As the Mills community faces an uncertain future, the AAMC is working to make information available to alumnae, students, staff, and anyone who cares about Mills College, its legacy, and its history.

Mills Transition Information

This page collects and archives information concerning the Mills College Board of Trustees' plan to shift Mills away from being a degree-granting college toward becoming a Mills Institute. It also documents efforts by the AAMC and other groups to advocate for alternatives that would preserve Mills as a degree-granting institution.

If you have anything you think we should share with the wider community, please send an e-mail to aamc@mills.edu.

The main AAMC website still resides at aamc.mills.edu, which has more detailed information about the AAMC.

 

  • Websites & Social Media - Created by alumnae, these sites serve as forums for alumnae to discuss what they value about Mills, proposed changes to the College, and paths that would preserve Mills as a degree-granting institution.

  • Chronology of Key Events - Review a timeline of events including Mills and AAMC Town Halls and publication of official statements. Provided links give access to documents and meeting recordings.

  • AAMC & Alumnae Documents - Additional statements, surveys, and official documents that provide information to alums about what has been happening.

  • Media Coverage - Media coverage since Mills College’s March 17, 2021 announcement.

Websites & Social Media

 

AAMC Private Group

A private Facebook group for the AAMC to keep alums up-to-date on the AAMC as well as a place for alums to connect and share.

 

Save Mills College Coalition

The Save Mills College Coalition was launched by a student to strategize and organize with alumnae, staff, and anyone else seeking to reverse the College's plan to cease granting degrees in 2023 and transition to a Mills Institute.

All4Mills

Alums started this group to rally and coordinate fellow alums to fight to save Mills or prevent the acquisition of Mills by Northeastern behind closed doors.

 

UC Mills Campaign

UC Mills is a grassroots movement started by Strike-era alums to make Mills College a stand-alone, self-governing university within the University of California system as a degree-granting alternative to the plan for a Mills Institute.

Chronology of Key Events

 

The links below open in separate pages with links to recordings, documents, etc.

June 3, 2021 President Hillman's update report on Mills Institute design  

President Hillman sent an email to alumnae updating them on the process of designing the Mills Institute, lead by Professor of Ethnic Studies and English Ajuan Mance and Trustee Marilyn Schuster ’65. The email stated that Professor Mance and Trustee Schuster have been engaged in fruitful conversations with the Mills community since April. It also informed alumnae that "Our intent is for a Mills Institute to be part of a wider range of educational activities that will take place on a vibrant, thriving campus of the future."

May 15, 2021 AAMC Town Hall  

Saturday May 15, 2021 the AAMC hosted yet another virtual town hall for alumnae during Commencement activities. This meeting featured introductions of the new alumna trustee and two new governors, an overview of AAMC finances, and updates from AAMC committees, including an update from the AAMC's legal team. Save Mills and UC Mills also shared the presentations they gave to the recent Board of Trustees meeting.

May 14, 2021 Mills Board of Trustees Meeting  

At a Mills Board of Trustees on May 14 AAMC Vice Presidents Alexa Pagonas ’91 and Dawn Cunningham ’85 asked trustees to halt the dismantling of the College and allow the Mills community one year to study financially sustainable models that would keep Mills a degree-granting college or university. They presented proposals for such models from the Save Mills College Coalition and the UC Mills Campaign. These proposals included both written and video components.

May 3, 2021 Faculty Vote of No Confidence in College Leadership  

The voting faculty of Mills College in Oakland, CA voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution of no confidence against Mills College Provost and Dean of the Faculty Chinyere Oparah, President Elizabeth Hillman, and the Executive Committee of the Mills Board of Trustees. 

April 27, 2021 Save Mills College Coalition Engages the CA Attorney General  

The Save Mills College Coalition disseminates a press release urging the Attorney General of the state of California to halt and investigate the Mills Board of Trustees' unlawful action to close Mills College with the legal counsel of Altshuler Berzon LLP.

April 21, 2021 AAMC Town Hall featuring Save & UC Mills  

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 the AAMC Board of Governors (BOG) hosted another alumnae town hall. This event featured presentations from the Save Mills College Coalition, the UC Mills Campaign, and the BOG on their various organizing efforts and strategies for halting the Mills College Board of Trustees' decision to close the College, including action items those in attendance could take to get involved.

April 6, 2021 Mills College Town Hall  

Tuesday, April 6, 2021 President Elizabeth L. Hillman, College trustees, and AAMC leaders offered an update on their plan to close Mills. Their presentation was countered by a passionate statement from AAMC Governors Myila Granberry '05 and Alexa Pagonas '91 and a culminated in an unplanned half-hour-long discussion with alumnae.

April 2, 2021 AAMC Board of Governors Position Statement  

The AAMC Board of Governors issued a position statement in an email to all alumnae outlining their demands for the College's Board of Trustees to consider. This statement was developed using input from alums collected in a survey (results linked above under "AAMC Documents") and from ongoing discussions with alumnae during the previous town halls, emails, and Facebook group discussions.

