27 march-
3 april
2006

ophelia dahl is chosen as 2006 commencement speaker

Global public health activist Ophelia Dahl, left, will address the members of the Class of 2006 and their families and friends at Wellesley’s 128th Commencement Exercises on Thursday, June 1, at 10:30 am on Severance Green.

Dahl is a founding trustee and the executive director of Partners In Health (PIH), an international organization that brings the benefits of modern medical science to some of the most impoverished areas of the world. Partners In Health and its co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer were the subject of the best-seller Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder.

A member of the Class of 1994, she arrived at Wellesley in 1989 as a Davis Scholar after serving as a public health worker in Haiti for nearly seven years. It was in Haiti that she met Farmer, and they worked together to bring health care to the destitute sick, beginning with a few villages in Haiti’s Central Plateau. Expanding on the effectiveness of the community-based model in Haiti, Dahl has helped to establish major PIH projects in poor communities around the world, including Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Russia, Boston and, most recently, Rwanda.

When PIH was awarded the 2005 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world’s largest humanitarian award, Dahl explained the motivation behind the organization’s efforts: “We realized that, if we were to truly improve the lives of the poor, we must tackle the root causes of their illnesses. As a result, we address health care in the broadest possible sense—not just providing medicine, but also education, water and housing.”

In addition to the Hilton Prize, Partners In Health, its leaders and initiatives have been supported by the American Medial Association, the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

Dahl also serves on the board of her family’s foundation to honor the work of her father, the late writer Roald Dahl, and is engaged in philanthropic works in the United States and England.


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alumna leaves $2.7 million for financial aid

In one of her class notes, Virginia Webbert ’35 wrote she had "fulfilled a major career goal of using (her) Wellesley training in economics to work in foreign countries.” Throughout the 40-year career with the federal government that followed, a path that took her to many countries in Southeast Asia, Webbert never forgot the importance of her Wellesley education.

Earlier this month, Wellesley received $2.7 million from Webbert’s estate, a magnificent bequest that will help future generations of Wellesley women. Webbert, who died in 2004, expressed her wish that the money be used for financial aid for students majoring in economics or music. The endowment fund will be named for Webbert and her parents, Harry and Emma.

An economics major at Wellesley, Webbert began her international career during World War II as an intelligence officer in India and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). When the war ended, she spent 15 years as an intelligence research analyst in Burma and Thailand, moving between the United States and those countries. From 1961 until her retirement in 1983, she was Indonesian desk officer in the Commerce Department where she worked closely with U.S. businesses and the Indonesian government on economic development and investment opportunities in the country. After her retirement, she remained physically active, traveling and swimming regularly, sang in her church choir and enjoyed the many cultural opportunities in Washington, D.C., where she lived.

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a talent showcase

The fourth annual Pan-Asian Cultural Show, on Friday, March 31, at 7 pm in Jewett Auditorium, brings together the many Asian organizations on campus in a talent showcase. The show allows both large and small Asian student groups a chance to share their cultures.

“This year’s performances promise to be even more diverse than last year’s, drawing from traditional aboriginal origins and fusing cultures together in a very modern way,” said Wei-ying Wang ’05, multicultural programs. “This night of celebration is not only a night to showcase the diversity of Asian cultures, but it is also a closing ceremony for the Asian Awareness Month program.” For more information, call x2955.

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how does a butterfly know where and when to fly?

Butterflies are free, and so too is the 2006 Mayer Lecture in the Life Sciences on the monarch butterfly. Steven M. Reppert, chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Higgins Family Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will present “Migratory Monarch Butterflies: A Colorful Model of the Circadian Clock” Tuesday, March 28, at 5 pm in Science Center 277.

Dr. Reppert, right, served as head of the Laboratory of Developmental Chronobiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital for 22 years before moving to UMass. His current research is illuminating the cellular and molecular basis of time-compensated sun compass navigation in the monarch butterfly. His research also has pioneered the physiological basis of fetal circadian clocks, elucidated molecular mechanisms of action for the pineal hormone melatonin, discovered fundamental cellular mechanisms important for circadian clock function and advanced our knowledge of clock genes and their transcriptional and posttranslational regulation.

