New College President Returns Home as Institution’s Fourth Leader
education, janet f. smith, leader, tennessee,
Janet F. Smith was born in Tennessee, attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, then earned her doctorate from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville.
However, since that time she has spent 18 years working outside the Volunteer State – until now.
Smith became the fourth president in the 42-year history of Columbia State Community College when she began serving in February 2008. She succeeded Dr. O. Rebecca Hawkins, who is now enjoying retirement.
“I was born in Houston County, Tenn., and my family has wanted me to come back to Tennessee for a number of years,” Smith says. “The Columbia State position allowed me to finally return home.”
Smith has worked in the community college system for almost all of her adult life. After college, her career began as an instructor of health and physical education at Isothermal Community College in North Carolina, and she was there throughout the 1970s. Later, she returned to her home state to enroll at George Peabody to earn her doctorate in higher education administration.
“After my time in Nashville, I went to work at Dyersburg State Community College in northwest Tennessee as director of extension services,” Smith says. “That was from 1983-1990, and it was a wonderful experience because it allowed me to work with several aspects of community college life that I had never experienced before. That included working with businesses to show how a community college can help with economic development.”
Following eight years at Dyersburg State, Smith accepted a position as dean of academic affairs at Hopkinsville Community College in Kentucky, where she stayed from 1990-2000. Then in 2000, she became president at Rich Mountain Community College in Arkansas, where she remained through 2007 until accepting the presidency at Columbia State.
“Throughout my career, after every seven to 10 years I begin looking for new challenges,” she says. “Just about the time when I was ready for a change from Rich Mountain, the Columbia State opportunity arose with Dr. Hawkins retiring. It was perfect timing for me to try something new again.”
Smith says she was familiar with Columbia State even prior to applying for the position as president.
“My dissertation for my doctorate at George Peabody was on the history of Tennessee community colleges, so I’ve known about Columbia State for a long time,” she says. “I just hope that I can do as good a job in the role as president as Dr. Hawkins achieved during her time here.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
