In July, Sonya Stephens will succeed Mount Holyoke's 18th president Lynn Pasquerella '80, who announced yesterday that she will be stepping down from her role June 30 to lead the Association of American Colleges & Universities. Stephens, currently the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Mount Holyoke, will serve as acting president for three years.

On the relevance of women's colleges in the 21st century, Stephens replies:

A women's college and a liberal education invite students to find meaning and a voice, to see themselves and the world anew, to find strength in who they are and a resolve to be who they want to be... An education for women is synonymous with opportunities, advocacy, and rights for all women, because what a Mount Holyoke education represents at its most powerful is self-determination, and we stand for that for every one of our students, and for every woman."

MHC President Lynn Pasquerella '80 announced today that she will be stepping down from her role, effective June 30, after six years of leading transformative growth at the College. Pasquerella has been named the next president of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), the national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. She will succeed Carol Geary Schneider '67.

"It has been an extraordinary honor and privilege for me to serve as Mount Holyoke College's 18th president, and I will be forever grateful for the many ways in which the members of this community have shaped both my life and my career," said Pasquerella in a letter to the MHC community.

The Board of Trustees appointed Sonya Stephens, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, to acting president of the College for a period of three years, beginning July 1.

This week marks the 16th anniversary of International Education Week and yesterday in Washington, DC, MHC President Lynn Pasquerella '80 accepted the 2015 Senator Paul Simon Award for excellence in international education on behalf of the College.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rByXUaEudrI?rel=0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvQlqT7SLdI] Thank you to all who invested in Mount Holyoke in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Your generosity sustains the Mount Holyoke experience and helps our students to realize their full potential.

What an incredible year it's been! Over 10,000 in the MHC community have joined our movement, strengthening the global impact of an MHC education. Throughout the year, we've celebrated those who are making change in their communities and beyond, sharing stories of the power of women (and one chicken) here on campus and around the world.

People with visual impairments have long used Braille to communicate. But the raised-dot Braille system wouldn’t work on smooth-surface smartphones—until Surabhi Gupta ’11 got involved. More