Dr. Peter Plympton Smith

Dr. Peter Plympton Smith, EdD, is a highly accomplished educator, innovator, and former politician whose career spans localized community building, high-level governance, and international educational leadership. After earning his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his Doctor of Education from Harvard University, Smith entered public service in his home state of Vermont. Beyond politics, his early academic legacy was cemented when he spearheaded the design and establishment of the Community College of Vermont, serving as its first and founding president from 1970 to 1978.

Following his legislative career, Smith transitioned into institutional leadership at major universities and global organizations. He served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University from 1991 to 1994, before taking on the massive undertaking of converting a former military base into California State University, Monterey Bay, where he served as founding president for a decade. His expertise in educational policy eventually brought him to the global stage, leading UNESCO’s education sector as Assistant Director-General in Paris from 2005 to 2007. Smith had executive leadership roles at Kaplan University and the University of Maryland Global Campus, writing extensively on the future of higher education reform.

Books

Stories From the Education Underground: The New Frontier for Learning and Work. Kendall Hunt, August, 2021.

Free-Range Learning in the Digital Age: The Emerging Revolution in College, Career, and Learning. Selectbooks, New York, June, 2018

Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning .  Jossey-Bass. San Francisco. January, 2010.

The Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education Is Failing America. Anker Publications, Bolton Mass., 2004. (Grandberg Award winner)

Your Hidden Credentials. The Value of learning Outside College. Acropolis Books Washington, D.C. 1986.