Professor Lafarge is Professor and Chairman of the French Department at Bryn Mawr. Her research focuses on the vision of Paris in eighteenth-century French literature. She also works closely with the African-American Institute on the A.T.L.A.S. (African Training for Leadership and Advanced Skills) Project. The program recruits highly trained African scholars to study in American-based academic programs. Last year, she became the treasurer for the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and is on the board of the French International School of Philadelphia. 

If you would like to attend this event, please contact Kristine MacRae: at kristine.macrae@usa.net. We encourage a $20 club donation.  Directions will be sent to all attendees. Guests are welcome, but attendance is limited, so please sign up right away. We look forward to seeing you all at our flagship event. 

Presentation Abstract
The year 1661 was a momentous one for France. The prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, died in the spring and the young Louis XIV, who until then had been known almost exclusively for his love of dancing and women, decided to rule his kingdom. He could not have chosen a more beautiful setting that the chateau of Vaux le Vicomte nor a more enchanted evening that the night of August 17 to let his subjects know of his decision. The lecture will focus on this dramatic moment in French history.

Although the date has been set, we are still in the early planning stages for this event and can use your help!  If you would like to be on the Regional Conference Planning Committee (or just help out for a few hours) please contact Margaret Tatar ë80: taterman@sprintmail.com. 

Library Publications
June marked the end of the first year of our wonderful collaboration with the College Library.  Together we support the Library Publications Greeting Card catalog.  This catalog is produced in September and mailed to the homes of all alumnae, the Friends of the Library, and other friends of the College.  The cards represent images from the Libraryís special collection.  All orders are processed and filled by Club volunteers here in Southern California. 

In September, our Library Publications Coordinators, Maria Davila Rudolph ë81 and Amy Hughes ë95, met with various officials at the College and we are pleased to announce that through these efforts the Club has raised $4000.00 for our two scholarship funds!  In addition, we will be expanding two important ways: we will be accepting credit cards as payment for orders and we will offer an online catalog.  Our cards will also be featured in the Alumnae Bulletin. 

This first year suffered from a rocky startup as we were reincarnating a business that has lay dormant since 1994.  Our sincerest thanks to Club members who gave generously of their time including: Emily Bell ë98 & Rob, Alessandra Djurklou ë93, Sybil Fickett-Jones í78, Amy Hughes ë95, Kristine Westover MacRae ë94, Duncan MacRae, Karen Burri Preston í89, Nikki Senecal ë88, Ilana Smith í92, Saskia Subramanian ë88, Margaret Tatar ë80, and Susan Wood ë94.  Special thanks to Alex Rudolph and Maria Davila Rudolph ë81 for all their hard work, and for opening their home to this endeavor.

Look for your catalog in the mail soon, or place your order on the web: http://www.bmcsc.org/librarypubs.

On-Line Shopping
MyCause.com is a service (created by a Bryn Mawr alumna) that lets on-line shoppers direct a portion of their purchase price to the Bryn Mawr Club of Southern California.  When you use MyCause.com to reach retailers such as Amazon.com and Travelocity.com, the Club receives a commission.  This year, the Club has received over $44.00 from such commissions.  Make it your first stop for all on-line purchases. http://www.bmcsc.org/mycause

Club Directory
By popular demand, the Club is now producing a membership directory.  This directory will be printed in November and will be mailed to all Club members who donate $20 or more (recent grads, 1996 and after, $10 or more).  Be sure to send in your donation today to receive your directory.

Many exciting possiblities await the new team.  The new Board will find the Club in excellent condition with a strong volunteer base and with Library Publications as our primary revenue generator for the Club, providing $4,000 in profits this year alone.  Our membership is active, and we have excellent relations with the College, with our District leadership and with the Northern California Club.  Most recently we have become actively involved in joint activities with the Ivy League Association of Southern California.  This has extended our reach and provided excellent new venues for Club activites.  Continuing these relationships and supporting all of our members will truly prove an exciting and stimulating challenge for the new Executive Board.  We welcome you all to join us in building the next leadership team for the Club.

The positions up for election include: 
ï President
ï Vice President
ï Secretary 
ï Treasurer
ï Career Development Coordinator
ï Cultural Activities Coordinator
ï Singles Rep/Ivy Singles Rep 
ï Community Service Coordinator 
Note: The term for the Library Publications Coordinator continues until 2002.

Our by-laws state that: "Officers shall be elected at the annual meeting of members of the Club.  The Executive Board shall recommend possible candidates to the members."  To allow us to recognize possible candidates, we invite you to volunteer yourself or to nominate candidates by contacting Kristine MacRae at kristine.macrae@usa.net.  The annual meeting will take place at the Regional Conference in March.  All members of the Club will receive notification of the time and location.  We sincerely look forward to seeing you all there.

Kristine W. MacRae
President, BMCSC

We are proud to announce that our contributions to the Alumnae Regional Scholarship and the Hope Wearn Troxell Fund have increased from $250.00 last year.  For more information on these funds, please see http://www.bmcsc.org/fundraising