People News, March 2025

Art installations for this year’s Spring Bulb Show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College were created by Jamie Biagiarelli AC ’26J and Conguye (Ella) Wang ’28. Biagiarelli’s artwork, Gathering, “was informed by the rectangular panels of glass at Lyman Plant House.” Wang’s piece, Echo, uses strings and beads to explore how the past and present are intertwined. The prompt the students were asked to respond to in their proposals was inspired by the concurrently running exhibit, Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now, a yearlong multisite exhibit by one of Morocco’s leading contemporary artists.

Yusra Afzai ’27 and Alaina Schweitzer ’28 participated in the 15th annual Five College Japanese Speech Contest at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on March 7. Afzai won first place in the second-year level with her speech, “The Moments That Became Special,” and Schweitzer won first place in the third/fourth-year level with her speech, “Star People.” Their awards were presented by Chieko Yoshida, the consul of Japan at the Consulate General of Japan in Boston.

Three Smith students have placed in this year’s New England Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing competition: Sophie Chamblin ’27 tied for fifth place in the Lower Post High School Commercial Music Category; Evelyn Gomez ’27 placed fourth in the Lower Post High School Western Classical Category; and Nadya-Catherine Ismail ’26 placed first in the Lower High School Commercial Music Category.

At Rally Day in February, two faculty members received Teaching Awards from the Student Government Association in recognition of their outstanding teaching and their ability to connect with students: Alex Barron, associate professor of environmental science and policy, and Scott LaCombe, assistant professor of government and statistical and data sciences. Also honored were two staff members selected for Elizabeth B. Wyandt Gavel Awards: Associate Dean of Students Becky Shaw, and Kosher Kitchen Chef Hilary Mikucki.

Marnie Anderson, Barbara Richmond ’40 Professor in the Social Sciences and Professor of History, gave a lecture in January at the University of Michigan’s Center for Japanese Studies on “In Close Association: Politics, Gender and Reform in Meiji Japan, 1868-1900.”

Jamil Asad-Ubinas, a menu and systems specialist for Smith Dining Services, shared a story at Field Notes: Local Food and Farm Stories in February at the Academy of Music in Northampton. The cultural event was sponsored by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture.

Jennifer DeClue, associate professor of the study of women and gender, gave a virtual lecture in February on “Bondage and Isolation: Meditations on the Lives of Black Women Enslaved in the Pioneer Valley” as part of a series sponsored by Historic Northampton.

Jay Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Logic and Buddhist Studies, is co-author of How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go (Princeton University Press), a book inviting new translations of classical Buddhist texts about the illusion of self.

Paula Giddings, Elizabeth A. Woodson ’22 Professor Emerita of Africana Studies, was among the thought leaders who participated in a January meeting in Boston sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences about how colleges and universities can help address the affordable housing crisis.

Do Plants Know Math?: Unwinding the Story of Plant Spirals, from Leonardo da Vinci to Now, a book co-authored by Christophe Golé, professor of mathematical sciences, received the Association of American Publishers PROSE Award in Popular Science and Popular Mathematics.

Senior Basketball Coach Lynn Hersey was a panelist for a March 10 virtual Student Athlete Symposium sponsored by the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. The program focused on topics including college prep, career development, and community service.

Steven Heydemann, Janet Wright Ketcham ’53 Professor in Middle East Studies, was a panelist for a January event at The George Washington University, “The Future of Syria.”

Pepper Huang, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, is the recipient of a $269,187 grant from the National Science Foundation for “Collaborative Research: MATH-DT Closing the generalization gap of digital twins.”

Marc Lendler, professor emeritus of government, was interviewed recently on WHMP radio about Jimmy Carter’s legacy.

Sara Newland, associate professor of government, is co-author of “Bridges or Battlegrounds?: American Cities in a Changing US-China Relationship,” a white paper published by the Truman Center for National Policy, where Newland is a visiting senior fellow.

Nnamdi Pole, Harold and Elsa Israel Professor of Psychology, was featured in a February episode of the podcast “Unravelling” about his Smith course, “The Psychology of the Black Experience.”

Andrea Stone, professor of English language and literature, is the author of Black Prison Intellectuals: Writings from the Long Nineteenth Century (University Press of Florida).

Marianne Yoshioka, dean of the Smith College School for Social Work, was profiled in the fall issue of Social Work Advocates published by the National Association of Social Workers. Yoshioka, a licensed social worker, has led the SSW since 2014.

Andrew Zimbalist, Robert A. Woods Professor Emeritus of Economics, is featured in an episode of a Vice TV documentary series, Pitino: Red Storm Rising, about the head basketball coach at St. John’s University.

The Fig Tree, and the Phoenix, and the Desire to be Reborn, a play by Isabelle Fereshteh ’22 was performed recently at Boston Playwrights Theatre. Fereshteh, who is associate artistic director at the nonprofit arts incubator, New York Stage and Film, earned her Smith degree in English language and literature and a master’s degree in fine art at Boston University.

Denise Gomez Oluwo ’04 has been appointed to the board of directors of the John S. Mulholland Family Foundation. A senior vice president and GSE chief underwriter at Merchants Capital Corp., a national multifamily housing finance company, Oluwo earned her Smith degree in economics and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University.

Katie Clark ’96 is the new communications director for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Augusta, Maine. Clark majored in history at Smith and earned a master of philosophy degree in history at Trinity College, Dublin.

A. Brooke Bennett ’95 has been named a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a program for mid-career professionals in government, academics, and business interested in exploring the lessons of the administrations of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. Bennett, who is chief of staff for U.S. House Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), majored in Russian civilization at Smith and earned a law degree at Tulane University.

Carolina Miranda ’93 is the recipient of a 2024 Arts Writers Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for a series of articles focusing on underrepresented Latinx/Latin American artists. Miranda, who majored in Latin American studies at Smith, is an award-winning former columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

The Long March Home, a World War II novel co-authored by Tosca Lee ’92, has been named a 2025 One Book One Nebraska reading program selection by the Nebraska Center for the Book. Lee, who is a New York Times best-selling author of historical novels and thrillers, majored in English language and literature at Smith.

Anu Aiyengar ’91 was honored by the Indian Consulate in the U.S. for her leadership and impact as the only woman and person of color to hold the position of global head of advisory and mergers and acquisitions for JP Morgan. Aiyengar, who was born in Kerala and moved to the U.S. as a teenager, majored in computer science at Smith and earned an M.B.A. at Vanderbilt University.

Aimee Cutrona ’91, a member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, became chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Morocco in January. Cutrona previously served as the deputy chief of mission in Rabat, and before that, in Washington, D.C., as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Levant Affairs. She majored in government at Smith and holds a master’s degree in international relations and conflict management from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Nancy La Vigne ’87 is the new dean of Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice. La Vigne, who was formerly head of the National Institute of Justice during the Biden administration, majored in government at Smith. She earned a master’s degree in public service from the University of Texas Austin, and a Ph.D. in criminology from Rutgers.

Tori Murden McClure ’85 has been appointed to the board of directors of Sweet Briar College in Virginia. An author, explorer, and former president of Spalding University, McClure holds a Smith degree in psychology, a master of divinity degree from Harvard, and a law degree from the University of Louisville.