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Awards and Medals

For Service to the College

The Honored Professor Award

Since 1987, the president of Smith College has annually presented the Honored Professor Award to a faculty member who has given long and distinguished service to the college. The president selects the honored professor based on distinction in teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community, and presents the award at Commencement.

  • 2024: Alice Hearst
  • 2023: Justin Cammy and Daphne Lamothe
  • 2022: Alex Keller and Rick Millington
  • 2021: Nancy Bradbury and Sam Intrator
  • 2020: Joseph O’Rourke and Kate Queeney
  • 2019: Barbara Kellum
  • 2018: William Oram and Robert Merritt
  • 2017: John Brady
  • 2016: Andrea Hairston
  • 2015: Susan Etheredge
  • 2014: Donald Baumer
  • 2013: Donna Divine
  • 2012: John Patrick Coby
  • 2011: Thomas Riddell
  • 2010: Daniel Horowitz and Helen Horowitz
  • 2009: David Cohen
  • 2008: Mahnaz Mahdavi
  • 2007: Marjorie Senechal
  • 2006: Howard Nenner
  • 2005: Myron Glazer
  • 2004: Donald Robinson
  • 2003: Randall Bartlett
  • 2002: Thomas Derr and Dennis Hudson
  • 2001: Jill deVilliers and Peter deVilliers
  • 2000: Susan Van Dyne
  • 1999: Ken Hellman
  • 1998: Philip Green
  • 1997: Peter Rose
  • 1996: Cynthia Taft Morris
  • 1995: Malgorzata Pfabé
  • 1994: Jeanne Powell
  • 1993: Marshall Schalk
  • 1992: Stanley Elkins
  • 1991: Quentin Quesnell and Jean Higgins
  • 1990: Leo Weinstein
  • 1989: Helen Searing
  • 1988: Ty Unno
  • 1987: Adrienne Auerswald

The John M. Greene Award

The John M. Greene Award is bestowed upon those individuals who have rendered service to the college “beyond the call of duty” and who personify the Smith motto, “To virtue, knowledge,” in their service and in their lives. The award, given since 1980, was named for John Morton Greene, pastor and adviser to Sophia Smith.

The Smith College Medal

In 1962, the trustees of Smith College voted to establish the Smith College Medal. It is given annually to those alums who, in the judgment of the trustees, exemplify in their lives and work the true purpose of a liberal arts education. A committee made up of alums, representative of the trustees and the faculty, and staff recommends candidates for the award to the board of trustees. Those chosen receive their medals at Rally Day.

The medal was designed by noted sculptor and printmaker Elliot M. Offner, who taught at Smith from 1960 until 2004. The medal depicts the Grécourt Gates and the Smith College motto, To Virtue, Knowledge.

