Next week, Steve Scott will step down as President of Pittsburg State. On Thursday, Howard Smith announced his departure as Provost from the university. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Just over two years ago, Smith was promoted to Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Pittsburg State. Before that appointment, he served three years as the university’s Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success.

For nearly the past two decades, he’s worked at Pittsburg State in various roles. Smith has spent his entire career in education. From Interim Superintendent of Pittsburg Community Schools to working as the Executive Director in the Amarillo Independent School District in Texas.

Before being named Provost, Smith also produced weekly In The Jungle segments with PSU students that aired on KRPS. In an email to employees Thursday, Smith said that he would serve as Provost until early next year with plans to return to the classroom as a faculty member at PSU in the fall of 2023.