Madelyn Dalley ’27
News Editor
The Oct. 1 Senate meeting began with the Mount Holyoke College land acknowledgement, which was introduced by SGA President Julia Keane ’26 and Vice President Cindy Ntembe ’27. The Board officially began the meeting by providing a brief list of club events taking place this week, rather than holding an open floor. These events included “Noche Latina” on Oct. 4, MHCASA’s “All Black Party” and the Office of Community and Belonging’s “Autumn Reels” event on Oct. 5.
After the club event announcements, the SGA Executive Board introduced themselves before listing upcoming SGA events. Archivist interviews, hall senator elections, and an SGA meet-and-greet were all announced, as well as SGA president office hours on Wednesdays from 6–7 p.m.. After this, the E-Board introduced the Senate Community Guidelines, which are rules to follow and respect when attending senate meetings. These guidelines included community care, defined as respecting the opinions of other senate attendees and the E-Board; mindfulness, defined as using respectful language and content warnings when speaking; respect, defined as no heckling as it is not effective for change; and presence, defined as practicing active listening and not holding side conversations. After establishing these guidelines, the SGA Board proudly introduced MHC President Danielle Holley to speak about the College’s forthcoming strategic plan, “MHC Forward.”
The room burst into applause as Holley walked up to the stage. Holley opened her presentation by promising that her new strategic plan would be “in [the student’s] lives as students and alums,” as the plan would stretch beyond current students’ times at MHC and continue to support them as well as future students. She presented the early phase of MHC Forward, provided to the Senate last year, before introducing a “revamped” version of the plan she named “MHC Forward.” This plan consists of a refreshed mission statement, “articulated vision and values,” four priorities, 10 “strategic pathways,” and 39 “initiatives” while embedding the principles of “diversity, equality and inclusion” in every part of the plan.
To begin her presentation of the plan itself, Holley shared the new mission statement with attendees. The statement reads: “Mount Holyoke, the leading gender-diverse college, immerses students in a vibrant, intellectually adventurous global community to develop their voices and vision for the future, preparing them for lives of purposeful leadership in a culturally diverse world.”
President Holley Introduces the Strategic Plan at Senate. Photo by Althea Shaw '27
Following the mission statement, Holley then shared the new “MHC vision.” The vision reads: “Where Bold Leaders and Boundless Learners Make a Better World.”
Holley stated that the language for this vision was chosen by a College alum.
After introducing the new MHC mission and vision, Holley then dove into the values of MHC Forward. First, Holley introduced the core values of MHC: academic excellence, active engagement, inclusive learning and purposeful leadership. She then clarified the values of the MHC Forward mission and vision statements. The four statements are as follows:
“Academic Excellence,” the first value, aims to strengthen the College’s centers, enhance curricular connections, expand tenure tracks and create an institute for faculty research. Academic Excellence also aims to support interdisciplinary co-teaching, faculty-student mentorship and project-based learning.
“Student Experience,” the second value, plans to support students so they “graduate ready to start careers and shape the future.” The changes for a more “seamless MHC experience” include more coordination for Disability Services, academic support advising and TGNC10, the College’s year-long initiative celebrating ten years of gender-inclusive admissions.
“Operation Leadership,” the third value, indicates that “MHC Forward makes bold and necessary investments to advance teaching and learning, preserve the beauty of our campus and support our commitments to accessibility, sustainability and inclusive excellence.” These plans include continuing the geothermal project by starting work on the rugby field, as well as renovating Rooke Theatre, Clapp Laboratory, Williston Library and Mead and Rockefeller Halls. The plan to have air conditioning in 50% of all dorms by the end of the MHC Forward initiative was also revealed as a part of this value.
The final value introduced was “Resource Stewardship,” aiming to “manage and grow revenue in ways that advance our mission in a changing world.”
After finishing her presentation, Holley then participated in an interview with SGA Chair of Senate Nathania Amadi ’26. To begin the interview, President Holley was asked to explain what she does for her job as College president. She explained that she is the chief executive officer of the College and is in charge of supervising and working with all groups on campus, from student life to faculty. She also sits on the Board of Trustees and makes sure everything at MHC is “running smoothly.”
Amadi then asked President Holley what her vision was for the College and how she would incorporate students in said plan. While she explained that a good portion of her vision for the College was included in her presentation, she added that she aimed to lead the college as one of the greatest higher learning institutions in the country and strengthen academic centers and programs. However, she clarified that since the values of MHC Forward were completely developed by the MHC community, most of the change implied by the vision will be executed by the community themselves.
Furthermore, she aims to include students in her plan by monitoring four already existing “student focus groups” that operate difficult parts of the plan. She also said that she wants to focus on career readiness and residence hall accessibility and sustainability, as well as incorporating student participation into her plan.
