Oakland, CA - Mills College announced today the establishment of the Boitumelo “Tumi” McCallum Memorial Scholarship Fund. This scholarship has been created to honor the life and accomplishments of Tumi McCallum, a 20-year-old student at Mills College whose life was tragically cut short by violence.

Known as a sweet, gentle, and intelligent young woman, Tumi was also a passionate advocate for social justice who had committed her life to building a better world. Mills Professor Julia Sudbury noted that “Tumi's early experiences as a young girl growing up in South Africa during apartheid greatly shaped her life and her commitment to racial justice.”

As an intern at Justice Now, an Oakland-based activist organization dedicated to “stopping violence against women and their imprisonment,” Tumi provided a lifeline to women in prison, advocating on their behalf to ensure they received essential services such as medical care. Tumi expressed to Justice Now staff members that she had found her life’s work.

The Boitumelo “Tumi” McCallum Memorial Scholarship has been created to provide opportunities for other young women to continue Tumi’s legacy of activism. Contributions to this fund will be used to award a scholarship in fall 2008 to a Mills College undergraduate student majoring in political, legal, and economic analysis (Tumi’s major) or in ethnic studies, where Tumi found passionate allies for justice. 

To make a contribution to the Boitumelo “Tumi” McCallum Memorial Scholarship:

• Call the Mills College Annual Fund at 510.430.2366
• Contribute online at www.mills.edu/giving; be sure to designate your gift to “Mills College Annual Fund: Student Scholarships” and note that your gift is in memory of Tumi McCallum.
• Send a check payable to Mills College, with a note that your gift is in memory of Tumi McCallum, to: Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613

On behalf of her family, Mills College is thanking donors for celebrating the life of Tumi McCallum by contributing to this memorial scholarship.  

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills currently ranks among the top 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges.

PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Dallinger
Communications Consultant
925.788.9131