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Newsbriefs
Smith
is building a new fitness center in its athletic complex.
The 6,000-square-foot structure, scheduled to be completed
this fall, will be located above the student lounge,
between the Ainsworth and
Scott gymnasiums. The air-conditioned facility will include
new weight stations, free weights, ellipticals, stair
climbers, cycles, treadmills,
plyometrics and TV monitors. When completed, the center
will connect the Ainsworth and Scott buildings, enhancing
the accessibility of both. The project is being designed
by Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, Inc. of Boston.
The fitness center is the gift of the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Foundation
through the generosity of two alumnae, Judy Olin Higgins '58 and Barbara
Olin Taylor '54.
Otelia Cromwell Day is an annual
celebration to honor Smith’s first
African-American graduate, who received her degree in 1900
and went on to a notable career in education. A special highlight
last fall was the
arrival of a recently commissioned portrait of Cromwell.
The portrait, which was painted by award-winning watercolorist
Richard Yarde, will
hang in Neilson Browsing Room. During the unveiling, Adelaide
Cromwell ’40,
Otelia’s niece, spoke fondly of her aunt and remembered her as
one who “didn’t suffer fools gladly.” Former Acting
President John Connolly presided over the dedication
ceremony.
The Sally Ride Science
Club and Smith College last fall launched “TOYchallenge,” a
national toy design competition that encourages girls and
boys to develop and act upon their interest in engineering while using
their imagination
and having fun. The competition’s concept is based on a first-year
engineering design course at Smith, which will challenge
teams of middle school–aged kids from across the country to design
their own toys. TOY (Teaching Our Youth) seeks specifically
to engage young
girls in the sciences, since studies have found that around
sixth grade, more
girls than boys stop pursuing science. The competition will
culminate in a national showcase at Smith in late spring.
The winners of the contest,
which is sponsored by international toy maker Hasbro Inc.,
will be announced in June.
The newly
launched Forum on Education Abroad, an international, independent
organization dedicated
to the objective study of international education, established
its home base on the Smith
campus in October, thanks to Smith’s donation of office space in
the Gables, located near the Helen Hills Hills Chapel. The
forum will address such issues as curricular development
and academic design, the
establishment of standards of good practice in study abroad
programs, resources for advocacy at the campus and national
levels, and data collection
and outcomes assessment of the value of international education.
Although Smith is a voting member of the organization, it
will not participate in the daily activities of the forum.
From January 23 to
26, Smith hosted a conference inspired by the controversy
that emerged from
the publication of The Scarlet Professor: Newton Arvin, A
Literary Life Shattered by
Scandal, an award-winning book published in 2001 by Northampton
writer Barry Werth. The book chronicles the controversial
termination of three
Smith faculty members in the early 1960s. The conference,
"Homeland Insecurity: Civil Liberties, Repression, and Citizenship
in the 1950s,” examined the implications of Cold War–era
repression for academic and personal freedoms today and how
past events can help us to better understand the cultural
and political climate in
2003. For more information, go to www.smith.edu/civlib.
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, leader
of the largest Muslim community in North America and a prominent
spokesperson for America’s 2.5. million Muslims, delivered an address
in November at Smith during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
His talk, “The
Power of Ramadan, a Mercy for All Humankind,” stressed the importance
of unity in working toward world peace. The son of the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, Mohammed
espouses a traditional,
spiritual interpretation of Islam that repudiates separatist
ideas and stresses the need for unity among people of all
faiths. Although Mohammed
has lectured at colleges and universities across the country,
this was his first appearance at a women's
college.
Progress continues in the comprehensive
campaign to raise $425 million by December 2004. “We hit the $300
million mark in September, and we are seeing increased levels
of participation throughout the Smith family,” says Karin Lee George ’86,
vice president for advancement. George points out that any
gift to Smith counts toward the campaign goal as well as
toward class goals. Campaign
success has already enabled the college to increase much-needed
financial aid, attract talented new faculty, renovate and
reopen the new Brown
Fine Arts Center, expand and upgrade the Lyman Conservatory
and construct the new campus center that will open this year.
Other initiatives that
will benefit from the success of the This is about Smith
campaign are the innovative Praxis program, through which
Smith interns have worked
in hundreds of organizations in more than 30 countries, and
the Picker Engineering program, which is attracting national
attention and increasing
numbers of talented students. “Providing a new facility for the
engineering program and continuing to increase financial
aid so that the best and brightest students can attend Smith
are two of our most
immediate goals," says
George. For more information, go to www.smith.edu/advancement.
Correction:
In our story about the Yeffe Kimball photograph collection
(NewsSmith, fall 2002) the first name of Lee Udall’s
husband was incorrect. She was the wife of Stewart Udall,
not his brother Morris.
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Homeland Insecurity
