Dr. Alan L. Smith was appointed as interim president of Utah State University (USU) on February 12, 2025, by the Utah Board of Higher Education. Smith’s assignment was followed by the Board announcing the beginning of a presidential search, a role that was filled by 18th USU President Brad L. Mortensen. Following Mortensen’s inauguration in early January 2026, Smith returned to his role as dean of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services.

Smith, often called Al, grew up in Rochester, New York, with a passion for sports and research that led him to earn a BA in psychology from the University of Rochester, an MS in exercise and sport science from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a Ph.D from the University of Oregon in exercise and movement science. Most of Smith’s research focuses on the link between sports, psychology, and development in youth and adolescence.

Smith joined USU in 2021 as dean of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services and Professor of Kinesiology and Health Science and became the college’s first endowed dean in 2024. Before joining USU, Smith held tenured positions at Purdue University from 1997 to 2012 and Michigan State University from 2012 to 2021. In addition to his various roles in higher education, Smith has also served as president of the American Kinesiology Association, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition Science Board.