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SMITH COLLEGE SETS COMMENCEMENT
Media representatives with clear identification can sit in the press box adjacent to the stage. Background about the speaker and honorary degree recipients is available at www.smith.edu/newsoffice/releases/06-CommencementSpeaker.html
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Smith College will hold its 129th commencement ceremony, honoring 672 graduating seniors and 61 advanced degree candidates at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 20, in the Quadrangle at the corner of Paradise Road and Elm Street.
Gloria Steinem’s lifelong career as a writer and journalist began when she graduated from Smith in 1956. Her early freelance articles include an investigative piece for Show magazine on the working conditions of Playboy bunnies. By the 1960s, Steinem had gained national attention as the outspoken leader of the women’s movement. In 1971, she co-founded Ms. magazine, which became an influential forum for feminist issues. Around that time, Steinem and several other leading feminists – including Betty Friedan, Smith Class of 1942 – also founded the National Women’s Political Caucus. Steinem remains a tireless promoter of equality for women around the world.
Following the speech by Steinem, four other accomplished women will be awarded honorary degrees. They are: Helene Gayle, pediatrician and director of health initiatives; Ruth Holmberg, journalist and Smith Class of 1943; Nancy Hopkins, geneticist; and Lauren Lazin, award-winning filmmaker and Smith Class of 1982.
Smith’s commencement ceremony is free and open to the public. In case of rain, the college bells will ring at 8:15 and 8:30 a.m., to signal that the event will take place in the Indoor Track and Tennis (ITT) facility on West Street.
The following statistics offer a glimpse of the students who make up the Smith College Class of 2007:
672 Baccalaureate Degree Recipients
647 will receive bachelor of arts degrees
25 will receive bachelor of science degrees in engineering
117 are double majors
67 completed their studies in January
63 are Ada Comstock Scholars, women of nontraditional age
61 years - oldest graduating Ada Comstock Scholar
25 years - youngest graduating Ada Comstock Scholar
20 Adas have offspring
6 Adas are double majors
4 popular majors among Adas: English, psychology, studio art, art history.
45 states represented by the recipients
31 countries represented by the recipients
5 popular majors overall: government, psychology, art, economics and engineering
61 Advanced Degree Recipients
12 diploma in American Studies
13 master of education of the deaf
13 master of education
9 master of science in excercise and sports studies
5 master of fine arts
4 master of science
3 master of arts in teaching
2 master of arts
Smith College is consistently ranked among the nation’s foremost liberal arts colleges. Enrolling 2,800 students from nearly every state and 61 other countries, Smith is the largest undergraduate women’s college in the country -30-
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Office of College
Relations
Smith College
Garrison Hall
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 |
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Kristen Cole
Media Relations Director
T (413) 585-2190
F (413) 585-2174
kacole@email.smith.edu
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