Given annually at reunion by the WCAA, the Syrena Stackpole Award honors dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley.
Laura Daignault Gates ’72 has a well-known adage, “Wellesley is for life.” The College is very fortunate to have been a big part of her life for the past 50 years.
Laura Daignault Gates ’72 has a well-known adage, “Wellesley is for life.” The College is very fortunate to have been a big part of her life for the past 50 years. She has served as chair of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees, Alumnae Association president, and chair of the Board of Trustees’ E2040 Committee. She’s also been a Wellesley Fund and Durant Committee member, Alumnae Association board member, campaign executive and regional committee member, Presidential Search Committee member, and Chicago Wellesley Club president and vice president, to name just a few of her many volunteer roles. An economics major at Wellesley, Gates received her M.B.A. from Harvard University. She is a former vice president of museum affairs at the Field Museum and a former partner of McKinsey & Company.
At the annual meeting of the Alumnae Association on June 4, WCAA Executive Director Kathryn Harvey Mackintosh ’03 said to Gates, “For your lifelong dedication to the College and especially to Wellesley’s financial sustainability, commitment to the environment, focus on the care and upkeep of her cherished buildings, and to her mission, the Alumnae Association honors you with the 2022 Syrena Stackpole Award.”