In this post we will discuss:
- AAMC lawsuit against Beth Hillman et al, Monday August 16 2:30pm PST (live stream)
- Defendant Beth Hillman blog post emailed to alums and stakeholders about AAMC lawsuit
- Dirty Thirteen Trustees, most of whom are named in the lawsuit, letter
- Defendants social media demoralization campaign
- Trustees finally speaking on social media - to spread disinformation
Quick Recap
On March 17, 2021 Mills College interim President Beth Hillman announced that the College would be closing forever, would no longer grant degrees, and now would be some sort of "Institute" promoting her personal values.
Since then, this somehow morphed to: "The missions of Mills and Northeastern are aligned through our shared commitment to access, social justice, and urban engagement. "
Later in March, President Hillman announced that 200 co-ed students from UC Berkeley would be living on campus from the Fall.
Thanks to the collective efforts of the large and still rapidly growing Resistance, none of that came true. Mills is not closing forever, it continues to grant degrees, no UCB Changemakers or Northeastern NUBound co-ed undergraduates will be living on the campus this Fall, and so far, we have still not heard any plan for the Mills Institute.
A new white knight has emerged, casting UC Berkeley aside after years of alleged "partnership". The August vision is that by letting a rich Boston university absorb Mills College, changing to co-ed for undergraduate, bringing in students from overseas, and having a more workforce-oriented education... this is the best way anyone could possibly come up with for Mills College to retain its independence and unique identity for at least another 17 decades to come. Never mind that Northeastern University has such a track record for acquisitions that the local press talk of them "absorbing" Mills, or that Boston's first Black and first female mayor publicly castigated them for the damage they did to the local Black and Latinx community [See "Damage So Severe The Community May Never Recover"]
Now, the battle for Mills College seems to be laser-focused on one essential question, which unfortunately it seems like President Hillman is only prepared to answer if dragged kicking and screaming into a Courtroom. Maybe not even then.
Why does the College have to lose its independence at all? Why can't it remain as it has been for 169 years, as its Founders intended?
That's at the heart of this lawsuit. Rather than answering the Plaintiff Trustees by letting them see the financial documents, term sheets, business case, and other justification for the move - the College has denied them, slandered them, undermined them, and done everything in their power to avoid having to show those documents. Begging the question...why? What exactly is in there that they are so determined nobody should see?
Most likely, it shows that the College does not need to merge with Northeastern University. That it was doing just fine until Beth Hillman came along and reset the prices to unsustainably low levels, and fired a whole bunch of tenured faculty. Whatever her justification for these moves was at the time, it is crystal clear now: they didn't work. President Hillman's Financial Stabilization Plan, having now been implemented for more than 4 years, has had the opposite effect: it has financially destabilized the College, to the point where this President claims its very existence is in jeopardy. We just have to take her word for it, of course, because she won't show the documents. And her word is not particularly valuable, given how much evidence we have now accumulated of her false public statements.
All that is needed to save Mills College is run admissions properly: get some more students paying more market-based pricing for their tuition. It is clear that this simple solution cannot possibly happen under this President and Board. To save Mills, we need to replace the failed President and Board of Trustees with a shared governance model, a turnaround team of experts, fully engaged and listened to stakeholders, and a new President, Provost, and CFO who have the capabilities, track record and vision to restore Mills College to its rightful place as a California icon. Every ingredient is already present for success, we just need to remove the incompetent leadership that every month seems to come up with a new way to do more damage.
Tune In To The Superior
This matter is being heard in Alameda County Superior Court by judge Stephen Pulido at 2:30pm PST on Monday, August 16. A link for the live stream is here: Alameda Court Live Stream 517.
The Plaintiffs, who as Trustees are entitled to review any documents of the College, say that from the documents they have seen, they have not seen any need for the drastic plans that change the nature of Mills College and the use of its endowment from what it has been for 17 decades.
