Peter P. Smith

Peter Plympton Smith (born October 31, 1945) is an American educator and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the U.S. state of Vermont, the 76th lieutenant governor of Vermont, and an education administrator. He served as the founding president of the Community College of Vermont, the founding president of California State University, Monterey Bay, and as assistant director general for education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Early life and education

Smith was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Burlington, Vermont. He is the son of Burlington banker and Vermont State Senator Frederick Plympton Smith. He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1964 and received an A.B. in history from Princeton University in 1968 after completing a senior thesis titled "Burlington, Vermont, 1791-1848: A Study of Economic Development and Social Change in a Community."
In 1970, he received a M.A.T. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He received his Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in administration, planning, and social policy in 1983.

Career in education and politics

Smith served one year as an assistant to the Vermont Commissioner of Education. In 1970, he became the founding president of the Community College of Vermont, a Vermont State College. He first ran for office in 1978, defeating incumbent Lieutenant Governor of Vermont T. Garry Buckley in the Republican primary but losing the general election for Lieutenant Governor to Democrat Madeleine M. Kunin. Between 1981 and 1983, he served as a Vermont State Senator representing the Washington County district. After Kunin chose not to run for re-election in 1982, Smith was elected to succeed her. He served two two-year terms. He ran for Governor of Vermont in 1986 but was defeated by Kunin. After two years as Vice President of Development at Norwich University he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1988 for Vermont's at-large congressional district. In 1990, he was defeated in his bid for re-election by Independent Bernie Sanders.

Smith wrote ''Your Hidden Credentials: The Value of Personal Learning Outside College,'' (Acropolis Books, Ltd, 1986). The book promotes college credit for life experience. Smith is also the author of ''The Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education Is Failing America,'' (Anker Publishing Company, Inc.,2004) which received juried acclaim from the American Association of Continuing Education. His third book, ''Harnessing America's Wasted Talent: New Dimensions for Higher Education'' (Jossey-Bass, 2010) was published in early 2010. His fourth book, ''Free-range Learning in the Digital Age: The Emerging Revolution in College, Career, and Education'' (SelectBooks) was published in 2018.

From 1991 to 1994, Smith served as dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University. In 1994 Smith became president of California State University, Monterey Bay, a post that he vacated in 2005. Beginning June 20, 2005, Smith served as assistant director general for education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He left UNESCO in 2007.

In April 2016, University of Maryland University College announced that Smith had been appointed to a term as the Orkand Endowed Chair and Professor of Innovative Practices in Higher Education. In this position, Smith was responsible for identifying and implementing measures to improve the school's learning and support services delivery. He retired from that position in 2022.

Later career

In 2016 Smith was one of thirty former Republican congressmen to sign a letter opposing Donald Trump's candidacy for president.

References

Bibliography

* Smith, Peter P. (1982) Your Hidden Credentials: the Value of Learning Outside College
* Smith, Peter P. (2004) The Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education is Failing America. Anker
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Peter Plympton
1945 births
20th-century American educators
American officials of the United Nations
California Republicans
California State University, Monterey Bay
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Heads of universities and colleges in the United States
Lieutenant governors of Vermont
Living people
Phillips Academy alumni
Politicians from Boston
Politicians from Burlington, Vermont
Princeton University alumni
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont
Vermont state senators
UNESCO officials
University of Maryland Global Campus faculty
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly