James Monroe Smith (academic administrator)
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James Monroe Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Louisiana State University | |
| In office 1930–1939 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas W. Atkinson |
| Succeeded by | Paul M. Hebert (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 9, 1888 |
| Died | May 26, 1949 (aged 60) Angola, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Roselawn Memorial Park, Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Relations | James Monroe Smith, Jr. (son) |
| Parent(s) | John Henry Smith and Ava Addie Sims Smith |
James Monroe Smith (October 9, 1888 – May 26, 1949) was an American educator and academic administrator in Louisiana, best known for an embezzlement scandal that sent him to prison.[1]
Smith grew up on a small farm in rural Jackson Parish, becoming a public school teacher and principal. He attended Valparaiso University in Indiana, earning a bachelor of pedagogy in 1913.[2] He later became principal of DeQuincy High School in DeQuincy, Louisiana.
He had stints teaching at LSU and Northwestern State University before, in 1922, becoming dean of the College of Education at Southwestern Louisiana Institute, which is today the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He earned a PhD in educational administration from Columbia University in 1927.[3]
President of LSU
In 1931, Louisiana governor Huey Long appointed him the seventh president of Louisiana State University. His administration was marked by Long's deep involvement in the university, which led to both massive investment and regular interference. In 1934, Long (then a senator) ordered Smith to expel seven students involved in an anti-Long piece that ran in the student newspaper, The Daily Reveille.[4] LSU students nicknamed Smith "Jimmy the Stooge".[5] LSU's student enrollment roughly quadrupled during his term in office.[2]