Mills College, the liberal arts educational institution for women in Oakland, California, has decided to continue to offer an undergraduate degree program in dance. The college had announced earlier this year that the major would be eliminated. Mills College has the longest running dance program in the country that offers undergraduate major and minor degrees as well as graduate degrees.
The dance department submitted a cost-cutting plan, a streamlined class schedule, and reduced course requirements for dance majors. The administration accepted the proposal and agreed to maintain the dance major.
Alecia DeCoudreaux, president of Mills College, stated that “we’re delighted the dance department worked diligently to redesign this major, one of the many at Mills that helps define it legacy in the fine arts. Redesigning the dance major is an example of how Mills can retain a contemporary liberal arts education in a competitive environment that demands continuous innovation.”
President DeCoudreaux previously announced that she will step down in June 2016. (See WIAReport post here.) President DeCoudreaux is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she double majored in English and political science. She earned a law degree at Indiana University.