Ties That Connect Smith College and the Wider World

Smith has always been part of a larger tapestry—woven into the life of Northampton, stretching across Massachusetts, and knitted into the wider world. In this conversation, President Sarah Willie-LeBreton reflects on what it means for Smith to be both rooted and outward-looking, and on the values that guide the college’s role as a neighbor and partner.

Let’s start with a broad question: What role should Smith play as a neighbor and partner?
At Smith, being a good neighbor means engaging fully with the communities around us—locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. In Northampton, we have recently been collaborating on climate initiatives and supporting local schools. Across Massachusetts, it includes working with fellow colleges and nonprofits, as well as contributing to statewide priorities. I’m especially excited to serve on Governor Maura Healey’s DRIVE advisory commission, which will help guide a $400 million invest-ment in research and innovation for the commonwealth. Nationally and internationally, Smith students, faculty, staff, and alums are working in ways that strengthen communities and expand opportunity. At every level, our goal is the same: to be a thoughtful partner whose contributions ripple outward and make a difference.

What defines a successful relation-ship with the communities that Smith touches?
Successful relationships are built on trust, shared purpose, and creating opportunities together. Sometimes that’s tangible—like working together to improve pedestrian safety in town. Other times it’s about ideas: faculty collaborating through the Five College Consortium or students engaging in partnerships with schools, hospitals, and nonprofits across New England through the Jandon Center.

A wonderful example of this was a collaboration between Professor Ana Del Conde’s Collective Organizing class and Safe Passage, a Northampton domestic violence service. Students helped design a bilingual financial literacy and empowerment program, which became the most well-attended program Safe Passage had offered since before the pandemic. Projects like this demonstrate what we hope for: that students connect their academic work with service, creativity, and problem-solving, and that those experiences shape them long after they leave Smith.

Town-gown relationships often include a financial component. How does Smith contribute to the city’s economic vitality?
Colleges can be economic engines for the cities and towns they call home. Our students, families, faculty, staff, and alums fuel Northampton and the region every day. Smith also welcomes Northampton High School students into our classrooms, supports local nonprofits through grants, and provides space for community programs. Through partnerships like the Chamber of Commerce gift card program for first-years, we encourage students to discover, appreciate, and invest in Northampton from their very first days here. Northampton is, in many ways, an extension of our campus.

Smith benefits from a solid endowment. How does the college think about stewarding those resources in ways that benefit both students and the broader community?
Our endowment is first and foremost a commitment to students. It ensures that Smith can provide an exceptional education not just today, but for generations to come. This means supporting financial aid so that students from every background can thrive here, engage in internships, grow through study abroad experiences, and graduate with no loans—giving them a head start to pursue any career with confidence, generosity, and intention. It also means sustaining the faculty, research, and innovation that define a Smith education. Stewardship of the endowment is really stewardship of our mission: preparing students to lead lives of purpose while strengthening the communities they touch.

Finally, what does being a good neighbor mean for Smith?
For the Smith community, being a good neighbor means practicing openness, generosity, and respect. The Grécourt Gates—a 20th-century gift to the college from French townspeople grateful to Smithies who had helped them recover from the ravages of war—capture this spirit beautifully. They welcome students and visitors onto campus, but they also stand as an invitation outward—signaling that the college is part of a larger community of neighbors near and far. And, when our students leave our campus, they carry with them the habits of listening, collaboration, and service that make them strong neighbors and partners wherever they go in the world.