In this 2nd installment of the university history series on the founding faculty of WSU, we are spotlighting Dr. Alphonso Smith, Professor Emeritus of the College of Science and Mathematics.
Al came to the Dayton Campus in 1964 to help Ohio State develop the mathematics program at their new branch campus here, at what would eventually become Wright State University. Al was one of the first faculty from Ohio State who came to help develop the new university, and like many of the others of that period, Al had planned to stay only a few years, but ended up staying for his entire career at the university that he helped build. Through these interviews you get the true sense of what it was like for these original faculty pioneers, and what it meant to them to help create this new university and watch it grow. We invite you to explore the history of WSU through their memories of this special period as captured through the WSURA oral history project. Below is a video clip of Al describing the first year at the new school and the special relationship that began to develop among the original faculty.