Dr. Hoke LaFollette Smith was born in Galesburg, Illinois in 1931. In 1953, Smith received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Knox College, also in Galesburg. He earned a master’s degree in 1954 in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in political science from Emory University in 1958. He became Towson’s tenth president in 1979. Under his 22-year administration, the university flourished and expanded, even during some very difficult years in the early 1990s when the budget was affected by a global recession. One of his first assignments was to appoint a committee to study the organization of the institution. The committee’s recommendations were fully accepted, setting in motion a new governance structure and in 1981, six colleges were established. They are now known as the College of Business and Economics, the College of Education, the College of Fine Arts and Communication, the College of Health Professions, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics. Two more colleges were later added: the Honors College in 1998, and the College of Graduate Studies and Research in 1999. In 1985, Towson was included for the first time in the Best College Survey done by U.S. News and World Report. Two years later, the University System of Maryland, now known as the University of Maryland System, was created when 11 schools, including Towson, and 2 research centers merged into one governing body. However, this merger caused Smith some consternation because of perceived inconsistencies with funding within the system and from the state, as well as concerns about lucrative degree programs that were not available to Towson because of fears of competition with other universities in the system. Some of these factors contributed to the decision in 1997 to remove the word “State” from the name of the school, and at that point, the final name change took place and the school became Towson University. Through all this change, Smith managed to guide Towson’s steady growth. The campus footprint grew with the addition of 6 new housing/apartment units. Several academic buildings were renovated, two buildings were acquired, and a number of parking garages constructed. The academic program grew as well, doubling the number of available Masters programs by the end of Smith’s time in office. Smith served as the Chair and on the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and of the American Council on Education. In addition, he was a member of the American Association of Higher Education, the Association of American Colleges, the Baltimore County Executive Higher Education Forum, and the Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Program. Smith also fostered exchange programs with universities in Germany, China, Korea, and Japan. After his retirement, Dr. Smith was named President Emeritus, Towson University and was also a Visiting Professor of Higher Education, University of Maryland, College Park. He participated in special projects in the College of Education and taught a graduate course on the University Presidency there. On Saturday March 27, 2004, Smith died of liver cancer at his home in Baltimore. He was 72.