2012 Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients Announced
Wellesley College Announces 2012 Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients, College’s Most Prestigious Award for Alumnae
– Awards recognize alumnae for excellence in their fields; this year’s recipients are a physician-scientist, an early music virtuosa, and a scholar on gender and public policy–
Jan. 30, 2012 — Wellesley College announces the recipients of the “2012 Alumnae Achievement Awards.” The Achievement Awards are the highest honor given to Wellesley alumnae. Recipients are chosen for achievement and distinction in their fields, and as an inspiration to current students. The awards have been presented annually since 1970. The 2012 Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award recipients are:
Susan McGee Bailey ’63 , Champion for Gender Equity, Collaborative Leader
Wendy Gillespie ’72 , Early Music Virtuosa, Inspirational Teacher
Mary Jeanne Kreek ’58 , Physician-Scientist, Pioneer in Addiction Research
These remarkable women will visit the College for an award celebration on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 5:30 pm in Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall. A reception will immediately follow in the Alumnae Hall ballroom. The award ceremony and reception are free and open to the public.
According to H. Kim Bottomly, president of Wellesley College, this year’s recipients represent a tradition of women who have brought honor to themselves and to Wellesley through their outstanding achievements: "We count among our distinguished alumnae women who excel in every field across the arts and sciences. This year's Alumnae Achievement Award recipients include a pioneer in addiction research, a celebrated viola da gamba player, and a world-renowned scholar on gender and public policy.” She adds, “These women, like past recipients, have made meaningful personal and professional contributions to the world and truly exemplify what it means to be a Wellesley woman who makes a difference."
Past recipients include: Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (pen name Carolyn Keene) ’14, author of the Nancy Drew series; screenwriter and director Nora Ephron ’62; broadcast journalists Lynn Sherr ’63, Cokie Roberts ’64, and Diane Sawyer ’67; U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ’69; former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ’59, In-Ho Lee ’60, first Korean woman ambassador, Alvia Wardlaw ’69, leading expert in African American art; Pamela Melroy ’83, astronaut; and Ophelia Dahl DS ’94, founding trustee of Partners in Health.
For more information about the Alumnae Achievement Awards, including a list of past recipients, visit: http://www.wellesley.edu/alumnae/awards/achievementawards
About the Recipients of the 2012 Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Awards
Susan McGee Bailey ’63 is a world-renowned scholar on gender and public policy. Bailey was principal author of the groundbreaking report How Schools Shortchange Girls (1992), which raised national consciousness on issues of gender equity in education and led to the development of new policies and programs across the country that promote the advancement of girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) coursework and fields.
Bailey served as executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) for 25 years and is credited with helping the organization reach its current distinction as the largest gender-focused research and action organization in the United States. Bailey was also a professor of women’s and gender studies and education. She retired from the College in 2010.
Over her career, Bailey received numerous awards, including the Activist/Policy Award from the Women Educators of the American Educational Research Association. She has been active in organizations that address the needs of disabled children and served as President of the Board of the National Council for Research on Women.
Bailey is currently working on a project concerning girls’ education in Cambodia. She continues to write and lecture on gender equitable K-12 education and women and public policy issues. She is a member of the Board of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon.
Bailey holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Wellesley and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Wendy Gillespie ’72 is an award-winning viola da gamba player who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the world today. Gillespie is a professor of music at the Jacobs School of Music and chair of the Early Music Department at Indiana University. She is president of the Viola da Gamba Society of America and has also made significant contributions to contemporary music.
While at Wellesley, Gillespie founded Collegium Musicum, a student organization that brings together voices, viols, recorders, and other instruments in the performance of music from the 12th to 17th centuries. After graduation, Gillespie attended the Amsterdam Conservatory. She has performed with the New York Pro Musica Antiqua , Les Filles de Sainte-Colombe , Ensemble for Early Music , Ensemble Sequentia, the Waverly Consort, and English Concert, and has played in more than 80 recordings. As a member of two of the most successful consort groups, Fretwork and Phantasm , Gillespie has shared two Gramophone Awards, several Gramophone and Grammy nominations, many “Recordings of the Month” titles, and the French Grand Prix du Disque twice with her colleagues. In 2011, Gillespie was awarded the Thomas Binkley Award for Early Music America. Gillespie has served as resident viol consort at Oxford University since 1994.
Gillespie has a Bachelor of Arts degree in medieval studies and music from Wellesley.
Mary Jeanne Kreek ’58 is well known for her pioneering research in the field of neuropsychopharmacology and addictive diseases. Her work led to the development and introduction of methadone maintenance therapy for heroin addiction in the 1960s. This therapy has become standard in many parts of the world. Kreek’s work helped change the way addiction is viewed—from a moral shortcoming to a medical disease. Her work helped change how doctors treat people with addictive diseases and understand the human brain. She is the Patrick E. and Beatrice M. Haggerty Professor, Senior Physician and Head of the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at The Rockefeller University. She was the first woman appointed as head of a laboratory at Rockefeller. Her lab also researches the medical complications of drug abuse, such as hepatitis C and AIDS.
Kreek has authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific research papers. She has also received many awards, including the Betty Ford Award for Research in the Neurobiology of Addiction and the Nathan B. Eddy Memorial Award for Lifetime Excellence in Drug Abuse Research presented by the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), one of the highest recognitions in the field of drug abuse research. She has served two terms as president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the oldest and most prestigious scientific organization in the field of drug abuse research, and has participated in nearly every organization related to addiction in the past 50 years. She is a highly sought-after consultant having advised numerous federal agencies, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Kreek holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Wellesley and earned an M.D. from Columbia University.
About Wellesley College
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.
Press Contacts
Sofiya Cabalquinto, 781-283-3321, scabalqu@wellesley.edu
Anne Yu, 781-283-3201, ayu@wellesley.edu
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