hen The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts launched this fall, one panelist on the program— Aneesh Raman, Chief Economic Opportunity Officer at LinkedIn—predicted that artificial intelligence will replace many intellectual jobs over the next decade. AI can be relied upon as a tool to perform functions—to read, synthesize, analyze, write code, and summarize faster than any human being does. Those are major tasks. But, as Raman noted, our social abilities cannot and will not be replicated.

Key aspects of leadership roles are more human-focused. They include envisioning solutions that have not been tried before, galvanizing teams of people to collaborate on a shared goal, making decisions in the face of uncertainty, fostering empathy and compassion, and expressing curiosity and optimism about the future. These aspects of leadership—regardless of industry or sector—are, in part, developed throughout a liberal arts education via the breadth of courses, the pedagogy, and classroom and institutional culture.

It is no wonder that Vassar has so many alums whose title is Chief Executive Officer or its equivalent—nearly 500 in all. The CEO has to challenge the status quo, be resourceful in finding new ways to address old problems, and have the emotional fortitude and confidence to persevere despite setbacks. As you will read in this issue of VQ, Vassar CEOs cut across a large range of industries and sectors, showing the reach, relevance, and impact of a Vassar education.

Most centrally, the person in the CEO role must perceive what skills are needed, find people who have those skills, then create an environment in which people will contribute their unique gifts to the shared endeavor and remain resilient through the inevitable conflicts that emerge as creative, pluralistic views meld into a common purpose.

These functions—way beyond what AI can do—are honed across undergraduate life, from living together in dormitories, to creating arts productions of all kinds, to playing on athletics teams, to protesting and counterprotesting, and to digging into academic pursuits of all kinds. During the educational process, students discover what they value, what is possible in the world, how to make a match between who they are and what the world needs, and how to transition to post-Vassar life. The learnings occur and recur for decades, equipping Vassar alums with the capacity to transform environments and institutions in positive, meaningful ways—sometimes at the helms of organizations.

The CEO role is not for everyone, and many lead in roles not described as CEO, but it is one of the many ways in which Vassar graduates are fearlessly consequential.

Foster’s responsibilities range from facilitating the adoption of renewable energy systems, to promoting the connection between nature and wellness, to supervising student interns. “I love the fact that I get to work in so many different areas, with so many interesting people from across the College,” he said.

A major task on Foster’s agenda is the development of a new Climate Action Plan for the College. “Our challenge will be to have big goals while also being very pragmatic about concrete steps we will take year-to-year, and we’ll need to take a holistic approach so that the entire community is involved,” he said.

Charting a path to geothermal heating systems for buildings on the campus is one major goal, but facilitating changes in behavior will also be important. “The health of people—and of all life on the planet—depends on our actions,” he said.

Foster’s background makes him eminently qualified to thrive in the director position. Prior to assuming his new job at Vassar in July, he was a Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Concordia College in Minnesota for 17 years. During this time, Foster chaired the College President’s Sustainability Council and for three years was Concordia’s Director of Community Engagement. He also served on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s Environmental Quality Board, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of the national organization Wild Ones, which promotes native plants and natural landscaping.

As he and others on campus work to make changes now while also developing the 2025 Climate Action Plan, Foster said he’ll focus on enabling people to connect with landscape and nature. “Vassar has a perfect setting in which to do this,” he said. “We’ll be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Vassar’s arboretum next year, and we’re developing a restorative nature walk.”

Foster says he’s been energized by the enthusiasm he has witnessed as the College makes progress on sustainability issues. “Vassar has a strong history of being committed to environmental sustainability and has already done a great deal,” he said. “We are poised to take strong steps into the next stage of action.”—Larry Hertz

The event was organized by the Olmsted Network, a nationwide group of historians, design professionals, park managers, and citizen activists dedicated to championing the environmental and design principles embodied by Olmsted’s work.

Vassar Professor of Art History Yvonne Elet, who teaches courses on landscape history, delivered a keynote address noting that, though the Olmsteds are best known for creating parks, they had played key roles in designing and creating Vassar’s landscape. Olmsted himself was consulted by College trustees shortly after the first students arrived on campus, although few if any of those discussions led to the ultimate design of the campus, Elet said. But decades later, Olmsted’s nephew, adopted son John Charles Olmsted, and members of his firm were involved in plans for various portions of the campus.

Elet also lauded Edith Roberts, who arrived on campus in 1919 as Professor of Botany, for championing the importance of making the College’s landscape a showcase for the more than 600 species of plants indigenous to Dutchess County. The hiring of noted landscape architect Beatrix Farrand to design the campus arboretum furthered Roberts’s ideas about turning the campus into a living laboratory.

In panel discussions, several experts spoke of the work Frederick Law Olmsted and other 19th-century landscape design pioneers had done at psychiatric hospitals built throughout the Northeast. Creating beautiful landscapes on the grounds of these institutions reflected the belief that a well-designed environment would help patients recover and thrive.

That observation was echoed in a panel moderated by President Elizabeth H. Bradley, featuring scientists and MDs. “We know nature is good for your health,” said Dr. Howard Frumkin, a physician and epidemiologist whose career has focused on the intersection of health and the environment. “It benefits our senses, increases bone density, and enhances other physical traits,” he said. “The creation of public parks,” Frumkin added, “also plays a key role in addressing mental health at a time when the country is experiencing a nationwide epidemic of loneliness.”

President Bradley said that the importance of nature “has been a part of the ethos of the College from its inception—on the grounds and in the curriculum.” She said the commitment to preserving and enhancing the campus environment is embodied by the College’s decision to join the Campus Nature Rx Network, a consortium of more than 70 colleges and universities “that support campus health through inclusive and equitable engagement with nature.” Vassar plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the campus arboretum next year.

