Forging Unique
Town-Gown Ties
By Eric Sean Weld
When Carol T. Christ arrived
in Northampton last summer to assume her new post as Smith
College president, she had near the top
of her list of priorities a commitment to forge positive,
successful relations between the college and its host community.
“I’m very interested in pursuing the issues of community relations
here,” she said after a few weeks on the job. “I want to build even
better communication with the city of Northampton.”
Since then, Christ has
led the college in following through on that commitment with a range of town-gown
initiatives, proposals and events as well as in the
positive, symbiotic working relationship she has formed with Northampton Mayor
Clare Higgins.
The Day of Service is one of the first and
most visible projects to have emerged from that commitment. An idea proposed
by Eve Forbes,
associate director of
gift planning in advancement, and embraced by the president, the Day of Service
encourages
each of Smith’s 1,200 employees to take one paid day off during the year
to devote to service in the community, with an emphasis on volunteering for
nonprofit organizations.
“The Day of Service is one way in which we’re trying to engage with
the community,” notes Christ. Some of the volunteer activities in which
Smith employees have participated for their day off include a group project
to join Habitat-for-Humanity in constructing
a home for a low-income family, serving food to homeless citizens, helping
clean local homeless facilities and delivering meals to people
unable to leave their
homes.
From March 29 through April 6, the college
held a Week of Service, coordinated by the Service Organizations of Smith
(S.O.S.), in which Smith community members
volunteered for several local service
programs.
Other college-community programs are in
the initial stages, says Christ, including
possible partnerships with local hospitals and schools. The college is also
working on various contributions to Northampton’s year-long 350th
anniversary celebration scheduled for 2004.
Meanwhile, Smith students have also
become more involved in the community. Engineering students will soon assist
the Northampton Department of Public Works in measuring
storm water runoff as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, for
example. Several students work with the education department to regularly
staff local
after-school programs. Many students volunteer for community service through
S.O.S.
Part of the heightened cooperation between
the college and its host community can be attributed to the successful
relationship between Christ and Higgins.
Since they first met last summer, early in Christ’s tenure, their working
relationship has developed into regular interaction and cooperation, each participating
in the events and activities of the other’s respective community. Christ,
like her predecessors at Smith, has a seat on the board of the Academy of Music
and has attended most of its meetings. She also participates on the
board of the Clarke School for the Deaf. Christ suggested in January that four
Smith students study the Academy of Music as part of their Leadership Program
project, to determine ways in which the theater could enhance its growth and
future operation.
Higgins has had a presence on campus more
prominent than most Northampton mayors, having addressed the college
at the spring convocation;
she invited Christ
to join her in emceeing this year’s Silver Chord Bowl a cappella fest,
which took place at John M. Greene Hall in February; she served as a judge
for the
Rally Day Banner Contest, also in February; and she participated in the ribbon-cutting
ceremony at the opening of the Brown Fine Arts Center in April. Earlier this
month, she became the first mayor to host the college’s board of trustees
at a city reception in their honor.
“I have enormous respect for the mayor,” says Christ. “I’m
very happy she’s a part of our community. We just keep talking.”
“What I’ve really enjoyed about Carol is her engagement and interest
in all levels of the community,” Higgins explains. “It’s been
great to have that kind of energy. I think she’s very enjoyable. She’s
very open.”
Higgins and Christ meet once a month to
discuss ways in which the college and
city can cooperate to their mutual benefit. “The health of the college
and the health of the city are intertwined,” comments Higgins. “The
college enriches the cultural life of the city, the people it pulls here to visit,
teach, perform, lecture. At the same time, Northampton is an attractive host
community for Smith.”
The college-community cooperation is also
a practical consideration, says Christ.
Because of the college’s size and mid-city location, Smith is sometimes
at the forefront of local zoning and housing issues and benefits from a positive
relationship with city leaders. And as a high-profile employer of many local
and area residents, Smith has direct interest in contributing to the health
of the community.
But most important, Christ insists Smith
simply has an ethical obligation,
as a longtime member of the community, to be a positive presence and to contribute
to the success of Northampton and its surrounding towns.
“I believe we should all be responsible citizens within our host communities,” she
says. “It’s important to demonstrate that Smith is a responsible
citizen of Northampton.”
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