SUMMER 2025

As the College enters its sesquicentennial year, E.B. Bartels ’10 got to the bottom of some of Wellesley's most famous lore.

In the College’s new Narrative Lab, students look deeply into how narratives are constructed and the ways they create meaning.

After losing her Altadena home to wildfire, Lynn Sternberger ’07 reflects on loss, accountability, and what it means to rebuild a community.

At Wellesley, Jocelyn Benson ’99 says, she learned the importance of women having each other’s backs. It’s the kind of support she has given and received in the past several years as Michigan’s secretary of state.

Sue Wagner ’82 was just 26 when she took a life-changing risk: She left a stable Wall Street job as a vice president at major investment bank Lehman Brothers to co-found BlackRock.

In 2011, Karen Grigsby Bates ’73 traveled to Orlando, Fla., microphone in hand, and did what she does best: She listened carefully, then masterfully shared a story.

Novice, the debut poetry collection by Nida Sophasarun ’99, uses direct but haunting language to confront life’s most persistent mysteries.

The Syrena Stackpole Award is given annually at reunion in recognition of a lifetime of dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley College. It was established in 1982 to honor Syrena Stackpole, class of 1909, an attorney who offered to rewrite the wills of alumnae wishing to leave money to the College, free of charge. She showed her commitment as an alumna by attending 63 consecutive reunions. The recipients of the Syrena Stackpole Award in 2025 were Charlotte Hayes ’75 and Georgia Murphy Johnson ’75.

On May 23, more than 300 of the 569 members of the class of 2020 returned to Wellesley for their long-awaited commencement exercises, kicking off their first reunion weekend. Read more at www.wellesley.edu/news/the-class-of-2020-finally-gets-its-commencement.

The classes ending in 0s and 5s celebrated reunion on campus for the first time in 10 years the weekend of May 23–25.

Ali Kwiecien ’25 was elected to serve as Wellesley’s Young Alumnae Trustee from 2025 to 2028, succeeding Tatiana Ivy Moise ’21.

The recipients of the 2025 Sed Ministrare Volunteer Awards are Linda Ho ’03 and Amy Huang ’99.

In March, more than 180 guests gathered at Asia Society Hong Kong for a vibrant discussion of leadership, community, and Wellesley’s enduring mission.

I am thrilled to return to campus as the assistant vice president for alumnae relations and global engagement, and I’m eager to get to know and work with you as I settle into the role.

Does quantum physics play a role in consciousness? For decades, the idea was dismissed as a fringe possibility. However, recent papers by Mike Wiest, associate professor of neuroscience at Wellesley, and his students are part of a new wave of findings giving credence to the idea.

Jay Morton Turner, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Environmental Studies, receives a Guggenheim Fellowship; Hooprolling 2025; retiring faculty; mushrooms and more

In April, the new Vivian A. Kao ’04 Health and Counseling Center opened its doors to the College community.

Tributes to members of the Wellesley community

Larry Knowles, Wellesley College’s machinist, died on Feb. 23 after a long illness.

Marjorie Agosín, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, passed away on March 10, just shy of her 70th birthday.

At this moment, we are seeing unprecedented attacks on higher education across the country, and the value of—and right to—academic freedom is being called into question. This is to the detriment of all of us.

Historians' obsession with facts can make it difficult to enjoy even the most engaging historical fiction, like the dazzling Broadway show Suffs.

A flock of 13 sheep visited campus recently to graze the Meandering Meadow beside Paramecium Pond as part of an effort to improve native plant and wildlife habitats.

On May 16, 566 members of the green class of 2025 celebrated their graduation at Wellesley’s 147th commencement exercises.

Recent publications by Wellesley authors

On May 23, more than 300 of the 569 members of the class of 2020 returned to Wellesley for their long-awaited commencement exercises, kicking off their first reunion weekend.

Growing up in many different countries, Kweilin Moore Ellingrud ’99 observed “two ends of the [gender equality] spectrum,” which got her thinking about how women “live and lead in different ways around the world.”

Fran Lewitter Schulman ’75 earned her M.B.A. at Stanford and worked as an investment analyst in New York City, retiring in 2023 after a 40-year career. In retirement, she is just about as busy as she was as an analyst, she says, but her schedule is more flexible. She has time to visit with her son and grandchild, and she has gotten deeply involved in volunteer work, including co-chairing her 50th reunion this May.

“If I had had to map out my career before I started, I wouldn’t have imagined I would have done as many things as I have,” says Page Talbott ’72, who followed her B.A. in art history with advanced degrees in early American culture and American civilization.

Nana Lampton ’64 had a circuitous path to serving on corporate boards and conservation work.

Letters to the Editor, summer 2025

It’s a common impulse to leave your mark in places meaningful to you, and at Wellesley, it’s a joy to come across these reminders of former students—especially those near and dear to my heart, like Akasha and Grace.