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Ivy Day, May 19, 2007; Second Reunion
Weekend, May 26, 2007
In giving the “State of the College” address,
I join a long tradition of Smith presidents who have gone before me -- presidents
Seelye, Burton, Neilson, Davis, Wright, Mendenhall, Conway, Dunn and Simmons -- in
presenting you a formal accounting of Smith’s recent past as well as a sightline
on its future.
First and foremost, your college has a new statement
of its mission and values, approved just two weeks ago by the Board of Trustees.
I want to present this to you, because it is the core of our identity, the center
of all that we do.
“Smith College educates women of promise for lives
of distinction. A college of and for the world, Smith links the power of the liberal
arts to excellence in research and scholarship, developing leaders for society’s
challenges.”
That is our mission, and these, then, are our values:
- “Smith is a community dedicated to learning, teaching, scholarship, discovery,
creativity and critical thought.
- “Smith is committed to access and diversity, recruiting and supporting
talented, ambitious women of all backgrounds.
- “Smith educates women to understand the complexity of human history and
the variety of the world’s cultures through engagement with social, political,
aesthetic and scientific issues.
- “Smith prepares women to fulfill their responsibilities to the local, national,
and global communities in which they live and to steward the resources that sustain
them.”
Our mission is embodied in our students and our alumnae.
Smith is of you and about you. Any recounting of our accomplishments is an accounting
of your accomplishments, the result of your talents and capacities and those of our
faculty and staff, and our graduates around the world.
First, it is no secret that Smithies are engaged --
engaged with the critical issues of our communities, our nation and the world.
Praxis internships are one great example of Smith students
in the world. More than 60 percent of the Class of 2007 undertook Praxis internships,
engaging real-world challenges in fields of social services and welfare, the arts,
health, education, media, and the sciences. By way of example, Elisabeth Sexton interned
at the United Nations Development Program in Cairo; Katharine McFarland interned
at the Boston Police Department; Kirby Capen taught at the School for the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing in Ghana; Katie Chase interned at the Washington bureau of CNN; and
Jamie Wilcox interned at Global Vision International, rehabilitating monkeys in South
Africa.
Societal engagement is part of the curriculum as well. This year, our senior class
of engineers took on a number of significant real-world projects, including the design
of a personal computer for tropical environments; a fuel cell that runs on methane
gas; a new solid waste transfer station for the city of Northampton; and the restoration
of a Cape Cod salt marsh.
Twelve seniors have been accepted to the Teach for America
program, a success rate that is double the national average. Among them are Megan
Ambrus, Capitola Anderson, Danielle Morello, Chandler Patton, Melissa MacDonald,
Carly Ramer, Noreen Shaikh and Sasha Werblin. They will spend two years teaching
in under-resourced schools in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, New York, South Dakota
and other regions.
Last fall, senior Michaela LeBlanc ran a vigorous campaign
for the Massachusetts state senate, seeking to unseat a 16-year incumbent.
Lauren Wolfe ’05, whom many of you remember, was
appointed president of the College Democrats of America.
Luma Mufleh ’97 was featured in a major New
York Times story that showcased her work as the coach of a soccer team of
refugee children in Georgia -- an experience that has led to extensive national
and international media coverage and plans for a feature film.
Smith believes in its mission as a community of conscience.
At the May meeting of the board of trustees, the college affirmed its opposition
to the genocidal regime of the Sudanese government by specifying 27 companies in
which we will not invest the college’s endowment. Our work in this area has
been deeply informed by the tireless advocacy of Professor Eric Reeves, a member
of our English faculty, one of the most prominent and effective voices in the Sudan
movement. Eric was recently honored for his work at an event for CARE and Doctors
Without Borders, co-chaired by senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry.
* * *
As a result of their engagement in the world and their
passion for their work, the people of Smith are, once again, at the top of their
fields.
This fall, we elected 13 students to Phi Beta Kappa,
from the top 3 percent of their class who had taken courses in each of the seven
major fields of knowledge. This afternoon, we will induct 56 more.
We awarded the first Smith College Poetry Prize to a
Massachusetts high school junior, Sarah Loucks, a student at Milton Academy.
Our faculty garnered more than $3 million in grants
and awards this year, from the National Institutes of Health, National Endowment
for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and other
organizations.
Professor of English Michael Gorra received a Guggenheim
Fellowship and Suleiman Mourad received an NEH fellowship to study at the Mu’tazilah
School of Islamic theology.
