Trocaire Hires VP for Innovation and Workforce Development

Trocaire College is putting renewed emphasis on identifying industry opportunities and partnerships for its academic and workforce development programs. To that end, the college recently welcomed Dr. Gary Smith, formerly of Keuka College in Yates County, New York, as its new Vice President of Innovation and Workforce Development.

During his 25 years at Keuka, Smith served in several administrative and faculty capacities including as a tenured professor in business and management. Additionally, he served as chair of the Business and Management Division and vice president for Enrollment Management, Marketing & Communication, and International Relations. As principal investigator of a Teagle Foundation grant, he coordinated efforts to better integrate liberal arts into the business curriculum.

“Dr. Smith wore many hats at Keuka during his long and fruitful career there,” said Trocaire President Dr. Bassam Deeb. “However, his most critical contribution—and the reason he was an ideal fit for his new role at Trocaire—is his seven years there leading the Division of Professional Studies and International Programs, which focused on non-traditional enrollment and achievement.”

Smith’s academic and administrative leadership in that role resulted in the profound growth of nontraditional and international academic programs and enrollment. During this time Keuka grew from less than 1,000 students on the home campus to more than 5,000 students across twenty locations in Central New York, ten international partners in Asia and online. They also expanded into several professional graduate programs.

Trocaire’s new Innovation and Workforce Development unit will focus on identifying new or existing market opportunities for both credit and non-credit offerings. Priorities include:

• Convenience-oriented program delivery, including online options
• Alternative pathways to delivering both credit and non-credit educational offerings
• Geographic expansion, especially as it relates to the Bachelor’s of Science with a major in Nursing degree
• Expansion of existing and creation of new industry partnerships across all programs

“I chose to join Trocaire College because of its mission, values, and organizational culture. As an educator, I am passionate about helping students transform themselves through education to achieve their goals and become more productive citizens,” Smith said. “This is a time of great change across all of higher education, and I am honored to join the team at Trocaire to support the college as it strengthens its ability to fulfill the mission of providing a transformative education.”