Mills College
Encyclopedia
Mills College is an independent liberal arts
women's college
founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California
, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies
. The institution was initially founded in 1852 in Benicia as a young ladies' seminary. In 1865, Susan Tolman Mills
and her husband Cyrus Mills bought the school, renamed it Mills College, and then moved it to Oakland in 1871. Mills received its charter in 1885 and introduced graduate programs for women and men in 1920.
Mills offers more than 40 undergraduate and 23 graduate degrees and certificate programs.
Mills College was initially founded as the Young Ladies Seminary at Benicia
in 1852. It was under the leadership of Mary Atkins, a graduate of Oberlin College
. In 1865, Susan Tolman Mills
, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College
(then Mount Holyoke Female Seminary), and her husband Cyrus Mills bought the Young Ladies Seminary renaming it Mills Seminary. In 1871, the school was moved to Oakland, California
and the school was incorporated in 1877. The school became Mills College in 1885. In 1890, after serving for decades as principal (under two presidents as well), Susan Mills became the president of the college and held the position for 19 years. Beginning in 1906 the seminary classes were progressively eliminated. In 1921, Mills granted its first master's degree
s.
On May 3, 1990, the Trustees announced that they had voted to admit male students. This decision led to a two-week student and staff strike
, accompanied by numerous displays of non-violent
protests by the students. At one point, nearly 300 students blockaded the administrative offices and boycotted classes. On May 18, the Trustees met again to reconsider the decision, leading finally to a reversal of the vote.
Mills offers several undergraduate courses of study, and even allows students to create their own major, working with three faculty advisors to plan an individual program that draws courses from across the curriculum and creates an integrated and unique educational experience. Mills also provides the first two years of courses leading to a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Samuel Merritt College
.
Undergraduate students may also participate in one of seven dual-degree programs. These five-year programs include BA/MBA, BA/MPP
, BA/MA/Credential Teacher Education, BA/MA Infant Mental Health, BA/MA Interdisciplinary Computer Science, BA/BS Engineering, and BA/MA Mathematics.
The College also enrolls approximately 500 graduate students each year. Areas of study include art
(MFA
), business
(MBA), interdisciplinary computer science
(MA and post-bac), creative writing
(MFA), dance
(MA and MFA), coming Fall 2009: book art (MFA), education
(MA, EdD
, and credentials), English
(MA), infant mental health (MA), music
(MA and MFA), pre-med (post-bac), and public policy
(MPP
).
rated Mills as one of the Best 368 Colleges and one of the 117 Best Western Colleges. U.S. News & World Report also ranks Mills fourth among colleges in the West. A 2007 Washington Monthly report ranks the college #49 among 201 top liberal arts college
s. The institution was also named a top producer of Fulbright award recipients
in 2007–08 by the Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2009, Forbes
rated it 55th of America's Best Colleges
.
The 135 acre (0.5463261 km²) campus is located in the foothills
of Oakland
on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay
.
The campus is lovingly described in alumna Jade Snow Wong
's book Fifth Chinese Daughter, first published in 1945.
became interested in architect Julia Morgan
because she wished to further the career of a female architect and because Morgan, just beginning her career, charged less than her male counterparts. Morgan designed six buildings for the Mills campus:
and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
was on the music faculty of Mills in 1962-1964, and in 1966 Pauline Oliveros
became the first director of the Tape Music Center (later the Center for Contemporary Music), where she composed her electronic works "Alien Bog" and "Beautiful Soop". Morton Subotnick
, later a member of the faculty, received his master's degree from Mills, studying composition with Leon Kirchner
and Darius Milhaud
. Laurie Anderson
, Dave Brubeck
, Phil Lesh
, and Steve Reich
attended the program, as well as the famous synthesizer designer Don Buchla
. Terry Riley
taught at Mills starting in the early 1970s. Avant-garde jazz pioneer Anthony Braxton
has taught at Mills on an intermittent basis since the 1970s. Lou Harrison
, Pandit Pran Nath
, Iannis Xenakis
, Alvin Curran
, Anthony Braxton
, Gordon Mumma
, Frederic Rzewski
, Fred Frith
, and many others have all taught music at Mills.
