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Wellesley College (Massachusetts)
Encyclopedia
Wellesley College is a private, highly selective women's
liberal arts college
located in Wellesley, Massachusetts
, United States
. Its 500 acres (202.3 ha) campus is located approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Boston
.
Boston lawyer and lay preacher Henry Fowle Durant
and his wife Pauline Fowle Durant founded the college in 1870 and enrollment began in 1875. Wellesley is one of the original Seven Sisters Colleges
. After the destruction of the central College Hall in 1914, the college adopted a master plan developed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
, Arthur Shurcliff, and Ralph Adams Cram
in 1921 and expanded into several new buildings. The campus hosted a Naval Reserve Officer training program during the second World War
and began to revise its curriculum significantly after the war and through the late 1960s.
Wellesley enrolls approximately 2,400 women in fifty-six baccalaureate degree programs. The college also offers research collaborations and cross-registration programs with other Boston-area institutions such as Babson College
, Olin College, MIT
, and Brandeis University
. Wellesley students have a number of traditions and also participate in 14 varsity sports in the NCAA Division III's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
.
Founded by Henry and Pauline Fowle Durant, the charter for Wellesley College was signed on March 17, 1870 by Massachusetts Governor William Claflin
. The original name of the College was the Wellesley Female Seminary, and the renaming to Wellesley College was approved by the Massachusetts
legislature on March 7, 1873. Opening day was September 8, 1875.
The first president of Wellesley was Ada Howard
. There have been twelve more presidents in its history: Alice Elvira Freeman Palmer, Helen Almira Shafer
, Julia Josephine Thomas Irvine, Caroline Hazard, Ellen Fitz Pendleton
, Mildred H. McAfee
(later Mildred McAfee Horton), Margaret Clapp, Ruth M. Adams, Barbara Wayne Newell, Nannerl Overholser Keohane
(later the president of Duke University
from 1993–2004), Diana Chapman Walsh and H. Kim Bottomly.
The original architecture of the College consisted of one very large building, College Hall, which was approximately 150 meters in length, and up to five stories in height. The architect was Hammatt Billings
. From its completion in 1875 until 1914, it was both a principal academic building and a principal residential building. On March 17, 1914 College Hall was destroyed by fire. The precise cause of the fire was never officially established. The fire was first noticed by students who lived on the fourth floor near the zoology laboratory. It has been suggested that an electrical or chemical accident in this laboratory- specifically, an electrical incubator used in the breeding of beetles- triggered the fire. A group of residence halls, known as the Tower Court complex, are located on top of the hill where the old College Hall once stood. Wellesley is also home to Green Hall, the only building bearing the name of famed miser Hetty Green
; Galen L. Stone Tower, in which a 32-bell Carillon
is housed, is part of the building.
Like other women's colleges, Wellesley considered going co-ed in the late 1960s. A combination of financial issues and student unrest led to the creation of a commission to decide the future of the college. This committee voted to start admitting men. However, Wellesley's board of trustees rejected this proposal, and the college remained a women's school.
.
Frederick Law Olmsted
, Jr., Boston's preeminent landscape architect at the beginning of the 20th century, described Wellesley's landscape as "not merely beautiful, but with a marked individual character not represented so far as I know on the ground of any other college in the country." He also wrote: "I must admit that the exceedingly intricate and complex topography and the peculiarly scattered arrangement of most of the buildings somewhat baffled me."
The original master plan for Wellesley's campus landscape was developed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
, Arthur Shurcliff, and Ralph Adams Cram
in 1921. This landscape-based concept represented a break from the architecturally-defined courtyard and quadrangle campus arrangement that was typical of American campuses at the time. The 720 acres (2.9 km²) site's glaciated topography, a series of meadows, and native plant communities shaped the original layout of the campus, resulting in a campus architecture that is integrated into its landscape. The most recent master plan for Wellesley College was completed in 1998 by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Associates, Inc. (MVVA). According to the designers, this plan was intended to restore and recapture the original landscape character of the campus that had been partially lost as the campus evolved through the 20th century.
