BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Smith’s career spans over forty-eight years in higher education. He served twenty-five years at Rice University as associate provost and adjunct professor of sociology. He established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion as well as the Multicultural Center and chaired Rice Council on Diversity and Inclusion. For many years, he enjoyed teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethnographic research methods and mentored students while serving on the Graduate Council. He continues to serve on the Rice Institutional Review Board. Smith’s greatest passion came from serving twenty-three years as the principal investigator/coordinator for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program at Rice, which prepares students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in higher education to pursue graduate study leading the Ph.D. During that period, he mentored thirty-nine (39) Rice undergraduates to earn their PhD. He served as an advisor to Rice student organizations, including the Black Student Association, the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice (HACER), and the Black Graduate Student Association. He served on the advisory board of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Houston Educational Research Consortium (HERC). He also has served as a Will Rice Residential College associate since arriving at Rice, where in 2016, he was recognized as Associate of the Year. Also in 2016, Rice University and the Association of Rice University Black Alumni recognized Dr. Smith with the “Blueprint for Excellence Legacy Award.”

He went to Rice from the University of Notre Dame, where over a twenty-three-year period, he served as executive assistant to the president, concurrent associate professor of sociology, professional specialist in urban studies, and founding director of the Center for Educational Opportunity, which included Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search and Ronald McNair Scholars. He was elected to represent the non-tenured faculty on the university council. Early in his career, he served as a research intern in the United States Senate.

Dr. Smith served as a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Congressional Commission, and founding chair of the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education. Giving back to his alma maters, he served on the Bowie State University Board of Visitors, the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs alumni advisory board, and the board of directors for the Harvard Alumni Association, where he co-chaired the graduate schools committee.

He served as the charter president of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) and continues to serve on its board as governance and nominations committee chair. In addition, he serves as assistant director and faculty member for AABHE’s Leadership and Mentoring Institute (LMI), roles he has played since 2003.

Other board service includes Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education, past board chair of the LifeGift Organ Donation Center, board chair of the Education Foundation of Harris County, and past board president of the Center for Health and Faith Initiatives located in the Texas Medical Center. He is a member of the 100 Black Men of Metropolitan Houston and a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Currently, he serves as 1^st vice president of the Education and Charities Foundation of Houston and board member of “How To College: First Gen” podcasts.