They say that in Court documents, because they have not spoken to the media.
President Hillman, on the other hand, has been on quite a spree, using the media to besmirch the Plaintiffs for doing due diligence as Trustees:
)An Unfortunate Shit-Show
Here is the section of the Bylaws that says the Trustees are entitled to review and make copies of documents of every kind:
The specific concerns raised by the Plaintiffs are extremely troubling, but have not been addressed at all by any spokesperson of the College. Even the Minutes of meetings are being hidden from Trustees.
Meanwhile, the Defendants are all of a sudden being very outspoken. We have heard nothing from the Trustees in 5 months, but all of a sudden, right before Monday's Court hearing, they're speaking out.
Seemingly in response to this Facebook comment from AAMC Vice President and media spokesperson Alexa Pagonas, the College mustered a gaggle of traitors to promote selling out Mills College. Their message? To reinforce the Hillman narrative and deny that there is any need for transparency. These ladies have seen everything they need to, so there's no need to show it to anyone else. Mills College could be lost forever, and nobody would ever know why, it would always be a mystery...and that is the best outcome that these "leaders" can create for the stakeholders.
Hey, staff and faculty will get payrises they deserve that have been deliberately withheld from them by this President and Board for 5 years. This won't happen when the Board meets to vote on if they deserve them, or when the College is out of its "Financial Emergency" and can afford them; no, these much deserved pay rises have somehow become conditional on the Northeastern deal going through. Which means conditional on the AAMC either losing or dropping this lawsuit. No payrises? Not Hillman's fault. AAMC's fault.
Surely nobody working at a liberal arts college is gullible enough to fall for this? Other than the Dirty Thirteen trustees who've decided to interfere with a lawsuit half of them are Defendants in.
These people are playing games with people's lives, families, students. The amount of stress being created in the community to cover up the mismanagement and character deficiencies of an inexperienced and incompetent leader and a dozen or two supporters is of astronomical proportions.
Tell me Why
Why must Mills go, instead of President Hillman going? It should be obvious by now to any impartial observer that she is doing damage to the College, she is making bad decisions, she is not following correct procedures or acting with good faith. She blames everyone under the sun, except herself.
Will the Board of Trustees vote to hold themselves accountable? Or will they point the fingers at the Alumnae Assoication, creating division and ill-will that further devalues the many precious assets of Mills College.
How can anyone be fighting against transparency at a time like this?
The Dirty Devil's Dozen
Almost all of these Dirty Thirteen are tied up in the lawsuit somehow. Why can't the Defendants argue their case in front of the judge? Why do they have to purloin the AAMC mailing list and use it for nefarious purposes, a bully pulpit to bash the Plaintiffs? If there is no basis for them to see the documents they are requesting, shouldn't that be for the Court to decide?
The betrayers of Mills College, may their names go down in infamy:
- Muirhead, Mrs. Helen Drake, '58, Honorary Trustee
- Moses, Ms. Alexandra Orgel, '64, JD, LLM, Trustee Emerita
- Flanigan, Ms. Lyn '65, MA, JD, Trustee
- Schuster, Dr. Marilyn R. '65, MPhil, PhD, Trustee
- O’Brien, Ms. Anne Jarvis '67, MBA, JD, Trustee
- Foster, Dr. Adrienne '74, MA, PhD, Alumna Trustee
- Wood, Ms. Deborah '75, JD, Alumna Trustee
- Decker, Ms. Leslie '79, Trustee
- Sanborn, Ms. Kathleen '83, MS, Chair of the Board of Trustees
- Parker, Ms. Elizabeth '85, MA, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
- May, Dr. Karen '86, MA, PhD., Trustee and former president of the AAMC
- Wolfe, Ms. Kirsten '88, Trustee
- Wiley, Ms. Carmen A. '19, Recent Graduate Trustee
As we have previously pointed out, most of the Board of Trustees are in their 60's, 70's or older. What happened to their wisdom? With the exception of the two treacherous Alumna Trustee former Plaintiffs, these are all white people.
