President Paula Johnson says Wellesley is both fulfilling and expanding the founders’ mission at the Wellesley 150 State of the College address.

Hundreds of students, parents and alumnae — including Wellesley’s 11th president Nannerl Keohane ’61 and Massachusetts State Senator Liz Miranda ’02 — gathered in Alumnae Hall for Johnson’s speech on Saturday morning.

Johnson traced the College’s development and continuities from Henry and Pauline Durant’s founding of the College in 1870, a time when “many men felt higher education for women was a mistake.” 

“Before women could vote, Wellesley women dwelled above spacious skies,” Johnson said, followed by cheers from the crowd.

Johnson lauded the Durants as “agents of democracy and champions of justice,” who created Wellesley as an institution of “young women of moderate means.” She professed that Wellesley upholds this mission of affordability with need-blind admission and a tuition-free institution for families making under $150,000. 

The News could not verify this statement based on information about Wellesley’s financial aid package on their website.

This follows InsideHigherEd proclaiming that Wellesley is the first college in the U.S. to surpass $100,000 in sticker price. However, nearly 60% of Wellesley students receive aid, according to Wellesley’s financial services.

Quantifying the “Wellesley Effect,” Johnson praised Wellesley graduates for entering science and engineering fields at higher rates than women from any other college, and that Wellesley alumnae who have leadership roles are most likely to have titles like “CEO, president, and executive director.” Those in executive positions were just as likely to major in humanities compared to social science and STEM, according to Johnson’s data.

“Parents, the medieval renaissance major is a fine power to success,” Johnson said. The audience erupted in laughs and cheers.

Responding to current attacks on higher education, she stated that 150 years from now, the higher education debate would long be in the rearview mirror … Wellesley would have been a leader in this movement.” Johnson then listed how Wellesley engineers, physician-scientists, astrophysicists, artists, and political leaders would improve the world. 

“Wellesley women would have gone from the Settlement House to the White House,” she said, “Wellesley would have educated so many political leaders around the world that it’s hardly a news story anymore.”

In addition to professional success, Johnson also said that alumnae were more likely to serve as public servants. As an example, she named Chantale Zuzi ’25, who created the nonprofit Refugee Can Be to empower girls in the same refugee camp she escaped years ago. 

Johnson also praised the AAA awardees, journalist Karen Grigsby Bates ’73, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson ’99, and BlackRock co-founder Sue Wagner ’82. Amid student backlash over the decision to honor Wagner, Johnson commended the co-founder for “blast[ing] through gender barriers on Wall Street” and establishing the Wagner Centers at Wellesley. 

As examples of increasing civic engagement at Wellesley, Johnson pointed to the Clinton Center, a year-long civic engagement fellowship for sophomores, the Pluralism Initiative, which brings challenging viewpoints to campus and includes a seminar focused on Israel and Palestine this year and Provost Courtney Coile’s work to ensure faculty have constructive and free exchange of dialogue. 

She also affirmed the College’s commitment to “women’s empowerment and gender quality” through faculty research and partnerships, namely with the Asian Women’s University in Bangladesh. 

As she wrapped up the address, Johnson affirmed how Wellesley is “that rare institution that has stayed true to its founding vision.” 

“Join us in the work that we have to do to secure the future,” she concluded. 

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Galeta Sandercock