William L. Smith

— Biography from the 2019 Spring Commencement program —

Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame. He holds the M.A. in Sociology from Marquette University and the B.A. in Sociology and Business from Loras College. Prior to joining the Georgia Southern faculty, he held positions at Carroll College and Loras College, where he served as chair of the department from 1991-1994. Dr. Smith joined the faculty in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at Georgia Southern in September 1994. A prolific scholar, Dr. Smith has published two academic research monographs: Irish Priests in the United States: A Vanishing Subculture and Families and Communes: An Examination of Nontraditional Lifestyles. His original research has been published in 54 peer-reviewed journal articles and two book chapters. He has further published one review essay, 24 book reviews, and 12 encyclopedia entries, and delivered over 50 conference presentations. Dr. Smith’s research has focused most often on the sociology of religion, with a significant body of work examining religion and ethnic identity among Irish Americans. In addition, he has turned his attention to the scholarship of teaching and learning, examining a number of contemporary issues on college campuses. Dr. Smith has been a frequent research collaborator with colleagues and, in this way, has served as an important mentor to junior faculty in particular. He has further mentored faculty as a leader of the department’s Tenure and Promotion Committee, as well as a member of the college Personnel Review Committee. In addition to his many other service roles, including a term on the editorial board of the American Sociological Association’s journal Teaching Sociology, he served for years on the Human Subjects Internal Review Board (IRB). Students will remember him best for his high expectations and rigorous readings in courses like Sociology of Religion, Sociology of the Family, Race and Ethnicity, Sociology of Community, and Senior Seminar. He has also served on 11 student thesis committees. For these and many other achievements in teaching, scholarship and service, Dr. Smith was awarded the Ruffin Cup by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences in 2016, and has earned the title of Professor Emeritus of Sociology.*