April 2, 2021

AAMC Board of Governors’ Position Statement

The AAMC Board of Governors' position statement, sent in an email to all alumnae, outlines the AAMC’s demands for the College's Board of Trustees to consider. This statement was developed using input from alums collected in a survey and from ongoing discussions with alumnae during the previous town halls, emails, and Facebook group discussions.

 

The Board of Governors of the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC) asserts that Mills should continue to exist as a degree-granting institution, in keeping with its historic mission. We support President Beth Hillman’s expression of that mission: “to foster women’s leadership, student success, and advance gender and racial equity.” We reject the conclusion that the financial challenges Mills faces—although profound and persistent—require the College to be dismantled and transformed into an institute. We, therefore, call upon the College’s Board of Trustees to:

  1. Immediately halt Mills College’s transition into an institute that does not grant degrees, and halt any upcoming votes on this matter.

  2. Release all documents relevant to understanding Mills’ financial position, the conclusions reached because of that position, and the planning done to date for a transition—including audited financials, the proposal to end degree programs, and any and all term sheets for a partnership with the University of California, Berkeley—and explain why the idea of a Mills College within UC Berkeley, discussed as a possibility throughout 2020, did not move forward.

  3. Explore alternative paths for Mills that would enable it to exist as a degree-granting institution, including, but not limited to:

    • Becoming a “UC Mills”: an independent college within the University of California system, with a status similar to UC Hastings College of the Law.

    • Continuing as a private college, but with a substantially redesigned set of academic programs that enable Mills to be financially sustainable.

  4. Engage all of the College’s stakeholders in an open, transparent process as these alternatives are explored.

  5. Provide any current Mills student—including current first-year students—with the option of graduating from Mills or from any institution that Mills becomes or merges with.

  6. Guarantee alumnae access to campus, regardless of the future status of Mills; involve the AAMC in governance of the new Mills; confirm the prior recognition of the AAMC’s rights to Reinhardt Alumnae House and its grounds; transfer to the AAMC control of alumnae data, communications platforms, and the trademarks and brand of Mills College (should it cease to exist); and restore the AAMC’s full involvement in fundraising for Mills (should it continue to exist in any other form than its present).