Dr. Yevonne Shelton Smith

Dr. Smith is a 1962 honor graduate of George P. Phenix High School. She was President of the Student Council and the Girls Athletic Association, and a member of the National Society. Dr. Smith was also a member of the varsity co-ed tennis team and several other organizations. Dr. Smith received her BS degree from Norfolk State University in 1966, MS from Eastern Michigan University in 1970, and her PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1981 in the field of Kinesiology with Cognates in Social Psychology,Educational Psychology, and Sociology. From 1983 -1990 she taught at Grambling State University, College of Education program first as an Assistant and later being promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education and Teacher Education. In 1990 she began working at Michigan State as Professor of Kinesiology. Dr. Smith would later retire from Michigan State University as an Associate Dean of the Graduate School, African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American Office for Student Affairs, and tenured Professor of Kinesiology. Dr. Smith’s research in her academic discipline of Kinesiology has focused on the sociology, social psychology, and social historical influences on African American women in sport. She has presented over eighty national and state scholarly research presentations and many of her articles have been published in national scholarly journals such as “Quest”, Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and North American Society for Sociology and Sport, just to name a few.