To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Affirming our mission and embracing our community
Date: March 6, 2023
Next week, all Wellesley students will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot question approved by College Government regarding the College’s admission policy and our use of gendered language in all official communications. The results of the vote on this ballot question are nonbinding and will not impact any of the policies or practices of the College or of student organizations at Wellesley. Instead, this ballot question asks students to express their views on the College’s gender policy as it relates to admission and to its use of language in College communications—both issues that are central to Wellesley’s mission and identity.
While Wellesley respects students’ right to express their views, I want to offer some context for why the College continues to believe in our mission as a women’s college and, at the same time, explain the steps we have taken to respond to students’ concerns about these issues.
For nearly 150 years, Wellesley’s mission has been to provide an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world. Events of the last few years—including a pandemic that has had a disproportionate economic impact on women, especially women of color, new restrictions on reproductive health and freedom in the United States, and attacks on women’s rights and education across the globe—have shown that this mission is as urgent as ever.
Wellesley was founded on the then-radical idea that educating women of all socioeconomic backgrounds leads to progress for everyone. As a college and community, we continue to challenge the norms and power structures that too often leave women, and others of marginalized identities, behind. We are not a “historically women’s college,” a term that only applies to women’s colleges that have made the decision to enroll men. We have chosen a different path, one that aligns with peer institutions including Barnard, Smith, and Bryn Mawr colleges.
What does Wellesley mean by “a women’s college”? In accordance with our admission policy, Wellesley admits applicants who identify and live consistently as women, regardless of the gender they were assigned at birth. Our community includes students from a broad spectrum of racial, ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic, and religious groups. We know that the experience of living and learning as part of a diverse student body leads to better educational outcomes and helps prepare students to be the leaders, changemakers, and citizens the world so desperately needs.
It’s important that all members of this community feel seen. Some transgender male and nonbinary students whose identities have evolved during their time here say they feel excluded by the College’s use of the words “women” and “alumnae”—and feel that their individual identities are not embraced.
At the same time, many students who are committed to Wellesley’s mission as a women’s college and who identify as women have been publicly criticized for that view and have felt pressured to describe Wellesley as a historically women’s college.
So how do we reflect our mission and identity as a women’s college while recognizing and embracing the diversity of our community in a way that does not make any student feel erased or ignored? Let me try: Wellesley is a women’s college that admits cis, trans, and nonbinary students—all who consistently identify as women. Wellesley is also an inclusive community that embraces students, alumnae, faculty, and staff of diverse gender identities. I believe the two ways of seeing Wellesley are not mutually exclusive. Rather, this is who we are: a women’s college and a diverse community.
I think we can do better at finding that balance. I want to share with you the following commitments, which have been informed by ongoing conversations with the board of trustees, Senior Leadership, students, and other members of our community over the past several months:
First, we commit to finding opportunities to publicly acknowledge the diversity of our community. For example, we will use important occasions, like commencement and convocation, to acknowledge our identity as a women’s college as well as recognize the gender diversity of our community.
We commit to doing more to acknowledge and respect individual identities. Despite the best efforts of faculty and staff, we know that students regularly report being misgendered. It is important to respect each others’ identities—and here, technology can help us. Dean Sheilah Horton, Dean Megan Núñez, and Chief Human Resources Officer Carolyn Slaboden are working closely with Ravi Ravishanker, chief information officer, and his team to offer students and other community members the opportunity to upload their pronouns into Workday. The information will be included alongside students’ chosen names in class lists and in the directory. This will be optional, to protect the privacy of those who do not wish to publicly share their pronouns.
We commit to supporting our trans students in ways that are meaningful to them. Our trans students have shared their concerns with us, and we are taking action on several of their priorities. For example:
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We plan to appoint a new director for the Office of LGBTQ+ Programs and Services before the end of the semester. Among many other responsibilities, this person will serve as an advisor to Siblings, an organization for trans students, and will design activities specifically for them. This person will also offer training to faculty and staff to teach about gender identity and pronoun use.
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The Stone Center Counseling Service staff have all been trained in how to offer gender- and sexual orientation-affirming therapy and how to refer students to specific providers and support groups as needed.
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We are expanding the number of all-gender bathrooms on our campus. Every student-service building and every academic building now has at least one. Our Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Athletics (PERA) has been a leader on this front and has added an all-gender changing/locker room as well as all-gender bathrooms. As we continue to renovate buildings, we are looking at options to offer more privacy in all bathrooms.
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The Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources, under the leadership of Jim Wice and a number of dedicated student workers, is updating a map highlighting the locations of all-gender bathrooms which will be available shortly on the College’s website.
Finally, we commit to providing greater clarity for students applying to Wellesley. We have streamlined the application process and provided greater clarity regarding eligibility. In addition, our gender policy on our website previously stated that students who transition during their time at Wellesley will be supported if they feel a women’s college is no longer the right fit for them. We have removed this language to make clear that every student who is admitted to Wellesley belongs here.
Going forward, we will continue to advance our mission as a women’s college while acknowledging and celebrating our students’ diverse identities. We will also continue to listen to all members of our community, to ensure that all feel seen here at Wellesley.
As we reflect on the College’s mission and identity, I ask that we remember to treat each other with respect, understanding, and grace. Wellesley benefits tremendously from all of your experiences and perspectives, and I am grateful for the many ways you contribute to the dynamic community of this extraordinary College.
