Vernon G. Smith, Ed.D.

Rep. Vernon G. Smith (D-Gary) is a professional educator and has served in the Indiana House of Representatives since 1990.

Smith was appointed to the House to finish the term of Earline Rogers, who had moved to the late Carolyn Mosby’s position in the Indiana Senate. Smith, a lifelong resident of Gary, previously served as Fourth District Gary City Councilman from 1972 to 1990.

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He is a past chairman of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus and ranking minority member of the House Education Committee.  Additionally, Smith is also a member of the Judiciary and Local Government committees.   Among Smith’s top legislative achievements was the sponsorship of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, the creation of the Indiana Ombudsman Bureau, and legislation awarding good time credit to inmates who get an education.

Currently serving as a professor in the School of Education at Indiana University Northwest, Smith’s professional background includes experience at several public schools in Gary.  He was the principal of Williams School from 1985 to 1992, principal of Nobel School from 1978 to 1985, and assistant principal of Ivanhoe School from 1972 to 1978.  Smith taught in the Gary Public Schools System between 1966 and 1971.

His own educational background includes a B.S. degree from Indiana University, an M.S. degree from Indiana University, an Ed.D. degree from Indiana University, and post-doctorate studies at Indiana University and Purdue University.

Active in several professional and civic organizations, Smith contributes his efforts to the work of the following groups: the Northern Indiana Association of Black School Educators, the Gary Association of School Administrators, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Indiana University Alumni Association, Brothers Keeper Shelter for Homeless Men, and the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. He is a charter member of the Alpha Kappa Kappa Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Smith also helped found several civic groups, including the Northern Indiana Association of Black School Educators; the Indiana City-Wide Festival Committee; the Young Citizens’ League; the Vernon Stars; I.U. Dons, Inc.; I.U. Gents, Inc.; and the African American Achievers Youth Corps, Inc.

Smith is the recipient of over 200 awards and honors, including the NAACP’s Ovington Award, Gary Frontiers’ Marcher’s Award, the I.U. Northwest Alumni Association Division of Education Distinguished Educator Award, the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police Appreciation Award, the Methodist Hospital Child and Adolescent Program Appreciation Award, the Brothers Keeper Appreciation Award, and the Indiana Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals Service Award.

Smith co-wrote Building Bridges Instead of Walls: A History of I.U. Dons, Inc. and wrote Against All Odds, The Power of the Tongue, Creating Excellence: Becoming an A+ School, and A Light Unto My Path: God Ordering My Steps. He has also written numerous magazine and journal articles. His area of research is focused on the achievement and plight of African American males and educational leadership.