Dr. Rodney D. Smith
Co-Founder / Consultant with Sophic Solutions, LLC
Sophic Solutions, LLC, is a consulting firm aimed at helping individuals and organizations reach their greatest potential.
Dr. Smith also serves as the Associate Director for Student Success in the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). He is also the founding advisor for the Men of Color Campus Initiative, a program designed to enhance life and learning for male students of color. As well, he serves as a Graduate Adjunct Professor in UMKC’s School of Education.
Dr. Smith’s career in higher education spans 20+ years. Over those years, he has been a frequent guest speaker on various topics to include group and collaborative learning, organizational and administrative leadership, group and individualized mentorship, the examination of the Black/White achievement gap, African American male student achievement, culturally responsive and reciprocative pedagogy, diversity and inclusion studies, and urban education.
Dr. Smith holds a Doctor of Education Degree from Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Morris Brown College.
Dr. Smith recently wrote and published his first book entitled Are We Really Crabs in a Barrel: The Truth and Other Insights About the African American Community as well as a chapter in an anthology entitled The Trayvon Martin in Us: An American Tragedy. He also serves as a copy editor for the Journal of African American Males in Education (JAAME). He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where he and his wife, Stephenie, are active community members and the proud parents of two wonderful children.