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Danielle R. Holley inaugurated as 20th College president BY MELANIE DURONIO ’26 FEATURES EDITOR
With the start of the 2023-24 school year comes a new era for Mount Holyoke College, as President Danielle R. Holley begins her term as the College’s 20th president. Her official inauguration ceremony took place this Thursday, Sept. 21. In an interview with the Mount Holyoke News, Holley spoke on how she hopes to use her education and legal backgrounds to lead Mount Holyoke to a brighter, more progressive future that continues to empower students through their education. As the former dean and professor for the Howard University School of Law, a historically Black private research university, Holley has extensive experience in academic leadership. She has also served as associate dean for Academic Affairs and distinguished professor of education law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. While chairing the curriculum committee of the University of South Carolina, she learned skills relating to finance, faculty leadership, collaboration and strategic planning. “Those are all skills that, you know, I acquired along the way that have helped to prepare me to become a president,” Holley said. Holley is also a scholar of education law and civil rights and an expert on diversity in higher education. Her scholarship focuses on the governance of public schools, increased access to higher education and diversity in the legal field. As a presidential candidate, Holley had her own criteria when competing for the role. “For me after being at Howard, it was really, really important for me to feel a strong connection with the mission of the college,” Holley said. “My interactions with the students on the Presidential Search Committee are what convinced me that this was the right place for me to come.” She appreciated how frequently the chair and Board of Trustees called on students, and their community-oriented mindset and shared emphasis on opportunities for future students. “I was pleased to see how outspoken [the students] were. They reminded me of my Howard students,” Holley said. “It felt very egalitarian, very equitable, and that to me was an important sign that [the College] was a place that had those values,” she continued. During her time at Howard, Holley worked with a team composed mostly of women and gender-diverse individuals, and, upon reflection, realized what a “special” experience that was. which further drew her toward the College. “There are so many issues that
are challenging women and people who are gender diverse, that we need people who are educated in settings in which they feel that they can come out and be leaders and that’s very true at Howard,” Holley said. Holley found Mount Holyoke’s mission of empowerment around identity to mirror her experiences at Howard. “Even though Howard is an HBCU and Mount Holyoke is a women’s college that’s gender diverse, that’s what they have in common,” Holley said. “That’s what I saw I could bring in terms of experience, but also [my] feeling of wanting to lead in a place where people can come out feeling even better than they did when they came here.” As president, Holley aims to be “out and about” on campus. She plans to have lunch in the Dining Commons alongside students once a week, and will hold open office hours both in person and on Zoom. She plans to attend sports events, art displays, performances and student activities and events. Students may even catch a glimpse of her dog, Blue, who always insists upon belly rubs. Holley will also teach a class of her own in the Department of Politics during either the spring 2024 semester or the following school year. “[President] Holley brings a strong vision for what Mount Holyoke is and, more importantly, what our College can become. She has a strong track record of strategic growth and innovation, which will serve us well,” Board of Trustees Chair Karena Strella ’90 said in an introduction of President Holley, published on the Mount Holyoke website. Holley’s “strong vision” centers around the idea of future impacts; specifically, the positive effects the College can make for the campus and surrounding communities. It was the main theme of her inauguration, which was titled “The Future Is Now.” This vision includes environmental sustainability, such as the recent geothermal energy project. Between 2023 and 2030, the project “will replace our 100-year-old fossil fuel powered steam heating system with a geothermal heat-exchange system powered by clean electricity, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80%,” according to Mount Holyoke’s website. “All of those things tie into the idea that what we’re doing right now has an impact on the future in terms of our current students … and faculty and staff for the next few decades,” Holley said. Holley prides herself on being a teacher first and foremost. She values student voices and opinions as being equally important to those of
Photo courtesy of Christian Feuerstein Newly-inaugurated on Thursday, Twentieth Mount Holyoke College President Danielle R. Holley poses in the Stimson Room in the Williston Library.
