|
Smith Launches $450 Million Fundraising
Campaign
Expanding access through financial aid is the
principal goal of Women for the World: The Campaign for Smith, announced
Oct. 13 during a celebration of women’s global leadership. The gala event
drew more than 300 alumnae leaders back to campus from positions around the world.
 NORTHAMPTON,
Mass. — On Saturday, Oct. 13, Smith College announced an ambitious $450 million
campaign titled “Women for the World: The Campaign
for Smith,” an initiative with the critical goal of increasing access
to a Smith education through financial aid.
“With a larger financial aid endowment, we can
lower the economic barriers to higher education for middle- and low-income families
from around the world,” said Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard, class of 1969, chair
of the college’s board of trustees. “That’s a critical step toward
making Smith an even more global and diverse campus — and community — than
it is today.”
By increasing its endowed financial aid funds by $200
million, the college can invest an additional $10 million annually in direct assistance
to students and families. Fifty-seven percent of Smith’s first-year class receives
need-based aid, with an average award of $33,000. Twenty-two percent of Smith students
are eligible to receive federal Pell grants, making the college a consistently celebrated
leader in low-income and first-generation access to education.
“Through more competitive financial aid packages,
we can lessen the burden on middle-class families, and recruit greater numbers of
outstanding students, both international and domestic,” explained Smith President
Carol T. Christ.
Joining Eveillard and Christ on stage for the announcement
were honorary campaign co-chairs Jill Ker Conway, who served as Smith’s president
from 1975 to 1985, and Rochelle “Shelly” Braff Lazarus, Smith class of
1968, chairman emeritus of Ogilvy & Mather and former chair of the Smith board.
Mary Maples Dunn, who served as Smith’s president from 1985–1995, toasted
the campaign’s success at the gala, saying, “This is a world that needs
the leadership of women and this is what Smith undertakes. So go Smith and go Smithies!”
Alumnae who attended Smith during Conway’s presidency
accepted a challenge to raise $1 million for international student aid over the next
five months, to be matched two-to-one by Joan Fletcher Lane ’49 who served
as board chair during part of Conway’s presidency. The gift recognizes Conway’s
pioneering appointment as Smith’s first female president, her worldwide work
on behalf of girls and women, and her vital role in expanding Smith’s Ada Comstock
Scholars program which enables women beyond the traditional college age to complete
their degrees.
Eveillard noted that $200 million has already been raised
toward the campaign goal during the leadership or quiet phase, which began July 1,
2009.
Throughout the evening, speakers noted that “Women
for the World” underscores the importance that Smith places on meeting the
global need for leadership.
“Talented young women are increasingly recognized
as the hope of their nations, organizations and families,” said Christ. “It’s
a growing consensus among businesses, governments and NGOs around the world that
one simple solution to some of our greatest challenges is to educate more young women
and empower them to lead change.”
Smith enrolls students from every U.S. state and 64
other countries. Its 47,000 alumnae live and work in every U.S. state and more than
100 countries. Smith is a top producer of Fulbright Fellows; second in the nation
among baccalaureate institutions in the number of students studying abroad for a
full year; and host to the only accredited engineering program at a U.S. women’s
college.
Eveillard noted that a focus on access honors Smith
College’s founder, Sophia Smith, who wished for women to have educational opportunities
comparable to those offered to men.
“In launching this campaign, we are honoring Sophia
Smith and all those trustees, alumnae, parents and volunteers who, over the years,
have followed in her footsteps and provided the means for this college to thrive,” she
said.
In addition to financial aid, the campaign will
focus on a range of investments under the broad theme of reimagining the liberal
arts. Campaign funds will support named faculty positions, curricular and research
funds, expanded internships in the U.S. and abroad, enhanced opportunities for
language study, environmental education, leadership programming, and development
of the college’s unique collections and resources, including the Smith College
Museum of Art.
-30-
|
