On March 17th, Mills College announced to its approximately 1000 students that 2023 would be its last year as a degree-granting college. Founded in 1852, Mills College has been a small historically women’s liberal arts school that has been dedicated to educating students from underrepresented groups and empowering students to speak up and speak out. A “Mills Institute” is set to replace the college as some sort of an education facility, but the college administration has not announced any clear plans. Closing at the end of Spring 2023 means that not every current Mills student will even be able to graduate from Mills, leaving hundreds of students forced to transfer. Plans for the Institute are moving fast, giving Mills students, alum, faculty, and staff very little time to push back on this decision. A meeting of the Mills Board of Trustees on April 15 is one of our last chances to reverse this decision and buy us more time. 

That is where the UC Mills plan comes into play; as a UC, Mills will be able to introduce a new kind of college to the UC system. UC Mills, like UC Hastings School of Law, will be self-governing and will give us the ability to continue Mills’s mission while having added resources. With high numbers of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled students, Mills gives the UC system something it is currently criticized for not having: representation. Located in Oakland, Mills gives students the opportunity to connect with a greater community in one of the most diverse cities in the country. As a UC, Mills will be able to give students access to the model of private schools at the price of a public school, opening up small liberal arts colleges to students who previously could not afford it. Although a historically women’s college, Mills will be serving students of all genders while still focusing on underrepresented groups. 

UC Mills will be a revolutionary kind of school for California’s public university system, so help us send a message to the UC Regents and the Mills Board of Trustees that our school is worth saving and worth being accessible to all California students. Please sign this petition in support of demands to the Mills Board of Trustees:

Rescind their vote to stop granting degrees in 2023
Consider the UC Mills plan in addition to any other viable plans put forth by other stakeholders

And to tell the UC Regents that you support the idea of UC Mills!

Learn more about the UC Mills plan at www.ucmills.com and spread the word that you support UC Mills. Thank you! #UCMILLS #MILLS4CA