Late Yesterday Afternoon, the Wellesley College Board of Trustees Voted to Reaffirm Wellesley’s Mission and Clarify Our Admission Policy

In recent months, the trustees and campus community have engaged in a wide-ranging discussion about what it means to be a women’s college in an era of a changing understanding of gender identity. Late yesterday afternoon, the Wellesley College Board of Trustees voted to reaffirm Wellesley’s mission and clarify our admission policy.

Two important committees guided the conversation that led to the decision. In early fall of 2014, President Bottomly formed the multi-constituency campus President’s Advisory Committee on Gender and Wellesley, composed of faculty, staff, students, and alumnae, to focus on key issues relating to gender identity and to review College policies and practices in light of an evolving understanding of gender issues.

At the same time, a Trustee Committee on Gender and Wellesley undertook an extensive review of educational, social, legal, and medical considerations regarding gender identity. The findings of the President’s Advisory Committee were used by the Trustee Committee to inform its recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Read the policy and the Frequently Asked Questions.