Treasures & Traditions of Japan

Sarah Willie-LeBreton is the 12th president of Smith College. An accomplished scholar, sociologist, and educator who studies social inequality and race and ethnicity, her focus for her presidential tenure is on moving Smith—and, by extension, the world—forward as a community to a more joyful, just place. Willie-LeBreton is known for her commitment to the liberal arts, strengthening community, and energizing the work of equity and inclusion. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Haverford College in 1986, and an M.A. (1988) and Ph.D. (1995) from Northwestern University, all in sociology. After having taught at Colby College and Bard College in tenure-track appointments, she was tenured at Swarthmore, where she served as coordinator of the Black Studies Program and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for 17 years. She was appointed as provost and dean of the faculty at Swarthmore in 2018 and served in that role until 2023. She currently serves on the boards of the Grand Canyon Conservancy, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, and the Consortium On Financing Higher Education.

Faculty Host

Kimberly Kono is Professor of Japanese Language and Literature and the incoming chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Smith College. She has taught courses in modern Japanese literature, popular culture, and Japanese language since 2001. She is the author of Romance, Family and Nation in Japanese Colonial Literature (Palgrave, 2010). As a third generation crafter, she enjoys knitting and crocheting in her free time, and has recently started exploring Japanese papermaking and woodblock printmaking.