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A new award will celebrate Sophia Smith's leadership By Sally Rubenstone '73 ............................ A Rose Is Not Just a Rose
On the 200th anniversary of her birth, Sophia Smith was given a new rose, hybridized especially in her honor, by Smith chemistry professor Robert Linck. The rose, featuring a pink-mauve color and a perfect circle of delicately curved petals, was dedicated on August 27 at Smith's gravesite in Hatfield, Massachusetts during a special celebration to honor the founder of Smith College.In her graveside dedication of the rose, President Ruth Simmons lauded Linck's efforts at propagating a new variety of flower for the celebration. "What better specie of flower to symbolize the beauty of that life created 200 years ago," she said. "What better bloom to signal the understated and yet elegant life she led. What better way to symbolize the richness of her beliefs and ideas about what women could achieve."The Sophia Smith Rose has been registered with the American Rose Society. The Washington Smith Club helped fund a planting of the rose bush at Smith's gravesite.This yearlong celebration of Sophia's birthday continued September 27-28
with a symposium weekend exploring the issues of women's education. Scheduled
guest speakers were Jill Ker Conway, former Smith president, and Johnnetta
Cole, president of Spelman College. The winter issue of NewsSmith
will carry a full report on the event.
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On a Tuesday morning in late August, a contingent of Smith faculty members, administrators and alumnae--along with the handful of students who had already returned to campus--gathered in the tiny hamlet of Hatfield, not far from Northampton, to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sophia Smith, the college's founder. The occasion was celebrated with speeches and songs, homages to the honoree and, of course, a cake. In fact, the only thing missing was the birthday girl herself--but she was surely there in spirit. And now that spirit is being commemorated by a new and eminent accolade: the Sophia Smith Award, to be presented for the first time in 1997.
Representatives from the college gathered in Hatfield on August 27 to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sophia Smith, the college's founder. The occasion was celebrated with the dedication of a new rose, hybridized especially in her honor by Smith chemistry professor Robert Linck (see sidebar)............................. Sophia Smith was born in Hatfield on August 27, 1796, the fourth of seven children--and the first daughter--of Joseph Smith, a prosperous farmer, and his wife, Lois. Few family records survive, so little is known about Sophia's early years. Her journal, which she kept for the last decade of her life, is primarily a record of her spiritual development but also includes discussions of events of the day and of the trips and books she relished. Like many girls of her era, Sophia was given a meager education by today's standards, yet she read avidly and widely throughout her life. Such passion--which included poetry and prose, newspapers and magazines of social, political and literary commentary--not only portended her future contribution but may also have helped her to feel connected to the world as a severe hearing loss increasingly cut her off from her community. By 1861, Sophia was truly alone. She had outlived her parents and all of her siblings and had been left the considerable Smith family fortune that her father had accrued and her penurious brother Austin had augmented. With no Smith heirs remaining, Sophia anguished over how that fortune would be devised upon her death and sought the counsel of her minister, John M. Greene. Many options were considered--including gifts to Amherst College (Reverend Greene's alma mater) and the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, as well as the endowment of a new school to educate the deaf. Yet, after much debate and many revisions, in the final version of Sophia's will-completed in March 1870, only three months before her death-she called instead for something far more extraordinary: "the establishment and maintenance of an Institution for the higher education of young women, with the design to furnish for my own sex means and facilities for education equal to those which are afforded now in our Colleges to young men." The will went on to state: "It is my opinion that by the higher and more thorough Christian education of women, what are called their 'wrongs' will be redressed, their wages adjusted, their weight of influence in reforming the evils of society will be greatly increased, as teachers, as writers, as mothers, as members of society, their power for good will be incalculably enlarged... "It is my wish that the institution be so conducted, that during all coming time it shall do the most good to the greatest number. I would have it a perennial blessing to the country and the world." Five years later, thanks to Sophia Smith's gift of nearly $400,000, the college that bears her name opened with 14 students and six professors. Today, the trustees of Smith College, as well as its 2,600 undergraduates from 50 states and 70 foreign countries, wish to recognize and to perpetuate their founder's legacy-and her uncommon vision-with the Sophia Smith Award. The award of $10,000 will honor someone who, like Sophia herself, "by virtue of intelligence, energy, insight and courage, has made a significant and lasting contribution to women's education." The first winner will be announced at Rally Day in February, with official festivities later in the spring. This first recipient, and others to follow, will also be given a medal, designed by Elliot Offner, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Art, depicting an owl, companion to Athena, the goddess of wisdom in Greek mythology. The name Sophia is derived from the Greek word for wisdom. More than a year ago, John Connolly, dean of the faculty, assembled a committee to plan an array of events to celebrate Sophia's 200th birthday. In addition to the August gathering in Hatfield, a symposium on women's education in September and numerous other activities, Connolly solicited ideas for more lasting ways to laud the founder. He credits Susan Komroff Cohen '62 for conceiving the unique award. "What I thought was important," Cohen observes, "was to create a meaningful and continuing tribute in the spirit of the original gift." Over the past few months, letters explaining the prize and seeking nominations have been sent by President Simmons to corporate and civic leaders, to educators and to Smith Club officials. "We hope this award will serve to remind the public of the importance of women's education," noted Simmons. "We also hope it will underscore the need for continued creative work to broaden women's opportunities and enhance their capacity for intellectual achievement and public service." Nominees will undoubtedly represent myriad realms. They might be teachers, legislators, writers or countless others who have used their talents to advance the cause of women's education. Men, as well as women, who fit the criteria are eligible for the prize. The final decision will be made by a panel of six judges: Barbara Pierce Bush, Smith alumna, former First Lady and a lifelong volunteer; Jill Ker Conway, Smith's first female president and acclaimed author; Mary Maples Dunn, Smith president from 1985 to 1995 and a noted scholar of colonial American history and women's history; Yolanda King '76, actress, producer and human rights activist; Gloria Steinem '56, a founder of Ms. magazine and a leading voice in feminism for nearly four decades; and Dennis F. Thompson, Alfred North Whitehead Professor of Political Philosophy at Harvard and a member of the Smith board of trustees. Nominations will be accepted until November 1, and all friends of the college are encouraged to take part. To nominate an individual for the award, send a letter of nomination, along with the candidate's curriculum vitae or résumé, relevant public reports or documents and the names of two references to: The Sophia Smith Award Committee, Office of the President, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063. Sophia Smith's life was, in many ways, enigmatic and unremarkable. Yet,
two centuries after her birth, her gift to us reverberates far beyond her
birthplace. And just as Smith College has indeed become a "perennial
blessing to the world," so, too, will the Sophia Smith Award become
a perennial reminder to the world of Sophia's contribution, her resolution
and her foresight.
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