 |
 Tammy
Baldwin ’84 made many firsts when she was elected
U.S. Senator from Wisconsin last week: the first woman from
Wisconsin elected to the U.S. Senate; the first openly gay
person to serve in the upper body of Congress; the first
Smith alumna to serve in the senate; and a member of the
largest class of women (20) ever to serve in the senate.
But Baldwin wasn’t the only Smith alumna to win on Election
Day 2012. Several other alumnae entered public office with
wins of their own.
 was re-elected
to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts’ 5th
District. Tsongas, a Democrat, has served as a U.S.
Congresswoman since winning a special election in 2007. The
widow of the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas, Niki Tsongas
is the first woman from Massachusetts elected to the U.S.
Congress in 25 years.
Sara Howard ’03 was to win seats in the heavily Republican state of Nebraska.
Howard won a seat in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature.
She was elected to a seat her mother, Sen. Gwen Howard, currently
holds and is leaving due to term limits. Howard is one of
only 10 women (among 49 senators) serving in the chamber
in the next session, beginning in January.
 , an
Alumnae Admission Coordinator, won her bid running as a Democrat
for a seat in the Maine House, District 66 (Brunswick, ME,
her hometown), with 45.62 percent of the vote in a three-way
race. Daughtry ran for the office, she explains on her Web
site, after becoming concerned with the leadership of Governor
Paul LePage. Daughtry is a partner at Maquoit Bay Associates,
a consulting firm specializing in management, fundraising
and social media solutions for nonprofits. “I am a product
of [Brunswick] and have been shaped by this community,” she
writes. “I now feel impelled to give back, to make a difference.”
 President
Christ will appear on the Academy of Music stage
on Sunday, Nov. 4, when she portrays the character the Solicitor
in a Valley Light Opera (VLO) matinee (2 p.m.) performance
of the Gilbert and Sullivan work Patience,
or Bunthorne’s
Bride. Christ’s role, which has no lines, appears in
both Act I and Act II. Other actors will fill the role in
other performances—Mount Holyoke College President Lynn
Pasquerella on the Saturday, Nov. 3, evening performance;
and Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash on Saturday,
Nov. 10. “VLO
has a history of tapping interesting people from our local
communities for certain walk-on parts,” notes Jonathan Evans,
of the VLO board of directors. “It’s fun for the audience.” Valley
Light Opera is an Amherst company that primarily performs
the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, among other works.
 Rob
Dorit,
director of biological sciences, is one in the
2012 class of Fellows of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences
(MAS), a prestigious community of scientists, engineers,
research physicians and others who concerned with science
and science education in the state. MAS Fellows are elected
by their peers in honor of their scientific accomplishments
and service to the science community.
David
Byers, a faculty member in the School for Social
Work, recently traveled to Jerusalem to teach at the Palestinian
Al Quds University, as part of a partnership between that
institution’s
social work school and the Smith School for Social Work.
The connection was forged earlier this fall when Josh Miller,
professor of social work, also taught at Al Quds and, with
the school’s dean, invited other Smith faculty to teach and
participate in faculty development there. “I am so deeply
impressed by the students I have been teaching,” reported
Byers, who is also a doctoral student at the School for Social
Work, recently from Al Quds. “The students are extremely
motivated, receptive, and very sophisticated. I can’t tell
you what a moving and powerful experience this has been for
me.”
 Lauren
Woodman ‘91 is among
four new members appointed to the board of the National Education
Association Foundation Board of Directors. Woodman serves
as general manager of Microsoft Corporation’s flagship
education program Partners in Learning, a nearly $500 million
investment in global education including professional development,
training, classroom resources and research to more than 200
million students and 10 million teachers. Woodman, who earned
a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in economics
and foreign policy, is the former executive vice president
for the Software & Information Industry Association. The
NEA Foundation is an independent, public charity supported
by contributions from educators, corporate sponsors and others
to create improvements in teaching and learning.
 Deborah
N. Archer ‘93, professor of law at New York Law School, was
recently appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at
the school. As associate dean, she will work to develop the
school’s curriculum and help drive efforts at innovation
in legal education. “We are please the Professor Archer has
accepted this new challenge at the law school,” said Anthony
W. Crowell, dean and president of the school, in appointing
Archer. “Deborah has distinguished herself as both a scholar
and clinician at NYLS since 2003, and will bring great leadership,
vision, and tenacity to a demanding and rewarding position.” Archer
directs the NYLS Racial Justice Project, which works to protect
the constitutional and civil rights of people of color and
increase public awareness of racism, racial injustice and
inequality. Archer earned her J.D. from Yale Law School in
1996.
Patrick
Connelly, assistant
director of Office of Student Engagement student programs,
recently contributed a chapter to The College Union Idea,
Second Edition, a comprehensive history of college unions
from their early start as debating societies to modern-day
facilities at the heart of campus, published by the Association
of College Unions International (ACUI). The College Union
Idea was originally published in 1971, surveying the history
of college unions (often called campus centers in recent
decades) from “Beginnings” through
the 1960s. Connelly joined six other representatives from
American colleges and universities in adding chapters to
the second edition, covering the years 1970 to 2010. “While
the book covers a wide span of history, it has a really fresh
look with vibrant colors and photos throughout,” said Connelly. “We
wanted it to be both readable and relatable, and I think
we accomplished that.” The ACUI is a nonprofit educational
organization that brings together college union and student
activities professionals from hundreds of schools in seven
countries.
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People News is a column for publicizing
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