Vassar Club United Kingdom Celebrates 100 Years

In 1917, Hazel Hunkins (Hallinan), Class of 1913, chained herself to the White House fence. A suffragist and member of the National Women’s Party, Hunkins returned to her hometown of Billings, Montana, after graduating from Vassar with a degree in chemistry, and quickly became a leader in the women’s equality movement.

While imprisoned for picketing at the White House, she joined fellow suffragists in a hunger strike, arguing that women who were citizens but could not vote were political prisoners. That fiery spirit would carry her across the Atlantic. In 1920, Hunkins moved to London to research the British co-operative movement and wrote a column for the Chicago Tribune.

As she built a new life in London, Hunkins was missing something: the intellectual community she had known at Vassar. In 1926, she brought together alumnae of the College living in the city. What began as a gathering of Vassar women abroad would become the Vassar Club of London.

A century later, the community she helped build, now the Vassar Club United Kingdom (VCUK), is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

“It’s an amazing milestone and achievement,” said President of the VCUK Andrew Solum ’89. “It’s a testament to the strength of Vassar that 100 years on, we are still gathering, debating, discussing, and sharing ideas with one another.”

When Solum became president of the club in 2014, he helped expand its reach by changing the name from the Vassar Club of London to the Vassar Club United Kingdom. The shift reflected the club’s expanding geographic reach and its hope to draw members from across the UK and nearby parts of Europe.

“It shows that Vassar isn’t just a New York-based school,” Solum said. “There is a global reach.”

For Linda Milne-Tyte ’62, the club’s historian and former secretary, the organization has been a constant through decades of life abroad. Milne-Tyte arrived in London more than half a century ago for a work exchange and joined the club 51 years ago, when it gathered only twice a year.

At the time, many members had come to London after marrying English husbands. The club provided a space where American women, many of them educated and with jobs of their own, could find community and conversation.

Over the decades, the club has evolved. When the College went co-ed, the club began welcoming men. Today, the club continues to grow, with young alums just starting out joining longtime members who have made the move across the pond. But one thing has remained the same: As Milne-Tyte said, “People still love to meet other people who went to Vassar.”

Today, the VCUK includes more than 400 UK-based alums who are invited to participate in various events throughout the year, from lectures and cultural outings at museums to informal gatherings at a club member’s home. The club also meets with current students studying or interning abroad, giving them a sense of life after college.

An annual highlight is an afternoon tea for junior-year students studying abroad, giving them the opportunity to interact with alums, express their concerns about life, discuss educational aspirations, and get to know the Vassar community.

“We continue to share their life as they’re growing, and they help us to grow,” Solum said.

Another long-standing tradition is the club’s memorial donations. To honor members who have passed away, the club will donate something—typically a book published in the UK—to Vassar’s Special Collections.

To mark the centennial, the VCUK, the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC), and the College’s Office of Advancement hosted a celebration at The Rooftop at Trafalgar St. James in London. The event drew more than 100 guests for an evening of speeches, cocktails, and celebration. Milne-Tyte and fellow long-time club member Sara Hebblethwaite ’60 were honored with Certificates of Volunteer Dedication for their 51 and 43 years of service, respectively.

“It is extraordinary that Vassar alums have gathered for a century, under the aegis of the UK Vassar Club!” AAVC President Monica Vachher ’77 said. “Across the decades, the UK Club has fostered support for our alums through Vassar connections old and new, thousands of miles from Poughkeepsie.”

To find a Vassar Club near you, visit go.vassar.edu/clubs or email Senior Associate Director of Volunteer Engagement Cheryl McKeever at cmckeever@vassar.edu.