The Grécourt Gate welcomes your submissions. To discuss a story idea of interest to the Smith community, contact Barbara Solow at 413-585-2171 or send email to bsolow@smith.edu.
Smith eDigest
The Smith eDigest is sent to all campus email accounts on Tuesday and Thursday each week during the academic year and on Tuesdays during the summer. Items for eDigest are limited to official Smith business and must be submitted by 5 p.m. on the day prior to the next edition’s distribution.
Looking for older stories?
Most news stories dating back to 2011 are available in the new Grécourt Gate, and older stories will appear here over time. If the story you’re looking for is not yet available, please refer to the news archive.
News Archive
Smith College Announces Commencement Speaker, Honorary Degree Recipients
Reshma Saujani—leading activist and founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First—will deliver the address at Smith College’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21.
- News of Note
- February 23, 2023
People News, February 2023
Art exhibitions, scholarship awards and scientific research are among the recent accomplishments of Smith students, faculty, staff and alums. Read about them in the latest People News column.
- Research & Inquiry
- February 16, 2023
Smith College Medalist Tori Murden McClure ’85
Tori Murden McClure ’85, president of Spalding University and the first woman and American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, shares her thoughts on what she knows for sure.
- News of Note
- February 16, 2023
Smith Medalist Shaharzad Akbar ’09
Human rights activist Shaharzad Akbar ’09 may be in exile from her home country of Afghanistan, but she refuses to give up on the people and place she loves.
- News of Note
- February 14, 2023
Smith Medalist Vanessa Daniel ’00
Groundswell Fund founder and Smith Medalist Vanessa Daniel ’00 has been a grassroots organizer and champion of reproductive justice for more than two decades. She says the time to act against the world’s most pressing problems is now.
- News of Note
- February 14, 2023
A Theatrical Callout—And a Celebration
Groundbreaking artist Diana Oh ’08 is directing a play at Smith this semester that involves singing, drag, emails, poetry, music—and some foul language. Here’s what Oh had to say about their sendup of the American theater.
- Smith Arts
- February 13, 2023
Love Is All Around
Smith College Library's special collections celebrates Valentine's Day with a unique pop-up exhibit that is bigger and better than ever.
- Campus Life
- February 7, 2023
Opening Pathways for Students in Data Sciences
Smith's hands-on approach to teaching data sciences, holds out promise for efforts to open new pathways to the discipline for students who begin their academic careers at two-year colleges.
- Research & Inquiry
- February 1, 2023
Still Unequal
Two generations of Smithies discuss the current state of the Equal Rights Amendment and why it matters now more than ever.
- Alumnae News
- January 10, 2023
Pull Up a Chair
Olivia Petty ’26 argues that the free speech debate has created space to challenge traditional pillars of thought.
- Research & Inquiry
- January 10, 2023
The Plant House as Studio
‘Into the Glasshouse,’ a unique exhibit inspired by student explorations of plant life and studio art, opens Friday, Jan. 20, in Lyman Plant House.
- Research & Inquiry
- January 10, 2023
Who Needs Journalism?
Naila Moreira, director of the new journalism concentration at Smith, describes the connections between the press, democratic practice— and the liberal arts.
- Campus Life
- January 9, 2023
Prof. Steve Waksman: The Power of Public Performance
Professor Steve Waksman shares his love of live music and its impact on popular culture.
- Research & Inquiry
- January 9, 2023
Sarah Willie-LeBreton: “The Transformational Power of Education”
Sarah Willie-LeBreton on her appointment as Smith College's 12th president, the global impact of Smith alums, what brings her joy, and the power of the liberal arts.
- News of Note
- January 8, 2023
Big Moves
Smith has long punched above its weight in the fight against climate change. Here’s how.
- Sustainability
- January 7, 2023
No Small Feat
In Big Girl, the acclaimed debut novel from Mecca Jamilah Sullivan ’03, 8-year-old Malaya “dares to defy the compulsion to shrink,” as reviewer Janet Mock writes, “and in turn teaches us to pursue our fullest, most desirous selves without shame.”
- Smithies Create
- December 20, 2022
People News, December 2022
Mathematics education awards, poetry readings and published research are among the recent accomplishments of Smith students, faculty, staff and alums. Read about them in the latest People News column.
- Campus Life
- December 20, 2022
Bold, Brave Women
Academy Award–winning filmmaker Cynthia Wade ’89 had the experience of a lifetime directing three episodes of Gutsy, Apple TV+’s celebration of brave women. Here, she shares things she learned about gutsiness when directing Hillary and Chelsea Clinton in the series.
- Smithies Create
- December 19, 2022
Pages |