Knapp Social Science Center

The Knapp Social Science Center (KSSC), located at Pendleton Hall East in the heart of the Academic Quad, serves three purposes:

Support student and faculty research, promoting the exploration of complex issues such as health, the environment, poverty, and social justice.
Provide a rich program of events, including lectures, colloquia, panel discussions, community-building activities, and informal gatherings.
Support innovative approaches to teaching, including community engagement and interdisciplinary learning initiatives.

Faculty research examples

Professor Chipo Dendere is researching how some of Africa’s first ladies have influenced national policy-making; her investigations will culminate in a forthcoming book. Hailey Lunceford ’26 assisted with research as a 2023 SSSRP fellow.
The science and human experience of COVID are the subjects of Professor Anastasia Karakasidou’s research. Hailin Cao ’26 (center) researched COVID and anti-Asian American rhetoric, and Maisie Boren ’26 (right) researched long COVID.
Professor Kyung Park is working on three projects: COVID-19 and anti-Asian sentiment, racial classification using online data sources, and improvements in home price indices.

Thesis fellowship research examples

Danielle Ellis ’25, a double major in environmental studies and philosophy, drew on numerous sources to explore the factors that influence rights granted to non-human natural entities.
Jab’ellalih Ixmatá Schaaff ’25, a cognitive and linguistic sciences major, investigated how the tenseless language of K’ichee’ interacts with the heavily tensed language Spanish.

Origins of the KSSC

Elizabeth “Betsy” Wood Knapp ’64 was a pioneering tech entrepreneur, angel investor, and passionate philanthropist. She developed online computer access to consumer databases as well as decision-support systems for the media and advertising industries. Holding leadership positions at tech and media businesses, Betsy pushed the transition to interactive computer technology and electronic products. A longtime member of Wellesley’s Board of Trustees, Betsy was a powerhouse philanthropist, and, with her husband Bud, funded significant projects at Wellesley, UCLA, and elsewhere.