Nominate an alumna for the Smith College Medal

  • Barbara Curtis Adachi 1945 (1986)
  • Aileen Adams 1966 (1993)
  • Susan Tracy Addiss 1951 (1981)
  • Shaharzad Akbar 2009 (2023)
  • Dorothy Etzensperger Allensworth 1929 (1980)
  • Marylin Bender Altschul 1944 (1978)
  • Margaret Booth Andersen 1946 (1979)
  • Deborah Archer 1993 (2022)
  • Candace McKee Ashmun 1946 (2005)
  • Joan Griggs Babbott 1948 (1994)
  • Ethel Bailey 1911 (1970)
  • Irene Cebula Baird 1945 (2008)
  • Tammy Baldwin 1984 (2008)
  • Jessie Banhazl 2006 (2022)
  • Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows 1988 (2020)
  • Barbara Bates 1949 (1980)
  • Janet MacDonald Bates 1937 (1988)
  • Margaret Lang Bauman 1960 (1998)
  • Cynthia F. Bearer 1972 (2015)
  • Sarah Belal 2001 (2024)
  • Lucy Wilson Benson 1949 (1969)
  • Christine von Wedemeyer Beshar 1953 (1974)
  • Lucia Johnson Bing 1906 (1964)
  • Nancy Keebler Bissell 1961 (1991)
  • Susan Low Bloch 1966 (2005)
  • Priscilla Haas Blum 1946 (1989)
  • William Bodden (1965)
  • Julia M. Bolz 1983 (2006)
  • Laura Bornholdt 1940 (1987)
  • Nan Darling Borton 1962 (1994)
  • Dorothy Dulles Bourne 1915 (1968)
  • Barbara Brenner 1973 (2012)
  • Danielle Brian 1985 (2010)
  • Constance E. Laurence Brinckerhoff 1963 (2003)
  • Mirra Bank Brockman 1967 (1983)
  • Anne Clayton Brower 1960 (2008)
  • Janet Welsh Brown 1953 (1984)
  • Sylvia Kamerman Burack 1938 (1995)
  • William I. P. Campbell (1978)
  • K. Rea Carey 1989 (2016)
  • Dorothy Dunning Chacko 1925 (1970)
  • Julia Chase-Brand 1964 (1986)
  • Sarah Chasis 1969 (2007)
  • Dora Chen 1938 (1981)
  • Helen “Penny” Chenery 1943 (2009)
  • Stella Chess 1935 (1999)
  • Ruth Chester 1914 (1966)
  • Julia McWilliams Child 1934 (1969)
  • Mitsuru Claire Chino 1988 (2021)
  • Carol T. Christ 1966 (Hon.) (2013)
  • Judith Levenson Clapp 1951 (2005)
  • Eleanor Clark MSS 1951 (1965)
  • Joan Lebold Cohen 1954 (1990)
  • Carol Thompson Cole 1973 (2004)
  • Clare Coleman 1992 (2021)
  • Anne Rudolph Conover 1928 (1977)
  • Sophie Chandler Consagra 1949 (1986)
  • Suzanne Hammond Corkin 1959 (1995)
  • Adelaide Cromwell 1940 (1971)
  • Lucile Atcherson Curtis 1913 (1980)
  • Madeline McWhinney Dale 1943 (1971)
  • Bernice Barber Dalrymple 1910 (1969)
  • Vanessa Daniel 2000 (2023)
  • Louise de Schweinitz Darrow 1918 (1981)
  • Claire Davinroy (1973 posthumously)
  • Natalie Zemon Davis 1949 (1996)
  • Pamela Bowes Davis 1968 (2001)
  • Anne Searls De Groot 1978 (2013)
  • Dorothea de Schweinitz 1912 (1974)
  • Murdina MacFarquhar Desmond 1938 (1993)
  • Liebe Sokol Diamond 1951 (1996)
  • Joan Kent Dillon 1947 (1993)
  • Kimberly Drew 2012 (2021)
  • Diana Eck 1967 (2000)
  • Brenda Ekwurzel 1985 (2024)
  • Sally Curtiss Fahrenthold 1959 (1988)
  • Katherine Woodruff Fanning 1949 (1980)
  • Janet Fish 1960 (2012)
  • Marie Poland Fish 1921 (1964)
  • Helen Fogg 1924 (1964)
  • Madeleine Camp Franklin 1941 (1981)
  • Sarah Franklin 1982 (2011)
  • M. Alison Frantz 1924 (1967)
  • Helen Edelstein Freedman 1963 (2000)
  • Rose Epstein Frisch 1939 (2004)
  • Katherine Gabel 1959 (1976)
  • Ruth Mehrtens Galvin 1942 (1974)
  • Lella Gandini AC 1978 (2008)
  • Elizabeth Rudel Gatov 1933 (1988)
  • Naomi Lynn Gerber 1965 (2009)
  • Anne Angen Gershon 1960 (2021)
