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Tributes to Wellesley alumnae by family and friends

Mary Ellen Crawford Ames ’40 passed away on Aug. 17, 2021, following a lifetime of achievement and adventure that spanned 102 years. For 70 of those years, she was an engaging presence at Wellesley as a student, class president, alumna volunteer, personnel director, and as the College’s venerable director of admission from 1969 to 1985.

Miriam Butt ’87, a professor of general and computational linguistics at the University of Konstanz in Germany, chose to attend Wellesley in part because it was one of the only American colleges at the time where she could study both Latin and computer science.

In 2010, Anne Shen Chao ’74 founded the Houston Asian American Archive at Rice University, an oral history collection about the lives of Asian Americans living in the Houston area. “We want to make sure that Asian American contributions are included in the narrative of Texas history,” Anne says.

Peggy Cullen Nicholson ’54 has accomplished a lot in her life: She taught French for years. She served on her town’s board of education. She’s the mother of three. She’s been a lifelong volunteer. And last fall, she rowed in her first race, at the Head of the Charles.

After concluding a national search, the Wellesley College Alumnae Association chose a familiar face to become editor of Wellesley magazine. On Nov. 15, 2021, Lisa Scanlon Mogolov ’99 assumed her new role after 16 years on the magazine staff.

The Rock Eaters is a compulsively readable short story collection full of extraordinary happenings. Brenda Peynado ’06 makes the most of every single word in this debut collection, writing with confidence and musing thoughtfully on inclusivity.

State of Terror is a political thriller with all the fast-paced thrills and chills you’d expect from Hillary Rodham Clinton ’69 and award-winning mystery author Louise Penny. It’s also a celebration of a woman’s love for her country and her battle to protect it.

In February 2021, Wellesley launched a comprehensive alumnae survey, asking alums to evaluate the impact of their education and share their thoughts on their connection to the College. Here is what they said.