Who knew she had a weekly blog? There's certainly no obvious way to find it at the College's web site.
Striking Out All The Conflicts Of Interest
Muirhead '58 (a painter) and Moses '64 are non-voting Trustees. They can express an opinion, but because they are elderly and can't vote they're unlikely to have done the same amount of due diligence as other trustees. Now we're down to 11.
It sure is interesting that Alexandra O Moses is a Boston attorney whose offices are located next to Mills' elite women's college rival Wellesley...just a few miles from Northeastern University.
Next, let's throw out any of the names from the lawsuit - Plaintiffs, former Plaintiffs, Defendants, soon-to-be-Defendants. That takes out Schuster, Foster, Wood, Sanborn, Parker, May. They should know better than to publicly interfere with a Court matter. What do they think all their expensive attorneys are there for?
It would be scandalous if any of these Trustees were voting on matters related to lawsuits they are personally involved in. They would all need to recuse themselves, of course.
Now we are left with 5.
Flanigan '65 (attorney) and Wiley '17 (museum intern) have both now engaged themselves with the lawsuit by attempting to interfere with it publicly. More on that below.
Speaking of sure is interestings...it sure is interesting that Alexandra O Moses bought a property in 1998 previously owned by both UC Berkeley and Yale University and the James and Tora Wiley trust.
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The frequent changes of ownership of this property between Ms Moses and various trusts named after herself suggests a degree of financial sophistication, someone comfortable with moving million-dollar assets around through trusts...though the underlying justification for all these "left hand paying the right hand" transactions is unclear. Maybe she was hard up for cash.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence, a bit like Beth Hillman and Rob Bonta being at Yale Law School at the same time.
Kirsten Wolfe '88 (marketing consultant) was on the disgraced Executive Committee, subject to a scathing No Confidence vote from the Mills College faculty. All these people need to resign. Mills College's marketing has been terrible.
That leaves Anne O'Brien '67 (D.C. lawyer) and Leslie Decker '79 (corporate banker). They are the only two Trustees named in this letter who can legitimately claim some independence. That's a long way from a majority in a Board with 25 votes.
What about the rest of the Board? 18 members (and 5 Defendants) did not lend their names to this. Significantly, there are at least 6 alumnae members of the Board who did not:
- Dr Sabrina Kwist '17, education specialist, Dean,
- Hon. Jacki Brown '74, judge, former prosecutor
- Evelyn Thorne '48, college accreditor
- Joan Danforth '53, investment manager
- Clare Springs '66, attorney
- Dr Viji Nakka-Cammauf, the heroic AAMC President suing the College for documents they are required by law to provide to her and every other Trustee.
Of course, the gaslighting on social media and in the actual media was "trustees on the Board who are alumnae are unanimous". When gaslighting comes from more than one person in support of the same narrative, it is clear that this is a deliberate tactic, not an accident or sociopathic tic.
The 6 alumnae on the Board who ipso facto prove Trsutee Flanigan's statement to be an outright lie are to be commended for refusing to sign this letter, but that does not absolve them of responsibility. Trustees with concerns need to speak out, perhaps even join the Plaintiffs. They have a duty of care and loyalty to ALL stakeholders of Mills.
It is clear that none of the names listed in this letter purporting to represent alumnae are acting in the best interests of Mills College, whatever protestations of "good faith" they sing. They all must resign, along with the other Defendants, members of the Executive Committee, and long-term Trustees. There are too many dinosaurs who have been on this Board for decades, they have driven the College into this position and they need to be held accountable.
The problems of Mills College are fixable: by competent people.
