Wellesley Magazine Spring 2016 Wellesley College Alumnae Association
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Wellesley College Wellesley College Digital Scholarship and Archive Wellesley Magazine (Alumnae Association) Spring 2016 Wellesley Magazine Spring 2016 Wellesley College Alumnae Association Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.wellesley.edu/wellesleymagazine Recommended Citation Wellesley College Alumnae Association, "Wellesley Magazine Spring 2016" (2016). Wellesley Magazine (Alumnae Association). 14. http://repository.wellesley.edu/wellesleymagazine/14 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by Wellesley College Digital Scholarship and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wellesley Magazine (Alumnae Association) by an authorized administrator of Wellesley College Digital Scholarship and Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SPRING 2016 | THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE | PROCRASTINATION NATION The Presidency of H. Kim Bottomly spring 2016 CONTENTS 1 Departments 2 From the Editor 3 Letters to the Editor 4 From the President 5 Window on Wellesley 14 Shelf Life ➺ VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT MAGAZINE.WELLESLEY.EDU. 38 WCAA 40 Class Notes The Steady Hand The Search for Justice Procrastination Nation 72 In Memoriam—Ingrid Stadler, 1930–2016 By Catherine O’Neill Grace By Amita Parashar Kelly ’06 By Jennifer E. Garrett ’98 16 During a tumultuous era, H. Kim Bottomly led 24 Kisha Brown ’00 became director of Baltimore’s Office of 32 As one alumna put it, for “women who will,” Wellesley 80 Endnote—A Fragile Gift Wellesley with a quiet equanimity, focusing her Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement just a few months students and alumnae are very good at being “women By Katharine Reece ’08 attention on expanding the College’s reach around before Freddie Gray died, and found that civilian oversight who almost won’t.” How can we stop putting off for the globe, revitalizing the campus, and reaffirming of the police was basically “nonexistent.” Day by day, tomorrow what we know we should be doing today? Wellesley’s commitment to women’s education. Brown is working to protect people’s civil rights. Cover illustration by Jason Seiler Photo of Kisha Brown ’00 by Bruce Weller WELLESLEY MAGAZINE ONLINE magazine.wellesley.edu WELLESLEY MAGAZINE ON TWITTER @Wellesleymag 2 FROM THE EDITOR S PR I N G 2016 wellesley magazine wellesley magazine S PR I N G 2016 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 3 WELL SUITED TO COMPUTERS VOLUME 100, ISSUE NO. 3 Letters to the Editor I read with envy about courses now being offered TWEETS TO THE EDITOR in computer programming and problem solving, Wellesley welcomes short letters (300 words and in particular “Wellesley’s First Programmers” maximum) relating to articles or items that have From the Editor ✱ I have to stop myself from reading (“Get With the Programming,” winter ’16). appeared in recent issues of the magazine. Send @wellesleymag too quickly to save some Despite not having had these available to me, I your remarks to the Editor, Wellesley magazine, for later! was fortunate in having the Wellesley Placement 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, —@_Amita_ (Amita Parashar Kelly ’06) Office steer me in the right direction after gradu- email your comments to magazine@wellesley. art of my job as editor is to be boots on ation. I was provided with a list of possible job ✱ @_amita_ @Wellesleymag I agree. edu, or submit a letter via the magazine’s website, the ground at myriad College events— sites in the Washington, D.C., area appropriate Despite working in mags & recycling all Editor magazine.wellesley.edu. others, I KEEP all WM. New Yorkers go Alice M. Hummer from symposia to memorial services to for a math major. Despite having no idea what 2 laundromat to expect, I went for an interview at IBM and commencement. Taking part in those PIONEERING PROGRAMERS —@amy2pt0 (Amy Cross ’83) Senior Associate Editors from that moment, I was hooked. IBM had its Lisa Scanlon Mogolov ’99 gatherings, I get to see a lot of another I was delighted to read the article by Lisa Scanlon own superb training programs, and I ultimately ✱ Waiting waiting waiting on my Catherine O’Neill Grace Pperson whose role it also is to be a presence for the Mogolov ’99 in the winter Wellesley magazine @Wellesleymag and resisting the urge to became an IBM systems engineer. College: our president. and the sidebar about Mary Allen Wilkes ’59 read all the articles online … how slow Design It was an extraordinary experience for me, Hecht/Horton Partners, Arlington, Mass. As H. Kim Bottomly, Wellesley’s 13th president, (“Get With the Programming” and “Wellesley’s is the post? #thelittlethings utilizing my math background, my interest in —@WanguiKamonji (Wangui Kamonji ’13) First Programmers”). I was pleased to learn there Principal Photographer prepares to hand over the keys to the College teaching, my knack (I think) of getting along