classes are welcome to return in any year; "off-year" alumnae attend campus-wide events as the "Class of 1776." There have also been several controversies at Smith's commencement ceremonies.
== Alumnae ==
Among the more notable of Smith College's alumnae in chronological order are:
== Notable staff ==
Herbert Baxter Adams (1850–1901), educator, historian, and cofounder of the American Historical Association taught history at Smith from 1878 to 1881.
Newton Arvin, American literary critic and academic
Leonard Baskin, an artist who taught at Smith from 1953 to 1974
Mary Ellen Chase, educator and author, taught English at Smith from 1926 to 1955.
Emily Hale, speech and drama teacher, and muse of T.S. Eliot
Louise Holland (1893–1990), academic, philologist and archaeologist, taught here from 1957 to 1964
Daphne Lamothe, provost and professor of Africana studies
Yusef Abdul Lateef, an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer, thought to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, taught …
