Inspiring evening kicks off centennial year for Association of Tufts Alumnae

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(l to r) Meghan Sweeney, E03, Taj Kattapuram, E03, and Shelly Gufert, A03, chat with past president, Rosemary Macero, J81.

Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D., M76, captivates the audience as she shares her experiences of helping the young girls and women of Sudan.

(l to r) Dr. Mary Lou Schaalman, J75, reminisces with her mother, Anne Drury Finnegan, J46, past president, and Sheila McDermott, J57.

November 2, 2005--One hundred years of alumnae coming together was celebrated on October 21 at an event hosted by the Association of Tufts Alumnae (ATA). With more than 100 alumnae, students, and friends in force, the Centennial Celebration in the Coolidge Room recognized the achievements of Tufts women, capped off with a keynote speech by the Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D., M76.

"There was so much positive energy and inspiration in the air for the future of Tufts women," said past ATA president, Barbara Clarke, J88. "Over the decades, the ATA has been supporting women through scholarships and professional and social events and this special evening was a great way to bring attention to our past and embrace our future."

White-Hammond kept the entire audience rapt with attention as she unfolded the stories of her life work both locally and overseas. She began with a description of the challenges she faced as a pediatrician in Boston. After years of seeing too many teen pregnancies and too few high school graduations, she established a creative writing ministry called "Do The Write Thing" to mentor high-risk black adolescent girls.

White-Hammond then went on to describe the dire situation in Sudan where she worked as a medical missionary. She explained her involvement in negotiating to free more than 10,000 Sudanese from slavery and how she bore witness to the atrocities against Sudanese women and children at the hands of the militia.

"What I know for sure: to fail to confront the heinous brutality against girls and women in Sudan is to countenance the wanton violence against girls and women everywhere. That is a crime," states White-Hammond. "To act decisively is to signal to perpetrators of violence against women worldwide everyday - never again, no more, no way."

At the reception, Provost Jamshed Bharucha and Tufts University Alumni Association President Ann Palmieri, J78, gave heartfelt remarks on the success of the ATA and its hopes for the future of women at Tufts. Guests were also treated to a slide show, spanning the late 1890's to the present, of more than 75 inspiring Tufts alumnae, many of whom were pioneers in fields as diverse as medicine, physics, education, and e-commerce.

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