Founding of the Tanner Conference

Established through the generosity of Wellesley College trustee Estelle "Nicki" Newman Tanner '57, the Tanner Conference celebrates the relationship between the liberal arts classroom and student participation in an increasingly diverse and interdependent world. At once intellectually compelling and personal, the conference presentations focus on the:

• integration of a student's curricular experiences with significant learning that takes place off-campus;
• inquiry into the values and purposes of these off-campus experiences that serve to deepen a liberal arts education;
• impact that these off-campus experiences have on those who engage in them and on the communities in which they occur.

The Tanner Conference provides a venue for students and alumnae to reflect critically upon, analyze and share their off-campus experiences with others in the College community. Encompassing the diversity of off-campus experiences of students, the conference explores the learning that occurs through internships, service learning experiences, student teaching, international study, international Wintersession programs, experiential learning in courses, independent study, and research conducted away from Wellesley. The conference also presents an opportunity for alumnae to return to campus to discuss how their participation in these experiences as Wellesley students has enriched their lives.