Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and an internationally recognized authority on child development and early education, has been selected as the 11th president of Smith College.
A graduate of Tufts and Yale universities, McCartney is a Tufts trustee and represents Harvard on the founding board of edX, the online education consortium founded by Harvard and MIT. In her seven years as the head of HGSE, the school has raised $162 million, including two $10 million gifts in support of pioneering programs that have brought the university’s schools of business and government into partnership with the education school to prepare the next generation of education leaders.
A central commitment of McCartney’s administration has been extending HGSE’s external relationships in the United States around the world. She has established a partner network of more than 30 school districts and non-profit organizations, raised funds for international faculty research, and addressed education ministries and faculties in Chile, Thailand and South Africa.
McCartney’s appointment is effective July 1, 2013, with her inauguration to follow in October. She succeeds Carol T. Christ, who has served as Smith’s president since 2002.
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