The University of North Alabama announced its new Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Brien Smith on Apr. 10. He will be filling the role left by Dr. Ross Alexander who left the university in July of 2023. The role has been filled since that time by Dr. Katie Kinney, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences. Dr. Smith’s tenure as Provost is planned to begin this summer, near the beginning of July.

UNA’s own administration is excited for Dr. Smith’s time to begin in Florence. “Dr. Smith brings a wealth of experience across the academic spectrum that promises to serve UNA and our students and academic programs very well,” says Dr. Ken Kitts, President of UNA. “The search committee tasked with filling this role has provided excellent guidance throughout the process, and we look forward to welcoming Dr. Smith to campus soon.”

Dr. Smith says that part of his attraction to UNA was its history as a normal school. Over the course of his career, he has served two other institutions that also served as normal schools at one point in time. In addition to that he also says that he was drawn to Florence because he feels a strong student-focused culture and sense of community on UNA’s campus.

Dr. Smith received his collegiate education entirely from Auburn University. He comes to UNA from his previous position at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, where he served as the Special Assistant to the President. In addition to his time at YSU, he has also served the campuses of Indiana State University and Ball State University.