This year, the alumnae/i association, AAVC, turns 150. Throughout 2021, the College will be celebrating this anniversary by highlighting a few of Vassar’s most notable alumnae/i in architecture, arts, business, education, entertainment, healthcare, humanitarian efforts, law, social justice, and technology. This month, we focus on two alumnae/i attorneys who are working to create a more just society.
Last summer, as people took to the streets to protest racism in the United States, Bishop Joseph Tolton ’89 saw an opportunity to unite people across continents. People in the U.S. had come together to tell their story in the hopes of changing policy on the domestic front. He thought: What if members of the African diaspora around the world united to do the same on the global front?
Greg Russo ’03 hadn’t been to the movies since the COVID-19 pandemic began. But on April 23, he ventured out to an IMAX theater near his home in Los Angeles to watch Mortal Kombat, an action-packed adaptation of the classic video game, which was debuting that night. “It was a great experience,” Russo said, “hearing all those claps and cheers.” The crowd’s enthusiasm meant a lot to Russo. He had written the screenplay for the film, which shattered post-pandemic box office records that weekend. Mortal Kombat was an overnight success, but Greg Russo’s success as a screenwriter took a little longer—and he says that journey began at Vassar.
Jacob Rivkin ’07 parlayed his talent as an artist and his love of Chinese culture into his role as animator for the PBS documentary Beethoven in Beijing.
With the class of 1971’s landmark Reunion approaching, Jill Troy Werner ’71 created an Endowment for Research and Teaching on Climate Change and Sustainability, and Mary Price ’71 along her husband, Nick Waser—both of whom are field ecologists—made a gift to support “people and programs” at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve. These gifts inspired their class to fund the Class of 1971 Gateway to the Old Vassar Farm as its 50th Reunion gift.
The African American Alumnae/i of Vassar College (AAAVC) celebrated its 13th Triennial April 9-11, hosting nearly 100 alumnae/i of the College. While the event was virtual, Karen Roberts Turner ’86 echoed what many AAAVC members expressed throughout the weekend: “The virtual platform actually allowed some alums to participate who otherwise might not have been able to travel. I was delighted to reconnect with so many of the people who made my Vassar experience as a student and as an alum so incredibly meaningful,” she said.
Vassar College’s ALANA Center, which provides resources and programs for students of color, will be named for Professor Jeh Vincent Johnson, the pioneering African American architect and former Vassar faculty member who designed it. President Elizabeth H. Bradley made the announcement as part of the recent African American Alumnae/i of Vassar College (AAAVC) Triennial, which celebrates the contributions of African American alumnae/i, students, faculty, administrators, and staff of Vassar College. Johnson died in January.
This year, the alumnae/i association, AAVC, turns 150. Throughout 2021, the College will be celebrating this anniversary by highlighting a few of Vassar’s most notable alumnae/i in architecture, arts, business, education, entertainment, healthcare, humanitarian efforts, law, social justice, and technology.
In conjunction with a Poughkeepsie nonprofit, Vassar faculty, administrators, and students are helping to shed light on the contributions of enslaved Africans and their descendants to the growth and prosperity of the Hudson Valley.
