J. Carey Bloomfield, the assistant dean and chief of external relations at Harvard Business School (HBS), has accepted the position of Chief Advancement Officer at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

"This is a unique opportunity to make a difference at an undergraduate level," she said. "Smith is a very fine institution."

Bloomfield, who has worked at HBS for more than 10 years, said that leaving Harvard will be difficult.

"I will miss my colleagues very much. I will miss the alumni very much," she said. "It was an extremely hard decision to make, to leave the best research university in the world."

According to Bloomfield, Michael T. Boland, who is now the associate dean for business affairs, will be "Spending the majority of his time on external relations."

Bloomfield, who said her job was a "unique opportunity I couldn't pass up," is looking forward to joining Smith College.

"Change is good for all of us, both personally and professionally," she said. "10 years is a long time."