6 Ways President McCartney Changed Smith Forever

1. Eliminating loans

Deciding to eliminate loans from the college’s financial aid packages was an emotional moment for President McCartney and members of the board of trustees, several of whom had tears in their eyes when the vote to approve the initiative passed. “We all understood the extent to which our students’ lives would be transformed,” McCartney said at the time. “It was incredibly moving.” More than just a professional high point, the no-loans initiative will make it easier for students and Smith graduates of the future to pursue their academic and career dreams without the burden of large amounts of debt. 

2. Going geothermal

Smith is making good on its promise to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 thanks in large part to an ambitious campus wide geothermal energy project championed by President McCartney and the board of trustees. In announcing the initiative in 2022, McCartney declared that it was nothing short of a “moral imperative for Smith College to do its part to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change on our planet.” The project will make Smith one of only a handful of schools nationwide that will achieve net-zero carbon emissions through the elimination of on-campus fossil fuel combustion rather than through other means, such as carbon offsets. 

3. Centering inclusion and racial justice

In response to the urgent need to address issues related to race and racism in our world and at Smith, McCartney unveiled Toward Racial Justice at Smith College, a comprehensive strategic plan to make Smith a more inclusive and welcoming place. “How to achieve racial justice is the moral question of our time,” she wrote in a letter to the Smith community in July 2020. Education, reflection, and action are three key tenets of the plan, which consists of close to 50 concrete action items, including improving the hiring and retention of more diverse faculty and staff, instituting a Campus Safety Advisory Group, and bolstering mental health and wellness services, particularly for Black students, faculty, and staff. “I have been inspired by Kathy’s commitment to investing in our diversity and inclusion efforts,” says Floyd Cheung, vice president for equity and inclusion. “It is difficult work, but Kathy has been willing to engage in systemic change guided by community input that advances anti-racism on campus.”

4. Reimagining Neilson Library 

From the earliest days of her presidency, McCartney dreamed of renovating Neilson Library. She knew that a destination college like Smith deserved a destination library. To bring that vision to life, she made the bold decision to hire renowned architectural designer Maya Lin to reimagine Neilson. The result—after nearly three years of construction, much of it in the midst of the pandemic—is a stunning piece of architecture as art that encourages learning and discovery in bold and creative ways. 

5. Endowing the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center

McCartney has called poetry one of our highest art forms, saying it inspires us to “learn from another’s experience about the human condition.” It was long a dream of hers to endow Smith’s poetry center, one of only nine such poetry centers at an American college or university. That dream came true in 2020, when the Tammis Day Foundation—named in honor of an Ada Comstock Scholar from the class of 2005—made a transformative gift that, in McCartney’s words, will “ensure the work of the poetry center continues in perpetuity.” 

6. Innovating the curriculum

The past decade has seen the expansion of Smith’s curriculum in ways that address the needs of society and the expectations of students and scholars. Under McCartney’s leadership, the college launched new courses and academic programs in data sciences, environmental studies and policy, Middle East studies, bio-geology, writing and public discourse, and journalism, among others. As Provost and Dean of the Faculty Michael Thurston says, “Kathy has taken Smith and our curriculum in exciting new directions. Her willingness to invest in new areas of study, as well as the faculty, has made Smith stronger.” 

Photograph by Aundrea Marschoun AC