Molly Ivins to Speak at Smith College
as One of Four Outstanding Alumnae to be Honored

Four women, all of whom graduated from Smith College in the 1960s and have gone on to exemplary lives of professional achievement and service to their communities, have been invited back to campus to receive the Smith College Medal, presented each February on Rally Day.

The event, which honors distinguished alumnae and faculty, will take place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, in John M. Greene Hall. It is free and open to the public.

The 2001 medalists were chosen to receive the award because they have demonstrated "in their lives and service to the community or to the college the true purpose of a liberal arts education." They are Molly Ivins, Class of 1966; Ann Kaplan, Class of 1967; Pamela Bowes Davis, Class of 1968; and Judith Tick, Class of 1964.

Ivins, known for her acerbic and refreshingly honest political columns -- most recently at the expense of fellow-Texan and President-elect George W. Bush -- will also deliver the Rally Day address.

An award-winning journalist, Ivins writes a nationally syndicated column carried in more than 200 newspapers, and a monthly column for The Progressive, while contributing regularly to Time, The Nation and Mother Jones. Considered one of the nation's wittiest political pundits, Ivins is also a writer for the American Civil Liberties Union and is active in Amnesty International's Journalism Network. The author of several books, including the recent "Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush," Ivins in 1994 received the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' Lifetime Achievement Award and has been a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Ann Kaplan heads the Municipal Bond Department at Goldman, Sachs & Co. She has received numerous awards for her professional and volunteer activities in service to New York, including awards for achievement from former New York City Mayor David Dinkins and New York Governor George Pataki, the National State Treasurer's Designation as Investment Banker of the Decade, the National Housing Conference Lifetime Distinction Award, the Women's Economic Roundtable Award in Finance and the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers and Girl Scout Women of Distinction awards. Kaplan, who is a member of the Smith College Board of Trustees, also currently serves on the Women's Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Business Board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as the boards of the Museum of Women and Girl Scout Council of Greater New York.

Pamela Bowes Davis, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at Case Western Reserve University, is a leader in the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. As director of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and The Specialized Center of Research on Lung Inflammation, Davis has overseen research that has resulted in the first new treatment strategies in 30 years for victims of cystic fibrosis and lung damage. Driven by her belief that cystic fibrosis can be cured in her lifetime, Davis has taken a creative approach in advancing the treatment of the disease. Her work, which has resulted in three U.S. patents, has significantly improved the lives of those who suffer from cystic fibrosis.

Judith Tick, a pioneering scholar in the history of women in music, is the Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Music at Northeastern University. Her research, writings and scholarship of women in music history have established her as a leading musicologist. Tick's 1986 anthology, "Women in Music: The Western Art Tradition 1150­1950," has become standard reading in courses about women and music. Her most recent book, "Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music," won the Lowens Book Award for distinguished scholarship from the Society for American Music and an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. Her book "American Women Composers Before 1870" explores music as an arena of expressive culture open to women. Tick's article, "Women in Music," appears in "The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians," published late last year.

Rally Day began in 1876 as a celebration of George Washington's birthday. Since then, it has evolved from a social occasion into a daylong college celebration, at which seniors are permitted to wear their caps and gowns for the first time. The Smith College Medal has been awarded at Rally Day since 1973.

Contact: Laurie Fenlason, 413/585-2190, lfenlason@smith.edu

January 11, 2001