Celebrating Smith’s 150th

In September of 1875, Smith College opened its doors to 14 students and six faculty members. Ever since then, we’ve been pushing the world forward in profound ways. Smith—and Smithies—have been a force for change, transforming our society, our history, and the lives and leadership of women. Smith’s impact on the greater good has been undeniable.

Read President Sarah’s letter to the community launching our sesquicentennial. 

A Look Back at 150 Years

 

150 Years, 150 Stories

Smith College has an inspiring and complex story. Over the course of the year, we collected stories of the people, places, ideas, and initiatives—some new, some taken from our archives—that provide a rich, nuanced portrait of Smith’s place in the world, its influence on culture, and the powerful ways it has evolved and responded to the big issues of the day.

150th Anniversary

1995: Poised for the Presidency

Ruth Simmons is sworn in as Smith’s pres. and the first Black person to lead a Seven Sisters school.

  • 150th Anniversary
  • April 23, 2025

Lessons in History

Events throughout our sesquicentennial year offered unique looks into Smith’s long history. Dive into a couple that take you all the way back to the beginning.

150 Years of Smith College & Northampton

Smith President Sarah Willie-LeBreton and Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra ’96 hosted “150 years later—Smith + Northampton: A History of the College’s Founding” on Saturday, March 8—International Women’s Day and the college’s first Founder’s Day.

Laurie Sanders, Historic Northampton’s co-director and Smith College alumna ’88, took a closer look at the important connections between Northampton history and Smith College’s founding. Watch the recording.

Celebrating 150 Years of Student Life

On display on the ground floor of Neilson Library throughout 2025, this exhibit offered a glimpse into the social, academic, and athletic lives of Smithies over the last 150 years. Check out an astronomy class from the 1800s, a protest in 1956, a dance rehearsal from 1990, and more in this exhibit curated from the Smith College Archives.

Learn more about the display.

A group of Smithies walking away from the Grécourt Gates, smiling

1968 September
Washington, D.C.-area Smith students in front of the Grécourt Gates.
Grounds subject files, CA-MS-00137, box 264.1, folder 23

Game Changer

Smith has always been a place for “Game Changers”—people who challenge the status quo and make a real difference in the world. Their stories show how one person can spark big change.

Explore more profiles of Smith’s Game Changers.

Erin O’Shea ’88

Biologist Erin O’Shea ’88 is a champion of what she describes as “high-risk, high-reward science that can change the future.” As the first female president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she has worked to expand diversity in the sciences and support groundbreaking medical research and education. For her own research contributions to cell and molecular biology, she received a National Academy of Sciences Award in 2001. O’Shea—who earned her Smith degree in biochemistry, and completed a doctorate in chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in less than three years—taught at Harvard University and the University of California, San Francisco. She became an HHMI investigator in 2000, where, among other research projects, she helped catalogue the location and amount of 75% of the proteins in the yeast genome. A member of the NAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, O’Shea was named president of HHMI in 2016.

Celebrate in Style

In honor of our sesquicentennial, we’ve put together a collection of gear ranging from mugs to T-shirts to notebooks. Let everyone know you’re proud to celebrate 150 years of Smithie magic.

Shop the 150th Collection