Peter
Smith
Founding President
California State University, Monterey Bay
Peter Smith
was selected to be CSUMB's founding president
by the CSU Board of Trustees in 1994. A native of Vermont, Smith served that
state as a state senator, lieutenant governor, and a member of the U. S. Congress.
Dr. Smith began his career
in higher education in l970 when he founded and served as president of the
Community College of Vermont. He became vice president of Norwich University
and served as executive director of the National Commission on Responsibilities
for Financing Postsecondary Education. He was also dean of the Graduate School
of Education and Human Development at George Washington University.
Dr. Smith received a B.A.
(magna cum laude) degree from Princeton University in 1968. He earned an M.A.
degree in teaching in 1970 and an Ed.D. degree in administration planning
and social policy in 1984, both from Harvard University. He is an American
Council on Education senior fellow, and the author of Your Hidden Credentials:
The Value of Learning Outside of College.
As the founding president
of CSU Monterey Bay, Dr. Smith has managed CSUMB from its start-up phase where
"all learn and teach one another in an atmosphere of mutual respect."
The campus under Dr. Smith's leadership has gained a national reputation for
its program innovation and community building. Dr. Smith lives on campus with
his wife Sally.
