Wellesley Wire 12/19/02

First Members of Class of 2007 Receive Acceptance Letters -- The first 123 students of Wellesley's class of 2007 received their coveted early decision acceptance letters earlier this month. The group represents 21% of the expected total class enrollment. The early decision pool of 180 applicants was 17% larger than last year's applicant pool.

Wellesley's Small Telescope Contributes to Big News About Asteroids -- As a new astronomy department instructor at Wellesley College last fall, Stephen M. Slivan proved that small telescopes can yield big discoveries. In fact, his startling findings were reported in the magazine, "Nature," this fall. "The science results reported in 'Nature' reveal a phenomenon that was never before even predicted, namely that some clusters of asteroids have spin directions that are correlated," Slivan said. "All prior theories suggest that they should be random."

Slivan says Wellesley's small 24-inch telescope contributed to the findings. "The fact that small telescopes in the Northeast (Wellesley's 24-inch, MIT's 24-inch and Colgate's 16-inch) can produce results meriting publication in Nature defies the 'common knowledge' that only big observatories at mountaintop sites can do world-class research." Slivan was assisted in his research by Erin Marie Collins '05, who is majoring in psychology and minoring in astronomy.

For more information about Slivan and Collins' work, visit the Science Daily web site at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/11/021126210150.html

Election Reform is Goal of Young Alumna -- Joslyn Benson '98 was featured in a Harvard Law School newsletter last month for her work on federal election reform legislation. With Professor Christopher Edley Jr. '78, co-director of the law school's Civil Rights Project, Benson helped draft legislation, introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton '69, that would set a national limit on the number of "spoiled ballots" allowed in any county in any single election. Benson sees the issue as a civil rights concern since their research shows a correlation between spoiled ballots and race.

After graduating from Wellesley, Benson worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization in Alabama, where she investigated the activities of hate groups such as the Klan, neo-Nazis and the Church of the Creator for a watchdog journal. She also was awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for graduate study at a British university.

The profile of Benson and her research can be found online at http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/today/2002/11/7student.html

Alumna's First Novel Called a "Startling, Memorable Debut" -- "Disturbance of the Inner Ear," the first novel by Joyce Hackett '83 is receiving critical acclaim. Publishers Weekly described the book as "defiantly out of the ordinary," and Kirkus called Hackett "a rare find: a thinking, feeling novelist with a stinging stylistic flair and a monumental story to tell."

Published by Carroll & Graf, the book tells the story of Isabel Masurovsky, a former child prodigy cellist, who has been unable to play or perform for many years. Hackett weaves together the lives of a young plastic surgeon who woos Isabel, an eccentric millionaire who owns one of the world's rarest cellos, and the memories of Isabel's parents, both musicians and Holocaust survivors. The thread that connects them all is the power of music.

Hackett lives in New York City where she is an active member of her neighborhood, serving as president of Morningside Heights Neighbors and chair of the Tri-Community Coalition. Those in the Greater Boston area will be able to hear Hackett read from the book on January 23 at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge.

Gannet News Names Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Chief Financial Officer -- Gracia Mangano Martore '73 has been named chief financial officer (CFO) of Gannett News, a leading international news and information company that owns more than 400 publications, including USA Today. The first woman at Gannett to hold the CFO position, Martore joined the company in 1985 as assistant treasurer and last year was named a senior vice president.





	~Wellesley Wire - 2002~

	Wellesley Wire December 19, 2002 First Members of Class of 2007 Receive Acceptance Letters Wellesley's Small Telescope Contributes to Big News About Asteroids Election Reform is Goal of Young Alumna Alumna's First Novel Called a "Startling, Memorable Debut" Gannet News Names Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Chief Financial Officer First Members of Class of 2007 Receive Acceptance Letters -- The first 123 students of Wellesley's class of 2007 received their coveted early decision acceptance letters earlier this month. The group represents 21% of the expected total class enrollment. The early decision pool of 180 applicants was 17% larger than last year's applicant pool. Wellesley's Small Telescope Contributes to Big News About Asteroids -- As a new astronomy department instructor at Wellesley College last fall, Stephen M. Slivan proved that small telescopes can yield big discoveries. In fact, his startling findings were reported in the magazine, "Nature," this fall. "The science results reported in 'Nature' reveal a phenomenon that was never before even predicted, namely that some clusters of asteroids have spin directions that are correlated," Slivan said. "All prior theories suggest that they should be random." Slivan says Wellesley's small 24-inch telescope contributed to the findings. "The fact that small telescopes in the Northeast (Wellesley's 24-inch, MIT's 24-inch and Colgate's 16-inch) can produce results meriting publication in Nature defies the 'common knowledge' that only big observatories at mountaintop sites can do world-class research." Slivan was assisted in his research by Erin Marie Collins '05, who is majoring in psychology and minoring in astronomy. For more information about Slivan and Collins' work, visit the Science Daily web site at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/11/021126210150.html Election Reform is Goal of Young Alumna -- Joslyn Benson '98 was featured in a Harvard Law School newsletter last month for her work on federal election reform legislation. With Professor Christopher Edley Jr. '78, co-director of the law school's Civil Rights Project, Benson helped draft legislation, introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton '69, that would set a national limit on the number of "spoiled ballots" allowed in any county in any single election. Benson sees the issue as a civil rights concern since their research shows a correlation between spoiled ballots and race. After graduating from Wellesley, Benson worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization in Alabama, where she investigated the activities of hate groups such as the Klan, neo-Nazis and the Church of the Creator for a watchdog journal. She also was awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for graduate study at a British university. The profile of Benson and her research can be found online at http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/today/2002/11/7student.html Alumna's First Novel Called a "Startling, Memorable Debut" -- "Disturbance of the Inner Ear," the first novel by Joyce Hackett '83 is receiving critical acclaim. Publishers Weekly described the book as "defiantly out of the ordinary," and Kirkus called Hackett "a rare find: a thinking, feeling novelist with a stinging stylistic flair and a monumental story to tell." Published by Carroll & Graf, the book tells the story of Isabel Masurovsky, a former child prodigy cellist, who has been unable to play or perform for many years. Hackett weaves together the lives of a young plastic surgeon who woos Isabel, an eccentric millionaire who owns one of the world's rarest cellos, and the memories of Isabel's parents, both musicians and Holocaust survivors. The thread that connects them all is the power of music. Hackett lives in New York City where she is an active member of her neighborhood, serving as president of Morningside Heights Neighbors and chair of the Tri-Community Coalition. Those in the Greater Boston area will be able to hear Hackett read from the book on January 23 at the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge. Gannet News Names Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Chief Financial Officer -- Gracia Mangano Martore '73 has been named chief financial officer (CFO) of Gannett News, a leading international news and information company that owns more than 400 publications, including USA Today. The first woman at Gannett to hold the CFO position, Martore joined the company in 1985 as assistant treasurer and last year was named a senior vice president. Back to top Back to the Wellesley Wire Archives Back to the Wellesley Wire Homepage

	Office for Public Information Date Last Modified: July 7, 2003

December 19, 2002