with was another Wellesley grad who was an early Richard Howard on July 1, I’ve thought back to the many times people, and my logical mind. A lot of it was “on ✱ Delighted to read the latest @Wellesleymag computer programmer. After graduating with a featuring none other than friend and mentor Student Assistant I’ve seen her in action. Presiding over Academic the job training,” as exemplified by my assign- degree in economics in 1957, I was hired by IBM’s Irma in the Editor’s Letter! Emma Bilbrey ’18 Council, the faculty legislative body, calmly trying ment to oversee the installation of the first type- federal office in Washington, D.C. There, I wrote —@rociogarza (Rocio-Maria Garza Tisdell ’07) setting computer (before word processing) at the Wellesley (USPS 673-900). Published fall, to keep a firm hold on the reins of a galloping programs (some highly secret) for the government ✱ Crying reading the @Wellesleymag Editors winter, spring, and summer by the Wellesley debate. Driving to class social hours in a torrential Washington Evening Star newspaper. There was using the same huge computers as Mary did. I Letter about Irma Tryon. That woman College Alumnae Association. Editorial and no documentation, nor class instruction, as the downpour to greet returning alumnae at reunion. Presenting flowers to a fleet-footed senior at worked for IBM until 1964, leaving with the title worked so hard for so long and Im so Business Office: Alumnae Association, program had just been written and was only being Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley, Hooprolling—and avoiding the splash when the winner goes into the lake. of senior systems engineer. Following my IBM grateful we crossed paths. used at two other newspapers. Its purpose was —@MsMakkah (Makkah Ali ’10) MA 02481-8203. Phone 781-283-2342. One of my favorite memories is from the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the years, I continued to design systems for my prior to hyphenate and justify text, and it was meant Fax 781-283-3638. Periodicals postage paid Great Fire, celebrating the vibrant institution that emerged from the ashes of College Hall. We IBM customers and worked for several New York at Boston, Mass., and other mailing offices. to replace the linotype. My job was to learn the ✱ @Wellesleymag Get With the Programming City consulting firms before forming my own piece is Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Wellesley had a community breakfast in the Chapel, where the Wellesley community had gathered as the program and learn the function of the linotype in magazine, Wellesley College, 106 Central St., firm, Computer Software Management. The soft- —@sarabsimon (Sara Simon ’13) ruins smoldered a century before. Present-day students and faculty read period letters aloud, order to customize the software to produce the Wellesley, MA 02481-8203. ware that the firm created making the shock of the conflagration entirely vivid. text similar to the output of the linotype. I fre- ✱ @Wellesleymag My fav part is using lessons was bundled in IBM mid- Wellesley Policy: Wonderfully, Kim turned up in Edwardian dress, complete with a long skirt, a hat with a quently worked the night shift with the linotype from the Data Structures class in an One of the objectives of Wellesley, in the best range computers, earning Eighteenth-Century Fiction assignment. wide black band, and a cameo at the neck. When she got up to greet attendees, she had an operators, who, though threatened by being College tradition, is to present interesting, CSM the elite status of IBM —@sarabsimon (Sara Simon ’13) replaced, became my friends. thought-provoking material, even though it admission. “I just want to say, it was complicated being a president—or a woman—in those Business Partner. may be controversial. Publication of material I often thought that this was a career well thanks @Wellesleymag for the days,” she said. “There’s a cane. There are gloves. I’ve already lost one of the gloves. Turns out I sold the firm and ✱ does not necessarily indicate endorsement of suited for many women. It requires people skills, welcome to @Wellesley! #newbeginnings you can’t turn pages when you have gloves on. But the good news is, I’m not entirely authentic. “retired” in 1995, but have the author’s viewpoint by the magazine, the patience, and interest in detail. Math skills were #connectionsandcommunities Alumnae Association, or Wellesley College. I decided not to wear the corset for the occasion.” The crowd hooted. continued to stay in the field #careerservices not critical, but a logical mind was. It has taken I just want to say, it’s complicated being a president today. You are the public face of the College by helping others of my age —@Cruzvergara (Christine Cruzvergara, Wellesley magazine reserves the right to edit a long time to spread the word that this is an associate provost and executive director and, when necessary, revise all material that in moments of great institutional pride and in moments of tremendous tragedy or controversy.