  • Mary Giffin 1939 (1978)
  • Virginia Dougherty Glover 1943 (1976)
  • Thelma Golden 1987 (1997)
  • Dorothy Goodwin 1937 (1984)
  • Margaret Storrs Grierson 1922 (1968)
  • Phoebe A. Haddon 1972 (2019)
  • Joy Frisch Hakim 1951 (1999)
  • Jane Lakes Harman 1966 (2022)
  • Eleanor Mackenzie Harpur 1934 (1969)
  • Joan White Harris 1952 (2016)
  • Miriam Wood Haseltine 1916 (1971)
  • Gloria Heath 1943 (1971)
  • Iva Dee Hiatt (1980)
  • Helene Zimmermann Hill 1950 (1997)
  • Susan Hiller 1961 (2014)
  • Hortense Mayer Hirsch 1907 (1968)
  • Nell Hirschberg 1928 (1978)
  • Mary Ann Freedman Hoberman 1951 (2007)
  • Laura Cabot Hodgkinson 1922 (1965)
  • Kay Holekamp 1973 (2013)
  • Ruth Sulzberger Holmberg 1943 (1988)
  • Katherine Graham Howard 1920 (1967)
  • Nelly Schargo Hoyt 1943 (1989)
  • Betsy Humphreys 1969 (2012)
  • Catherine “Katie” T. Hunt 1977 (2008)
  • Marion Scranton Isaacs 1930 (1978)
  • Molly Ivins 1966 (2001)
  • Marjorie Carr Jamison 1909 (1966)
  • Frances E. Jensen 1978 (2020)
  • Carolyn Scerbo Kaelin 1983 (2007)
  • Eleanor Munro Kahn 1949 (1994)
  • Louise Wolff Kahn 1931 (1987)
  • Amy Kaiser 1965 (2004)
  • Wendy Kaminer 1971 (1998)
  • Ann Kaplan 1967 (2001)
  • Anne E. Kazak 1977 (2005)
  • Peggy Clark Kelley 1935 (1977)
  • Jennifer Louise Kelsey 1964 (2002)
  • Helen Keplinger 1994 (2017)
  • Emilie Smith Kilgore 1957 (1995)
  • Carolyn Dineen King 1959 (1997)
  • Ruth DeYoung Kohler 1963 (2000)
  • Shirley Rich Krohn AM 1946 (1983)
  • Carolyn Kuan 1999 (2019)
  • Dolores Kunda 1977 (2012)
  • Roberta Schenker Kurlantzick 1965 (2006)
  • Alice Kahn Ladas 1943, MSS 1946, Ed.D. (2011)
  • Celinda Constance Lake 1975 (2002)
  • Alexandra Lappas 1960 (1979)
  • Rochelle “Shelly” Braff Lazarus 1968 (2018)
  • Amy-Jill Levine 1978 (2007)
  • Rhea Cottler Levine 1960 (1994)
  • Sue Li 1955 (1983)
  • Lucy Lippard 1958 (1992)
  • Elizabeth J. Low Lucas 1917 (1971)
  • Dorcas Eason MacClintock 1954 (1987)
  • Catharine MacKinnon 1969 (1991)
  • Kathleen Marshall 1985 (2009)
  • Ann Matthews Martin 1977 (2002)
  • Ann Stringfellow Masten 1973 (2018)
  • Alden Brigham Mayer 1951 (1984)
  • Victoria (Tori) Murden McClure 1985 (2023)
  • Janet Clarke McKinley 1976 (2013)
  • Elisabeth McLane-Bradley 1942 (2000)
  • Joan Stitt McMenamin 1946 (1985)
  • Susan McWhinney-Morse 1955 (2011)
  • Helen Hotchkin Means 1919 (1981)
  • Gwendolyn Grant Mellon 1934 (1997)
  • Cornelia Baker Mendenhall (1975)
  • Lynden Breed Miller 1960 (1995)
  • Pamela Gundersen Miller 1960 (1998)
  • Frances Miner 1927 (1964)
  • Carolina A. Miranda 1993 (2020)
  • Beverly Mitchell 1965 (2006)
  • Susan I. Moldow 1967 (2003)
  • Susan May Molineaux 1975 (2014)
  • Marian Molthan 1949 (1987)
  • Anne Moore, M.D. 1965 (2004)
  • Eudorah Morse Moore 1940 (1973)
  • Beverly Morgan-Welch 1974 (2009)
  • Constance Morrow Morgan 1935 (1974)
  • Meroe Morse 1945 (1968)
  • Lillian Witten Mosee 1918 (1974)
  • Cynthia Moss 1962 (1985)
  • Luma Mufleh 1997 (2010)
  • Stephanie D. Neely 1985 (2015)
  • Marilyn Carlson Nelson 1961 (2000)
  • Amy Ellis Nutt 1977 (2014)
  • Helen Baum Oakes 1945 (1991)
  • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy 2002 (2016)
  • Cornelia Hahn Oberlander 1944 (1982)
  • Jane Abramson O’Connor 1969 (2015)