Simultaneous Attacks
By now President Hillman's patterns are becoming familiar. Make controversial moves on weekends and holidays where less people will be around to question directly. Hope the students are out partying instead of reading emails and bitching on Facebook. Launch several attacks at once, on multiple fronts. Amplify these with social media influencers to get the message out. Objective - place the blame on COVID, pressures on liberal arts colleges, lack of demand for womens' colleges, the AAMC, people in the late 90's not having enough sex [yes, really...see below]...basically, it doesn't matter who you blame, as long as it's not the President and the Board. They do not have to be accountable for their actions. They don't even have to explain themselves to other Trustees, according to what is claimed in this lawsuit.
President Hillman speaks the polar opposite of truth. The Alumnae Association is not opposed to change. They seek one very specific change. The fish rots from the head down. Change the rotting head, replace the disastrous Hillman Administration and the Board that backs them with #NewLeadership. Keep the rest of Mills College, return it to a working model where revenues exceed expenses, admissions yields increase, and future world leaders continue to be cultivated.
The lawsuit seems quite simple. The Bylaws say "trustees can inspect any document". For months, 4 of the trustees tried to do exactly that. Now, the 2 African-American alumna trustees admit to having received secret information from the College under non-disclosure. They told the AAMC that they felt the College would provide them with more secret information if they collaborated.
It has been admitted in Court documents filed by one of the Defendants that they changed their mind after a phone call from Katie Sanborn where pressure, manipulation, outside forces, ability to adequately perform fiduciary duties, post-traumatic stress and even death were on the agenda for discussion :
Seems like one heck of a phone call. Coercion? Dissuading?
It's kind of a neat trick that one of these two traitorous Alumnae Trustees allegedly (hearsay) confesses to breaching the College's confidentiality, then suddenly switches sides to join the attack against the Alumnae Association - which they have been elected to represent. Then the Defendants use this as a specific example of the AAMC's disclosure of confidential information - with the blame now unjustly shifted to Dr Nakka-Cammauf - as their excuse of why they can't show the Plaintiffs the basis for the decision to close the College.
It's a convoluted argument. The logic does not compute. The receipts do not add up. Perhaps the idea is to bamboozle the Court. Like the Chewbacca Defense:
The AAMC has been trying to get the information since at least April, without the need for any lawsuits or spending money. The College could have complied at any time since then to avoid legal action, injunctions, investigations, and everything else that is now piling up.
Why fight this for 4 months, all the way to Court, all the way to Forbes and the New York Times and CBS and FOX news? Why not just show the documents they are asking for?
What Are They Refusing To Provide?
Here is the specific list of documents the Plaintiffs are seeking. All the Defendants would need to do to get rid of the lawsuit is to show them.
Like, COVID insurance? That seems like it might be relevant, to a College that allegedly has to close forever...because COVID. Committee minutes? What is the point of Committees taking minutes if Trustees have to sue to see them?
Did the Dirty Devil's Dozen Trustees who signed that letter all receive this information, but the two Plaintiffs were excluded? Or do the Dirty Thirteen think none of it is relevant to a decision about whether to keep the College and lose the leadership, or lose the College forever (and, no doubt, the leadership too...the wrecking crew will move on to their next victim).
White Devil Speak With Forked Tongue
In the absence of logic, reason, or any plausible legal argument...what is left for the Defendants to do but information warfare? Get your PR firm to corral an influencer army and go on the offensive. Spread the gaslighting and false information, divide and conquer, pit stakeholder groups against each other and sit back cackling gleefully as you watch it all burn.
Think there isn't a spiritual component to this? Mills began as a Christian seminary. Mills College is a gift to the world from Christians. From the beginning, it was never "only" for Christians. Mills College has always welcomed people from all walks of life.
Source: Instagram
"Recent graduate Trustee" Carmen Wiley '19 took to Instagram to cheerlead for The Cabal. Carmen is the youngest person on the Board. She has a B.A. in Art History and works as an intern at the Oakland museum. She feels she has the gravitas, financial and legal training not only to make decisions about billion dollar mergers and acquisitions and multi-million dollar lawsuits that she is interfering with...but also to lecture others on those decisions. That confidentiality that Beth and Katie mentioned as the reason why Viji can't see the business case for closing down Mills? Yeah, that doesn't apply to members of The Cabal like Wiley.
