James Monroe Smith
| James Monroe Smith, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 9, 1888 Jackson Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | June 6, 1949 (aged 60) Angola West Feliciana Parish Louisiana |
| Alma mater |
Valparaiso University Louisiana State University Columbia University |
| Occupation | Educator President of Louisiana State University |
| Years active | 1908-1949 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Thelma Ford Smith (married 1914) |
| Children | Marjorie and James Smith, Jr. |
| Parent(s) | John Henry and Mary Adney Sims Smith |
For the Georgia tycoon landowner and state legislator see James Monroe Smith (Georgia planter)
James Monroe Smith, Sr. (October 9, 1888 – June 6, 1949), was the president of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the 1930s. He was imprisoned for forgery, embezzlement, mail fraud, and income tax evasion in what is known as the Louisiana Hayride of 1939.
Smith was born near Jonesboro in rural Jackson Parish in north Louisiana to John Henry Smith and the former Mary Adney Sims. He was educated at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana and at LSU, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1921. He engaged in graduate studies in 1922 at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. In 1925, he received a Master of Arts from Columbia University Teachers College in New York City. In 1927, he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University.
On July 3, 1914, Smith wed the former Thelma Ford, and the couple had two children, Marjorie Lee Smith and James Monroe Smith, Jr. He taught in rural schools from 1908-1910. In 1911-1912, he served on the faculty of Eros High School in Eros in Jackson Parish. He taught in the summer of 1917 at Northwestern State University in , Louisiana. He was then on the LSU faculty in 1918 and from 1920–1923, he was assigned to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute. He was dean of the ULL college of education from 1923–1930, when he was appointed president of LSU during the administration of Governor Huey Pierce Long, Jr. During Smith's tenure there, LSU enrollment grew from 2,100 to 8,550 students.
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