ellesley College has turned the retention of women in the sciences into an art. About a quarter of Wellesley's students graduate with science degrees. In a recent National Science Foundation study of women who earned science or engineering doctorates between 1985 and 1990, more received their bachelor's degrees from Wellesley than from any other liberal arts college. A commitment to the sciences has taken a tangible form at Wellesley. In 1977 the college opened a strikingly modern science building that was added onto an existing laboratory building. The new building brought all of Wellesley's science departments, formerly scattered across campus, together under one roof. In the soaring atrium that connects the old and new buildings, faculty members and students mingle across disciplines and generations. At the heart of the science building are its teaching laboratories. Wellesley kept the labs small, ensuring one-on-one contact between students and faculty. "Wellesley has really clung to its labs, even though some institutions have dropped them because they're too expensive or too much bother," says Andrew Webb, a professor in the biology department. "But we think there's no replacement for getting your hands wet." Beginning with its introductory labs, which are required for all students, the science departments pull students toward more advanced work. "We look at our labs as a progression of hands-on experiences," says professor Mary Allen. "They're an essential part of learning science, so even in beginning courses we have students doing fairly sophisticated projects." By their sophomore and junior years, increasing numbers of students are participating in research projects. With no graduate students on campus, faculty members involve undergraduates extensively with research projects, and more than half of the faculty's publications have student co-authors. More than half of the biology majors do research by the time they graduate. These experiences figure prominently in stories told by students such as Jennifer Mills, who came to Wellesley from Mannington, West Virginia. After taking her first couple of classes in the sciences, "I didn't think I had what it took," she recalls. "Everyone else seemed so much better prepared." But the summer after her sophomore year Mills began to do research on the effects of brain lesions in mice in the laboratory of a professor she admired, and her doubts quickly disappeared. "I stayed in science because I found a professor who took me under her wing and expressed an interest in me," she says. This individual interaction with women scientists characterizes the study of biology at Wellesley. Alumnae often return to the campus to talk about their careers in science, giving students a chance to see how Wellesley graduates have combined science with other responsibilities. Students doing research in the summer go on field trips to nearby industrial laboratories, where they can meet with female scientists. The strong links formed at Wellesley often last well beyond college. Says psychology professor Steve Schiavo, "It's very common that when students get out in the real world, they will call a professor they worked with here at Wellesley to talk over a problem. That's been an unanticipated consequence of getting students involved in research early in their college years."

Mary Allen and students overlook new computer center in Wellesley's science building. Expanding The Talent Pool Native Americans at Fort Lewis College African Americans at Xavier University of Louisiana Hispanics at the University of Texas at San Antonio Women at Wellesley College Reaching Out to Older Students Two-Year Colleges A Kaleidoscope of Approaches: Part One A Kaleidoscope of Approaches: Part Two A World Of Opportunity Changes in the Classroom The Laboratory Experience Faculty in the Crossfire The Many Paths to Success At Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, student research projects often lead to science careers.