, class of 1966. As of June 30, 2008, the endowment for this college was about $1.63 billion. Wellesley's last fund-raising campaign, in 2005, set a record for liberal arts colleges with a total of $472.3 million, 18.1% more than the goal of $400 million. According to data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education
, Wellesley's campaign total is the largest of any liberal arts college.
The college also has a special program for students over age 24, called the Elizabeth H. Kaiser Davis Degree Scholar Program. The program allows women who, for various reasons, were unable to start or complete a bachelor's degree at a younger age, to attend Wellesley.
Noted faculty currently at Wellesley include:
, behind Williams
, Amherst
and Swarthmore
. In addition, Forbes' 2010 "America's Best Colleges" ranked Wellesley College as #12. In 2009 Forbes ranked Wellesley College #6, ahead of schools such as Stanford and Yale. In July 2010, The Global Language Monitor
's TrendTopper MediaBuzz analysis ranked Wellesley College as the #6 college in the U.S., based on an analysis of appearances in the global print and electronic media, on the Internet, throughout the blogosphere, and social media such as Twitter. The College is ranked #10 in the 2010 Washington Monthly ranking of liberal arts colleges, which purports to measure "Social Mobility," "Research," and "Service."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wellesley College also ranks fifth in the top liberal arts colleges (#15 as one of the top total undergraduate colleges) for sending more students to the selected 15, elite graduate school programs in medicine, law, and business. Wellesley College is one of the Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence
in a college educational guide published in 2000.
Nearly all students live on campus in one of the 21 residence halls. Some cooperative housing is available. Wellesley offers housing for Davis Scholars
as well, though not for their children or spouses, which is an issue of constant debate on campus.
A June 3, 2008 article in The New York Times
discussed the move by women's colleges in the United States
to promote their schools in the Middle East
. The article noted that in doing so, the schools promote the work of graduates of women's colleges such as Hillary Rodham Clinton
, Emily Dickinson
, Diane Sawyer
, Katharine Hepburn
and Madeleine K. Albright. The Dean of Admissions of Bryn Mawr College
noted, "We still prepare a disproportionate number of women scientists [...] We’re really about the empowerment of women and enabling women to get a top-notch education."
For more than 30 years, Wellesley has had a cross-registration program with MIT. In recent years, cross-registration opportunities have expanded to include nearby Babson College
, Brandeis University
, and Olin College of Engineering
. To facilitate cross-registration, the College operates a bus, the Wellesley College Exchange Bus, to the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts
as well as a bus to the Olin College campus in Needham, Massachusetts
.
The College has approximately 180 student organizations, ranging from cultural and political organizations to community service, campus radio
, and club sports
.
The College also has five dining halls, one each in Pomeroy, Tower Court, Stone-Davis, and Bates Halls, and another in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center. Additional food options on campus include a convenience store
/coffee shop in the Campus Center, a bakery in Claflin Hall, Collins Café outside the movie theater, the Leaky Beaker inside the Science Centre, El Table, a sandwich shop located in Founders Hall (an academic building housing many of the humanities classes) that uses many local and organic products, and the Cafe Hoop, a coffee shop in the basement of the Campus Center that is known for its late hours and gay-friendly environment. Next to Cafe Hoop is the pub, Punch's Alley, which serves alcohol to those over 21. The pub hosts several parties over the course of the year.
Wellesley College does not have any sororities, but rather, it has societies that are technically social and academic clubs. These includes the Shakespeare Society, Alpha Phi Sigma Lecture Society, Tau Zeta Epsilon Arts and Music Society, and Society Zeta Alpha, the Literary Society. The four societies sponsor many lectures on campus, bring in speakers, and contribute funding to academic departments and organizations that wish to hold lectures. Phi Sigma, Tau Zeta Epsilon, and Zeta Alpha hold a process similar to "rushing" a sorority that is called "tea-ing." These societies are known on campus as some of the few groups who hold parties on campus.
In addition to the societies, many of the multicultural student organizations have parties. The Wellesley College radio station, WZLY 91.5 FM, also sponsors parties every semester. Dyke Ball, one of the most well-attended parties on campus, is a "creative black-tie" event hosted by Spectrum, Wellesley's LGBT organization.
