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BROADCAST JOURNALIST LYNN SHERR
DELIVERS ADDRESS AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE'S
121ST COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES
WELLESLEY, Mass.-- President Diana Chapman Walsh
today presented Bachelor of Arts degrees to 602 women,
including 35 Davis Scholars, non-traditional aged students.
Broadcast
journalist and author Lynn Sherr, Wellesley Class of
1963, returned to her alma mater to deliver the
Commencement
address. Sherr, who earned her B.A. in Greek, received
Wellesley's
Alumnae Achievement Award in 1988 and now serves on its
Board of Trustees.
An award-winning correspondent with ABC News' 20/20 since
1986, Sherr has covered a range of stories, focusing on
investigative reports, national politics, and women's
issues. She also reported regularly on NASA Space Shuttle
missions. She provides analysis of all national elections,
and has served as a floor reporter at Presidential
nominating conventions.
Before joining 20/20, Sherr was a national correspondent
for ABC News, which she joined in 1977. Earlier in her
career, she was an on-air correspondent for WCBS-TV and WNET
in New York and WETA in Washington DC. Prior to that, she
worked for Conde Nast Publications and The Associated Press.
Sherr has received numerous honors for her journalism,
including a Peabody for her hour-long special on a treatment
for anorexia. Other awards, including an Emmy, were
presented by American Women in Radio and Television, Planned
Parenthood, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the National Women's Political Caucus.
Sherr's most recent book, Tall Blondes: A Book About
Giraffes, was published in 1997. She is also the author
of Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own
Words and co-author of Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A
Guide to American Women's Landmarks.
Colby Roxana Lenz, a graduate from Toronto, Canada,
delivered the
student
commencement speech on behalf of the graduating class, a
tradition begun at Wellesley in 1969 by another graduating
senior, Hillary Rodham Clinton. An international relations
major and women's studies minor, Lenz has been an advocate
for issues of diversity and multiculturalism both on and off
campus. She spent the fall semester studying at the
University of Cape Town in South Africa and after graduation
plans to move to New York City to pursue a career in human
rights advocacy.
Three winners of the 1999
Pinanski
Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Wellesley's highest
teaching honor, were announced. They are: Lidwien Kapteijns,
History; Marjory Schwartz Levey, Biological Sciences; and
Andrea G. Levitt, French.
President Walsh announced the establishment of two new
professorial chairs, both made possible by an anonymous
donor:
The Margaret Clapp '30 Distinguished Alumna
Professorship &emdash; Named in honor of Wellesley's 8th
President, the position will be held by a member of the
faculty who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and
scholarship in a chosen field of expertise. The first holder
of the Clapp Professorship is Andrea Levitt, professor of
French and Linguistics, director of Language Studies and, as
of July 1, Associate Dean of the College. (Also, Pinanski
Prize winner as noted above).
The Virginia Onderdonk '29 Professorship in
Philosophy &emdash; Named in honor of one of the leading
members of Wellesley's Philosophy Department during the
middle part of this century, Virginia Onderdonk taught from
1933 until her retirement in 1972 and served in a variety of
leadership roles, including the deanship. One of her many
achievements was the modernization of Wellesley's offerings
in logic. The first Virginia Onerdonk '29 Professorship in
Philosophy is Maud Chaplain, a member of the faculty since
1968 and, at various times in her career, Dean of the
College and Acting President.
Walsh recognized and commended Anne de Coursey Clapp, a
member of Wellesley's Art History Department since 1971, who
retires this year.
Walsh paid tribute to Gail Heitler Klapper of Denver,
outgoing chair of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees, a
position she has held since 1993. In addition, Walsh saluted
two members of the Board who completed their tenure this
year and have been named trustee emeritae in appreciation
for their many years of service: Allison Stacey Cowles of
New York City, a member of the Class of 1955; and, Margaret
Jewett Greer of Chevy Chase, Md., a member of the Class of
1951.
The Commencement speeches can be accessed online at the
following URL:
http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/speeches.html
***
Commencement Day Order of Events:
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9:30 a.m.
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Students assemble on Severance Hill for class
photo
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9:45 a.m.
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Students assemble near Academic Quad
Faculty assemble outside Founders Hall on Jewett
Road
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10:30 a.m.
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Procession begins down Jewett Road, onto Green
-- enters at back of tent
Seniors go first, stop outside tent and form two
lines, through which the faculty process (and are
applauded by the students)
Trustees follow faculty
President
Diana Chapman Walsh and Lynn Sherr follow
trustees
Then students enter tent and take their seats
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Commencement Ceremony
Invocation by Victor Kazanjian, Dean of Religious and
Spiritual Life
President Walsh, welcome
Student
speaker Colby Lenz '99
Announcement of retirements, faculty award winners
Lynn
Sherr delivers commencement address
President
Walsh, Charge to the Class of 1999
Conferring of degrees
Everyone sings
"America
the Beautiful," written by Katharine Lee Bates,
Wellesley Class of 1880
Reception on the nearby Chapel Lawn after the ceremonies.
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