At our August leadership retreat, the AAMC Board unanimously adopted a new mission and vision that affirms who we are—and where we’re going. This turning point reflects months of listening, strategic planning, and the voices of more than 850 alumnae who shared their priorities in the 2024 survey. The result is a clear, focused direction that honors Mills’ 170-year legacy of transformative education while equipping us to meet the needs of alumnae today.

Below, you’ll find the exact language we adopted—crafted to guide programs, partnerships, and advocacy while keeping creativity, integrative thinking, and social justice at the center of our work.

Mills taught us to imagine boldly—and then build what we imagine. In “Cloister and Catalyst,” AAMC President Kieran Turan ’90 reflects on the qualities that made Mills a singular place: a learning environment where intellect and empathy converge, where creativity is inseparable from ethics, and where students are invited to become leaders who act with purpose. Kieran revisits the 1990 Strike, a moment that transformed many of us—turning conviction into action and demonstrating what a community can accomplish when it believes transformation is possible.

As a first-generation college student and first-generation American, Kieran shares how Mills provided a lens for living—integrative, interdisciplinary, and unafraid of complexity. Today, the AAMC is carrying that spirit forward with renewed clarity and unity. This message sets the tone for our next chapter and invites alumnae across generations to co-create it.

Read the full message below, and join us in building a resilient, independent AAMC that preserves and advances Mills’ legacy for the future.