There are several a cappella groups at Wellesley, four all-female and one co-ed group with MIT. The Wellesley College Tupelos, founded in 1949, are known for their red and black attire. In 2010 they won the renowned ICCA Quarterfinals and advanced to the ICCA Semifinals for the first time in their history. They were also featured, along with the Tufts Beezlebubs, in a documentary in Spring 2010 on New England Cable News (NECN). The Blue Notes, founded in 1954, are known for their black and blue clothing and their more jazzy style of music, and they had the opportunity in 2009 to meet and record music with musician Ben Folds. The Wellesley Widows, founded in 1949, sing a variety of music genres and are known for their all-black attire at concerts. The Wellesley/MIT Toons, founded in 1990, provide an opportunity for co-ed a cappella for Wellesley students.
Christian student groups are also present on campus and include Asian Baptist Student Koinonia, Awaken the Dawn, CityLife at Wellesley, Real Life Wellesley Christian Fellowship, and Wellesley InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
, Wellesley College has many traditions, many of them carried over from the late 19th century.
Hoop rolling
is also a highly competitive annual tradition at the college dating back to 1895. Each upperclasswoman has a wooden hoop, often passed down to her from her "big sister". Before graduation, the seniors, wearing their graduation robes, run a short race while rolling their hoops. The winner of the race is said to be the first woman in her class to achieve success however she defines it, though this title has itself changed over the years (in early 20th century, it used to be the first woman to get married, later the first woman to become a CEO ). She is also awarded flowers by the college president and tossed into Lake Waban. The tossing of the winner into the lake began several decades ago when a Harvard University male, dressed as a Wellesley student, won the race. When, upon his victory, it was discovered that he wasn’t a Wellesley student, he was thrown into the lake. The night before the race, many "little sisters" will camp out on the racecourse near the Library to save a good starting position for their "big sisters".
Some other traditions include step-singing, dorm and class crew races, "Lake Day", "Spring Week", and "Marathon Monday". Each graduating class plants a tree during its sophomore year. Class trees, as they are called, can be found all over the campus, marked with each class year on a stone at the base of the tree. During sophomore year, students also design and purchase class sweatshirts.
Step-singing is one of the college's oldest traditions and occurs twice during the year. Each graduation class has its own color (purple, red, green, or yellow). Students dress in their class colors and they sing songs on the steps of the chapel. In between some of the songs, the classes shout cheers that make fun of the other classes.
Each fall, on a date that is not announced until the night before, students celebrate Lake Day. The event consists of fun outdoor activities ranging from fried-dough stands to moonwalks and is deejayed by the college radio station, WZLY. In the past, students skipped classes on Lake Day, but in recent years professors have objected to the practice and hold classes as planned.
One of the most popular traditions is the celebration of Marathon Monday which occurs on Patriots Day each spring, and is highlighted by the Boston Marathon
. The course of this marathon passes the college campus, which marks the race's halfway point. Students line up along the street with posters and cheer for the runners. Since they are so loud, the students have created what is widely known as the "Wellesley Scream Tunnel".
Spring Week, held in April, is a series of concerts sponsored by SBOG (Schneider Board of Governors). It was originally a week long (hence the name Spring Week), but has expanded to encompass nearly a month's worth of events.
Since 1970 three alumnae are honored at the Alumnae Achievement Awards every February for outstanding achievements in their respective fields.
Ruhlman and Tanner Conferences, supported by Wellesley alumnae, are held every year for students to share their learning experience within the college community. Classes are usually canceled on these days. Tanner Conference is held in the fall to celebrate outside-the-classroom education, including internships and summer or winter session research projects. Ruhlman, in the spring, is a chance for students to present projects they’ve been working on in courses or independent research during the year. Both conferences encompass panels, readings, and multimedia projects.
Before finals, Wellesley has midnight breakfast
every semester when students can take a break and eat late-night snacks with other fellow classmates that will be staying up late studying for exams.
companies than any other college in the country.
