Window on Wellesley

A photo portrait of Jennifer Thomas-Starck, director of international study

International Innovation

The Office of International Study was among the first departments to feel the effects of the pandemic directly. They responded with innovative approaches to creating overseas experiences for students.More

A black and white photo shows the Persephone sculpture

A Myth Carved in Stone

Alumnae who have spent time on the East Side (previously known as the New Dorms) will have passed Persephone , a freestanding sculpture by Bates’s entrance, and Demeter , a carved relief panel accompanied on its back side by a third panel depicting oak leaves, closer to Freeman.More

An illusration depicts a stylized flower. A globe forms its center, and one of the petals in the face of a young woman.

A Plan for a Changing World

This spring, five faculty members—a marine ecologist, a poet-critic, a historian, and two political scientists—will team-teach a course called The Climate Change Crisis. Megan Núñez, dean of faculty affairs, points to it as a compelling example of the kind of curricular innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and focus on grand challenges that are called for in the College’s new strategic plan.More

A photo shows a student creating an enormous, iridescent bubble.

College Road

On the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 17, students celebrated being back on campus at the annual surprise funfest that was Lake Day. It featured gigantic beach balls, free kettle corn, cult favorite Del’s Lemonade, craft tables, temporary tattoos, and giant bubble blowers. But the best part was being together again.More

A photo portrait of Adrian Castro, assistant professor of geosciences

A Storyteller for the Planet

When most of us come across a rock, we register little more than a gray hunk of stone that blends easily into the background. But Adrian Castro considers the rocks the main attraction. Every rock has a story to tell, he explains, and his job as a geologist is to use scientific techniques to unravel them. “Good geologists are like storytellers for the planet,” he says.More

A photo portrait of Julie Walsh, associate professor of philosophy

Women and Witchcraft

Julie Walsh, associate professor of philosophy, is teaching Philosophy and Witchcraft for the seventh time this fall, and, as usual, she began with a caveat. “On the first day, every time, I have to say, ‘You know, we’re not learning spells,’” she says. “I always give that disclaimer.” Walsh makes that clear because the first time she taught the class—not at Wellesley but at another institution—a couple of her students said how disappointed they were that they didn’t learn any “plain magic.”More

A photo shows a masked student holding a pink daisy on Flower Sunday

A Tradition Blooms Again

On Sept. 19, big and little siblings gathered at Flower Sunday, Wellesley’s oldest tradition. “Flower Sunday has always been my favorite Wellesley tradition, especially my first year,” says Alexandra Brooks ’23, a political science major from Dallas. “When I was paired with my big, it helped give me a sense of belonging on campus.”More

A masked student models a warm coat from the Student's Aid Society Clothes Closet

The Clothes Closet is Back!

The Wellesley Student’s Aid Society is continuing its long tradition of providing winter clothes, business attire, and other clothing essentials for students. And they’re looking for donations!More