For Faculty & Staff
Use of the Smith College Conference Center by Smith Departments
The Smith College Conference Center typically charges a rental fee to all clients. However, for Fiscal Year 2027, a pilot program is in effect which waives rental fees for Smith Departmental events held during specific mid-week and off-peak periods. Please email conferencecenter@smith.edu for more information.
The following policy is in now effect for use of the Conference Center for Smith business.
The department/office will be billed under the current fee schedule for the use of the Center. This includes space rental fees assessed to college departments for night and weekend events (space and administrative fees, department support from catering, ETS, etc.). Internal Smith departments will not be charged for events held during the waived rental fee periods during the FY27 pilot program.
Clients who have questions about how this fee schedule applies to an upcoming reservation are invited to contact the Conference Center manager at 585-6977 or conferencecenter@smith.edu.
Members of the Smith community may use campus spaces for private or personal events such as parties, wedding showers and meetings. Fees may apply and insurance may be required; fees will be assessed for rental of space in the Conference Center.
Contact the Events Management Office when you are planning a large internal event, conference or reception or when contacted by an external organization about planning an event.
See our Spaces page to view a list of reservable spaces for your type of event.
Policies
Fundraising Events
External organizations can rent most Smith College facilities (excluding the Field House and the Poetry Center during the academic year) for fundraising events, subject to rental, service and administrative fees and insurance requirements. All such events must be cleared through the Events Management Office. Permission to use Smith facilities does not imply any endorsement of an event or organization; if an organization seeks Smith's endorsement of an event, the EMO must coordinate and approve requests with senior representatives of the college.
The EMO must review and approve all event publicity to ensure that Smith's name is included for location purposes only and the college cannot be misconstrued as a sponsor. For political events, please review the Smith College Political and Campaign Activities Policy.
Request a Space
The first step in planning an event is to request a space using 25Live (see below for instructions). You will need to provide an accurate date and time and specify a location in order to secure your request.
Request Resources and Services
You must request resources such as technical equipment, tables and chairs and publicity using the "Resources" tab in 25Live. You may request these services at the time of the space request or later; however, Ensure the website reflects that while the space can be booked on short notice (6 weeks), the two-week lead time for IT/AV remains mandatory to ensure staffing is available. Please note that any bookings will be subject to staffing and resource availability.
If your event is in the Campus Center, please use the "Campus Center Spaces ONLY" category to select your equipment.
Food/Catering
Food is allowed only in the rooms listed under “Meals” in the Reservable Rooms on Campus section. You may hire an outside vendor, bring in your own food or use Smith College Catering services. All requests for Smith catering should be made directly through Smith's catering office.
When hiring an outside caterer, review your contract, which should cover all details, including fees, staff, taxes, gratuities, insurance, extra charges, payment schedule and cancellation policy. We have provided a list of local caterers who have worked both with Smith and external clients on the Smith campus; however, you may select a vendor not on this list. There is a $100 fee for the use of an outside caterer in the Conference Center. This fee does not apply to the FY27 pilot program days.
If potluck or guest-prepared food is provided, you must provide signage Including:
"This food was home-prepared by ______." (e.g. swim team, supporters, etc.)
"These food items contain ____." (list particularly potential allergens, such as nuts)
"This is a fund raiser for ________." (e.g., swim team)
"Proceeds will go directly to the ______" (e.g., swim team).
Creating Name Tags
Use bold, sans serif fonts in a large type size so that name tags can be read from at least 12 feet away. Name tags with the Smith College logo are $0.40 per sheet (6 tags per sheet) and can be ordered through Communications and Marketing. Contact the Communications and Marketing office (ext. 2172) with the number of sheets required, the campus address of the requester, the date needed and your department account number.