Month: October 2013

Investing in Children and the 100th Anniversary of Wellesley’s Child Study Center

It was a pleasure to welcome to campus Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children. Last night Ms. Miles, the first woman to lead the global charity that serves over 125 million children in need in the U.S. and around the world, delivered the 2013 Wilson Lecture.

She stressed that early childhood education is the key to opening up important opportunities for children—opportunities that have the potential to lift children out of poverty and free them to make important contributions to the world that benefit us all. Investing in children, Ms. Miles said, is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do—investing in children can change the world.

This year’s Wilson Lecture was a wonderful and fitting way to honor and celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wellesley’s Child Study Center. I am proud to have on our campus one of the oldest laboratory schools in this country, a place where young children can learn and develop, and where Wellesley students and faculty can engage in meaningful and important research.

The Wilson Lecture is a central part of our intellectual community—indeed, it is one of the highlights of the academic year at Wellesley.  I am delighted that Carolyn Miles could lead us in conversation about this most worthy topic.

A Weekend Among Friends

The glorious fall weather was picture-perfect this past weekend, as I welcomed to campus Wellesley parents, grandparents, siblings, alumnae, and friends for Family and Friends Weekend and Homecoming.

sophomore treeOne of the highlights of the weekend, as always, was celebrating one of Wellesley’s oldest traditions: sophomore tree planting. On Saturday, more than 150 students and their families gathered on the Academic Quad to dedicate the Quercus Rubra, or Red Oak, that the Class of 2016 had chosen as their tree.

At the Wellesley Debates this past weekend, Paulina Perlin ’16, Prerana Nanda ’14, Simone Thibodeau ’14, and Mariya Getsova ’15 debated the topic “The structure of the higher education system in the United States is not consistent with democratic values,” while Sophia Mo ’14 moderated. As always, the students did an excellent job of presenting arguments for or against the motion. The before- and after-balloting indicated that those debating against the motion swayed the audience with their arguments.

For me, the weekend is also a wonderful show of our school pride during our many athletic contests. I was happy to cheer on the Blue as they took on Cedar Crest in soccer, winning 9-0. Congratulations also to the residents of Pomeroy, who had the most Superfans at that game.

Family and Friends weekend was enhanced this year by Pam Melroy’s wonderful talk on Saturday night: From Wellesley to the International Space Station. A Wellesley alumna (class of 1983), and an astronaut who has logged over 900 hours in space, Pam Melroy was only the second woman to command a space shuttle. I am grateful to Pam, who also is a Wellesley Trustee, for returning to Wellesley to speak to students and their families about her experiences. She is always enlightening and engaging and, despite her profession, very much down to earth.

My thanks go to all of the students, families, faculty, staff, and alumnae who made the weekend such a success.