Earl Nathan Smith III, assistant dean for student academic services in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, died on March 1 at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. He was 55 years old.
Smith was a member of faculty in Africana studies and director of The Cape Verde Summer Study Abroad Program. He was also a professor in the ethnic studies department at the university. He was a founding member and president of the Faculty and Staff Association of the African Diaspora (FSAAD) as well as the Black Student Leadership Group. Smith was assistant director of the Multicultural Student Services Center
A native of Newport, Smith was a 1989 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he played football. He earned a master of social work degree from Rhode Island College in 1996 and pursued his doctorate in social work at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
