News from the Association

I am thrilled to start this new academic year by congratulating our new Alumnae Association leadership volunteers. Through our spring virtual voting, the members of the Association confirmed: 

Dana Thompson ’94 as president-elect of the Association and ex-officio member of the College’s board of trustees. Dana will formally start as president of the Alumnae Association when my term ends after Reunion 2026. 

Nicole Huynh ’06 as the Association-nominated trustee to the College’s board of trustees. 

Irene Ayers ’82, Tyler Garber ’14, Catherine Hoffman Kaser ’95, Meg Krilov ’77, Nick Nehéz, M.S.S. ’24, and Marot Williamson ’04 as members of the Alumnae/i Leadership Council, formerly named the Alumnae Association Executive Board. 

In this last year of my presidency, I am excited to partner with Dana as we work to further our goal of amplifying the Bryn Mawr alumnae/i network and connecting undergraduate and graduate alumnae/i across generations. I am also looking forward to collaborating with Dana and Nicole as fellow College trustees, representing all that we love about — and hope for — Bryn Mawr. 

When you pick up this issue of the Bulletin, it will be fall, and the Class of 2029, the next great Red Class—yes, I admit my bias—will already have experienced their first Bryn Mawr traditions. It is no secret that our alma mater has lots of traditions, but put a few Mawrters in any room and there will be great debate about which ones we would count as our favorites. In my role as your association president over the last four years, I have come to enjoy hearing everyone’s “why.” Unsurprisingly, the answers are as unique and individual as this alumnae/i body. 

A humble tradition that might not get as much fanfare as others is the gifting and receiving of the Association mug. While many of us recall packing it and moving it from our family home to our first apartment, a few of us remember when it received its first crack or two, perhaps a handful of us are currently sipping from our mugs, and most of us probably don’t remember how we received it. Undergraduate alums have mugs featuring their class color, McBride alums a purple one, and graduate school alums have varying shades of yellow, the College’s color. 

So why uplift this tradition? My “why” as your President is rooted in the joy of seeing undergraduates and graduate students share in this tradition together. It feels only fitting that the “how” folks received their mug is as varied as our alumnae/i body. What is important is that it is a tradition that connects. 

This year, I would like to encourage Bryn Mawr alums, across generations, when you are attending a regional event, bump into a Mawrter at a conference, or the next time you are on campus, to ask an alum you have never connected with before about their mug. I have no doubt there is a story there, and I can’t wait to hear more about your Bryn Mawr. 

Best, 

Sally Bachofer ’97 

Member, Bryn Mawr College Board of Trustees, and President, Bryn Mawr Alumnae Association