Dr. Reppert has received several honors for his research activities, including an Established Investigatorship from the American Heart Association, the E. Mead Johnson Award for distinguished research and a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The lecture is sponsored by Biological Sciences. For more information, call x3153.

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expert to discuss the media and children

Exposure to the media can be a hazard to children’s health, according to Diane Levin, left, an internationally recognized expert on the effects of violence, media and commercial culture on children. Levin will present a lecture, “Remote Control Childhood: The Impact of Media and Commercial Culture on Children,” Thursday, March 30, at 4:30 pm in Science Center 277.

A professor of education at Wheelock College, she has taught courses in human development and education for more than 25 years.

"Children are always drawn to the most extreme thing they see,” Levin said in a Boston Globe article on the topic. “So the industry is always looking to push the line a little bit. So once we get desensitized they can push it a little further.”

She is the author of six books on the topic of violence, media and commercial culture including The War Play Dilemma: What Every Parent and Teacher Needs to Know, Teaching Young Children in Violent Times: Building a Peaceable Classroom and Remote Control Childhood? Combating the Hazards of Media Culture. She is a founder of Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment, which helps parents deal with the impact of media and commercial culture on their children, and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which for an end to the commercial exploitation of children. The lecture is sponsored by Education and American Studies. For more information, call x3462.

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don't miss: hop on over to cirque du cs for fun, games and projects

If you are curious about computer science, come to the Second Annual Cirque du CS Sunday, April 2, from 1-4 pm at the Science Center, first floor, E corridor. Computer science students, alumnae and faculty will present a wealth of afternoon fun including games, demonstrations, posters and a musical show.

Many Wellesley College students will present projects they completed for courses, independent studies and internships. Students have designed Web sites for academic and other departments as well as off-campus businesses; they have created graphics, flash animation and all kinds of computer science projects. Stephanie Judge ’06, for example, will present “Craftastic,” which she describes as a database of crafts where people can search for craft projects or post their own ideas. “Users can create user profiles, make comments on crafts they have tried and then rate them accordingly,” Judge said. Cirque du CS will offer activities and refreshments for one and all. For more information, go to http://cs.wellesley.edu/cirque/ or call x3147.

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colleagues in the news

eleanor delorme, art history, has been invited to lecture about her latest book, Josephine and the Arts of the Empire, at Bard Graduate School and at Sotheby’s, New York, March 21. She will also present a dinner lecture at the Wellesley College Club this Wednesday, March 29, on “French Fashion: From Gothic to Givenchy.”

phillip levine, economics, has been interviewed for a New York Times story, “Scant Drop Seen in Abortion Rate if Parents Are Told,” a Times analysis of laws that require minors to notify their parents or get permission to have an abortion. The Times found these laws have caused little change in teenage abortion rates. Levine himself examined nationwide survey results from 1985 to 1996, a time when many parental involvement laws were put in place, and found such laws were associated with about one-eighth of the total drop in minors’ abortions in those states. Of the small drop found in the Times analysis, he said, “there is nothing overwhelmingly staggering” in the change associated with the laws.

steven schiavo, psychology, who has done research on office décor, has been quoted in the Indianapolis Star newspaper on the topic. “These decorations are about workers expressing something about themselves to others,” he says. “They are creating an image about themselves they want to create.”

kyle kauffman and akila weerapana, economics, have been featured by the Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday Independent newspaper regarding their paper, “The Impact of AIDS-related News on Exchange Rates in South Africa,” which has recently been published in Economic Development and Cultural Change, a leading development economics journal.

