Dr. Cade Smith

Cade is a Mississippi native. He graduated from Grenada High and attended Rhodes College in Memphis. He earned an M.S. in Agronomy from University of Arkansas and Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences from Mississippi State. He was hired in July 2006 to lead the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program at MSU.

Since graduating from Rhodes, Cade has continuously searched for ways to improve the lives of others. While mentoring disadvantaged students, his short-term goal has not been to fix their problems, but to ‘shine a light’ on opportunities that THEY can achieve through self-discipline, dedication, and hard work. He then provides resources and helps them develop the personal skills to achieve their goals.

Cade’s passion is investing in community progress through public education. He knows the progress of every Mississippi community is dependent on broad-based community ownership of public schools combined with extremely high expectations for students, teachers, and administrators.

Directing the efforts of the Global Leadership Continuum at MSU is a dream come true for Cade.

Cade’s daughter, Alex, and son, Hunter, are both students in Starkville public schools. His wife, Dr. Becky Smith, is an instructor of Finance and Economics at MSU .