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College Events

Welcome To Family Weekend!

When you arrive on campus, please register at the locations and times noted below. At registration, we will give you a folder that includes program updates, a campus map, and a name badge. 

Your name badge will serve as your entry pass to all events listed in the program below, unless otherwise noted.

The official hospitality room for Family Weekend guests is at the Tea Shop on Friday and at Café Suzie on Saturday, both located in the Rothwell College Center. Simply show the staff your name badge for complimentary coffee or selected beverages and snacks. Your name badge also is your pass to access Mills athletic facilities. Please bring appropriate clothing and equipment if you wish to take advantage of our swimming pool, fitness center, tennis courts, or fitness trail.

You may want to arrive a day early and join Mills students in their classrooms and dine in Founders Commons or the Tea Shop. For a schedule of Thursday classes, visit Mills Hall, Office of Admission, Room 222. Meal tickets for Founders are available for purchase with cash at the door; no advance reservations are necessary.

The program below is subject to change.

Day One: Friday, October 1, 2010

Bird Walk with Biology Professor John Harris
7:30 am–8:30 am

Reinhardt Alumnae House
Join John Harris, professor of biology, for an hour of bird watching while exploring the beautiful Mills campus on foot. How many species will you spot?
This tour is open to all; a name badge is not required.

Registration
8:30 am–4:30 pm
Mills Hall Living Room

Welcome Breakfast 
8:30 am–9:30 am 
Mills Hall Living Room
Join Dean of Admission Giulietta Aquino and Dean of Student Life and Vice Provost Joi Lewis in a pre-Convocation continental breakfast.

Convocation
10:15 am–12:00 pm
Music Building, Littlefield Concert Hall
Overflow site is Lucie Stern, Room 100
Celebrate the start of the academic year with the Mills community and keynote speaker Dolores Huerta, whose groundbreaking national leadership as co-founder of the United Farm Workers led to unprecedented victories in the ongoing fight for social justice, human rights, and women's rights.

No-host Lunch
12:00 pm–1:30 pm

Founders Commons
Founders offers an extensive choice of menu options.
Purchase meal tickets for $7.80 at the door; no advance reservations are necessary. Mills students may use their meal plan or Mills Points.

New! Division of Fine Arts Open House - Sneak Peek
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Lisser Theater
As part of the Sneak Peek series, Shinichi Iova-Koga (director, choreographer, performer) and Joan Jeanrenaud (composer, performer) will be presenting a work-in-progress showing of “ODD,” a dance/theater work inspired by the paintings of Odd Nerdrum, featuring AXIS Dance Company and inkBoat. This is an informal showing with a question and answer period.

New! Study Abroad Open House
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Carnegie Hall, Study Abroad Resource Room, Room 122
Stop by the resource room to pick up information, meet with staff, and talk to students who have attended one of the many study abroad programs offered through Mills.

New! Division of Social Science Open House
1:30  pm  - 3:30 pm
Vera M. Long Building for the Social Sciences
The Division of Social Sciences’ staff and faculty invite you to visit the departments of Anthropology-Sociology, Economics, Government, History Philosophy, Public Policy, and Women’s Studies to get reacquainted with us and learn more about the programs offered.

New! School of Education Open House
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Education Complex, School of Education Building
The School of Education staff and faculty invite you to visit, meet the new dean Kathy Schultz and learn more about the programs offered.

New! Division of Student Life Open House
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Rothwell Center and Cowell Building
The Division of Student Life welcomes you to visit with staff and students to learn more about the programs and services provided to create a "sense of belonging" for Mills students.Come to the Cowell Building to meet the staff from the Dean's Office, Student Services, Community Life and the Administrative Support Team, and take a tour of the Residence Halls. Student Lounges in Rothwell Center will be open and student clubs will be tabling on Adams Plaza in Rothwell Center. Light snacks will be available. We look forward to seeing you there.

New! Residential Life - Tours of Residence Halls
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Orchard Meadow Residence Hall and Cowell Building
Come tour Orchard Meadow, Warren Olney, Ethel Moore, Mary Morse and Courtyard Springs. Whether you have lived here in the past and want to reminisce or you are just curious to see where the residents live, this tour is for you. We will have Resident Assistants (RA’s) on-hand to guide you through the common areas of these residential buildings. The Orchard Meadow/Warren Olney Tours will begin at 1:30 pm in front of Orchard Meadow and will continue into Warren Olney. The Ethel Moore/Mary Morse Tour will begin at 1:30 pm in front of Cowell where you will be lead to Ethel Moore and then into Mary Morse. The Courtyard Springs Tour will commence after the EM/MM tour.

New! Botanical Garden and Gaia House Open House
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Next to Moore Natural Sciences Building
The garden, home to more than 500 different species of plants, serves as a learning resource for Mills students as well as a  supplier for extremely local food. The Gaia House is our most recent addition to campus and is a "green" building that provides a link between lab, garden, fieldwork, and the community. Botanic Garden coordinator, Christina McWhorter will be on hand to answer questions.

New! Division of Fine Arts Open House - Fall Exhibition Curator-led Tours
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Art Museum
Join Lori Chinn (BA ‘06) and Dr. Stephanie Hanor for curator-led tours of the Art Museum’s Fall exhibitions:
• Binh Danh: Collecting Memories (featuring new works exploring the complexity of the American-Vietnam War through the lens of photographic images)
• Kathryn Spence (MFA ’93): Short sharp notes, rolling or churring whistles, clear phrases (featuring new large-scale environmental installations by this Mills alumna)

Opening Reception for Souvenirs of the Strike Exhibition 
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
Olin Library, Heller Rare Book Room
Enjoy a special Mills exhibition featuring loaned or donated artifacts from the Strike of 1990.

