Photo courtesy of Christian Feuerstein.
By Melanie Duronio ’26
Features Editor
With the start of the 2023-24 school year comes a new era for Mount Holyoke College, as President Danielle R. Holley begins her term as the College’s 20th president. Her official inauguration ceremony took place this Thursday, Sept. 21. In an interview with the Mount Holyoke News, Holley spoke on how she hopes to use her education and legal background to lead Mount Holyoke to a brighter, more progressive future that continues to empower students through their education.
As the former dean and professor for the Howard University School of Law, a historically Black private research university, Holley has extensive experience in academic leadership. She has also served as associate dean for Academic Affairs and distinguished professor of education law at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
While chairing the curriculum committee of the University of South Carolina, she learned skills relating to finance, faculty leadership, collaboration and strategic planning.
“Those are all skills I acquired along the way that have helped to prepare me to become a president,” Holley said.
Holley is also a scholar of education law and civil rights and an expert on diversity in higher education. Her scholarship focuses on the governance of public schools, increased access to higher education and diversity in the legal field.
As a presidential candidate, Holley had her own criteria when competing for the role.
“After being at Howard, it was really, really important for me to feel a strong connection with the mission of the college,” Holley said. “My interactions with the students on the Presidential Search Committee are what convinced me that this was the right place for me to come.”
She appreciated how frequently the chair and Board of Trustees called on students, and their community-oriented mindset and shared emphasis on opportunities for future students.
“I was pleased to see how outspoken [the students] were. They reminded me of my Howard students,” Holley said. “It felt very egalitarian, very equitable, and that to me was an important sign that [the College] was a place that had those values.”
During her time at Howard, Holley worked with a team composed mostly of women and gender-diverse individuals, and, upon reflection, realized what a “special” experience that was, which further drew her toward Mount Holyoke College.
“There are so many issues that are challenging women and people who are gender diverse, that we need people who are educated in settings in which they feel that they can come out and be leaders and that's very true at Howard,” Holley said.
She also found Mount Holyoke’s mission of empowerment around identity to mirror her experiences at Howard.
“Even though Howard is an HBCU and Mount Holyoke is a women’s college that's gender diverse, that’s what they have in common,” Holley said. “That’s what I saw I could bring in terms of experience, but also [my] feeling of wanting to lead in a place where people can come out feeling even better than they did when they came here.”
As president, Holley aims to be “out and about” on campus. She plans to have lunch in the Dining Commons alongside students once a week, and will hold open office hours both in person and on Zoom. She plans to attend sports events, art displays, performances and student activities and events. Students may even catch a glimpse of her dog, Blue, who always insists upon belly rubs.
Holley will also teach a class of her own in the Department of Politics during either the spring 2024 semester or the following school year.
“[President] Holley brings a strong vision for what Mount Holyoke is and, more importantly, what our College can become. She has a strong track record of strategic growth and innovation, which will serve us well,” Board of Trustees Chair Karena Strella ’90 said in an introduction of President Holley, published on the Mount Holyoke website.
Holley’s “strong vision” centers around the idea of future impacts; specifically, the positive effects the College can make for the campus and surrounding communities. It was the main theme of her inauguration, which was titled “The Future Is Now.”
This vision includes environmental sustainability, such as the recent geothermal energy project. Between 2023 and 2030, the project “will replace our 100-year-old fossil fuel powered steam heating system with a geothermal heat-exchange system powered by clean electricity, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80%,” according to Mount Holyoke’s website.
“All of those things tie into the idea that what we’re doing right now has an impact on the future in terms of our current students … and faculty and staff for the next few decades,” Holley said.
Holley prides herself on being a teacher first and foremost. She values student voices and opinions as being equally important to those of faculty and staff members and aims to partner with students to ensure they have the resources for “a really great college experience.”
Student participation was highly encouraged for the inauguration, with Holley envisioning it “to feel almost like you’re about to go to a concert.”
Events were planned leading up to the ceremony, including poster-making contests, a pep rally and a 90s-themed dance party held on Skinner Green, with food trucks and quiet spaces provided.
“It’s so funny. Of all the things during the inauguration, [including] a big ceremony, panels and a lunch, the thing I’m most excited about is the dance party,” Holley said.
On Wednesday, the symposium “When and Where I Enter: Reflections on Black Women’s Sojourns from Hortense Parker to Danielle R. Holley” was held to celebrate the legacy of Black women at the College.
Beginning with Hortense Parker, the first Black woman to attend Mount Holyoke, and ending with President Holley, Mount Holyoke’s first permanent Black President, the symposium demonstrated the long history of Black students, faculty, and administrators at the College and their fight for inclusive policies and spaces like the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center.
“That didn’t just happen overnight. That was activism work,” Holley said. “It took a long time for students and faculty to make this place feel like it’s a community that anyone can belong to, and so I want to celebrate that.”
Now officially settled in, Holley feels like she “already [has] a special connection with the students here at Mount Holyoke.” She looks forward to continuing to familiarize herself with students, faculty, staff members and the South Hadley community.
Ultimately, she hopes everyone will see her primarily as a fellow faculty member — someone who is here to teach, advise and spend time with them.
“One of the most important things I want [students] to know [is that] when they see me, that really is me,” Holley said. “My values are always going to be the same, and they’re going to be shared with Mount Holyoke. [They will be] things that will be good for the College and propel us even further into excellence for the future.”