These social media influencer Trustees should ask Hogan Lovells about the legal meaning of "coercion" in California Civil Code Section 52.1, and what the word "Dissuading" means in Penal Code 136.1 PC. Is Carmen and Lyn's desire to prevent Trustees from looking at a few documents about Mills College worth 4 years in prison? Are they that dedicated to anti-transparency?
Perhaps they don't care, because the College's insurance indemnifies them from the costs of any legal action and any actual personal responsibility for their actions. It's easier to blame others.
Carmen says she is speaking out in order to clear up all the misinformation spread by President Hillman floating around. Why now? Why not speak your thoughts in March?
Yes, a structural deficit. The structure used to be "Revenues > Expenses". President Hillman restructured revenues with a Tuition Reset, to make them less than what was needed to cover the College's expenses. Now the structure of the College's finances is "Revenues < Expenses". This creates a deficit each year, because math.
"These records have and always will be public" - in fact, the College only made the audited financials public very recently, as a result of pressure from The Resistance including our post We Got The Mills College Receipts - From The IRS. As we have previously pointed out, the audited financials for the most recent financial year to June 30, 2020 show Mills College made a $6,366,736 profit. The IRS Form 990 returns, which show different numbers, are required by law to be public. Why not make the annual accounts to June 30, 2021 public? They would seem to be most relevant to the decisions at hand.
How many Boards has she sat on to know "this is absolutely how every single other board works"? How many NDAs has she signed?
Her urging us to hold institutions accountable would be amusing, if there weren't so many hearts and souls being wrecked by this atrocity. Has Carmen ever held the College's leadership accountable in a Board meeting?
The lawsuit jeopardizes Mills College's ability to do right by people? That implies that Carmen expects Northeastern to do right by people. In the last post Boston's first black and first female mayor specifically called out Northeastern University for not doing right by the local community. Did she study that lawsuit as part of her due diligence? Or read about it first here on ecency?
The proposal from Save Mills does not seem like a viable plan? Do tell, Carmen. Explain yourself. What do you know about education that Save Mill's expert Stefano Falconi, former CFO of Carnegie Mellon, or the AAMC's forensic accountant do not?
Why would engaging 300 volunteer alums phone banking to boost enrolment and fundraising not work? Since Trustees are finally speaking to stakeholders, could you please explain your thinking. Strangers will do better than alums, OK. #SoundsLegit.
"Bankruptcy is the absolute worst case scenario" - the College's second largest creditor is the Alumnae Association; President Hillman has chosen to subject the organization to repeated attacks, besmirching the reputation of alums and interfering with the AAMC's ability to raise funds and communicate with its members at an alleged time of "financial emergency. All in retaliation for a lawsuit merely seeking information, filed after months of trying to see documents the Bylaws unquestionably permit them to view and copy. Is it prudent to bad-mouth your creditors, especially when past graduates of the College are also the biggest source of annual giving?
The "absolute worst case scenario" is actually a rich suitor from afar with nothing invested in the community or the culture comes out of nowhere, promises the world to get the deal, dangles money in front of peoples' faces, sweet talks the gullible, then takes over Mills College lock, stock, and barrel - only to twist it into something unrecognizable a few short years into the future.
Think that can't happen? Northeastern keeps doing it, the last one was a month ago. New College of Humanities at Northeastern was acquired a couple of years back and has now been renamed Northeastern University - London and moved to a different location. See 21 - "Damage So Severe The Community May Never Recover"
"The College has since offered the plaintiff[s] complete access". This person is completely lying to the public about an active legal case, from a pulpit of presumed authority as a Trustee. Let's go to the source: the legal documents spell out in great detail the ridiculous conditions the College put on access to information justifying President Hillman's plans. This is as far from "complete" as it is possible to get with documents. The only thing complete about these conditions is that they completely violate Mills College's Bylaws.
