In his 43rd year as a professor and 22nd year at Texas Wesleyan, Dr. Smith clearly enjoys teaching.

“I’m at an age to retire, but I’m not just hanging around, this is what I really want to do. I look forward to going to the classroom. I look forward to advising and getting to know the students.” Dr. Smith was the best man in four of his student’s weddings, not counting the wedding of one of his daughters, who were both students of his.

“At Texas Wesleyan, I like the interaction with students, the closeness with faculty, the small classes here. A lot of the things that the faculty like are the same things students like. The faculty really has a passion for teaching or they wouldn’t be here. This is a very teaching-oriented school.”

“I’ve taught at big schools with 300 or so students in a class and students wander in and out, and there’s very little discussion, and no projects or homework. It might sound good, but it’s not. The more students do (writing and creative thinking), the better off they are.”

Dr. Smith has taught one of his courses — Principles of Advertising — every semester for all 43 years. Even with this constant, he is glad for change in his field. “Business marketing and advertising are always changing. It’s not like we’re studying Shakespeare. He’s not writing anything new. There’s Facebook, Twitter, watching television and listening to radio on mobile devices, TV ads at the gas station pump, and people spending a lot of time online. Supplementing the textbooks keeps us on our toes.”