The Board of Trustees appointed Robert R. Smith as president in May 1968 after John Summerskill's sudden departure.

Smith, a Professor of Education, had been Dean at the college since 1940. At one time, he had also served as the Dean of Instruction, as well as Chairman of the Division of Education.

Smith took office as chief executive during a highly volatile time of student and faculty protest, when the longest campus strike in the nation's history was beginning. He resigned in November of 1968 and returned to his teaching duties.

Smith retired in 1980.

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Archived Information. Last modified March 20, 2009, by University Communications