Brien Smith is the provost for Youngstown State University. Smith attained his PhD in industrial/organizational psychology in 1989 from Auburn University. He has nearly 30 years of administrative experience in higher education and has actively participated in university governance. Smith previously worked at Indiana State University as dean of the Scott College of Business, and at Ball State University where he served a number of roles including associate dean, chair for the Department of Marketing and Management, and director of business graduate programs.