The Historic Mills College Announces Closure, Stopping Enrollment in the Fall and Becoming a Women’s Leadership Institution
On March 17, Mills College President Elizabeth L. Hillman announced that the women’s college would close to applicants and become a place for promoting women’s leadership. In a recent letter stated on the Mills College website, President Elizabeth L. Hillman announced the school’s closure. The college will no longer be accepting undergraduate or graduate students after Fall 2021. Rather, the college will become a women’s leadership institute. The decision was enclosed by Mills Board of Trustees and backed by the economic burden the school has faced in recent years.
Over the past few years, Mills College has endured declining enrollment rates. The college has faced hardships and had to fire tenured professors and put in place budget deficits.
Hillman stated, “Today, because of the economic burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, structural changes across higher education, and Mills’ declining enrollment and budget deficits, Mills must begin to shift away from being a degree-granting college and toward becoming a Mills Institute that can sustain Mills’ mission.”
In 1852 Mills College opened in Benicia, California, as the Young Ladies Seminary. Ten years later, two missionaries, Susan and Cyrus Mills purchased the seminary. They renamed it as well as rebranded it as Mills College. Six years later, the college relocated to Oakland, California, priding itself on the diversity and quality education women were receiving.
The closure of the 169-year-old historically women’s college shocked many Twitter users as they seemed frantic and upset.
Powerful statement from Congresswoman Barbara Lee about the closure of her alma mater – Mills College in Oakland. She says she’s outraged and is asking the Board of Trustees to reconsider their decision. pic.twitter.com/Bc4HTduj60
— Kate Larsen (@KateABC7) March 18, 2021
Hillman’s message includes how COVID-19 impacted the school’s overall economy. The school has been facing tensions within itself as faculty and staff tried to remain optimistic. Yet as the pandemic continued, the college struggled to keep up with economic demands.
Mills College will cease to be a degree-granting institution. I arrived there in 1988, alone, drawn to a part of the world I had never even visited & rebelling against advice to attend one of the better-known East Coast colleges. Here I am with my mom outside my dorm.1/3 pic.twitter.com/2VzEYxKD41
— Ananya Roy (@ananyaUCLA) March 18, 2021
Mills has been a place of many firsts for women’s colleges. It is known for being the first women’s college in the west (1885), to offer the first computer science undergraduate degree (1974), as well as most recently admitting transgender students under new policies (2014). Mills became a place for women seeking changes for women.
The transformation of #millscollege from a historically upper-class, white-serving women’s school to a radical, women and non-binary centered institution will remain my model of what higher education institutions can and must do. I grieve for the loss of this special place. https://t.co/r3vyg6MNz9
— Kristen Skjonsby (@kristenskjonsby) March 17, 2021
Mills College is hoping for a smooth transition to the women-led institution. The school promises to keep striving for equity and create an inclusive environment on its campus. They are priding themself in keeping many of the college’s leadership, innovation, and societal advancements.
The loss of this women’s institution seems to be alarming. Perhaps the closure of Mills College will help other women’s colleges to undergo economical help. Hillman’s full letter is available here.
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