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Give Smith a Birthday Gift!

September 9, 1875, was the very first day of class for the very first Smithies. This September, we’re asking Smith alums to keep the college strong with a gift of $150 (that’s $12.50 per month for a year). Every dollar goes to help today’s students. It might be the best birthday gift you’ll ever give.

Donate Now More About Giving to Smith

150 Years
Since it opened its doors in 1875, Smith has been educating women to take on the world’s toughest and most important challenges. Celebrate with us!

Reasons to Celebrate Smith

We’re engineering a better world.

“All eyes were on us,” recalls Caitlin Shea Butler ’04, one of the first graduates of Smith’s Picker Engineering Program, which was endowed by Jean Sovatkin Picker ’42 and her husband. Since that inaugural class, the number of Smith alum engineers has grown from 19 to nearly 600. Whether in AI or aerospace, they’re transforming the field—one where women still make up less than 20% of the workforce.

Smith, in the Moment

Stay current with all things Smith. Learn about upcoming events and peruse the news on Smith Today.

Students

Going Back—To Give Back

Over the summer, Arden Grim ’26 worked with the doctors and therapists who helped her as a child.

  • Students
  • September 10, 2025
150TH ANNIVERSARY

Our Birthday Message

In celebration of its 150th, a new video captures some of the college’s rich and varied history.

A Culture of Curiosity

Maneeta Bhandari ’27

Engineering major; Film & Media Studies minor

“I have been a very STEM focused my whole life. With courses like first-year seminars at Smith, I have gotten an opportunity to study the liberal arts from a closer distance.”

Kristin Hughes

Director of Athletics

“It’s a disservice to women athletes to expect anything but the best for themselves. We talk about winning. We talk about why it’s important. We talk about why they need to own what they’re good at.”

Ginetta E.B. Candelario ’90

Professor of Sociology and of Latin American & Latino/a Studies

“Because of what I learned and now teach at Smith, I am more committed than ever to Sophia Smith’s vision of ‘reforming the evils of society’ through our work ‘as teachers, as writers, as mothers, as members of society.’”

J. Courtney Sullivan ’03

Novelist

“I am so thankful that my 18-year-old self unwittingly chose an education that has lived on inside me and continues to teach me things a quarter century after the fact.”