Administrative Assistant Rita Purcell retired as of June 1, 2017, after 19 years at Wellesley. Here’s Rita with the department back in 2001 (left) and again in her final academic year with us, 2016-2017 (right):

Rita writes:

I greatly enjoyed working with the CS faculty and CS/MAS students during my years at Wellesley.  We had a lot of fun together and I will miss you.  Much happiness to you always!

Lip Sync MVP

Rita marked her last month at Wellesley by debuting to great acclaim at the 2017 Science Center Faculty Lip Sync.  She starred with a runaway success in “Another Day of Sun” (below) and featured prominently in 5 other numbers, including with the CS 240 faculty. The senior CS majors cited her as Lip Sync MVP of 2017.  Brava!

Check out Rita’s performance in this video of “Another Day of Sun” (requires Wellesley login), featuring Rita Purcell, Ophera Davis (Africana Studies), Elaine Igo (Science Center), Lauri Wardell (Physics), and Julia Miwa (Chemistry), with video courtesy of  Deborah Nickerson and the Science Center, plus Nick Doe (Chemistry).

CS Department Sendoff

Rita has been a fixture (and magician) in the department for longer than many of our faculty.  The CS department gathered in May to celebrate her years with us and congratulate Rita and her husband Dixon on their simultaneous retirement.  We will miss you Rita, but we wish you both all the best in new adventures!