On April 27, 2023 students from History 223 & 323 unveiled the portraits of three women who have gone unacknowledged as presidents of Lasell.

The “Special Topics in Global History” course was designed to allow Humanities and History & Secondary Ed majors to broaden their history knowledge by taking another section class of HIST 104, while also gaining some hands-on experience in archival research. The flexibility of the archival research component allowed the course to pivot in response to student interest.

While students were researching Lasell’s history for an online campus tour (a project for career preparedness), Sophomore and budding history teacher Sydney Morgello first spotted the fact that there had been three female “interim” presidents who had not been memorialized on the Stoller Room’s wall of (all male) presidents. It sparked a "justice" project to correct historical memory that captured the interest of many students in class and turned into a successful Symposium performance.

Lasell Needs to Acknowledge its Female Presidents

A copy of the petition circulated at Symposium Students collected 115 signatures to demand that the university memorialize the "forgotten" women presidents, in the Stoller Room.

Student Presenters: Theresa Bechwati, Isabelle Conway, Jake Cook, Evie Crudele, Sean Fitzgerald, Julia LaPlante, Jacob Malicki, Sydney Morgello, Daniel Mroue, Kaitlin O'Neil, Annie Peterson, Baylie Rajaniemi, Karla Salamanca, Jorrie Simpson, Olivia Sodec

Abstract: Students in HIST 223/323 have researched several campus buildings and created a digital tour. They will take audience members on a walk around campus. Cellphone internet access to the tour is recommended.

Course: Theresa Bechwati, Isabelle Conway, Jake Cook, Evie Crudele, Sean Fitzgerald, Julia LaPlante, Jacob Malicki, Sydney Morgello, Daniel Mroue, Kaitlin O'Neil, Annie Peterson, Baylie Rajaniemi, Karla Salamanca, Jorrie Simpson, Olivia Sodec

Faculty Sponsor: Professor Halliday Piel

NACE Competencies & Core Learning Outcomes

NACE: Professionalism
NACE: Leadership
Core: Civic & Community Engagement