Here's what Carmen's attorney Tom Connally told the Plaintiff's counsel on July 19, 2021. The College had all the documents compiled and ready, after much time, expense and effort; and were prepared to share them the next week...under highly restrictive conditions, while acknowledging that the quantity of records was "voluminous", running into the thousands of pages. Searchable electronic copies would not be provided. Although the AAMC legal team has employed a forensic accountant and education expert, neither they nor any attorney could be present with Viji during the document review. Copies could only be made in specific circumstances with permission, ignoring the clear language in the Bylaws permitting Trustees to copy any document.
They had the documents ready a month ago. So why go to the trouble of a lawsuit and all the bad press, instead of just showing them?
This is what Carmen Wiley claims is "complete access". Did you look at any of these documents, Carmen? Didn't you care?
The idea that the Plaintiffs are suing Mills College, which the Defendants claim is broke, to get money is laughable. The AAMC is the College's second biggest creditor, they are owed $2 million. They lent the money to President Hillman's Administration, and re-negotiated the terms of the loan to give the College longer to pay. In hindsight it's looking like this was a cynical move to drain the coffers of the AAMC, to fend off anticipated future legal action from the mission.
The AAMC's For Generations Still campaign aims to raise $5 million to fund this lawsuit...to save the College. There is no bonus paid to any of the Plaintiffs from winning the lawsuit. Do any of the Defendants get a bonus if Mills College goes through with an acquisition? Please answer that, Carmen.
Any damages awarded would most likely be covered by Mills College's insurance. The AAMC seem to be asking for something very reasonable, so the Judge next week may choose to award them costs. Directors and Officers insurance is usually available to pay for things like this...as long as there is no wrongdoing.
Could there be wrongdoing? Well, if there was no wrongdoing, there would be transparency. Right? What other reason could there be for such vicious attacks aimed at almost every stakeholder group, right before the trial where you are going to argue against transparency? There couldn't be anything to hide in that situation, that would clearly be preposterous.
Why do these people keep using old numbers? The endowment was worth $206 million in March, 2021. Seems like that $15+ million variance could really make a difference in a time of Financial Emergency, when pay rises can only be given if an acquisition goes through and this pesky lawsuit seeking transparency is stopped.
The endowment payout was increased to 7%. Did you miss that meeting, Carmen? 7% of $206 million is $14.42 million, 5% of $190.9 million is $9.5 million. So that's a difference of $5 million per year in your cashflow calculations. Are you sure you know what you're talking about here, Carmen? "Lowers the market value"...one of the Plaintiff Trustees, who has an MBA from Mills College, claims specifically that assets are not being reported to their Board at their current market value. Do you dispute her assessment? On what basis?
"Much to the contrary"
This is further evidence (do we even need any more at this point?) that people on the Board of Mills College do not have a handle on the financial numbers. Either that, or they are deliberately misleading and/or misled.
Since Carmen is an expert on art and museums, perhaps she can share her assessement of the value of the collection in the Mills College Art Museum. She worked there for three years - did they promise a painting or two for good behavior? I'm not sure she is the right person to tell us about the offshore private equity holdings in unicorns.
Why were you silent on this the entire time on the Board since 2019, Carmen? Why didn't you tell us this in March, if it was such a great concern to you? What is motivating you to speak this way now? Please share what due diligence you have done to come to the conclusions you are espousing. Did you tell this to Beth a year or two ago?
Were any of the various proposals actually asked to provide a plan for infrastructure finance? Did the Hillman Administration speak to anyone from the government that just passed a $2 trillion infrastructure finance bill? Is Barbara Lee going to do anything to help?