Alums have gone on to careers in a wide range of fields, including medicine, law, politics, the sciences and the arts. Graduates include Jane Bolin (1928), Hillary Rodham Clinton
(1969), Nora Ephron (1962), Katie Johnson (2003), Madeleine Albright (1959), Connie Martinson
(1953), Pamela Melroy (1983), Dr. Vivian Pinn (1962), Cokie Roberts (1964), and Diane Sawyer (1967).
was filmed on the Wellesley campus and the college was referred to in the plot as extremely conservative. In a message to Wellesley alumnae concerning the film, Wellesley College president Diana Chapman Walsh expressed regret, given that many alumnae from the 1950s felt that the film's portrayal of Wellesley was inaccurate.
In the television cartoon Family Guy
, episode The Story on Page One
, Meg Griffin
is visiting Brown University
. During the visit she says, "I've wanted to go to Brown ever since I was a little girl! Well, actually, I really wanted to go to Wellesley. But my mom said I might as well buy hiking boots and call myself a lesbian right now." To which Lois Griffin
replies, "Meg, eat your salad."
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
liberal arts college
Liberal arts colleges in the United States
Liberal arts colleges in the United States are certain undergraduate institutions of higher education in the United States. The Encyclopædia Britannica Concise offers a definition of the liberal arts as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general...
located in Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its 500 acres (202.3 ha) campus is located approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Boston lawyer and lay preacher Henry Fowle Durant
Henry Fowle Durant
Henry Fowle Durant was an American lawyer and philanthropist. Durant was born in Hanover, New Hampshire.He graduated from Harvard in 1841, studied law, and subsequently practiced in Boston...
and his wife Pauline Fowle Durant founded the college in 1870 and enrollment began in 1875. Wellesley is one of the original Seven Sisters Colleges
Seven Sisters (colleges)
The Seven Sisters are seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. They are Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Radcliffe College, Smith College, Vassar College, and Wellesley College. All were founded between 1837 and...
. After the destruction of the central College Hall in 1914, the college adopted a master plan developed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was an American landscape architect best known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. Olmsted Point in Yosemite and Olmsted Island at Great Falls...
, Arthur Shurcliff, and Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
in 1921 and expanded into several new buildings. The campus hosted a Naval Reserve Officer training program during the second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and began to revise its curriculum significantly after the war and through the late 1960s.
Wellesley enrolls approximately 2,400 women in fifty-six baccalaureate degree programs. The college also offers research collaborations and cross-registration programs with other Boston-area institutions such as Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
, Olin College, MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, and Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
. Wellesley students have a number of traditions and also participate in 14 varsity sports in the NCAA Division III's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III...
.
History
William Claflin
William Claflin was an industrialist and philanthropist who served as the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1869–1872 and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881....
. The original name of the College was the Wellesley Female Seminary, and the renaming to Wellesley College was approved by the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
legislature on March 7, 1873. Opening day was September 8, 1875.
The first president of Wellesley was Ada Howard
Ada Howard
Ada Howard was the first president of Wellesley College.Howard graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1853. Before joining Wellesley, she taught at Western College in Ohio and was principal of the Woman's Department of Knox College.She was president of Wellesley from 1875-1881.-External links:*...
. There have been twelve more presidents in its history: Alice Elvira Freeman Palmer, Helen Almira Shafer
Helen Almira Shafer
Helen Almira Shafer was a president of Wellesley College. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1863, she was a teacher of mathematics at Central High School in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1865 until 1875. In 1877, she became professor of mathematics at Wellesley...
, Julia Josephine Thomas Irvine, Caroline Hazard, Ellen Fitz Pendleton
Ellen Fitz Pendleton
Ellen Fitz Pendleton was an American college president. She was born at Westerly, R. I, and educated at Wellesley College and at Newnham College, Cambridge...
, Mildred H. McAfee
Mildred H. McAfee
Mildred Helen McAfee Horton was an American academic who served during World War II as first director of the WAVES in the United States Navy.-Early life:...
(later Mildred McAfee Horton), Margaret Clapp, Ruth M. Adams, Barbara Wayne Newell, Nannerl Overholser Keohane
Nannerl O. Keohane
Nannerl "Nan" Overholser Keohane is an American political theorist and former president of Wellesley College and Duke University. Currently Keohane is the Lawrence S...
