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Smith Receives Record Gifts Two of the largest single gifts in Smith College history, one for $14 million and one for $10 million, will fund the expansion and renovation of the college's Fine Arts Center. The gifts, both from alumnae, will enable Smith to move forward on the most ambitious capital construction project the college has ever undertaken. The $14 million gift from the Houston-based Brown Foundation Inc. represents the generosity of Isabel Brown Wilson, a 1953 Smith graduate and a member of the college's board of trustees; her sister, Maconda Brown O'Connor, who received the master's degree in social work from Smith in 1985 and the Ph.D. in 1998; and their cousin, Louisa Stude Sarofim, who graduated from Smith in 1958. It is believed to be the largest gift to date to any of the "Seven Sibling" (formerly "Seven Sister") colleges-Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley. Of the Brown Foundation gift, $10 million will support the Fine Arts Center renovation and $4 million will fund internship opportunities for students as well as a chaired professorship in practical learning. The latter will be based both in the undergraduate college and in Smith's School for Social Work. The $10 million gift, from two alumnae in New York City who wish to remain anonymous, is also designated for the Fine Arts Center. In combination with the $10 million from the Brown Foundation, it will provide $20 million of the $31 million cost estimated for the Fine Arts Center project.

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