Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system office has announced that Dwayne Smith will assume the role of interim president of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He will take office on June 1.
Southern Connecticut State University enrolls 6,800 undergraduate students and just under 2,000 graduate students according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 20 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Since 2020, Dr. Smith has served as campus CEO of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Earlier, he served as interim president of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, following 13 years as that institution’s provost.
“I am thrilled to be taking on a new challenge at SCSU, a university with a deep commitment to social justice and economic mobility,” Dr. Smith said. “Over the past years, I have worked closely with the team at Southern on a number of initiatives, and I look forward to building on that foundation to continually move the university in a positive direction.”
The grandson of Mississippi sharecroppers, Dr. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in educational administration from Truman State University in Missouri. He earned a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri, Columbia.
