Chelsea Smith honored with Shirley Aceto Award

The award recognizes her exceptional commitment to the university's core values, outstanding individual service, and leadership working with students, faculty and staff.

Chelsea Smith, a clinical assistant professor of higher education at William & Mary's School of Education, is this year's recipient of the Shirley Aceto Award. (Photo courtesy of Katie Johnson Photography in Marietta, Georgia)

The following story originally appeared on the website for the W&M School of Education. - Ed.

When Chelsea Smith, a clinical assistant professor of higher education at William & Mary's School of Education, received a surprise email from the provost's office earlier this spring, she wasn't sure what to expect.

"When you see 'a letter from the provost' in your email on a random Monday afternoon, your mind doesn't go to awards," Smith said with a laugh.

To her surprise, the email informed Smith that she had been selected to receive the Shirley Aceto Award, one of the university's highest honors recognizing an exceptional commitment to the university's core values, outstanding individual service and leadership working with students, faculty and staff. A recognition ceremony and reception will be held at the Wren Building's Great Hall on Tuesday, May 12, at 4 p.m.

Once the initial surprise wore off, the significance of the recognition set in.

"This isn't an award you expect to receive early in your career," Smith said, acknowledging the outstanding contributions of previous award winners. "So the first feeling I felt was humility. It also felt really special to be recognized."

Robert C. Knoeppel, dean of the School of Education, commended Smith's record of service to William & Mary, as well as her contributions to the higher education profession more broadly.

"Since joining William & Mary's faculty in 2023, Dr. Smith has developed a service portfolio that spans institutional governance, program leadership and national professional organizations," said Knoeppel. "Taken together, her service, teaching and scholarly work reflect a balanced and engaged approach to her faculty role, and her commitment to students actively advances the university's core value of belonging."

A record of service on campus and beyond

On campus, Smith serves as program coordinator for the higher education administration program, participates in multiple faculty governance bodies and was recently selected as a faculty fellow with the Office of First-Generation Faculty Engagement.

At the national level, Smith's leadership has been equally impactful. She previously served as co-chair of the Association for the Study of Higher Education's Council for Ethnic Participation Mentor-Protégé Program, the organization's largest professional development initiative supporting scholars of color. She recently completed a term as research and scholarship co-chair for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Pan African Network and will be the group's new Scholar-in-Residence through 2028.

For Smith, leadership in these spaces is deeply personal.

"I've been involved in these organizations since I was a graduate student," she said. "Outside of these organizations, I didn't always see people who looked like me in leadership roles, so part of my motivation is representation. Being able to serve as a possibility model for other people draws me to these roles."

Mentorship grounded in community

Mentorship is a defining theme of Smith's work, both on campus and nationally. She emphasizes community-based approaches that create networks of shared accountability and support.

"Early-career scholars often feel like they're figuring everything out alone," she said. "What I've found most powerful is building community among people who are going through similar transitions at the same time."

That philosophy also shapes how Smith mentors William & Mary graduate students. Whether accompanying students to national conferences, guiding them through research presentations or encouraging them to see themselves as both practitioners and scholars, she works to demystify pathways that once felt inaccessible to her.

"During my master's program, when I expressed interest in pursuing a Ph.D., my faculty mentors were tremendously supportive. They guided me to the right opportunities for growth," said Smith. "When I became a faculty member, I tried to model the same for my students."

Teaching and scholarship with accountability

In the classroom, Smith is known for bridging theory and practice while centering diversity, identity and lived experience.

"The classroom is where I feel most empowered and empowering," said Smith. "I approach the classroom with a commitment to enhancing students' lives by emboldening them to enhance the lives of others."

Smith has developed and taught a range of graduate courses focused on higher education policy, organizational behavior, student development and social justice, including "Black, African American, and Diasporic Experiences in Higher Education," a course she created in response to gaps she experienced as a student.

"I didn't have access to a class like that in my program until I was almost done with my coursework, and I couldn't take it at my school," Smith said. "It's so important to understand diverse perspectives and learn about different populations on campus. What motivated me to create that course was to provide students with an that opportunity I didn't have."

The course has drawn strong student interest and enrollment and is now part of the regular academic calendar. Smith has also reinvigorated global learning opportunities, leading graduate students to Ireland to examine international higher education systems and developing a new study abroad course focused on South Africa.

Smith's research agenda reflects her identity as a scholar-practitioner. Her work focuses on diversity in higher education, learning environments in STEM, pedagogy and the experiences of students and faculty of color. Across these areas, one guiding question drives her: How do we move beyond making policy recommendations to actually provide a realistic roadmap for change?

Her commitment to accountability extends inward as well.

"I am responsible for graduate student development, and I am an instructor, so I am very much responsible for carrying out that work. I think it's really important for me to always ask myself 'how can I be accountable to my research?'"

Smith's selection for the Shirley Aceto Award comes alongside other recent recognition, including ACPA's Sawunoba Class 30 Under 40 Research and Scholarship Award. Still, she does not view these honors as endpoints.

"I don't build my goals around recognition," she said. "My focus is always: How can I be the best instructor, mentor and program coordinator in the spaces I'm responsible for?"

Mandeep Singh Brar Ph.D. '28, W&M School of Education

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