center for the Environment, the lab serves as a high-impact hub that integrates climate justice across the College’s curriculum, working to ensure students have the tools they need to tackle one of the defining crises of our era.
The promise of possibility
Graduating senior Fatima Shah ’26 believes that what made her education so extraordinary at Mount Holyoke College is that the word “impossible” never got used.
Finding community and a whole new field
Mount Holyoke College senior Audrey Brecher ’26 originally planned to be an environmental studies major. Thanks to the supportive community and mentorship at the College, they now have a future in architecture.
Falling in love with math, office hours and snowball fights
Kaylee Clarke ’26 stepped outside her comfort zone when she came to Mount Holyoke College — but this senior is now comfortable in trying new things, such as having a second major in math and pursuing a Ph.D. in industrial engineering.
Student Experience
Students solve real-world challenges through experiential learning
Working with Amazon Web Services, Mount Holyoke students tackled a complex business case, applying classroom learning to a real-world challenge while building the analytical and leadership skills that prepare them for future careers.
Career readiness in action
Through career exploration, internships, public service programs, capstone experiences and more, Mount Holyoke prepares students to apply their liberal arts education in real-world settings. These experiential learning opportunities help students build skills, expand their networks and gain the confidence to pursue meaningful careers.
Mount Holyoke's Career Connections Mentoring Program connects students with alums who provide guidance and industry insights for life after graduation. Students build meaningful relationships, explore career paths and strengthen the professional skills and confidence they need to pursue their goals. In support of MHC Forward's commitment to career readiness, the program has grown to serve sophomores and juniors and now offers group mentoring opportunities through career communities.
Sophomore Institute
MHC Stories
Sophomore Institute gives students an early start on career planning through workshops, networking and professional development in the winter of their second year at Mount Holyoke. The annual program helps them take full advantage of internships and leadership opportunities during their second year.
Ten years of BOOM!
Mount Holyoke celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Building On Our Momentum (BOOM!) Learning Symposium, a campus tradition that brings students, faculty, staff and alums together for dialogue, learning and community. Over the past decade, BOOM! has become a cornerstone of the College's commitment to fostering belonging and engaging across differences.
Honoring LGBTQ+ history and community
The fourth Lyon's Pride celebration brought together students, alums and allies to honor Mount Holyoke's LGBTQ+ community. This year's event celebrated the 40th anniversary of Lyon's Pride while creating opportunities for intergenerational connection.
Elevating the student-athlete experience
Our athletics program helps build community at Mount Holyoke and reflects the energy and pride of its student-athletes.
Championing sportsmanship
Mount Holyoke was recognized by fellow NEWMAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) as the institution that best exemplified sportsmanship during the inaugural 2025–26 SAAC Sportsmanship Swap Initiative. The recognition reflects the College's commitment to integrity and leadership in collegiate athletics.
Building school spirit
Level Up Lyons encourages students to cheer on the Lyons by rewarding attendance at athletic events with collectible stickers and other incentives. The program has helped increase attendance at home competitions exponentially, creating a more energetic and connected game-day experience.
A refreshed Lyons identity
From a hand-painted mural in the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex to updated locker rooms and a redesigned competition court, new spaces and visual elements are celebrating the strength and ambition of Mount Holyoke’s student-athletes and growing the community’s pride.
Resource stewardship
Admissions from this past year
5200+ Applications in 2025-2026
Applications up 13.5% overall from 2024-2025
Early Decision applications up by 14% from 2024-2025
With our Mount Holyoke Commitment, unveiled in the fall of 2025, we pledge one of the most generous eligibility thresholds in the nation: U.S. families with total income up to $150,000 pay no tuition.
Powering our progress
$11.4M
Raised for The Mount Holyoke Fund in FY26
Donors contributed $11.4 million through The Mount Holyoke Fund, setting a new fundraising record. This marks the third time The Mount Holyoke Fund has exceeded $10 million in a single fiscal year and surpasses our prior record by more than $1 million
10,710
donors in FY26
During the 2025–2026 fiscal year, over 10,700 alums, family members, friends, faculty, staff and students made gifts to Mount Holyoke, building momentum for a historic, ambitious fundraising campaign that will publicly launch this fall.
8,007
alum donors in FY26
During the 2025–2026 fiscal year, over 8,000 alum donors made gifts to the College.
$697K
Raised for the MHC Forward Fund in FY26
560 donors contributed $697,146, giving Mount Holyoke the flexibility to meet its most pressing and evolving needs — from supporting students facing hardship to protecting faculty research.
$182K
Raised for the 2025 Athletics Day of Giving
More than 860 champions showed their pride in a record-breaking show of support from the Lyons community.
$3.3M
Contributed for March4MHC
A record-breaking 5,253 members of the Mount Holyoke community contributed $2.8 million to The Mount Holyoke Fund. Combined with the generous $500,000 challenge match, the campaign generated more than $3.3 million in support of Mount Holyoke students.