Since 1976, the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM) has emphasized experimental methods in contemporary music and its allied arts and sciences. CCM maintains a variety of electronic equipment, instruments and studios, provides instruction and technical assistance, and archives audio recordings. The Center also performs a wide variety of community services in the arts, including public concerts and lecture series, informational and technical assistance, and artist residencies. Maggi Payne
and Chris Brown
are presently co-directors of CCM. Payne is a composer, performer, interdisciplinary artist, and recording engineer. Brown is an instrument builder, a pianist, and a composer.
With 10 different on-campus living options, including traditional residence halls, a housing cooperative, family housing, and apartment living, students at Mills have a wide range of housing to choose from. In the Mediterranean-inspired residence halls, students enjoy single rooms, the occasional California sleeping porch, and common areas outfitted with antique furniture and grand pianos.
There are more than 40 organizations and clubs for students to join, such as The Mills Art History Society, Mujeres Unidas, the Crafter's Collective, the Black Women’s Collective, Philosophy Club, Book Arts and Zine Club, the Aurelia Reinhardt Historical Society, and the Native American Sisterhood Alliance. Some groups meet to share a hobby or interest, while others are motivated to inspire change. If students can’t find a club that appeals to them, they can simply start their own.
Throughout the academic year, there are many events to attend on campus, many of which are open to the public. Events range from Fetish Ball, art exhibitions, concerts, and dance performances to swim meets, readings, forums, lectures, and conferences. With the College’s intimate size and setting, students have opportunities to help arrange events and meet guest speakers.
As a place of ideas and expression, the College attracts speakers from around the world. Adding to the legacy of such notable past speakers as Ansel Adams
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recent visitors to Mills have included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
, Senator Barbara Boxer
, Chelsea Clinton
, Isabel Allende
, Sally Ride
, Gloria Steinem
, Helen Zia
, and Marian Wright Edelman
.
, soccer, swimming
, tennis
, track and field
, and volleyball
— as members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division III and the California Pacific Conference
of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA). The Mills College mascot is the Cyclone and the school colors are blue, gold, and white. The Director of Athletics is Themy Adachi.
, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. attended Mills College as an undergraduate.
Dave Brubeck and Pete Rugolo
attended Mills College on the GI Bill so as to study music with Darius Milhaud.
Pete Rugolo attended (and earned his M.A. degree) Mills College BEFORE being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II.
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
women's college
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. The institution was initially founded in 1852 in Benicia as a young ladies' seminary. In 1865, Susan Tolman Mills
Susan Tolman Mills
Susan Tolman Mills was the co-founder of Mills College .-Background:...
and her husband Cyrus Mills bought the school, renamed it Mills College, and then moved it to Oakland in 1871. Mills received its charter in 1885 and introduced graduate programs for women and men in 1920.
Mills offers more than 40 undergraduate and 23 graduate degrees and certificate programs.
History
Benicia, California
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...
in 1852. It was under the leadership of Mary Atkins, a graduate of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. In 1865, Susan Tolman Mills
Susan Tolman Mills
Susan Tolman Mills was the co-founder of Mills College .-Background:...
, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
(then Mount Holyoke Female Seminary), and her husband Cyrus Mills bought the Young Ladies Seminary renaming it Mills Seminary. In 1871, the school was moved to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and the school was incorporated in 1877. The school became Mills College in 1885. In 1890, after serving for decades as principal (under two presidents as well), Susan Mills became the president of the college and held the position for 19 years. Beginning in 1906 the seminary classes were progressively eliminated. In 1921, Mills granted its first master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s.
On May 3, 1990, the Trustees announced that they had voted to admit male students. This decision led to a two-week student and staff strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, accompanied by numerous displays of non-violent
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
protests by the students. At one point, nearly 300 students blockaded the administrative offices and boycotted classes. On May 18, the Trustees met again to reconsider the decision, leading finally to a reversal of the vote.
On November 30, 2011, Mills abruptly laid off the head of the career center and several other employees who provide student services.
Academics
For 2009–10, Mills enrolled a total of 1,510 students, 926 of whom are undergraduates and 584 of whom are graduate students (81% of whom are women). Seventy-eight percent of undergraduate women and 83% of graduate students are from California, and more than half live on campus. Forty-eight states are represented, and international students enrolled from 11 different countries.Mills offers several undergraduate courses of study, and even allows students to create their own major, working with three faculty advisors to plan an individual program that draws courses from across the curriculum and creates an integrated and unique educational experience. Mills also provides the first two years of courses leading to a bachelor of science in nursing degree from Samuel Merritt College
Samuel Merritt College
Samuel Merritt University, formerly Samuel Merritt College, was founded in 1909 as a hospital school of nursing. It is a fully accredited health sciences institution located on the Summit campus of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California, United States...
