In anticipation of the future

Dear members of the Mount Holyoke community,

I am humbled and delighted beyond words by this opportunity to serve Mount Holyoke College as its 19th president. It has been a privilege and a honor to be acting president, and dean of faculty before that, and to be a member of this exceptional community. I am so pleased to have this opportunity to renew my commitment to you. And I am energized by the prospect of beginning anew, even as we build upon Mount Holyoke’s historic legacy of excellence, and upon our recent work together.

I first want to honor and thank Barbara M. Baumann ’77, chair of the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees. As a partner in this work, she has been unfailing in her diligence, unstinting in her support and ambitious in her aspirations for the College. She, vice chairs Mindy McWilliams Lewis ’75 and Karena Strella ’90, and each member of the Board of Trustees, make meaningful contributions to the work of the College. To them all I express my heartfelt gratitude and admiration. Their unquestionable affection for Mount Holyoke, and their loyalty, dedication and professionalism are a source of inspiration and motivation as we strive to enhance the education and experience on campus, and to advance the reputation and reach of this remarkable College.

Many of the trustees are drawn from our 37,000-strong alumnae network. Over the five years since I’ve been at Mount Holyoke, my interactions with alumnae have been a source both of pride in the institution and its graduates, and of great joy. I came to know Mount Holyoke differently and more fully when I saw the College through the eyes of generations of alumnae and in their stories, as well as through the prism of their many accomplishments and uncommon successes. And so I want to thank Marcia Brumit Kropf ’67, president of the Alumnae Association, and Maria Mossaides ’73, president-elect, for the trust and confidence they have shown in our work together, and for their shared commitment to our future. To all Mount Holyoke alumnae — those who are volunteers; those I have come to know well and those whom I have just met; those with whom I have corresponded or who I am yet to meet, and those who support, promote and sustain the College from afar — I express my deep gratitude. Your continued interest in Mount Holyoke and your expressed support and encouragement have meant and continue to mean a very great deal to me.

Mount Holyoke’s exceptional and accomplished faculty and the College’s talented and dedicated staff, including my fellow administrators, are all daily partners in the work of delivering and renewing an outstanding liberal education in a residential setting. I am often asked what my first impressions were of Mount Holyoke. They were and remain a sense of awe at the breathtaking beauty of this campus, at the intellectual vibrancy and energy of the education and the conversation, and at the community’s distinctive diversity and global mindset. There will always be too few opportunities to recognize the extraordinary, daily work of campus constituents, and to thank you for all that you bring to Mount Holyoke. This is an especially important moment for me to proclaim and celebrate the work of the faculty and staff of Mount Holyoke, and to express my heartfelt thanks for the many kindnesses, the thoughtful exchanges and the enormous goodwill and support I have enjoyed. We have drawn upon deep seams of institutional commitment to propel Mount Holyoke into the future and I am excited beyond measure by your successes and by what the future holds, as well as by this opportunity to remain with you in community, and to take the lead in this new moment of our collective endeavor to advance the mission and purpose of the College.

All this we do for the extraordinary students in our midst. In turn, they bring welcome change and high expectations, revitalizing the institution in ways that make us rethink and renew our core commitments, drawing upon the rich legacies of our history and institutional traditions to promote a culture and a community that represent values and excellence for the contemporary moment. I am consistently impressed by our students: by their intellectual prowess and their social commitments, by their energy and engagement, by their ambition and their advocacy, by their profound love of this place, and by their respect and affection for those who make a difference in their lives here. I often hear from those of you in the student body that Mount Holyoke enables you to be your best selves, and in turn I believe that you drive each other and us all to be our best selves — to be committed professionals and mentors in support of your future, your goals, your ambitions, and of your hopes for the College. Your love of learning and of Mount Holyoke is infectious and it is with great delight, anticipation and excitement that I look forward to spending more time with you.

Each of you, in and across constituencies, brings purpose and power to our work, and, together, great luster to the reputation of Mount Holyoke College. I shall always do all that I can to merit the confidence and support the Board and this community have shown me, to live up to your expectations of me and of Mount Holyoke, and to advance the reputation and reach of this remarkable College. I cannot wait to get started on the next chapter in the history of this exceptional institution.

With my warmest thanks for your support of me in this process, and for all that you do for Mount Holyoke and toward the fulfillment of the College’s future promise.

Sincerely,

Sonya Stephens
Acting President and President-elect