Inaugural Partnership Kicks Off Global Initiative to Educate the Next Generation of Women Leaders

June 5, 2013

In January, Wellesley announced a major global initiative with a critical mission: to educate the next generation of women leaders around the world. The academic program of
The Wellesley College-Peking University Partnership for Women’s Leadership in a Global Era begins today at Peking University in Beijing, China.

Twenty Wellesley students have traveled to Beijing to participate in this intensive 10-day academic program alongside 20 female students from Peking University. Supported by faculty from both institutions, outstanding practitioners from the field, and thought leaders from around the world, these 40 young women will work together to examine a number of issues connected to worldwide urbanization, including issues such as economic inequality, wildlife preservation, and food scarcity. The initiative represents the College’s most wide-reaching effort to date to educate women for leadership and invest in women’s leadership on a global scale.

On Saturday, June 8, Madeleine Albright ’59 will officially launch Women World Partners at Peking University with a keynote address. She will also teach a master class for the 40 students and lead a faculty forum on the importance of the liberal arts disciplines in a global world. Further, Secretary Albright will mark the start of Wellesley’s new global initiative with a reception at the United States Embassy attended by women leaders from both the United States and China.

The academic program will culminate in a one-day summit, Women’s Leadership: Making a Difference in the World on Friday, June 15. Students are included in this invitation-only gathering of influential and emerging women leaders, from field of public service, science, education, media, art, and business.

After the Institute concludes, the Wellesley College/Peking University Partnership will continue with faculty and student exchanges, joint research, virtual collaborations, and more. And in 2014, Peking University students will travel to Wellesley for another joint academic program supported by faculty from both institutions and based on the unique interdisciplinary pedagogy developed for Wellesley’s Albright Institute for Global Affairs. Wellesley will announce the next international partnership in 2014.

The Wellesley students (and new alumnae) participating in the 2013 Institute are:

  • Bonner Campbell ’13, Economics
  • Eve Davis ’14, International Relations-History
  • Wenyan Deng ’15, International Relations-Political Science, History
  • Neha Doshi ’15, Economics
  • Isabella Dougherty ’15, Economics, Chinese Language and Literature
  • Kristina Xinxin Duan ’15, Economics
  • Graeme Durovich ’15, South Asian Studies
  • Jiaqi Fan ’14, History, Economics
  • Hana Glasser ’15, American Studies
  • Mallika Govindan ’14, Biological Sciences
  • Narayani Gupta ’15, Economics
  • Kaley Haskell ’14, English
  • Lynn Hsu ’15, Chemistry, Chinese
  • Diana Huynh ’15, Political Science, Art History
  • Mackenzie Klema ’14, Environmental Studies, History
  • Naima Pittman ’15, English, Psychology
  • Sara Sassone ’14, Political Science
  • Josie-Dee Seagren ’14, Chinese Language and Literature
  • Alice Sun ’15, Art History, Chemistry
  • Claire Tam ’15, Political Science