  • Farah Pandith 1990 (2014)
  • Gail Kern Paster 1966 (2013)
  • Frances Wilson Peabody 1925 (1992)
  • Mary Chase Pell 1937 (1993)
  • Emelie Perkins 1910 (1977)
  • Edith Blakeslee Phelps 1938 (1971)
  • Jean Sovatkin Picker 1942 (1977)
  • Elizabeth Olson Goldring Piene 1967 (2004)
  • Joyce Poole 1979 (1996)
  • Barbara Cooney Porter 1938 (1976)
  • Suki Terada Ports 1956 (2020)
  • Alice Parker Pyle 1947 (1982)
  • Rebecca Rabinow 1988 (2018)
  • Helen Appleton Read 1908 (1968)
  • Glenda Copes Reed 1966 (1982)
  • Sherry Rehman 1985 (2013)
  • M. Lucile Reid 1972 (2003)
  • Miriam Meyers Ritvo 1937 (1991)
  • Mary Gordon Roberts 1960 (1985)
  • Tomi-Ann Roberts 1985 (2024)
  • Sally Stewart Ronk 1934 (1979)
  • Katherine Scranton Rozendaal 1931 (1986)
  • Trudy Rubin 1965 (2007)
  • Shirley Sagawa 1983 (2011)
  • Sylvia Scaramelli Sammartino 1925 (1967)
  • Eleanor Sanger 1950 (1982)
  • Lynn Hecht Schafran 1962 (1992)
  • Felice Nierenberg Schwartz 1946 (1976)
  • Preeti Simran Sethi 1992 (2009)
  • Stephanie Kulp Seymour 1962 (2010)
  • Vickie Shannon 1979 (2017)
  • Elizabeth McCard Shipley 1928 (1990)
  • Joyce Bernhardt Siegel 1955 (1970)
  • S. Mona Ghosh Sinha 1988 (2022)
  • Ruth Leger Sivard 1937 (1985)
  • Sandra L. Skoglund 1968 (2003)
  • Alice Orme Smith 1911 (1973)
  • Marilyn Ray Smith 1965 (2003)
  • Maida Herman Solomon 1912 (1979)
  • Gillian Martin Sorensen 1963 (2015)
  • Elizabeth Stage 1972 (1996)
  • Madeline Stanton 1919 (1973)
  • Margaret Byard Stearns 1957 (2006)
  • Gloria Steinem 1956 (2017)
  • Gertrude Ridgway Stella 1937 (1981)
  • Joanne Melniker Stern 1944 (1983)
  • Dorah Heyman Sterne 1919 (1985)
  • T. Christine Stevens 1970 (2010)
  • Nancy Backer Stevenson 1949 (1984)
  • Ellen Sulzberger Straus 1946 (1971)
  • E. Clementine Miller Tangeman 1927 (1967)
  • Juliet Taylor 1967 (1990)
  • Margaret Goldthwait Taylor 1921 (1969)
  • Lydia Tenaglia-Collins 1988 (2019)
  • Gladys Stevens Thacher 1950 (1992)
  • Sarah E. Thomas 1970 (2010)
  • Mary Rines Thompson 1940 (1981)
  • Myrtle Fish Thompson 1922 (1966)
  • Margaret Seabury Cook Thomson 1911 (1965)
  • Judith Tick 1964 (2001)
  • Virginia K. Tippie 1972 (1999)
  • Kathleen E. Toomey 1973 (2023)
  • Laurel Touby 1985 (2011)
  • Pearl Yau Toy 1969 (1991)
  • Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft 1926 (1973)
  • Nicola “Niki” Sauvage Tsongas 1968 (2019)
  • Laura D’Andrea Tyson 1969 (2017)
  • Joan Selverstone Valentine 1967 (1991)
  • Cynthia Wade 1989 (2012)
  • Jane Wallace 1947 (1992)
  • Dorothy Hamilton Walmsley 1917 (1967)
  • Barbara Polk Washburn 1935 (1980)
  • Cheryl Brown Wattley 1975 (2024)
  • Kate Belcher Webster 1946 (1982)
  • Gertrude Weil 1901 (1964)
  • Ellen Weiss 1981 (2017)
  • Virginia Verral Weldon 1957 (1984)
  • Esther Ziskind Weltman 1922 (1976)
  • Eleanor Walsh Wertimer 1944 (2002)
  • Lois Quick Whitman 1948 (2002)
  • Madeleine Marion Will 1967 (1989)
  • Charity Cannon Willard 1936 (1998)
  • Alice Winchester 1929 (1968)
  • Virginia Wing 1945 (1989)
  • L. Stoner Winslett 1980 (2005)
  • Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen 1925 (1981)
  • Jane Wright 1942 (1968)
  • Katharyn Stubbs Wright 1935 (1970)
  • Caroline A. Matano Yang 1958 (1989)
  • Jane Yolen 1960 (1990)
Smith College Medal

