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A photo portrait of Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.
Summer 2023

Murakami’s Questions

By Catherine O’Neill Grace

“Ever since I arrived at Wellesley in 2002, I have had students, time and time again, come to me and say, ‘I want to do a thesis on Haruki Murakami,’ or ‘I want to do an independent study on Murakami,’” says Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.More
A photo of James Battat in the Science Complex.
Summer 2023

On the Hunt for a Mysterious Particle

By Kirsi Goldynia ’15

Most of us are familiar with the well-known subatomic particles that make up the universe: protons, neutrons, and electrons. But James Battat, associate professor of physics, is curious about a much lesser-known particle, the neutrino.More
Ann Velenchik, associate professor of economics and writing
Spring 2023

Lessons in Real Life

By Catherine O’Neill Grace

Ann Velenchik, associate professor of economics and writing, drew on her own experience as a working mother to teach a first-year writing class, Having It All? The Problem of Women and Work. In it, her students grappled with questions about the economic and social roles they will face as they move into the world and decide how, when, or whether to start families of their own.More
A photo portrait of Nina McKee '16
Spring 2023

Nina McKee ’16 Says “Hell Yes” to the Albright Institute

By E.B. Bartels ’10

Perhaps Nina McKee ’16 was fated to be involved with the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. “Madeleine Albright was always this figure in my life because I was a young redhead who liked negotiating and wanted to be a diplomat,” says McKee, who became the Albright Institute’s program director in December 2022.More
Lamiya Mowla ’13
Winter 2023

A First Look Through the Galaxy’s Most Powerful Space Telescope

By Nora Mishanec ’14

Like many science-inclined students, Lamiya Mowla ’13 arrived at Wellesley intending to become a doctor. But an introductory astronomy lesson altered her ambitions—and the course of her life.More
A portrait of Michele Moody-Adams '78
Winter 2023

Tracing the Arc of Moral Progress

By Sarah Ligon ’03

In late May 2020, Michele Moody-Adams ’78 went for a walk, hoping to clear her head during a particularly busy season in her life. Instead the Joseph Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory at Columbia, stumbled upon a protest—and the inspiration for her next book.More
A photo portrait of Lauren Holmes '07.
Winter 2023

TV Guidance

By Deborah Lynn Blumberg ’00

Newhouse Visiting Professor of Creative Writing Lauren Holmes ’07 teaches Writing for Television. The course dissects TV pilots and web series. “I’m looking for the clearest examples of character building, story building, and the story engine,” she says.More
A photo portrait of Mingwei Song, professor of Chinese
Winter 2023

Riding the New Wave of Chinese Science Fiction

By Rachel Yung-Hsin Wang ’88

Mingwei Song, professor of Chinese, was a child in China when he discovered a stash of books in the factory where his mother worked. He recalls reading fairy tales and, before long, works by Dickens, Hugo, Balzac, and others. Perhaps his early readings provided a key to the future.More
Winter 2023

New Voices

By Catherine O’Neill Grace and Grace Ramsdell ’22
Photography by Dana Smith

Learn about five recently hired professors and their passions—from 19th-century travel and French literature to the impacts of social media use on health.More
A photo shows Professor Philip Kohl in his academic regalia
Fall 2022

Philip L. Kohl

By Andrew Shennan, Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College

Philip L. Kohl, professor of anthropology and Kathryn Wasserman Davis Professor of Slavic Studies emeritus, served on the Wellesley faculty for 42 years before retiring in 2016. He was a founding member of the College’s anthropology department. Over his years of service, including for more than a decade as chair, Phil helped establish a vision of the anthropology department as the most broadly conceived of social sciences, stretching from the ancient past to our imagined collective future.More
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