In spite of the cold, increasingly wet, weather, May 9th was a glorious day for Wellesley College as Kim Bottomly was inaugurated as our 13th President. The day opened with a Multifaith service in Houghton Memorial Chapel, a celebration not only of our new President but also of the recently renovated Chapel. It seemed the same at first - but the new chairs were certainly more comfortable and everything appeared to be much brighter. The basement has been turned into attractive spaces where all religious groups may gather for worship and meetings. The College Choir sang beautifully both at the Chapel service and at the formal Inauguration later in the day. Music, dance and prayers of many faiths served as an inspirational beginning of a day that clearly had been designed to open our minds to new ideas as this latest chapter in Wellesley’s life begins.

I attended a panel presentation which featured an alumna architect, an astrophysicist (former colleague of Kim’s at Yale) and a professor of agronomy/economics whose specialty is sub-Saharan agriculture. Each introduced the audience to new ideas and new ways of thinking. I found the program fascinating in spite of the fact that two of the three topics were not any I would have normally chosen.

Following a huge picnic lunch, we gathered in the large inaugural tent on Severance Green. All through the day I had searched the assembled women for someone from our class, but never found a single ‘56er. It was a funny experience to be “alone” at Wellesley for the first time. It seemed clear that the college had expected a much larger attendance as many of us were ushered forward into the reserved section for the ceremony.

Knowing that Maud Hazeltine Chaplin would surely march in the Academic Procession I positioned myself at the entrance to the tent next to the professional photographer and managed to get a glimpse, a wave and a good photo of Maud. Then I spotted Lia Gelin Poorvu marching as a past member of the Board of Trustees.

The ceremony was exciting with many lovely speeches welcoming Kim as our president. Representatives of faculty, students, women’s colleges, universities, the community of scientists, etc. spoke eloquently, led off by Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts who had accompanied Kim in the procession. One of the most surprising and entertaining “greetings” was given by Murray Wolf, Head of Shop and Maintenance Services who spoke on behalf of the union staff. He ended with a very clever “Ode to Kim”. It was clear to me that she has quickly become is a well liked member of the community.

Please go to www.wellesley.edu to read more about Kim Bottomly, about her address, and the address itself, verbatim. I took many notes, including the following:
A Liberal Arts Education provides the skills necessary in a free society, not merely because of its content but also because it fosters the ingenuity to make things happen. We must continue to assess Wellesley’s curriculum to see how it works in today’s world with particular emphasis on three issues: Insuring a high quality faculty, reversing the declining public view of the value of a liberal arts education, and bolstering the appreciation of single sex education. When she said, “Why would we ever stop being a single sex institution, providing role models, gender nurturing and networking for our undergraduates?” the audience roared with support!!

A final direct quote from Kim Bottomly:
“Wellesley College has remained the same through the years in one most important respect: It has been an intellectual incubator, a scholarly beacon of light for women,” she said. “A Wellesley woman is always a Wellesley woman and always will be. Being a Wellesley woman is a permanent characteristic of mind and spirit.””

I was so pleased to hear these words from a woman who came from Yale and had never been part of a women’s college before she arrived on the Wellesley campus nine months ago.