Associate Professor of Engineering Susan Voss received
the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award for young faculty,
a CAREER award, to develop a diagnostic tool for critically ill neurology patients.
She is the fifth Smith faculty member to receive the CAREER Award -- and the
second within the college’s young engineering program -- since establishment
of the awards in 1995.
Sherrerd Distinguished Teaching Prizes were announced
for Mary Harrington, neuroscience; Sabina Knight, East Asian languages and literature;
Borjana Mikic, engineering; and Kevin Quashie, Afro-American Studies.
The National Sculpture Society presented its highest
award, the Medal of Honor, to Professor Emeritus Elliot Offner.
Joanne Corbin, associate professor in the School for
Social Work, received the 2006 “Greatest Contribution to Social Work Education
Award” from the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers.
Charis Medals, in recognition of a quarter century of
teaching, scholarship and service to Smith, were awarded to professors Rick Fantasia,
Malgorzata Pfabe, Elizabeth Savoca, Patricia Sipe, Vicky Spelman, and Steve Williams.
The Museum of Art and the libraries’ rare book
room received major awards for new exhibition catalogues and publications.
Five alumnae, each a standout in her field, received
Smith Medals at Rally Day. They are environmental lawyer Sarah Chasis ’69;
children’s author Mary Ann Hoberman ’51; physician Carolyn Kaelin ’83;
feminist biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine ’78; and international correspondent
and columnist Trudy Rubin ’65.
Rally Day also saw the presentation of the student teaching
awards to professors Jill de Villiers and Floyd Cheung. The Elizabeth Wyandt Gavel
Award, which recognizes outstanding staff members, was presented to senior housekeeper
Beverly Byrnes and custodian James Littles.
Forbes magazine again named Marilyn Carlson Nelson ’61,
chief executive of Carlson Companies Inc., and Shelly Lazarus '68, chief executive
of Ogilvy & Mather, to its “most powerful in business” list.
The Atlantic Monthly named the late Betty Friedan ’42
among the 100 most influential Americans of all time. In addition, they named Gloria
Steinem ’56 among the most influential living Americans, and Sylvia Plath ’55
among the top five American poets.
Adrian LeBlanc ’86, journalist and author of Random
Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx, was awarded a MacArthur “genius
grant.”
Kathleen Marshall ’85 won a Tony Award for best
choreography for the Broadway hit The Pajama Game. She also received
a nomination for best director for the same show.
Catherine Hunt ’77 assumed the presidency of the
American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
Cynthia Ann Telles ’74, of the UCLA School of
Medicine, was listed among Hispanic Business’s “100 Most Influential
Hispanics.”
Sarah Thomas ’70 was appointed head of Oxford
University’s Bodleian Library, the first woman and first non-Briton to lead
the library in its 400-year history; Karen Rosenblum Lawrence ’71 was named
president of Sarah Lawrence College and Karen Gross ’74 was named president
of Southern Vermont College.
And finally, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander ’44 received
the prestigious Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Lifetime Achievement Award.
* * *
As always, Smithies have proven they are strong and
fast.
Senior Shayla Livingston broke an 11-year outdoor
track and field record in the 200 meter hurdles and ranked third in the country in
the 400-meter hurdles.
Senior McKane Sharff broke a 19-year record in the 55-meter
dash and went on to finish 13th in national competition at Terre Haute, Indiana.
Both Shayla and McKane won all-conference honors at
the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships last week.
Sophomore Nora Youngs qualified for the NCAA cross-country
championships.
Soccer captured the ECAC New England Women’s Championship
for the third time since 1987 and competed in the NEWMAC finals. Phil Nielsen was
named NEWMAC Coach of the Year.
The ski team earned a berth in the nationals and finished
6th in the country.
The crew team placed fourth out of 17 at the New England
Rowing championships.
Seventy-two of our 260 athletes earned GPA’s of
3.5 or higher and were recently honored as Smith Scholar Athletes.
Michelle Nolen Senner ’99 received several awards
for horsemanship and Jessica Willis ’05 qualified for the 40th annual Horse
Show Association National Championships.
Two Smith coaches retired from coaching this year. Liz
Feeley, basketball coach for Smith for seven years and a career coach for 20
years, and Judy Strong, Smith’s field hockey coach for 22 years, have left
coaching to pursue other passions.
