Student Life and Alcohol Abuse Task Force Invites New President As Member
(Mahwah) – In his second year as president, Dr. Rodney D. Smith, president of Ramapo College of New Jersey, has been appointed to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Task Force on Student Life and Alcohol Abuse.
Over the last few years, several studies and reports on alcohol abuse have been published, and student personnel practitioners have accumulated a body of knowledge on effective policies and practices. The Task Force, made up of presidents and chancellors, is charged with distilling information from recent studies and reports on alcohol abuse into recommendations which chief executives of colleges and universities can readily implement to address campus alcohol abuse problems.
Smith became the College’s third president July 1, 2001. Originally from The Bahamas, he served as senior psychologist with the Ministry of Education and Culture. Prior to his current position, Smith held several positions at Hampton University: vice president for planning and dean of the Graduate College; 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.
Named an MLI Fellow by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities for 2000, Smith was also named a Bush Foundation Fellow in 1997 and an Organization of American States Fellow for training and research at Harvard University from 1983 to 1986.
Smith also has been asked to serve on the National Board of Directors of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and is on the Advisory Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education Conference on Black Education and the Education of Blacks, and has served as a member of the Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees. 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 the recipient of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Service, National Association of Student Affairs Professionals.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in ecology from St. John's University in Minnesota. He holds a master’s in clinical psychology from Fisk University in Tennessee, a master’s with a concentration in international development from Harvard University and a doctorate in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University.
