Smiley nominated for national professor award

When you meet Fred Smiley you are struck by two things: unceasing energy and his work load which, at age 72, would be hard for most people half his age to maintain.

To the gangly, Montana State University-Northern professor of education, however, those characteristics are not contradictory but assets of a good teacher.

"When I was young I had lots of energy. It's never dissipated," said Smiley.

That attitude isn't restricted to the classroom. Oftentimes he can be found in his cramped office in Cowan Hall, teaching online courses, advising students and authoring or editing articles for academic journals.

He has no wife or children, saying instead he is married to the job.

It is that dedication and ability to engage students that recently prompted William Rugg, Northern's Provost, to nominate Smiley for a U.S Professor of the Year award.

"Dr. Smiley regularly reaches beyond the classroom to provide 'outside examples' of what teaching and education are all about," wrote Rugg in his letter to the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education which presents the award.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the award honors undergraduate professors at the national and state levels, who, in the words of the award's website, "excel in teaching and positively influence the lives and careers of students."

Nominees are selected by current or former students and colleagues. Winners will be revealed in November.

Smiley said regardless of who is declared the winner, the honor is being recognized enough by your students and colleagues to be nominated.

Despite his enthusiasm and decades of experience, a career in education wasn't always a given. Back in college, Smiley, who grew up near Sacramento, was unsure of what he wanted to do. He considered social work or law, but ultimately two professors inspired him to go into education.

"They would say your reading is important, your writing is important and your literacy is important," said Smiley. "And that just rang a very true bell inside me."

In 1966, he graduated from California State University with a bachelor's degree in English. Between 1973 and 1982, he earned three master's degrees, in education, English and special education, from Chapman University. He received his Doctorate of Education in curriculum and instruction from Oklahoma State University in 1992.

Since 1978, Smiley has held a variety of positions, teaching students from grade four through higher education. He has also coached varsity basketball, provided tutoring to at-risk youth and was briefly the vice principal of a school in Nevada.

In 2008 he decided to leave his job as an associate professor and chair of the Education Division at Lindsay Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky, and move to Northern.

He said teaching at a smaller, less affluent college such as working with first generation college students and those from Indian Country, afforded him unique opportunities.

For example, Smiley recently spoke with students from Poplar and Wolf Point who take distance learning courses with him. When it came time to begin their first assignments, they needed help. He communicated with them by Skype and over the phone, but eventually made the 200 mile drive and met with students and is now helping them write a grant.

"If somebody says I need some help, I feel duty bound to do that," said Smiley.

Even after all these years, the veteran professor, still enjoys the curiosity of his students.

Smiley said there have been recent shifts in education, chief among them the increasing role of technology.

"You better be on your stick in terms of being able to teach," said Smiley. "When you walk into your classroom, you can't just say what's off the top of your head. Somebody's going to Google it and challenge it immediately."

He said students nowadays are more sophisticated than when he was in college, brought on by increased awareness of different cultures.

"We don't just say the gospel according to white people anymore," said Smiley.

Going forward, Smiley said, there needs to be more of a focus on encouraging teachers to listen more to their students and ask good questions based on those exchanges. In other words instill in them the idea that teaching is not a monologue, but a dialogue.

As for, Smiley, he has no plans to retire anytime soon.