France Perkins Program 25th Anniversary Address

Joanne V. Creighton, President
April 22, 2005

Some people say that "education is wasted on the young," but here at Mount Holyoke, that's not entirely true: our students know the value of their education, but those who know that best, perhaps, are the so-called older students, students who have had some life experience before completing their education. They relish their education. Indeed, she who takes it upon herself to learn will always be youthful for she sees that a better self, a better life, and a better world lies not in her past, but in her future. So, instead, we might say that at Mount Holyoke youth is here for the taking through education. Here we have a chance to be forever young.

We're here this evening to celebrate one of Mount Holyoke's treasures –its fountain of youth if you will– the Frances Perkins program, which for the past 25 years has brought remarkable women from all phases of life back to school to realize the promise of a college education.

The Frances Perkins program reflects the spirit of two great Mount Holyoke women: Mary Lyon and Frances Perkins. Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke to provide access to higher education to women who previously had few choices. Since 1837, we have taken it as part of her legacy to open doors that were once locked for women. We were the first of the Seven Sisters to admit students of color. We are the most international of any liberal arts college. We consistently welcome more students on Pell grants than our peers. And, since 1980, the Frances Perkins program has proclaimed that higher education is not the sole province of those whose ages start with a ‘1.' Whether you have two decades under your belt or six, Mount Holyoke's gates are open to you.

As for the Program's namesake, she too was a pioneer who made her own place in male-dominated world. Frances Perkins, about whom we will hear more later tonight from our distinguished guest Penelope Colman, was a woman who was not afraid to challenge the status quo, no matter what barriers stood in her path. The woman who was to become the first female cabinet member in United States history used her Mount Holyoke education and her real world experiences to propel herself toward purposeful engagement in the world. She inspires all of us, and we are proud to honor her legacy with the Frances Perkins Program.

But what is it that makes the Frances Perkins Program so particularly compelling? There seems to be something about its spirit that appeals profoundly to our community. Perhaps it is the idea of redemption, of second chances, or of rebirth, that is so fundamentally aligned with our view of education. We gave our first 19th century students a chance to break from the restrictive lives. Today, a Mount Holyoke education still represents empowerment, and that is perhaps most visible in our FPs. Surely, every woman should be allowed to change course in life, to come up with a new and better idea for who she wants to be. The liberal arts, in their power to transform, are not just about maturation, they're also about rejuvenation.

Perhaps we are so fond of the Frances Perkins Program because of how it changes our learning community for the better. We hold the educational value of diversity as a fundamental premise of what we do at Mount Holyoke. We insist that all community members should confront difference, with the tacit understanding that Americans and Bulgarians will inform each other's worldviews, and that white students and students of color will broaden each other's understanding of society. What could be more illuminating, then, to join in conversation students with untested idealism and students who have experienced the "real world."

Certainly we are enamored of the Frances Perkins Program in all those ways. But behind all our high-minded rhetoric are 723 reasons why the Program works and why we celebrate it tonight. Over the past 25 years, 723 FPs have crossed the stage at Commencement, each one a story of hard work and triumph. Many of those faces are here tonight, and we are overjoyed to share this moment with you. Because FPs themselves are what make the Program extraordinary.

We are humbled by these women. The catalogue says that FPs are women of non-traditional age, but what truly distinguishes FPs from their classmates is that they are women whose lives changed not when they got into college, or chose which college to attend. It was the moment that they decided that they should go back to school at all. They knew going to College would require great sacrifice: of precious time, energy, and financial resources. They had the courage and the vision to say to the world that they wanted more out of themselves and out of life, and they made their vision a reality.

Of course, in their wisdom they chose Mount Holyoke, for which we at the College are delighted. But let me say on behalf of all the faculty and staff that the privilege has been all ours. So, tonight I would like to salute the 723 graduates, and the 150 women enrolled today who will soon join their ranks and be forever young. You all honor the legacy of Frances Perkins herself. I would also like to thank my colleagues Kay Althoff, Carolyn Dietel, and Jane Brown, and all your associates, under whose fine leadership the program continues to flourish. Thank you.