Summer 2023

In September 2022, Monica Byrne ’03 gave most of her possessions away and put the rest in storage. “The pandemic had erased my life,” she writes, “and I had to start over.”

The “woman, life, freedom” movement shares the language and struggle of other uprisings worldwide, writes anthropologist Narges Bajoghli ’04.

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

“Ever since I arrived at Wellesley in 2002, I have had students, time and time again, come to me and say, ‘I want to do a thesis on Haruki Murakami,’ or ‘I want to do an independent study on Murakami,’” says Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.

Most of us are familiar with the well-known subatomic particles that make up the universe: protons, neutrons, and electrons. But James Battat, associate professor of physics, is curious about a much lesser-known particle, the neutrino.

Reports From Around Campus

This summer, renovations began on Tower Court, the College’s largest residential hall and the first built after the cataclysmic fire that destroyed College Hall on March 17, 1914.

The Wellesley College crew team huddles before competing in the NCAA Division III National Championship in Pennsauken, N.J. For the second consecutive year and the third time in program history, Wellesley won the championship. To...

Gray skies delivered rain on May 20, yet campus was awash in shades of yellow as commencement attendees and seniors alike dressed for the yellow class of 2023’s big day.

Early in 2023, in between completing the requirements for their math major and training with Wellesley’s crew team, Charlie (a pseudonym) considered what they wanted to accomplish before graduating in May.

Zaria Bunn ’23, a theatre studies major and women’s and gender studies minor from Asheville, N.C., won the 128th annual Hooprolling race by a comfortable margin.

When Bilqis Ayeni ’23 first heard about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program for young people in Africa, it sounded so unbelievable, she actually laughed. As a student in Nigeria hoping to attend college abroad, she learned about the scholarship in an advertisement her mother sent her.

Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall auditorium was packed as acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami gave the annual Cornille Lecture. Murakami was the Mary L. Cornille Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities for the spring semester. His presence on campus generated great excitement: The first night tickets were available, 430 Wellesley students registered for his lecture.

At Wellesley, our mission as a women’s college is more important than ever. Women’s rights are being curtailed in the United States and around the globe, and women remain generally underpaid and underrepresented in positions...

Tributes to Wellesley alumnae by family and friends

Last fall, Karen “Kemi” Kemirembe ’12. Kemi, her husband, Troy Carl, and their toddler daughter welcomed a Ukrainian family of three into their home through a U.S. government program, Uniting for Ukraine.

Emily Y. Wu ’06 always knew she wanted to be a journalist. Now she’s the CEO of Ghost Island Media, an award-winning podcast network in Taiwan, where she produces audio stories.

Should the U.S. Senate confirm the nomination of Kayle Stevens ’99 later this year, she would not only become the first Wellesley woman to be a Brigadier General in the Air Force, but she and her father would be the first Black father-daughter duo to hold that ranking.

As chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Veteran Affairs-New York Harbor Healthcare System, physiatrist Nicole Sasson ’84 was instrumental in helping test and fine-tune a next-generation robotic arm.

Introducing five new Wellesley College Alumnae Association Board Members.

Wellesley’s highest honor is given annually to graduates of distinction, who through their achievements have brought honor to themselves and the College.

The Wellesley College Alumnae Association created the annual Sed Ministrare Volunteer Awards in 2014 to recognize dedicated volunteer service. The 2023 recipients, Beth McKinnon ’72 and Nida Mirza ’05, were announced at the annual meeting of the WCAA at reunion.

The Syrena Stackpole Award is given annually at reunion in recognition of a lifetime of dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley College. The recipients of the award in 2023 were Dorothy Chao Jenkins ’68 and Lynne Marie Miller ’73.

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.

Recent publications by Wellesley authors

Michael P. Jeffries, Class of 1949 Chair in Ethics, Professor of American Studies, and Dean of Academic Affairs interviewed 65 Black LGBTQ+ students for his new book.

In the 19 essays collected in Whistling in the Dark, Lucienne Schupf Bloch ’59 ruminates on family, dislocation, and belonging, on dying and becoming. Luckily for us, she has invited the reader along for the journey.

There’s such pleasure in diving into a novel set in a remote locale, especially a lush, tropical one. The reading experience can be akin to actual travel.

Lessons in Privilege A huge mazel tov from my heart to Peggy McIntosh (“ Unpacker of Privilege ,” spring 2023). In 1987, I was a new teacher at Groton School, where there was one other...

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.

After a surprisingly rigorous application process through Mainely Rat Rescue, a flurry of online ordering, and a Sunday drive to Connecticut, Catherine Caruso ’10 and her wife are officially rat moms to three pet rats.