2020 Alum Award Recipients
Every year since 2007, the AAMC has selected exemplary alumnae to receive its highest honors: The Distinguished Achievement Award for distinction in a professional field; the Recent Graduate Award; and the Outstanding Volunteer Award. This year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to gather at Reunion to celebrate award recipients as we usually do. Instead, the AAMC was able to spotlight our awardees in a special feature for the winter 2021 Mills Quarterly, written by AAMC Communications Coordinator Kate Beckwith, MFA ’13. Read profiles of the recipients below and the full feature in the online Quarterly.
Kirsten Saxton ‘90
Distinguished Achievement Award
Kirsten Saxton ’90 earned her PhD from UC Davis in 1997. An Oakland native, she returned to Mills as an assistant visiting professor of English in 1997 and climbed the ranks, reaching full professor status in 2012.
According to her nominator, Janet Boone MacEachern ’90, Kirsten embodies the best of Mills and has empowered generations of students. Her command of her field and commitment to student development have made her an outstanding professor as well as an empathetic mentor.
A cultural studies and feminist scholar, Kirsten specializes in 18th-century literature with a focus on gender in popular British narratives. Her scholarly research attends to authors and genres whose contributions to the literary landscape have been obscured or repressed. She has published three books—The Passionate Fictions of Eliza Haywood: Essays on Her Life and Work (2000), Narratives of Women and Murder in England, 1680-1760: Deadly Plots (2009), and Adapting the Eighteenth Century (2019)—and numerous articles and book chapters.
She is a lead faculty researcher on a five-year, multi-pronged humanities project at Mills funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. For this project, she co-taught a course in which students partnered with Oakland artists to collect and curate materials for a public digital archive of The Town’s past and present as an artistic hub.
In addition to her scholarly work, Kirsten has offered her expertise to the alumnae community by leading AAMC travel program tours and giving talks at regional Mills clubs. “I can think of few alums who are more deserving of this honor,” said Janet.
Marge Thomas, MA ‘67 Oustanding Volunteer Award
Marge Thomas, MA ’67 has been dedicated to furthering the mission of the AAMC and the College for decades. After graduating from Mills with her MA in English literature, Marge served as registrar for the College, as executive director of the AAMC, and as editor of the Mills Quarterly (then published by the AAMC).
Her AAMC positions were far more than simply jobs for her, and she went above and beyond her duties on a regular basis. For example, she often volunteered to host events at her home during Reunion, and throughout the year she took extra time to get to know not only alumnae, but also students—as they would one day join the ranks of Mills graduates. During the Strike of 1990, she leveraged her relationships to help both groups support each other.
For decades, Marge was known as the Mills historian, another role she played as a volunteer. She could tell you exactly what Susan and Cyrus Mills did in the “Sandwich Islands” and why it mattered to current students. During Orientation, Marge would dress up as Susan and tell stories of the College’s early days.
Marge’s volunteer work extends far beyond the Mills campus. As noted by her Bent Twig daughter nominators, Megan Thomas Barr ’93, MA ’98, and Katherine Thomas ’88, Marge is a fearless advocate for immigrants and homeless people and a supportive presence for anyone in need of comfort or care in her Sonoma community. We are honored to bestow the Outstanding Volunteer Award upon her.
Dorothy Lawrence-Akaeze ’11 Recent Graduate Award
Dorothy Lawrence-Akaeze ’11 is an enthusiastic change leader and proud Oakland native. She earned her BA in psychology from Mills and obtained an MA in education, specializing in adult education and training, from the University of Phoenix in 2013. Since graduating from Mills, Dorothy has worked as an organizational development strategist.
In 2015, she joined the AAMC’s Alumnae of Color Committee (AOCC). She served as a governor of the AAMC from 2015 to 2018 and participated in the development of a new compact between the AAMC and the College, which laid the groundwork for the organizations’ current Memorandum of Collaboration and Agreement.
Dorothy is a champion of student advocacy and enjoys mentoring and supporting Mills students. Her volunteer efforts include co-leading the AOCC’s annual Phenomenal Women of Color ceremony and supporting Summer Academic Workshop brunches, Taco Tuesdays, career advisory panels, student events, and more.
Nominator Myila Granberry ’05 said Dorothy exemplifies the Mills woman, and we couldn’t agree more. We are proud to honor her with the Recent Graduate Award and look forward to watching her career develop.