faculty and staff members and aims to partner with students to ensure that they have the resources for “a really … great college experience.” Student participation was highly encouraged for the inauguration, with Holley envisioning it “to feel almost like you’re about to go to a concert.” Events were planned leading up to the ceremony, including poster-making contests, a pep rally and a 90s-themed dance party held on Skinner Green, with food trucks and quiet spaces provided. “It’s so funny. Of all the things during the inauguration, [including] a big ceremony, panels and a lunch, the thing I’m most excited about is the dance party,” Holley said. On Wednesday, the symposium “When and Where I Enter: Reflec-
tions on Black Women’s Sojourns from Hortense Parker to Danielle R. Holley” was held to celebrate the legacy of Black women at the College. Beginning with Hortense Parker, the first Black woman to attend Mount Holyoke and ending with President Holley, Mount Holyoke’s first permanent Black President, the symposium demonstrated the long history of Black students, faculty, and administrators at the College and their fight for inclusive policies and spaces like the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center. “That didn’t just happen overnight. That was activism work,” Holley said. “It took a long time for students and faculty to make this place feel like it’s a community that anyone can belong to, and so I want to celebrate that.”
Now officially settled in, Holley feels like she “already [has] a special connection with the students here at Mount Holyoke.” She looks forward to continuing to familiarize herself with students, faculty, staff members and the South Hadley community. Ultimately, she hopes that everyone will see her primarily as a fellow faculty member — someone who is here to teach, advise and spend time with them. “One of the most important things I want [students] to know [is that] when they see me, that really is me,” Holley said. “My values are always going to be the same, and they’re going to be shared with Mount Holyoke. [They will be] things that will be good for the College and propel us even further into excellence for the future.”
Unexpected discoveries unearthed during geothermal project excavation BY NINA SYDORYK ’25 NEWS EDITOR
Anyone who has stepped foot on the campus recently has likely taken stalk of the various sections that are currently under renovation. Big changes are underway at Mount Holyoke College and some remnants from its past have been uncovered in the process. At the end of the 2023 spring semester, the College’s administration announced a bold new geothermal energy project that would work to replace a 100-year-old fossil fuel system, thereby reducing the College’s carbon emissions by 80 percent. The project will be implemented over a seven-year period, which began in May 2023 and is slated to culminate in 2030. Now, as students return to campus for the 2023-24 academic year, they can expect to notice the project’s impact — both on exterior and interior locations around campus. The project’s 2023 summer initiative saw 100-year old-steam pipes replaced by distribution piping that runs from the Kendade Science Complex, to Safford and Skinner Halls. The construction required a depth of four to six feet to be dug in relevant areas around these buildings.
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Photo by Rose Martin ’27 A sign on Skinner Green asks students to allow the grass to recover following geothermal project.
Photo by Rose Martin ’27 Skinner Green has been fenced off to allow grass to grow back after summer work on the project.
As a result, Skinner Green, a staple of Mount Holyoke student life, was closed during first-year move-in and orientation. Now, all excavation work pertaining to this summer phase has been completed, and Skinner Green is once again open. According to Karla Youngblood, associate vice president for facilities management, 75 percent of phase 1a equipment has, as of time of publication, been installed. In addition, phase 2 of the project has been designed. Students can expect an exten-
Notably, excavation work on July 18 resulted in the discovery of a portion of foundation from the original seminary building, along with several artifacts such as glass bottles and pieces of pottery. The artifacts are now in the possession of the College’s Archives and Special Collections. The fall 2023 semester will see the remainder of phase 1 completed as new equipment continues to be installed in the buildings where new piping has been connected. Modern equipment at the building level is set to provide air con-
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sive update on the status of the project to be published on the geothermal energy project webpage in the near future. In an email to Mount Holyoke News, this incoming update was confirmed by Angie Gregory, the sustainability program manager at the Miller Worley Center for the Environment. This update will include further information on learning opportunities within the project for students and faculty, especially in the fields of geological study and campus history.
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ditioning in buildings that did not previously include it. The majority of this work is not expected to cause disturbances to the College community, as work will occur primarily within mechanical rooms. Landscaping for relevant areas of campus has been restored, and new grass on Skinner Green continues to grow. Students are encouraged to be mindful and respectful of designated work areas and temporary barriers. Students are also asked to be alert and aware of larger utility vehicles as they traverse campus.
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