Academics

The cover of The Claims of Life: A Memoir features a photo of Diana Chapman Walsh '66 in alumnae parade whites
Winter 2024
At age 12, Wellesley College President Emerita Diana Chapman Walsh ’66 knew she would write a book someday, a beautiful book. That sense of clarity inspired her to write this thoughtful and honest look at her personal history—from childhood, her Wellesley education, marriage and motherhood, through her work as president of the College.More
Kristin Butcher ’86, Marshall I. Goldman Professor of Economics in the classroom
Fall 2023
“Women who enroll at Wellesley are about 7 percentage points more likely to major in economics, and that’s [almost] double the chances of majoring in economics at other institutions where non-enrollees went,” says Patrick McEwan, Professor of Economics and Luella LaMer Slaner professor in Latin American Studies. The question is why.More
The cover of In The Shadow of Quetzacoatl by Merilee Grindle shows a portrait of anthropologist Zlia Nuttall and several pre-Columbian symbols.
Fall 2023
Thumbnail reviews of new publications from the Wellesley community.More
Jeanne Olson Darlington M.A. ’72
Fall 2023
Jeanne Olson Darlington M.A. ’72, former instructor in science laboratory in the chemistry department, died on July 27 at the age of 99.More
A photo portrait of Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.
Summer 2023
“Ever since I arrived at Wellesley in 2002, I have had students, time and time again, come to me and say, ‘I want to do a thesis on Haruki Murakami,’ or ‘I want to do an independent study on Murakami,’” says Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.More
A photo of James Battat in the Science Complex.
Summer 2023
Most of us are familiar with the well-known subatomic particles that make up the universe: protons, neutrons, and electrons. But James Battat, associate professor of physics, is curious about a much lesser-known particle, the neutrino.More
Ann Velenchik, associate professor of economics and writing
Spring 2023
Ann Velenchik, associate professor of economics and writing, drew on her own experience as a working mother to teach a first-year writing class, Having It All? The Problem of Women and Work. In it, her students grappled with questions about the economic and social roles they will face as they move into the world and decide how, when, or whether to start families of their own.More
A photo portrait of Nina McKee '16
Spring 2023
Perhaps Nina McKee ’16 was fated to be involved with the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. “Madeleine Albright was always this figure in my life because I was a young redhead who liked negotiating and wanted to be a diplomat,” says McKee, who became the Albright Institute’s program director in December 2022.More
Lamiya Mowla ’13
Winter 2023
Like many science-inclined students, Lamiya Mowla ’13 arrived at Wellesley intending to become a doctor. But an introductory astronomy lesson altered her ambitions—and the course of her life.More
A portrait of Michele Moody-Adams '78
Winter 2023
In late May 2020, Michele Moody-Adams ’78 went for a walk, hoping to clear her head during a particularly busy season in her life. Instead the Joseph Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory at Columbia, stumbled upon a protest—and the inspiration for her next book.More