April/May 2000
Wellesley Receives $25 Million Gift for Campus Center
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Lulu Wang '66, together with her husband Anthony, |
for all members of the College's diverse community to have a common space in which we can all come together. We are delighted to help create a building that will facilitate the creation of the strong bonds among students, faculty, colleagues, and alumnae that are one of the hallmarks of Wellesley College." -- Lulu Wang '66
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At the Board of Trustees meeting in April, President Diana Chapman Walsh announced that Lulu and Anthony Wang are donating $25 million for the design and construction of a new campus center. The gift is the largest contribution in the College's history and is the largest gift by an individual to a women's college."Lulu and Tony Wang's magnificent gift enables us to move forward with plans for a building that will enhance the intellectual life of our community. The impact of their tremendous generosity will be felt by the Wellesley community for many years to come," said Walsh. "As women become an increasingly powerful philanthropic force, this extraordinary gift sets a new threshold for giving by women for women."
"We are honored to make this gift and to make a difference for Wellesley, which has long been the leader in educating women who will make a difference in the world," said Lulu Wang '66. "We believe it will be important and very wonderful for all members of the College's diverse community to have a common space in which we can all come together. We are delighted to help create a building that will facilitate the creation of the strong bonds among students, faculty, colleagues, and alumnae that are one of the hallmarks of Wellesley College."
Lulu Wang (pronounced "Wong") is founder and CEO of Tupelo Capital Management in New York. Before founding the investment company in 1997, she was executive vice president at Jennison Associates Capital Corporation. She earned a Masters degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. A member of Wellesley's Board of Trustees since 1988, she now chairs the investment committee and is a founding member and past president of the College's Business Leadership Council. She was chair of the recently completed $10 million endowment drive for the Wellesley Centers for Women, on whose board Wang has served since 1992 (see related article, page 4).
Wang holds a number of major volunteer leadership positions in other organizations. She is on the board and chairs the finance committee of the New York Community Trust, serves on the investment committee of the Rockefeller Family Fund, and is a director of WNYC, New York's public radio station, as well as the New York Women's Forum. She also is a member of the Advisory Council of the American Museum of Natural History and the Chairman's Council of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has been honored for her many achievements by Girls Inc., the New York Women's Agenda, the New York City Commission on the Status of Women, and the American Woman's Economic Development Corporation.
Anthony Wang retired in 1992 as the president and chief operating officer of Computer Associates International, a software company. He graduated from Yale University in 1965 and from Cornell University Law School in 1968.
After extensive study, the trustees gave the go-ahead in January for the College to begin planning a campus center, beginning with the selection of building and landscape architects. The Campus Center Planning Committee that proposed the facility recommended that it house a bookstore/cafe, space for student organizations, a large multi-purpose space for performances and social functions and formal and informal meeting spaces. The Committee's report can be found on President Walsh's homepage at www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/President/Announcements/campuscenter.html.
Trustees Approve $400 Million Comprehensive Campaign
At its April meeting, the Wellesley College Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive campaign for $ 400 million, the most ambitious goal for any liberal arts college in the U.S. and more than double the size of Wellesley's record-breaking $168 million campaign that ended in 1992. At the meeting, President Diana Chapman Walsh also announced that Lulu and Anthony Wang of New York are donating $25 million for the design and construction of a new campus center.
In addition to the campus center, the priorities of the campaign include: increased scholarship aid for U.S. and international students, strengthened and expanded academic programs, expanded internship and experiential learning programs, restoration of the campus landscape, and increased unrestricted gifts for operating support.
Although the campaign will run for five years, Board of Trustees Chair Vicki Herget announced that $133.5 million has been committed over the past two years to the campaign advance fund. "I also am delighted and proud to report that every member of the Board of Trustees has made a financial commitment to this exciting endeavor," noted Herget.
The campaign priorities stem from several years of study and consultation about Wellesley's critical needs for the new century. "Our goal is to ensure the continued health and vibrancy of this special institution," commented President Walsh. "We want to enhance what is best about the liberal arts as practiced at Wellesley and to reinforce the vital connections that are made here. Whether they be buildings that enhance community or support for faculty and academic initiatives, these priorities will enrich the collective intellectual life of this community."
