Connie Chic Smith

• Provides academic advising to facilitate successful and timely educational planning and degree completion in alignment with the educational and career goals for approximately 1,000 undergraduate students.
• Oversees academic advising and student success strategies across multiple departments.
• Developed and scaled targeted advising models supporting first-generation and underrepresented students.
• Oversees the summer advising & enrollment process for 3,000+ incoming students.
• Manages the summer advising and enrollment budget of $200,000, and the enrollment team, which consists of 20 faculty members and 10 interns.
• Manages a $300,000 research grant budget for the College Council, the largest student organization, with 17 student officers, and 250 general body members.
• Leads academic planning and policy development to enhance curricular affairs and student learning outcomes.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with faculty, staff, and external stakeholders to foster collaborative initiatives.
• Designed and oversaw assessment tools and data collection strategies to measure student achievement, using results to inform curriculum improvements.
• Analyzes assessment data to identify trends and implement evidence-based interventions that improve student retention and success.
• Collaborated with faculty to design new honors courses.
• Built and led high-performing teams focused on student success and institutional growth.
• Monitors student progress and collaborates with students to develop personalized graduation plans.
• Responds to inquiries from students, faculty, and parents.
• Provides clarity and guidance to students, parents, and faculty regarding academic policies and procedures, as appropriate.
• Collaborates with colleagues to identify and address barriers to student success.
• Utilizes current advising technologies (SIS and Stellic) for outreach and engagement with students.
• Lead administrator on Echols Scholars (Honors)
• Advocated for resources and support services to meet the needs of a diverse student body.
• Represented the college at academic conferences, workshops, and public events to promote its programs and achievements.
• Analyzed data from surveys, focus groups, and other sources to identify areas for improvement within the college.
• Planned, administered, and controlled budgets to maintain accurate financial records and produce financial reports.
• Recruited, hired and on-boarded departmental staff.
• Spearheaded efforts to enhance communication between departments across campus.
• Promoted awareness of college-wide initiatives through presentations at local schools, or businesses.
• Maintained an active role in professional associations to stay abreast of trends in higher education.

• Founder and lead consultant providing professional and leadership development training to over 4,000 employees on a variety of topics for organizations nationwide.
• Drive revenue, manages a $600,000 annual budget, coach six staff members, and develop original curriculum for clients.
• Grew business to 40+ clients across government, non-profit, and private industries within first 18 months.
• Secured a Fortune 500 and a national non-profit client within the first 9 months of existence.
• Conducted 220+ employee interviews to ensure operational efficiency for higher education clients.
• Partnered with Benedict College to run and devise curriculum for their Entrepreneurship Incubator Program, resulting in 50+ local business leaders instituting the principles into overall business operations.
• Develop, implement, and analyze diversity employment trends, plus monitor initiatives related to workplace D&I, including outreach, recruitment, training, performance measurement, and addressing barriers specific to hiring..
• Consult with human capital managers and senior leadership on their workforce change strategies to develop recommendations and action plans.
• Represented the organization at community events and public forums to promote mission.
• Led strategic planning and execution to drive company growth and profitability.
• Built talent pipeline to support business growth and enduring success.
• Cultivated relationships with key stakeholders such as donors, volunteers, partners, and sponsors.

• Served under the university’s senior leadership and led the efforts to identify emerging issues at the local, state, and federal level that had potential impacts on the school’s mission, goals, and/or operations, and recommended strategies for advocating the school’s position on related issues.
• Served as Special Assistant to the President for Board of Trustee Meetings, the strategic plan, and the annual report.
• Analyzed data to inform decision-making and strategic direction.
• Conducted regular meetings with department heads to review progress on strategic initiatives.
• Facilitated professional development programs to build a high-performing team.
• Collaborated with senior leadership to set long-term objectives.
• Prepared presentations for board meetings, summarizing key developments.
• Served as the chair of the shared governance committee, as directed by the president, to establish policies and protocols in keeping with the university’s mission.
• Cultivated relationships with stakeholders to secure support and funding for key initiatives.
• Revised curriculum for general education courses to reflect SACSCOC guidelines.
• Courses Taught: Public Speaking / Oral Communication, Introduction to Professional Writing, Business & Technical Writing, Research Methods.

• Taught intermediate and advanced level courses in the School of Communication.
• Created a Shark Tank-like competition for students to create a communications plan and/or crisis communication plan for local small businesses.
• Mentored students in the development of their research skills and critical thinking abilities.
• Expanded internship, apprenticeship, and service-learning opportunities for students.
• Secured internships for 23 undergraduate students with local small and medium-sized businesses.

Teaching:

• Writing for New Media
• Advanced Public Speaking
• Research Methods

• Graded student assignments and exams, providing feedback on their performance.
• Participated in professional development workshops related to teaching pedagogy or technology use in classrooms.
• Led discussion sections, tutorials or laboratory sections.
• Attended departmental meetings to discuss teaching strategies and methods.
• Developed online quizzes and other assessments to evaluate student understanding of course material.
• Provided individualized instruction to meet the needs of struggling students.
• Advised students on appropriate resources for research projects.
• Researched new topics related to the subject matter of the course.
• Scheduled and maintained regular office hours to meet with students.
• Created multimedia materials such as presentations, videos, and podcasts to supplement classroom instruction.
• Developed syllabi, visual aids and other teaching materials.

• Coordinated research projects by providing administrative support such as budget tracking, grant management and progress reporting.
• Facilitated communication between students, faculty, and administration to address academic concerns.
• Provided guidance to students on degree requirements or graduation eligibility criteria.
• Led efforts to improve student retention and success rates through targeted interventions.
• Directed, coordinated and evaluated activities of support staff within academic institutions, departments, and alumni organizations.
• Managed budget for academic programs, ensuring optimal allocation of resources.

• Led development of overall branding & messaging strategy and crisis communication plan for DC & NY offices; maintained and grew relationships with local, state and national press; worked with elected officials, legislative leadership and allies to share key priorities and messages; created Comms Director Mentorship Program and enrolled 42 members
• Wrote op-eds, floor statements, speeches, and press releases on controversial topics; facilitated press conferences + other media events
• Served as a spokesperson.
• Established and maintained relationships with media outlets to ensure favorable coverage and manage public relations.
• Developed training materials and workshops for staff on best practices in communication and public relations.
• Created marketing policies and procedures, evaluating and revising to maximize team efforts.
• Led communications department, delivering consistent employee job training to improve skills.
• Prepared monthly reports detailing progress made on various projects related to communications objectives.
• Maintained a database of contacts within the organization's network for future outreach purposes.