Molly Easo Smith

Molly Easo Smith (born 1958 in Chennai, India) is an Admissions and Student Admin, including the academic
Indian-American professor and scholar of Shakespeare dean and acting vice president for student aairs, and vice
and Renaissance drama, and academic administrator.
president of enrollment. The article of May 6, 2010 in
the Harrison Patch noted that, with respect to the resigning administrators, Many of the students protesting were
international students who said that [one of those depart1 Biography
ing admins] had played a major part of their decision to
come to the school.[7] According to a communique from
Born in Chennai (formerly Madras) in India, Dr. Smith Robert Hall, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the
graduated from Ethiraj Womens College and Madras Manhattanville College Board of Trustees is announcing
Christian College in the University of Madras, with an executive management transition. Molly Easo Smith,
down from her role as President
BA and MA degrees in English, respectively, and from Ph.D. has decided to step [7]
eective
today,
May
31.
Auburn University with a Ph.D. in English Literature in
1988. Smith has written two books and several articles on
Shakespeare and Renaissance drama. Her research and
teaching interests include the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, Shakespeare, Women in Drama, and the development of theatre. She has held faculty and administrative posts at Ithaca College, St. Louis University, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Seton Hall University,
and Wheaton College (MA), and served as the eleventh
President of Manhattanville College.[1]

2 Personal

Smith attributes her commitment to education to the inuence of several women: her grandmother whose education ceased when she married at the age of twelve; her
mother who longed to attend college but had to work instead from the age of sixteen; her godmother who was
Smith serves on the Board of Trustees at Fairleigh Dick- a Professor of English in Madras, having fought against
inson University and on the Executive Committee of the many odds to ensure her own education and indepenInternational Association of University Presidents, where dence.
she leads an initiative to develop women as academic Her hobbies include playing tennis and writing short stoleaders globally. She was recognized by the Westchester ries based on her life in India.
Business Council as Businesswoman of the Year at the
annual Awards Banquet in April 2011.[2] She was also
recognized for her leadership in education by the National Federation of Indian Americans[3] and by the Ker- 3 Books
ala Center.[4] She was featured in the New York Times
as one among a handful of foreign-born presidents of US
Breaking Boundaries: Politics and Play in the
Colleges and Universities.[5]
Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries
(1998)
However, her career is punctuated by controversy. She
left Seton Hall releasing a Seton Hall professor from administrative duties, as a result of which she received a
vote of no condence from a minority of the college of
arts & sciences faculty.[6]

The Darker World Within: Evil in the Tragedies of

Shakespeare and his Successors (1991)

There were also numerous controversies that surrounded

her tenure at Manhattanville, including: (1) a large scale
protest by students in May 2010. According to a local
newspaper, the Harrison Patch,[7] Most of the outrage
was focused toward the schools newly inaugurated president, Dr. Molly Easo Smith. Students say that Smith,
who has only been president since April 7, 2010, has cut
programs and made changes without taking input from
students and sta[7] and: (2) an exodus of many long
time, and well respected, administrators, particularly in

4 References
[1] Joseph, George (May 7, 2010). Molly Smith inaugurated as head of Manhattanville College. Redi.com.
Retrieved 11 August 2014.
[2] http://www.westchester.com/
news/westchesternews/business/
14672-2011-business-hall-of-fame-winners-announced.
html

[3] http://www.nfia.net/
[4] http://www.keralacenterusa.com/
keralacenterusa/KeralaCenter/KeralaCenter/
NewsDetail/Default.aspx?NewsArticleKey=
084399b3-76b5-455c-8f40-e079f8ad937c
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/
education/10presidents.html?_r=1&ref=
cooperunionfortheadvancementofscienceandart
[6] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=
950CE5D71031F932A25751C1A9639C8B63&scp=
1&sq=speaking+out%2C+but+for+whom&st=nyt
[7] http://harrison.patch.com/articles/
hundreds-of-students-protest-outside-manhattanville-campus

REFERENCES

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