January 25, 2001

Rodney D. Smith Appointed President of Ramapo College

(Mahwah) -- Rodney David Smith, vice president for planning and dean of the Graduate College, Hampton University (Virginia), will become the third president of Ramapo College of New Jersey, effective July 1. Arthur Ramirez, chair of the Ramapo College Board of Trustees, made the announcement last night at a meeting of the joint boards which included the Board of Trustees, the Foundation Board of Governors, and boards of the Alumni Association, the Friends of Ramapo, the EOF Program and the Parents Advisory Council.

Prior to his current position, Smith held several positions at Hampton University: vice president for administrative services and director of strategic planning; vice president for student affairs and academic dean; dean of students; assistant professor; and director of the Academic Support and Assessment Center. He also held the position of program coordinator at the Harvard Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. In addition, Smith, while serving on the Fund Raising Leadership Team Solicitations Committee, was campus spokesperson for the kick-off phase of a $200 million endowment campaign currently underway at Hampton University.

Smith was named an MLI Fellow by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities for 2000, a Bush Foundation Fellow in 1997 and an Organization of American States Fellow for training and research at Harvard University from 1983 to 1986. He has served as a member of the Saint Andrew's Episcopal School Board of Trustees and is on the Advisory Committee, Harvard Graduate School of Education Conference on Black Education and the Education of Blacks. In addition, Smith was elected to the Editorial Board of the Journal of the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals and, in 1995, was the National Conference Chair of the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals. He received the 1995 Outstanding Professional Award by the Virginia Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Service, National Association of Student Affairs Professionals.

His publications include "Reality Check," Off To College, A Guide for College Bound Students, 1999 Edition; "Hampton University Extends FDA Initiative," Academic Success, (Pew Charitable Trusts publication) August 1997; "Academic Counseling As It Impacts Student Retention," Recruitment And Retention In Higher Education, Vol. 10, No. 9. September 1996; and "What They Do Not Tell You about Freshman Year," Off To College, A Guide for College Bound Students, 1994 Edition, among others.

He earned an Ed.D. and M.Ed.from Harvard University, an M.A. from Fisk University and a B.A. from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He also did post-graduate work at Vanderbilt University.

After making the announcement, Ramirez referred to Ramapo’s president emeritus saying, "Bob Scott left a large footprint. His skills, talents and virtues were extraordinary. We can’t thank him enough." Scott left Ramapo July 1, 2000 to become president of Adelphi University. Ramirez then thanked Trustee Thomas Dunn, who chaired the search committee, and Dr. Alice Chandler, interim president, for her leadership in moving the college forward during the interim period.

Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top public liberal arts colleges in the north, Ramapo College of New Jersey is sometimes mistaken for a private college. This is, in part, due to its unique interdisciplinary structure emphasizing global and experiential education within an atmosphere of academic excellence, its size of around 5,000 students, and its pastoral setting. In addition to the ranking in U.S. News & World Report, Ramapo was recognized by the John Templeton Foundation, which twice has designated Ramapo as one of America’s "character-building colleges" because of its emphasis on service learning and student leadership.

Ramapo offers bachelors’ degrees in the arts, business, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and social work. The College also offers three graduate programs: a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, a Master of Science in Educational Technology and a Master of Business Administration. In addition, the College offers a joint Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science, and Bachelor of Biology/Master of Physical Therapy with UMDNJ (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey), and a joint Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Chiropractic with New York Chiropractic College.