Sherrerd Prizes for Distinguished Teaching

2024 Awards Ceremony

Thursday, October 24, 4:30 p.m.
Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center, Carroll Room

The Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching is given annually to Smith faculty members to recognize sustained and distinguished teaching by long-time faculty members as well as to encourage younger faculty members whose demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence influences students and colleagues.

About the Prize

The Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J.F. Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching was made possible by a grant to the college by Smith alumna Kathleen Compton Sherrerd, a 1954 graduate, and her husband, John J.F. Sherrerd.

Smith has long placed a high value on teaching and welcomes the establishment of the Sherrerd Prize as a visible symbol of its commitment and dedication to superior pedagogy. "Smith College has traditionally emphasized the importance of dynamic, diverse and interactive teaching in imparting the principles of the sciences and liberal arts to its high-achieving students," said President Carol T. Christ at the establishment of the prize. "The college considers the teaching of its students to be among its most essential objectives as a leading institution of women's education."

The Sherrerd Center for Teaching & Learning was founded in 2009 through a generous bequest from the Sherrerd family.

Requests for Nominations

Do you know a Smith faculty member whose teaching has had a significant impact on students? Smith students, faculty and alumnae are invited to nominate outstanding teachers for the Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching.

Please submit your nomination using one of the following methods:

Guidelines for Sherrerd Award Nominations

The information presented in individual nominations is vital to the Sherrerd Award Committee’s selection process. Concrete examples of a teacher’s work inside and outside the classroom help guide the committee’s decision process. Specific examples are also important in nominations.

Recommenders are also encouraged to consider the following questions:

  1. What sets this person apart among teachers at Smith College?
  2. Is there anything unique or unusual about this instructor’s teaching style that heightened your learning?
  3. Are there specific examples of engagement with students you would like to highlight? 

If you send a nomination email, please be sure to include:

  • Your name
  • Whether you are a Smith student, faculty member, or alumna
  • The name of the teacher you are nominating

Recipients

  • Jennifer Beichman, Lecturer in Mathematical Sciences
  • Alicia Grubb, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
  • Jina Kim, Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature and of the Study of Women and Gender

  • Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy
  • Barbara Kellum, Professor of Art
  • Erin Pineda, Phyllis Cohen Rappaport ’68 New Century Term Professor of Government

  • Jeffrey Ahlman, Associate Professor of History
  • Samuel Ng, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
  • Candice Price, Associate Professor of Mathematics & Statistics

