On Thursday, February 23, during the annual Rally Day festivities, four outstanding alums will be awarded the Smith College Medal. This year’s medalists are public health leader Kathleen E. Toomey ’73; higher education leader, author and explorer Tori Murden McClure ’85; grassroots organizer Vanessa Daniel ’00; and human rights advocate Shaharzad Akbar ’09. Rally Day begins at 1:30 p.m. EST in John M. Greene Hall and will be livestreamed on Smith’s Facebook page.

After producing a perfect record in conference play (10–0), the Pioneers basketball team captured the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and will compete for the title of NEWMAC Champion. The team will host a semifinals matchup with the winner of the game between No. 5 Springfield and No. 4 WPI on February 24 at 7 p.m. EST.

With nine grant recipients for 2022–23, Smith has once again been named one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars by the U.S. Department of State. Over 2,000 U.S. students, artists and early career professionals receive Fulbright Program grants annually.

Abdessamad El Montassir will be the spring artist-in-residence at the Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA). Join the SCMA on March 22 for “Memory, Forgetfulness, Historicization: Artist Abdessamad El Montassir in Conversation.”

Emilia Tamayo ’23, a double major in Latin American studies and government, says she knew she would major in Latin American studies at Smith because, in her words, “Being Colombian bleeds into every facet of who I am.”  

Sara Stillitano ’26 and Olivia Petty ’26 write about Wednesday Sorokin ’77 and four other women restoring a mural in Northampton, Massachusetts—one that the original artists created in 1980.

In a letter to The New York Times, President Kathleen McCartney responds to recent remarks about women made by CNN anchor Don Lemon. McCartney writes, “Mr. Lemon’s comments underscore the need for continued workplace training on implicit bias, with the goal of promoting a culture of meritocracy. Effective leadership comes from people of all ages, all genders and all races.”

Smith will host noted cartoonist Alison Bechdel on March 2 at 7 p.m. EST in John M. Greene Hall. Bechdel’s papers, which include drafts, drawings, and notes that formed the basis for her comics, are housed in the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History.

Check out this month’s People News, which includes an exhibit by art professor Barry Moser, the winners of this year’s Elevator Pitch Contest, a fellowship in honor of the late lawyer and advocate Nan Heald ’77 and other accolades, promotions, scholarship awards and accomplishments.

Gwen Young ’91 was recently appointed the next chief executive officer for the Women Business Collaborative (WBC). After attending Smith, Young earned a law degree from the University of California, Davis and a master of public policy degree from Harvard University.

Smith NewsTracker

Selected items from the news media featuring Smith College people and programs

Prof. Kate Soper’s new opera a ‘fantasy garden’

Smith Botanic Garden helps Northampton come back from pandemic

Prof. Barry Moser’s illustrations make a ‘surrealstic splash’

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