As the two-day event came to a close, Olmsted Network President and CEO Ann “Dede” Petri concluded, “There is still much work to do to preserve open spaces that promote mental and physical health; in too many cities, our great public spaces are threatened by development and privatization.” She issued a call to action: to challenge these trends and to elevate the importance of parks and open space to our physical, mental, and ecological well-being. —Larry Hertz

ight acclaimed contemporary artists with roots in the Hudson Valley have their works featured at the new Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts; The Heartwood at Vassar, a boutique hotel; and the farm-to-table restaurant, The Salt Line Hudson Valley. The shared lobby, each of the hotel rooms, the restaurant, and the Institute feature more than 160 pieces of artwork in various media from an eclectic group of artists. The artists—Andrea Baldeck ’72, Laura Battle, Mark Dion, Nancy Graves ’61, Mara Held, Ransome, Amy Talluto, and Julia Whitney Barnes—all have Hudson Valley roots and were inspired by regional surroundings.

The building’s artwork—curated by staff from Vassar’s on-campus museum, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center—responds to the mission and rich history of collecting at Vassar, and creates a visual dialogue between art and science objects. “From professors and administrators to classes and individual students, the College benefits from prolonged engagements with contemporary artists, including those from local communities,” said the Loeb’s Mary-Kay Lombino, Deputy Director and the Emily Hargroves Fisher ’57 and Richard B. Fisher Curator. “The artwork on display provides an enriching, new visual experience that we expect visitors far and wide will enjoy.”

A new, commissioned work by artist Mark Dion, “The Vassar Atheneum,” was created specifically for the space. The work, which was three years in the making, delves deeply into the history, ideology, and methodologies of collecting practices at Vassar and speaks to the College’s mission and traditions.

A major component of the installation are two large-scale, custom-made cabinets featuring documents from Vassar’s vast holdings of material culture and archives. The cabinets create a semi-enclosed area of the facility’s lobby, which allows for conversation and exchange. The contents of the cabinets highlight not only the College’s deep commitment to excellence in the sciences and humanities, but also the rich history of student culture and interdisciplinary learning at the school.

“These projects demonstrate that historical objects and collections have a role to play, even at times for works of art created just yesterday, whose traces will be left for future generations to treasure and criticize, but, also, hopefully, to preserve,” said artist Mark Dion.

A work located in the second-floor “snug,” a cozy lounge at The Heartwood, brings nature indoors with “The Botanist’s Mural,” a room-sized wall mural by Julia Whitney Barnes, who often uses historical processes and plant collection as inspiration for her art. The mural draws inspiration from the Vassar College Herbarium, which dates back to when the school welcomed its first class of students in 1865. The Herbarium holds over 15,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae—and for this enormous piece, Whitney Barnes spent years poring over hundreds of specimens, and incorporated 63 plants from its extensive collection as well as her own garden in Poughkeepsie.

Other works either commissioned by or pulled from the Loeb’s collection for the building include: Hudson Valley artist Laura Battle’s “How long is your past, how far is your future,” a painting inspired by astronomer and alum Vera Cooper Rubin ’48 that was made for the 2016 Loeb exhibition Touch the Sky: Art and Astronomy; and artist Ransome’s “Quilter Rosie,” a painting that honors his African American heritage and depicts his grandmother, Rosie, a matriarch and a quilter from the American South. Located in The Salt Line is Nancy Graves’s “Bendigo,” a work that layers boldly colored motifs suggesting plants, cast shadows traced from the artist’s own sculptures, prehistoric drawings, and early pictographic language. Another of her works, “Five Fans, Lampshades, and Lotus,” is located on the first floor of the building.

Nancy Graves ’61 (1939–1995) was an American artist of international renown. She became an accomplished sculptor, painter, printmaker, and video artist and is considered one of Vassar’s most recognized artist alums. Graves experimented with the intersections between art and science. She is best known for her brightly colored, abstract compositions in various media.

Mara Held is known for energetic yet delicate paintings on linen and paper, depicting lyrical organic forms in vibrant colors. Her intricate line work and patterning evoke varied sources from plant life growing on ancient forest floors or pelagic forms found in coral reefs to Japanese woodcuts and psychedelic posters. Her work has been the subject of many solo exhibitions in New York City and abroad and included in group shows nation- and worldwide.

Amy Talluto was born in New Orleans and earned her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. In 2018 she was awarded a NYFA/NYSCA Artist Fellowship in Painting and was an Artforum Critics Pick for her solo exhibition at Black & White Gallery (Brooklyn). She has recently shown her work at Jeff Bailey Gallery, the Berkshire Botanical Garden, the Samuel Dorsky Museum, Geoffrey Young Gallery, and Wave Hill Gardens.

Ransome is a contemporary artist whose practice is both personal and universal. His work focuses on images that center on his African American lineage, traced to formerly enslaved Africans of the American South who migrated to northern cities along the East Coast. The pictorial narratives are personal, yet the symbols used are universal and interplay with larger social, racial, ancestral, economic, and political history that speaks to current issues.

Julia Whitney Barnes is an artist living in Poughkeepsie, NY, who works in a variety of media including cyanotypes, watercolor, gouache, oil paintings, stained glass, murals, and site-specific installations. She spent two decades in Brooklyn before moving to the Hudson Valley in 2015. Whitney Barnes was recently awarded a glass commission for NYC Public Art for Public Schools/Percent for Art unveiled in fall 2024. She has exhibited widely in the United States and internationally.

