Wellesley Wire 9/26/02

Hollywood Comes to Wellesley As "Mona Lisa Smile" Is Filmed on Campus -- Parts of the Wellesley campus will be transformed into a movie set as scenes from "Mona Lisa Smile," starring Julia Roberts, are filmed next week. The drama, set during the 1953-54 academic year, stars Roberts as an art history professor who comes to Wellesley from California to teach. She challenges and is challenged by her "students," played by Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and others. The director is Mike Newell, whose films include "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Donnie Brasco." The film is scheduled for release by Revolution Studios next July.

Earlier this month, more than 900 students attended a casting call for a chance to play one of 200 student "extras" needed for several of the larger scenes, including hooprolling and Convocation. About two dozen other students will work as production assistants during the six days of filming, set to begin September 29. The crew will return to campus in early January for several days of winter scenes.

The College was first approached about the movie in January 2001 when one of the screenwriters came to campus to conduct research for a preliminary draft of the screenplay. In late April this year, after the film had been approved by the studio, Revolution Studios executives contacted the Office for Public Information about the possibility of filming some of the movie on campus. President Walsh and members of the senior administration read the script and agreed that the overall portrayal of the College was favorable and, for the most part, historically accurate. According to David Blinder, vice president for resources and public affairs, "Given the profiles of the lead actresses, the anticipated wide distribution in theaters and the company's interest in filming outdoors on our campus, this offers an unusual opportunity to increase significantly the visibility of the College."

More information about the filming, including digital photos, are available at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/

Celebrations, Ceremony, and Remembrances Mark Start of the Academice Year -- In the month since Wellesley welcomed members of the purple Class of 2006 in late August, the campus has marked several occasions with festivities, ceremony, and remembrance. The class of '06, which includes 594 first-year students from 41 countries, 42 states and the District of Columbia, joined the academic community at Convocation on September 3. Wearing their academic caps and gowns for the first time, members of the senior class processed with the faculty into the ceremony, which included remarks by President Walsh, Interim Dean of Students Michelle Lepore, Associate Deans of the College Andrea Levitt and Andrew Shennan, President of College Government Dana Weekes '03 and Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Victor Kazanjian.

Members of the campus community marked the anniversary of September 11 in a variety of ways. As President Walsh stated in her message to the community, "Each of us will bring our own sense of how we need to revisit -- or not to revisit -- this painful memory. With that in mind, we have developed a variety of opportunities for the community to come together in a spirit of mutual support."

On the evening of September 10, members of the Student Life Division were present in several residence halls to speak with students about the events of the past year. On the morning of the 11th, the carillons tolled at 8:45 so that members of the community could observe a moment of silence at 8:46 am. At 10:29 a.m, Wellesley joined communities across the country in tolling our bells to recognize and honor all those who died in the attacks that day in Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania, and on the flights that originated in Boston, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey. During community time, from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m., faculty, students, and staff gathered on Severance Green for a simple program of commemoration and reflection.

President Walsh's Convocation speech is online at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/President/Speeches/2002/CO090302.html President Walsh's message to the community about 9/11 is online at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/President/Announcements/911anniv.html

Wellesley Ranked High Again By U.S. News & World Report -- For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Wellesley College fourth among national liberal-arts colleges. For the past 11 years, Wellesley has placed among the top five colleges in the annual listing.

Wellesley received kudos for its campus diversity, ranking fifth among liberal-arts colleges in that category. Other outstanding categories for Wellesley include its level of alumnae support, which at 53 percent earned the College the No. 8 "giving rank" in the nation. Another standout category is average freshman retention rate, for which Wellesley boasts a 95 percentage.

"We are pleased that Wellesley College continues to receive national recognition for the high caliber of its liberal-arts education," said Andrea Levitt, associate dean of the college. "Although questions about the methodology used to establish these particular rankings have been raised, we believe that Wellesley's strengths as an institution in terms of students, faculty, staff, and alumnae support are outstanding."

More information is available at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/2002/092402.html

Wellesley Astronaut Set to Blast Off Again -- Pamela Melroy, a member of the class of 1983, is scheduled to pilot the Space Shuttle Atlantis when it begins its journey to the International Space Station on October 2. The mission will be Melroy's second as shuttle pilot; she piloted the Shuttle Discovery on its mission to the space station two years ago. When the shuttle reaches the station, Melroy's colleagues on the shuttle crew will perform three space walks to install a truss onto the space station and outfit it.

On her first Space Shuttle journey, Melroy took a Wellesley memento, a blue Wellesley pennant given to her by two teams of Wellesley physics students who had participated in a NASA program. On this flight, she will take lighting switchplate which will be engraved upon her return and later installed in an area of Wellesley's Whitin Observatory that is scheduled for renovation.





