Cindy Smith will retire from her position as the Assistant to the Provost of Clarkson University on Friday 29 September after serving the University in a variety of positions for over 44 years.Cindy was hired by the inimitable A. George Davis in August of 1979 at what was then Clarkson College of Technology.
Cindy served as the Administrative Assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science for 30 years under Dr. Mark Ablowitz, Dr. Athanassios Fokas, Dr. David Powers, Dr. Peter Turner and Dr. Christopher Lynch. Some of the many accomplishments include: assisting in the development of programs and procedures; preparation and formatting numerous papers and books (written by Dr. Fokas, Dr. Powers, Dr. Abdul Jerri as well as other authors) using her technical typing skills; instrumental in the organization of the Potsdam-Kiev International Conference of Mathematicians in August of 1991; assisted with the design and execution of refresher programs for incoming Freshman (CUMATH and Springboard) created and crafted by Dr. Turner and Dr. Greta Hoffman. Additionally, Cindy was designated the CUSA Student Service Award winner for 2007-2008 and Employee of the Month in May 2018.
Cindy then moved to the position of Assistant to the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences under Dr. Turner. This position brought a whole new set of obligations and challenges. Again she assisted in modifications of old procedures and the design and implementation of new programs and protocols.
Next to the position of Assistant to the Director of STEM Education and Operations Manager for the School of Arts and Sciences.
In 2019 she became the Assistant to the Provost under Dr. Robyn Hannigan and was assigned additional duties as Administrator of the Interfolio Faculty Management System. And continued in this role under Interim Provosts: Dr. Goodarz Ahmadi and Dr. Christopher Robinson.
Cindy would like to express her eternal gratitude to all of her supervisors for their leadership, support, confidence, collaboration and the trust you have placed in her.
Finally and most importantly Cindy would like to acknowledge and express her sincere appreciation for all the help and support provided by past and present coworkers, faculty, staff and students. She said “Because of my job I’ve met people from all over the world and Clarkson changed them and they changed me.”
Cindy will retire to her home at Lake Ozonia where she will continue working on her crafts, a bit of gardening, driving a ski boat, living life on the water and finally, she intends to do some, long overdue, traveling.