Jane's Stroll
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
Reinhardt Alumnae House
Join Jane Cudlip King '42 as she conducts an easy walking tour around campus, complete with stories from the past and present.

Division of Fine Arts Open House - Screening of Darius Milhaud et sa musique: de la Provence au monde
3:30 pm–4:30 pm
Music Building, Littlefield Concert Hall
Directed by Cecile Claival-Milhaud, this documentary provides insight into the composer's extraordinary life and provides context for his time at Mills. The film also offers glimpses of the Mills campus—and its personalities—over a number of different eras.

President’s Garden Reception
4:30 pm–6:00 pm
President’s House Garden
Socialize with Family Weekend guests and talk with members of the Mills community while savoring a delicious array of hors d'oeuvres and sweet treats.

No-host Dinner
5:00 pm–7:00 pm
Founders Commons
Founders offers an extensive choice of menu options.
Purchase meal tickets for $10.30 at the door; no advance reservations are necessary. Mills students may use their meal plan or Mills Points.

SOLD OUT!! Family-style Supper 
6:00 pm–8:00 pm 
Orchard Meadow Dining Hall
Note there is an extra charge of $25 per person to attend this dinner. If your Mills student is attending, they may use their meal plan or Mills Points; standard dinner rates apply.

Darius Milhaud Concert
8:00 pm–10:00 pm 
Music Building, Littlefield Concert Hall 
Enjoy our annual concert featuring works by famed composer and former Mills faculty member Darius Milhaud in our beautifully restored Littlefield Concert Hall. The evening’s program will feature works by Milhaud and fellow musical innovator Lou Harrison performed by Mills resident artists, the all-female Eclipse Quartet.

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Day Two: Saturday, October 2, 2010

Registration
9:00 am–1:00 pm
Café Suzie, Rothwell College Center

Swim-a-Mile Charity Fundraiser
10:00 am–4:00 pm
Trefethen Aquatic Center
Cheer on the Mills swim team and members of the Mills community, or participate yourself, in this fundraiser for the Women's Cancer Resource Center in Oakland. The Mills swim team and members of the Mills Community will be swimming at 12:00 pm. If you would like to swim, register in advance at www.wcrc.org.

State of the College
10:00 am–11:30 am
Music Building, Littlefield Concert Hall
Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren shares the latest news about Mills College, our academic and cocurricular achievements, and exciting plans for the upcoming year.

New! Family/Alumnae/Faculty/Staff/Student Tennis Tournament
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tennis Courts
If you would like to participate in this tournament, please contact tennis coach Loke Davis at 510.430.3257 or lodavis@mills.edu no later than Monday, September 27.

Brunch in the Dining Commons
10:30 pm–1:00 pm
Founders Commons
Dine with your Mills student in picturesque Founders Commons and enjoy views of the Mills campus.
Mills students may use their meal plan or Mills Points.

New Time! Ice Cream Social
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
Tennis Courts
Join athletic coaches and student team members at an ice cream social.

Mills Swim Team and Mills Community Swim-a-Mile
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Trefethen Aquatic Center
Cheer on the Mills swim team and members of the Mills Community. Please see 10:00 am event description listed above.

*SOCCER MATCH MOVED TO MERRITT COLLEGE
Time changed from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm*
Mills Cyclones vs. Holy Names University Soccer Match

Deans' Welcome Reception
1:30 pm–2:30 pm
Mills Hall Living Room
Join us as we welcome Deborah Merrill-Sands, dean of the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, and Katherine Schultz, dean of the School of Education, to the Mills community at this dessert reception.

New! Campus Tour
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
Rothwell Center Steps
The Aurelia Reinhardt Historical Society, a Mills student club, will lead you to several buildings on campus and will delight you with the rich history and many bits of trivia regarding the buildings and the campus.

Afternoon Tai Chi Stretch
3:00 pm–4:00 pm
Reinhardt Alumnae House
Join reunioning alumnae and renew your spirit with a gentle pick-me-up exercise session led by Suzann Robins ’85.

Strike Anniversary Panel
3:00 pm–4:30 pm
Moore Natural Sciences Building, Room 213
Mills alumnae, faculty, and staff who participated in the strike discuss why women's education and the College's commitment to it are still important and how the 1990 strike impacted their lives.

Writers' Salon
4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Carnegie Hall, Bender Room (200)
Enjoy wine and cheese and a display of published works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama by Mills alumnae.

No-host Dinner
5:00 pm–7:00 pm
Founders Commons
Founders offers an extensive choice of menu options.
Purchase meal tickets for $10.30 at the door; no advance reservations are necessary. Mills students may use their meal plan or Mills Points.

New Location! Soccer Match
5:00 pm–7:00 pm
Merritt College
Cheer on our Mills student-athletes as they compete against Holy Names University.

New! Sunday, October 3
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lokey Graduate School of Business, Room 124
Although not an official part of the Family Weekend program, Family Weekend guests are cordially invited to join alumnae at this presentation.

The Mills story—Then AND Now
The Mills College story—and that of the Young Ladies’ Seminary—is characterized by change. Marge Nicholson, MA ’96, will give a lively “big picture” presentation of how the institution we love has changed over the years, educating women for leadership in an ever-changing world. We will look at where we have been—and celebrate where we are now. Marge is a former Director of Human Resources at the College and first developed this material for new employee orientation.

Special Notes of Interest
Take advantage of some interesting areas on campus; view the vibrant, multicolored murals in the newly renovated Littlefield Concert Hall; see the new, environmentally sustainable building housing the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business; take a look at some of the 8,000 works of art at the Mills College Art Museum; and enjoy the living laboratory of the Mills College Botanic Garden.

Registration Information
Accommodations and Transportation
Family Weekend Home

Last Updated: 4/26/11