News

What had begun as a set of urgent repairs to the Margaret Clapp Library grew into a reimagining of how the building might function—not just structurally, but academically and as a more accessible community hub for the campus.

This summer, as Wellesley closes out its 150th anniversary and the United States celebrates its 250th, Katharine Lee Bates 1880 stands as an exemplary scholar, activist, feminist, global citizen, community builder, and person unafraid to be herself.

Ruth J. Simmons’s experience as a Guest Junior at Wellesley helped shape the trajectory of her distinguished career, which has included her roles as the first Black president of Smith College; the first Black president of an Ivy League school, when she took on that role at Brown University; and the first female president of Prairie View A&M University.

Lulu Chow Wang’s experiences in the Jewett Arts Center helped fuel her lifelong passion for the arts. Now, Wang and her husband, Tony, have made a $25 million gift to the College to help enable the renewal of the masterpiece of modernism.

With federal money gone, Wellesley alums in public media discuss the industry’s past and how it’s charting a path forward.

Generations of alumnae have been leaders in the study of monkeys and apes, revealing surprising truths about primate society, parenthood, and decision-making.

Sixty years of transformation with Wellesley’s Mary Elvira Stevens Traveling Fellowship

In November 2025, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center hosted the “We the People” summit, bringing together diverse leaders to discuss bridge-building across political divides.

“Because I grew up in Dhaka, in Bangladesh, right in the middle of the smoggy, light-polluted city, I do not remember seeing any star,” says Lamiya Mowla ’13, assistant professor of astronomy. That changed when she arrived at Wellesley.