Dr. Eric Smith, new dean of the UAH Honors College, aims to inspire more students to seek higher goals

Dr. Eric Smith, the new dean of the Honors College at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), stands outside Frank Franz Hall, home to the Honors College and freshman Honors Housing, on the UAH campus on May 19, 2026. Smith, a professor in the Department of English, began his new role on May 11, 2026.

Michael Mercier | UAH

Dr. Eric Smith believes in the transformative power of education. It’s taken him from student in a small North Alabama high school all the way to full professor in the Department of English at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System.

Now, as the new dean of the UAH Honors College, effective May 11, 2026, Smith is eager to offer more students what so many of his teachers gave him over the years: encouragement to dig deeper, take risks and seek higher goals.

“I’m a product of North Alabama. I’m a first-generation college student, a transfer student and, in that way, something of the living embodiment of the kind of transformative potential of higher education. I’m eager to help create those opportunities for other students from North Alabama and elsewhere. I think it’s meaningful to have an example in front of you of what’s possible.”

Always an avid reader, Smith first found the opportunity to develop and share his writing talent as a student at Pisgah High School.

“My father worked for almost 50 years for the Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative, most of his career as a lineman. I was encouraged to apply to an essay contest that was sponsored by the Alabama Rural Electric Association.”

His essay, “more of a short story,” was one of the winners, earning him his first trip to Washington, D.C. – plus greater expectations from his teachers. The Beta Club faculty sponsor urged him to join and compete in the creative writing category at the state convention.

“The competition was held here in Huntsville at the Von Braun Civic Center. I won second place, and that qualified me to compete in D.C. at the national convention, where I won first place. And that gave me some options.”

Smith didn’t want to burden his family financially, so he attended community college on a scholarship. An instructor inspired him to delve deeper into Socrates, which led to an even deeper dive into disciplined vocabulary study that improved his writing.

“I just had great mentors, people who challenged me, who supported me, who went out of their way to encourage me.”

His dedication paid off significantly while pursuing his M.A. at Mississippi State University.

“My mentor, Richard Patterson, pulled me aside after the semester was over and said he wanted to talk to me about my paper. I knew in my heart that he was going to say, ‘You need to go back to Sand Mountain and teach high school. You don’t really belong here.’ But what he said was, ‘I think this is excellent. You need to pursue this.’ That ended up being the basis for my thesis, which also served as one of my very first publications. Thanks to his encouragement, I had two publications coming out of my master's program.”

Smith received the Howell H. Gwin and Eugene Butler awards at Mississippi State and received an Alumni Fellowship to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Florida. There he worked with eminent James Joyce scholar Brandon Kershner. After teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi, Smith returned to North Alabama to teach at Athens State University and then at UAH.

“It was an opportunity to do the work that’s meaningful to me close to home, a place that I love.”

An exciting place to grow

Dean Smith hopes to show students that the UAH Honors College can be the right place for them, no matter where they come from.

“What I want to do in this position is to extend these opportunities for honors education to as many students as we can. I think there are probably students out there who don’t perceive themselves, for whatever reason, as being honors material. We would like to give them the opportunity for this kind of education as well.”

The Honors College brings together students from any UAH major or program of study in a more intimate, elite college experience that emphasizes arts and sciences, critical thinking and communication skills blended with a practical, career-oriented education. And that, Smith says, equals intellectual fun.

“There’s nothing more thrilling than genuine discovery that’s collaborative and communal,” he says, describing the Honors College’s methods and results.

“For me, this is where the highest ideals of the research university are most vibrantly realized. That joy in pure discovery, intellectual risk-taking and creation, and lateral thinking comes with deep and lasting satisfactions that also can translate to skill sets that endure.”

Interdisciplinary seminars and curricular and co-curricular programming push students to think and work outside their comfort and academic zones.

“Honors can serve as a hub where engineers, scientists, artists, humanists, nurses, business students and more can learn from one another and can ask some of the most significant questions of our time. I think that’s the strength of Honors. That’s the life’s blood of Honors.”

The program attracted Smith not too long after he arrived at UAH in 2006.

“Beginning in only my second year as a faculty member here, I joined the Honors Council for what was then the Honors Program. I was involved in the creation of the English 105 common text experience (for Honors) and helped to facilitate the Honors Student Conference.”

When Smith served as director of the UAH Humanities Center, 2013-2021, he collaborated with Dr. William Wilkerson, founding dean of the Honors College, to bring acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh to campus for the first time. Smith had published on his work and taught his work. (Later, Ghosh would return to UAH as the inaugural speaker in the Dr. Mulk R. Arora Endowed Lecture Series in 2023.)

So, when Smith applied for the Honors College deanship, he understood what the job entailed and how it would fit into his professional and personal goals. He values the stewardship of Dr. Keith Hollingsworth, who served as interim dean, 2024-2026, following Wilkerson’s retirement. Smith especially appreciates Hollingsworth’s mentorship during his transition.

“This position appeals to me because it’s an opportunity to shape the intellectual culture of this university and interact with bright, highly motivated, intellectually ambitious and curious students across disciplines,” Smith says. “I see it very much as a continuation of my commitments as a teacher-scholar and an opportunity to expand those commitments.

He also knew he’d have the chance to work closely with an outstanding team: Jennifer Staton, assistant dean and senior fellowship and graduate school advisor; David Cook, director of undergraduate research; Gina Battle, senior coordinator, and Eirian Waldron, academic advisor.

“It is a privilege to join the Honors College staff. Their dedication to the educational mission of the college and devotion to our students is truly inspiring.”

This team creates a support system that empowers students to reach for their own stars, whatever they might be.

“I want Honors to foster academic ambition, professional ambition, while also being inclusive and supportive,” Smith says. “Students are more willing to take those kinds of intellectual risks if they feel supported and encouraged. I think that strong mentorship between faculty and students can be one of the more transformative dimensions of Honors education.”