For more information about The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts, The Heartwood at Vassar, and The Salt Line Hudson Valley, visit https://www.vassar.edu/institute.

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College, Chicago, this exhibition iteration is uniquely presented at the Loeb. The exhibition has been curated by MoCP Chief Curator and Deputy Director Karen Irvine and Curator of Academic Programs and Collections Kristin Taylor, with local oversight by Jessica D. Brier, Curator of Photography at the Loeb Art Center, and made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Exhibition Fund.

“In bringing this exhibition to Vassar, it is important to me that we consider—and provide support for—our campus community and the larger surrounding community in presenting this material,” Brier said, noting that “many of the experiences referenced by the artists in the exhibition are deeply personal and will likely prompt a variety of responses for visitors.” She added that over the past year, the Loeb team worked “to design new ways of supporting visitors through the physical experience of the exhibition, opportunities for personal and collective reflection, public programs, and cross-campus partnerships. It is our hope that the exhibition will be a hub for the important work that these partners do in the realms of reproductive health, justice, and rights.”

The exhibition launched on October 3 with an opening reception featuring a conversation between artists Krista Franklin and Joanne Leonard and curators Karen Irvine and Kristin Taylor. It will be on view through February 2, 2025.

Vassar College President Elizabeth H. Bradley joined Inside Higher Ed via Zoom for a wide-ranging conversation about the College’s commitment to the liberal arts, how higher education can win over an increasingly skeptical public, and what the sector should expect from Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. Her responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me about the Institute for the Liberal Arts. What led to its creation and what is its purpose? And broadly speaking, how do you view the state of liberal arts in American higher education?

But when we talk about the liberal arts at Vassar, we are referring to a three-part approach to education. One part is the coursework, which is meant to be broad, not narrow. People are supposed to take courses in the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities, the arts, language, et cetera.

The second part is the pedagogy. The teaching style is inquiry-based, meaning students will not be lectured at, they won’t be told to memorize everything, they will be engaged in the conversation themselves, helping push boundaries on what they’re thinking and what the faculty are thinking, and really engaging those students heavily in their own education.

The third part of it is the culture. We try to deliver this in a culture that emphasizes equity in the classroom, where all voices can be heard, that emphasizes openness to new ideas and critique of the status quo. But I want to add not just the critique of the status quo but also the critique of the critique of the status quo, because the learning mind is one that can never know the answer and continues to be in pursuit of the truth. That’s what we consider the liberal arts education.

You co-wrote an op-ed for us back in August in which you discussed a breakdown in dialogue on campus. What can professors and especially presidents do to address this breakdown?

Learning is so messy. People make mistakes before they correct their mistakes, and that, by the way, is education. So I think we can’t overreact. We have to be patient, realizing this takes time.

The other thing that’s needed are faculty who are in a support structure that allows them to spend adequate time with a reasonable number of students. If you’re one faculty person, you have 60 students, and you’re trying to teach a huge curriculum, you’re just not going to have time to make those students feel engaged. I think the investment we talked about in that op-ed is fundamental. And I think presidents can behave in a way with students that fosters dialogue. That means you have to spend time with students face-to-face, you have to ask them what they think, and when they tell you something you don’t like to hear, you have to be patient with them and say, “OK, let’s evaluate that. Why don’t we think about that in other ways, too?” rather than just shutting it down. You have to create a relationship—I think it’s almost as simple as that. Create a relationship which is built on some amount of empathy and trust and hope.

What do you think led to this breakdown in dialogue? Is there an inflection point that you see?

The fact that a lot of our communication is now done very quickly and not face-to-face kind of sucks out the ability to say, “Wait a minute, we need some time. Let’s have a cup of tea together.” It makes the exchange so parsimonious—you don’t get all the body language and the facial expressions and the intonation of the voice, which all has information in it that builds empathy and trust. So the lack of that challenges us more.

A question I’m asking just about every college president these days: What do you expect from a second Trump administration? What are the immediate changes and challenges for the higher education sector?

We kind of have to act at two speeds at once, which is hard. We have to be totally ready to go and also just wait. My expectation is there will be a lot more dialogue about this. Institutions of higher education are already, and have been for some time, self-examining, asking, “What are we doing right? What do we wish we could do better?” We produce public goods like research and educated people who can foster a great economy. But what else do we do that has unintended effects? What are areas where we have not been able to appeal to a broad American public? We’re thinking about that and trying to understand it.

There is a lot of anxiety among presidents over the unclear regulatory environment ahead, business challenges, social tensions, and so on. But what are you optimistic about? What gives you hope?

To come full circle, the Institute, where we began, also gives me hope. We just opened six weeks ago or so, and two weeks ago, we had great opening ceremonies and a wonderful panel on [artificial intelligence] and the future of work. The take-home message was that at the precipice of this enormous explosion in AI, the most important sort of human-valued jobs and characteristics will be empathy, creativity, being strategic about how groups work, and working across differences.

These programs provide students with opportunities to extend their learning beyond the classroom and meaningfully engage with Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, and the greater Hudson Valley. Whether tutoring local schoolchildren or working with a nonprofit organization, Vassar students can apply their classroom knowledge to real-world contexts that benefit others.

Connecting Students with Nonprofits

“Community-engaged learning within a liberal arts setting is—and should be—a vehicle in which individuals explore their own identities, discover their passions, explore what justice means to them, and ultimately understand their place in this world,” Elizabeth Cannon, Director of OCEL, said. “My hope as an educator and practitioner in the field is that students graduate with self-awareness, critical analysis skills of the root causes of social injustices, and the knowledge, tools, and agency to create a more just world.”

