In a 2020 message to alumnae President Hillman stated that conversations with UC Berkeley had been going on since at least the start of that year. In all that time, did she and the Executive Committee consult with students, faculty, workers, and alumnae? It seems not. Over a 15 month span of time, President Hillman decided the most appropriate day to make her official announcement was St Patrick's Day right before Spring Break.
The day before this announcement, Governor Gavin Newsom told The View he was "worried" about the petition to recall him. Was this what triggered Hillman into action? Are Newsom and the powerful political families he is connected to involved in this deal?
President Hillman has been very available to the media in the past week, but chose to go on vacation today rather than be in her residence at the College during the Save Mills rally - which drew hundreds of people in person and thousands more on the live streams. The rally was at the College gates as protestors are not allowed on the Mills campus.
The Facebook group "Strong Proud All Mills" was created in 2020 because of this "merger" with UC Berkeley. Don't believe me? Here's the group's admin saying as much:
Source: Facebook
The admin describing the merger as "kind of a cool plan" and saying she "loves the idea" is a strong hint that this group isn't really there to fight on behalf of alumnae against closure and preserve Mills as a degree-granting institution. What about "Mills continues as a women's college where people earn degrees and men don't live on campus" - would that be a cool plan too? Has that even been contemplated by these mysterious planners?
The video conference she is asking people to watch has been removed, but President Hillman's accompanying letter is still up (for now):
Source: alumnae.mills.edu
So the Board of Trustees was expecting a $6 million loss in the 2020 financial year would double to a $12 million loss in the 2021 year (to June 30), and enrolments would drop 15%. Because COVID.
UC Berkeley itself is in far more serious financial trouble, facing a "budget crisis like no other" with a $340 million loss for the 21 financial year [Source: UC Berkeley]
Berkeley's own people describe their budget crisis as "a matter of life and death".
Is a "merger" [takeover?] really the best possible outcome for Mills College OR UC Berkeley? Should UCB be expanding to a new (for them) campus where tenured professors were laid off by President Hillman due to financial emergency, when it is in a financial emergency of its own and facing staff reductions itself?
[Source: The Daily Californian, UCB Student Newspaper]
UCB Chancellor Carol Christ said “I don’t know of any time more difficult in my lived life as this one" and warned that hard times were ahead for Berkeley's students, staff and faculty:
Source: UC Berkeley
Since in mid-2020 the financial crisis was known about and discussions with UCB were "preliminary" and "exploratory", what other steps did President Hillman take to improve the financial position of the College? Have they had time to work yet? Or were alternative plans not considered, despite the "preliminary" nature of this idea?
In fact, a partnership with UCB Berkeley was one of the first things President Hillman announced in 2017 after she started her Financial Stabilization Plan:
Source: PRWeb
In July 2017 the Board of the Berkeley Faculty Association called Hillman out for remaking Mills College's curriculum without consulting with faculty and firing 5 tenured professors "in violation of professional norms and policies enunciated by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and widely accepted throughout American higher education". They demanded transparency, which seems to be a recurring theme here:
President Hillman said one thing about her consultation with faculty, faculty said another:
President Hillman removed a world-renowned jazz musician and a nationally recognized poet, but her elimination of the Physics department was a particular blow to womens' participation in STEM - an obvious source of potential fund-raising in the Bay Area:
Others have also observed a pattern of silencing opposing voices, demoralization, and retaliation against critics:
The cunning calculation of making these sweeping moves when students are on holiday and less likely to protest was also repeated:
Source of above quotes: Academe Magazine
In the 2020 Town Hall, President Hillman said "nothing has been finalized". In last week's interview with the SF Chronicle, President Hillman said "nothing has been finalized". Yet she announced that Mills would not be accepting first year students in the next academic year, but UC Berkeley would have 200 first year students living on campus. That sounds like a takeover, and pretty final. Are proper procedures of corporate governance being followed by the Mills College Board of Trustees and the UC Board of Regents? Has a deal been done before students, staff and alumnae were consulted? Before the Strong, Proud Alumnae Association even had a chance to begin phonebanking? Before assistance from powerful Millsies in local politics like Barbara Lee and Lateefah Simon could try to help?
Source: The Campanil
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SEE ALSO
1. Mills College is Worth Billions - Who Gets the Prize?
2. 135 Acres Worth Less than $300,000? College Owns Hundreds of Millions in Equities, Real Estate
3. We Got the Mills College Receipts - From the IRS
4. Mills College Financially "Very Healthy" With 100% Rating From Charity Navigator
5. Mills College 2017 Financial Stabilization Plan
6. Gasoline on the Burning Platform - Men to Live on Mills College Campus
7. UC Berkeley "Life and Death" Financial Crisis, How Can They Afford Mills College Problems Too?
8. Strong, Proud and Determined to Save the College We Love
9. Sue the Board - It Worked For Sweet Briar, Could It Work For Mills College?
10. Déjà Vu - Organized Faction of AAMC Pushing UC Merger Plan Similar to Board of Trustees
11. Mills College Leadership Caught Speechless by AAMC Resistance
12. Save Mills Coalition Steps Up, Hillman Administration Gets Voted Down
13. Mills College Community Stunned by Another Hillman Hand Grenade
14. The Art of the Steal 2.0 - Billion Dollar Black Holes From Barnes to Bender
15. Trustee vs Trustee - Mills College Board Members Sue For Transparency
16. F*CK YOUR INDEPENDENCE: Hillman Declares War Against Mills College Alumnae
17. White Supremacy Reigns in Mills College and Northeastern Boards
18. The Defendant Tells The Media About The Plaintiffs
19. Good News For Women's Colleges - Congratulations, Beth!
20. $25 Million To See The Books
21. "Damage So Severe The Community May Never Recover"
22. Desperate Defendants Finally Speak: Gaslighting Frenzy Before Court Monday
23. Failed Leadership Fakes Support With Fake Forum
24. Mills College Has $85 Million Without Restrictions, So Why Can't It Stay Independent?
26. Simple Solutions For Mills College Financial Situation
27. Online Education In The Bay Area: New Gold Mountain
28. Mills College Trustees Rushing Into A Deal Without Knowing The Terms
29. What Happened At The First Mills College Court Hearing?
30. Mills College Is Lost, But The Perpetrators Of Its Downfall Remain