Connecting With Smith: President Sarah On the Road

“Friendships made at Smith are powerful and enduring,” President Sarah Willie-LeBreton remarked to a crowd of 90 or so gathered at the Merion Tribute House in Philadelphia on March 24. The observation was met with knowing approval by the audience of Smith alums, most of whom didn’t get past the event check-in table without being recognized and pulled into conversation. Yet the president’s stop in Pennsylvania was not only a celebration of existing friendships. It was also an opportunity—and catalyst—for Smithies to connect after Smith.

Connect With Smith was a series of free events the president hosted for alums and parents of current students in cities across the country. Each evening consisted of a cocktail hour with refreshments, a “State of the College” update, and a question-and-answer session between Willie-LeBreton and Amanda Rivera López, associate vice president for alumnae relations and development. Questions were submitted by alums when they registered to attend.

In Philadelphia, the format worked for Sara Smyth ’08, who said she had been wanting to get more involved with her local Smith club. “Between work and having a four-year-old at home, it can be easy to feel disconnected from the college—and after Covid I am totally over the virtual thing. That’s why this event feels so invigorating. President Willie-LeBreton is such a draw! And the location, the venue, the wine and food—it all made it so easy.”

The first On the Road event was held at the New York Historical Society last fall, and the final event was held at the University Women’s Club in London on June 11. The tour included one virtual stop: an all-alum webinar in January 2025. But the other six gatherings, and the primary aim of having the president criss-cross the country, was to foster in-person fellowship.

That fellowship was audible at the Merion Tribute House. The opening hour buzzed with conversation, punctuated by peals of recognition as alums reconnected in the soaring entry hall. Hope Punnett ’48 was signing in at the registration table when Susan Salkowitz ’59 saw her and exclaimed, “Her daughters used to babysit my son!”

Punnett noted that there were likely no other attendees from her class year. Yet the retired geneticist spent the evening making new connections with alums from different classes, including Anne Standish ’79. The two women bonded over what Standish called “a shared love of the arts,” a mutual interest they discovered when discussing a sold-out concert at Philly’s Woodmere Art Museum.

They concurred on another point as well: “The new president is amazing,” said Standish.

The site, located just west of the city on Philadelphia’s Main Line, had been established in 1924 with profits from the Victor Talking Machine Company. Chatting nearby two victrola cabinets, a trio of alums were connecting via more contemporary technology: Smartphones in hand, Susan Sell ’89, Anne Oltmanns ’92, and Eelin Lim ’88 exchanged contact information. Sell said she had come “to find a friend”—and had just found two.

Starting and ending with free-flowing conversation, the programmed portion of Connect With Smith gatherings opened with remarks by the local alumnae club representative. At the heart of these events was the update about Smith academics, campus life, and strategic planning from President Sarah.

In Philadelphia, the president noted the happy weight of the moment—planning for the college’s future while celebrating its 150th anniversary—and read to her audience a few of the “Little Love Stories” the Smith community had been sharing in honor of the sesquicentennial.

Community was also a through line in the president’s Q&A. “There are 54,000 Smith alums,” she said; “and you will always be part of this community.” She expressed inspiration at the respect and affection binding alums together (“not to mention the bragging you all do on one another!” she added, to laughter), and cited the familiar truism that “Smithies help Smithies.”

Finally, she urged renewed engagement, especially in light of Smith’s strides in educational accessibility. “When one in five of our students are the first in their family to attend college, they likely do not have the same professional connections as those other four. They need the college to help them connect with opportunities. They need you.”

Before Philadelphia, President Sarah traveled to San Francisco, where she welcomed alums to the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco’s Presidio park, and then to Houston, TX, where alums gathered at the Hermann Park Conservancy Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion.

Connect With Smith took a May hiatus for Reunions I and II in Northampton before On the Road headed over the sea: The president flew to the U.K. in June to meet with more than 60 international alums and guests at the University Women’s Club in London.

This itinerary might have seemed ambitious or taxing. But it appeared to have the opposite effect on Smith’s 12th president. At the close of the event in Philadelphia, she thanked people for coming and said: “It’s been a genuine pleasure being in the company of so many people who love Smith.” Smiling widely after such a warm reception by Smith alums, it was clear how much she meant it.