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In 1999, responding to a national need for
women engineers and a commitment to providing significant new opportunities for its
graduates, the Smith College Board of Trustees voted to establish the nation's first
engineering program at a women's college. From its inception, the Picker Engineering
Program was designed to implement and refine newer methods of teaching engineering
that address the needs of the 21st century.
The Picker Engineering Program is named for the late
Jean Sovatkin Picker, a 1942 Smith graduate and former United Nations official, and
her husband, Dr. Harvey Picker, a longtime Smith donor whose $7 million gift endowed
the program. Additional support for the program was provided by Rosemary Bradford
Hewlett, a 1940 Smith graduate, and the William R. Hewlett Trust.
The program’s founding director was Domenico Grasso,
a distinguished environmental engineer who previously headed the civil and environmental
engineering department at the University of Connecticut. He assumed his post at Smith
in 2000 and guided the program for five years before becoming dean of the College
of Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Vermont.
Smith welcomed its first engineering students to campus
in fall 2000. More than 100 students had applied for the 25 spots. When the inaugural
class graduated in 2004, two of its members received the prestigious and highly competitive
Nati in 2005. The status is retroactive to include the first two graduating classes.
In spring 2010, the Picker Engineering
Program moved into its new home. Ford
Hall, a $73 million, 140,000-square-foot facility, which also houses computer science,
molecular biology, chemistry and biochemistry. This facility was supported by a $10
million leadership gift from Ford Motor Company and the generous gifts of Smith alumnae.
The building, located at the corners of Green Street and Belmont Avenue, emphasizes
sustainable design and energy efficiency. View a video of the Ford Hall dedication (YouTube).
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Message
from the
Director
History
of the
Program
Accreditation
Vision
& Mission
Program
Educational
Objectives &
Outcomes
Recognition
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