The OCEL originated as the Field Work program in 1949, emphasizing civic and community engagement, and evolved from the 1990s to 2017 by integrating various disciplinary theories and practical experiences. In 2017, it was officially renamed OCEL, enhancing the collaboration between Vassar and local organizations.

Today, the program still fosters those partnerships, working with organizations focused on a variety of issue areas ranging from food insecurity to housing justice to legal access. In the 2023–2024 academic year, 195 Community-Engaged Learning students worked with over 85 local and community-based organizations.

Six core programs make up OCEL: the mentorship- and reflection-based Civic Engagement (aka VassarVotes), the Community Fellows summer program, Community-Based Research, Community Service Work-Study, and Community-Engaged Curriculum.

The Community-Engaged Curriculum initiative, funded by a Mellon Foundation Community-Engaged Intensives in the Humanities (CEIH) grant, allows a reimagination of how curricular initiatives can support high-impact learning experiences, by giving faculty the ability to develop a new course or reinvent an existing one that addresses an issue identified by the community.

Sasha Zweig ’25 worked with Evergreen Minds, a nonprofit that provides those living with dementia and their caregivers opportunities for stimulating experiences in nature and the expressive arts. “I had learned about some aspects of dementia in my neuroscience classes, but I wanted to have more hands-on interaction with people,” she said. “This experience was incredibly powerful and empowering. I learned things I wouldn’t have been able to learn just in a traditional lab setting. I learned about teamwork, listening, empathy, and the power of engaging with folks often forgotten. I was able to really connect the dots between my classes.”

Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County, Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Dutchess County Pride Center, Exodus Transitional Community, and The Art Effect are a few of the other organizations with which OCEL has partnered.

“I chose to do community-engaged learning because I knew I wanted to do more work with the local community but had no idea how to get involved,” Nicole Ezell ’25 said. “While liberal arts education has been good for studying theory, CEL has helped me apply it in real life. As a political science major, I can see how the politics I study impact the communities I work in.”

VEC comprises three programs, each offering unique experiences for both Vassar students and local schoolchildren: Vassar After-School Team (VAST), Vassar English Language Learners Program (VELLOP), and Exploring College (EC).

VELLOP sends student volunteers into local districts to help schoolchildren learning to speak English. The VAST program pairs students with middle schoolers for after-school homework help, mentorship, and other activities.

“VAST gave me a love for the community,” Jake Lefort ’27 said. “My student never really had homework, and she was coming to VAST for good food—besides her cafeteria food—and for the community. These are kids who have beautiful ideas. It’s inspired me to do more work in the community, to try and get to the root of some other problems facing Poughkeepsie.”

What begins as a two-week summer residential program, Exploring College is an introduction to college-level material, Vassar itself, and the college application process, and acts as a team-building initiative. During the academic year, the program mentors meet with students three timesa week to support the college application process.

Kayla Hawkins ’27 was a student in the Exploring College program before attending Vassar. Now, as a mentor in the program, she’s helped students navigate the college experience, something she’s deeply grateful that her mentors did for her.

“Programs like EC provide a space of community for these students that they don’t commonly have access to,” Hawkins said. “Working in EC helped me navigate a new space like Vassar without being divorced from my connection to my hometown.”

NaJa Jackson ’18 was in the Exploring College program as a high schooler and became a mentor while at Vassar.

“This program opens students’ eyes to the college experience, yes, but it also gives parents a chance to see how life will be when or if their student moves away for college,” Jackson said. “Many people focus on the academics, but college is learning how to balance academia with mental health.”

Now a Poughkeepsie High School English teacher, Jackson hosts a couple of VEC students in her own classroom.

Through these important programs, Vassar students are sharing their skills and discovering more about themselves all while exploring and helping the area that surrounds the College.

“Our student’s expertise at research has assisted Habitat Dutchess in expanding our deliverables for our Advancing Black Ownership Initiative,” Jennifer Radicone, COO of Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County, said. “He increased our capacity by assisting in data research on national, county, and local municipal levels. We greatly enjoy participating in OCEL and have a returning student and a new one this semester!”

—Heather Mattioli

To learn how you can support OCEL and VEC, visit campaign.vassar.edu/the-campaign or contact Gregg McCarty via email at gmccartywang@vassar.edu or by phone at (845) 437-5409.

According to a recent study conducted by the College, Exploring Transfer (ET) has been spectacularly effective. While only about 17 percent of all community college students ever attain a four-year degree, more than 70 percent of those enrolled in Exploring Transfer have done so.

Armed with these findings, President Elizabeth Bradley and a team of faculty and administrators launched Exploring Transfer Together to encourage other liberal arts colleges to consider creating ET-like programs of their own. That effort paid its first dividends this summer when administrators at Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College, both located in suburban Philadelphia, announced plans to host a joint program in the spring of 2025. The five-day session for 15 community college students will be held on both campuses and will be co-administered by Cheryl Horsey, Chief Enrollment Officer at Bryn Mawr, and Raquel Esteves-Joyce, Assistant Vice President for Student Diversity, Equity, and Access, at Haverford.

Both Horsey and Esteves-Joyce said their respective colleges had policies in place to encourage applications from community college students and that the pilot program had the wholehearted support of their respective college presidents—Bryn Mawr President Kimberly Wright Cassidy and Haverford President Wendy E. Raymond.

Vassar’s support included funds from a grant the College received from the ECMC Foundation to promote the Exploring Transfer Together initiative.

