From the President's Desk: June 2025
Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
Last weekend I had the pleasure of welcoming alumni back to campus for Reunion. Over the course of those four days, it was heartening to watch them reconnect, sharing in both lively events and quiet, meaningful moments together.
I often say that one of my greatest privileges as your president is hearing the stories and accomplishments of our alumni and that was certainly true as we celebrated the milestone 50th and 25th reunion classes and honored those we’ve lost at the Service of Remembrance. Special events on this year’s schedule included: Joel Sternfeld (Visual & Studio Arts) leading a session that took attendees behind the scenes of his seminal work, American Prospects; a seminar with faculty emeritus Joseph Forte giving a preview of his forthcoming book on the architectural history of SLC; and an interfaith blessing at our newest student space, The HUB. In between, alums exhibited and admired each others’ artwork in Heimbold, relived their days at the roundtable in faculty-led seminars, took the stage in Reisinger for a cabaret, dodged the raindrops at an indoor Westlands Festival, and ended their Saturday night in the best Sarah Lawrence way possible — with Midnight Breakfast. Photo galleries from the weekend are available on the Reunion website, and we look forward to adding videos of various talks and events. Thank you to all who attended and to the tireless staff members and volunteers who worked so hard to make the weekend together a success.
One of the highlights of Reunion for me is always the Year in Review presentation, in which I share a look back at the academic year just completed. (This year, my presentation followed Joel Sternfeld’s outstanding lecture — talk about a tough act to follow!) In my presentation, I reflected on what was, as I’ve said to you before, very much a “both/and” year — a year that was both deeply challenging and powerfully affirming. I invite you to watch the recording of my remarks and my observations of the ways in which this past year truly was a testament to what makes Sarah Lawrence so distinctive — and so necessary.
I will conclude this letter to you the same way I concluded my Year in Review, by saying that I am so proud to be the president of Sarah Lawrence College, and so grateful to be able to work not just for you, but with you. I wish you all the best for the summer months ahead, and look forward to writing to you again toward the start of the new academic year.
Yours,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez
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Announcements
“Golden” Anniversary
The Class of 1975 truly lived up to their golden anniversary – 50 years! – as they took home the Golden Gryphon Award, given annually to the Reunion class with the most donors. Thank you all for your generosity!
Congratulations!
During the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association, led by Alumni Council president Leigh Heyman '98, a number of alums were recognized for their dedication to the College:
Carmen Chang ’70, Michele Kotler ’90, Daniel Russel ’75, Lois Farfel Stark ’65, and Loretta Yarlow ’70 were honored with the Citation Award for Achievement, and Donald Miller ’75 and Gertrude “Gigi” de Gersdorff Wilmers ’60 were honored with the Citation Award for Service to the College. We were also thrilled to finally be able to present Meg Coulter ’60 with her Citation for Service, which she received in 2020 when Reunion was held virtually.
New Alumni Council Members
Each year at Reunion the Alumni Association holds its election for new members of the Alumni Council. Joining the Council for three year terms are: Matthew Kolodziej ’92, Myra McGovern ’98, and Joyah Pugh ’99. Congratulations to them, and thank you to those Council members whose terms ended this year: Adam Treitler ’15, Melanie Hood-Wilson ’93, MSEd ’94, Denne Michele Norris MFA '12, and Natalia Vargas-Caba ’18. Your dedication to the College is greatly appreciated.