During the past 18 months, Walsh has held 10 dinners with more than 150 alumnae, trustees, and friends of the College to discuss the proposed campaign priorities. Similarly, on-campus consultations have involved faculty, students, and administrative staff, ranging from far-reaching planning processes such as that of the Campus Center Planning Committee to discussions among faculty about academic programs and initiatives.
The public phase of the campaign will begin on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. A campus kick-off celebration is being planned for October.
Women's Century Fund Surpasses $10 Million GoalThe Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) announced recently that it has successfully completed a fundraising campaign to support its research and action programs, surpassing its goal of $10 million. This is more money than has been raised by any other women's research center endowment drive. More than 1,250 donors from 48 states and nine countries have committed $10.4 million to the Women's Century Fund to support the WCW whose work on gender equity, women's psychological development, violence against women, child care and out-of-school time are internationally recognized.
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" host, Linda Wertheimer '65, and Lynn Sherr '63 of ABC's "20/20" stirred support for the Women's Century Fund at events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington, DC. The two journalists praised the Centers saying, "WCW's vital contribution to a broader understanding of key issues facing society today provides the kind of reliable research, theoretical perspectives and unbiased information that we all need. By putting women's experiences at the center of inquiry, WCW not only provides answers, it poses critical new questions."
"The campaign's success proves that women and men&emdash;10 percent of the donors are men&emdash;are willing to invest in a brighter future for women," said Susan McGee Bailey, WCW Executive Director. "Donors clearly understood the Centers' need for a more stable source of funding and responded generously when asked."
The Women's Century Fund will increase the financial security of WCW and enable the centers to launch critical pilot studies, aggressively promote the results of its research, provide "bridge" funding for researchers between funded projects, and train the next generation of professionals.
Multi-year, Multi-million-dollar Commitment
Will Fund Davis UWC Scholarships, Promote Global UnderstandingA major new scholarship program announced this spring&emdash;the Davis United World College Scholars program&emdash;will pay tuition and other expenses for scores of qualified students from all over the world who gain admission to five prestigious U.S. colleges. The Shelby M.C. Davis family has pledged to pay, beginning this fall, 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need, including relief from loans and campus or summer jobs, for all graduates of the United World College (UWC) movement who matriculate at Wellesley, College of the Atlantic, Colby, Middlebury, and Princeton University.
The UWC are ten pre-university-level schools located on five continents and dedicated to promoting international understanding through education. Some 2,000 students from 16 to 19 years old from all corners of the globe live and study together at the schools in challenging academic programs that foster peace and cooperation. Now they are all eligible for Davis UWC scholarships to continue their education at the undergraduate institutions named.
The scholarships will provide resources for significant numbers of the brightest and best-prepared international students to attend some of America's top undergraduate institutions. "Through the Davises' extraordinary generosity, Wellesley will, for the first time, be able to admit all qualified United World College applicants from anywhere in the world, regardless of their financial means," said President Diana Chapman Walsh. "The current Wellesley students who are UWC graduates bring a truly global perspective to our diverse campus. We all are very excited at the prospect of being able to expand Wellesley's international reach even further.
Wellesley Selected for 'Excellence in Academic Libraries'The Wellesley College Library was selected as the first winner of the "Excellence in Academic Libraries" award, sponsored by The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Blackwell's Book Services. The award of $3,000 and a citation will be presented at a reception at the Clapp Library on May 15.
The ACRL Selection Committee stated that Wellesley was chosen in part because of the College's use of its special collections to support academic programs and for how the Library provides a model with its analysis of journal use and its use of consortial relationships to confront challenges that all academic libraries are now facing.
"We're honored to be among the first class of recipients to receive the Excellence in Aca demic Libraries award. This award is a splendid tribute to the entire library staff because it recognizes the valuable contribution that each person makes to the quality of the services we provide to the Wellesley community," said Micheline Jedrey, Vice President of Information Services and Library Director.
Swimming and Diving Named Top Academic Team
The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has announced that the Wellesley Swimming and Diving team earned an overall 3.51 grade point average (GPA), the best GPA of all Division III institutions for the fall semester of 1999.
Wellesley has qualified for the CSCAA Academic All-America Team since the 1991-92 academic year and has since maintained an average team GPA of 3.32, including the fall of 1999. During the fall of 1996, Wellesley achieved the second-best GPA in the nation among Division III teams.
