Peter Smith

Peter Smith, Ed.D., whose distinguished career in higher education includes serving as founding president of California State University Monterey Bay, the Community College of Vermont, and the Open College at Kaplan University, currently serves as the Orkand Endowed Chair and Professor of Innovative Practices in Higher Education at University of Maryland University College (UMUC).Smith has an extensive and broad-based educational and policy background as a graduate dean, community college president, University president, lieutenant governor, US congressman and as member of several national policy boards, which gives him a unique and integrated perspective on how to solve the difficult issues facing higher education today. Additionally, Smith was responsible for the supervision and management of more than 700 staff located in more than 30 countries as Assistant Director General for Education for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in Paris, France after leaving CSUMB.Smith also served his home state of Vermont as a state senator (1980-1982) and as Lt. Governor (1982-1986. He ran successfully for the U.S. House of Representatives as Congressman-at-Large from Vermont and served from 1989-1990. While in Congress, Smith was a member of the Education and Labor and Government Operations committees and served on the post-secondary education subcommittee.