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Update on the History Working Group

January 24, 2018

The below email was sent to students, faculty, and staff from Dean of the Undergraduate College Jennifer Walters on Jan. 23, 2018.

Dear Bryn Mawr Community:

I write to share an update on the History Working Group. The group—made up of students, faculty, staff, and alumnae/i—is examining the College's histories of racism, exclusion, and resistance.

We have also been asked by President Cassidy to consider how best to interpret and portray the legacy of M. Carey Thomas. Thomas, whose vision for women's education significantly shaped Bryn Mawr and many other institutions, was also a proponent of racist and anti-Semitic ideas and policies. Because of this, we will be considering the question of whether to permanently rename M. Carey Thomas Library and Thomas Great Hall. We will offer a recommendation to the president in April.

The members of the working group are:

Jada Caesar '20
Alisha Clark '18
Cecilia Conrad, College Trustee
Ignacio Gallup-Diaz, Associate Professor of History
Ruth Lindeborg, Secretary of the College
Stephanie Nixon, Director, Pensby Center
Cassie Paul '18
Eric Pumroy, Head of Special Collections and Associate Director of LITS
Monique Scott, Director of Museum Studies
Saskia Subramanian '88, M.A. '89, College Trustee and President Alumnae Association Executive Board
Sharon Ullman, Professor of History
Alicia Walker ’94, Associate Professor of History of Art on the Marie Neuberger Fund for the Study of Arts, Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program, Director of the Center for Visual Culture
Jennifer Walters, Dean of the Undergraduate College

The working group will host community-wide opportunities to learn about and discuss Bryn Mawr's history this semester. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to me or to Ruth Lindeborg in the President's Office. You may also write to BMCHistory@brynmawr.edu.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

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