Memorial Service for retired history professor Howell Smith

March 22, 2023

A service for retired Wake Forest University history professor Howell Smith, who died in January, will be held Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

During his 47 years teaching — from 1965 to 2012 — Smith taught courses on American history and the University’s first courses in African American history, helped establish the Asian Studies major and championed symposia on the war in Vietnam, social change and other contentious topics in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

He was history department chair from 1987-1995 and also served as the pre-law advisor for many years.

Here’s a look back at his career.