Vassar College President Frances Daly Fergusson received the Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award on Thursday, February 8. Fergusson was recognized for her contributions to the field of education.
Also honored for excellence in their respective fields were E. Story Cleland Landis, scientific director of the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Nancy Hayes Van de Vate Smith, one of the most widely recorded contemporary composers in the world; and Ellen Marram, general partner at North Castle Partners, a private equity firm investing in the healthy living and aging sectors. In honor of Wellesley's 125th anniversary, each of this year's four recipients delivered lectures during their visits to the college.
Fergusson, a graduate of Wellesley's class of 1965, has been president of Vassar College since 1986. She is also an art history professor. Before coming to Vassar, Fergusson taught at Bucknell University where she was provost and vice president for academic affairs. She was assistant chancellor at UMass-Boston and was director of the division of humanities and fine arts and chair of the department of art at Newton College (which later merged with Boston College).
Fergusson is the first woman to chair the board of directors of the Mayo Foundation. She also serves on the board of directors of the Ford Foundation. In 1999, she was honored by Harvard University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences with its Centennial Medal. Fergusson has also been elected an honorary fellow of the Foreign Policy Association, and she received the Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill Award for Humanitarian Service in 1998.
Established in 1969, the Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Awards are given annually to "alumnae of distinction who through their achievements have brought honor to themselves and to Wellesley College." Past winners include Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronomer Martha P. Haynes, and journalists Linda Wertheimer and Cokie Roberts.
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