One of the themes of this issue is “taking leave,” and we show the many ways Hollins women are doing that. Students study abroad. Newly tenured faculty visit new places, sometimes in person, sometime virtually. Alumnae who studied in Paris or London return to savor anew the cities they discovered when they were students. In “Taking Leave,” by Director of Public Relations Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. ’11, you’ll meet two students who spent a year abroad and two faculty members who spent their first sabbaticals refreshing mind and spirit. In Alumnae Connections, you’ll see photos from last fall’s Hollins Abroad reunions in Paris (celebrating 60+ years) and London (40+ years). In her essay, President Gray details the new options available to students who opt to study in Paris and London.

A sense of place plays a preeminent role in the lives of the women featured in the article by Sarah Achenbach ’88 about the importance of historic preservation. In “The Future of the Past,” six alumnae experts weigh in on what matters when it comes to preserving the places that speak to who we are as a nation, culture, and community.

Senior Kayla Deur, interviewed for “Medicine in the Wild,” traveled far from home for her semester abroad. Deur had never been out of the United States before she journeyed to Cambodia, where she talked with the inhabitants of three rural villages about their use of native medicinal plants. She published her research in an award-winning paper.

In her essay about Hollins’ annual Career Connection Conference (or C3), Cortney Phillips Meriwether ’09 writes about the joys (and surprises) of coming back to campus.

Jean Holzinger M.A.L.S. ’11
Editor