Academic Affairs

Meet the Provost

EWU Provost Lorenzo Smith holds a PhD in engineering mechanics from Michigan State University. His career has taken him through multiple university campuses, the automotive industry, and various entrepreneurial ventures. He joins EWU from Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Texas, where he served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Prior to his service at SFA, he served as dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento. Smith authored or coauthored 62 peer-reviewed publications, including two U.S. patents. Working in collaboration with his colleagues, he secured $14 million in external funding to support various research and programmatic initiatives.

Throughout his time in higher education, Smith’s impact has extended beyond the classroom. Building upon funding available from the state of Texas, he established SFA’s Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation (CARRI). In addition, he founded both the Hornet Leadership Program (HLP) at California State University, Sacramento, and CLIC-FORM at Oakland University. CARRI, HLP, and CLIC-FORM, all in successful operations today, continue to contribute to student, faculty, and community success.

Passionate about mentorship and community engagement, Smith has also provided leadership service on multiple boards including the Oakland Youth Orchestra, the Sacramento Youth Symphony, and the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program.

The provost is Eastern Washington University’s chief academic officer, reporting directly to the president of the university. The provost oversees the division of Academic Affairs, including graduate and undergraduate academic programs and academic support programs. The provost oversees budget allocations, planning, development, and improvement of all academic programs. While the president and provost confer regularly in setting overall academic priorities, the president focuses more attention on external constituencies. The provost attends to the day-to-day functioning of the university. The provost is responsible for implementing the university’s strategic plan and ensures EWU’s responsiveness to cultural, economic, societal and governmental changes that affect the university.

The provost meets with the deans of the colleges regularly to discuss academic policies and priorities and addresses the needs of the colleges and campus as a whole.

Adapted from University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Santa Clara University.

Students & Faculty

The provost sets guidelines and requirements with regard to admissions and financial aid working to ensure student retention and timely graduation. In regard to curriculum and education, the provost works with the deans, associate deans, department chairs, and faculty. The provost works closely with the Faculty Organization and Academic Senate in the spirit of shared governance.