Profiles

Mark Smith: Providing the Tools for Success

First appeared in Washington University Record in January 2001 under Profiles

From the first day the law school students arrive on campus, Mark Smith, J.D. ‘86, associate dean of student services, works to get to know each one. He introduces himself at the welcoming assembly; he wanders the hall checking in with students as they change classes; he talks to them about what kinds of fields they are interested in. And, when the time comes, he takes the mystery out of getting interviews and parlaying an interview into a job offer.

“Dean Smith is absolutely wonderful,” says Emily Kaplansky, J.D. ‘00. “I talked to him throughout law school about everything, my classes, my job search. He is very comforting because he is so accessible and because he gives students the tools to find a job and succeed. He put me in touch with several alumni who were helpful and he put the interview in perspective by comparing it to a first date. He took the fear aspect out of the whole process,” adds Kaplansky.

“From the moment he was hired, Mark really made the office of assistant dean of students accessible to students and he has always vigorously advocated for students,” says Dan Ellis, William R. Orthwein Distinguished Professor of Law. Ellis, who was dean from 1987-1998, originally hired Smith. “Mark still has a very student-oriented attitude. He’s very approachable,” Ellis adds.

Since 1998, when Smith was appointed associate dean of student services he has focused on improving the career services students receive.

“Career services was always a weak spot, even when I was a student,” says Smith. “We’re trying harder to give students specific advise about what they should do. For example, students needed to start thinking of interviews as a presentation and concentrate on what points to cover. Legal employers have check sheets and they grade you on specific qualities. You can’t just say you are smart and work hard, you have to give specific examples,” adds Smith.

He may be friendly, but Smith also can be tenacious, as when he networks with legal employers nationwide to educate lawyers about Washington law students.

“I am basically selling the law school to employers,” says Smith. “I’m using data to convince lawyers that our students are as good as those at other schools they recruit from. I’m not natural salesman, but I’m good at it because I believe in what I’m doing.”

“It’s not an easy sell,” notes Smith. “Law firms are not quick to change, and public interest employers and governmental agencies often have limited budgets. Hiring tends to happen in committees and they tend to go to the same law schools they’ve always gone to.”

Although Smith meets initial resistance from some employers, he and his data have consistently convinced more and more firms to come recruiting at Washington University.

“That office has really turned around in terms effectiveness, and students’ perception of effectiveness,” adds Ellis.

When Smith moved to the Career Services Office three years ago, one New York firm came to campus to recruit, and no Washington, D.C., firms. Now between five and 10 New York/D.C. firms, a Boston firm and a Portland firm visit campus, says Smith. The number of governmental agencies has also increased.

In addition, in the early 1990s only about 50 percent of students had jobs lined up at graduation. Now it’s more like 75 or 80 percent. While part of that might be the strong economy, Smith is certainly partly responsible for the improvement.

Life-long St. Louisan

Like many of the students he helps guide, Smith was the first in his family to go to law school.

“I had great parents,” says Smith. “Family and education were very important to them.”

Although his own parents hadn’t gone to college and his father (who died 10 years ago) hadn’t finished high school, there was never any question that he and his siblings (one sister and one brother, both younger) would go to college. Smith, who had always been interested in government and politics, fully intended to go on to law school.

In high school, Smith was the only student in his school to receive the Harvard Book award, given by the St. Louis Harvard Club.

“Manuel Ponte, the Harvard alumnus who presented me the award, strongly encouraged me to apply to Harvard,” remembers Smith. “His own family had come from Portugal and he was the first to go to college, so this started me thinking that maybe I could apply. Most kids at my school (Southwest High School), if they went to college, stayed in state, and my counselors discouraged me. They kept pointing out that no one from Southwest ever even applied to Harvard.” says Smith.

Still, with his family’s encouragement, Smith applied and was accepted at Harvard.

Smith enjoyed his four years in Cambridge (“Harvard was a great experience for me. It opened my eyes to so many new things,”) but there was never any question in Smith’s mind that he’d return to St. Louis.

“I always knew this is where I wanted to be,” says Smith.

After law school, Smith worked five years at Bryan Cave in St. Louis. He paid off his law school debts and bought a house (again, in south St. Louis) in that amount of time.

“That’s my parents’ influence,” says Smith with a grin. “They never borrowed for anything, except to buy a home. I made double payments on my loans, and every bonus I got I put toward my loans. I was lucky, I got a good job (at Bryan Cave) that helped me pay it back, I didn’t do anything frivolous and I kept my debt down.”

By 1991 Smith was ready to re-examine his life.

“I liked the work I was doing at Bryan Cave, but I didn’t love it,” says Smith. “It was a very demanding lifestyle, and I knew I eventually wanted to marry and have kids.”

And so he returned to Washington University, this time not as a student, but as assistant dean of students handling admissions, financial aid and the career center.

“It was weird because I’d been to law school here and now my former professors were my colleagues,” says Smith, who has been associate dean for student services since 1998. “At that point I was 31 and single. My life was much more similar to the students than to the faculty.”

Smith has never lost that perspective. He always looks at things from the students’ perspective. As assistant dean of students, he advocated for the students’ even if that was in conflict with what the faculty wanted, remembers Ellis.

“Dean Smith is very good at keeping up with the students,” says Kaplansky. “People who need help don’t always walk into career services, so he gets out and talks to students wherever he finds them.”

“Colonel” Smith

Smith’s St. Louis bonds run deep. He, his wife (Lisa Braun, an attorney with the University and also a St. Louis native) and their two sons — their third child is due in July — live in the Holly Hills neighborhood of south St. Louis. Smith is the president of their neighborhood association. He also is active in the Harvard Club of St. Louis and serves, fittingly, as chair of the book award committee.

In 1999, Smith was appointed by Governor Mel Carnahan to the Board of Police Commissioners for the City of St. Louis. The group, which is essentially volunteer, meets every other week and handles all issues, including hiring/firing, that arise in running the police department. Smith has gone out riding with police officers in all nine districts in order to learn more about their jobs and what should be done to make things go better. He even has his own bullet-proof vest.

Smith’s laconic, thoughtful, and, ultimately, self-deprecating attitude earns him respect and appreciation from students and police officers alike.

“Mark has a big collegial heart and lots of common sense” says Eddie Roth, president of the police board. “He’s a real consensus builder because of his quiet, reasoned, intelligent approach. His having navigated both the blue-collar world of south St. Louis and the patrician halls of Harvard has enabled him to relate to people on all kinds of levels.”

“It’s very time intensive, but very rewarding work,” says Smith. “I really feel like I’m making a difference. Besides, the police officers call me Colonel Smith,” he adds with a grin. “That’s even better than being called Dean.”

University position(s): Associate Dean of Student Services, Chair of University Committee on Disabilities

Education: A.B.cum laude, Harvard University, 1982/ J. D. Washington University, 1986 Family: Married in 1994 to Lisa Braun (in Graham Chapel). Two sons: Will, 5; and Michael, 4.