Smith College: Strategic Planning


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ENCOURAGE PURPOSEFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH SOCIETY’S CHALLENGES

From the time of its founding, Smith has inspired its students to increase their power for effective social action, and fostered their development as citizens and ethical leaders. Conversations with alumnae, students, faculty, and staff have identified and reaffirmed the centrality of this goal to the college’s mission.

The residential character of our community also provides many opportunities to develop the capacities essential to such development. We can model within the college the robust civil discourse critical to living in a diverse society. Moreover, our location in the city of Northampton and proximity to urban areas provide opportunities for community-based learning, allowing students to use the intellectual tools they have acquired in applied projects of tangible impact and social significance.

Areas for Exploration


	What will most effectively build the capacity for civil discourse among our students and our larger community?

	How can the college develop a full and robust conversation about diversity?

	What are effective structures and opportunities for volunteer engagement in the community and for community based learning? How can we utilize alumnae and others to further this goal?

	How can we most effectively develop the capacity for ethical reasoning?

	How can the college foster a culture of active engagement with social, political, aesthetic, and scientific issues on all levels (local, national, and global)?

Potential Strategies Emerging from Campus and Alumnae Discussions


	Integrate internships and service learning more fully into the curriculum. Use Praxis more effectively and tie it to curricular issues.

	Highlight community involvement opportunities in communications with prospective students during the admission process.

	Integrate service learning into the curriculum, including coursework, thesis work, and independent projects.

	Recognize students for their work in and contributions to the surrounding communities, and highlight alumnae who have made substantial contributions to their communities.

	Offer faculty workshops on “ways of learning” to assist their efforts to engage students from diverse backgrounds in the classroom.

	Develop initiatives to support civil discourse through “difficult dialogues” for students.


	Next: Deepen Students’ Awareness and Appreciation of Other Cultures and Global Issues >

The Planning Process

Re-imagining the
Liberal Arts at Smith

Strategic Directions

Strengthen essential student capacities

Promote a culture of research, inquiry,
& discovery

Encourage purposeful engagement with society’s challenges

Deepen students’ awareness &
appreciation of
other cultures &
global issues

Prepare women for rewarding lives in a rapidly changing world

Support & promote environmental sustainability

Open doors to
women of promise

Extend Smith’s
impact on the world

Committee on
Mission & Priorities