Letter from the president
Dear McDaniel Community,
Although we are only a few months into 2024, women have already reached some pretty impressive new heights — Taylor Swift became the first woman to earn four Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Rear Admiral Yvette Davids is the first woman to be named superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, and Jenny Cavnar became the first woman play-by-play announcer in Major League Baseball history.
Before the year ends, we will see even more firsts by women including the election of Mexico’s first woman president (either Claudia Sheinbaum or Xóchitl Gálvez) and the first woman astronaut to travel to the moon (Christina Koch).
Given this year’s trajectory of women making history, it makes sense that this issue is dedicated to the women who have made — and will continue to make — history here on the Hill. In the features section, you’ll read about two McDaniel alumni who have broken down barriers and opened doors for others to follow in their footsteps: Jasmin Chavez Cruz ’19, Young Alumni Award winner and presidential appointee at the White House Hispanic Initiative, and former trustee C. Dianne Briggs Martin ’65, who not only worked on the Apollo space program but also toured Russia as a computer education contributor, mentored Emirati women in Dubai, and is still teaching at two universities today.
Additionally, you’ll read about President Emeritus Joan Develin Coley’s recent Icon Award, the newly reinvigorated McDaniel Women’s Leadership Network, and plans for McDaniel’s first ever women’s wrestling team.
As the second woman to serve as McDaniel College’s president, I have benefited greatly throughout my life from the support of people who believed in the value of mentorship and the power of a liberal arts education. Indeed, this kind of support is critical to our mission and is enshrined in our very founding as the first coeducational college south of the Mason-Dixon Line and one of the first coeducational colleges in the nation. This tradition of equality carries on even now, with a continued commitment to being an inclusive and welcoming community for all.
Wishing you a wonderful spring!
Sincerely,
President Julia Jasken