To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: A historic merger between the Wellesley College Alumnae Association and the College
Date: May 31, 2024
This past weekend the College welcomed more than 1,900 alumnae back to campus to celebrate reunion weekend. History was made at the annual meeting of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association (WCAA) when alumnae voted to ratify a merger between the association and Wellesley College.
The ratification follows a recent vote on the merger by the WCAA membership, with 86% voting in favor. Last fall, the merger received unanimous approval from the WCAA Board of Directors and the Wellesley College Board of Trustees.
Yesterday, the merger petition was officially approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Engaging and supporting our alumnae is core to the work of the College. This merger will allow us to do that better by giving alumnae greater representation within College leadership and creating new opportunities for collaboration.
Our alumnae—more than 35,000 strong and the most powerful women’s network in the world—embody Wellesley’s mission in action. The WCAA will now be integrated into the College division that includes global engagement, a natural place to highlight the impact and achievements of all our alumnae. With our 150th anniversary just a year away, this merger will invite greater collaboration as we plan that celebration and continue to elevate Wellesley’s role as a force for progress for women and people everywhere.
I want to thank all the alumnae who voted. Your active engagement makes Wellesley better and stronger—and is the reason why this merger is so important. I also want to thank the WCAA Board of Directors, current and former, for the service, leadership, and hard work that helped make this merger possible, and the staff of the College who supported the WCAA and the voting process. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to outgoing WCAA President Laura Wood Cantopher ’84 and WCAA Executive Director Kathryn Harvey Mackintosh ’03, who led this process. Their belief in the merger’s promise was inspiring, as was their tireless dedication to its success.
As I recently wrote, our alumnae are the proof and the power behind Wellesley’s radical founding idea: that educating women leads to progress for everyone. I can’t wait to see the ways the merger helps us continue to bring that idea to life—and advance our mission in service of our students, the next generation of graduates.
