Smith College president Kathleen McCartney stepping down
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She will step down in June 2023 after 10 years at the Northampton college.
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NORTHAMPTON — Smith College president Kathleen McCartney announced Friday that she will step down as leader of the elite women’s college next year.

In a letter to students, staff and alums, McCartney, 66, described the Northampton college as a strong institution with venerable traditions.

“After much reflection, I have made the decision to step down in June 2023, after a decade as president of this great college,” McCartney said. “I was humbled when called to serve as the 11th president of Smith, and the work has been deeply rewarding.”

Smith’s board of trustees will soon launch a search for the college’s next president.

In announcing her plans to step down, McCartney cited the accomplishments reached during her tenure.

For example, Smith has expanded financial aid, eliminated loans from financial aid packages, and offered new funding to “equalize the student experience,” she said.

The college has expanded mental health services, enhanced wellness offerings, and created a new vision for career development.

“Amid a profound and necessary national racial reckoning, we continued to take actions to make Smith a place where everyone has a deep sense of belonging,” McCartney said. “We expanded our Equity and Inclusion team to develop and support Smith’s ‘Toward Racial Justice’ strategic plan, we implemented an inclusion grants competition that resulted in new campus initiatives, and we hosted racial justice thought-leaders to further educate our community.”

She noted the challenges the college has faced during the COVID-10 pandemic.

“We have continued to move Smith forward, even in the face of the greatest public health challenge of our time,” McCartney said. “The pandemic could not and will not stop us from delivering the best liberal arts education possible, thanks to the unwavering commitment and resiliency of our staff and faculty.”

McCartney was chosen as president in December 2012 and took the reins in October 2013.

She came to Smith from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she was dean, and the Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Development.

McCartney, a Medford native, is a graduate of Tufts University. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Yale University.