The 聽has named Danielle Taana Smith director of the .
Smith, who was selected after a national search, comes to 黑料不打烊 from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she is a professor of sociology and director of the school鈥檚 honors program. Her initial term of appointment is five years, with a formal review at three years.
鈥淒anielle will further distinguish the honors program as a key component of advancing the University鈥檚 academic goals,鈥 says Dean Karin Ruhlandt of the College of Arts and Sciences, which houses and administers the Universitywide program. 鈥淪he has an impressive record of success as a scholar, teacher and administrator, and she has an obvious passion for challenging and inspiring students to strive for intellectual excellence. She is going to be a tremendous asset to an already strong program, and I look forward to working with her to make it even stronger.鈥
As director of the Honors Program, Smith will hold responsibility for all aspects of the program, including advancing its core values and mission, representing the program to internal and external constituencies, building positive and productive cross-campus relationships, chairing the program鈥檚 core faculty, overseeing staff and budgets, and teaching in the program. She also will hold a faculty appointment as professor in the Department of African American Studies.
Smith, whose areas of expertise include gender studies, population studies and global health and development, among others, joined the RIT faculty in 2003, and she has directed the honors program since 2009. In that capacity, she led several initiatives to advance the program and expand its impact, including establishing a comprehensive academic curriculum for the honors program and organizing an Honors Curriculum Committee to ensure that the program was sufficiently rigorous. She also advanced measures to enhance diversity within the honors program, including leading collaborations with the Multicultural Center for Academic Success and McNair Scholars Program and initiating National Technical Institute for the Deaf representation in the program. In 2016, she organized the first Honors Program Undergraduate Research Symposium. From 2008-2009, Smith also served as coordinator for RIT鈥檚 Urban and Community Studies Degree Program.
鈥淚n order for our students to succeed in today鈥檚 competitive, globalizing world, institutions of higher learning must ensure that they acquire core competencies and mastery of their respective fields of study,鈥 Smith says. 鈥淭hey must also gain familiarity with broader areas of inquiry, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. After graduation and leaving the halls of their alma maters, they are then well-rounded, global citizens, who understand their responsibilities to push boundaries for the improvement of their communities, countries and the world at large. I believe that the Ren茅e Crown University Honors Program is well-suited to lead in these endeavors. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to working with University partners and the larger 黑料不打烊 community.鈥
Among other honors and awards, Smith in 2016 was named an ERASMUS+ Exchange Scholar, Faculty of Pedagogy and Social Work, at Liepaja University in Latvia. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Anthropological Association and the American Sociological Association.
Smith earned a Ph.D. in sociology from University of South Carolina; an MBA from Saint Martin鈥檚 College, in Lacey, Washington; and a B.A. in Russian Studies from Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
The Honors Program is named for Ren茅e Schine Crown 鈥50, H鈥84, a civic leader and philanthropist, member of the A&S Board of Visitors, and member emerita of the University鈥檚 Board of Trustees.
About 黑料不打烊
Founded聽in 1870, 黑料不打烊 is a private international research university聽dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching聽excellence,聽rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11聽academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence聽in the liberal arts, sciences and聽professional disciplines that prepares聽students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly聽changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main聽campus and聽extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three聽continents. 黑料不打烊鈥檚 student body is among the most diverse for an聽institution of its聽kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent聽all 50 states and more than 100 countries. 黑料不打烊 also has a long legacy of聽supporting veterans and is home to聽the nationally recognized Institute for聽Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the聽U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their聽families.