The Mount Holyoke Experience
Volunteer Leadership Summit
The 2025 Volunteer Leadership Summit — the first on-campus volunteer training since 2020 — helped volunteers deepen their understanding of the MHC Forward strategic plan and the progress we’ve made together, advanced readiness for the public launch of MHC’s comprehensive campaign, and equipped volunteers to serve as confident and informed ambassadors for our mission.
Why do we volunteer?
Hear what inspires some of our passionate volunteers to give back.
What do you love about volunteering?
At a time when connection, trust, and leadership matter more than ever, our volunteers are opening doors, strengthening relationships and expanding what is possible for the College.
Operational leadership
Sustainability action & justice for the environment (SAJE)
MHC’s continued commitment to Climate Action is clear
Mount Holyoke College is committed to environmental responsibility and climate action. We are making significant progress toward our 2037 carbon neutrality goal through the geothermal project, updated endowment policies and daily campus sustainability efforts. A Plan for Sustainability and Justice for the Environment (SAJE) will build upon both the Campus Comprehensive Plan (CCP) and MHC Forward outcomes as a foundational focus for this work. Our SAJE strategies will align with the strategic campus vision.
Modernizing the Mount Holyoke experience
Operational excellence is about more than buildings—it's also about the digital tools that support every member of our community. Through the Summit Project, Mount Holyoke is modernizing the systems that power learning and efficient operations. This year brought major milestones, including the launch of DASH to strengthen alum and donor engagement, the transition to the MHC Connect intranet and continued progress toward Workday Student, creating a more connected and student-centered experience across the College.
Campus renewal
Mount Holyoke is making coordinated investments in a more sustainable, accessible and student-centered campus. By the end of summer 2026, the College expects to complete a geothermal field and approximately 90% of the geothermal project’s underground piping. In spring of 2026, the Board of Trustees also approved the initial framework for the Comprehensive Campus Plan, establishing a long-term guide for the stewardship and development of the campus. Alongside this planning, improvements to the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex, residence halls and other facilities are enhancing the places where students live, learn and connect.
2024–2025 progress
- Faculty growth: Over the past three years, added 31 new tenure-track faculty across disciplines.
- New endowed chairs: Established two new professorships — the Debra Martin Chase Chair in Film Media Theater and the Susan-Lori Parks Chair in Creative Writing — honoring distinguished alums.
- Innovation Fund launched: Supports imaginative, interdisciplinary teaching with a focus on project-based learning.
- Carnegie Foundation recognition: Mount Holyoke was designated as a research college, affirming our commitment to faculty-student research.
- Deep mentorship: Faculty continue to serve as the heart of student growth.
- Sophomore Institute expansion: Transformed into a three-day immersive program with support from 200+ alums, focusing on career readiness and mentoring.
- BOOM! learning symposium: Featured 50+ sessions and a keynote from Angela Davis, reinforcing our DEI values through dialogue and engagement.
- TGNC10: We marked 10 years of Mount Holyoke’s gender-inclusive admissions policy with a yearlong student-led initiative.
- Athletics refresh: Welcomed new assistant coaches, secured team wins and unveiled a new mascot identity for Paws.
- Positive student feedback: Spring 2025 surveys showed an increased sense of campus community and recommendation rates from students that exceed pre-pandemic levels.
- Revamped Experience MHC: Our admitted students day became a vibrant, all-campus event, and admission saw an increase from last year in yield.
- Comprehensive Campus Plan launched: Aligns physical infrastructure with academic programs, student life, alum engagement and employee experience.
- Major facility investments: Renovations began on North and South Rockefeller Halls and Mead Hall; upgrades made to athletics facilities with more planned.
- Geothermal project: Entered Phase 3, advancing both sustainability and accessibility goals.
- Internal operations strengthened: Overhauled our staff onboarding process and launched new employee appreciation initiatives.
- Service improvement through Summit project: Enhanced Workday functionality, selected a new alum and donor platform and began the transition to a new learning management system.
- Strengthened alum engagement: Expanded in-person and virtual donor and alum programming; launched the “Made Here” storytelling series.
- Renamed Alum Association: Reflects the diversity and identity of the Mount Holyoke community.
- MHC Forward Fund launched: Gifts made support urgent needs, academic freedom and the College’s inclusive mission.
- Forged in Dissent initiative: Highlights MHC’s ongoing efforts to challenge injustice and invites community involvement.
- Exceptional fundraising year:
- Total dollars raised (comprehensive number): $41,044,999
- Total number of donors: 9,949 alum, parents, friends and student donors
- Record numbers of faculty and staff contributed.
- The Mount Holyoke Fund closed the year with outstanding numbers: $9,888,742
- The MHC Forward Fund: $558,038 raised from 678 unique donors. For 52 alum donors it was either their first gift in at least 6 years or their first gift ever. Trustees combined gave 26% of the total.
- March4MHC and Athletics Day of Giving campaigns saw record participation.