Sarah Willie-LeBreton has been selected as the twelfth president of Smith College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith College enrolls more than 2,500 undergraduate students and nearly 400 graduate students according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Willie-Lebreton will take office on July 1, 2023.
Of her appointment, Dr. Willie-LeBreton said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Smith College community. The commitment of extraordinary educators on the faculty and staff, passionate and curious students, devoted alums, and generous trustees and friends offer models of scholarship, engagement, leadership, and philanthropy that inspire me.
Dr. Willie-LeBreton currently serves as provost and dean of the faculty at Swarthmore College, where she has taught since 1997. Earlier, she served on the faculty at Colby College in Maine and Bard College in New York.
A sociologist who studies social inequality and race and ethnicity, Dr. Willie-LeBreton is known for her commitment to the liberal arts, strengthening community, and energizing the work of equity and inclusion. She is the author of Acting Black: College, Identity, and the Performance of Race (Routledge, 2003).
Dr. Willie-Lebreton earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.