(later the president of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
from 1993–2004), Diana Chapman Walsh and H. Kim Bottomly.
The original architecture of the College consisted of one very large building, College Hall, which was approximately 150 meters in length, and up to five stories in height. The architect was Hammatt Billings
Hammatt Billings
Charles Howland Hammatt Billings was an artist and architect from Boston, Massachusetts.Among his works are the original illustrations for Uncle Tom's Cabin ,...
. From its completion in 1875 until 1914, it was both a principal academic building and a principal residential building. On March 17, 1914 College Hall was destroyed by fire. The precise cause of the fire was never officially established. The fire was first noticed by students who lived on the fourth floor near the zoology laboratory. It has been suggested that an electrical or chemical accident in this laboratory- specifically, an electrical incubator used in the breeding of beetles- triggered the fire. A group of residence halls, known as the Tower Court complex, are located on top of the hill where the old College Hall once stood. Wellesley is also home to Green Hall, the only building bearing the name of famed miser Hetty Green
Hetty Green
Hetty Green , nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" , was an American businesswoman, remarkable for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street.-Birth and early years:She was born Henrietta Howland Robinson in New...
; Galen L. Stone Tower, in which a 32-bell Carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
is housed, is part of the building.
Like other women's colleges, Wellesley considered going co-ed in the late 1960s. A combination of financial issues and student unrest led to the creation of a commission to decide the future of the college. This committee voted to start admitting men. However, Wellesley's board of trustees rejected this proposal, and the college remained a women's school.
Campus
The college is renowned for the picturesque beauty of its 500 acres (202.3 ha) campus which includes Lake Waban, evergreen and deciduous woodlands, open meadows, as well as the naturalistic Wellesley College Botanic GardensWellesley College Botanic Gardens
The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens are botanical gardens located on the campus of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts...
.
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, Jr., Boston's preeminent landscape architect at the beginning of the 20th century, described Wellesley's landscape as "not merely beautiful, but with a marked individual character not represented so far as I know on the ground of any other college in the country." He also wrote: "I must admit that the exceedingly intricate and complex topography and the peculiarly scattered arrangement of most of the buildings somewhat baffled me."
The original master plan for Wellesley's campus landscape was developed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was an American landscape architect best known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. Olmsted Point in Yosemite and Olmsted Island at Great Falls...
, Arthur Shurcliff, and Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
in 1921. This landscape-based concept represented a break from the architecturally-defined courtyard and quadrangle campus arrangement that was typical of American campuses at the time. The 720 acres (2.9 km²) site's glaciated topography, a series of meadows, and native plant communities shaped the original layout of the campus, resulting in a campus architecture that is integrated into its landscape. The most recent master plan for Wellesley College was completed in 1998 by Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael R. Van Valkenburgh is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France including public parks, college campuses, sculpture gardens, city courtyards, corporate landscapes, and private gardens-Early...
Associates, Inc. (MVVA). According to the designers, this plan was intended to restore and recapture the original landscape character of the campus that had been partially lost as the campus evolved through the 20th century.
Organization and administration
The current president of Wellesley College is H. Kim Bottomly. The previous president was Diana Chapman WalshDiana Chapman Walsh
Diana Chapman Walsh, was President of Wellesley College, from 1993 to 2007. During her tenure, the college revised its curriculum and expanded its programs in global education, internships and service learning, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning...
, class of 1966. As of June 30, 2008, the endowment for this college was about $1.63 billion. Wellesley's last fund-raising campaign, in 2005, set a record for liberal arts colleges with a total of $472.3 million, 18.1% more than the goal of $400 million. According to data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
, Wellesley's campaign total is the largest of any liberal arts college.
Academics
According to admissions literature, classes at Wellesley average 12 to 24 students per class, and there are approximately nine students for every faculty member. Wellesley's libraries contain over 1.5 million catalogued books, journals, media recordings, maps, and other items. Wellesley has 30 academic departments, each offering a major, as well as 17 interdepartmental majors and an option for an individual major, designed by the student.The college also has a special program for students over age 24, called the Elizabeth H. Kaiser Davis Degree Scholar Program. The program allows women who, for various reasons, were unable to start or complete a bachelor's degree at a younger age, to attend Wellesley.