March 24, 2021 AAMC Town Hall  

In light of the March 17 announcement (see below), the AAMC hosted a second online town hall for alumnae to discuss the future of Mills and the AAMC, as well as their demands and questions for the Mills College President and Board of Trustees. More than 600 alumnae participated.

March 17, 2021 Letter from President Hillman announcing a new path for Mills  

In a surprising turn of events, President Hillman announced that the Board of Trustees had voted to stop enrolling new first-year undergraduate students after fall 2021. In addition, she said Mills would begin to shift away from being a degree-granting college and toward becoming a Mills Institute.

February 24, 2021 AAMC Town Hall  

The AAMC Board of Governors hosted a virtual town hall for alumnae to discuss the future of the AAMC. The governors also collected alumnae questions and concerns about the partnership discussions with UC Berkeley, which were later shared with the College's Board of Trustees. 

September 17, 2020 Town Hall with President Hillman  

A virtual town hall co-hosted by the College and the AAMC. The Board of Governors and alumnae presented questions to President Hillman regarding the state of the College and the status of conversations around partnering more deeply with UC Berkeley.

June 25, 2020 President's Videoconference with Donors  

During a virtual conversation with Mills donors, President Beth Hillman and Board of Trustees Chair Katie Sanborn ’83 announced for the first time that the College had entered into partnership discussions with the University of California, Berkeley, and discussed the financial challenges facing Mills.

 

AAMC and Alumnae Documents

  • AAMC Complaint for Damages and Equitable Relief & Other Court Documents
    Representatives of the AAMC who serve on the Mills College Board of Trustees filed a lawsuit on June 7 to gain access to information they need to make informed decisions regarding the future of Mills College. They allege that Mills leaders have denied them information that the College's bylaws give them the right to inspect.

  • AAMC July 2021 survey results about pursuing legal action
    The AAMC conducted a survey from July 6 to 13, 2021 asking for alums if they want the AAMC to pursue legal action against Mills. The College prevented AAMC from sending this survey to our shared alumnae list, so the AAMC re-created a mailing list of about 4,000 alumnae and posted the survey to social media asking for alum participation and input.

  • AAMC Position Statement
    The AAMC Board of Governors presented a statement calling for the Mills transition to be halted and alternatives to be explored on April 2. It also shared the statement with alumnae in an April 2 email and issued a press release about its demands on April 6.

  • AAMC Future of Mills Pledge Form
    Make a pledge that will help convince the College's Board of Trustees to halt the rush to turn Mills into an institute offering no degree programs. Pledges are contingent upon Mills remaining a degree-granting entity.

  • AAMC March 2021 Vision for the Future survey results
    The AAMC emailed a survey to 12,000 alumnae to explore opinions on the Mills transition. A total of 1,158 respondents completed the survey between March 24 and 31.

  • Alumnae demands and concerns
    A list of demands and concerns regarding the Mills transition that the AAMC has collected from alumnae. Last updated March 24, 2021.

  • Alumnae questions
    Questions the AAMC collected from alumnae to present to the Mills College President and Board of Trustees. Last updated March 24, 2021.

  • Mills Fact Base
    A collection of resources that provide background on the College's current situation, put together by Leslie Woodhouse ’90 and shared here with her permission.

Media Coverage

Television & Radio

KTVU Channel 2: August 2, 2021 video coverage of the #SaveMills rally on the steps of the Alameda County Courthouse

KPIX Channel 5: March 26, 2021 video coverage of the #SaveMills rally

KTVU: March 26, 2021 video coverage of the #SaveMills rally

KCBS: March 27, 2021 radio coverage of the #SaveMills rally

 

Articles

  • The New York Times: March 30, 2021 article about the music program and the closure announcement.

  • SF Chronicle: March 26, 2021 coverage of the #SaveMills rally

  • KPFA, Upfront: March 25, 2021 Cat Brooks interviews alumna Maya Chinchilla, MFA ’11 and senior Lila Goehring ’21 live on the radio

  • Mills Staff Unite's Medium blog: March 25, 2021 "Reverse the Closure Cliff" Mills staff union members weigh in

  • East Bay Times: March 24, 2021 local coverage of initial announcement and student & alumnae efforts to organize in response

  • KQED, Perspective: March 24, 2021 radio segment, "A Requiem for Mills College," by Molly Curley O'Brien

  • SF Chronicle: March 23, 2021 reporting on the College's announcement and initial alumnae & student organizing efforts (paywall)

  • East Bay Times, Snapp Shots: March 23, 2021 a regular columnist weighs in on Mills College's cultural significance to marginalized student populations

  • The Campanil: March 22, 2021 Mills College student paper reports on the College's announcement

  • SF Classical Voice: March 22, 2021 coverage on the College's announcement from a music publication's perspective

  • San Francisco Business Times: March 22, 2021 an interview with Mills College President Beth Hillman (paywall)

  • MillsForever: March 21, 2021 an anonymous blog post titled "Mills College is Worth Billions. Who Gets the Prize?"

  • KQED: March 18, 2021 article about the College's announcement to close

  • Pitchfork: March 18, 2021 more coverage from a musical publication