San Francisco Chronicle

Mills College board OKs merger

Historic women’s college will open to all genders

- By Nanette Asimov

Against the wishes of students and alumnae groups, historic Mills College, one of just 37 women’s colleges remaining in the country, will merge with a private Boston university and become “gender inclusive,” the Oakland school announced Tuesday.

The move came after a judge lifted an order that had temporaril­y blocked the school from cementing the change.

Mills, a safe harbor for women’s education since 1852, and the first single-gender college in the country to explicitly welcome transgende­r students, will grant its final degrees in June.

Remaining students will graduate with a degree from “Mills College at Northeaste­rn University,” the college announced.

“This is a big leap for Mills and an exceptiona­l opportunit­y for our entire community,” Mills President Elizabeth Hillman said in a statement. She noted that Northeaste­rn has agreed to fund an institute on the Oakland campus “to carry on the Mills legacy of advancing women’s leadership and empowering BIPOC and first-generation students.”

Mills is a rare private college that holds a unique place in the Bay Area and in higher education, with more than half of undergradu­ates identifyin­g as people of color and half as LGBTQ. Mills enrolls 600 undergradu­ates. Its graduate program of 350 students has long enrolled men.

In March, Hillman announced that Mills was in such dire financial trouble that it would shut down in 2023. Three months later, on June 17, the president revealed that the college was in talks with Northeaste­rn University, which has six campuses across the country, including in San Francisco and San Jose, as well as in London and Canada.

The closure announceme­nt had already triggered protests by hundreds of students and alumnae, who hired financial analysts to refute Mills’ claims of poverty. Two trustees also sued Mills on June 7 in Alameda County Superior Court on grounds that the college had failed to take sufficient action to save itself.

The plaintiffs — trustee and alumnae associatio­n president Viji Nakka-Cammauf and thentruste­e Tara Singh, also an alumnae associatio­n leader — won a temporary restrainin­g order that blocked the merger, at least for a short time, so Nakka-Cammauf could examine Mills’ financials in more detail. Singh’s term as a trustee had expired.

Judge Stephen Pulido lifted the order on Monday, and the trustees took swift action Tuesday.

Alumnae reacted with disappoint­ment.

“Many alumnae and those in the Mills community are dishearten­ed that the trustees decided to forgo their fiduciary duties by blindly voting to approve this merger without a full and clear picture of Mills’ financial situation or a finalized term sheet as it relates to the deal,” said Alexa Pagonas, vice president of the Alumnae Associatio­n of Mills College.

Pagonas said NakkaCamma­uf would continue working to protect Mills’ legacy.

Katie Sanborn, chair of the college trustees, said that was the point of joining with Northeaste­rn.

“The board sees the merger as a positive step forward that will enable the legacy of Mills to endure,” she said.

 ?? Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle ?? Claire Oyidiana protests the merging of Mills College. Former and current students refuted Mills’ claims of financial ruin.
Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Claire Oyidiana protests the merging of Mills College. Former and current students refuted Mills’ claims of financial ruin.

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