CITY
OF
OAKLAND
CITY HALL
•
1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA •
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
94612
#LoveLife
REBECCA KAPLAN
SHENG THAO
Vice Mayor
President Pro Tempore
District At-Large
District 4
Date: July 7, 2022To: Members of City Council and Members of the PublicFrom: Vice Mayor Kaplan and Council President Pro Tempore ThaoRe: ResolutionCelebratingTheContributionsOfMillsCollegeToTheCityOfOaklandAndBeyond,AndCallingOnTheCaliforniaJointLegislativeAuditCommitteeAndTheStateAuditor’s OfficeToConductAnIndependentInvestigationIntoTheCircumstances Of The Sale Of Mills College To Northeastern University Dear Colleagues on the City Council and Members of the Public, Sinceitsopeningin1872,MillsCollege-theoldestundergraduatecollegeforwomenintheWest– hasempoweredwomenandremovedbarriersto women’s advancementandopportunity. ToensuretransparencyandaccountabilitytothecommunityMillsCollegeserves,thisresolutioncallsupontheCaliforniaJointLegislativeAuditCommitteeandStateAuditor’s Officetoconductaninvestigation into the circumstances of the sale of Mills College to Northeastern University.
MillsCollege,locatedinEastOakland,isanintegralpartofthecity’s diversecultureasareitsstudents.44%of the2021-2022Millsstudentpopulationarefirst-generationundergraduatestudentsandabout66%ofundergraduatestudentsarestudentsofcolor. Aprovenanceofwomen’srights,MillsCollegewasthefirstwomen’s collegetoofferacomputersciencemajorin1974,andin 2014, Mills was the first women’s to openly welcome transgender students.
After170yearsofoperation,MillsnotifiedstudentsandstaffonMarch17,2021,ofitsimpendingclosure,citingfinancialhardshipasthemotivatingfactorforclosingthecollege.Subsequently, inJune2021,MillsCollegeannouncedaforthcomingsaleofthecollegetoNortheasternUniversity–a Boston-based coed university.
Inresponsetotheseactionstakenbythecollege,currentstudents,faculty, andalumniorganizedtoformgroupssuchasSaveMillsCollegeCoalitionandAllinforMills,dedicatingthemselvesoverthe pastyearto stopNortheastern’s acquisitionof Mills,andto restoreMillsas anindependent women’s college under new leadership.
Atatimewhenstudentsofcolor, theLGBTQ+community, andwomen’srightsareunderattack,fromperpetratorsrangingfromthe“ProudBoys,”to theSupremeCourt,wemustlistento City CouncilJuly 7, 2022File # 22-0621
1 impacted communities, alumni, and students when they advocate for transparency at such an important community institution.
Community members, students, faculty, and alumni have shared significant concerns about a lack of transparency and allegations of disseminating false information by the college – specifically in regards to the school’s financial health that Mills College leadership provided as justification for the sale of the school to Northeastern, and the college’s commitment to allow current students to complete their intended programs after the sale of the school. Given these allegations, this resolution urges the California Joint Legislative Audit Committee and the State Auditor’s Office to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances of the sale of Mills College to Northeastern University.
These issues must be fully reviewed to ensure that community needs are respected, truth is pursued, and the important work of Mills in serving vital needs can be continued.
City Council
July 19, 2022
File # 22-0621