Finally, Senda Berenson, the first director of physical
education at Smith, from 1892 to 1911, was inducted this spring into the National
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. After becoming friends with Dr. James Naismith,
who invented the game of basketball at Springfield College, she adapted his rules
for a women’s game and directed the first women’s collegiate basketball
game on March 22, 1893, in Smith’s Alumnae Gymnasium.
* * *
United by talent and drive, Smithies are diverse --
and shaping a diverse world wherever they live and work.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the Office
of Institutional Diversity at Smith, as well as the completion of the study Common
Ground: Community in Diversity, whose recommendations on campus climate have become
an important part of the college’s strategic plan. I thank the many alumnae
who joined our campus committee in guiding and developing that report.
Senior Amal Osman was recently named treasurer of the
National Society of Black Engineers, an organization committed to fostering culturally
responsible African-American engineers. It is the largest student-managed organization
in the United States.
In support of diversity in the academy, Smith recently
awarded Mellon Mays fellowships to Ada Comstock Scholar Monica Harris and sophomores
Donielle Hatcher, Wendy Roman, Maya Wei-Haas and Emily Yen. The fellowships
are designed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities entering Ph.D.
programs.
Evelyn Boyd Granville ’45, professor emerita at
the California State College and University System and the second African American
woman in U.S. history to receive a doctorate in mathematics, was one of 17 notable
women documented in Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black
Women Scientists on Race, Gender, and Their Passion for Science. In addition, she received an honorary
degree from Spelman College.
* * *
From the college’s earliest days, Smithies have
been international -- in their origins, values, outlooks and influence. That
tradition continues today.
Some 60 percent of the class of 2007 has had significant
immersion in another country, usually for a full academic year, often in combination
with an internship experience. Many of you have developed near-fluency in a second -- or
third -- language and culture.
When Fulbright Fellowship totals were announced last
fall, Smith, with 16, surpassed its own record for the third straight time, beating
last year’s record of 14 recipients. With 16 winners out of 38 applicants,
Smith boasted the best success ratio in the country. This year, as results are becoming
known, we have 13 Fulbrights to date -- eight seniors and five alumnae -- and
more decisions are forthcoming. Our Fubright Fellows are seniors Azmi Ahmad, Krystal
Banzon, Julie Goshe, Josine Greenblatt, Rebecca Heeb, Catherine Housholder, Kathleen
Klaus and Michaela LeBlanc, and alumnae Hannah Clancy ’06, Kristen Sobeck ’06,
Sebrina Somers ’99, Briana St. John ’06 and Samantha Wiratunga ’99.
Smith is also well represented among Boren Scholars,
D.A.A.D Fellows, and Goldwater Scholars. These awards are a great honor and distinction
for the college.
Smith’s international commitments were highlighted
on the world stage by the recent visit of His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai
Lama, recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize and the spiritual and political leader
of the Tibetan people. His highly anticipated speech to 5,000 Smith and Hampshire
college community members, and to members of the local Tibetan community, honored
the Five College Tibetan Studies in India program. I can’t emphasize enough
what an extraordinary event this was, and how pleased I am that our students had
this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a profoundly moving experience that will
not soon be forgotten.
* * *
Increasingly, Smithies -- and their college --
are becoming leaders in sustainability.
This year, Smith was recognized as one of North America’s
leading colleges in the area of sustainability. We earned one of the few top grades
on a report card released by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
This fall, we expect to bring on line an $11.5 million
combined heat and power system, more commonly referred to as a cogeneration system,
an environmentally and economically efficient system that will replace the campus’s
60-year-old steam boiler system. Cogeneration will reduce the college’s dependence
on fossil fuel and cut the college’s greenhouse gas emissions by half.
Sustainable values are informing our new construction
as well. Ninety percent of the old materials and waste from the construction of Ford
Hall, our new engineering and molecular sciences building, are expected to be recycled
-- that’s
a remarkable rate, 90 percent -- easing the burden on landfills and making building
materials available for re-use by non-profits and others. As befits our engineering
and science programs, Ford Hall will be a recognized “green” building,
certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable design, construction,
operation and materials.
Beyond buildings, Smith is also investing in sustainable
transportation. This fall, we began a partnership with Zipcar, the nation’s
largest car-sharing service, through which our students, faculty and staff, as well
as the local community, can rent cars by the hour or the day. Interest in the program
has been strong, and if demand continues we will increase the number of Zipcars we
lease for the campus.
* * *
It is worth saying -- even as it goes without saying -- that
Smith stands for women.