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calendar

monday march 27

japanese table. 12:30-1:20 pm, Tower Court. Info: x7922.

meeting. CG Senate. 6 pm, Academic Council Room. Info: cgpresident@wellesley.edu.

esl tutoring. 6-8 pm, PLTC small conference room. Info: x2480.

japan club meeting. 7 pm, Cazenove Green Room. Info: ktakator@wellesley.edu.

meditation. 7-8:15 pm, lower chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Info: x2793.

cws workshop. “Career Options for Psychology Majors.” 7-9 pm, PNW 212. Info: x2352.

german table. 8-9 pm, Stone. Info: x1685.

bahá’í gathering. 8:30 pm, Freeman. Info: x4188.


tuesday march 28

italian table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court dining hall. Info: x2616.

lecture. “27th January 2001: Italy’s First National Holocaust Memorial Day.” Speaker: Robert Gordon, Italian literature, University of Cambridge, UK. 3:30-5 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Italian Studies. Info: x2616.

lecture. “Rituals of Humiliation in the 12th Century.” Speaker: Richard Barton, medieval history, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 4:30 pm, PNE 239. Sponsor: Medieval Renaissance Studies. Info: x2605.

lecture. “Migratory Monarch Butterflies: A Colorful Model of the Circadian Clock.” Speaker: Steven M. Reppert, neurobiology, UMass Medical School. Reception: 4:30 pm, Sage Lounge; lecture: 5 pm, SCI 277. Sponsor: Biological Sciences. (See story.) Info: x3153.

workshop. “How to Make a Great Impression in the Working World.” Speaker: Winnie Lee, esthetician. 5-6:15 pm, PNW 117. Sponsor: Toastmasters. Info: jho@wellesley.edu.

panel. “Asian Body Image.” 6:30 pm, PNE 225A. Sponsor: Asian Awareness Month Committee. Info: x2955.

discussion. “Halaqa/Study Circle.” 6:45-8:30 pm, lower chapel. Info: nkhalil@wellesley.edu.
wellness class. “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.” 7-8:30 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Preregister: x2793.

concert. The Joggers. 8-10:30 pm, Wang Center, Tishman Commons. Sponsor: WZLY. Info: WZLYmail@wellesley.edu.

wednesday march 29

festival. “MadCat Animation Festival.” 12:30 pm, JAC 450. Sponsor: Art. Info: x2042.

russian table. 12:30-1:30 pm, FND 416. Info: x2418.

spanish table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court dining hall. Info: x3571.

lecture. “Effective Use of Supplemental Instruction at Trinity College.” Speakers: Alison Draper, interdisciplinary science, and Lisa Nestor, chemistry, Trinity College. 12:30-1:30 pm, SCI 396. Sponsor: PLTC. Info: bburck@wellesley.edu.

training. “Girls’ LEAP Self-Defense Teaching Woman.” 12:30-2 pm, Shafer Recreation Room. Weekly through 4/12. Info: x4658.

lecture/dinner. “French Fashion: From Gothic to Givenchy.” Speaker: Eleanor Delorme, art. 5:30 pm, College Club. Cost, reservations: x2700.

unitarian universalist worship. 6 pm, lower chapel. Info: x3484.

lecture. “Between Vision and Language.” Speaker: Xu Bing, artist. 6:30 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.

film. Invisible Children. 7-9 pm, Wang Center, Tishman Commons. Sponsor: International Relations Council. Info: IRCmail@wellesley.edu.

film. Everlasting Regret. Director: Stanley Kwan. 8-10 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.


thursday march 30

arabic table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court. Info: x2916.

chinese table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court. Info: CSAmail@wellesley.edu.

french table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Bates dining hall. Info: x2403.

wcw seminar. “Neurobiology of Relationship.” Speaker: Amy Banks, advanced training, Jean Baker Miller Training Institute. 12:30-1:30 pm, Cheever House. Info: x2500.

lecture. “Remote Control Childhood.” Speaker: Diane Levin, education, Wheelock College. 4:30-6:30 pm, SCI 277. Sponsor: Education. (See story.) Info: x3232.

esl tutoring. (See 3/27 listing.)

lecture. “Hinduism and Buddhism: Siamese Twins or Sibling Rivals?” Speaker: Arvind Sharma, religion, McGill University. 6-9 pm, PNW 212. Sponsor: Religious Life. Info: x2794.

