Bryn Mawr College

Alumnae Bulletin May 2010

Letters

Bryn Mawr dynamic and exciting

I just finished reading the Annual Report of the College in the February Alumnae Bulletin, edited by Robin Parks, and found it to be an exciting, informative, and beautifully presented issue. In fact, I took advantage of a tornado warning here in St. Louis to read this newly arrived publication and completely forgot to stay tuned to the weather warnings that are a part of life on the prairie. Of particular interest to me were the many brief profiles of undergraduates and recent alums that are poised to assume leadership roles in their fields of study or pursuit. The faculty profiles were also of great interest to me and, again, I consider how lucky the students are to be led and mentored by this talented group of scholars.

When I finished reading the class notes, I put the Bulletin down and started to think about the general impressions I had gained about the College by reading about the current students and alums. My overwhelming impression was that the campus today is a dynamic and exciting venue. Things are happening there; faculty are working with students who want to learn and it is good to hear that many researchers are being rewarded with outside funding that brings internal recognition. This is a difficult time to be on an academic faculty and I am proud of Bryn Mawr’s role in gaining grant monies from national resources. This scholarly quest for publication and financial support helps to create an exciting environment for the students and graduate students on the campus.

Another strong impression was generated by the informality of the “graphs on both the students and the faculty. These descriptive narratives created a picture of vibrant activity and a sense of the closeness between the instructors and their students. I have often wished that John and I could join one of the faculty-guided tours so that we could experience this closeness and excitement first-hand. Alas, I believe that we are too old to join one of these tours. As a former dean and as a class collector for a class that now seems to be part of Bryn Mawr’s history, I think that by reading the recent Annual Report, I can do a better job of saying that “all is well on the campus.”

- Patricia Onderdonk Pruett ’52, ’62, Ph.D. ’65