Jennifer Fricas

Jennifer Fricas is the dean of the senior class. She is excited to bring her diverse experiences in education to Smith for the purpose of partnering with senior students in their transitions to post-Smith destinations. She is especially interested in supporting seniors in reflecting, imagining, problem solving, and action planning as they consider and embark upon their next life phase.

Dean Fricas brings extensive experience in teaching, multidisciplinary collaboration, and program development to Smith. She was a faculty member in the College of Nursing at Seattle University for 18 years, teaching population health, epidemiology, philosophy of science, and core curriculum courses in global health and critical disability studies. She is an experienced program planner and evaluator, designing and leading a yearlong population health internship, as well as developing and nurturing diverse education abroad experiences. She has accompanied students on education abroad to Belize five times as they partnered with local organizations to learn about health and social work.

Dean Fricas earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Public Health in Global Health Policy from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from James Madison University. She is a nationally recognized expert in photovoice, a participatory photography research and program evaluation method.

She is excited to return to Massachusetts, where her parents and extended family live. In her spare time, she enjoys multiple forms of crafting, identifying birds, thrifting, and playing with her Chiweenie, Luna.