Amadi then asked Holley about improving the sense of belonging on campus among the student body. Holley explained that she plans to bring more social life to campus through holding more community events as well as establishing a mandatory Living Learning Community for first years. When asked about the accessibility of this LLC, Holley added that Student Life is brainstorming solutions in order to meet the needs of all students, and that this LLC will not be officially established until 2026 or 2027.
Next, Amadi asked how Holley plans to equally meet the needs of all departments. Holley said that she simply plans to ask each department what they need and communicate with them directly. Although this process has not been fully completed yet, she mentioned that fill rates for meeting department needs are “high.”
To further gauge student need, Holley told Amadi and the Senate that she has students sit on the Academic Programs Committee, which is largely made up of faculty. Keane said she was appointed due to the need for student input, and that other students would be required to go through an application process and interview in order to join.
When asked about how finances will be included in the strategic plan, Holley said that she plans to create a sustainable resource system for the College, consisting of a strategic enrollment plan, assessment of student support and clearer tuition philosophy. She also disclosed that most of the College’s spending has and will go towards faculty salary and benefits.
Amadi then asked Holley how she plans to keep the community informed about the changes taking place due to MHC Forward. Holley stated that, as of the time of the interview, she had already sent out as much information as she could. She also mentioned that the student working groups would contribute to keeping the student body informed.
Holley then clarified that since MHC Forward is still a “very new” plan, not a lot of its core objectives have been fulfilled quite yet. She did mention, however, that the lengthening of the Sophomore Institute has been put in place for the winter of 2024, showing a progression of MHC Forward.
For her final question, President Holley was asked by Amadi what she wants students to take away from her presentation and interview. Holley said that the MHC community is crucial to the new vision, encouraging participation and input even post-graduation.
As the final section of the senate meeting, a Q&A with President Holley was held, with senators and attendees being encouraged to ask questions about MHC Forward. To begin the Q&A, attendee Autumn Larsen ’25 asked Holley about the “sunsetting” of the German and Russian departments despite student pushback and what her plan was for supporting existing departments. Holley explained that she was contacted as President-elect about this issue by many students, and cited the reason for the “sunset” as the College’s inability to sustain and hire staff for these departments. To combat this, Holley says that MHC Forward plans to evaluate all departments and decide ahead of time whether or not to keep them, and said that a “sunset” of this nature “will not happen again.” She also said that merging departments would also help in preventing “sunsets.”
Accessibility Justice Club and Jewish Student Union board member Stevie Wilensky ’27 then asked Holley how she plans to address the inaccessibility of the religious centers on campus, as disabled religious students do not currently have many dedicated places to practice their faith. Holley stated that accessibility was at the forefront of her priorities for MHC Forward, acknowledging the campus’s inaccessibility. She said that she plans to communicate with Campus Accessibility Planners and Student Life in order to address the inaccessible areas of campus.
Mount Holyoke Outing Club member Erin Wilson ’27 asked about how President Holley plans to support first-year “springies” — first years who start in the spring — in adapting to campus life with their fall class peers. Attendee Tanvee Sai ’27 also had a similar question about how spring students and LLC members would be incorporated into Holley’s plan for a mandatory first-year LLC. Holley said that MHC Forward was designed to assist all students, including spring students, and that the needs of spring students will be better addressed in years to come. She also stated that first-year spring students would be incorporated into the first-year LLC, stating that community building among first years is crucial for maintaining student engagement and retention.
Building off of questions about the first-year LLC, Wilensky asked about accessibility and housing accommodations for the students in the LLC, stating that it would be “impossible” to meet all student accommodation needs with a singular dorm building. Holley assured attendees that there will be at least one dorm hall that will fit accessibility criteria, and that renovations will be made if there is not. She also stated that there will be student and alum feedback opportunities regarding the first-year LLC in the future.
Planned Parenthood Generation Action Event Coordinator Karis Knoll ’25 inquired about how the College plans to keep its students informed about ongoing violent worldwide conflicts. Holley stated plans by faculty and students to educate the MHC community on these conflicts, as according to Holley, the new mission cannot be fulfilled without the acknowledgment of them. She then encouraged the Senate attendees to talk to faculty about education.
August Longtine ’26, Ice Hockey Club Senator, asked Holley about how she plans to protect the safety of club sport players. Similarly, Ballet Club Senator Molly Brown ’25 asked Holley about the lack of an accessible person or place for club athlete injury recovery, as their current options are “expensive and inaccessible.” Holley stated that she plans to hire new associate coaches for NCAA sports and a fulltime club sport director to help this issue. She said she also plans to raise the issue of injury recovery with someone in hopes of resolving the problem.
Holley then proceeded to answer miscellaneous questions about tenure professors, notices about geothermal project progress and expectations for tuition increase.
After concluding the Q&A session, the Oct. 1 senate meeting was dismissed.
Madeleine Diesl '28 contributed fact-checking.