Deborah Smith-Howell has served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Dean for Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha since 2007. She is also a Professor of Communication. She joined the university in 1989 as a faculty member in the then Department of Communication where she coordinated the university’s basic public speaking course. From 1996 to 2004, she was departmental chair and the founding director of the School of Communication. Currently, she has administrative oversight of UNO’s academic learning communities including the University Honors Program and Thompson Learning Community, academic community engagement initiatives including the UNO Service Learning Academy, curriculum and program review and development, general education/dual enrollment, graduate studies, and the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs responsible for the Center for Faculty Excellence, academic program assessment, and university honors and awards.