Dr. Craig Smith: Dedicated to Literature Exploration
Thursday, June 20th, 2024
Faculty Research Award recipient, Dr. Craig Smith.
Dr. Craig Smith, a dedicated English professor, is the recipient of this year's Faculty Research Award. Known for his passion for literature and commitment to his students, Dr. Smith has maintained an impressive portfolio of research alongside his teaching responsibilities.
Dr. Smith initially embarked on his academic journey with the intention of becoming a high school history teacher. However, his career aspirations shifted after a professor in one of his undergraduate courses ignited a passion for literature that led him to rethink his future.
This newfound passion for literature led him to pivot from his initial plan of a four-year degree and an education degree to a path that allowed him to remain in the classroom and delve into research.
"Questions that literature explores and opening my eyes and others to these hard topics and questions are really interesting to me,” says Dr. Smith. “I'll never get tired of asking them or talking about them, or hearing what people think about them."
He credits his passion for his success as well as the support he received from his mentor professors. He shares, "I was very lucky in terms of having that pipeline of supportive instructors who also were very active in their scholarly work as well."
Beyond his dedicated research, Dr. Smith is known for his engaging teaching style. His students often note his dedication in their instructor evaluations. He says, "When you're passionate about what you do, it's not difficult to teach and research and present, because it's something that I value greatly."
Despite a full teaching load at Northwestern Polytechnic, Dr. Smith has excelled in his research, having published four journal articles and work in an edited collection. He has also given 24 conference presentations since 2020. He thoroughly enjoys attending conferences, stating, "It's nice to be able to go as a representative of Northwestern Polytechnic and represent this place internationally and nationally."
Reacting to the Provost and Vice President’s award, Dr. Smith said, "I work with a lot of hardworking, brilliant people, and the fact that some of them thought, 'Hey, maybe Craig deserves this' is definitely flattering." He adds, "It's never not pleasing to be told, 'Hey, you've done something worthwhile here, and we would like to recognize it.'"
Dr. Smith's passion for literature and dedication to academia make him not only an asset to Northwestern Polytechnic but also an inspiration to his students. This award is a testament to his hard work and pushing boundaries in the field.
"Literature isn't here to make you comfortable all the time. At times, it is important to face truths, even when they're difficult. That's why it's important to study literature."
Speaking about his teaching philosophy, he explains, "When you genuinely love what you do, it's not difficult to teach, research, and present. I get excited about it. It doesn't hurt that I sometimes get to go to really cool places to do this as well."
Be it presenting to his peers, delving into research or inspiring his students, Dr. Smith is making valuable connections. When asked about what he is most proud of in his career, his answer is simple, "It has to come down to what I do in the classroom. I've had a lot of really great students over the years, and some of them occasionally reach out to me years later to let me know where they are or what they're doing. That's a source of pride."