	~Wellesley Wire - 2002~

	Wellesley Wire September 26, 2002 Hollywood Comes to Wellesley As "Mona Lisa Smile" Is Filmed on Campus Celebrations, Ceremony, and Remembrances Mark Start of the Academice Year Wellesley Ranked High Again By U.S. News & World Report Wellesley Astronaut Set to Blast Off Again Hollywood Comes to Wellesley As "Mona Lisa Smile" Is Filmed on Campus -- Parts of the Wellesley campus will be transformed into a movie set as scenes from "Mona Lisa Smile," starring Julia Roberts, are filmed next week. The drama, set during the 1953-54 academic year, stars Roberts as an art history professor who comes to Wellesley from California to teach. She challenges and is challenged by her "students," played by Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and others. The director is Mike Newell, whose films include "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Donnie Brasco." The film is scheduled for release by Revolution Studios next July. Earlier this month, more than 900 students attended a casting call for a chance to play one of 200 student "extras" needed for several of the larger scenes, including hooprolling and Convocation. About two dozen other students will work as production assistants during the six days of filming, set to begin September 29. The crew will return to campus in early January for several days of winter scenes. The College was first approached about the movie in January 2001 when one of the screenwriters came to campus to conduct research for a preliminary draft of the screenplay. In late April this year, after the film had been approved by the studio, Revolution Studios executives contacted the Office for Public Information about the possibility of filming some of the movie on campus. President Walsh and members of the senior administration read the script and agreed that the overall portrayal of the College was favorable and, for the most part, historically accurate. According to David Blinder, vice president for resources and public affairs, "Given the profiles of the lead actresses, the anticipated wide distribution in theaters and the company's interest in filming outdoors on our campus, this offers an unusual opportunity to increase significantly the visibility of the College." More information about the filming, including digital photos, are available at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/ Celebrations, Ceremony, and Remembrances Mark Start of the Academice Year -- In the month since Wellesley welcomed members of the purple Class of 2006 in late August, the campus has marked several occasions with festivities, ceremony, and remembrance. The class of '06, which includes 594 first-year students from 41 countries, 42 states and the District of Columbia, joined the academic community at Convocation on September 3. Wearing their academic caps and gowns for the first time, members of the senior class processed with the faculty into the ceremony, which included remarks by President Walsh, Interim Dean of Students Michelle Lepore, Associate Deans of the College Andrea Levitt and Andrew Shennan, President of College Government Dana Weekes '03 and Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life Victor Kazanjian. Members of the campus community marked the anniversary of September 11 in a variety of ways. As President Walsh stated in her message to the community, "Each of us will bring our own sense of how we need to revisit -- or not to revisit -- this painful memory. With that in mind, we have developed a variety of opportunities for the community to come together in a spirit of mutual support." On the evening of September 10, members of the Student Life Division were present in several residence halls to speak with students about the events of the past year. On the morning of the 11th, the carillons tolled at 8:45 so that members of the community could observe a moment of silence at 8:46 am. At 10:29 a.m, Wellesley joined communities across the country in tolling our bells to recognize and honor all those who died in the attacks that day in Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania, and on the flights that originated in Boston, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey. During community time, from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m., faculty, students, and staff gathered on Severance Green for a simple program of commemoration and reflection. President Walsh's Convocation speech is online at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/President/Speeches/2002/CO090302.html President Walsh's message to the community about 9/11 is online at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/President/Announcements/911anniv.html Wellesley Ranked High Again By U.S. News & World Report -- For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Wellesley College fourth among national liberal-arts colleges. For the past 11 years, Wellesley has placed among the top five colleges in the annual listing. Wellesley received kudos for its campus diversity, ranking fifth among liberal-arts colleges in that category. Other outstanding categories for Wellesley include its level of alumnae support, which at 53 percent earned the College the No. 8 "giving rank" in the nation. Another standout category is average freshman retention rate, for which Wellesley boasts a 95 percentage. "We are pleased that Wellesley College continues to receive national recognition for the high caliber of its liberal-arts education," said Andrea Levitt, associate dean of the college. "Although questions about the methodology used to establish these particular rankings have been raised, we believe that Wellesley's strengths as an institution in terms of students, faculty, staff, and alumnae support are outstanding." More information is available at http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/2002/092402.html Wellesley Astronaut Set to Blast Off Again -- Pamela Melroy, a member of the class of 1983, is scheduled to pilot the Space Shuttle Atlantis when it begins its journey to the International Space Station on October 2. The mission will be Melroy's second as shuttle pilot; she piloted the Shuttle Discovery on its mission to the space station two years ago. When the shuttle reaches the station, Melroy's colleagues on the shuttle crew will perform three space walks to install a truss onto the space station and outfit it. On her first Space Shuttle journey, Melroy took a Wellesley memento, a blue Wellesley pennant given to her by two teams of Wellesley physics students who had participated in a NASA program. On this flight, she will take lighting switchplate which will be engraved upon her return and later installed in an area of Wellesley's Whitin Observatory that is scheduled for renovation. Back to top Back to the Wellesley Wire Archives Back to the Wellesley Wire Homepage

	Office for Public Information Date Last Modified: July 14, 2003

September 26, 2002