Top 12 stories of 2020

1. Princeton Review: Mount Holyoke faculty #1

Mount Holyoke College professors get the highest marks in the country, according to The Princeton Review. In its guidebook “The Best 386 Colleges,” released in 2020, Mount Holyoke was ranked No. 1 for “Professors Get High Marks.” The publication also ranked Mount Holyoke in the top 20 colleges and universities in categories for academics, demographics and extracurriculars. Mount Holyoke ranked No. 2 in the country for “Most LGBTQ-Friendly,” No. 6 for “Most Active Student Government,” No. 9 for “Best College Library” and No. 10 for “Best College Dorms.”

2. Names are a matter of equity and inclusion

Mount Holyoke has developed and implemented a new chosen-name policy that enables community members to select the name that they are referred to by the College. The change, a major joint effort led primarily by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, with enormous help from Library and Information Technology Services, also known as LITS, was the culmination of more than two years of behind-the-scenes work. 

3. Four faculty members retire

Professor of History Holly Hanson, Class of 1926 Professor of Politics Christopher H. Pyle,  David and Lucy Stewart Professor of Biological Sciences Stan Rachootin, and Mary E. Woolley Professor of Anthropology Lynn M. Morgan all marked their final semesters as formidable teachers and scholars who have inspired countless students. Among them, they have amassed an extraordinary 139 years of service to the College.

4. Class of 2020 commencement speakers

Mount Holyoke College has announced the four speakers and honorary degree recipients who will address the class of 2020 at its 183rd Commencement, which will be held in person at a future date when it is safe to gather in public. They are four vanguards who challenge restrictive social norms around gender. 

Anita F. Hill, Helen Drinan ’69, Janet Mock and Lynn Pasquerella ’80 will speak to the graduates. Collectively their work has brought to the forefront issues that have blighted the advancement and growth of women and people across the gender-diversity spectrum. They have shattered barriers to access and led influential movements towards greater equity, inclusion and justice. 

5. Mount Holyoke names Chief Investment Officer

Mount Holyoke College has named Ana Yankova ’97 its inaugural chief investment officer, responsible for the management and oversight of the College’s $800 million (as of December 31, 2019) endowment. She reports to President Sonya Stephens and works closely with the College’s alum-led investment committee of the Board of Trustees. 

6. “Be the lion that is leading the rest” 

Mahua Moitra ’98 started her post-Mount Holyoke College career at the investment bank J.P. Morgan, but she knew her inner fire was destined for something else. In 2008, she quit her job in London to enter the Indian political arena, becoming the national spokesperson for the All India Trinamool Congress party and then a member of parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha. 

Her maiden speech to Parliament quickly went viral, as Moitra pointed out seven danger signs of early fascism showed that India was heading down a “dangerous path.” Her persistence while MPs tried to shout her down quickly made her a social media sensation. 

7. The 1619 Project is the Common Read for 2020

Mount Holyoke College’s Common Read for 2020 is selected prose essays from The New York Times Magazine’s ongoing initiative The 1619 Project. 

“I am really excited that the selection committee chose articles from The 1619 Project,” said Amber Douglas, dean of studies and director of student success initiatives. “The 1619 Project is powerful and important. Now, more than ever, it is essential that we as a community, engage with the history of the transatlantic slave trade and its enduring legacy of systematic anti-Black racism, oppression and violence in this country. It is important for us to learn how to engage with difficult topics with respect — to struggle with difficult and evocative material — to experience discomfort in that process and to have what we read, the ideas, change us.”

8. Nine faculty receive tenure

The Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees has voted to grant tenure to nine faculty members spanning disciplines from gender studies to physics.

9. Mount Holyoke donates protective equipment

Joining the groundswell of support by Massachusetts colleges and universities for the state’s hospitals, health care workers and first responders, Mount Holyoke College donated personal protective equipment to aid efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.

10. Dorothy E. Mosby is interim dean of faculty

President Sonya Stephens has announced the appointment of Dorothy E. Mosby as the interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. Mosby will start her new duties in August, following Jon Western’s return to the faculty, and will serve in the role for two years, through June 30, 2022. 

11. Working to fight and heal racism

When George Floyd was killed by police, his murder ignited an international groundswell of protest and activism around the world. The outcries for change were spurred by outrage, frustration and despair at the systemic failures that perpetuate violence against Black individuals and communities. 

At Mount Holyoke College, Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, chief diversity officer and vice president for equity and inclusion, invited the community to participate in a virtual session to outline steps to end racial injustice and violence. Nearly 200 community members, including faculty, staff, students and alums attended the event. 

12. Meet Mount Holyoke’s newest faculty 2020

The newest faculty joining Mount Holyoke College bring exciting cross-disciplinary scholarship across a range of subjects: robotics, data science, computer science, English, studio art, gender studies, environmental studies, sociology and statistics.