Roland Smith, longtime professor and diversity, equity and inclusion advocate, retires 

Smith spent 25 years at Rice as associate provost, adjunct professor of sociology

After a long and full career in government and higher education, Roland Smith, associate provost and adjunct professor of sociology at Rice University, has retired.

Friends, family and colleagues gathered Aug. 13 at Rice’s Cohen House to bid Smith farewell and to reminisce about the impact he has had on their lives as well as so many others.

Roland Smith

“Roland’s time at Rice has been an incredible gift to the university and its faculty, staff and students,” said John Hutchinson, professor of chemistry and associate co-chair for graduate studies. “Through his lived experiences and his teaching, he elevated all of us, calmly but firmly reminding us both of how far we have come and how very far we still have to go to achieve social justice. I am grateful for all I have learned from Roland as a colleague and as a cherished friend.”

Adria Baker, associate vice provost for international education, described Smith as someone she could always look to for support and encouragement.

“Rice is a better university and we are better people because of Roland’s work through the years to help students, faculty and staff,” Baker said. “He has always been supportive of me and my office and he has always sought to make everyone feel included and a part of the university community in his very unique Roland way — kind, inviting, a great sense of humor, visionary and supportive.”

Smith joined Rice 25 years ago after spending more than two decades at the University of Notre Dame as an associate professor of sociology, where he was also the founding director of the Center for Educational Opportunity and the executive assistant to the president.

Among his many roles at Rice, Smith oversaw the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, chaired the Rice Council on Diversity and Inclusion, taught ethnographic research methods, served on the Graduate Council and Institutional Review Board and was the principal investigator and coordinator for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program. Each year, a new cohort of Rice students is able to pursue graduate studies thanks to the program, which places underrepresented minority students on the path to a Ph.D. and seeks to diversify higher education. Under Smith’s leadership, 39 Rice alumni have earned doctorates through the program, with 20 more students in the pipeline to do so.

Gloria Bean, administrator and program manager for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, has worked with Smith for more than 25 years. During that time, she said she has watched Smith mentor, develop and encourage hundreds of faculty, staff and students at Rice and others in the Greater Houston community to be the best they can be.

“He prioritizes personal and professional development,” Bean said. “Under his leadership, our staff including myself, have earned five degrees. His unique skill set for mentoring others will be missed.”

Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Chair of Psychology Mikki Hebl said Smith has always been a trailblazer and that throughout his career he has been a guiding force for others, especially marginalized individuals. Hebl added that Smith accomplished these things at a time when there were few Blacks or people of color on the faculty to guide him.

“Roland is a role model of what it means to be a scholar and an administrator,” Hebl said. “Additionally, he is the essence of a humble, kind-hearted and just plain good man.”

A native of Washington, D.C., Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology from Bowie State University (1969), a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University (1976) and a doctorate degree in education from Harvard University (1988). His scholarly interests include ethnographic research methods, sociology of education, cultural diversity of higher education, school-university collaborative relationships and urban studies.

Before working in higher education, Smith was a research intern in the U.S. Senate and manpower planner for the city of South Bend, Ind. He also served as a member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Congressional Commission and chair of the National Association of Presidential Assistants in Higher Education.

Smith served as the charter president of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) — which in March awarded him the first Dr. Roland B. Smith Jr. Leadership Award — and as a board member for the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education. In Houston, he is a past board chair of the LifeGift Organ Donation Center, past board chair of the Education Foundation of Harris County and past board president of the Center for Health and Faith Initiatives located in the Texas Medical Center. He is a life member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

“On behalf of the entire academic community here at Rice, thank you,” said Rice Provost Reginald DesRoches. “Your contributions to higher education, various government entities and the civil rights movement are immense and have made a positive impact on the world and how we as a group of people move forward productively in it. Many of us can only hope to accomplish what you have throughout your career and to leave the legacy you have at Rice and so many other important institutions.”

Smith said the pleasure is all his and that, although he has several projects he still wants to work on in retirement, he feels like a huge chapter is closing.

“I think it’s important for someone like me to turn the reins over to the next generation,” he said. “Life is a relay, not a marathon. It’s time for me to pass the baton.”