Guggenheim Honor
James “Jay” Morton Turner, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Environmental Studies, has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, one of some 175 scholars in the U.S. to be so honored this year. Turner’s research focuses on environmental history, politics, and policy. His most recent book, Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy Future, informs efforts to advance the clean energy transition. In his scholarly work, he aims to rewrite energy history, framing fossil fuel use as the culmination of the combustion era and arguing that the history of electrification has much to teach us about the possibilities for a more just, humane, and sustainable energy future.
Rain Didn’t Stop Them
In a chilly downpour on April 26, about 200 members of the class of 2025 barreled down Tupelo Lane in the annual Hooprolling race. Arushi Ghosh ’25, an economics and computer science major from Hong Kong, was the winner. She was promptly picked up by classmates and dunked in Lake Waban, as per tradition. At least this year all the racers got as wet as the winner did.
Faculty Farewells
At commencement, the Wellesley community gratefully acknowledged six distinguished retiring faculty members, among them three alumnae. They are: Kristin Butcher ’86, Marshall I. Goldman Professor of Economics (2006–2025); Angela C. Carpenter DS ’99, associate professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences (2005–2024); William A. Joseph, professor of political science (1980–2025); Margaret Keane, Denise Kellen ’68 Professor in the Health Sciences and professor of psychology (1995–2024); Ellen Widmer ’61, Mayling Soong Professor of Chinese Studies and professor of East Asian studies (2007–2025); and Paul Wink, Nellie Zuckerman Cohen & Anne Cohen Heller Professor in Health Sciences and professor of psychology (1992–2024).
“Every song ever written, every skyscraper ever built, every feat of engineering, every invention we now take for granted exists because someone imagined what—to that moment—had never existed. I ask that you imagine a world free of strife and division, a world of peace and belonging for all of humanity.”
A Mushrooming Project
Orlena Fella ’28, the Knapp Sustainable Making Intern at the Knapp Makerspace and Multimedia Center, undertook a semester-long project exploring the use of mycelium, the vegetative portion of fungi, as an alternative to 3D printing using plastic. Fella used grow kits containing the substrate mycelium grows in and pre-inoculated fungi spores. She mixed the material with flour and left it to grow over the course of about 10 days, then used it to craft bowls, a flower vase, and even a rubber ducky figure. “We recently got a bunch of new supplies—a dehydrator, a food processor, a pressure cooker, and some new substrates,” Fella wrote in a report on the project. “This means the possibilities are endless for what we can make next year!”
By the Numbers Waste at On-Campus Events
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6,831.9 estimated reduction of waste, in kilograms, if Wellesley implements a ban on single-use plastics at events
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2,532 number of attendees at reunion 2024
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90,000 approximate number of attendees at College events, from orientation through reunion in 2024
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17,691 kilograms of paper, plastic, metal, and food waste generated by campus events in a year
Source: Celebrate Greener, Live Cleaner: Reducing the Environmental Impacts of On-Campus Events at Wellesley College, the May 2025 report from Environmental Studies Capstone Course ES 300: Environmental Decision-Making
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