"Mills's current model is unsustainable"...well, clearly we have a sustainability fail on our hands. The current LEADERSHIP model is unsustainable. The lack of transparency, inclusion, and shared governance is appalling. Look at the problems being caused as we lurch from one Hillman wild card to the next. 200 UC Berkeley students turned into 300 Northeastern students turned into 25 Northeastern students maybe, turned into none. All before any deals were signed. Why? Why announce all this to the public then not follow through with it? The optics are insane, leading one to question if there are other agendas at play.
However the basic model of Mills is quite clearly sustainable. It has lasted for 169 years, longer than almost any other women's college in the United States - indeed, the world. Mills is a global brand with huge past success to build on and a bright future to look forward to. Anyone who can't see that needs to resign and get out of the way of the thousands of passionate Millsies and their supporters who are ready to make Mills thrive under #NewLeadership.
As for student recruiting, "how can we recruit first year students when the President is planning to close the College before they can graduate" seems like a more appropriate question to ask in these circumstances.
The primary factor in Mills College selling itself to Northeastern is not Beth Hillman, the Mills College Board of Trustees and their 4-year failure of a "Financial Stabilization Plan". In fact, it is people in the late 90s not having enough children. Uh-huh.
We are talking about charging the same in tuition as Mills used to before President Hillman's reset. Around what Northeastern charges for tuition.
On top of that, from the declining admission numbers it looks like we need to find about 300 more students per year. OK, looking for them in Oakland didn't work too good, they are more interested in Berkeley according to the recent student Trustee. Why not spread the search for new people a little wider than your own back yard? Surely it is possible to send online advertising to enough people that 300 sign up, in a world of 7.9 billion people where 42% are under 25. [Source: World Bank]. In Oakland, one of the world's coolest places, and Greater Silicon Valley, one of the world's richest places. A place of infinite possibility. Hey, Silicon Valley! Does anyone know how to find 300 new customers? We need some help over here!
Trustee Wiley's unironic disdain for Colleges with an emphasis on "employability" suggests she hasn't done even basic due diligence on Northeastern, which is all about that..
She was asked some good questions, but provided no real answers. Once again, unironically, she says that Board deliberations are Confidential. Does she think some sort of different standard applies when those Board deliberations become the subject of lawsuits?
Here's a little tip for Ms Wiley. Before you throw yourself in the midst of a lawsuit by interfering with it, familiarize yourself with the Directors and Officers insurance policy you hope is protecting you. It's all fun and games until you end up listed as a Defendant and the lawyer sends you the bill. Oh, Beth will pay? But she has no money! She will pay when she gets the Northeastern money. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it.
Social Assault
Someone posted an epic Facebook thread idea, asking Millsies to show their reaction to President Hillman's latest letter using only emoji.
⛽️💡 = #NailedIt
Trustee Lyn Flanigan, class of '65 (so she's around 80) thought this thread was the appropriate location to sneak in a comment drawing attention to her participation in the lawsuit. She failed to disclose that she was one of the trustees supporting the end of Mills College, who has been on the Board since 2008, or that most of the people signing the letter with her are Defendants (or soon to be). We have already demonstrated that her use of the word "unanimously" is a straight up lie:
Flanigan did not disclose to the group that she had filed her own declaration in support of the Defendants. She is ready to fight...not for Mills College, but for anti-transparency.
Would you trust this lady with $2 billion?
On June 17, 2020, President Hillman announced that a majority of the Board (if it was unanimous, I'm sure we would have heard) had voted for her to commence discussions with Northeastern University about a potential acquisition absorption alliance.
A mere month later, all the financial details are on the table and have been fully considered by this Trustee. She knows the price. She knows what happens to the endowment. She knows how all of Mills College's financial needs will be met, forever. She knows how they are going to fund an allegedly large annual deficit. She doesn't even care that no students seemed to be interested in the "NU Bound" Northeastern-Mills vision. It is an awkward and weird collaboration, that leaves almost everyone scratching their heads except a few of the septuagenarian geriatric Trustees.