This year, with a $1.5 million grant from the National
Science Foundation, Smith established a new Center for Women in Mathematics, designed
to increase the number of talented women in the mathematics pipeline and to retain
them in what can be a difficult environment at many institutions. The Center’s
first two initiatives -- a junior-year-at-Smith program for women from other colleges
and the nation’s first postbaccalaureate mathematics program -- will start
this fall.
Last fall we dedicated Conway House, Smith’s first
residence built specifically for Ada Comstock Scholars with children and families.
Named in honor of Jill Ker Conway and John Conway, champions of the Ada program,
the 10-unit apartment building gives Adas with children something they have long
deserved: a Smith house of their own.
I am also proud to note that a new book, Feminists
Who Changed America, includes many Smithies, among them law professor, writer and activist
Catharine MacKinnon ’69; professor of women’s studies Claire Goldberg
Moses ’63; and Smith Professor of Government Martha Ackelsberg, a founding
member of the New York Women’s Health Collective in 1970.
* * *
Each year at this time we recognize people who have
worked on behalf of the college and who are retiring from their posts. Amelia Kegan ’04,
past president of the SGA, will reach the end of her two-year term on the Board of
Trustees this year. Trustees Gayle Jackson ’67, Jane Pearsall ’57 and
Joanne Griffin ’72, president of the alumnae association, are completing their
terms as well. We thank them for their generous and dedicated service to Smith. We
welcome to the Board senior Megan Ambrus, SGA president; Linda Smith Charles ’74;
Lisa Ferrell ’85; Charlotte Kea ’82, president of the alumnae association;
Judith Carol Pelham ’67; and Linda E. Salisbury ’78.
Eleven faculty members are retiring this year after
decades of exemplary teaching and scholarship. They are:
- Frédérique Apffel-Marglin, Anthropology
- Merrie Bergmann, Computer Science
- C. John Burk, Biological Sciences
- H. Allen Curran, Geology
- John Hellweg, Theatre
- Elizabeth Hopkins, Anthropology
- Victoria Poletto, Italian
- Denise Rochat, French
- Marjorie Senechal, Math and the History of the Sciences and Technology
- Joachim Stieber, History, and
- Nicomedes Suarez-Arauz, Spanish and Portuguese
We must also pause to remember those members of our
community who died this year:
- First-year student Elizabeth Aakre.
- Associate Professor of Psychology Stefan Bodnarenko.
- Emeritus Professor of World Religions Dennis Hudson.
- Senior Laboratory Instructor of Chemistry Virginia White.
- Art Department Slide Curator Beverly Cronin.
- Neurobiology researcher and writer Paola Yannielli.
- Secretary Emerita of the Board of Trustees Florence MacDonald.
- Retired music department administrator Anna Montgomery.
- Retired administrative assistant Patricia Feeney.
And, among our alumnae:
- Writer Ernestine Gilbreth Carey ’29, author of the beloved novel Cheaper
By The Dozen.
- Syndicated columnist, author and political pundit Molly Ivins ’66.
- Former Board of Trustees Chair Kathleen Bell ’44.
- And, very recently, Yolanda King ’76, an actress and producer who used
her talents and gifts to carry forth the legacy of her father, the Reverend Martin
Luther King, Junior.
Sadly, this year saw one of the most horrific tragedies
to occur on a college or university campus. The events at Virginia Tech touched all
of us in higher education and reminded us of the importance of our commitment to
educating students in a an environment of safety and freedom. In this time of celebration,
please join me in a moment of silence as we remember the families and friends of
those who lost their lives. I ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
And now to the seniors, the magnificent class of 2007.
There are 672 of you and 61 graduate students. You come from 46 U.S. states and 31
other countries. Sixty-three of you are Adas, ranging in age from 25 to 61. Together
you have completed 790 majors; 117 are double majors. The five most popular majors
are government, psychology, art, economics and English.
You are poised to go into the world, as the graduates
here have before you, reaffirming and ever reinventing what it means to be a Smith
alumna, a woman of distinction and a citizen of the world. The alumnae gathered with
you are poised to support and advise you, to welcome you to their cities and networks
of friendship, to support your endeavors and to celebrate your successes in whatever
form you define them.
Turn to them as you make your way in the world, and
then, later, reach back to offer your support to the women who come after you. Use
your gifts well, your privileges with care and generosity. Your journey begins when
you walk across this stage tomorrow; I trust it will bring you back to Smith many
times throughout your life. I wish you happiness, fulfillment and godspeed.
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