Encyclopedia
Smith College, located in
Northampton,
Massachusetts, is the largest women's college in the United States. It is a private, non-denominational
liberal arts college and one of the Seven Sisters.
Smith is also a member of the Five Colleges consortium, which allows its students to attend classes at four other
Pioneer Valley institutions:
Mount Holyoke College,
Amherst College,
Hampshire College, and the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Five Colleges are geographically close to one another and are linked by buses which run between the campuses.
History
The college was established in 1871 by a bequest of Sophia Smith. It opened in 1875. In 1915-
16 the student enrollment was 1,724 and the faculty numbered 163. It has a well-regarded
botanical garden designed by
Frederick Law Olmstead.
In 1975 the college celebrated its centenary.
Presidents
- Carol T. Christ
- John M. Connolly
- Ruth J. Simmons, first African-American president
- Mary Maples Dunn
- Jill Ker Conway, first woman president
- Thomas Corwin Mendenhall
- Benjamin Fletcher Wright
- Herbert Davis
- Elizabeth Cutter Morrow
- William Allan Neilson
- Marion LeRoy Burton WEF
- Laurenus Clark Seelye
Notable deans, administrators, and faculty
- Alice Ambrose - professor of philosophy
- Newton Arvin - literary critic
- Leonard Baskin - artist
- Mary Ellen Chase - professor of English
- Henri Cole - poet
- Sylvia Plath - poet
- John M. Connolly - professor of philosophy
- Anita Desai - author
- Alfred Einstein - musicologist
- Stanley Elkins - professor of history
- Hallie Flanagan - director and playwright
- Jean Garrigue - poet
- Denis Johnston - professor of philosophy
- Kurt Koffka - psychologist
- Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz - historian
- Laura Woolsey Lord Scales, Dean of Students
- Roger Sessions - composer
- David Staines - literary critic
- David Peck Todd - astronomer
- Thomas Tymoczko - philosopher
- Kurt Vonnegut - author
- Allen Weinstein - Archivist of the United States
- Dorothy Maud Wrinch - mathematician
- Chien-Shiung Wu - physicist
Academics
Smith College is the first and only women's college in the United States to grant its own undergraduate degrees in engineering. The Picker Engineering Program offers a single Bachelor of Science in engineering science, combining the fundamentals of multiple engineering disciplines.
The Ada Comstock Scholars Program is a bachelor's degree program for nontraditionally-aged
students.
Smith also has special one-year graduate programs for international students. One of such programs, an American Studies Diploma Program, was founded during the early 1960s, one of the hottest periods of the Cold War, to serve as a counterweight of international misunderstanding and violence.
More than half of Smith's juniors study overseas.
Individuals may also enroll as nondegree students by registering for one or more courses.
Undergraduate majors and minors
Both major and minor are offered in each subject unless otherwise noted.
In addition, students can design specialized majors and minors with the approval of the College and related departments.
Arts
- Art
- Architectural mythology [i]
...
Humanities and language
- Classics
- Comparative Literature
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
One of the world's oldest civilization [i]s, Korea began with the founding of Gojoseon [i] in 2333 ...
...
Sciences
Social sciences and history
Interdisciplinary
Graduate degrees and study options
Although little-known, Smith's graduate programs are open to both men and women. Each year approximately 100 men and women pursue advanced graduate work at Smith.
The college has a limited program leading to PhDs, and is part of a cooperative doctoral program co-administered by
Amherst College,
Hampshire College,
Mount Holyoke College and the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
- Other Graduate Study Options
- American Studies
- Graduate Studies
Traditions
Colors and mascot
Smith College does not have college colors in the usual sense. Its official color is white, trimmed with gold, but the official college logo is currently blue and yellow . Athletic teams have competed in blue and white uniforms since the 1970s, and selected Pioneers as the official name and mascot in 1986.
Smith has a rotating system of class colors dating back to the 1880s, when intramural athletics and other campus competitions were usually held by class. Today, class colors are yellow, red, blue and green, with incoming first-year classes assigned the color of the previous year's graduating class; their color then "follows" them through to graduation. Alumnae classes, particularly at reunion, continue to identify with and use their class color thereafter.
