Strategic Planning Update, August 2025

Dear Friends,

As we prepare for a new academic year together, I am pleased to share a brief update on our campuswide strategic planning process—both where we are now and where we’re headed.

Built on thoughtful and bold contributions from our community, Smith’s strategic plan will guide our collective work in the years ahead. During the first phase of our 18-month planning process, more than 4,000 faculty, students, staff, and alums offered ideas and aspirations. This extraordinary participation reflects Smith at its best: We are collaborative, engaged, innovative, and deeply invested in the strength of our mission.

Now that our consultants, Wellspring, have completed their work, we have begun to finalize the strategic plan and to make it our own. In the coming months, I’ll be inviting groups across campus to meet in order to ensure that the plan reflects the richness of our community’s perspectives and aspirations. We will be sharing more about these meetings in our next update, and we invite you to visit the strategic planning webpage for more information and to see our updated goals and objectives.

The board of trustees will review the final strategic plan by the end of the calendar year. In addition, the Campus Use Plan outlining how our buildings and open spaces can better serve our community’s needs will be presented to the board in the spring. Meanwhile, I will continue to update you regularly on our progress.

Thank you for your steadfast commitment to Smith’s mission. It is both a joy and an honor to be doing this work alongside you.

Sincerely,

Sarah Willie-LeBreton, President
on behalf of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee