Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College President David G. Behrs, Ph.D., has announced the appointment of Maggy Smith, Ph.D., as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Smith comes to SMWC from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where she has served as the founding Dean of the University College (since 2001) and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. She will begin her service at SMWC on Sept. 8, 2008.

“Dr. Smith comes to SMWC with a keen commitment to teaching, scholarship and service,” Behrs said. “She has an extensive track record in leading campus-wide initiatives, she has worked with many diverse populations, and she has special experience in developing community college partnerships. Her knowledge and experiences will serve us well as we continue to plan and implement major academic and institutional priorities.”

In her new position, Smith will promote excellence in teaching and scholarship as well as close student-faculty interactions in all of the College's academic programs. In addition, she will provide leadership for academic departments and interdisciplinary programs in curricular, personnel, and budgetary matters. As a member of the President's Cabinet, Smith will also assist the College's senior leadership team in advancing the mission of the College and implementing its institutional plan.

For the past 20 years, Smith has contributed to UTEP's teaching, research and service mission at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. In her position as Dean and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, she provided leadership for UTEP's enrollment management departments, developmental education, the first-year experience and several student support services departments. During her tenure as Dean, enrollment at UTEP has steadily increased, reaching a goal of 20,000 students for Fall 2007.

In her current role, Smith also facilitated UTEP's close relationship with El Paso Community College (EPCC). She is currently serving as the co-Primary Investigator for a grant which is focused on making co-enrollment, transfer and joint programming as seamless as possible through electronic data sharing and advising systems. This partnership that Smith is co-leading with a colleague from EPCC is recognized both in the state and across the country as a successful model of collaboration between two- and four-year institutions.

In addition to her executive management roles at UTEP, Smith has served as a professor of English since 1987. During that time she has held several departmental administrative roles, including Director of English education, Assistant Director of Freshman Composition, Coordinator of Internships for Professional and Writing and Rhetoric Program, and Director of the Composition Program. She has also served on many university committees, including the Academic and Career Advising Redesign Committee, the UTEP Admissions Task Force, the Teaching Effectiveness and Development Committee, and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Smith has also been published in several books, journals and newsletters, and she has been called upon numerous times to share her expertise at professional meetings, seminars and workshops. She holds a Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and she holds a master of arts and a bachelor of arts degree in English from State University of New York College at Fredonia.

“I share SMWC's commitment to students, to academic programs that are distinctive and exciting, to the role of faculty as scholars and teachers, and to the responsibility of the College to be a leader in effecting positive change in the community and in our global society,” Smith said. “I look forward to working with the faculty and staff to continue SMWC's long commitment to quality Catholic higher education in the tradition of the liberal arts, and I am excited about the opportunity to bring my expertise to a small setting where I can make a real and tangible difference.”

Smith has three daughters and seven grandchildren. She serves as a lay minister with St. Clement's Episcopal Church in El Paso, and in her free time she enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading and traveling. She also has an interest in amateur photography.