Dr. Norman Smith has logged over 44 years in higher education. Prior to his current role as president of Suffolk University, he was interim president of Dowling College in New York, and previously was the founding chancellor of a planned American International University under construction on the Egyptian Mediterranean west of Alexandria which was terminated by the Arab Spring revolution.

Dr. Smith is the past-president of Richmond, The American International University in London, and before Richmond, he was president of Wagner College in New York City. During his tenure, the College evolved from near bankruptcy to being cited Time Magazine College of the Year. Prior to Wagner College, Dr. Smith was at Harvard University as assistant dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and then of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He earned his doctorate at Harvard and was a research fellow of the Harvard Philosophy of Education Center. Early in his career, Dr. Smith was affiliated with Moore College of Art in Philadelphia as executive vice president; at Philadelphia University as vice president and dean; and at Drexel University as assistant dean of students.

Dr. Smith has been awarded honorary doctorates from Richmond University, Wagner College and Philadelphia University. He was named president emeritus by Wagner, Drexel cited him as one of their inaugural Drexel 100, and New York University awarded him its Presidential Medal for excellence in higher education leadership.

Dr. Smith received the Service to Profession Award at Alumni Weekend 2015. 

Where in the world have you never been and you would love to visit?

My presidency of the American University in London enabled me to see the world and there is no place I have never been, at this point, that remains on my bucket list. That said, my favorite venues will always be London and Paris. I could happily spend the rest of my life in London...if I could afford it.

If you could share a meal with anyone – dead or alive – who would it be and why?

Thomas Jefferson. In 1962, when hosting an array of Nobel Prize winners in the White House, John F. Kennedy declared that never before had the White House had a dinner for such an "extraordinary collection of talent and human knowledge...except with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." I would love to know Jefferson's reaction to the way in which the Constitution has been interpreted in modern times on subjects including bearing arms.

Who is your mentor?

There is no one person, but during my near-decade as a dean at Harvard University, Harvard's president at the time, Derek Bok, was my role model for the ideal University leader. He is someone I have attempted to emulate throughout my three decades as a college and university president.

Why did you go to Drexel?

I needed to be able to work my way through college. Drexel's Co-op program enabled me to graduate debt free.

If you could say “thank you” to someone at Drexel who would it be and why?

Chuck Pennoni, former Drexel Board of Trustees chair and interim president, takes the lead in 'saving' Drexel and enabling the greatness that Drexel has become since my graduation nearly 50 years ago. I am also grateful for the way in which he has singularly kept me engaged with Drexel for decades.