From the President - For Homepage Use

From the President
Photograph of a copy of Wellesley News from Sept. 27, 1995. Headlines read "Wellesley women discuss their experiences at Beijing" and "College community responds to proposed changes to curriculum."
Since I graduated 25 years ago, some of the details of being a student have changed (cell phones instead of landlines, Sidechat instead of Public, Lulu instead of Schneider), but the intrinsic Wellesleyness of Wellesley has not changed.More
A photo portrait of Andrew Shennan, provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College, who recently retired
In June, Andrew Shennan moved out of an office he had been occupying since 1999. During send-off events in the spring, colleagues remarked on Shennan’s brilliance, kindness, optimism, ability to see arguments from many angles, level-headedness, devotion to the College, and his continuing commitment to neckties in a business-casual era.More
A photo portrait of Banu Subramaniam, Luella LaMer Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Do plants “belong” in a particular place? Why are some considered “native” and others “invasive”? Why do they have Latin names? Are they really “male” and “female”? These are some of the wide-ranging questions at the heart of the new book Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism by Banu Subramaniam, the Luella LaMer Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies.More
A photo of a graduate's mortar board decorated with roses
The 571 members of the red class of 2024, most of whom arrived on campus as first-years during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, graduated on May 17. Student speaker Haley Lee-Burke ’24 delivered an address in the form of a letter to the College, inspired by the class’s first-year orientation theme, “Love, Wellesley.” “Thank you for giving me a space to learn, cry, and laugh my heart out,” Lee-Burke said.More
An image of the red. white, and blue all-type cover of Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and In Our Lives
Democracy in Retrograde by Emily Amick ’07 and Sami Sage is an unusually practical book based on a simple premise: Civics isn’t a theoretical idea. It pervades every aspect of our lives and can offer hope as well as frustration.More
Thumbnail reviews of new publications from the Wellesley communityMore
Portrait of Stephanie Hsieh
Stephanie Hsieh ’89, the new president of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, jokes that her path to the College was “the happiest accident of my life.”More
Photo of Laura Wood Cantopher ’84, former WCAA president; Debra DeVaughn ’74; and Kathryn Harvey Mackintosh ’03, executive director of the WCAA.
Given annually at reunion by the WCAA, the Syrena Stackpole Award honors dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley. The 2024 recipient is Debra DeVaughn ’74.More
The 2024 Sed Ministrare Volunteer Awards recipients are Sam Tackeff ’08, Gretchen Rous Besser ’49, and Jessica Urban ’06.More
Introducing six new Wellesley College Alumnae Association Board Members.More
A photo of a black lab sitting on a sofa by a curtained window
At 24, it seems like a lot of overt “Picture Ahead!” signs are right behind me. Like a road trip, college has a beginning and a destination. After has a beginning, too. But then it’s a series of vaguely defined experiences that make me feel like a tourist taking a photo I could get a better version of on a postcard.More
Tributes to Wellesley alumnae by family and friendsMore