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- Hard Hats Required
- After two decades on the
drawing board, construction for Smith's first-ever campus center
began with a ground breaking ceremony in February. The 55,000-square-foot
building, estimated to cost $23 million, will open in fall 2003
and will provide a new space for the dynamic intellectual and
social life of the college.
- The bustle and noise of
this project's construction is not to be outdone by that of two
other projects also currently under way on campus. The expansion
and renovation of the fine arts center complex is hard to miss,
whether you are walking through campus or driving on Elm Street.
The $35 million project-which includes the Museum of Art, the
art department and Hillyer Art Library-will transform all interior
and exterior elements of the complex; modernize mechanical, climate
control, storage and media/information systems; and significantly
expand the museum's gallery space. The center will reopen to
students and the general public in early 2003.
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- Meanwhile, a $5 million
renovation of the Lyman Conservatory now under way will restore
its renowned balloon-style glass houses built in 1895 and expand
teaching, office and exhibition spaces. The project will be completed
later this year.
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Save the
date: Carol Tecla Christ will
be installed as the tenth president ofSmith College on October
19, 2002. The inauguration, which will coincide with Family Weekend,
will include such activities as a poetry reading by Adrienne
Rich, fireworks and the traditional Family Weekend pops concert
featuring all of the Smith student musical groups. Menus are
being planned by Smith chefs and cookbook authors Julia Child
'34, Joyce Goldstein '56 and Charlotte Turgeon '34. The campus
will be alive with exhibitions, performances and presentations
celebrating student/faculty collaboration and such initiatives
as the Picker Engineering Program, Praxis, and Women and Financial
Independence. Also in the planning stages are a faculty lecture
and a panel of prominent alumnae who will discuss those qualities
of the Smith experience that led Christ to describe Smith in
a fall 2001 NewsSmith interview as "a private college with
a public conscience."
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Tuition hike: At its February meeting, the Smith College
Board of Trustees approved a comprehensive fee of $34,936, an
increase of 4.9 percent over the current year. The fee incorporates
tuition ($25,780), room and board ($8,950) and a student activities
fee ($206).
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Where's the beef? Smith has earned the distinction of
being one of only two New England schools (Bowdoin College was
the other) named to a list of the top 10 vegan and vegetarian-friendly
colleges in the United States. Thanks to dishes like tempeh cacciatore
and mushroom stroganoff, Smith was recognized by the People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals for providing well-balanced
meals in vegan and vegetarian cuisine. Three Smith students nominated
the college for the PETA distinction. One of them, Erica Vanderleeden
'02, told The Boston Globe, "Smith is very good at [vegan
cooking]. They're very supportive of alternative lifestyles across
the board." Other schools making the top 10 included Vassar,
Elmira College and Virginia Tech.
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Last call for smoking: As of August 19, 2002, Smith students
who smoke will no longer be able to light up in their rooms because
of a recommendation from the College Council on Community Policy.
Acting President John Connolly sent a letter to all students
in October announcing the upcoming schoolwide ban on cigarette
smoking in all residential houses. Realizing this will present
a hardship for some students, Health Services will expand educational
programming about smoking and will continue to offer programs
for those trying to quit the habit. The residence halls at Mount
Holyoke became 100 percent smoke-free this academic year.
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Commencement speaker: Noted law professor and author Lani
Guinier will deliver the Smith Commencement address on Sunday,
May 19. Guinier, who received an honorary degree from Smith in
1999, has degrees from Radcliffe College and Yale University
Law School. She is the author of a number of books, including
The Miner's Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming
Democracy and Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback
Into
a New Vision of Social Justice. In 1998, she became the first
African-American woman to be tenured as a professor at Harvard
Law School. She is well known for her advocacy on behalf of social
justice and civil rights.
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Kudos: An English department faculty member and a professor
of economics have received a prestigious fellowship and grant,
respectively, for their current research projects. Professor
of Economics Karen Pfeifer was recently awarded a Fulbright grant
of $24,500 for study in Lebanon, Kuwait and Jordan during a six-month
period through May. Pfeifer is using the grant to study "The
Economics of Conflict and Conflict Resolution in the Middle East."
Likewise, Assistant Professor of English Floyd Cheung received
a $30,000 stipend plus $1,500 for travel and research expenses
from the Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellowship for Junior
Faculty from Underrepresented Groups. The award will support
his book project, "Reorienting and Disorienting America:
The Epistemological Challenge of Asian American Literature Before
1965."
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Student Research Day: For the first time at Smith, students
who conducted research with faculty mentors presented their works
in April during "Celebrating Collaboration: Students and
Faculty Working Together," a showcase for collaborations
in all disciplines, from the performing arts to science. Smith
students participated in poster sessions, panels and performances;
presented papers and readings on their senior theses, special
studies and independent research projects; and displayed their
creative work in the fine and performing arts.
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Editor's note: An item in the Winter 2002 issue of NewsSmith
misstated the amount of venture capital funding received by women-owned
businesses. The current and correct figure is 6 percent. |
