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Smith College names Sarah Willie-LeBreton as 12th president

Sarah Willie-LeBreton, provost of Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania, has been named Smith College's 12th president.
Laurence Kesterson
/
Swarthmore College
Sarah Willie-LeBreton, provost of Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania, has been named Smith College's 12th president.

Smith College announced its 12th president on Thursday — Sarah Willie-LeBreton who is currently the provost and dean of faculty at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

Speaking from the Northampton, Massachusetts, campus, Willie-LeBreton cited the importance of the college’s mission: To educate its all-female student base to tackle the world’s toughest challenges.

"The seriousness of Smith’s mission cannot be overstated in a society’s whose highest institutions reveal a tragic ambivalence about the value and humanity of women," she said.

A sociologist who studies social inequality and race and ethnicity, Willie-LeBreton is known for her commitment to the liberal arts, and her work in equity and inclusion.

She is the author of “Acting Black: College, Identity and the Performance of Race,” and editor of and contributor to “Transforming the Academy: Faculty Perspectives on Diversity and Pedagogy.”

Willie-LeBreton will take over Smith's presidency July 2023.

Corrected: September 16, 2022 at 10:31 AM EDT
Due to an editing error, a previous version of this post mistakenly included quotation marks around a paraphrase of the college's mission statement.
Carrie Saldo is a host and producer for New England Public Media.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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