Oakland, CA–March 16, 2008. The oldest women's college in the West, Mills College has released Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College, a historic pictorial of its past and plans for its future.

"Celebrating the Cultural Landscape Heritage of Mills College reflects on the College's distinctive architecture and landscapes that make it one of the most beautiful campuses in the country," said Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren. "The book also provides an essential framework for stewarding the campus in future years, while preserving the College's history."

The 159-page book filled with historic photographs follows the history of the campus' landscapes, architecture, and designers from 1868–1949. From renowned architect Julia Morgan whose designs resonate throughout campus to Mills College campus architect Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr., Mills' landscape includes distinctive features such as the vistas, topography, courtyards, and tree canopy. The campus has genus and species from every inhabitable continent, and architecture reflecting every design trend of the 19th and 20th centuries, from the French second empire (Mills Hall and Sage Hall), to beaux-arts classicism (Carnegie Hall).

"From its beginnings, the Mills campus has embodied the American frontier spirit: independent, experimental, and striking a harmonious balance between humanity and nature," said authors Vonn Marie May, a cultural landscape specialist, and Robert Sabbatini, a planner and landscape architect.

Along with current Mills campus architect Karen Fiene, the authors explore the transformation of Mills from open land that was denuded by more than a century of ranching into the lush campus that serves as a respite from the hustle and bustle from Oakland city life.

Partially funded by a 2006 Campus Heritage grant from the Getty Foundation, the book is published by The Center for the Book at Mills College, which promotes the cultural, literary, and aesthetic heritage of books.

Copies of the book are available through The Center for the Book at http://www.mills.edu/academics/library/ctr_book or by calling 510.430.2047 or email to jbraun@mills.edu.

Established in 1852 as the Young Ladies' Seminary in Benicia, California, Mills College was the first West Coast institution dedicated to educating women. Founders Cyrus and Susan Mills moved the campus to Oakland in 1868, when it was renamed.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review. Visit us at www.mills.edu.

PRESS CONTACT:
Quynh Tran
Media Relations Manager
510.430.2300