Faculty

A photo portrait of poet and professor David Ferry in front of a crowded bookcase
Winter 2024
David Ferry, Sophie Chantal Hart Professor Emeritus of English, died on Nov. 5, 2023, at 99. He taught at Wellesley from 1952 to 1989. David was an exemplary scholar and teacher, a giant of our faculty, a translator and poet of the highest order, and a major figure in American literature.More
Kristin Butcher ’86, Marshall I. Goldman Professor of Economics in the classroom
Fall 2023
“Women who enroll at Wellesley are about 7 percentage points more likely to major in economics, and that’s [almost] double the chances of majoring in economics at other institutions where non-enrollees went,” says Patrick McEwan, Professor of Economics and Luella LaMer Slaner professor in Latin American Studies. The question is why.More
A Big Idea
Fall 2023
We asked faculty and researchers at the College how they’d solve a problem related to their field, if time and money weren’t constraints.More
A photo portrait of Eve Zimmerman, professor of Japanese.
Summer 2023
“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
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
Eve Zimmerman, Haruki Murakami, and Koichi Hagimoto, associate professor of Spanish, on stage in Alumnae Hall.
Summer 2023
Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall auditorium was packed as acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami gave the annual Cornille Lecture. Murakami was the Mary L. Cornille Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities for the spring semester. His presence on campus generated great excitement: The first night tickets were available, 430 Wellesley students registered for his lecture.More
A photograph of Wellesley’s lightweight four at the 1977 Philadelphia nationals. Pictured are Polly Munts Talen ’77, Kim Cooke Himmelfarb ’77, Eleanor Horrigan Spyropoulos ’80, Karen Cunningham Van Adzin ’79, and Elizabeth “Ping” Pingchang Chow ’79
Summer 2023
Lessons in Privilege A huge mazel tov from my heart to Peggy McIntosh (“ Unpacker of Privilege ,” spring 2023). In 1987, I was a new teacher at Groton School, where there was one other…More
Black and white portrait of Elizabeth “Betty” J. Rock
Spring 2023
Betty, professor of chemistry until her retirement in 1992, was a formidable individual, but she was a warm and caring person. In 1969, when some faculty were outraged by student rebellion and Vietnam protests, Betty saw hope. She said of the protesters, “They want to change the world, and it is our business to help them find the ways.”More
A ohoto of Louis O'Neal looking on at an athletic event
Winter 2023
Wellesley College Athletics mourns the passing of former athletic director and Wellesley Athletics Hall of Famer Louise O’Neal, who passed away on Sept. 17, 2022, in Plymouth, Mass. She was 83 years old.More
A photo portrait of Mingwei Song, professor of Chinese
Winter 2023
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