Residential culture
Smith requires all first year undergraduate students, as well as most other undergraduates, to live in on-campus houses. This policy is intended to add to the camraderie and social cohesion of its students. Unlike most institutions of its type, Smith College does not have dorms, but rather 36 separate houses each with their own unique flavor, built in the style that was popular during the time they were constructed . It can be said that this housing system creates a great sense of community between students within each respective house. Smith College also has the largest art collection of any liberal arts college in the United States and was one of the first schools to get its own atom-breaker in a move to encourage women in science. An example of any tree in nature can also be found on Smith College campus, whether planted along the many paths or inside the greenhouse. The campus also houses a Japanese tea house, a traditional rock garden and an exotic greenhouse with many examples of tropical plants. Also, it should be noted that Chapin House was the inspiration for Tara in
Gone with the Wind .
A novelty of Smith's homelike atmosphere is the continuing popularity of Sophia Smith's recipe for molasses cookies. These are often served at the traditional Friday afternoon tea held in each house, where students, faculty and staff members and alumnae socialize.
Sources: http://www.smith.edu/about_justthefacts.php
Academic year events
Mountain Day is observed early in the fall semester. The President of the College selects a crisp, sunny, beautiful autumn day when the leaves are in full color, and announces the cancellation of classes by having bells rung on campus at 7:00 AM on the chosen day. The eager anticipation of Mountain Day leads to intense speculation and an abnormally high interest in meteorology by students in the weeks leading up to the surprise announcement. Traditional observance of Mountain Day by students might involve
New England road trips or outdoor pursuits, and college dining services provides box lunches to be taken off-campus.
Otelia Cromwell Day, named for Smith's first known African-American alumna, began in 1989 to provide students with an in-depth program specifically addressing issues of racism and diversity. Afternoon classes are cancelled, and students are invited to participate in lectures, workshops, symposia and cultural events, centered around a different theme each year.
In February 1876, the College began an annual observance of
George Washington's birthday. In 1894, a rally became part of the day's events, and the focus of the celebration became primarily patriotic rather than exclusively social—though always with a women's college twist. Students that year staged a mock debate on the subject, "Does Higher Education Unfit a Man for Domestic Life?" In 1906 the celebration was first referred to as
Rally Day . In 1944, seniors made Rally Day the first public wearing of their graduation caps and gowns; since then, mortarboards have been replaced by wacky, often homemade hats. Today, the Rally Day Convocation is centered around a historical theme, and features a distinguished keynote speaker and the awarding of Smith College Medals to accomplished alumnae.
Rally Day is observed in the Spring; an all-college gathering honors distinguished alumnae, and a musical is held depicting life at Smith.
Reunions and Commencement events
The Alumnae Association of Smith College hosts official class reunions every five years, plus a special two-year reunion. All alumnae from all classes are welcome to return in any year; "off-year" alumnae attend campus-wide events as the "Class of 1776".
Traditional reunion and Commencement events are linked, and celebrate the close ties between Smith's alumnae and its graduating seniors and their families. At the conclusion of final exams, most underclasswomen leave the campus, while seniors remain in their houses for a week to celebrate and prepare for Commencement. Alumnae arrive for reunions later in the week, and many alumnae arrange for official accommodations in the campus houses, right alongside senior residents.
Ivy Day, the day before Commencement, is the high point of reunion and a significant event for seniors as well. Junior ushers lead a parade through campus, carrying vines of ivy to be planted by the departing seniors as a symbol of their lifelong connection to the college. Alumnae , dressed in white and wearing sashes in their class color, line up in reverse order by class along both sides of the route. Seniors line up nearest the end of the parade route, wearing traditional white dresses and each carrying a single red rose. All cheer each alumnae class as it marches past, then fall in to join the end of the parade. Many alumnae classes carry signs with humorous poems or slogans, or hold balloons or wear hats in their class color. Ivy Day festivities conclude in the Quad, where the seniors plant their ivy and speakers address alumnae on the progress of fundraising and the state of the college.