  • Maren Buck, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
  • Gaby Immerman, Senior Laboratory Instructor in Biological Sciences
  • Michelle Joffroy, Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese

  • Carrie Baker, Professor of the Study of Women and Gender
  • James Lowenthal, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy
  • Denise McKahn, Associate Professor of Engineering

  • Randi Garcia, Assistant Professor of Psychology and of Statistical and Data Sciences
  • Judith Keyler Mayer, Senior Lecturer in German Studies
  • Kiki Smith ’71, Professor of Theatre

  • David Gorin, Associate Professor of Chemistry
  • Suk Massey, Lecturer in East Asian Languages and Literatures
  • Tina Wildhagen, Associate Professor of Sociology and Dean of the Sophomore Class

  • Mark Brandriss, Senior Lecturer in Geosciences
  • Ginetta Candelario ’90, Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Latino/a Studies
  • Laura A. Katz, Elsie Damon Simonds Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Payal Banerjee, Assistant Professor of Sociology
  • Naomi J. Miller, Professor of English and the Study of Women and Gender
  • Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, Assistant Professor of History

  • Justina Gregory ’67, Sophia Smith Professor of Classical Languages and Literature
  • Sara B. Pruss, Associate Professor of Geosciences
  • Alan N. Rudnitsky, Professor of Education and Child Study

  • Rodger Blum, Professor of Dance
  • Caroline Melly, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
  • Mary Murphy, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics

  • Andrea Hairston ’74, Louise Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor of Theatre and Afro-American Studies
  • Susannah Howe, Director of the Design Clinic and Senior Lecturer in Engineering
  • Douglas Patey, Sophia Smith Professor of English Language and Literature

  • Michael Barresi, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Floyd Cheung, Associate Professor of English Language and Literature
  • Jennifer Guglielmo, Associate Professor of History

  • Leonard Berkman, Anne Hesseltine Hoyt Professor of Theatre
  • Susan Van Dyne, Professor of the Study of Women and Gender
  • Gregory White, Professor of Government

  • Nicholas Horton, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics
  • Róisín O’Sullivan, Associate Professor of Economics
  • Michael Thurston, Professor of English Language and Literature

  • Kimberly Kono, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures
  • Beth Powell, Lecturer in Psychology
  • Kate Queeney, Associate Professor of Chemistry

  • Randall Bartlett, Professor of Economics
  • John B. Brady, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Geology
  • Patricia Marten DiBartolo ’89, Professor of Psychology

  • Mary Harrington, Tippit Professor in the Life Sciences
  • Sabina Knight, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures
  • Borjana Mikic, Associate Professor of Engineering
  • Kevin Quashie, Associate Professor of Afro-American Studies

Fall

  • Justin Cammy, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies
  • John Hellweg, Professor of Theater
  • Samuel Intrator, Associate Professor of Education and Child Study

  • Kevin Shea, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

    Spring

  • Giovanna Bellesia, Professor of Italian Language and Literature
  • H. Robert Burger, Achilles Professor of Geology
  • Glenn Ellis, Associate Professor of Engineering
  • Marguerite Harrison, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese

  • Patrick Coby, Professor of Government
  • Susan Etheredge, Associate Professor of Education and Child Study
  • Dana Leibsohn, Associate Professor of Art
  • William Oram, Helen Means Professor of English Language and Literature

  • David Cohen, Professor of Mathematics
  • Shizuka Hsieh, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
  • Mahnaz Mahdavi, Associate Professor of Economics
  • Vittoria Poletto, Senior Lecturer in Italian Language and Literature

The Sophia Smith Award

The Sophia Smith Award was established in 1996 by the Board of Trustees to honor the college’s founder and benefactor, Sophia Smith, on the bicentennial of her birth. The trustees sought to honor individuals like Sophia Smith who, by virtue of their intelligence, energy, vision and courage, have made significant and lasting contributions to the education of women.

Recipients

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg, February 19, 1997
  • Ruth J. Simmons, May 3, 2001