Robert M. Smith

Robert M. Smith is President Emeritus of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania following nine yearsas president and three years as provost. His prior appointments included Dean, College of Arts andSciences at the University of Tennessee at Martin; Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciencesand the College of Continuing Education and chair of the Department of Communication at Wichita StateUniversity; and debate coach at Princeton University.

His work at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Slippery Rock University led to significantincreases in enrollment and a reputation as a "turn-around" specialist. Slippery Rock University maderapid advancements during his tenure including a 22% enrollment increase while increasing the academictalent of the student body. The results were 16% increases in retention and 24% increases in graduationrates. Committed to an emphasis on quality teaching, 92% of the full time faculty held a doctorate andthe University strived to maintain 85% or better full time faculty appointments. This emphasis on qualityproduced more than a dozen new academic program accreditations resulting in every eligible programbeing accredited during his tenure except one in candidacy. The face of the campus changed as well withmore than $250 million invested to add 1.5 million sq. ft. of new or renovated facilities.

These changes were recognized by the 2011 Middle States Commission on Higher Educationaccreditation review with approval without conditions for all standards plus nine commendations forachievements across every phase of the University's operations. Other commendations in this periodincluded listed by Consumer's Digest among the top five "Best Value" public institutions in the nation aswell as advancements in rankings by U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review, and listed as theonly public university in Pennsylvania selected as a "College of Distinction" (two consecutive years). Ineach of his last three years as president, the Chronicle of Higher Education named SRU as one of thenation's "Great Colleges to Work For" and in 2011, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette added SRU as one of itstop workplaces among all business categories in Western Pennsylvania.

For six years, he facilitated the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers’(AACRAO) “Presidential Seminars on Strategic Enrollment Management.” In 2011, AACRAO presentedhim their inaugural "Strategic Enrollment Management Leadership" award. Dr. Smith was alsorecognized by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition as a"First-Year Student Advocate." His longtime work with strategic communication and institutionalbranding led to two awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)including their Crystal Apple Award.

Smith is a nationally recognized specialist in executive leadership development, institutionalperformance funding, and enrollment management. He has been the senior faculty member in fouruniversity-based executive development programs including nine years at the National Association ofCollege and University Business Officers’ (NACUBO) “Collegiate Management Business Institute.” Heis currently Of Counsel to Witt/Kieffer, one of the nation's ten largest executive search firms where heassists in finding and mentoring presidential candidates. In 2014 he was invited to join PensonAssociates, one of “higher education's most credible research and consultation firms.”

Dr. Smith received his bachelor's degree from Wichita State University, a master's degree from OhioUniversity, and his Ph.D. in Communication Theory and Conflict Behavior from Temple University. Heand his wife, Ramona, live in Franklin, Tennessee.