Vassar 2023: A Look Back

Accolades, Action and an Awesome Performance

Five alums were recognized by the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC) for career achievements and service to the College.

Vassar clubs from San Francisco to London took part in the second annual Vassar Serves initiatives, gathering to engage in conservation activities. “Vassar teaches you to go out and do good in the world, and this initiative epitomizes that,” said Deb Macfarlan Enright ’82, who cooked up the idea for Vassar Serves last year around the theme of food insecurity.

Peace activist Jonathan Granoff ’70, who has been waging a fight against nuclear proliferation for five decades, returned to the campus in March to accept the AAVC’s Distinguished Achievement Award. 

Renowned drag queen and cultural polymath Sasha Velour ’09, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9, delivered a stunning performance on campus last spring.

Excitement Continues for Fearlessly Consequential Campaign

Vassar’s $500 million Fearlessly Consequential campaign picked up steam this year with the announcement of significant gifts from alums and friends of the College.

Dede Thompson Bartlett ’65, who has made a $10-million gift for a new Career Education and Admissions Center, visited the campus to meet with students who received the 2023 Thompson Bartlett Fellowships in Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics. Bartlett has funded these fellowships for the past 10 years. 

Paul Frank ’91 gifted an endowment to Vassar’s health and wellness program, an integral part of the College’s fundraising initiatives.

Thanks to generous gifts by several alum families, Vassar opened the Richard L. Cretella Tennis Center. 

The Mug, a beloved student hangout for nearly half a century, received a facelift this year thanks to the generosity of two alums, Jonathan Lieberman ’85 and an anonymous donor from the Class of ’86. 

For an up-to-date status report on the campaign, visit the Campaign website.

Treasured Mentors, New Faces, and Innovations

The Vassar community mourned the loss of two influential leaders in the Africana Studies Program: Professor Emeritus Milfred Fierce, largely considered the “godfather” of Africana Studies (previously Black Studies) at Vassar and Professor Emeritus Norman Hodges, the first tenured Black professor in History and Africana Studies.

More than 80 students and 30 faculty members engaged in original research projects at Vassar’s annual Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI). 

Thirty humanities majors and 23 faculty members took part in Vassar’s annual Ford Scholars program.

As part of the College’s new Cluster Hire Initiative in the Study of Race, Racism, and Racial Justice, five new assistant professors joined the faculty to take some aspects of the College curriculum in a new, multidisciplinary direction. They were the first to join the College under its Cluster Hire Initiative in the Study of Race, Racism, and Racial Justice. 

Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, the College purchased a million-dollar, state-of-the-art microscope that will significantly enhance faculty and student research opportunities at Vassar and other nearby colleges. 

Eye-Opening Exhibitions

A collection of works by African American artists from the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art kicked off a national tour with an opening at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center on the Vassar College campus. The exhibition, titled Silver Linings, highlights the works of masters, pioneers, and trailblazers who anchor the Spelman collection. 

The Archives & Special Collections Library at Vassar College closed out the year with an exhibition titled Elizabeth Bishop’s Postcards, a display of the beloved poet’s extensive postcard correspondence dating from her early life to her final years, on view from September 18–December 15, 2023. 

Team Spirit Makes Us All Champs

The Women’s cross country team won its first-ever Liberty League Championship and finished 23rd in the country at the NCAA Division III Championships. 

The Women’s Rugby Team made it to the finals of the Collegiate Rugby National Collegiate Rugby Division II Championships in Houston, TX. 

Parents, alums, and other supporters of Vassar’s athletics program set a new record for donations during the 27-hour “Day of Giving” event. 

Campus Initiatives Reach Beyond Main Gate

Vassar continued its efforts to help other four-year liberal arts colleges to create programs based on the College’s Exploring Transfer program. 

The College’s Inclusive History project, whose goals are making publicly accessible the history of Vassar with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion, took another step forward at a day-long retreat at Alumnae House. 

When war broke out in the Middle East, Vassar mobilized its resources to support its students and others on the campus. 

Election Day was notable for several reasons this year. For the second election cycle, the campus had a polling site. And just as significantly, five candidates with Vassar ties won important local elections. One of them, Professor of History Rebecca Edwards, will leave the College—at least temporarily—to serve a two-year term as Town of Poughkeepsie Supervisor. 

Way to Go, Vassar!

President Elizabeth Bradley, who received her PhD from the Yale School of Public Health in 1996, was one of four recipients of Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal, the highest honor the university bestows on its graduate school alums. 

Vassar’s Office of Residential Life was recognized for its outstanding contributions to the profession by the Association of College and University Housing Officers–International. 

The Loeb was recognized by the Dutchess County Historical Society for its service to the community. Historical Society President Robert Doyle presented the organization’s Dutchess Award to Loeb Director T. Barton Thurber at the event in June.