Articles

Behind the scenes of managing the College’s finances—and what its endowment can (and can’t) do

Introducing five new Wellesley College Alumnae Association Board Members.

The WCAA and the College are considering proposed structural changes that will allow the association to further harness the power and influence of Wellesley’s alumnae population to make a difference for us all.

This year, sitting at the media table in the big white tent on Severance Green, I was especially nostalgic. My classmate Jocelyn Benson ’99, secretary of state of Michigan, delivered the commencement address to the class of 2023—another yellow class, serendipitously.

Wellesley’s third TEDx featured alum, student, and faculty speakers, including Kellie Carter Jackson, Michael and Denise Kellen ’68 Associate Professor of Africana Studies (above), whose talk, “Why Black Abolitionists Matter.” focused on the overlooked role of Black abolitionists in the Civil War era.

In January, Peggy McIntosh, a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) and its former associate director, received an exciting call from Jean Kilbourne ’64. “Welcome to the National Women’s Hall of Fame,” Kilbourne told McIntosh, notifying her that she would be inducted in September.

After a national search, Wellesley selected Crystal Daugherty to join the College as vice president for development. “As a senior officer of the College, Crystal will be a strategic partner and contributor to developing and achieving institutional priorities,” said President Paula Johnson.

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.

Wellesley College Athletics mourns the passing of former athletic director and Wellesley Athletics Hall of Famer Louise O’Neal, who passed away on Sept. 17, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. She was 83 years old.