Residential Experience Working Group

Students walking past a residential house

Over the course of the 2018–19 academic year, the Residential Experience Working Group (REWG) conducted a comprehensive examination of how Smith, as a residential liberal arts college, can optimize the potential of living and dining in community in order to create an inclusive learning environment for all students.

The group spent the fall 2018 semester reviewing recent institutional survey data, new survey data from more than 700 students, best practices at peer institutions and findings from discussions with students, faculty and staff on how to improve the quality of living and dining in community.

What Does It Mean to “Dine in Community”?

In October, the board of trustees approved a technical feasibility study—an assessment of dining facilities, locations, hours and student need—designed to identify potential improvements.
DINING IN COMMUNITY

 

A Conversation With Susan Etheredge

As part of her role as dean of the college and vice president for campus life, Susan Puracchio Etheredge ’77 is leading a working group made up of students, faculty and staff, charged with conducting a comprehensive study of residential life at Smith. In a recent interview, she talks about how Smith is developing “a contemporary definition of home.”
LIVING IN COMMUNITY

 

Working Group Membership


  • Susan Etheredge ’77
    Dean of the College and Vice President for Campus Life, chair
  • Joseph Bacis
    Chef, Dining Services
  • Ryenne Carpenter ’19
    Chair of the House Presidents’ Association
  • Andrew Cox
    Director of Dining Services
  • Madeleine DelVicario ’93
    Program Coordinator, Alumnae Relations
  • Patricia DiBartolo ’89
    Associate Dean of the Faculty/Dean for Academic Development
  • Yacine Fall ’21
    President of the First-Year Class, 2017–18
  • Dawn Fulton
    Professor of French Studies
  • Jim Gray
    Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations
  • Kris Mereigh
    Director of Wellness Services and Health Education
  • Jenna Pepe ’19
    President of the Student Government Association and Senate Chair
  • Elizabeth Pryor
    Associate Professor of History
  • Danielle Carr Ramdath
    Associate Dean of the College and Dean of the Senior Class
  • Amy Rhodes ’91
    Professor of Geosciences
  • L'Tanya Richmond
    Dean of Multicultural Affairs
  • Mariana Estrella Rivera AC ’16
    Area Coordinator
  • Rebecca Shaw
    Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life
  • Starry Yujia Zhou ’20
    International students program leader

Trustee Advisory Group

  • Neelum Amin ’86
  • Katie Chong ’18
  • Mattie Compton ’72
  • Susan May Molineaux ’75
  • Beverly Daniel Tatum
  • Lois D. Thompson ’66
  • Deborah L. Duncan ’77, Board Chair