The Wellesley College community will celebrate the service of Wellesley President H. Kim Bottomly on Friday, May 6, on the Chapel Lawn. This celebration will honor and commemorate Bottomly’s nine years of leadership. Additionally, the event will be an opportunity for members of the Wellesley community to pause, reflect and celebrate the conclusion of the academic year.

Among her accomplishments during her tenure as the institution’s president Bottomly will be widely remembered for her many initiatives such as the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs and as cementing connections with neighboring schools, the Olin College of Engineering and Babson College. Under Bottomly’s leadership, Wellesley became the first liberal arts college to launch the online platform edX, which institutions such as Harvard and MIT had used previously.

Bottomly joined Wellesley in 2007 after a renowned career in immunobiology. Bottomly has written over 179-peer reviewed articles and is the recipient of a number of honors such as election into the American Academy of Arts and Science in 2008.

Students expressed appreciation for Bottomly’s service to the school. “I am very excited to celebrate President Bottomly’s retirement with the Wellesley community. It will be great time to reflect on her leadership and commitment to this campus” Kara Banson ’17.

While students also expressed sadness about Bottomly’s departure, they eagerly anticipate the arrival of the next college president, Dr. Paula Johnson.

“President’s Bottomly presence on this campus over the course of my last three years has enriched my experience. Although I am sad to see her go I am excited for what the new president will bring,” Maddie Stern ’17 remarked.

SpringFest is sponsored and hosted by the College Government committee Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG), which is responsible for planning student events on campus. It kicked off with a number of events, the first of which started in early April. Such events included PlazaPalooza on April 17, BlockParty on April 2 and the Shamir and the Internet Concert, which will take place on the last day of classes on May 4. The event is expected to draw various members from the Wellesley community outside of the college because of its commemoration of Bottomly. Numerous Wellesley College alumnae, trustees and faculty are expected to be in attendance.

“I feel like SpringFest is a great way to pull the Wellesley community together before the end of semester, ” Alessandra Gavin ’16 opined.

Students are most excited to relax as the events signal the winding down of the academic year. “I am super excited to have a couple of hours to have a moment to appreciate Wellesley for its offerings besides the classroom,” Karrisha Gillespie ’19 remarked.

In recent years, food trucks have become a staple. The six food truck options include Indian and Jamaican food. In keeping with a tropical theme, free beach mats will be give on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“I am most excited to hang out with friends and eat food with friends,” Annie Chen ’18 commented. Rebecca Jennings ’17 concurred about her high expectations of SpringFest’s culinary offerings.

“I am thrilled that there will be a variety of food that can be sampled at this event,” she said.

Bottomly officially steps down in July 2016.

Photo courtesy of soundvenue.com