Rick W. Smith

Northern Pennsylvania Regional College recently appointed Rick W. Smith Sr. as the vice president for institutional advancement and community relations.

Smith will lead the college’s advancement, fundraising, brand development and promotion and will direct college-wide strategies to unify, optimize, and enhance marketing communications initiatives across the college and service area.

Smith has a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast communication from the University of Louisville, a master of business administration from Kennedy Western University, a master’s degree from the Lilly School of Philanthropy, Indiana-Purdue University, and is certified in fundraising leadership from the Lilly School of Philanthropy. He is working on his doctorate at Bradley University in its Higher Education Leadership Program and is enrolled at Cornell University, seeking certification in Diversity and Inclusion Training.

Smith has more than 30 years’ experience working in television news, hospital administration, non-profit leadership, and higher education. His higher education experience includes serving as vice-president of Institutional Advancement, Development, and Athletics at Kentucky State University, and senior vice president of Advancement and Community Relations at the Kentucky College of Art + Design. A Rotarian for more than 20 years, Smith serves on several Boards, including the Kentucky Derby Festival and the Louisville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Passionate about the non-profit sector, Smith also serves as the President and CEO of a United Way chapter.

“We are thrilled to have Rick join our leadership team on a permanent basis,” said Dr. Joseph T. Nairn, NPRC founding president. “Rick first came to NPRC last year as a consultant, working with our leadership and marketing team to develop NPRC’s current strategic marketing plan, annual report, and branding campaign, which began in the Fall of 2019. He cares deeply about the mission of NPRC and brings valuable experience to our leadership team.”

The Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to award associate degrees and certificates in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The regional college provides education to a nine-county region (Cameron, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Warren). Classroom instruction is powered through live, interactive audio-visual communication technology that connects classrooms together across the region, allowing for classroom discussion and real-time student/instructor interaction. NPRC is pursuing regional accreditation.