Alumna Donates Taos Property to Harwood Museum of Art
Gift will create the Stephanie Mitchell Smith Center for Creative Learning
Stephanie Smith with UNM President Garnett S. Stokes.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Stephanie Smith, BA ’63, MA ’66, has gifted her personal property to the UNM Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico. The property, which consists of a four-bedroom house, a casita, an apartment, and a caretaker’s house, is located on historic Ledoux Street in Taos, directly adjacent to Harwood.
Through her gift, which is valued at more than $2.3 million, Smith has created the Stephanie Mitchell Smith Center for Creative Learning at Harwood. The center will expand arts-education opportunities for young people and advance the missions of Harwood and UNM.
“Stephanie Smith’s extraordinary generosity will have a lasting impact on Harwood Museum and the Taos community,” says UNM President Garnett Stokes. “Her vision for expanding arts education aligns perfectly with UNM’s commitment to fostering creativity and cultural enrichment. We are profoundly grateful for Stephanie’s continued support and dedication to The University of New Mexico.”
Smith says the idea of creating a hub for Taos art students and artists-in-residence motivated her to donate the property.
“I wanted to encourage young people to love and practice art,” she says. “They have a wonderful program at Harwood for young people, and I wanted to build upon that. I would like to see that corner of Ledoux Street become a museum area eventually.”
Smith is a long-time UNM supporter. She was a UNM Foundation Trustee from 2005 to 2013 and a member and officer of the Harwood Museum of Art Governing Board from 2016 to 2021. In 1993, she received the UNM Alumni Association Rodey Award. In 2020, she established the Stephanie Mitchell Smith Education Endowment to support educational programs at Harwood.
After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UNM, Smith earned a PhD from the University of Iowa. She has served as dean of Westhampton College at the University of Richmond in Virginia; president of Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey; assistant professor at Albion College, Michigan; and president of the Southern Association of Colleges for Women. She has also helped shape the American Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in Washington, DC. Smith is president emerita of Centenary College.
Harwood Museum of Art, founded in 1923 by Lucy Harwood, is the second-oldest museum in New Mexico. In 1935, the museum was gifted to UNM. Harwood has more than 6,500 objects in its collection and represents more than 795 artists. It is the premier art museum in Taos and a leading art museum in the region.
About the UNM Foundation
The UNM Foundation promotes excellence at the University of New Mexico by raising, investing, and managing private gifts through the cultivation of long-term partnerships with donors, and by matching their interests to the University’s priorities.
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