In addition to its academic achievement, the 1999-2000 Wellesley squad captured a third straight conference title winning the 2000 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship. Wellesley also won its tenth Seven Sisters Championship and completed the program's second undefeated dual-meet season with a perfect 7-0 record. Thirteen-year Head Coach Bonnie Dix recorded her 95th dual-meet career win.
Colleagues in the News
Compiled by Shanna Yetman '02For the April issue of Emerge: Black America's Newsmagazine, Marcellus Andrews, Economics, reviewed The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. Andrews is the author of The Political Economy of Hope and Fear: Capitalism and the Black Condition in America.
Christopher Candland, Political Science, gave a paper on labor politics in Pakistan at the Pakistan Institute of Labour Studies and presented research at Columbia University's Faculty Seminar on whether corporate codes of conduct have improved conditions for Thai workers. In March and April, he gave papers at the Association for Asian Studies on economic liberalization and sectarian education in Pakistan and at the University of Colorado Boulder's Center for Asian Studies on children's employment in South Asia.
On March 23, Elena Gascon-Vera, Spanish, appeared on "The Connection," a nationally-syndicated talk radio program produced by WBUR, to discuss the 16th century Saint Teresa of Avila.
In March, Nancy Gleason, Stone Center, received the Anne P. Ogilby Award from the Simmons College School of Social Work for her contribution to the field of social work in the area of prevention.
Basketball head coach Kathy Hagerstrom, PERA, has been selected one of eight Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III District Coaches of the Year. Hagerstrom, selected District I Coach of the Year, also earned the New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) and New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Coach of the Year accolades this season.
Jonathan Imber, Sociology, moderated a conference at Boston University in April on the uses and misuses of science in public discourse, sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture and the Bradley Foundation.
An op-ed by Joseph Joyce, Economics, ("The Future of the IMF") that ran in The Boston Globe on March 18 was also listed on Yahoo's website.
Lidwien Kapteijns, History, has two new publications: "Ethiopia and the Horn" in The History of Islam in Africa, ed. by Nehemia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2000); and, together with Maryan Omar Ali, Women's Voices in a Man's World: Women and the Pastoral Tradition in Northern Somali Orature, c. 1899-c. 1980. (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1999).
Phillip Kohl, Anthropology, recently was named a Fulbright Scholar for 1999-2000. He is lecturing March-June at the National University of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina on Archeology in the Americas: Aspects of Its Past Development and Current Practice.
Mary Lefkowitz, Classical Studies, delivered a speech at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in February in which she examined the numerous roles of women in the classical world including daughter, wife, mistress, priestess and prostitute. Her presentation was part of an overall series at the MFA that explored "Men, Women, Sex and Slaves in the Classical World."
Anthony Martin, Africana Studies, was recently a consultant to the Austrian Science Fund (similar to the National Science Foundation in the U.S.) for a research project in Africana Studies. Martin also has been invited to keynote two conferences commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first Pan-African Conference. The first is at the State University of New York at Albany; the second will be held in London in July in the same city and on the same dates as the Pan-African Conference of 1900. In March, he was keynote speaker for the Black Cultural Weekend at Franklin and Marshall College.
In March, Robert Paarlberg, Economics, ap-peared on "Greater Boston," a daily local PBS news and public affairs program, to discuss an upcoming national biotechnology conference.
In an article titled "Political Options face Mayor Archer in Coming Months" (The Detroit Legal News, 2/15/00) Wilbur Rich, Political Science, was quoted on how Archer has been a successful caretaker for Detroit and is ready to move on. In an article two days earlier, Rich had provided an analysis in The Detroit News and Free Press about the declining trends of racial loyalty. Rich's conclusion was that in order for black mayors to wield more power they will have to become more multicultural. Rich has authored numerous books on black urban politics including Coleman Young and Detroit Politics.
On March 20, Filomina Steady, Africana Studies, delivered the eighth Darl Snyder African Studies Lecture at the University of Georgia, Athens, as part of the international conference on "African Women in Global Society: Issues and Perspectives." Steady's talk was titled "Global Perspectives on the Black Woman: Race and Gender in the Age of Globalization."
The New Orleans Picayune Times recently reviewed Nan Stein's, Center for Research on Women, book, Classrooms and Courtrooms: Facing Sexual Harassment in K-12 Schools, that brings together the state of knowledge about sexual harassment in schools and summarizes legal cases. Stein also presents the stories of boys and girls who have shared their experiences with sexual harassment at school.
