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Posted 11-20-00
CLEVELAND -- Kent J. Smith Jr. will join Case Western Reserve University January 2 as director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, formerly the Office of Minority Programs.
"We think the combination of his experience and his academic background will help him bring fresh ideas," said Glenn Nicholls, vice president for student affairs, who announced the appointment. "He has a lot of energy, and he has impressive interpersonal skills."
Since June 1999, Smith has been assistant director of the Office of Black Student Services at Colorado State University, where he has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Center for the Applied Study of Ethnicity since August 1998. Smith also was a coordinator and facilitator in that university's Multicultural Curriculum Infusion Project, which sought to incorporate multicultural activities in classes.
From 1994-97, Smith was assistant director of the Upward Bound Program at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
Smith received two degrees from Southern University -- his bachelor of science degree in secondary education in 1992, with a concentration in social studies, and his master of education in 1997 with a focus on educational administration and supervision.
Earlier this year, Smith received his Ph.D. from Colorado State in higher education administration, with an emphasis in student affairs.
Smith will find this educational and professional experience helpful in his new position at CWRU, which will involve developing and overseeing activities that will help increase the enrollment, academic and emotional success, retention, and graduation of underrepresented minority students. This includes African American, Latino and Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander students.
Among Smith's duties will be providing services to help students "be successful academically and have a positive experience at the University," Nicholls said.
Several pre-college programs across campus focus on introducing underrepresented minority students to scientific and technical fields in hopes of piquing their interest in attending college and perhaps pursuing studies in these fields. Schools and administrative departments across campus also run programs to support minority students who are enrolled at CWRU to help be successful, enjoy their experience on campus, and continue their studies at CWRU through graduation.
"We hope that Kent can collaborate with colleagues in the schools to blend those programs into a cohesive pre-college initiative," Nicholls said, to help successfully build a pipeline of young minority students who enter college, here or elsewhere. Another goal for Smith is to "build a strong relationship between the Office of Student Affairs and the schools" to help support CWRU students.
Smith also will have responsibility for "developing organizations and programs that celebrate diversity and inform the larger campus population about diversity," Nicholls added.