Brad Smith, dean of Huxley College of the Environment, is retiring as dean in July 2012, after 18 years in the position. Smith is currently involved with Western’s Clean Energy Program and will continue to be part of it after he has retired. Smith has worked with the environment for most of his life and will continue to hold Western board and commission positions.
What made you want to become the Dean in the first place?
I was in D.C. and I always preferred the university world to the federal government world, so it was coming back to something that I enjoyed. I never had thought about [becoming] dean. I was going to go back to a faculty position.
I was offered a dean position in Maine and I almost moved to Maine.
When I talked to [Huxley], I had accepted the job in Maine. And they said, come out here for an interview and I came out. I came [to Huxley] instead of [Maine]. My children could have had Maine accents! And I stayed on because I liked it. I liked the people I worked with; I liked the students. If I hadn’t liked it, I would have left.
I had a lot of opportunities to leave over the last 18 years, and a lot of them paid more. But this is a nice spot. I never had a bad enough day that I said, ‘I have to get out of dodge.’ It’s still the case now. It’s just a time for a change. It’s time for somebody new to come in and take it.
How has the College of the Environment changed since you’ve been here?
Colleges of the environment have become the norm in many universities across the world. The environment as a course of study has evolved over the last 40 years from something that was very unique and atypical to something that is very common. That’s good.
You can’t study the environment from only one discipline. You can’t study the environment from a geology point alone, or biology point alone or an economic point alone. So colleges of the environment are where interdisciplinary teaching and learning take place. That revolves around solving problems and that’s really developed in the last 20 to 30 years. We’ve seen that here. We may not be the biggest college at Western, but our impact is much greater than our size.
Is there anything you wanted to accomplish but didn’t in the last 18 years?
I think I would have liked to have a brand new building for Huxley. The economy kind of intervened. Space is still a critical issue. Huxley is in a position that, given appropriate resources, we could grow considerably. We’ve had three or four years of constricting resources. The vision a few years ago was for Huxley on the waterfront, brand-new, that was moving along but then the other world intervened.
Along with that building goes along, laboratory equipment, teaching equipment, all of that stuff. This building, we’ve outgrown it in every way. To continually educate and train the environmentalists of the future we have to have the very best equipment and technology available to do that. That’s a challenge, given the economy.
What’s the best part about your job?
I entered into a career in the environment because I’m passionate about the environment. So I think working in a setting by which I, along with the faculty and staff, are teaching and educating a whole new generation of leaders to go out and make a difference is very exciting and very humbling and seeing these people come back over the years and knowing what they’re doing. Our graduates continue to make a difference everyday in the world. Being part of that circle of positive change is a very humbling and rewarding part of the job.
What’s next for you?
I’m involved in many things: I’m on the State Fish and Wildlife Commission; I’m on the United Nations Commission; I’m a trustee of three or four foundations, and I am writing and rewriting my textbooks and consulting. Pretty much a lot of what I do on the side, I will just be doing more of. All of my board positions and commission positions are not dependent on this job; they’re separate.
Additional questions:
Did you ever think you were going to be the dean for 18 years?
No, again, this is my fifth career, I never had a master plan and I still don’t have a master plan. I’m going to reinvent myself again. In all of my careers, I’ve done it as long as I have found that I can continue to do it with the passion that’s necessary and the joy. And this one, the time was just right. I’d rather leave with the passion and the joy than not.
Why did you decide to stay for Western’s Clean Energy Program?
I was one of the fathers of it so I want to see the child develop. It’s a good program, its worthy of Westerns’ commitment and I think I can be of some value. Whether it’s in fundraising or networking. But not forever. I want to make sure the child gets out on its own a bit before I leave my parenting role.
Is there something you have learned in the past 18 years as being the dean?
I think I’ve really learned to appreciate our students, the diversity of them, in every which way and the commitment the students bring. It’s been a privilege to have seen a lot of students that have gone on to do really extraordinary things with their lives that have really impacted and made the world a better place. In 18 years you can imagine that some of those people are senior people in jobs now, in all areas, in all types of jobs.
What is your advice to the next dean?
Huxley, both from the faculty and staff and students, there is a diversity of interests of professions of backgrounds. The common thread of everybody, staff, students and faculty, is the commitment to the environment. That can be the human built environment, the natural environment; it can be in the areas of technology, social sciences. I think the challenge always is always, how do you get all of these interests and backgrounds working in common directions? And the bottom line to that the question is the interest in the environment, that’s our common thread. We all have niches within that world but we’re all committed to enhancing the natural and human environments.
Why did you do this for so long?
I think a commitment and to and a passion for making sure our students go out there and make a difference. Our job isn’t complete in the university world when a student graduates, it’s only beginning. Also dealing with the students and to see the light in their eyes, the passion and the dedication. And helping them fulfill their dreams, in a very small way. I like keeping in touch with them over the years, I don’t think there’s anything more rewarding than someone coming up to you and saying ‘you’ve made a difference in my life.’
Is there anything you would to add about you leaving?
I don’t like the term leaving, sometimes it sounds like a funeral! I want to have more time to go out there and enjoy the stuff I have been working for. I want to have more time to spend in the environment rather than regulating it, educating about it or communicating about it. Being on the fish and wildlife commission, I’m one of the guys that regulates hunting and fishing in the state, I want to go up there and do more of it. I want to sleep in more on Monday mornings!
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