On April 16, Wellesley's musical trio Triple Helix performed at Jordan Hall in Boston as part of BankBoston's Celebrity Series. Pianist Lois Shapiro, violinist Bayla Keyes, and cellist Rhonda Rider performed the world-premiere of Dark Mother by composer Andy Vores and narrated by Phyllis Curtin. The program also included music by Beethoven and Shostakovich. The performance received a favorable review in The Boston Globe.
Faculty and staff: Please email your Colleagues in the News items to illuminator@wellesley.edu.
Three Seniors Win Watson Fellowships
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Laura Murray, and Lia Shimada. |
Seniors Kathryn Buczynski-Carlson, Laura Murray, and Lia Shimada have been awarded the highly competitive Watson Fellowship for a year of independent study abroad. Each Watson Fellow receives a stipend of $22,000.The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program was established in 1968 to provide exceptional college graduates the opportunity for a focused and disciplined year of international study and travel. Thirty-seven Wellesley students have been named Watson Fellows since 1981 when Wellesley became a participating institution in the program.
An economics major at Wellesley, Kathryn Buczynski-Carlson has been a member of the sailing team, the co-host of a weekly talk radio program on WZLY, the student-run station, and an officer of the Zeta Alpha Literary Society. Carlson is also a co-founder of Wellesley's only fiddle ensemble, the Fiddleheads, and a member of Roaring Jelly, a folk band based in the Boston area.
During her junior year, Carlson spent a semester each in Poland and France. Afterward, she walked 500 miles across Spain on the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route. An introduction to local music in these cultures inspired her Watson proposal in which she will be studying fiddling in the folk music traditions of Scotland, Norway, and Poland. Her plan will introduce her to many music festivals and mentors in these countries. Upon her return, Carlson will join an investment banking firm in the Boston area.
A political science and women's studies double major, Laura Murray will study the emergence of sex worker rights organizations in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, South Africa, and Australia during her year on the Watson fellowship.
Murray spent the spring semester of her junior year studying at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose. While in Costa Rica, she volunteered with a small organization that worked with child prostitutes by advocating for their rights and providing free health and psychological services. She spent last summer volunteering with Global Learning, a non-profit organization, teaching lessons in a public school and assisting with community development projects in rural Costa Rica. While at Wellesley, she has worked with an advocacy organization for homeless and abused women, taught English as a Second Language (ESL) courses to immigrants from Latin America, and is the Regional Coordinator of Global Learning. She also is a Peer Advocate and works at the Wellesley Center for Research on Women. After completing her fellowship, Murray plans to work with a non-profit organization in Latin America and eventually attend graduate school in international development with a focus on women.
A double major in English and environmental science at Wellesley, Lia Shimada plans to study grassroots reforestation projects in Ireland, Nepal, and Madagascar during her Watson fellowship and to develop a genre of geographical writing from this work. Afterward, she plans to attend graduate school in human geography.
While at Wellesley, Shimada has been the President of the Guild of Carillonneurs and this spring has been arranging more multicultural musical pieces to be played on the bells in the College's carillon tower to reflect Wellesley's growing diversity. Shimada also volunteers at Spare Change, a Cambridge-based newspaper written by and about homeless persons.
Student Scientists Present Research at National Convention
Eleven Wellesley students and four faculty members presented their scientific research at the 219th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society held in San Francisco, March 26-30. Of the some 15,000 chemists, chemical engineers, and other practitioners of chemical science in attendance, only 550 were undergraduates selected from around the country to present their research findings.
Faculty members Jean Fuller-Stanley, David Haines, Julia Miwa, and Adele Wolfson shared their own research and oversaw the poster presentations given by the Wellesley students in their organic chemistry research labs. The students' abstracts featured titles such as: Synthesis of a thioamide substituted 12-residue peptide; Substituent and dihedral angle effects on carbonyl stretching frequency in oxamides; and Direct cyanation of 4-phenyl-[1,2,4]-triazole using electrophilic cyanating agents.
But as David Haines explains in layperson's terms, research in organic chemistry can and should be accessible for students at the undergraduate level. Wellesley's small size is ideal for exposing students to real experiments under real research conditions.
