LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2005) -- University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr. today announced that Scott Smith, dean of the College of Agriculture, will assume the position of interim provost effective May 15.
Smith, 55, will, on an interim basis, replace Michael T. Nietzel, who last month announced his resignation as UK provost to assume the presidency at Southwest Missouri State University this summer.
Smith, who has been dean of the College of Agriculture since 2001, will spend about 80 percent of his time performing provost duties. The provost is the university’s chief academic officer. The other 20 percent of his time will continue to be spent at the College of Agriculture, where he will return when a permanent provost is named. Smith will not be a candidate for the permanent position.
Associate deans in the college will take on some expanded duties while Smith serves as interim provost.
“Scott is an extremely able administrator, a widely recognized figure nationally in the field of agriculture, and an accomplished scholar in his academic area of soil microbiology,” Todd said. “As I talked with people across campus about how best to move forward on an interim basis, Scott’s name came up repeatedly as someone who can help lead our university forward during this important time.”
Todd said he will announce a committee next week to lead the search for a permanent replacement for Nietzel.
“I am pleased and honored that President Todd would ask me to serve in this important position at a critical time in the university’s history,” Smith said. “There are wonderful things happening at UK across all our academic units and departments. I'm excited about the opportunity to help lead our continuing efforts as the university aspires to national prominence as a premier public research institution.”
In addition to his duties as dean, Smith serves as director of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service and Agriculture Experiment Station, which has offices and staff in all 120 Kentucky counties.
The College of Agriculture has a total budget of more than $100 million, with 270 faculty, 375 county agents, and about 2,000 employees. Undergraduate enrollment exceeds 1,700 with about 340 graduate students.
Prior to becoming dean, Smith served as associate dean for research and associate director of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. He also previously served as chair of the Department of Agronomy. He has been a faculty member at UK since 1978.
His academic interests are in the area of soil microbiology. He has published about 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters and has served as researcher or administrator for research projects and grants totaling about $30 million since 1998.
Smith has a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in soil science from Cornell University. He received his doctorate in soil microbiology from Michigan State University in 1978.
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