Marianne Begemann, Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources, who co-taught one of the courses at Vassar’s first ET session in 1986, said she had long appreciated the value of the program. “Eighty percent of community college students say they want to graduate from a four-year college but fewer than 20 percent actually do,” Begemann said. “As a a nonprofit institution, Vassar should play an active role in contributing to the social good, and the College has been dedicated to doing so through this program.”

—Larry Hertz

One of the key components of the effort to confront past injustices is contained in the College’s Land Acknowledgement, which declares that Vassar sits on land improperly seized from the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe of the Mohican Nation, as well as the Delaware Nation and Delaware Tribe. The Land Acknowledgement concludes by declaring that simply stating that the College has benefited from this injustice “is hollow without our efforts to counter the effects of structures that have long enabled—and that still perpetuate—injustice against Indigenous Americans. To that end, we commit to build and sustain relationships with Native communities; to expand opportunities at Vassar for Native students, as well as Native faculty and other employees; and to collaborate with Native nations to know better the Indigenous peoples, past and present, who care for this land.”

It was this portion of the Land Acknowledgement that led to a daylong visit to the Vassar campus last month by Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Liaison Sherry White. White was invited by Bart Thurber, Director of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center and a member of the Native American Advisory Committee. Thurber said he was spurred by the concluding sentences of Vassar’s Land Acknowledgement to travel to the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation in Wisconsin, where he first met White this summer. The trip was facilitated by a Vassar alum, Gwendolyn Saul ’01, a cultural anthropologist at the New York State Museum in Albany that collects contemporary works of art by Indigenous communities affiliated—both historically and currently—with the state.

Thurber attended the 48th Annual Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Powwow with Loeb intern Maya Armus ’25 and Ian Shelley ’22, the Loeb’s Collections Curatorial Fellow. “I would anchor our visit to Wisconsin and Sherry White’s visit to Vassar to this last portion of the Land Acknowledgement,” Thurber said. “That was the genesis of the commitment to help strengthen Vassar’s relationship with the Stockbridge-Munsee in this way.”

“This exchange was a significant step in promoting mutual understanding and partnership between Vassar and the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe,” White said. “The ongoing dialogue and collaboration aim to enhance educational opportunities and cultural exchange for both communities.”

NAISA Co-President Peter Campbell ’26, a geography and economics major from Brisbee, AZ, and a member of the Hopi tribe, said he and White talked about inviting Stockbridge-Munsee high school students to Vassar “to give them a firsthand experience about what college life here is actually like.” He said NAISA’s principal goal is to raise awareness about Native American culture, thus there is no requirement that its members be Native Americans themselves. “A lot depends on having people who aren’t necessarily Indigenous to be part of this,” he said. “We welcome everybody into the group.”

President Bradley said White’s visit was an example of the College’s commitment to engaging with Native Americans on a personal level. “Native Americans have been marginalized by our government and our society and culture, and the College is always looking for ways to promote equity and inclusion,” she said. “We want to ensure that this can be their home, too.

“In addition, Vassar is all about primary sources for learning,” the President said. “How can we understand our history without these voices?”

Bradley noted that Vassar has included students from Diné College, a Navajo institution in Arizona, in its Exploring Transfer program, and she said she spoke to White about encouraging Stockbridge-Munsee students and faculty members to take part in the program, as well. “We know we all can benefit from gaining their perspective,” she said.

Professor of English Molly McGlennen, who helped establish the Native American Studies Correlate, said she and Bradley had talked to White about reaching out to Stockbridge-Munsee high school students to arrange College visits and other support. McGlennen added that she is excited about the growth of the Native American Studies curriculum. “Assistant Professor of Political Science Mallory Whiteduck and I are co-teaching a new course entitled Native American Visual Sovereignty, and we are also in the middle of a nationwide search for a new tenure-track position in Native American Studies,” she noted.

Thurber said he and others at the Loeb intend to continue to build the relationship with the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe. “Our goal is to keep the dialogue going,” he said. “I talked to Sherry about returning with another student, and possibly a faculty colleague, for the powwow next year.”

—Larry Hertz

What originally piqued your interest in the female pioneers of Wall Street?

You go as far back as the New York Stock Exchange’s beginnings in 1792, but your book focuses on the period from the 1960s to September 11, 2001. Why did you choose that timespan?

But returning to the timeline, I think those 50 years were simply fascinating. The first women to arrive experienced a Wall Street vastly different from what it is today: It was men—all men. There were “No ladies” signs on the area’s dining clubs, two-martini lunches, much after-lunch groping, and all of this within what was a very secluded enclave on the tip of Manhattan. The area was peppered with small brokerage houses alongside the major firms, and it was at these small partner-owned brokerages where women got a foothold.

Almost all of them started as secretaries and looked and listened and began to climb that steep and treacherous ladder, a climb that usually began in the research departments as analysts, recommending stocks to their firm’s clients, in large part because they could sign their reports with initials, thereby passing as men.

Many of these early women were college dropouts from the outer boroughs of New York, who found themselves almost accidentally on Wall Street but, in the process, discovered a place where, with thick skin and chutzpah, you could actually go beyond the secretarial pool. When in the early 1980s Wall Street exploded onto America’s stage, and it suddenly became the place to be, a new generation of women came pouring in—a very different type of woman—and tensions ensued. And one can say the same for the early 2000s. It’s a very dynamic story.

Tell us about one thing you discovered during your research that truly surprised you.

You interviewed many “she-wolves.” Is there an anecdote that singularly encapsulates what the women of Wall Street faced at the beginning of this era?

Whom did you enjoy speaking with the most in the course of your research?

Did you encounter any Vassar she-wolves?

