NEW ORLEANS — Dr. Camacia Smith-Ross has been appointed chief of staff at Southern University at New Orleans.
Smith-Ross pivoted to higher education as an assistant professor of education at Southern, where she was later named project administrator of its national youth sports program. During the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ravished the Gulf Coast, she felt compelled to return to New Orleans and accepted the position working to restore and develop a premier Upward Bound program in the New Orleans area. Smith-Ross was recognized by her peers at Dillard University’s 50th Anniversary Celebration of their Upward Bound Program. She continues to support programs at Dillard University and now serves as an executive board member for the Center for Racial Justice.
Returning to her hometown of Alexandria, La., Smith-Ross was appointed director of the Alternative Certification Graduate Program at Louisiana College in Pineville, La., and was named the school’s dean of education, making her the first African American to serve in the position in the college’s 109-year history.Â
Among her academic accomplishments, Smith-Ross has served as the interim vice provost of academic affairs at Southern University and A&M College and most recently as the executive director of the school’s pre-college and outreach programs. She was also a tenured professor at the school.
Dr. Smith-Ross received her EdD in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
