It’s hard to believe that our collective celebration of Wellesley’s 150th has come to an end. The year was full of wonderful opportunities to reconnect with each other and the College, to trumpet the power of our alma mater and its alumnae, and to remind ourselves of our remarkable classmates and all the generations before us who made our own time at Wellesley possible. From last fall’s Alumnae Achievement Awards (with Karen Grigsby Bates ’73, Jocelyn Benson ’99, and Sue Wagner ’82) to a thought-provoking climate symposium to “Why the Arts Matter for Democracy,” Wellesley’s yearlong birthday party underscored the tremendous force for change in the world that our College has been and will be.
One of the recent highlights of the sesquicentennial was “Women Leading the Way,” the late March panel at Lincoln Center in New York City featuring some of our extraordinary sister alumnae. Introduced by President Paula Johnson and moderated by Joey Cole ’99, the panel gave all of us present a chance to learn from some of our impressive alums: Ophelia Dahl DS ’94, who has insisted on the humanity of all people, especially the most vulnerable, through Partners In Health; Pamela Melroy ’83, recent deputy administrator of NASA, who urged us to accept no barriers or limits; and playwright Mfoniso Udofia ’06, who spoke compellingly about the role of artistic expression in bridging a dangerously divided society. Equally inspiring was the chance to mingle with the 230-plus alums from the classes of 1955 to 2026 who were in attendance.
With commencement and reunion just around the corner at the time I write this, my fellow WCAA Board members and I are eager to see everyone and to welcome this cohort of classes back to Wellesley for the first time in a decade. If you weren’t able to join us for reunion and you’re on campus this fall, I recommend stopping by to meet the students running Saxbys and enjoy a delicious treat and a great cup of coffee. Then be sure to make time to tour the recently reopened and majestically renovated Margaret Clapp Library, symbolic heart of our stunning campus—and in the meantime, read Catherine O’Neill Grace’s cover story, “Reimagined.”
Ending the year with commencement and reunion offers us one more powerful reminder: The 150th was just the beginning of the next chapter in our College’s path-breaking story, as well as a chance to discover and rediscover the traditions and find new ways to answer its call to serve. How will we as alumnae bring Wellesley to the world in its 151st year? The next pages are ours to write!
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