Campus Welcome for President-Elect Kathleen McCartney

The Smith community will kick off the spring semester with an all-campus assembly and reception welcoming President-elect Kathleen McCartney.

McCartney will speak at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, in John M. Greene Hall as part of her first official visit to the college since the announcement of her appointment as Smith’s 11th president on December 10. The event will be webcast live.

Board of Trustees Chair Elizabeth Eveillard will formally introduce McCartney, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an internationally recognized authority on child development and early education, at the gathering of faculty, staff and students.

McCartney will receive greetings from members of the community, as well as a welcome from President Carol T. Christ. James Lowenthal, professor of astronomy and chair of the Faculty Council, will speak on behalf of the faculty. Donna Safford, admission assistant and chair of the Staff Council, will speak on behalf of the staff; and senior Dahna Black, president of the Student Government Association, will speak on behalf of the students.

McCartney will offer her reflections on joining the Smith community.

McCartney’s appointment is effective July 1. She will be joined at Smith by her husband Bill Hagen. Following the program, the Smith community is invited to a reception for McCartney and Hagen in the Campus Center Carroll Room.

Smith College educates women of promise for lives of distinction. One of the largest women’s colleges in the United States, Smith enrolls 2,600 students from nearly every state and more than 60 other countries.