Students Win!

Students Win!

Judge Awards Preliminary Approval 
To A $1.25 Million Settlement
 
On Tuesday, November 7, the Honorable Judge Brad Seligman gave preliminary approval of a $1.25M settlement for "former students at Mills College in Oakland who claimed they were misled, and forced to spend more on education..." S.F Chronicle, 11/8/2023.
 
408 students will share the settlement, after lawyer fees. The "damages" will vary based on each individual student's case. A hearing for final approval is scheduled for March, 2024.
 
 Our All4Mills team is overjoyed with this good news! After months of rallying for and with students, sharing stories over Shivering Jimmies and hundreds of Mills College home-baked chocolate chip cookies later, our "mama bear" hearts are thrilled to see justice being rightly served.

Back in January 2022, students were excited to return to campus for in-person learning (following the Covid lockdown). Nothing prepared them for the first-day-back-to-campus Town Hall where they learned majors were being eliminated and that they had less than 10 days (some had less than 48 hours) to decide whether or not to stay at Mills and select a new major altogether or to transfer to a new school. Students couldn't get answers for months and lived in a constant state of turmoil. Tuition refunds and guarantees for graduation were not clear.  
 
Despite the possible consequences, a handful of students stepped forward to represent the entire body. We applaud these five students for "showing their Mills" with moxie, grit and courage.

NE's independent student paper captured the reactions of our Mills students to the lawsuit settlement. They reported that students felt like it was a "payout...it feels like business as usual." Read the article.
 

500 Students Are Not Qualified For The Lawsuit
For various reasons, 500 students do not qualify to be included in the settlement. 
Keep in mind, this ruling will stand and it is clear that the college lied and committed fraud. 
Students who were enrolled during the acquisition are encouraged to
apply for Loan Forgiveness (if you have outstanding loans) with the Department of Education's Borrower Defense Discharge. See below:
 

Get Those Student Loans Forgiven!
 
The Federal Student Aid Commission offers forgiveness of applicable federal student loans through the Borrower's Defense Program. The regulations that apply to this kind of situation are the 
Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations, found in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) 
at Title 34, Sections 685.400- 499 
 
Why Mills Students Should Apply
 
Misrepresentation: Students file a borrower defense application because they believe that their school misled them or lied to them about something that was central to their decision to enroll. Under the borrower defense regulations, this is called a "misrepresentation." For example, some borrowers have qualified for borrower defense in the past when their school made false or misleading promises guaranteeing that they would get a job after graduation, earn a certain salary with their degree, 
or be able to transfer their credits to another school.
 
Some borrowers apply because they believe their school concealed, suppressed, or omitted important information about their program, including that the program didn’t meet requirements for employment in their field. Other borrowers apply because their school engaged in aggressive and deceptive recruitment, like falsely claiming they would lose their opportunity to attend 
if they did not enroll immediately.
 
"The students allege that the college violated the state’s fair commerce laws through false and misleading statements, and are seeking unspecified monetary compensation. Their suit says Mills encouraged students to remain enrolled, only afterwards telling them that the final Mills degrees would be awarded in 2022, not 2023, and that many degree programs would be eliminated after Northeastern took over this summer. As a result, students missed deadlines to transfer out, delaying their academic progress and costing them thousands of dollars." 
Nanette Asimov, S.F. Chronicle 5/12/22
 
Failure To Perform Obligations Under A Contract* With You: May qualify students for Borrower Defense to Repayment. To qualify, those obligations must have been important to you when you were deciding whether to enroll or remain enrolled and caused you harm warranting a full discharge and refund of all applicable federal loans. *A contract could be an enrollment agreement.
 
Learn More & Apply.

Rally for Regulations, Please. 
The Department of Education needs to know what's transpired with this acquisition. Recently, there's been an increase in conversations about holding college executives accountable and financially liable for harm done to students. "Money paid to school executives in salary or bonuses [should be] used to cover the cost of loan forgiveness and refund tuition paid by students." Ben Miller, top advisor to the Department of Education.
 
Read The Full Article.
 
If you are fired up about what has transpired, now is the time to do "something." 
If the College willingly lied and defrauded our students, it leaves little doubt that they've probably done the same with alums, donors and Mills supporters. 
If you have experience with the Dept. of Education and can lend your expertise in this particular matter, please reach out: all4millsnow@gmail.com.

It Seems Like Ages Ago...
How Was This All Allowed To Happen? 
 
We're excited to bring to you a multi-part discussion and overview of this acquisition. These documents are the culmination of hundreds of hours of research. We'll dive deeper into the leadership, finances and the actions taken. Here is Part One.
 
HOW WAS THE TRAVESTY OF MILLS DEMISE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?
How? When Mills financial status was consistently above the mean of all U.S. private
colleges of Mills size?
How? When administration violated 3 court orders to produce Mills financial data to
alumnae whose fiduciary duty included review of Mills finances.
How? When multiple standard protocols by the AAUP (American Association of University
Professors), as well as mandates via institutions with oversight of Mills were consistently
broken without repercussions?
How? When numerous articles and other easily accessible information signaled very
significant, serious red flags for any semblance of alignment with Northeastern University?
How? Under the above circumstances, did Mills President, Elizabeth Hillman, with support
from many of the Mills Board of Trustees, succeed in getting a significant number of
alumnae to believe that Mills was near financial collapse and the only way to save it was to
merge with Northeastern University, in Boston Massachusetts.
How? When the contract signed by President Hillman and NEU President Aoun, had a
binding mandate that Mills College would be gifted to Northeastern, then cease to exist?
 
