Learn about five recently hired professors and their passions—from 19th-century travel and French literature to the impacts of social media use on health.
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.
“I am saddened to hear of the passing of Janet McDonald Hill ’69 (‘In Memoriam,’ fall 2022) and deeply grateful for the legacy she leaves on the Wellesley community at large and the Black Wellesley community specifically.”
On Jan. 15, 2010, I lurched out of bed at 7 a.m. and maneuvered my hugely pregnant self to the bathroom. In the dim hallway, I suddenly felt warm wetness on my legs, and saw a puddle forming on our uneven hardwood floor. My water had broken.
When we look at inequities in health such as Black maternal mortality, we need to recognize that this is more than a scientific puzzle—it is also a red flag for systemic failings that can only be solved with better leadership.
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.