worship service. 7 pm, lower chapel. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2655.

meeting. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. 7-9 pm, Wang Center Multipurpose Room 2. Info: wivcfmail@wellesley.edu.


friday march 31

prayer/discussion. Muslim communal (Jummah). 12:30-2:30 pm, lower chapel. Info: x2656.

car wash. 1-5 pm, Cazenove; Pomeroy. Sponsor: Class of 2007. Info: Class2007mail@wellesley.edu.

shabbat service. 5:30-6:30 pm, BIL 300. Info: x2685.

bible study. 7 pm, Wang Center 413. Sponsor: Asian Baptist Student Koinonia. Info: x1831.

performance. “Pan-Asian Cultural Show.” 7 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Asian Awareness Month Committee. (See story.) Info: x2955.

concert. “A Cappella Festival.” 7-10 pm, Wang Center, Tishman Commons. Sponsor: Blue Notes. Info: BlueNotesMail@wellesley.edu.

films. Aristocrats, 7 pm; C.R.A.Z.Y., 9 pm. Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Film Society. Info: x7043.

saturday april 1

april fool’s day.

debate. College Government elections. Noon-5 pm, PNE 225. Info: CGmail@wellesley.edu.

lacrosse vs. Springfield College. 1 pm. Info: x2003.

softball vs. Clark. Double-header, noon and 1:30 pm. Info: x2003.

films. C.R.A.Z.Y., 7 pm; Aristocrats, 9 pm. Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Film Society. Info: x7043.
.
sunday april 2

worship service. 11:15 am, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2685.

event. “Cirque du CS.” 1-4 pm, Science Center E corridor. Sponsor: Computer Science. (See story.) Info: skakavou@wellesley.edu.

catholic mass. 4 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Newman Catholic Ministry. Info: x2688.

meeting. Darshana. 5 pm, lower chapel. Sponsor: Hindu Community. Info: x2794.

film/lecture. Roots in the Sand. Speaker: Karen Leonard, anthropology, University of California, Irvine. 5:30-8:30pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: Multicultural Programs. Info: x2955.

concert. Lydian String Quartet and Marion Dry, mezzo-soprano. 7:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2028.

monday april 3

cws senior workshop. “Job Search Strategies.” 12:30 pm, GRH 130. Info: x2352.

japanese table. (See 3/27 listing.)

foh workshop. “Why is a Hydrangea Blue? Fun Facts About Plant Chemistry.” Speaker: Sonja Hicks, chemistry emerita. Reception: 1:30 pm; program: 2-3 pm, Botanic Gardens Visitor Center. Members: $10; others:$13. Info: x3094.

cws workshop. “Understanding the MBTI and Career Planning.” 4:30-6:30 pm, GRH 338. Info: x2352.

lecture. “Museums Today: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Speaker: Deborah Gribbon ’70, former director, J. Paul Getty Museum. 5 pm, Wang Center, Tishman Commons. Sponsor: Art. Info: x2042.

film/discussion. Dawn of the Dead. Speaker: George Romero, director. Reception: 5:30 pm, Collins Café; film: 6:30 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: English. Info: x2591.

meeting. CG Senate. (See 3/27 listing.)

esl tutoring. (See 3/27 listing.)

meditation. (See 3/27 listing.)

german table. (See 3/27 listing.)

bahá’í gathering. (See 3/27 listing.)

ongoing

exhibit. Remembering Wellesley’s Black Past, through 3/31. Clapp Library Archives. Info: x2127.

foh exhibit. Wellesley Greenhouse Panoramas, through 4/13. Botanic Gardens Visitor Center. Info: x3504.

exhibit. Exploring Elbert: Giving Voice to African American History, through 4/14. Clapp Library Special Collections. Info: x2129.

exhibits. On the Edge: Contemporary Chinese Artists Encounter the West, through 5/24; Any Opinions?, through 6/3. DMCC. Info: x2051.

book sale. Clapp Library reading room. Donations: 50 cents to $4. Info: x2894.

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