FAQs

The board meets in person three times a year, with some additional board or committee conference calls between meetings. The three meetings in October, February, and April generally run from Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon. Trustees are also expected to serve on various ad hoc committees as needs arise. Additionally, the Young Alumnae Trustee may be asked to speak at a College or WCAA event. Depending on the issues facing the trustees, some committee work can be quite demanding. Additional responsibilities of trustees can include: fundraising for the College; recruiting students to Wellesley; speaking to admitted students; attending alumnae club events; mentoring current students; monitoring what’s going on at Wellesley; and attending on-campus events, seminars, and panels. 

To put it in perspective, many in a first position of employment may receive two weeks’ vacation -- ten days. Should that be the case, and if your employer requires you to use vacation time for these gatherings, nearly all of your vacation time-off would be spent dedicated to the four in-person Board of Trustee gatherings, with additional time to be devoted to the other activities described above. Previous Young Alumnae Trustees say this is a worthwhile sacrifice, but it is a factor you must consider.   

Perhaps the best representation of the commitment required is given by Lindsey Boylan ’06, who served as the Young Alumnae Trustee in 2007-10: 

"Serving on the Wellesley board has been an incredibly meaningful and rewarding experience. I truly envy the experience that one of you will embark on over the next three years. As the young alumnae trustee, you are a full voting member seamlessly integrated onto the board. Your charge will be to work with the other trustees to ensure Wellesley’s long-term health and success through committee discussions and the work of the full board. One of the more challenging things to keep in mind is that you, as the young alumnae trustee, will not be serving as an advocate pushing for a certain issue or cause. Rather, you will be challenged to think broadly about the mission of the College and make decisions that keep Wellesley true to that mission. This involves weighing in on any number of issues including endowment spending, capital construction, student life, and tuition rates. As you can imagine, a task of this sort will require a great deal of your time. I had 12 vacation days annually. All 12 days went towards my trips up to Wellesley for board meetings. If you cannot commit to attending 2-3 day meetings four times a year, this isn’t a commitment that you should make. If you are willing and able to set aside this time, I promise you will not regret your three years of service. I have learned a great deal about our school, and my faith in its future and primacy in higher education has only grown."

Not exclusively - the title is “Young Alumnae Trustee,” not “Young Alumnae Representative.” When people initially think about this position, they sometimes believe it is to be a representative position akin to the student representatives. Although the Young Alumnae Trustee is nominated by peers, the job (and voting responsibility) is the same as any trustee: to think broadly and strategically about the long-term future of the College. The role of the Young Alumnae Trustee speaks to Wellesley’s core belief that good governance takes into account the widest possible range of voices and ideas. 

The board is comprised of up to 37 trustees (with some fluctuation at any given time) who are women and men from diverse backgrounds and professions. Their uniting factor is a deep love for Wellesley and its mission. 

Outside of the three scheduled board meetings and Commencement, the Young Alumnae Trustee may participate in fundraising for the College, recruiting students to Wellesley and speaking to admitted students, alumnae club events, mentoring current students, monitoring what’s going on at Wellesley (by reading The Wellesley News, following Wellesley on social media, subscribing to Wellesley Week in Review) and attending campus events, seminars, and panels. TheYoung Alumnae Trustee receives regular mail and email from the College and Wellesley will be an integral part of their life.

The board currently has nine committees (e.g., Campus & Finance, Wellesley Experience, Wellesley in the World, Audit, etc.) that meet to discuss issues and vote on proposals that will then go to the full board meeting (on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning) for final approval. Some of the smaller committees will meet by Zoom in advance of the scheduled board and committee meeting dates. The majority of the board’s work is done in the committee meetings. Only committee members are allowed to attend their particular committees. This means that you will have some "free" time while other committees are meeting. The Young Alumnae Trustee will sit on committees as requested. The Young Alumnae Trustee, like all trustees, may indicate their committee preferences, and previous Young Alumnae Trustees have served on Wellesley Experience, Audit, and the Subcommittee on Investment Responsibility—a committee that considers issues that are important to the community from a corporate governance perspective, such as divestment from fossil fuels.

On Friday mornings, the whole board meets together to vote on various matters such as tuition, degrees, tenure and other board business such as the College's work on financial sustainability, inclusive excellence, and key areas identified in the strategic plan for change.

The main impact the Young Alumnae Trustee has on the board is to voice opinions at the various committee and full board meetings. Previous Young Alumnae Trustees have been a part of discussions about reviving Athletics at Wellesley and hiring a new director, rethinking our tenure process and department chairmanships, reworking our endowment spending policy; tough discussions on how we strategically market ourselves; and being part of the accreditation discussions at the board level. The board’s work shapes Wellesley’s future long after the three-year stint of a Young Alumnae Trustee.

The position gives sufficient leeway to the Young Alumnae Trustee to engage in the board work that interests them and where they believes they can make the most difference for the College.

In addition to the time, talent, and treasure one dedicates to any volunteer position, being a good trustee is about having an open mind. The Young Alumnae Trustee may engage in a number of tough discussions— for example, a previous topic was imagining Wellesley as a co-ed institution—and sometimes trustees have to force themselves to move beyond the Wellesley of their past and their experience to ensure that the Wellesley of tomorrow will be even stronger.

It’s helpful to have a passion for higher education issues (be it spending, tenure, admissions, etc.) and read broadly about best practices in higher education and what’s going on at Wellesley and other instructions.

Wellesley is a learning institution, and this permeates to the board level as well. The best trustees bring what they have learned in business or graduate school or on their travels back to the Wellesley boardroom in ways that enrich the board’s work.