Welcome to the spring semester

Dear Mount Holyoke College community,

Welcome to the spring semester of 2024 — my first spring semester at Mount Holyoke. I’m thrilled to experience this moment with you, and I would like to share recent updates well worth celebrating.

We enter this semester with new members of our student body. We have 40 students starting their Mount Holyoke journeys this spring. Of these 40, two are Frances Perkins Scholars and four are transfer students. These students come from across the United States, and two of them come from other nations. Another community member joining us this semester is our new athletic director and chair of physical education. Andrea Ricketts-Preston starts remotely February 1 and will be joining us on campus in May.

I also want to celebrate our Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS) team. They have received the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine. LITS consistently demonstrates a commitment to access and inclusion, as demonstrated by their partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in implementing Mount Holyoke College’s pronouns policy and chosen name policy.

The College is currently holding our annual week of Racial Justice and Reconciliation. Tonight is the kickoff of our annual antisemitism teach-in with a conversation led by Drs. Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman and Amer Ahmed, Building Solidarity: Fighting Antisemitism and Islamophobia Together. Later in the semester on March 5, we will welcome Freddy Mutanguha, director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial and CEO of the Aegis Trust, which works to prevent genocide and mass atrocities worldwide. Details about this visit, and the eighth annual Building On Our Momentum (BOOM!) symposium on April 9, will be available on our events calendar in the near future.

Last summer, Mount Holyoke College broke ground on its ambitious and bold geothermal energy project. This project, recently highlighted in a New York Times article, will replace our 100-year-old fossil fuel–powered steam heating system, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80%. This spring, Skinner Green will once again become the site of trenching activities starting in early March and will remain offline until the end of the summer. Our events team is working on a plan for the impact this work may have on outdoor Reunion activities.

As the community knows, the capstone of every spring semester is Mount Holyoke’s rousing and uplifting Commencement, where we celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating seniors. I am pleased to announce that this year we will be holding the ceremony outside on Pageant Green, the lovely knoll between the Gettell Amphitheater and Lower Lake Road; in case of inclement weather, we will move the ceremony into the Kendall Sports & Dance Complex. Rest assured that as we plan for this new location, we are keeping accessibility for all our graduates and guests top of mind. More details will be forthcoming; please visit the Commencement web page for updates and information. If you have any questions, you can also contact commencement@mtholyoke.edu.

One of the joys of my presidency has been traveling to meet Mount Holyoke alums from all eras. I have been visiting many regional chapters, and it’s been a gift and a privilege to engage with our incredibly talented, diverse alums from coast to coast. Alums have also asked me how they can help me and bolster the College. My response is to continue the amazing works in your communities and careers, invest your time and your talent to Mount Holyoke and continue to invest your philanthropic support in our talented and deserving faculty, staff and students.

I am celebrating my own return to the classroom this semester, as I am teaching my first class at Mount Holyoke, The Supreme Court. It will focus on the most important cases decided by the United States Supreme Court since 1803, and each week, students and I will discuss a different seminal Supreme Court case and the political context surrounding it. In my very first MHC class last week, I was reminded that, for me, the best part of teaching is not what I impart but rather what I learn from the students.

Joy is a precious commodity but one that expands when it’s shared. Thank you for allowing me to share my joy in Mount Holyoke College’s achievements, and may your semester be filled with happiness.

Sincerely,

Danielle R. Holley 
President