One Hundred & Forty Third 143Commencement May 30, 2021 Contents Order of Exercises ........................................................................................................ 1 Speakers ........................................................................................................................... 3 Candidates for Honorary Degrees ............................................................................ 3 Commencement Speaker ........................................................................................... 6 Candidates for Graduate Degrees ............................................................................. 7 Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees .................................................................... 9 Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees with Departmental Honors ......................................................................................20 Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees with Latin Honors .......................................................................................................23 Selected Fellowships and Awards ..........................................................................24 Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees Elected to the National Honor Societies ..............................................................24 Smith College School for Social Work ..................................................................27 Academic Regalia ........................................................................................................30 The Smith College Mace .......................................................................................... 30 The Class of 2021 .......................................................................................................31 Order of Exercises Procession Faculty Brass Quintet University of Massachusetts Amherst Eric Berlin, Conductor Trumpet Fanfare Eric Berlin Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band Roger Bernier, Pipe Major Jay Kelly, Drum Major Platform Party and Candidates for Degrees Call to Order Elizabeth Jamieson ’94 Head Marshal, Professor of Chemistry Invocation Matilda Rose Cantwell, M.S.W. ’96 Director of Religious & Spiritual Life and College Chaplain Senior Class Address Jane Yuanyuan Casey-Fleener ’21 Senior Class President and Class of 2021 Alumnae Class President Presentation of the Honored Professor Award Kathleen McCartney President of the College Conferring of Honorary Degrees President McCartney, on behalf of the Board of Trustees Presenter: Michael Thurston, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Commencement Address Joy Harjo U.S. Poet Laureate Conferring of Graduate and Baccalaureate Degrees Certificate of Study Diploma in Interdisciplinary Studies Master of Science Master of Arts in Teaching Master of Fine Arts Presenter: Hélène Visentin, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Dean for Academic Development Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Arts Presenter: Michael Thurston, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Readers: Andrea Rossi-Reder, Dean of the Junior Class and Ada Comstock Scholars Baishakhi Taylor, Dean of the College and Vice President for Campus Life Hélène Visentin, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Dean for Academic Development Closing Remarks President McCartney Adjournment Elizabeth Jamieson ’94 Recession College Marshals Elizabeth Jamieson ’94, Head Marshal, Professor of Chemistry Patricia Cahn, Phyllis Cohen Rappaport ’68 New Century Term Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Brent Durbin, Associate Professor of Government Martine Gantrel, Professor of French Studies Nicholas Howe, Professor of Computer Science Susannah Howe, Director of the Design Clinic and Dean of the Sophomore Class Will Williams, Associate Professor of Physics Photography For additional information on how to order photographs taken at the ceremony, please visit the Commencement webpage at smith.edu/commencement and refer to the Senior and Families section. 2 Speakers Jane Casey-Fleener Senior Class President A driven advocate for students at Smith College, Jane Casey-Fleener has served as a senator in the Student Government Association and as class president for both her sophomore and senior years. Through her involvement in student government, Casey-Fleener has worked with members of the administration and the board of trustees to advocate for students. Graduating this year as a sociology major and an education minor, she hopes to bring her passion for advocacy work into the educational nonprofit world. After her sophomore year, she worked at The Partnership for Afterschool Education in New York City, where she taught at a summer school program for fourth and fifth graders. Upon graduation, Casey-Fleener will attend Smith College’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program. As unpredictable as her senior year has been, she feels honored to serve and represent her class. Kathleen McCartney Smith College President Kathleen McCartney is the 11th president of Smith College. A summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University, she earned master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Yale University. Prior to Smith, McCartney was dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education—only the fifth woman dean in Harvard’s history. McCartney has conducted research on childcare and early childhood experience, education policy and parenting. She is the author of nine volumes and more than 160 journal articles and book chapters. McCartney is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. She has served on the boards of a number of nonprofits, including the American Council on Education, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education and Bellwether Education Partners. The Boston Globe named her one of the 30 most innovative people in Massachusetts in 2011. She received the Harvard College Women’s Professional Achievement Award in 2013, and the Boston Business Journal named her one of its Women of Influence in 2016. Candidates for Honorary Degrees Gwen Agna* Educator A tireless advocate for students and teachers alike, Gwen Agna recently retired after 24 years as principal of Northampton’s Jackson Street School. A 31-year employee of the Northampton Public Schools, she had previously served as the early childhood and civil rights coordinator. Before that, Agna was an elementary school and preschool teacher in Rhode Island and Ohio. Born in Burma (Myanmar), and educated there, 3 in Haiti and Ohio, Agna earned her undergraduate degree from Nottingham University (U.K.) College of Education and her master’s degree from Antioch University New England. She has traveled extensively and in 1999 received a Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher grant to study in Japan. Deborah Bial Founder, The Posse Foundation An expert in the field of higher education administration, college success and leadership development, Deborah Bial is president and founder of The Posse Foundation, an organization that sends teams (posses) of students from diverse backgrounds to selective colleges and universities. Since 1989, The Posse Foundation has identified 10,000 Posse Scholars—including 60 who have attended Smith in the past six years. Nationally, these young people have won $1.5 billion in leadership scholarships from Posse’s partner colleges and universities and are graduating at a rate of 90 percent. In 2010, President Barack Obama named Posse as one of 10 nonprofits with which he would share his Nobel Peace Prize money. Bial has received a prestigious MacArthur “genius grant” from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education. A member of the Brandeis University Board of Trustees, Bial earned her undergraduate degree at Brandeis, and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard. Joanne Campbell Affordable Housing Advocate In her 20 years as executive director of Valley Community Development, Joanne Campbell transformed the landscape for underserved residents of the Pioneer Valley. Before her retirement in 2020, Campbell oversaw the development of more than 300 homes and apartments, ranging from single-person housing to family housing. She was also instrumental in creating a housing pipeline of nearly 120 homes that have been successfully zoned, funded and approved; those homes are expected to come online in the next two years. During Campbell’s tenure, Valley Community Development provided counseling and support for more than 8,000 homeowners and more than 2,000 small businesses. Campbell’s leadership has extended beyond the Pioneer Valley: she chaired the board of directors of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations and served for more than 20 years on the board of directors of Way Finders, Inc., a regional housing agency. Christiana Figueres* Diplomat and Environmental Activist A Costa Rican citizen, Christiana Figueres was the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change from 2010 to 2016, overseeing the delivery of the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. For this achievement, Figueres has been credited with forging a new brand of collaborative diplomacy and received multiple awards. Since then, Figueres has continued to accelerate the global response to climate change. Together with Tom Rivett-Carnac, she founded Global Optimism Ltd., a purpose-driven enterprise focused on social and environmental change. Figueres is also a co-host of the podcast