Oakland, CA–November 26, 2008. Mills College alumna Barbara Lee (Class of 1973) was named chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"This is quite a moment for me," Lee said to reporters on Nov. 19 in Washington D.C. following her appointment. "Now, we have an opportunity to really continue to lead and to really continue to be the conscience of the Congress."

Lee (D-Oakland) will lead the 43-member caucus, which included president-elect Barack Obama when he was a U.S. Senator from Illinois, in the 111th Congress that starts in January. She was first elected to represent California's Ninth Congressional District in 1998, in a special election to fill the seat of then retiring Congressman Ronald Dellums. Her district includes Oakland, Berkeley, Castro Valley, and other parts of the East Bay.

Lee earned international attention as the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization of the use of force after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Mills College established the Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women's Leadership, an endowed teaching position, in her honor for her leadership in human rights and social justice. Lee's political experience began in Oakland in the early 1970s when she was president of the Mills' Black Student Union and campaigned for Shirley St. Hill Chisholm, the first African American woman to be elected to Congress in 1968 and ran for president in 1972.

Lee studied psychology at Mills College and has a master of social work from UC Berkeley. Mills awarded her an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1999.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 950 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College is one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report, one of the Best 368 Colleges by the Princeton Review, and ranks 75th among America's best colleges by Forbes.com. Visit us at www.mills.edu.

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