.
Undergraduate students may also participate in one of seven dual-degree programs. These five-year programs include BA/MBA, BA/MPP
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy , one of several public policy degrees, is a master's level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the...
, BA/MA/Credential Teacher Education, BA/MA Infant Mental Health, BA/MA Interdisciplinary Computer Science, BA/BS Engineering, and BA/MA Mathematics.
The College also enrolls approximately 500 graduate students each year. Areas of study include art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
(MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
), business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
(MBA), interdisciplinary computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
(MA and post-bac), creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
(MFA), dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
(MA and MFA), coming Fall 2009: book art (MFA), education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
(MA, EdD
Edd
-Science and medicine:* Experimental Design Diagram* Electron-detachment dissociation, a fragmentation technique* Expected Date of Delivery, the estimated date when a woman will give birth* End-diastolic dimension-Technology:...
, and credentials), English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
(MA), infant mental health (MA), music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
(MA and MFA), pre-med (post-bac), and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
(MPP
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy , one of several public policy degrees, is a master's level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to public policy and the...
).
Rankings and admissions
In 2008, The Princeton ReviewThe Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
rated Mills as one of the Best 368 Colleges and one of the 117 Best Western Colleges. U.S. News & World Report also ranks Mills fourth among colleges in the West. A 2007 Washington Monthly report ranks the college #49 among 201 top liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
s. The institution was also named a top producer of Fulbright award recipients
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
in 2007–08 by the Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2009, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
rated it 55th of America's Best Colleges
Forbes Magazine's List of America's Best Colleges
In 2009 Forbes Magazine, along with The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, compiled a list of America's Best Colleges based on "the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve".- 2009 List :...
.
Campus
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
The campus is lovingly described in alumna Jade Snow Wong
Jade Snow Wong
Jade Snow Wong was an American ceramic artist and author of two autobiographical volumes.- Biography :Wong was born in San Francisco and brought her family that maintained traditional Chinese customs...
's book Fifth Chinese Daughter, first published in 1945.
Julia Morgan buildings
In 1904, Mills president Susan MillsSusan Tolman Mills
Susan Tolman Mills was the co-founder of Mills College .-Background:...
became interested in architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
because she wished to further the career of a female architect and because Morgan, just beginning her career, charged less than her male counterparts. Morgan designed six buildings for the Mills campus:
- El Campanil, believed to be the first bell tower on a United States college campus and the first reinforced concrete structure on the west coast. Morgan's reputation grew when the tower was unscathed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The bells in the tower "were cast for the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
(Chicago-1893), and given to Mills by a trustee". - The Margaret Carnegie Library (1906), named after Andrew Carnegie's daughter.
- The Ming Quong Home for Chinese girls, built in 1924 and purchased by Mills in 1936, which was renamed Alderwood Hall and now houses the Julia Morgan School for Girls (independent of the College).
- The Student Union (1916)
- Kapiolani Cottage, which has served as an infirmary, faculty housing, and administration offices.
- Mills's original gymnasium and pool, which have been replaced by the Tea Shop and Suzanne Adams Plaza.
Mills Hall
Designed in 1869 by S. C. Bugbee & Son, Mills Hall became the College's new home when it moved from Benicia to Oakland in 1871. Mills Hall is "a long, four-story building with a high central observatory. The mansarded structure, which provided homes for faculty and students as well as classrooms and dining halls, long was considered the most beautiful educational building in the state". Mills Hall is a California Historical LandmarkCalifornia Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Music
The Music Program at Mills is noted for being at the forefront of experimental music study and composition. Well-known composer Luciano BerioLuciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
was on the music faculty of Mills in 1962-1964, and in 1966 Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
became the first director of the Tape Music Center (later the Center for Contemporary Music), where she composed her electronic works "Alien Bog" and "Beautiful Soop". Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick
Morton Subotnick is an American composer of electronic music, best known for his Silver Apples of the Moon, the first electronic work commissioned by a record company, Nonesuch...
, later a member of the faculty, received his master's degree from Mills, studying composition with Leon Kirchner
Leon Kirchner
Leon Kirchner was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his String Quartet No. 3.Kirchner was born in Brooklyn, New York...
and Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
. Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
, and Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
attended the program, as well as the famous synthesizer designer Don Buchla
Don Buchla
Don Buchla is a pioneer in the field of sound synthesizers, releasing his first units months after Robert Moog's first synthesizers...
. Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
taught at Mills starting in the early 1970s. Avant-garde jazz pioneer Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
has taught at Mills on an intermittent basis since the 1970s. Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
, Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath
Pandit Pran Nath was a Hindustani classical singer and teacher of the Kirana gharana , with a successful American career.-Early life:...
, Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
, Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
, Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
, Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He cofounded Ann Arbor's Cooperative Studio for Electronic Music with Robert Ashley, was a musician with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and was a member of the Sonic Arts Union with Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and David Behrman...
, Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, and many others have all taught music at Mills.
Since 1976, the Center for Contemporary Music (CCM) has emphasized experimental methods in contemporary music and its allied arts and sciences. CCM maintains a variety of electronic equipment, instruments and studios, provides instruction and technical assistance, and archives audio recordings. The Center also performs a wide variety of community services in the arts, including public concerts and lecture series, informational and technical assistance, and artist residencies. Maggi Payne
Maggi Payne
Maggi Payne is a composer, flutist, video artist, recording engineer/editor, and historical remastering engineer who creates electroacoustic, instrumental, and vocal works, and works involving visuals ....
and Chris Brown
Chris Brown (experimental music)
Chris Brown is a composer, pianist, and electronic musician, who creates music for acoustic instruments with interactive electronics, for computer networks, and for improvising ensembles.-Biography:...
are presently co-directors of CCM. Payne is a composer, performer, interdisciplinary artist, and recording engineer. Brown is an instrument builder, a pianist, and a composer.
Campus community
There are more than 40 organizations and clubs for students to join, such as The Mills Art History Society, Mujeres Unidas, the Crafter's Collective, the Black Women’s Collective, Philosophy Club, Book Arts and Zine Club, the Aurelia Reinhardt Historical Society, and the Native American Sisterhood Alliance. Some groups meet to share a hobby or interest, while others are motivated to inspire change. If students can’t find a club that appeals to them, they can simply start their own.
Throughout the academic year, there are many events to attend on campus, many of which are open to the public. Events range from Fetish Ball, art exhibitions, concerts, and dance performances to swim meets, readings, forums, lectures, and conferences. With the College’s intimate size and setting, students have opportunities to help arrange events and meet guest speakers.
As a place of ideas and expression, the College attracts speakers from around the world. Adding to the legacy of such notable past speakers as Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recent visitors to Mills have included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
, Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
, Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
, Sally Ride
Sally Ride
Sally Kristen Ride is an American physicist and a former NASA astronaut. Ride joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman—and then-youngest American, at 32—to enter space...
, Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, Helen Zia
Helen Zia
Helen Zia is an American journalist and scholar who has covered Asian American communities and social and political movements for decades.-Life and career:...
, and Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...
.
Athletics
Mills students compete in seven intercollegiate sports — cross country, rowingRowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, soccer, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
— as members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division III and the California Pacific Conference
California Pacific Conference
The California Pacific Conference is a college athletics conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . The conference commissioner is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member institutions. The conference president is Themy Adachi of Mills College. The...
of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
(NAIA). The Mills College mascot is the Cyclone and the school colors are blue, gold, and white. The Director of Athletics is Themy Adachi.
Notable alumni
Barbara LeeBarbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. attended Mills College as an undergraduate.
Dave Brubeck and Pete Rugolo
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo was an Italian-born jazz composer and arranger.-Life and career:Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California...
attended Mills College on the GI Bill so as to study music with Darius Milhaud.
See also
- Mills College honorary degree recipientsMills College Honorary Degree RecipientsList of Mills College, Oakland, California, U.S.A., honorary degree recipients:* 2010 - Dolores Huerta* 2010 - Nancy Pelosi* 2010 - Betty Wo* 2009 - Stephanie Mills* 2009 - Kavita Ramdas* 2009 - Renel Brooks-Moon* 2008 - Glenn Voyles* 2008 - Rita Moreno...
- William Joseph McInnes Botanic Garden and Campus ArboretumWilliam Joseph McInnes Botanic Garden and Campus ArboretumThe William Joseph McInnes Botanic Garden and Campus Arboretum is located at the corner of Seminary Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, on the campus of Mills College in Oakland, California, USA.-External links:*...
- Women's colleges in the United States#20th century history
Pete Rugolo attended (and earned his M.A. degree) Mills College BEFORE being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II.