Passion, Purpose and Partnerships: George W. Smith and the 21st-Century Land-Grant Mission

Ask George W. Smith what a land-grant university is, and he won’t start with the Morrill Act or a history lesson. He’ll tell you about a small farm in North Idaho.

Growing up there gave Smith an early understanding of both the promise and uncertainty of agricultural life. He saw the commitment it took to build a successful farming operation and the challenges that came with making a living from the land.

“There were years when I know that my mom and dad wondered whether they were going to be able to stay in business.”

Those experiences continue to shape how Smith thinks about the role of a land-grant university: connecting knowledge, discovery and service to the people and communities that need them.

“The land-grant mission is more relevant today than it’s ever been.”

For Smith, the promise of a land-grant university begins with access, the belief that talent, curiosity and opportunity should have the chance to grow, regardless of where someone starts.

As the youngest of six children, Smith knew farming might not be his future.

“I had to ask myself the really hard question…number one, is this my passion? And number two, could I make a living farming like my father was doing.”

His parents gave him the freedom to find that answer.

“I was very, very fortunate that my parents said, ‘you go follow your dream. Don’t worry about the farm. That’ll take care of itself.’”

That encouragement opened the door to a career Smith never expected. In eighth grade, he attended sheep shearing school because his community needed shearers. The work later helped him earn money for college.

Smith entered college expecting to become a veterinarian until a professor, Garth Sasser, introduced him to research and the possibilities created by unanswered questions.

“The professor at the time just happened to kind of kindle that spark of curiosity in my brain that got me interested in research.”

Sasser saw potential in Smith and helped him imagine a different future.

“If it wasn’t for people believing in me and it wasn’t for a professor seeing potential in me, I would have never pursued the career I’m in.”

That experience continues to influence how Smith thinks about education and leadership. As dean of the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences (CALES), he wants students to encounter the same kind of opportunity that changed his own life.

“Our work has to be focused around real world problems and preparing our graduates for careers that aren’t well-defined yet.”

For Smith, that means expanding how people understand agriculture. While colleges of agriculture have long been associated with “cows, sows and plows,” he sees the field as much broader and more essential than ever.

Today, agricultural science intersects with some of society’s most urgent challenges, including food and nutrition security, water availability, climate resilience and public health, as well as the stewardship of natural resources and the health of the environment.

Smith points to food access as one of the defining issues of the future.

“The lesson of the pandemic really drove home the fact that our food systems are fragile,” he said. “Making sure people in this country have safe, wholesome, affordable healthy food to eat in the future, it’s directly related to national security.”

But Smith sees those challenges as interconnected. Questions about agriculture, natural resources and the environment are also questions about the well-being and quality of life of people and communities.

For Smith, solving those challenges is exactly why the land-grant mission exists: to connect discovery with the people and places that can put it to work.

“CALES in many ways is the front door to the university,” Smith said, pointing to Cooperative Extension and university expertise reaching communities across all 15 Arizona counties and 22 federally recognized tribes.

That same belief in connection shapes the way Smith leads.

“To be an effective leader, you have to listen. You have to gather broad input,” he said. “If you want to use three words to describe my leadership philosophy or style, it’s passion, purpose, and partnerships.”

For Smith, leadership is ultimately about service.

“It’s not about what that leader wants, it’s about the people we serve and maximizing impact for the future.”

Smith has spent his career putting that philosophy into practice. Before joining Arizona, he led one of the nation’s largest agricultural research organizations at Michigan State University, overseeing a $145 million enterprise with more than 300 scientists across 15 research centers. He helped advance more than $100 million in investments in agricultural research infrastructure.

Now, he sees Arizona as a place where research can address challenges that reach far beyond the state.

“Water is a big one. How to grow food in arid dry land environments are a big one. And that not only has implications for the state of Arizona, but nationally and globally.”

Dryland regions produce much of the world’s food while supporting some of its fastest-growing populations.

“So we have to figure this out.”

For Smith, that challenge is also the opportunity to bring together research, education and partnerships across the full scope of the land-grant mission, addressing agriculture, natural resources, environmental sustainability and human well-being in service of communities facing some of the world’s most pressing problems.

“The opportunity to help lead the college—to lead what will be the preeminent College of Agriculture in a 21st-century land-grant setting—to solve those problems. To me, that’s really, really exciting.”