People News March 2021

Smith faculty and staff members honored with awards from the Student Government Association at this year’s Rally Day celebration on February 18 were Will Williams, associate professor of physics, and Samuel Ng, assistant professor of Africana studies, who received SGA Teaching Awards; and Whitley Hadley, associate director of multicultural affairs, and Carol Kelly, Campus Center catering cook assistant, who received SGA Gavel Awards for staff.

This image by Emilia Tamayo ’23 of a woman in Anapoima, Cuindinamarca, Colombia, won the People's Choice Award in a photo contest hosted by the Lewis Global Studies Center.

Several students recently received awards in the 2021 Lewis Global Studies Center’s Global Encounters Photo and Video Contests. Judge’s Choice photo awards were presented to Renna Earp ’21, Ejona Gjata ’21, April Hopcroft ’21 and Yasmine Porath ’24. The People’s Choice photo award was presented to Emilia Tamayo ’23. Winning videos were by Esther Ishimwe ’22, Malaika Kironde ’23 and Simin Saba Royesh ‘21J.

Michael Barresi, professor of biological sciences, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to support research using advanced light-sheet microscopy tools and interdisciplinary data sciences collaborations. Smith is one of eight institutions to receive the grant, which aims to increase access by scientists to state-of-the-art instruments. Barresi and Smith co-researchers Nathan Derr, associate professor of biological sciences, and Ben Baumer, associate professor of statistical and data sciences, will collaborate with Five College students across disciplines and with some 20 laboratories in the Pioneer Valley in using the one-of-a-kind microscope and computing power.

Sarah Mazza, assistant professor of geosciences, has been awarded a prestigious fellowship from the Sloan Research Foundation—the first such award to a Smith faculty member. Mazza is one of 128 early-career scholars chosen to receive the $75,000 two-year award to support promising research. Recipients are chosen based on achievements and potential that “place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada.”

Chris Aiken, associate professor of dance, is part of a National Endowment for the Arts research project at the University of Massachusetts Laboratory for the Scientific Study of Dance. The project will design methods for quantifying adult behavior in dance and will test the association between dance experience and physical and mental health.

Anaiis Cisco, assistant professor of film and media studies, recently premiered “Breathing Free,” a visual album produced by Heartbeat Opera at two west coast venues: The Broad Stage and the Mondavi Center at the University of California Davis. The song cycle features Negro spirituals, music by Beethoven and Harry T. Burleigh, and works by writers including Langston Hughes and Thulani Davis.

Lesley-Ann Giddings, assistant professor of chemistry, gave a February talk on “The search for new microbial natural products and biocatalysts” for the Penn State chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers.

Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, associate professor of history, gave a virtual talk, “The N-Word: Race, Language and the University Classroom,” for the UCLA School of Law’s Inaugural Black History Month Lecture in February.

Two alums have been named Fulbright Scholars: Christina Goethel ’13 and Lora Harris ’98. Goethel, who majored in environmental science and policy at Smith and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, will be doing post-doctoral research and teaching in Iceland. Harris, who majored in biological sciences at Smith and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, will explore questions of estuarine ecology in Finland.

Smith was recently recognized at an event on “Proven Strategies for Achieving Diversity in Construction,” sponsored by the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. Featuring Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), State Sen. Jo Comerford and State Rep. Mindy Domb, the recognition emphasized “Smith’s example and leadership in having diversity goals in the Neilson Library project.”

Smith alums are well represented on the national New Leadership Council, a nonprofit promoting progressive millennial thought leadership. Alums selected by the council as 2021 Fellows are Lauren Weston ’15 (Vermont), Nadia Belkin ’14 (Denver), Sibyl Brown ’14 (Maryland), Tara West ’11 SSW (New Hampshire), Alexandria Julius ’14 (New York), Emma Yourd ’12 (Pittsburgh) and Natasha McGlynn ’08 (Philadelphia).

Sarah Chu ’19 has been selected as a 2021 Matthew Isakowitz Fellow, a program for aspiring space industry leaders that offers summer internship positions at commercial space companies. Chu, who majored in engineering at Smith and is now a graduate student in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech, will intern with Analytical Space in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Alice Howe ’13 performed in January as part of the Boch Center’s music television series “The Ghost Light Series.” Howe, a recording artist who majored in medieval studies at Smith, was accompanied in her performance by veteran bassist Freebo.

Poet Jamaica Baldwin ’08 is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship. Baldwin, who majored in Afro-American studies at Smith, earned an M.F.A. from Pacific University Oregon. Her poetry has appeared in the Missouri Review and TriQuarterly, among other publications.

Danielle Grimm ’08 has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. Grimm, who majored in neuroscience at Smith, earned a master’s degree in public health from Boston University.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy ’02 was a guest on a February 9 episode of “This Being Human,” a new prodcast produced by the Aga Khan Museum, North America’s first museum dedicated to the arts of Muslim cultures. Obaid-Chinoy was interviewed by journalist and educator Abdul-Rehman Malik about her childhood, her dreams of going to Smith and her career as a director and filmmaker.

Ruthanne Buck ’01 served as an education adviser for President Joe Biden’s transition team. Buck, who majored in history at Smith, was a field operative for a Congressional race in Montana and has worked on political campaigns in many other parts of the country.

Vermont State Senator Becca Balint ’90 is the first openly gay person and the first woman to be elected by her peers to the post of state senate pro tempore. Balint, a former middle school teacher who was elected to the Vermont Senate in 2015, majored in women’s studies at Smith and earned a master of education degree from Harvard.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin ’84 is the recipient of a Stonewall Award from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity for her work championing LGBTQ legal causes. Elected to the U.S. House in 1999 and the U.S. Senate in 2013, Baldwin has been a supporter of same-sex marriage and other civil rights issues. She majored in government and mathematics at Smith and earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Diane Primo ’77 is the author of “The ALL Report,” a new handbook for business leaders about diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Primo, who majored in government and philosophy at Smith, earned an M.B.A. from Harvard. She is chairman and CEO of Purpose Brand in Chicago.

Smith Trustee Deborah Farrington ’72 has been named one of the Top 100 Harvard Business School Alumni in Finance and Investing. Farrington, who majored in economics at Smith and earned an M.B.A. at Harvard, is the founder of StarVest Partners in New York. She began her career as assistant treasurer at Chase Manhattan Bank.