Wellesley College Announces Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy

Center will be a force “for women, for democracy, and for change.”

WELLESLEY, Mass., April 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Wellesley College today will announce the launch of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy, designed to prepare the next generation of citizens and civic leaders.

Named for the 1969 Wellesley graduate who went on to serve as U.S. secretary of state (2009–2013), U.S. senator from New York (2001–2009), and first lady of the United States (1993–2001), the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center is designed to empower Wellesley students from all disciplines with the skills they need to live a civic life.

Wellesley College President Paula A. Johnson will introduce the new center today during a summit at the College, “Renewing Democracy: Women Leading the Way.” This event will explore the challenges facing democracy in the U.S. and abroad, and highlight the many ways women leaders are working toward democratic renewal.

Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver remarks a the summit, which also will feature presentations and panel discussions with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Nobel laureates Leymah Gbowee and Maria Ressa, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (a 1999 graduate of Wellesley), and Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of Voto Latino, among others.

In prepared remarks for the summit, President Johnson noted, “At a time when democracy is challenged, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center will play a vital role in preparing the next generation of civic innovators and citizen-leaders that our world and our democracy needs. The future of democracy rests with young people—and our hope is that the HRC Center will introduce our students to the habits and practices of active citizenship early in their time at Wellesley.”

“Central to Wellesley’s legacy has always been bringing leaders and changemakers to campus who will inspire students to answer the call to civic duty,” said Clinton. “With this Center, that legacy continues, and I could not be more proud to take part in this work and welcome our inaugural class of fellows to my alma mater.”

About the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center at Wellesley College
The Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy at Wellesley College will be a force for women, for democracy, and for change. Designed to prepare students from all academic disciplines to lead civic lives, the HRC Center will give all sophomores the opportunity to engage in a yearlong program as Clinton Fellows, where they will learn the skills and tools necessary to listen and learn across difference and engage in constructive dialogue.

More than 250 of next year’s sophomores (nearly half of the class) have already signed up to be Clinton Fellows.

About Wellesley College
Wellesley College is one of the most academically challenging institutions of higher education in the country, and is widely acknowledged as the top women’s college in the world. Wellesley prepares students to realize their own highest ambitions and aspirations—and they do.

For nearly 150 years, Wellesley graduates have been a powerful force for good in the world—pioneering scientists, environmental revolutionaries, U.S. secretaries of state, civil rights activists, investment trailblazers, network news producers, and genre-defying artists. They are a community of changemakers fiercely dedicated to helping each new generation of students succeed. When it comes to finding a job or changing the world, Wellesley students never have to do it alone—they have a community to lift them up every step of the way.

Wellesley is a private, undergraduate liberal arts institution that dedicates all of its academic resources—its world-class faculty, beautiful campus, and research support—to its students. More information at www.wellesley.edu.

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SOURCE Wellesley College