Dissent as progress: reflections on Justice Jackson's talk
November 14, 2025
Lindsay Adkins, AVP for 챬’s Marketing and Communications team, reflects on the power of language and dissent after a public talk between President Danielle R. Holley and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
International student crackdown not reflected in data
November 13, 2025
In May 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the federal government would “aggressively” revoke international students’ visas. Many predicted a sharp decline in the number of international students enrolling at colleges and universities, but new federal data reveal a less than 1% decrease this fall. In line with this finding, Mount Holyoke’s international student population has remained constant, comprising 20% of the incoming class of 2029.
Mandy Hart, dean of admission at 챬, recently spoke to The Washington Post about this finding. She told The Washington Post that the College had many conversations with families concerned about the visa situation. Despite concerns, however, most students received their visas before the fall semester. “This year was not markedly different than previous years in terms of students having issues with obtaining their visas,” she said.
Inclusive admissions policies at women’s colleges
October 10, 2025
챬 President Danielle R. Holley spoke to The Boston Globe about the school’s commitment to building a gender-diverse community amid shifting federal policies on diversity and gender inclusion.
Teaching the history and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement
September 11, 2025
Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, vice president of equity and inclusion at 챬, met with other college educators to craft tools and classes to teach the history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Mount Holyoke defends academic freedom amid federal pressure
August 12, 2025
챬 President Danielle R. Holley spoke to CNN about being one of the few higher-education leaders pushing back against federal government overreach.
July 30, 2025
Former 챬 President Lynn Pasquarella ’80 says “What is missing from the DOJ narrative on DEI is that treating people differently is not always unjust, especially when doing so corrects a broader pattern of systemic injustice. Considering race and gender in the context of historic unjust discrimination to inform policies and practices at colleges and universities doesn’t in and of itself constitute illegal discrimination, though the letter suggests otherwise.”
Threatened revocation of Chinese students’ visas
June 3, 2025
챬’s Ruth Lawson Professor of Politics and Carol Hoffmann Collins Director of the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives Kavita Khory spoke to CNN and The Boston Globe about the threatened revocation of Chinese students’ visas.