But I received an interesting email from Mark Higgins and Bethany Bengtson, who are writing a piece on Hetty Green, a rare and iconic woman on Wall Street in the 19th century; a successful investor, she was both America’s wealthiest woman and a famous miser (she would stuff old newspapers under her dress to keep warm and save on heating), but also a charitable person. She left her fortune to her children, but with no heirs of their own, in the early 1950s, her daughter left her mother’s money to 63 organizations, including Vassar College!

What has changed for today’s women of Wall Street, and what hasn’t?

As the historian Judith Bennett argues (in a book chapter that we teach in Introduction to Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies), there is change and there is transformation. But change should not automatically be mistaken for transformation. In other words, don’t be fooled by change (lots of women on Wall Street now), and assume there’s a radical transformation taking place.

—Interview by Kimberly Schaye

However, as his students and virtually anyone who has ever met him can attest, simply describing Marc Epstein as a scholar of Jewish history and culture is woefully inadequate. As Director of Vassar’s Jewish Studies Program, he works with fellow faculty members—including his spouse, Professor Rabbanit Ági Vetö—to shape a vibrant and diverse curriculum for Vassar students, many of whom are not familiar with Judaism at all. “I like to think that Jewish Studies can provide a way of looking at issues facing all of humanity, starting with its ancient history and traditions and leading to horizons unknown,” Epstein said. “Jews were a tiny people who changed the world, and who have been making history ever since.”

Vetö, who also coordinates Vassar’s Hebrew Language Program, teaches courses in Hebrew Bible, Jewish law, the idea of the Land of Israel before the creation of the Jewish state, and a course that examines anti-Judaism and antisemitism, a topic that became particularly significant in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. “Students have a hard time talking about this, so it’s important that we help make them comfortable doing so,” she said.

But perhaps Epstein’s most significant impact on students’ lives doesn’t happen in the classroom but rather in his home adjacent to the campus where he and Vetö host dinners and wide-ranging discussions, often two or three nights a week. “It’s something I’ve always done,” said Epstein, who earned his PhD at Yale and started teaching at Vassar in 1992. “I did it because some of my very best experiences in college involved getting to know my professors and being invited into their homes. We want our students to feel a connection and know that we will support them in whatever they are going through.

“We pick students up at the train station, we get their prescriptions filled at the pharmacy, and talk to them any time they are in crisis,” Epstein continued. “We are here to listen. We’ve been through a lot ourselves, so we’re in a place where we can offer advice.”

One of Cahn’s classmates, Theo Burstyn-Paul ’27, said he had not planned on taking part in Jewish life on campus when he first enrolled, but that changed almost immediately when his roommate, Sean Miller ’27, returned from the lecture Epstein had given at the start of the semester. “Sean came back to the room and said, ‘This guy is incredible, we have to take his class,’” Burstyn-Paul said. “And Sean’s not even Jewish. He’s from a small town in New Hampshire, and I don’t think a single Jew lives there.”

Burstyn-Paul, who describes himself as a “Jewish agnostic,” said he has always felt safe on the Vassar campus, although he was affected by some events in the wake of the October 7 attacks in Israel. “Some of the language that was used in the protests on campus caused some anxiety, but I don’t think students have the intent of being antisemitic,” he said.

During those stressful moments, Epstein served as a thoughtful, calming presence, Burstyn-Paul said. “He’s someone who pushes you to think deeply, and he’s incredibly open to all views and beliefs; he just wants to foster your learning.”

Two Vassar alums who recently made a significant gift to the Jewish Studies Program, Judith and Edward Grinspan (both Class of 1974), said they too were captivated by Epstein’s warmth and enthusiasm as they were trying to decide how to commemorate their lifetime relationship with the College. “After October 7 happened, we wanted to do something to foster Jewish life on campus,” Judith Grinspan said. “We met Marc during our 50th reunion, and he invited us to his home for dinner. I was immediately struck by his intellectual power and his enthusiasm. He seems like one of those people who can engage with anyone.”

The Grinspans said they learned that Epstein often teaches courses that involve trips to Europe, so they decided to create a fund that would cover the costs of students who otherwise could not afford the trip. “We were just blown away by Marc, so we decided to make this gift,” she said.

Eloise Grossman ’25, a student who was enrolled in a class of Epstein’s last year that included a trip to Venice, echoed Grinspan’s comments about her professor’s warmth and enthusiasm. Grossman said she first met Epstein shortly after she transferred to Vassar from Northeastern University. “I wanted to take Marc’s class on Western mystical traditions, and I needed to find out if courses I had taken at Northeastern qualified as the necessary prerequisites,” she said. “When I contacted Marc, he wanted to know all about why I had transferred and started emailing me about other professors here that I might like. It was obvious he was really interested in me as a person, and my relationship with him and with Ági has grown ever since.

“I wouldn’t say I have become more religious after meeting Marc,” she continued, “but I have become more interested in Jewish history and traditions, and as a result, I feel more connected to my own family.”

Epstein said proselytizing has never had a place in his home. “I’m 60, and I’m still developing my own religious beliefs,” he said. “If I’m changing, I can hardly ask my students to choose one particular path.”

Epstein smiled as he recalled the teachings of the 12th-century Jewish scholar after whom his recent award was named. “Maimonides called upon Jews to live a distinctively Jewish life enlivened by logic, pragmatism, and a profound sense of inquiry,” he said. “I like to think Ági and I can model how to walk in his footsteps—how to be proudly Jewish and fully in the world.”

—Larry Hertz

he championships and personal accolades that come along during decades of coaching can be rewarding, but it’s the deep and lasting relationships forged with their student-athletes that matter the most.

