Dr. Claudette Smith, who has more than 35 years of experience in program planning, development and implementation, has been appointed associate administrator of Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, effective Oct. 1.
As the Cooperative Extension associate administrator, Smith’s responsibilities include providing leadership to county operations and state programs. She will guide the development and maintenance of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, issue-based programming agenda that addresses the complexity of issues faced by North Carolina’s small, limited-resource farmers, communities, youth, families and individuals.
Smith’s notable experience includes serving as the program leader for Extension’s 4-H youth development and family and consumer sciences group, and for the agriculture and natural resources unit. She has also been a long-time family resource specialist.
She is responsible for signature programming, including the development of the Speedway to Healthy interactive exhibition for elementary students, and for the 2010 4-H National Science Experiment for which she convened a multidisciplinary A&T team that created and won the national competition to conduct the experiment live from campus.
Smith has a doctorate in family economics from The Ohio State University, a master’s in consumer economics from Cornell University, and a bachelor’s in home economics from A&T.