Illumination Night, beginning at dusk on the evening before Commencement, is a beautiful celebration of the campus and a send-off of sorts for graduating seniors. Throughout central campus, electric street lights are replaced for one night by multicolored Japanese-style paper lanterns, lit with real candles. These hang on both sides of every walking path and cast a soft glow over the buildings and lawns. Student acapella singing groups and improv comedy troupes roam the campus, stopping occasionally to entertain the crowds. A jazz band, hired by the college, turns the science buildings' courtyard into a dance floor. Seniors, alumnae, faculty and their families spend the evening on walking tours of the illuminated campus and Botanic Gardens. The major official event of the night is the
Senior Step Sing: seniors gather on the steps of Neilson Library, where they are serenaded by members of the
Sophomore Push committee, then are physically pushed off the stairs and "into the real world".
Until the early 1990s, all alumnae reunions were held during Commencement weekend. However, as the number of returning alumnae grew beyond the capacity of the campus, reunions were split into Reunion I/Commencement Weekend and Reunion II, held the following weekend. "Significant" reunions and the earliest reunion classes are assigned to Reunion I; "lesser" reunions are assigned to Reunion II. Although the AASC sponsors an Alumnae Parade and a second Illumination Night, these events are far less festive as the seniors and their families have long since graduated and left campus.
Campus folklore
Smith has numerous folk tales and ghost stories surrounding the campus and historical events. One such tale holds that Sessions House is inhabited by the ghost of Lucy Hunt, who died of a broken heart after being separated from her lover, General Burgoyne. Another tale tells of a girl who haunts the basement of one of the houses near the river, after a tunnel which led down to the pond collapsed as she was sneaking out to meet a lover.
Notable alumnae
In 2006 15 Smith graduates won prestigious national fellowships for graduate study. The Alumnae Association of Smith College considers all former students to be members, whether they graduated or not, and does not generally differentiate between graduates and non-graduates when identifying Smith alumnae.
...
1922^
...
MFA 2001
Margaret Mitchell, class of 1922, left the college shortly after her mother's death in the 1918-1919.
Barbara Bush, class of 1947, did not graduate; she left the college in 1945 to marry
George H. W. Bush.
Fictional alumnae
- Emily Gilmore, from the television series Gilmore Girls is an hour-long America [i]n television [i] drama [i]/comedy [i] that ha ...
- Ainsley Hayes, from the television series The West Wing
- Joanna Kramer, from the 1979 film, Kramer vs. Kramer
- Charlotte York, from the television series Sex and the City was a popular American [i] cable television [i] program based on the ...
- Cristina Yang, from the television series Grey's Anatomy is an Emmy [i] award-winning popular American [i] primetime [i]...
Pop culture references
- The 1967 movie Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee [i] that opened on Broadway [i] ...
and the 1993 movie Malice were both filmed on the Smith campus. - Animal House is a 1978 [i] comedy film [i] in which a misfit group o ...
: This film takes place in 1962. Fraternity brothers from Delta house of the fictional Faber College make a road trip to the fictional Emily Dickinson College . - Scooby Doo
...
: A long-cherished, but since-debunked urban legend held that the main characters of the 70's cartoon are based on representative archetypes of the Five Colleges .
- I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can: an episode of The Simpsons is an Emmy [i] and Peabody [i]-winning American [i] animated [i] ...
where Lisa Simpson is tempted by the Siren-like representatives of the Seven Sisters , who offer a free ride to the Sister school of her choice if she will throw a Spelling Bee . - Running With Scissors: This memoir by Augusten Burroughs details how the author and his foster-sister, Natalie, used to take walks on the campus.
- Sex and the City was a popular American [i] cable television [i] program based on the ...
: The character Charlotte York is a Smith alum, which she mentions in the Season One episode "Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys."
Notes
References
- Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993 .
External links
- - Smith's student newspaper
