To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Carol Bate Appointed Chief of Staff to the President
Date: November 23, 2021
I am pleased to announce that Carol Bate, senior associate dean of students, will be taking on a new position as the chief of staff in the Office of the President starting in mid January. She will play a key role in advancing and coordinating major campus and institutional initiatives, including implementation of the strategic plan, work closely with external and internal partners at the College, and oversee the work of the office.
In her seven years at Wellesley, Dean Bate has served in a number of positions in the Division of Student Life, and has led important initiatives such as assessment for the division, budget management, and operations, as well as student engagement. She also co-chaired the Wellesley in the World working group as part of the College’s strategic planning process.
Dean Bate came to Wellesley with more than 20 years experience in higher education, including 13 years at St. Lawrence University, where she last served as the associate dean of students and director of career services.
When I arrived at Wellesley, I asked Dean Bate to serve as the interim dean of students. I was immediately impressed with her professionalism, her deep commitment to our students, and her ability to drive organizational change. Since then, she and Vice President and Dean of Students Sheilah Shaw Horton have worked together to transform student life at Wellesley. Dean Bate was essential in our efforts to improve the physical residential spaces and to improve technology and services for student use resulting in greater support for students with disabilities, student involvement and wellness initiatives. Her assessment efforts helped the division to use data informed and evidence based strategies to update policies and practices. Most recently she has been the student life lead on Covid-19 testing, helping to ensure that our students could return to campus safely.
After her very successful tenure as senior associate dean, I feel very fortunate that Dean Bate has chosen to take on a new professional challenge here at Wellesley. Dean Bate is a wonderful colleague and collaborator and I hope you will join me in congratulating her on this new role. Dean Horton expects to launch a search for her replacement in January.
