Dr. Gregory C. Smith, Ed.D. FGSA, FAPA

Gregory C. Smith was Professor and Director of the Human Development Center in the School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences at Kent State University. Dr. Smith received his bachelor’s degree in general psychology from the State University of New York, his master’s degree in experimental psychology from Villanova University and his doctorate in the psychology of aging from the University of Rochester under the direction of Susan K. Whitbourne, Ph.D.

His research focused on processes related to stress, coping and well-being in later-life families, including the development and testing of psychoeducational interventions in longitudinal randomized clinical trials. Over the course of his career, Dr. Smith received more than $7 million in external research funding from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Nursing Research.

He served on numerous scientific peer review panels for diverse funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control, Alzheimer’s Association of America and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. He was a standing member of the Community Level Health Promotion Study Section of NIH from 2014 to 2020.

Dr. Smith served as associate editor (2007–2012) and editor-in-chief (2012–2015) of the International Journal of Aging and Human Development (IJAHD). He also served on the editorial boards of The Gerontologist, Developmental Psychology, Family Relations and IJAHD.

He was named a Fellow of two American Psychological Association divisions (20 and 43), as well as of the Gerontological Society of America (Behavioral and Social Sciences). Dr. Smith received the Kent State University Presidential Excellence Award in 2017 and the Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award in 2018.