Noted faculty currently at Wellesley include:
- Karl Case, an economist who researchs real estate and developed the Case-Shiller index with Robert ShillerRobert ShillerRobert James "Bob" Shiller is an American economist, academic, and best-selling author. He currently serves as the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University and is a Fellow at the Yale International Center for Finance, Yale School of Management...
from Yale and Allan Weiss. - Frank BidartFrank BidartFrank Bidart is an American academic and poet.-Biography:In 1957, he began to study at the University of California at Riverside and went on to Harvard, where he was a student and friend of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop...
, a poet, whose work has been nominated for the Pulitzer prize. - Jennie Pyers, a psychologist who studied the development of a sign language in Nicaragua.
- Paul Wink, a clinical psychologist who studied links between gender and character traits.
Rankings
In its 2012 edition of the guidebook,"The Best 376 Colleges", The Princeton Review ranked Wellesley College faculty as the best professors in the nation. According to the 2010 U.S. News and World Report rankings, Wellesley College is the #4 liberal arts college in the United States, tied with Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, behind Williams
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Amherst
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and Swarthmore
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
. In addition, Forbes' 2010 "America's Best Colleges" ranked Wellesley College as #12. In 2009 Forbes ranked Wellesley College #6, ahead of schools such as Stanford and Yale. In July 2010, The Global Language Monitor
Global Language Monitor
The Global Language Monitor is an Austin, Texas-based company that collectively documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language...
's TrendTopper MediaBuzz analysis ranked Wellesley College as the #6 college in the U.S., based on an analysis of appearances in the global print and electronic media, on the Internet, throughout the blogosphere, and social media such as Twitter. The College is ranked #10 in the 2010 Washington Monthly ranking of liberal arts colleges, which purports to measure "Social Mobility," "Research," and "Service."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wellesley College also ranks fifth in the top liberal arts colleges (#15 as one of the top total undergraduate colleges) for sending more students to the selected 15, elite graduate school programs in medicine, law, and business. Wellesley College is one of the Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence
Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence
Hidden Ivies: Thirty Colleges of Excellence is a college educational guide published in 2000. It concerns college admissions in the United States...
in a college educational guide published in 2000.
Student life
Wellesley's 2,400 students come from more than 62 countries and every state of the United States.Nearly all students live on campus in one of the 21 residence halls. Some cooperative housing is available. Wellesley offers housing for Davis Scholars
Non-traditional students
Non-traditional student is an American English term referring to some students at tertiary educational institutions. The National Center for Education Statistics acknowledges there is no precise definition for non-traditional student, but suggests that part-time status and age are common elements...
as well, though not for their children or spouses, which is an issue of constant debate on campus.
A June 3, 2008 article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
discussed the move by women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that exclude or limit males from admission. They are often liberal arts colleges...
to promote their schools in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The article noted that in doing so, the schools promote the work of graduates of women's colleges such as Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
, Diane Sawyer
Diane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Madeleine K. Albright. The Dean of Admissions of Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
noted, "We still prepare a disproportionate number of women scientists [...] We’re really about the empowerment of women and enabling women to get a top-notch education."
For more than 30 years, Wellesley has had a cross-registration program with MIT. In recent years, cross-registration opportunities have expanded to include nearby Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
, Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, and Olin College of Engineering
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering is a private undergraduate engineering college located in Needham, Massachusetts , adjacent to the Babson College campus. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its youth, small size, project-based curriculum, and large endowment funded...
. To facilitate cross-registration, the College operates a bus, the Wellesley College Exchange Bus, to the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
as well as a bus to the Olin College campus in Needham, Massachusetts
Needham, Massachusetts
Needham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 28,886 at the 2010 census.- History :...
.
The College has approximately 180 student organizations, ranging from cultural and political organizations to community service, campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
, and club sports
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
.
