Monday, December 21, 2009

Wellesley Alum Takes the Helm of ABC World News

Another proud moment for Wellesley alums as 1967 graduate Diane Sawyer debuted tonight as the anchor of the ABC World News. While Wellesley has a number of alums that have made their name in journalism, and Diane Sawyer is probably the most famous, and certainly the first to head up the prime-time news hour on one of the major three stations.

Here's a glowing article from the Louisville, KY Courier Journal (Diane's hometown newspaper- also my hometown newspaper- we're some of the few to head from Kentucky to Wellesley): http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091220/FEATURES07/912200355/1008/NEWS01/Sawyer+hits+her+prime-time+stride

Monday, December 14, 2009

Alumnae Association Holiday Greeting

Most of you probably got the email this morning, but I definitely had some serious nostalgia from the Alumnae Association's holiday greeting:

http://www.wellesley.edu/Alum/HolidayCard09/index.html

All the more so because I live in California now and secretly miss the snow this time of year!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Professor Case's Last Class

Today's Boston Globe (via the news feed) features a great article about the retirement of Wellesley Professor Chip Case. He teaches his last class today.

Case created the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices which changed the way we measure the housing market. Suffering from Parkinson's disease, he decided to retire:
“I can remember the names of every kid from 25 years ago,’’ Case said. “All of a sudden I have a class now, and I don’t remember their names.’’
Read the article here.

Do you have a blog?

If you are a 2006'er and you have a blog, let us know in the comments section, and we'll link to it in the sidebar!

We'd love to get a list of members of the purple class who blog, so we can create an online network to help keep in touch.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Reunion Dates

For our hyper-advance planners out there, the Alumnae Association just set the date for our first reunion. We're still two years out, but here they are:

June 3 - June 5, 2011

Start shopping for that purple!

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Bay Area Mini-Reunion

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Wellesley Club of Northern California will be doing a small 2006 mini-reunion after the Club's Holiday Tea.

We will be gathering at Cesar in Berkeley at 4:30pm on Sunday, December 6. Cesar is at 1515 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley, about 8 blocks north of the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

To rsvp or if you have any questions, contact me (kderrick@alum.wellesley.edu) or Ellie Blume (eblume@alum.wellesley.edu).



Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Send Along Updates for Class Notes

It is that time of the season when I am writing the next column of class notes, and therefore it is also that time of the season when I shamelessly solicit updates from you. I'd love to hear about what any and all '06ers are up to- even just a sentence or two, and you'll likely make it into the next set of notes.

Don't be shy- when you look back, you'll realize you've done more than you think the past three and a half years!

If you have an update, you can submit it to wellesley2006@gmail.com by Sunday, November 29th, and I'll include you in the column for the winter magazine (which will come out around February.)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Grilled Cheese for Good

One of my fondest memories of the dearly departed food service kitchen at Schneider was heading there after a long night day (and usually night) of studying at the library, and then running as quickly as possible from Knapp to Schneider to warm up with a grilled cheese croissant sandwich (and usually some warm Schneider fries.)

I was inevitably reminded of ol' Schneider a few weeks ago when I learned about an organization called Feel Good World. Feel Good World is a nonprofit that funds students at colleges across the country with money to start up campus delis. The proceeds from the delis (which often produce easy-to-make and sustainably supplied grilled cheese sandwiches) go to various organizations working for a sustainable end to global hunger. So you can hit the spot with a grilled cheese sandwich and help the world!



Saturday, November 14, 2009

Congratulations to Alissa!

We're happy to announce that Alissa Cohen '06 married Yoel Greenwald on October 18th at Kibbutz Ma'ale HaChamisha in the Judean Hills in Isreal. Classmate Meera Sheffrin attended the wedding, flying all the way from Pittsburgh, PA! Alissa is in her 2nd year of grad school in molecular biology at Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem and her husband is an ophthalmologist at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, Israel.

Thanks to Alissa for letting us post it, and sending along a picture of she and Meera at the wedding!



If you have had a wedding recently, we're happy to include pictures on the blog (and, of course, include you in the class notes!) Just email wellesley2006@gmail.com.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Wellesley Takes the Media

A language trend group has ranked the nation’s top 200 colleges according to their appearance in print and electronic media. Wellesley claimed the top spot in the college rankings, followed by Colorado College, Williams and Amherst. This year is the first time a women’s college has topped the rankings.

The most-cited university was the University of Michigan, followed by MIT, Harvard and Columbia.

Click here to see the top 25 rankings.

