EP61: Shattering the Glass Ceiling

Everybody talking about breaking the glass ceiling ain't doing it - of course for various reasons. Dr. Collins-Smith has done it in the education leadership space. She is the 21st president of Harris Stowe State University and the first African American female in this role. She tells her story of how she broke the glass ceiling and what it took to do it on this episode.

Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith is the 21st President of Harris-Stowe State University. She is the first African American woman to serve the university in this role. Collins Smith has more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience with an extensive background in administration and program development. She began her career in higher education at Harris-Stowe State University in 2010 as a project coordinator in the Office of Counseling Services. She has also served the institution as provost and vice president of academic affairs, associate provost, assistant provost and as executive director of the Center for Career Engagement.

Dr. Collins Smith was the co-principal investigator of a $5 million National Science Foundation grant to substantially strengthen STEM in the state of Missouri, the largest grant in the history of Harris-Stowe. She currently serves as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the nation’s largest regional accreditation body. She also served as the campus team lead for the following initiatives; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Re-Imagine First Year Project, the Strada Foundation Measuring College Value project, the Complete College America MSI Initiative, the Ascendium Project Success Initiative and the Gallup Alumni Survey Project.

Dr. Collins Smith serves as chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Celebration Commission of Missouri and board member for the Higher Education Consortium and Greater STL, Inc. She served on both the Alumni Board of Directors and Alumni Foundation Board for the University of Central Missouri. She is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Gamma Omega Chapter.

Dr. Collins Smith has received several leadership and service awards including the Equal Education Opportunity Group Pioneer Award, Resilience in Action Merchant of Hope Award, Delux Magazine’s Power 100 in Education award, the 2022 NAACP Frankie Muse Freeman/Norman A. Seay Commitment to St. Louis Award, the NAACP Excellence in Education award, the NAACP Ben Hooks Community Leader award and the AKA Central Region’s Outstanding Educational Advancement Foundation Captain award. She is a 2019 Millennium Leadership Initiative Protégé, a St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Fellow and a Higher Education Leadership Foundation Fellow.

A native of the Historic Ville Neighborhood in St. Louis. Collins Smith is a proud graduate of St. Louis Public Schools. She earned an educational doctorate in higher education leadership from Maryville University in St. Louis. She holds a master of social work degree and a master of public health degree from Saint Louis University. She is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri, where she majored in social work.