July 1, 2003
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.-The Trustees of Amherst College and the Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust have completed the transfer of ownership of The Evergreens, the 1856 home of Emily Dickinson's brother, Austin and his wife, Susan, to the college. The Dickinson Homestead, owned by Amherst College since 1965, and The Evergreens will now form a single museum, called The Emily Dickinson Museum, devoted to the interpretation of the life of the poet and her family and the community in which she lived.
The day-to-day operations of the two Dickinson houses will be merged under a new governing board, chaired by Dickinson biographer Polly Longsworth of Royalston, Mass. Julie Harris, the actress known for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst," is the honorary chair. Other members include Elizabeth S. Armstrong of Amherst, Mass.; John A. Armstrong, a former director of research at IBM; Kent W. Faerber '63, director of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and a Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust trustee; Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Dickinson scholar and professor of American studies and English at Amherst College; William McC. Vickery '57, an Amherst College development officer and the retired vice-chair of Dancer, Fitzgerald & Samper advertising agency; and Philip S. Winterer '53, retired partner of Debevoise & Plimpton law firm and an Amherst College trustee.
Cindy Dickinson, who has run the Dickinson Homestead since 1996, becomes the director of the Emily Dickinson Museum. The associate director of the new museum is Jane H. Wald, who has been director of The Evergreens since 2000.
###