Stay Connected to Smith
The Office of Alumnae Relations and Development welcomes you to “Stay Connected to Smith,” where you can explore the vibrant tapestry of Smith’s academic, cultural, and social initiatives. Here, you’ll find a wealth of engaging content, from thought-provoking lectures to insightful articles and impactful student projects, all to keep you connected, informed, and inspired.
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Learn Something New
- Jina Kim, assistant professor of English language and literature and the study of women and gender, is the author of Care at the End of the World: Dreaming of Infrastructure in Crip-of-Color Writing (Duke University Press).
- In collaboration with Hannah Kreutzer ’24, Helena Grilliot ’24, and Wayne Ndlovu ’22, professors Amy Rhodes and Andrew Guswa are pursuing a hypothesis that reducing or replacing road salt would improve western Massachusetts’s Kampoosa Bog wetland, home to several endangered plant species.
- Erica Banks, assistant professor of sociology, has been selected as a participant in the University of Maryland’s 2025 Racial Democracy Crime Justice Network Summer Research Institute to work on her project, “Reverberations of Incarceration: The Carceral State and Black Womanhood.”
- Ben Baumer, professor of statistical and data sciences, has been selected as a 2025 fellow of the American Statistical Association. The prestigious distinction is given annually to association members for their professional contributions, leadership, and commitment to the field of statistical science.
- Esther Burson, assistant professor of psychology, gave a seminar presentation recently on “Queering Critical Consciousness: Measurement and Implications of Critical Consciousness Among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth,” for the Texas Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research.
- Rosetta Marantz Cohen, Myra M. Sampson Professor Emerita of Education and Child Study, has published a new book of poetry, Five Women, about the inner lives of women from five historical eras. The book received the 2024 Willow Run Poetry Award from Hidden River Arts.
Offerings for Alums
Feel Good
- Read a selection of little love stories to Smith, to celebrate the college’s 150th anniversary. You can submit your own story through our website.
- In honor of the college’s sesquicentennial, the Smith College Archives has compiled a series of photos capturing Smithies both in the classroom and at play. The photos span the 1880s through 2018, and they capture moments such as campus protests, astronomy classes, and one of the world’s first women’s basketball games.
- Sip, sip, hooray! First introduced during the inauguration of President Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Smith’s two custom tea blends are available for sale.
- Check out the winners of the Global Encounters Photo Contest.
- Download a beautiful Smith photo for your Zoom background.
- Miss campus? Enjoy different views of Paradise Pond through our campus webcams.
Smithies Create
- Christine Mot ’04 won the 2025 Children’s Book International Award from the American Writing Awards for her book Free Bird: Flaco the Owl’s Dreams Take Flight, illustrated by Ofra Layla Isler.
- When Markeisha Grant ’11 traveled to Mexico two years ago, she wasn’t expecting to stay. But after falling in love with the resort city of Playa del Carmen, she knew she had to call Mexico home. Now a legal resident, Grant is passionate about showing off the beauty of Mexico through her Keisha Be Traveling YouTube channel.
- Drive (2025) by Cynthia Copeland ’82 will appeal to any reader who enjoys stories about trailblazing women. Written and illustrated by Copeland, the graphic novel pivots between eras to focus on two female car enthusiasts: Janet Guthrie, a race car driver who competed during the 1960s and ’70s, and Alex, a budding mechanic inspired by Copeland’s daughter Faye Hadley, co-host of MotorTrend’s reality series All Girls Garage.
- Hailing from Portland, Maine, Lean Meats is a garage rock–synth pop band made up of Jessie Banhazl ’06 (vocals and bass), Cody Landry (synthesizer and percussion), and Banhazl’s husband, Scott Howe (guitar).
- The author of Quilting on the Go (2013) and Get Started Quilting (2015), Jessica Alexandrakis ’01 also teaches quilt-making workshops through her Life Under Quilts business.
Smithies have made their mark in literature. If you would like to have your work appear on our list of Smithie authors, please fill out this form.
Connect with Campus
Smithies in the Community
- Olaolu Aganga ’03, Mercer U.S. CIO, joins CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” to talk about her investing playbook in a volatile trading environment.
- Recently, Shevaughn Holness ’23 was one of three Brown graduate students to receive National Science Foundation research funding. Through the fellowship, she will continue her work on population genetics. “The acknowledgement of the novelty and feasibility of my research bolsters my confidence,” Holness says.
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy '02 documentary Diane von Fürstenberg: Woman in Charge has been nominated for an Emmy award. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker was previously honoured with the Cinema for Peace Dove Award for the film.
- Hampshire College has appointed Jennifer Chrisler ’92 as its interim president. Chrisler, currently serving as Hampshire’s vice president for institutional support, joined the College in 2019 as chief advancement officer.
- Kim Noltemy ’90, CEO of the LA Philharmonic, was recently named to the LA Business Journal's LA500 2025 in its "Arts & Philanthropy" category.
- Laura Tyson ’69 is a regular contributor to Project Syndicate. Her most recent article, with John Zysman, is “The Trump Global Fallout.” Tyson is a former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration, is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the Board of Advisers at Angeleno Group.
- The Actors’ Equity Foundation has given Nancy Daly ’81 the 2025 Patrick Quinn Award for Distinguished Service to Actors, which honors an individual who has worked tirelessly for the betterment of actors and stage managers.