Read more about the underlying intentions behind choices and actions made by the Administration which led to the demise of Mills College. 

Read The Report

Let's Move Forward Together 
How Do We Do That? Where Do We Start?
 
Honestly, we believe now is the time to move away from the AAMC and begin rebuilding a unified alum body. Our community is divided into those who made the merger happen, 
those who are working to make it successful, those who are still skeptical, 
and those who have turned away from Mills. 
It's time to focus on keeping our connections outside of the previous entities. 
 
Here are a few thoughts:
 
1) Let's design and build a new community together. Imagine a Mills community, spanning the globe, where we can network, collaborate, share information and resources all while making a positive impact on the world around us.
 
Perhaps you've been looking for a new job, advice on graduate programs, or opportunities to just have fun and make new friends?  How about an on-line book club, art show, lecture or performance featuring the Mills community? How about a college scholarship program for underrepresented students or opportunities to support HWCs/HBCUs (Historically Women's Colleges / Historically Black Colleges and Universities), etc.?
 
Let's host events that inspire and engage. Let's design and build our community together! 
Check out: www.UnofficiallyMills.org today!
 
2) It's the Season of Giving. And, today is #GivingTuesday. We encourage you to support causes that are close to you, if you're able. The Office of Advancement is doing their best to encourage giving. Their brief texts ask alums for support to fund "programs on campus." Shouldn't the gift of our $230M Endowment be enough to sustain these "programs"? 
Additionally, back on September 17, 2020, at the Alumnae Town Hall meeting, 
Hillman celebrated a record $9.4M raised in fundraising during the 2019-2020 year, 
exceeding the goal by $2.5M. 
AAMC VP Alexa Pagonas asked, "How much money needs to be raised for Mills to remain an independent women's college?". Hillman replied, "It's not about raising money... it's not about fundraising. It's more about leveraging the resources Mills has to sustain our impact."
 
As you make your gift decisions this year, it's worth noting that Mills Legacy students 
(about 100 remain) have been asked to not refer to the college as "Mills College" anymore. Most, if not all, of these remaining Legacy Mills Students will graduate by Spring 2024. With the last Mills students leaving and the recent layoff of the Mills Institute inaugural director, we question what kind "impact" we are sustaining (Hillman's comment above).
Essentially, all donations from this point forward to this organization will serve NU students.
 
3) Rally Everyone. With the recent student lawsuit settled, this is a victory worth celebrating and sharing. In fact, it provides the fuel needed to recapture the attention of legislators to address the City of Oakland's Resolution to Investigate this handover. 
We understand we may not "get Mills back," but we can raise the flags and be a force to create change in the regulations of higher education. Take a moment to sign and share the petition. Let's raise awareness with our collective voices.
Sign the Petition
 
4) Reach out to our remaining Legacy Students and Mills Professors. There is a sense of 
"not belonging" on campus right now. Employment for both professors and staff remain unsettled. There are fears that redundant positions in Oakland will be eliminated. 
Do you have any job leads for soon-to-be grads or for talented professors? 
Please reach out. Let's be the Mills network we used to be! 
Email us: all4millsnow@gmail.com

In The Meantime...
Let's not forget that President Hillman and the Trustees simply handed over the College, its assets, its land and an endowment valued at 
$230+ million dollars, in a profitable year. 

See The Financial Report

There is no saving our legacy. No music. No arts. No dance. 
No book arts. No creating writing. The fraud and malfeasance is clear. 
The College knew it was eliminating the majority of its majors, yet it continued to recruit first years and accept their tuition payments for the 2021-22 academic year. On 11/7/23, the Honorable Judge Brad Seligman gave preliminary approval of a settlement for students. 
Read the Class Action Lawsuit.
Once Oakland passed the Resolution to Investigate, both President Hillman and Dean of Students Martin resigned and found new jobs. Shortly after this turn of events, Mills Trustees Katie Sanborn and Irene Panagopoulos joined NU's Board of Trustees. Then, former Oakland Councilperson Loren Taylor proposed rezoning changes to increase retail and housing density on the Mills property. 
Your All4Mills team rallied and with help of vocal alums (like you) and friends, the 
City of Oakland removed Mills College from the rezoning plan. Thank you, everyone! 
Read the Article. 
 
Remember Who You Are and What You Represent
Your Mills experience is unique and valued. Share it. 
Connect with politicians who can institute change. 
Connect with students - our newest alums.
Connect with our new community: www.UnofficiallyMills.org
 
We need to speak up for the next generation and fight for safe spaces where women, the LGBTQ community and marginalized groups can access quality higher education and practice free speech and thought. 
We need to push for nationwide regulation and protection of higher education institutions. 
If we don't, then who will?
In Solidarity, Your All4Mills Team

"She has given to her children, the Alumnae of the school, and to the women of California, an inheritance whose value cannot be measured. 
She bids us pass it on a priceless heritage to our children's children."
- from a former Mills student in a memory book about Susan Mills