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President Carol T. Christ is holding small-group
conversations with students, faculty and staff about positioning Smith most successfully
for the future. Here's a summary of one of the discussions.
President Christ opened the conversation with an overview of the planning process
and why the college is engaging in strategic planning at this time. The last such
process, which took place almost a decade ago, was transformational for the campus,
resulting in a number of new programs and facilities, including the Brown Fine Arts
Center, Kahn Institute, the Campus Center, the Olin Fitness Center, the Poetry Center
and the Picker Engineering Program.
As we seek to build upon and further Smith’s success at this time, she noted,
the broad questions we need to ask are the following:
What are the capacities we should seek to develop in all of our students during
their time at Smith -- not just in the classroom, but outside the classroom as
well?
What should be the prime issues for Smith for the next decade? What should be at
the top of Smith’s list of priorities?
A student suggested that a top issue should be social responsibility and positive
community relations with the city of Northampton. The president noted that a commitment
to social responsibility and engagement is strong among alumnae, many of whom believe
that social responsibility should be a defining value of the college. However, data
indicates that Smith students participate less in community service than those at
some peer institutions. She asked the group to reflect on this surprising statistic.
A discussion ensued about the challenges of finding -- and finding time for -- volunteer
opportunities. A faculty member suggested that the college develop (and staff) a
program for community-based learning. Such a program, it was noted, would support
two of the student major capacities the faculty has been considering: (1) critical
thinking, and (2) the ability of students -- and all of us -- to learn
to live with the increasing multiplicity of cultures in this society.
The issue was raised about replacements for retiring faculty, some of whom are faculty
of color. A faculty member said that having a diverse faculty should be a top priority.
President Christ responded that the capacity for students to live in a multiplicity
of cultures, which is linked to faculty diversity, is a real concern of hers. The
slow rate of faculty hiring is a tough, tough issue, she noted, since the faculty
grew 25 positions beyond its traditional size in a few years, and the college is
paying the price now.
A student raised the importance of financial aid, noting
that she wouldn’t
be at Smith without aid. President Christ explained that, among its peers, Smith
has the largest percentage of students on financial aid: 60 percent. “This
is a commitment I feel strongly that Smith should sustain. But we’ve just heard
faculty talking about faculty size. In any institution, there are trade-offs. The
faculty thus far has been really committed to financial aid, and the socioeconomic
diversity of the student body. Should financial aid be identified as one of
the issues we should really study? What should the balance be?”
Conversation turned to the role of math, science and engineering in the curriculum.
One student pointed out that supporting and promoting study in such fields enhances
the validity of Smith’s mission as a women’s college. Another said that,
while math and science are very important, we must promote the humanities and social
sciences as well, including disciplines such as women’s studies. A faculty
member expressed puzzlement at the idea that, by promoting science, Smith is not
promoting social sciences. “We are working on the connections -- for example,
courses that will connect computer science and the arts. It’s true that a lot
of money goes to engineering, but we also renovated Sage Hall and the Brown Fine
Arts Center and Museum.”
Noting the wealth of intelligent and curious students at Smith, with wide-ranging
interests, a faculty member expressed the desire to think less in terms of what students
will study and more in terms of what they will be able to do when they leave the
college, such as think critically and make connections between different areas of
knowledge.”
A staff member raised the issue of balancing a culture of ambition and achievement
with the need to take care of the emotional self. The group discussed the role (positive
and negative) of the Campus Center as a party venue and the desire for greater social
cooperation among the Five Colleges.
President Christ asked the group to offer their top priority issues for the planning
process.
A staff member endorsed the need for Smith “to be a place that’s more
welcoming for different races and ethnicities.”
A faculty member stressed the importance of preparing students to be good citizens -- to
engage with the difficult issues in the world. Support was expressed for giving students
the tools to figure out “how to live a decent life, to find balance.”
A student said she’d like more flexibility for students to enjoy themselves,
flexibility for social events for houses that have lost their dining rooms (one night
a week, or one night a month).
A number of students expressed the need support for diversity of all kinds -- socioeconomic,
ethnic, political and more -- and for the often difficult conversations around
issues of diversity. She expressed a desire for “a strong base of easily accessible
and well known resources and community support” for students of diverse backgrounds.
President Christ summarized the discussion by saying she had gathered a powerful
sense of the issues that this group thinks should be on the college’s plate -- diversity
in multiple and complex ways, living a balanced life, faculty renewal, and house
and campus community.
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