"Women Who Are Going Places Start at Hollins" beautifully describes what this institution has meant to the exceptional women we have educated over more than 165 years.

Hollins pursues an uncommon mission to provide women the opportunity to find their own voices and seek their own individual dreams and goals. We help them gain confidence to compete in a still-unequal world and give them the tools to make the world a better place for other women, children, and men. Our first-year seminars, for example, immediately engage our students in academic challenges involving creative problem-solving and interdisciplinary work, vital skills for the twenty-first century. And, the Batten Leadership Institute is facilitating managerial and executive leadership training at the undergraduate level, giving students the skills to interact with a variety of people and organizations as soon as they enter the workforce.

Our mission is demonstrated by the ever-growing list of students engaged in remarkable activities. During our January 2010 Short Term, our students interned at such venues as Sotheby’s, The Washington Post, UBS Financial Services, Turner Broadcasting, the U.S. Forest Service, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Polo Ralph Lauren, and the University of Virginia Cancer Center. A majority of Hollins students perform at least one internship during their four years here, and many do two or more.

In addition, almost half of our students — many times the national average — have an international learning experience during their time at Hollins. Our students study abroad in some amazing places, including London, Paris, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Argentina.

Guiding our students through every step of their educational journey is our faculty. Hollins students find that they are as much colleagues with their professors as they are pupils, often partnering with them in their research and writing. At the same time, faculty members encourage students to take advantage of our rich opportunities for independent study. Our small class sizes and low ratio of students to faculty contribute to this collaborative environment.

We are proud of those strengths that give Hollins such a distinctive identity. We seek out women with strong personalities and ambitious goals. We welcome those who come from differing backgrounds and places all over the world. We encourage each individual to express herself in her own unique way.

Hollins women indeed are going places.

That is why we incorporated this enduring slogan into the name of the largest comprehensive fundraising initiative in our history, the Hollins Campaign for Women Who Are Going Places. The campaign, which concluded on June 30, 2010, raised $161.6 million, far exceeding its goal of $125 million. The gift and pledges from our alumnae and friends will have a lasting, transformative impact on Hollins and secure her place in the forefront of women’s education.

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• President Gray talks about Hollins' remarkable fundraising success in this Q & A with The Roanoke Times. [July 31, 2011]