Fall 2023

This year’s recipients of Wellesley’s highest honor are Vanessa Ruiz ’72, Faith Vilas ’73, and Cecilia Conrad ’76.

We asked faculty and researchers at the College how they’d solve a problem related to their field, if time and money weren’t constraints.

Wellesley reached out to a range of alums in publishing—from author Jasmine Guillory ’97 to agents, editors, and a bookseller—for their thoughts about the industry today and advice for getting an idea out of the notebook and into the hands of readers.

“Women who enroll at Wellesley are about 7 percentage points more likely to major in economics, and that’s [almost] double the chances of majoring in economics at other institutions where non-enrollees went,” says Patrick McEwan, Professor of Economics and Luella LaMer Slaner professor in Latin American Studies. The question is why.

Reports From Around Campus

In a letter to the Wellesley community, Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College Andrew Shennan announced that he will step down from the position he has held for 20 years. In that capacity, he has overseen all academic programs as well as library and technology services and budgetary and strategic planning. His term will conclude on June 30, 2024.

In June, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on affirmative action in college admissions, significantly limiting how colleges can consider race during the selection process. T. Peaches Valdes, dean of admission and financial aid, discusses how the College is adapting to the new landscape the ruling created while maintaining its commitment to diversity.

As part of the College’s new three-day immersive Civic Action Lab in August, 30 sophomores traveled to Thompson Island in Boston Harbor and participated in team building exercises.

Colleges and universities across the country are reasserting the civic purpose of higher education, and Wellesley is proudly among them

The Alumnae Association’s Shared Identity Groups, aka SIGs, founded and led by alumnae volunteers, have been offering engagement opportunities for over a decade.

The WCAA board recently proposed a change to its structure and its relationship to the College. The goal of the proposed change is to further harness the power and influence of Wellesley alumnae—on our alma mater and in the world.

Recent publications by Wellesley authors

Thumbnail reviews of new publications from the Wellesley community.

Rose Burgunder Styron ’50 recounts a glamorous and adventurous life as a poet, activist, mother, and wife in her delightful memoir, Beyond This Harbor.

Many Ways To Make a Difference I was thrilled to read about the new “Ministrations” column for Wellesley magazine. I have felt many times over the years that my career and family choices aren’t the...

You won’t be shocked to learn that I’m an enthusiastic reader. This means that in my family’s small house, we’ve had to get creative with book storage.

Though she had a considerable background in poetry by age 18, Mila Cuda ’22 initially resisted the urge to major in English. A spoken word poet at home in L.A., she thought studying creative writing would be too obvious a path—but she kept finding herself in English classes.

It started with a hug from the Dalai Lama. In 2008, Amy Yee ’96 was working in Delhi as a Financial Times correspondent when she was sent to Dharamshala—the Himalayan town that is home to the Tibetan government in exile—to report on protests in Tibet.

An interest in memory and the brain led Lisa Barnes ’89 to neuropsychology, and when she landed a faculty position at Rush University in Chicago, her hometown, she began working with a study focused on Alzheimer’s disease.

Polly Keller Vanasse ’73 volunteers for Gaining Ground, a Concord, Mass., nonprofit that for more than 25 years has grown organic vegetables and fruit with the help of thousands of community volunteers. Gaining Ground donates 100% of its fresh food to meal programs and food pantries.

Tributes to Wellesley alumnae by family and friends

Jeanne Olson Darlington M.A. ’72, former instructor in science laboratory in the chemistry department, died on July 27 at the age of 99.

At her 50th reunion, an alumna remembers what it was like to be part of the largest cohort of Black students ever admitted to Wellesley.