That’s how two of Vassar’s longest tenured coaches, Jonathan Penn and Ronald Stonitsch, summed up their careers as they began their retirement. Penn coached men’s and women’s volleyball from 1996 to 2011 and continued as the women’s coach until 2023, posting more than 500 victories. While he has stepped down as a coach, he continues to work for the Department of Athletics and Physical Education. Stonitsch took over the reins of the men’s and women’s cross country teams in 1982 and retired as assistant cross country and track coach at the end of the 2023 season.

Penn, who played volleyball at Penn State University, said volleyball has been a part of his life since childhood. His godfather was Chuck Nelson, a member of the USA squad in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, “and when I started out, my goal was to coach the men’s national team,” he said.

Landing the job at Vassar took him on a much different path, and Penn said he soon realized it was the right one. “I didn’t know what I was looking for until I found it,” he said. “The students at Vassar are amazing. Of the 10 best conversations I’ve had in my life, at least seven or eight of them have come at a team dining table or on a team bus. I performed wedding ceremonies for two of my players and was asked by another to walk her down the aisle. Many, many alums have become dear friends.”

Two of Penn’s former players, Princeton Head Men’s Volleyball Coach Sam Shweisky ’01 and former women’s player Lauren Gass ’06, said Penn has continued to be a major influence in their lives well beyond their time at Vassar.

“Jonathan’s had an extraordinary 28 years of passion and leadership,” Shweisky said. “He always cared for you as a person, beyond what happened on the court, and I try to carry that example with me in my own coaching. He’s continued to be a sounding board for me.”

Gass, who played in three NCAA tournaments during her four years at Vassar, said Penn had a profound effect on her life early in her college career. “I struggled with academics when I first came to Vassar, and I was thinking of transferring to the University of Michigan,” she recalled. “Jonathan talked me out of it. He told me it was okay to struggle sometimes, to not have all the answers. He said I had a great future at Vassar, and he was right. He was someone you could talk to about anything, not just volleyball.”

Stonitsch appealed the ruling, noting that the lines had been blurred on a muddy section of the course and Busch had merely followed a couple of the runners ahead of her. After several weeks of discussion, the NCAA reinstated her as an All-American. But Stonitsch didn’t stop there. He nominated Busch for the NCAA Honda Inspiration Award, citing a physical condition that kept her from sweating and cooling her body down during races. Busch won the award.

“Ron was the perfect coach for Vassar at the time,” Busch said. “Sure, it was competitive, but it was like being in a family. We knew Ron wanted to win, but none of us ever felt anything was expected of us—we could decide for ourselves.”

Stonitsch, who was an eight-time All-American as a distance runner at C. W. Post College, said he treasured the relationships he had forged with his runners. “I’m grateful to so many of them, not just for their friendship but for all they do to help us recruit,” he said. “It’s a competitive market; we need everybody to help us.”

Current Cross Country Coach James McCowan ’99, who earned All-American honors while competing for Stonitsch, said his mentor had managed to create a unique culture for the team while holding down another full-time job as a counselor for the U.S. Department of Labor. “Ron couldn’t be there for practice every day, so he instilled a sense of responsibility in all of us on the team,” McCowan said. “He was a father figure for me back then, and he still is.

“We may have had some different coaching styles,” McCowan continued, “but what’s always been clear is how much Ron cares about the students he coached and about the team and about Vassar, and that all comes from a place of deep love.”

The annual campaign enables the College’s 29 intercollegiate athletic teams to purchase training equipment, conduct winter and spring training trips, and enhance the sports medicine and strength and conditioning staff in the Department of Athletics and Physical Education.

Teams set their own donor goals, and each squad retains 80 percent of the money raised by its supporters. The remaining 20 percent funds programs and equipment that benefit all student-athletes.

“We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous support from our friends, family, alums, and fans,” said Director of Athletics and Physical Education Michelle Walsh.

This year, the men’s lacrosse team raised the most money, $71,942, from 452 donors. “The whole Vassar athletic community had a spectacular Day of Giving,” Coach John McCreery said as the final gifts were tallied. “Our students, parents, friends, and alums were energized this year and love supporting the Brewers. Michelle Walsh organized a talented committee of people who devoted their time to create a spirited fund-raising campaign that directly affects the experience for our student-athletes at Vassar.”

The team will use the funds raised this year for new equipment, trips to play teams out of the region, and team bonding experiences, McCreery said. —Larry Hertz

“You don’t have to have news. You don’t have to be going on a trip to Tierra del Fuego with your nephews or something like that,” Mundy said. “If you just stay home, tell us about it. People feel if they are going to send something to their Class Notes, it has to be interesting, but that’s not true.”

In addition to her humorous Class Notes narration, Mundy is an active volunteer in her community. At 94, she serves as a trustee for her local library where she helps fund-raise and participates in a women’s study group. At a recent annual fund-raiser, Mundy noted they raised $20,000 for the library.

She credits her drive to volunteer to her time at Vassar. “We were taught as women getting educated that we had an obligation to volunteer in our community,” Mundy said. “I had a pretty good time at Vassar. I was not an A student but I got a good education anyway.”

Mundy studied art history but was deeply interested in writing and journalism and was a cartoonist for the Miscellany News. During her senior year, she was selected as one of 20 guest editors for Mademoiselle magazine’s August 1951 college issue, chosen out of 850 undergraduate applicants. For four weeks, she commuted to New York City, writing and editing for the issue. While at Mademoiselle, she met First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt—but it was not their first encounter.

Earlier that year while at Vassar, a friend, whose architect father was working on a project for the Roosevelts, invited Mundy to lunch with the first lady at Val-Kill Cottage in Hyde Park.

