Board of Trustees

Robert M. Smith, Ph.D.

Three-year term expires:
December 31, 2010

Dr. Smith is currently the 15th President of Slippery Rock University and has lived in Butler County since 1999, when he came here to Slippery Rock to serve as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has focused his career on improving the learning environment for students. Last year, he was named one of the 10 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocates by the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience in Transition. He has also received two national awards for teaching excellence, was named the Outstanding College Communication Teacher in Kansas and has been inducted into four national academic honor societies.

Dr. Smith is a nationally recognized specialist in executive leadership development. In 1999, the Community Leadership Association awarded him their Preceptor award, and the governor of Tennessee presented him Tennessee’s Outstanding Achievement Award for his work in community revitalization. That same year, he was honored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for his commitment to rural economic development.

Active as a community volunteer, Dr. Smith is the Board Chair of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., past President of the Butler Rotary Club, and a member of the Executive Committee of Slippery Rock Economic Development Inc. and the Butler County Community Development Corporation. He resides in Slippery Rock with his wife, Ramona, and they have two grown children: a son in Tennessee and a daughter in South Carolina.

Residence: Slippery Rock

Current Occupation:
President, Slippery Rock University