Sarah Willie-LeBreton

Sarah Willie-LeBreton is the 12th president of Smith College. A sociologist, she earned a bachelor’s degree at Haverford College, and Master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University. She spent nearly thirty years at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, joining as an assistant professor in 1997 and serving as Provost and Dean of Faculty from 2018 until she joined the Smith College community in 2023. Willie-LeBreton has worked with a broad range of groups and organizations to understand social dynamics and develop strategies to help the participants move their organizations toward self-awareness, transformation, compassion, and inclusivity. An applied sociologist, she believes in bringing research and theory to bear on everyday challenges. Willie-LeBreton chairs the board of AICUM (the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities for Massachusetts), serves as treasurer of the Women’s College Coalition (a national association of women’s colleges and universities), serves on the board of the Five College Consortium (a public-private coalition) in Western Massachusetts, and is active with the Annapolis Group of liberal arts colleges.