Walter Alvah Samuel Smith (4 August 1929 – 8 February 2012), known as Sam Smith, was a Canadian psychologist and academic who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

University of Lethbridge The University of Lethbridge (also known as uLethbridge, uLeth, and U of L) is a public comprehensive and research university located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with a second campus in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in the liberal arts traditio ...

and of

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

. Smith was born on 4 August 1929 in

Thomas, Oklahoma Thomas is a city in Custer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,181 at the 2010 census. History Thomas was named for William Thomas, who owned a general store and served as postmaster, when the first post office was establishe ...

, and grew up in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose, California, San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 accor ...

. He received his baccalaureate degree at the

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

and his Master's degree and doctorate at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He taught at the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

, the

University of California Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on i ...

, the University of Redlands, and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, and was Dean of Arts at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. He was President of the

(1967–1972), and the second President of

(1976–1980). Smith resigned a week after being informed over breakfast by Alberta's Advanced Education Minister

Jim Horsman James Deverell Horsman, (born July 29, 1935) is a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 to 1993 and held numerous cabinet portfolios in the government of Alberta. Early life James Deverell ...

that the government had decided to relocate Athabasca University from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to Athabasca. Smith was awarded an honorary doctorate from Athabasca University in 1984. He died on 8 February 2012.

References

1929 births 2012 deaths University of Redlands alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Presidents of Athabasca University Canadian psychologists {{Canada-academic-bio-stub