Community mourns loss of legendary assistant dean

Earl Smith leaves behind a legacy of kindness, justice

URI community loses beloved faculty member, Earl Smith III. PHOTO CREDIT: Nora Lewis

On Tuesday, March 1, the University of Rhode Island lost a beloved and long-time community member, Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Earl N. Smith III. 

He leaves behind a legacy of kindness, compassion and involvement that will persist because of his impact. He was a community pillar of social justice, student support and the Talent Development (TD) program.

Those that knew him, and even those that didn’t, knew about his love for his son and entire family, his adoration for fishing and his commitment to student success. 

He could often be found walking around campus, where he would always find someone he knew to talk to and check in on how they were doing. 

Smith was a URI alumnus who graduated in 1989 with a degree in human development and family studies. He was a TD scholar during his time at URI. After graduating, he stuck around to serve for many summers as a TD pre-matriculation counselor. In 1993, he started working for TD full-time as an academic advisor, which he did for three years. 

Smith left URI for a few years for a doctorate program at Howard University in Washington, D.C. before coming back to URI in 2004 to work for the University College of Academic Success. In 2007, he was named assistant dean of student academic services for Arts and Sciences. 

Marc Hardge, an academic advisor within TD, met Smith for the first time when they both attended the TD Summer Success Program in 1984 as incoming undergraduates. Hardge described their relationship as akin to Batman and Robin; after they met that summer, you never saw one without the other.

Hardge soon after became an honorary member of the Smith family. Later, both Smith and Hardge would come back to work at URI, both in TD at different points. They maintained their bond and connection over the years. Hardge said they always made a point to tell the other person they loved them.

“I’m a better person for knowing him,” Hardge said. “We went through a lot of stuff, but we were always tight. No matter what we went through; no matter how many times I cussed him out or we almost fought. Man, I’m so much better because I knew him.”

During his time as assistant dean, Smith aided in student processes and served as a liaison to various offices and committees across campus. Most importantly, he met with students that were struggling both personally and academically and helped them work through it. Smith’s primary goal was to make students feel supported during his 15 years as assistant dean.

Kimberly Balch, student academic services coordinator, worked with Smith for the past 15 years. 

“He had a knack for making people feel special, even when sometimes he didn’t remember their name,” Balch said. “I think the biggest thing he would want to be continued is service to students – making sure they know that no matter where they’re coming from, no matter where they’re going, that there are people here at the University who are here to support them.”

Kevin Moore ‘21 was just one of many students that felt that level of support from Smith. According to Moore, he left URI as a sophomore to take his general education courses at the Community College of Rhode Island but worked with Smith to re-enroll at URI a year later. Moore, a journalism major, said he made an effort to stop by Smith’s office in the Chafee Social Science Center frequently and went out of his way to take as many of Smith’s classes as he could.

At the 2021 commencement ceremony, the first since 2019 due to the pandemic, Smith opened the Arts and Sciences ceremony with a speech for the graduates.

“I had my parents with me, and as I walked across the stage I gave a salute to Earl,” Moore said. “My parents were like, ‘Who’s that?’ And I said ‘That’s probably the most important reason why I finished school and where I am today.’ He kept me on track with everything.” 

Balch said some of her favorite memories of Smith are the times when he would bring his son to their office. Smith was a strong believer in “raising future scholars,” and by exposing his son to the University atmosphere early, he was combining his passion for family and serving students, Balch said. 

Although Smith hadn’t worked for TD for many years, he was still actively involved and invested in the program. Hardge described Smith as a “godfather to all TD students.” 

According to Edward Givens, TD’s assistant director for campus life, Smith was the second former-TD student to be employed full-time by TD itself. 

“You can’t eat, drink and sleep TD, unless you’ve lived it and you’re in it, and you have that passion for the work you do,” Givens said. “TD was in his blood, and that turned over to just being a student advocate, period – seen in how he worked with all of his students at Arts and Sciences and UCAS and even at the [Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC)]. That was who he was.” 

Givens said that even recently, Smith had called him and asked him to work with a struggling student who was not a TD student. However, Smith was willing to take anyone under his wing and knew that Givens and the TD staff would help. Givens said that it didn’t matter “where you were, where you were from, what you looked like, what time it was,” Smith was willing to help regardless. 

Smith was very proud of the work he did with the Black Student Leadership Group, which led to the legendary 12-hour sit-in in Taft Hall in 1992. The group created a list of 14 demands from the University, including a diversified curriculum, stronger Affirmative Action and the reconstruction of the MSSC.

Smith had taken on an informal advisory and leadership role within this group, where he advocated for his passion of Affirmative Action, Givens said. 

He also played Division I football during his undergraduate years and was a part of the team that led URI to a Yankee Conference Championship in 1985. 

Vincent Turco, associate athletic director for operations and facilities, was Smith’s roommate when the team went on the road in 1986. According to Turco, they both were defensive backs on the team and the competition for the spot on the field brought them closer. 

Turco helped organize a moment of silence to honor Smith at the URI Men’s Basketball team against St. Louis last Wednesday. Smith was a Men’s Basketball and Football season-ticket holder and big URI Athletics fan. 

Shane Donaldson, associate athletic director for communication and new media, grew close to Smith while he was working as a communications and media relations contact for the College of Arts and Sciences in 2008. 

Donaldson transitioned to athletics three years later but said Smith would continue to call him and ask about different student-athletes to see if they were doing okay. 

“He wasn’t checking in from a classroom standpoint – no – it was more,” Donaldson said. “He cared so much. He wanted to know that they were doing okay, as humans. And I think that’s what separates Earl from a lot of people.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Smith’s friend Roy Bergstrom, a lead information technologist at URI. Bergstrom went to Cape Verde with Smith twice, as Smith was the director of the Cape Verde Summer Study Abroad Program.

“It would be a loss for the URI community if we don’t ensure there is a legacy,” Bergstrom said. “It is up to us to maintain the spirit of him, which was really about caring about each other.”

Debbie Suggs, the director of admissions for special populations, formerly handled the admissions process of transfer students at URI. Transfers would work with Suggs to enter the University and then with Smith to evaluate their credits. This was only the start of their relationship, however, as Smith later got Suggs to join the Equity Council, which has since disbanded, but was designed to ensure inclusion and activism were supported on campus. 

“Earl’s legacy is making us really think, ‘What does it really mean to be a just, inclusive and equitable environment?’” Suggs said. “Earl would want us just to keep fighting for equity. We could throw a plaque up or a building and just keep walking by it and never think twice about it, or we can keep doing this work.”

Moore, as a former student of Smith’s, agreed. Smith made an impact on him as a student and intends to carry that on. 

“We as URI students, graduates, minorities, we have a job to do in honoring him,” Moore said. “I know the University will do right, but I know if I ever have the chance to go back and talk, or do anything back at URI, his name will be brought up.” 

Smith leaves behind an undoubted legacy. When people think about him, they will think about him calling them “doctor.” They will think about his abounding love for his family. They will think about fishing and the time last summer he very proudly caught a big shark. They will think about his calmness and sense of humor. They will think about the care he had for students and his colleagues. They will think about a lot of things, but there is no question that many people, at URI and beyond, will think about Earl Smith for decades to come. 

He is someone that will not be forgotten.