Colonel Gerald “Jerry” Smith Named Director of Veteran Services for the Texas A&M System
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Colonel Gerald “Jerry” Smith, who currently serves as Director of the Veteran Resource & Support Center at Texas A&M University, is taking on additional duties as the Texas A&M University System’s Director of Veteran Services, System officials announced on Thursday.
“The Texas A&M System is committed to veterans’ success at all of our institutions,” said Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp. “Colonel Smith has the necessary expertise to ensure that all of our universities are providing the exceptional service and support that our student veterans deserve.”
In his new role, Smith will lead the System’s efforts to enhance student veteran support services and policies at all 11 universities throughout the state. He will retain his current position at the System’s flagship university, which he has held since 2012. He also plans to hire an additional employee to assist in this System-wide effort.
“The Texas A&M University System has a long history of serving veterans and their families,” Smith said. “I am honored and look forward to this new opportunity to help lead our System in serving those who have served our great country.”
An Aggie himself, Smith graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was commissioned as a U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant in 1982. He has also earned master’s degrees from Troy University, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the National War College.
During his 30 years of service as an artillery officer, Smith had six command tours, including two combat tours. His other military assignments included eight years as an instructor at higher education institutions, including Rice University, Prairie View A&M University, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and Texas A&M.
“Colonel Smith is well respected for serving veterans at Texas A&M University and in that role has been a great resource for veterans services programs across the A&M System,” said James Hallmark, the Texas A&M System’s Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “I’m excited that his expanded role will bring greater opportunities and services to veterans at all of our eleven universities.”
Smith’s new role officially took effect on August 1, 2018.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.7 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 152,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
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