Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center

Our Mission: Empower students to navigate life’s complexities by equipping you with the skills to move forward intentionally, manage resources ethically, and take financially sustainable action.

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Explore the Conway Center

Collaborative Innovation

The Collaborative Innovation partners—Conway Center, Design Thinking Initiative, Reflective Practices, and Wurtele Center for Leadership—share a mission to help students develop agency, take purposeful action, and reflect on their journey.

An infographic of a triangle composed of four smaller triangles, labeled Conway Center, Wurtele Center, and Design Thinking Initiative. The fourth triangle is in the center, reading Collaborative Innovation. A circle goes around the whole image, labeled Reflective Practices.

Our Values

Discover

We embrace the journey of discovery as a fundamental aspect of growth, encouraging a mindset that values learning from both successes and setbacks.

Create

We champion a culture of creativity, nourishing ideas through every stage to maturity.

Connect

We build meaningful relationships that foster a community of diverse ideas and experiences, engendering meaningful and lasting impact.

Fund

We commit to fair and just access to resources and opportunities, transforming visions into tangible projects that enrich lives and drive ethical change.

Find your moment. Fund your life.

Our Story

Thanks to the generosity of Smith alumnae, the Jill Ker Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, named in honor of Smith’s first woman president, was launched in fall 2016. The Conway Center significantly expands and builds upon the successful programming and initiatives of the Center for Women and Financial Independence (2001–2016). At the Center, we recognize that Smith’s liberal arts curriculum provides students with an intellectual foundation for critical thinking, communication, and creativity. When integrated with the complementary financial wellness, innovation, and entrepreneurial experiences that we offer, students become better problem solvers able to navigate uncertainty and take informed risks.

About Jill Ker Conway

Jill Ker Conway (1934–2018) began her tenure as Smith’s first woman president in 1975. She championed groundbreaking projects, programs and academic departments, including the the Ada Comstock Scholars Program and programs in women’s studies, comparative literature and engineering. In 2013, Conway received the National Humanities Medal for her work as a scholar, author, college administrator, and member of numerous corporate and nonprofit boards. In naming Smith’s innovation center after Jill Ker Conway, we honor the legacy of a true pioneer and affirm our shared commitment to women’s success and leadership.

Read About Her Legacy

Contact Conway Center

Neilson Library 103

Mailing address:
Alumnae Gym, 83 Green Street
Northampton, MA 01063