The College also has five dining halls, one each in Pomeroy, Tower Court, Stone-Davis, and Bates Halls, and another in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center. Additional food options on campus include a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
/coffee shop in the Campus Center, a bakery in Claflin Hall, Collins Café outside the movie theater, the Leaky Beaker inside the Science Centre, El Table, a sandwich shop located in Founders Hall (an academic building housing many of the humanities classes) that uses many local and organic products, and the Cafe Hoop, a coffee shop in the basement of the Campus Center that is known for its late hours and gay-friendly environment. Next to Cafe Hoop is the pub, Punch's Alley, which serves alcohol to those over 21. The pub hosts several parties over the course of the year.
Wellesley College does not have any sororities, but rather, it has societies that are technically social and academic clubs. These includes the Shakespeare Society, Alpha Phi Sigma Lecture Society, Tau Zeta Epsilon Arts and Music Society, and Society Zeta Alpha, the Literary Society. The four societies sponsor many lectures on campus, bring in speakers, and contribute funding to academic departments and organizations that wish to hold lectures. Phi Sigma, Tau Zeta Epsilon, and Zeta Alpha hold a process similar to "rushing" a sorority that is called "tea-ing." These societies are known on campus as some of the few groups who hold parties on campus.
In addition to the societies, many of the multicultural student organizations have parties. The Wellesley College radio station, WZLY 91.5 FM, also sponsors parties every semester. Dyke Ball, one of the most well-attended parties on campus, is a "creative black-tie" event hosted by Spectrum, Wellesley's LGBT organization.
There are several a cappella groups at Wellesley, four all-female and one co-ed group with MIT. The Wellesley College Tupelos, founded in 1949, are known for their red and black attire. In 2010 they won the renowned ICCA Quarterfinals and advanced to the ICCA Semifinals for the first time in their history. They were also featured, along with the Tufts Beezlebubs, in a documentary in Spring 2010 on New England Cable News (NECN). The Blue Notes, founded in 1954, are known for their black and blue clothing and their more jazzy style of music, and they had the opportunity in 2009 to meet and record music with musician Ben Folds. The Wellesley Widows, founded in 1949, sing a variety of music genres and are known for their all-black attire at concerts. The Wellesley/MIT Toons, founded in 1990, provide an opportunity for co-ed a cappella for Wellesley students.
Christian student groups are also present on campus and include Asian Baptist Student Koinonia, Awaken the Dawn, CityLife at Wellesley, Real Life Wellesley Christian Fellowship, and Wellesley InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
Traditions
Wellesley College has a lake and path around the lake which is about 3 miles (4.8 km) total. In the beginning of their first year, the women take a moonlight swim in Lake Waban. As is the case with many colleges, especially the Seven SistersSeven Sisters (colleges)
The Seven Sisters are seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. They are Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Radcliffe College, Smith College, Vassar College, and Wellesley College. All were founded between 1837 and...
, Wellesley College has many traditions, many of them carried over from the late 19th century.
Hoop rolling
Hoop rolling
Hoop rolling, also called hoop trundling, is both a sport and a child's game in which a large hoop is rolled along the ground, generally by means of an implement wielded by the player. The aim of the game is to keep the hoop upright for long periods of time or to do various tricks.Hoop rolling has...
is also a highly competitive annual tradition at the college dating back to 1895. Each upperclasswoman has a wooden hoop, often passed down to her from her "big sister". Before graduation, the seniors, wearing their graduation robes, run a short race while rolling their hoops. The winner of the race is said to be the first woman in her class to achieve success however she defines it, though this title has itself changed over the years (in early 20th century, it used to be the first woman to get married, later the first woman to become a CEO ). She is also awarded flowers by the college president and tossed into Lake Waban. The tossing of the winner into the lake began several decades ago when a Harvard University male, dressed as a Wellesley student, won the race. When, upon his victory, it was discovered that he wasn’t a Wellesley student, he was thrown into the lake. The night before the race, many "little sisters" will camp out on the racecourse near the Library to save a good starting position for their "big sisters".
Some other traditions include step-singing, dorm and class crew races, "Lake Day", "Spring Week", and "Marathon Monday". Each graduating class plants a tree during its sophomore year. Class trees, as they are called, can be found all over the campus, marked with each class year on a stone at the base of the tree. During sophomore year, students also design and purchase class sweatshirts.