(Thanks to '06er Lindsey B. for the tip)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Women in Science, Class of 1913

Any 96-year-old female biochemist would have had to overcome gender discrimination in her day. Mildred Cohn eventually won the National Medal of Science for her pioneering research but was once told that studying chemistry would not be "ladylike." After earning her Master's degree (at the age of 19), Columbia University wouldn't hire her as a teaching assistant because the position was reserved for men.

"My career has been affected at every stage by the fact that I am a woman, beginning with my undergraduate education," she once wrote.

Mildred Cohn didn't go to Wellesley but did attend Hunter College when it was a women's college. Click here to read the obituary for Mildred Cohn.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

New Book by Ira Trivedi '06

One of our 2006 classmates, Ira Trivedi, is celebrating the release of her second novel, The Great Indian Love Story. A short blurb from the publisher, Penguin Books India:

The Great Indian Love Story is set in a world where appearances mean everything and nothing is as it seems. There’s no time for love in a world that revolves around the latest Ferraris, the hottest nightclubs, diamonds, single malts, cocaine and ecstasy. In this whirl of wild parties, sex and drugs we meet Serena Sharma who lives her life one debauched night at a time, always falling for the wrong men. Her life is a rollercoaster ride: her father’s death followed by her mother’s remarriage, a broken heart and a lost love. Adding to this is her torrid affair with Amar Khanna—a trophy husband, coke addict and serial adulterer. Riya, jaded by her unsuccessful attempt to find a job in America, returns to Delhi to find the city of her childhood changed beyond recognition. Striking an unlikely friendship with Serena, Riya finds her complacent torpor shattered. The Great Indian Love Story is also the story of Parmeet, Serena’s mother, who looks for passion outside her marriage with disastrous consequences, and S.P. Sharma, Parmeet’s husband, who is driven to violence by her infidelity. Ira Trivedi weaves together sex, revenge, glitz, friendship and a chilling murder to create a potent cocktail in this gripping novel on the perfidious nature of love and power.

Congratulations to Ira for publishing her 2nd novel!

If you've been published, let us know and we'll highlight it here on the class blog.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Read My Pins

As the resident librarian on our alumnae council, I thought it was natural to highlight a book for my first post on our blog.

As some of you might know, Madeleine Albright has written a new book, entitled Read My Pins. I heard a wonderful interview with her on NPR where she talks about the book and how she used her pins to communicate messages about her diplomatic efforts. You can listen to the interview and read an excerpt from the book here.

Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to get my hands on the book (ie, my library has not acquired it yet). If any of you have read it, please let me know what you think!

Friday, November 06, 2009

New York Times on Choosing a Women's College

There is a piece today on the New York Times blog The Choice written by a high school senior who is happily seeking out women's colleges (she briefly mentions Wellesley):

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/champion/

I'm interested to hear from other 2006ers- did you go to Wellesley because it was a women's college or despite the fact that it was a women's college? (Or maybe you didn't care either way and your main thought was "All you can eat ice cream and a lake? Count me in!") Leave your thoughts in the comments!

(Thank you to Katie Landise '06 for bringing the NYT piece to our attention!)

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Wellesley on iTunes

Where else can you listen to a podcast about Feminist Ecological Economics? Wellesley has nearly a hundred lectures on iTunes from professors and alums including Ann Velenchik, Alan Schechter, Marshall Goldman and Cappy Lynch. Plus, past Tanner presentations and commencement speeches. Just search "Wellesley" in the iTunes store or click here.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Wellesley Econ Class Featured on NPR

A few weeks ago, there was a great piece on NPR about an Econ course being taught by Professor Anne Witte about Personal Finance Basics. I remember taking a workshop by the CWS senior year about real-life topics they don't usually teach in college (health insurance, negotiating leases, developing credit, saving for retirement, and all kinds of painfully adult things), but it wasn't nearly as comprehensive as Professor Witte's class probably is. I can't help but think that Professor Witte's course might make a good prereq.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Class of 2006 Newsletter

Check out the latest Class of 2006 newsletter- updates on mini reunions, annual giving, and a few lead-ups to (yes, it is really happening in 19 months) our 5 year reunion!

If you have ideas or updates for the class newsletter, drop us a line at wellesley2006@gmail.com! And as secretary, I will make my perpetual plug for updates for the Class Notes in the Wellesley alumnae magazine. You can send the updates (and pictures for the magazine, too) to 2006notes@alum.wellesley.edu.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Pay your dues securely via Google Checkout

You can pay your class dues online with a credit card through Google Checkout. Safe, secure, and easy to do!





Sunday, October 04, 2009

Forbes: Why Women's Colleges are Still Relevant

Read the article from Forbes, 
"Why Women's Colleges are Still Relevant":
"They're not academic convents. Instead, they offer an open, empowering atmosphere, leadership training and, yes, co-ed classes..."