Wiley Smith III

A Stalwart Friend and Academic Colleague

iley Smith III, 62, was born on November 11, 1932 in Steubenville, Ohio, the seventh son of the late Wiley, Sr. and Mattie Straughter Smith.

Brother Smith graduated from Steubenville High School in 1950 and won an athletic scholarship for his superior talents in golf. Unfortunately, given the segregation of golf courses in Northeastern Ohio in the 1950s, Wiley was unable to join the team. His scholarship, however, was honored for the duration of his baccalaureate career. In 1952, Wiley was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed during the Korean War in Yokohama, Japan. He was honorably discharged in 1954 and returned to Kent State University to complete his undergraduate studies in English and Journalism. Wiley graduated from Kent State University in 1957 and taught English for 10 years at John Hay High School in Cleveland. His students and friends always recognized him for his exciting and rigorous teaching style, his cheerfulness and personable attitude, and his sartorial splendor. In 1967, he joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University's Experiment in Higher Education in East St. Louis, Illinois, the premier alternative college educational program for so-called "at risk" African American youth in the nation. The programmatic direction of this program was in his hands as well as in the hands of five other Kent State graduates — Donald M. Henderson, Carolyn Dorsey, Edward W. Crosby, the late Paul E. Welcher, and the late Lee A. Chatman. All of them attended Kent when Wiley was a student. Two years later, in 1969, he joined the faculty of Kent State University where he was the long-time assistant chairman and participated in the creation and administration of the Institute for African American Affairs, the Department of Pan-African Studies, and the Center of Pan-African Culture. Shortly after returning to Kent State, Wiley earned his Masters degree in English. In 1993, after more than 36 years of tireless work as an educator, he decided to retire and live out the rest of his allotted time enjoying life with his wife, Madelyn Fellows, and friends. Shortly after his retirement, the Department's faculty dedicated in his name a suite of offices in recognition of his academic accomplishments and administration of the Department's Communications Skills and Arts Division.

He was a member of several organizations and served for some years as the advisor of the Black United Students of Kent State University. He was also involved in community work, serving as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Portage County Community Action Council. The organization he was most indebted to and active in was Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He expended many hours working as the advisor of the chapter at Kent State University.

Wiley Smith III departed this life on July 29, 1995, in the comfort of his home in Kent, Ohio. He was the last of seven sons to crossover. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers — George, Henry (Buddy), Carl, Willard (Bill), Straughter, and William (Lumpsy), two nieces, Cynthia Otis and Vernetta Evans; a nephew, George, and a sister-in-law, Dorothy (Sizemore) Smith.