Frances Perkins, class of 1902: Celebrating an incredible 136 year legacy

Frances Perkins found her purpose by asking not “what do I want from my own life?” but instead, “what does life want from me?” Frances Perkins 1902 is one of Mount Holyoke’s most celebrated alumnae. This month we’re celebrating Frances Perkinsin honor of her 136th birthday anniversary April 10. As the first female Cabinet member in US history, and Roosevelt’s trusted adviser,  Frances Perkins was an inspirational trailblazer who dramatically changed the plight of laborers in America. The crowning achievements of her life and career are succinctly summed up by former Secretary of Labor,… Read More

Women’s Colleges—Fun Facts and Figures

About.com recently named Mount Holyoke among a few “women’s colleges that have educated some of the finest minds.” Fun Facts they list about MHC: 2,183 students are enrolled at Mount Holyoke and the College boasts a 10:1 student to faculty ratio. In 2011, the Princeton Review reported that Mount Holyoke ranked first in the category of “best classroom experience.” Notable students and alumnae include former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, renowned poet Emily Dickinson, playwrights Wendy Wasserstein and Suzan-Lori Parks, and Frances Perkins, former Secretary of Labor under the FDR administration and… Read More

Women’s education can change the world. 10,000 strong and growing.

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. In case you missed them, here are just a few of the highlights: “If we are to see any change in our world, the women must be involved.” Watch Nobel Peace prize laureate Leymah Gbowee P’16… Read More

Careers in Public Service: MHC’s Lynk goes on the road to the Massachusetts State House

Lynk on the Road

A daylong event at the Massachusetts State House brought current students with an interest in public service together with alumnae working in the field to strengthen their connections and help launch them into careers that will make a difference in the world. Distinguished speakers, Judith Kurland ’67 and Senator Kathleen Connor Ives ’99 (pictured above near center, in green) inspired students with their keynote speeches. In her welcome, President Pasquerella noted the “staggering achievements” of Frances Perkins, class of 1902, saying that “Today, we continue the experience that so galvanized Frances Perkins. We are taking Mount… Read More

MHC’s Frances Perkins on the $20 bill?

Women on 20s

This Women’s History Month, we support the national campaign to put a woman on the face of the $20 bill! Women On 20s aims to compel historic change by convincing President Obama that NOW is the time to put a woman’s face on our paper currency. But who should it be? We believe that’s for you, the public, to decide from a slate of 15 inspiring American women heroes. Welcome to the voting booth. Here you may learn things about the candidates you never knew and get your questions answered about the whys… Read More

Who’s Your Mary?

by Rebecca Brenner ’15 Yale legal scholar Adam S. Cohen wrote: “If American history textbooks accurately reflected the past, Frances Perkins would be recognized as one of the nation’s greatest heroes—as iconic as Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Paine. Like Franklin, Perkins was a brilliant self-creation: There had not been anyone like her before and there has not been anyone like her since. Like Paine, Perkins helped to start a revolution.” I grew up reading biographies of Franklin, Paine, and other historical figures, but I did not know much about Perkins until my… Read More

Rebecca Brenner 2015 on Frances Perkins 1902 : “Perkins was a true Mount Holyoke woman because she channeled her conviction into creating positive change.”

Frances Perkins majored in Chemistry at Mount Holyoke, but her American Economic History class most significantly influenced her. Her American Economic History professor was a progressive historian who took students to the mills in Holyoke to reveal terrible working conditions. The mills taught Perkins that hard-working people could fall into poverty because of injuries from the working conditions, not just drunkenness and laziness. She declared that social justice would be her vocation, and she became the most historically significant graduate of Mount Holyoke after she graduated in 1902. Following graduation, Perkins worked… Read More