Step-singing is one of the college's oldest traditions and occurs twice during the year. Each graduation class has its own color (purple, red, green, or yellow). Students dress in their class colors and they sing songs on the steps of the chapel. In between some of the songs, the classes shout cheers that make fun of the other classes.
Each fall, on a date that is not announced until the night before, students celebrate Lake Day. The event consists of fun outdoor activities ranging from fried-dough stands to moonwalks and is deejayed by the college radio station, WZLY. In the past, students skipped classes on Lake Day, but in recent years professors have objected to the practice and hold classes as planned.
One of the most popular traditions is the celebration of Marathon Monday which occurs on Patriots Day each spring, and is highlighted by the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
. The course of this marathon passes the college campus, which marks the race's halfway point. Students line up along the street with posters and cheer for the runners. Since they are so loud, the students have created what is widely known as the "Wellesley Scream Tunnel".
Spring Week, held in April, is a series of concerts sponsored by SBOG (Schneider Board of Governors). It was originally a week long (hence the name Spring Week), but has expanded to encompass nearly a month's worth of events.
Since 1970 three alumnae are honored at the Alumnae Achievement Awards every February for outstanding achievements in their respective fields.
Ruhlman and Tanner Conferences, supported by Wellesley alumnae, are held every year for students to share their learning experience within the college community. Classes are usually canceled on these days. Tanner Conference is held in the fall to celebrate outside-the-classroom education, including internships and summer or winter session research projects. Ruhlman, in the spring, is a chance for students to present projects they’ve been working on in courses or independent research during the year. Both conferences encompass panels, readings, and multimedia projects.
Before finals, Wellesley has midnight breakfast
Midnight breakfast
Midnight breakfast is a generic term for a communal meal served at some American colleges and universities. Menu items that are generally considered breakfast foods are served in the school's dining hall late at night as a study break before or during final exams, or as a traditional...
every semester when students can take a break and eat late-night snacks with other fellow classmates that will be staying up late studying for exams.
Student body
Fifty-six percent of all Wellesley students receive financial aid. In February 2008, the College eliminated offering financial-aid loans to students from families with incomes under $60,000 (and for international students and Davis Scholars) and it lowered the total amount of student loans by one-third (to a maximum of $8,600 total over four years) to students from families with incomes between $60,000 and $100,000. The maximum loan level for other students on aid is $12,825 total for four years. Wellesley is one of few colleges or universities to meet 100% of a student's demonstrated financial need.Alumnae
Wellesley has been the alma mater of many women in top positions in American corporations. Wellesley has also graduated more female directors of Fortune 500Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies than any other college in the country.
Alums have gone on to careers in a wide range of fields, including medicine, law, politics, the sciences and the arts. Graduates include Jane Bolin (1928), Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
(1969), Nora Ephron (1962), Katie Johnson (2003), Madeleine Albright (1959), Connie Martinson
Connie Martinson
Constance Frye Martinson is an American writer and television personality. Since its 1979 debut, she has hosted the syndicated television show Connie Martinson Talks Books, which airs on public television. She is married to American film director Leslie H. Martinson...
(1953), Pamela Melroy (1983), Dr. Vivian Pinn (1962), Cokie Roberts (1964), and Diane Sawyer (1967).
In Culture
The film Mona Lisa SmileMona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles...
was filmed on the Wellesley campus and the college was referred to in the plot as extremely conservative. In a message to Wellesley alumnae concerning the film, Wellesley College president Diana Chapman Walsh expressed regret, given that many alumnae from the 1950s felt that the film's portrayal of Wellesley was inaccurate.
In the television cartoon Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, episode The Story on Page One
The Story on Page One
"The Story on Page One" is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated series Family Guy. It is the 26th episode of Family Guy. It guest-stars Luke Perry as himself.-Plot:...
, Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
is visiting Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. During the visit she says, "I've wanted to go to Brown ever since I was a little girl! Well, actually, I really wanted to go to Wellesley. But my mom said I might as well buy hiking boots and call myself a lesbian right now." To which Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
replies, "Meg, eat your salad."