"After learning the fundamentals, our students don't simply open a lab manual and follow it to the letter. I want them to experiment for themselves to see how things really work," Haines said. The exchange of ideas and intellectual curiosity goes both ways. "I get a lot of intellectual inspiration from my students. They may think they're asking an innocent question, but often they've had an insight into a problem that had me butting my head up against the wall," he said.
Haines, who has taught at Wellesley for 19 years, said many of his former students have gone on to work in university research labs and pharmaceutical companies and to practice medicine. The four students who attended the San Francisco conference, for example, have spent the past several years in his organic chemistry lab, essentially, looking for a link in the chain of the cure for cancer. Amanda Doran '01, Nancy Kesek '00, Yoori Lee '00, and Lisa Wittenhagen '00 are continuing the research of previous lab students, now alumnae, as they experiment with different chemical agents that may slow the replication rates of cancer cells. Their sense of being part of a larger team of researchers is reflected in the group's logo (left), which they have made into t-shirts.
"Professor Haines lets us see the problem and figure out why it's happening," Doran said of the re-search she describes as fascinating.
One way the students describe their research to non-scientists is to use the analogy of a construction crew building a house in which each aspect of the infrastructure (plumbing, wiring, frame work) must be understood. Each student is developing some aspect of the chemical reactions which will be necessary to construct the analogs of the natural molecules upon which their research is based. When all the reactions are understood, future researchers will synthesize the desired molecules. The researchers anticipate that the synthesized molecules will exhibit anticancer activity because of their similarity to molecules which cells normally use to control or enhance their rates of replication.
Members of the Wellesley community will have the chance to learn more about the students' research during their poster presentations at this year's Ruhlman Conference on May 2.
Bricks, Mortar & Physical Plantsby Pam Gentile & Patrick Willoughby
Physical Plant AdministrationDepartment Relocations
Work is already in progress to relocate the Chinese Department to the 2nd floor of Green Hall and the College Bookstore to the National Bibliography room on the 2nd floor of Clapp Library, scheduled to open May 1. In July, the Academic Council Room will be modified to accommodate the new Faculty Common Room at the east end of the room. The current Faculty Common Room will be converted as temporary office space for the Offices of Public Information and Communications and Publications.
Pendleton RenovationsA phased move out of Pendleton Hall will begin on May 1 with faculty and staff moving to temporary office space in Clapp Library starting May 10. Also as of May 10, the parking behind Pendleton and along Pendleton Hill Road will be closed as this area becomes off-limits to routine traffic and parking. There will be changes made to the traffic flow up to the Academic Quadrangle to access Pendleton and Green Halls. Details will be outlined in an upcoming campus-wide mailing. Renovations to Pendleton Hall are slated to start May 18.
Green Hall CourtyardInfrastructure work in this area has been much greater than expected. This, combined with recent design changes, is delaying completion of the project, although the crew is working hard to have the new Harris Courtyard completed by Commencement.
Handicapped parking spaces have been assigned at the eastern end of Green Hall. Project managers are in the design phase of incorporating handicapped parking and access from the Admissions parking area to the Academic Quad and Green Hall.
Science Center SouthIn April, the circle in front of the Science Center will be re-graded on the western side, and new paving and plantings will be added to improve the look of the entrance area. Plantings of trees and shrubs also will be installed in front of the building and slightly extended into the meadow. New tree plantings will be established along College Road.
Lake WabanThe mechanical harvesting of exotic (non-native) weeds in Lake Waban has not been effective, and their growth has become a detriment to the lake's ecosystem. In early June, spot treatment of weeds in several locations in the lake will begin. Once under control, biological controls will be used as part of an IPM, or Integrated Pest Management, program to control future weed levels.
Stone Davis CourtyardScheduling the re-building of the terrace that faces Lake Waban has been difficult, but the plan at this time is to complete this project over the summer. The work will include the building of a larger terrace, new plantings and the re-grading of the area to allow handicapped access to and from the courtyard.
About The Wellesley
College Illuminator
Editor-in-Chief: Mary Ann Hill,
mhill@wellesley.edu
Managing Editor: Betsy Lawson, elawson@wellesley.edu
The Illuminator is the published monthly during the academic year by Wellesley College's Office for Public Information, a division of Resources and Public Affairs, 230 Green Hall, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Issues are published the first week of every month during the academic year, except for combined issues in September/October and January/February. Special Family Editions are also published.
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Last updated: June 27, 2000