How fast did President Hillman complete her due diligence and transaction negotiations, for Northeastern to have submitted a proposal created after June 17, then for Trustees to have already deliberated on the proposal and these important details by July 25? If everything was really that advanced, how could a week or so's delay from the Court's Temporary Restraining Order affect the plans in any way?
Trustee Flanigan anticipates additional information...but she has already made up her mind? That doesn't sound like prudent fulfilment of fiduciary duty. You'd think an attorney would know to read the fine print before agreeing to the deal.
Social Media Demoralization Campaign - Sowing Discord
Communications professionals recognize the work of their colleagues. Not everything posted on an online forum is a genuine, organic comment. Often, there are agendas at play. PR firms take on personas of multiple accounts at once, and use them to fracture groups in tactics like "consensus cracking".
The purpose of such campaigns is to demoralize, divide, dissuade, disrupt, discredit, deny, and disinform. They spread false claims or opinions they're unable to substantiate. When asked to explain themselves, they cry victim and rage quit.
Have you noticed any new voices appearing in the Mills College social media groups with seemingly similar narratives to each other, and to President Hillman's? They have been following the story from the start, they care deeply about Mills College and only have its best interests at heart...but they had no reason to engage. Until now...a few days before the Court hearing. Uh-huh.
The gaslighting and disinformation we are seeing is not coincidence, or an unappealing character trait. This is textbook information warfare. Divide and conquer. Disrupt the AAMC's ability to communicate with their constituents. Attack their financial supply lines. Try to turn people against them, create factions and spread rumors. Point the fingers everywhere but at yourself.
This has probably worked at many Colleges before. But it didn't work at Mills. Many of us saw these tactics for what they are immediately, and called them out from the start. Others were too trusting at first, but over time have started to see things that opened their eyes up.
There are a few still drinking the Kool Aid, still in the trance. Their numbers are thinning, though. It is telling that President Hillman couldn't even get a simple majority of the Board to sign her letter.
If you eliminate every Trustee mixed up in this lawsuit, and every one who has been on the Board longer than a couple of 3 year terms, there is almost nobody left to vote. The President shouldn't be voting on her own plans. The Defendants shouldn't be voting. The Executive Committee that received a vote of No Confidence from faculty shouldn't be voting.
Mills needs #NewLeadership! Whoever is reading this that is in a position to help us...please help us. Make the damage stop, it has gone on long enough and it is a tragedy and a sin against California history.
Conclusion - Una Destinatio, Viae Diversae...Let's Imagine A Better Destination
Imagine going out to argue for Mills College to close, to submit to its suitor and give itself to Northeastern University forever...without knowing what the terms of the deal are.
Imagine campaigning against transparency.
Imagine betraying 17 decades of history.
Imagine blaming others for your own, highly public failures.
The Mills College social media groups are full of engaged, passionate alums who have been fighting for the College for months. Nobody gets paid, it's very rare anyone gets thanked. People stating an opinion risk debate. Most welcome a polite, fact-based discussion; the ones who don't, you have to wonder if they actually went to Mills College.
President Hillman sent this letter out to selected groups before the weekend. Then, after the weekend, she sent it to alums. The effect of this was a wave of voices, some old and some new, appearing on social media to suddenly turn on the AAMC over the lawsuit. There was a remarkable similarity between their narratives and intensity.
Then, Trustees Flanigan and Wiley took to social media to blast out their opinions about the lawsuit and the Northeastern absorption. Finally, Hillman sent the letter to alums. All of a sudden it dawned on people why the same attack flared up in different places from different people at the same time using the same talking points.
It is good to note the names who suddenly appeared promoting this narrative, which we now know is from the embattled and discredited Hillman camp.
Mills has a bright future ahead of it. The turncoats who tried to betray it and slay it will be remembered in history forever... #MarkMyWords
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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