“She was charming and a wonderful talker, and she would ask our opinion on things,” Mundy said. “She would say ‘Now, I wonder what my Vassar friends think about that?’ We were just sitting there with our eyeballs falling out. We were naturally mesmerized.”

Mundy met the first lady at Mademoiselle again weeks later.

“She greeted me and said, ‘This is the second time we’re having lunch together this month,’” Mundy remembers. “I nearly fainted.”

After Mademoiselle and graduation, Mundy set off to England to stay with her father’s family. She spent a summer in Italy, before returning to the States due to her father’s ill health—but not alone. She brought her future husband, Lawrence Mundy, whom she had met in England. Lawrence, who went on to become a resident psychiatrist, took an internship at Johns Hopkins Hospital alongside his brother. Before their wedding, he worked at Norwich State Hospital in Connecticut.

“I’ll bet you that I’m the only bride you know who spent her honeymoon in a psychiatric hospital,” Mundy said.

Together, the Mundys had six children, so Marian needed a job that allowed her to balance work and her family. After moving to New Jersey in 1957, she turned to her passion for journalism and writing.

“I’ve written articles for magazines and newspapers,” Mundy said. “I had a steady gig in a magazine called New Jersey Countryside, and then I had a column in the local paper. I wrote my column, ‘Today’s Mundy,’ for 40 years for a chain of local weeklies.”

She finished writing that column in the late 2010s—and now has six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

After more than 50 years, Mundy’s last column of witty musings can be found in this issue of VQ. When she called to break the news to the magazine’s editor, Elizabeth Randolph, she said in her characteristically droll tone, “I’m 94, for goodness’ sake! I think it’s alright to lay down my pen, don’t you?

“But I’ll still be around, helping out where I can,” she added.—Heather Mattioli

Know of an alum from an earlier class—pre-1960—still thriving and living an extraordinary life? Let us know!

And not only can we enjoy intellectual sparks and challenge in the new Fred Fisher–designed building, but The Heartwood at Vassar hotel is lovely, as is the Salt Line, Hudson Valley restaurant, both in the same building. Standing at the bottom of the hill on College Avenue, they provide a beautiful complement to Alumnae House presiding at the top. It is very exciting to consider the many ways in which each of these special Vassar places will leverage the strength of the other and be inhabited and embraced in the years to come.

Our first AAVC Board meeting of the year was also inspiring, as we welcomed five new board members—Eddie Gamarra ’94, Michael Neuwirth ’89, Heller An Shapiro ’81, Kerri Tillett ’91, and Emily Weisgrau ’96, who are already wonderful contributors to our work. Our committees have been busy for the past several months, bringing creativity and commitment to clubs, career programming, the Vassar Fund, and alum awards, all of which are undergirded by our respect and inclusion of diverse perspectives. I am so grateful for all of my AAVC Board colleagues and the Advancement team for their partnership, leadership, and support. We are united in leading with integrity, commitment, joy, and love for Vassar.

My best, always,

There were no robbers … but we were in big trouble. I soon learned that a disease, a dreadful dementia, was taking over our lives, attacking Ben’s brain and body and turning him into someone I barely recognized.

Many of us may be facing similar experiences—a spouse, parent, sibling, or friend showing scary signs of a changing brain. Millions of people get a dementia diagnosis annually. Lewy body dementia, my husband’s disease, is far less understood. It can be extremely tough to get diagnosed—Robin Williams never did, though they tried for 18 months. Then, when you do know, you are confronted with terrible questions: How do I cope? Can I keep my loved one home? What products and equipment do I need for the future? How are we going to pay for care?

Dementia caregiving is the hardest job nobody ever applies for—and there’s no pre-job training. It’s stressful, exasperating, exhausting. I cried more during caregiving than at any other time of my life. But I learned to cope. What do you do when your husband sees robbers who aren’t there, feels mice nibbling his toes in bed or snakes scratching at his skin, or wanders out of the house? You let the police search, you put out mouse traps, you get the doctor to check his hand and say it’s not blackening, so it’s okay. How do you cope when he says you aren’t his wife, that you’re seeing someone else and he wants you gone? You get right in his line of sight and say “Hi!” and hope he recognizes you this time. You reach out, you find support and guidance, and you survive.

I did learn positive lessons from this stressful experience, things that seem trite but are still true, for more than just caregivers. I learned that “help” is the hardest word to say, but you must reach out. You cannot make it alone. Family, friends, social agencies, everything and everyone. Ask. Independence may seem brave, but it’s very lonely. You cannot fill a cup from an empty vessel. You need time off to replenish and refresh or you burn out. “Me Time,” is not selfish, it’s necessary for your sanity.

I also learned that you can be clever and creative and try to head off challenges, but sometimes cleverness will backfire and bite you in the butt—such as the time Ben had a delusion about needing to deposit a “check” that was really an old bill. For weeks, he insisted we needed to take it to the bank. Luckily, the clerk knew our situation and said she could handwrite a “receipt” to satisfy him. But when Ben tried to traverse the parking lot to check up on me, he fell and cracked his head open. Luckily, no permanent damage, but we had a scary ER trip.

Finally, there’s a saying: “Hot water softens a carrot but hardens an egg.” I chose to be an egg, hardened but not hard. Now, to help others, I’ve written a book for those who care for people with LBD or Parkinson’s disease dementia. It has been a heartfelt project for me, and I hope it will help people desperate to know what I learned.

Kathy Teyler Jarrett ’73 is the author of You Are Not Alone: Dealing with Lewy Body Dementia, published by Luminare Press.