The University of St. Thomas’ Dougherty Family College announced its new dean, Buffy Smith, Wednesday in an email to the St. Thomas community from executive vice president and provost Eddy Rojas.

Smith, who will begin as dean on July 1, has been with the two-year college since its founding in 2016, where she has worked hard to create opportunities.

“She started as founding associate dean and brought to life the vision of this two-year college that creates opportunities for ambitious underrepresented students,” Rojas wrote to St. Thomas students.

Smith has demonstrated strong support to DFC and its students through her policies and commitment.

“Her strong track record of developing community partnerships, rallying financial support and leading a diverse and inclusive team will serve the college well,” Rojas wrote. “Those who have had the pleasure of encountering her in recent years have experienced her deep commitment to DFC and its scholars, referring to them as ‘family.’”

Smith has advocated strongly for DFC to be reflective of its scholars, celebrating their heritage and their successes.

“I am encouraged that we’re finding more colleges and universities being more intentional about creating programs, policies and events that focus on inclusion,” Smith said at a higher education panel on Feb. 28. “Culturally sustaining pedagogy recognizes that students are producers of knowledge and not just consumers of information.”

Ben Hogan can be reached at hoga1306@stthomas.edu.