Under Construction

In May, the Wellesley College Board of Trustees allocated $125 million to address critical repairs in several academic and administrative buildings. Beginning in early 2023 and continuing through much of 2024, work will be done on more than 500,000 square feet of space across campus, including in Pendleton East, Simpson and Simpson Cottage (referred to as Stone-Simpson), Clapp Library, the Davis Museum, the KSC pool and offices, and Founders and Green halls. “Guided by a thoughtfully developed plan and provided with the financial resources to see it through, Wellesley will now be able to address the critical needs of some of our academic and administrative buildings in an aggressive, strategic, and fiscally prudent way,” President Paula A. Johnson said in an announcement to the Wellesley community.

Murakami Comes to Wellesley

The Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities and the Office of the Provost at Wellesley College announced that the Mary L. Cornille Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities for 2022–23 will be internationally renowned author Haruki Murakami. He will take up residence at the Newhouse Center throughout the spring 2023 semester and will direct the Cornille faculty seminar and engage with members of the Wellesley community.

Global Flora Opens Its Doors

This September, Global Flora opened to the entire Wellesley community for the first time since the pandemic began, and it planned to open its doors to the public in November. Global Flora houses a preeminent global plant collection in dry and tropical biomes, as well as the iconic Durant Camellia, in an innovative, environmentally conscious structure. This fall, it also featured two student-created exhibits: one on healing plants and one on botany and empire.