Articles

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.

As the WCAA headed into the holiday season, we looked back on the many ways that Wellesley alums connected with and supported the College and each other in the preceding year.

Newhouse Visiting Professor of Creative Writing Lauren Holmes ’07 teaches Writing for Television. The course dissects TV pilots and web series. “I’m looking for the clearest examples of character building, story building, and the story engine,” she says.

“For me, vegetarian adobo represents how I like to think about Filipino food in my life. I can take dishes that remind me of my family and where we came from, but I can adapt them to my own palate, preferences, and values.”

Black people are more than three times as likely as white people to die from pregnancy-related causes. Wellesley medical professionals and advocates are at the forefront of addressing this maternal health crisis.

My mom said if she died and the house caught fire, I should go into the basement and save the negatives. The ability to reprint the family photos mattered more than the photos themselves.

This year’s recipients are Lulu Chow Wang ’66, investment trailblazer and philanthropic leader; Laura Wheeler Murphy ’76, public servant and civil liberties and civil rights advocate; and Mara Prentiss ’80, physicist and environmental revolutionary.

Tributes to Wellesley alumnae by family and friends

“Our bond with Janet McDonald Hill began 57 years ago when we arrived at Wellesley as members of the class of 1969. … Her voice is now stilled, and our own circle has lost a vital link that can never be replaced,” her classmates write.