Breaking Ground: Norman Smith, Ed.D.'84

The greater the challenge, the greater the appeal. Over the course of his 40-year career in higher ed administration, Norman Smith helped several institutions — including the Ed School — overcome enrollment and finance issues. But after a term as the longest-serving president of Wagner College in New York, as well as six years as president of Richmond, The American International University in London, Smith retired from full-time academia, spending his time writing and consulting.

That is until he was lured back by his biggest challenge yet: building a university from the ground up. In Egypt.

Earlier this year, Smith headed to the North African country to become founding chancellor of Alamein University on the Mediterranean, a resort area that had been underdeveloped.

“I was the university’s first employee, starting with a completely blank sheet of paper,” he says.

The university is being developed by the same private-public partnership responsible for the resorts in the area. The hope is that it will draw international attention to the region and keep it vital throughout the year, something that had been difficult to do outside of the summer holiday months. Smith is confident that the decision to build a school is a good one.

“Alamein will be the only Egyptian-chartered, English-speaking, American-accredited, residential university,” Smith explains. “The American University in Cairo … is largely enrolled by Cairo commuting students. All Alamein students will live full-time at the university.” They will also have access to many of the resort amenities, including housing, restaurants, and recreational areas.

All students will be required to take a liberal arts core curriculum, designed in collaboration with California State University, Northridge, to build a foundation of leadership and managerial skills. Smith also aspires to draw students to Alamein from outside Egypt in order to build an international culture within the university and the city around it.

“One of the reasons I was asked to head the project,” Smith says, “was my experience with international universities and with academic themes like globalization, world awareness, and international relations, topics that I consider in the forefront of what today’s generation of university students should be learning.”

With a scheduled opening date of September 2011, Smith has plenty to do, and few people yet to help him do it. In addition to recruiting faculty and staff, a typical week includes planning the curriculum, working with architects on designing the 100-acre campus, and even personally writing the content of the school’s website. Does he ever long for the easier days of his brief retirement?

“I’m not sure I ever had a retirement mindset,” he says. “I was just taking time away from being a president. … I am ready to step back into a demanding and, hopefully, rewarding experience.”