Elsie G. Moore Smith

Elsie Gloria Jean Moore Smith departed this life on Monday, February 21, 2022. She was born on November 16, 1949, in Sussex County, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her husband, A. Wade Smith, parents Phillip and Louise Moore and brothers Phillip Jr, Thomas, Rufus and James Moore.

Elsie possessed a pioneering spirit that went back to her early childhood. She was among the first group of Black students that integrated schools in Sussex County. Despite the many challenges she faced with racism at the schools, she remained steadfast in her efforts to excel academically with impeccable grace. She was a 1968 graduate of Stony Creek High School and the school’s first Black valedictorian. Though the school administration tried very hard to diminish this accomplishment, it could not be denied. After graduating high school Elsie continued her education at Elmhurst College in Illinois on a full academic scholarship.

Elsie graduated from Elmhurst in 1972 with highest honors. She continued her studies as a Ford Foundation Scholar at the University of Chicago, where she earned her Master of Arts degree and PhD in Human Development. While in graduate school, Elsie met the love of her life, Aaron Wade Smith whom she married in 1977.

After a one-year postdoctoral fellowship, Elsie began at Arizona State University in 1981 as an assistant professor in counselor education in the former College of Education. In her more than 40-year career at ASU, Elsie served the university community through both leadership positions and committee work, with an emphasis on creating more opportunities and equity for students and faculty of color. A few of the roles Elsie served in include Director of the Division of Psychology in Education (1999-2006), Vice Provost of Academic Affairs (2006-2007), Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (2007-2010), Faculty Head for African and African American Studies (2014-2016) and Director of the School of Social Transformation (SST) (2016-2018). In addition to her administrative roles, Elsie was engaged in dozens of school, college and university committees, including being elected as a member of the University Personnel Committee (2011-2013), as a member and chair of the University Academic Affairs Grievance Committee (2010-2015) and as the University Senate President (2016-2017). Elsie also served on the Women’s Studies advisory board from 1983-1992, helping to establish the program and hire the first director of Women’s Studies.

Elsie’s most lasting legacy is the establishment of the A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations, in honor of her late husband, A. Wade Smith, who was a professor and chair of the ASU sociology program. Established in 1994, the lecture brings not just academics but also activists, journalists and artists to ASU and invites the wider public into a conversation about race. Some of the past speakers include Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Lani Guinier and Danny Glover. The lecture series underscores the commitment both Elsie and Wade have to making ASU and Arizona better by addressing racism and improving race relations. As part of the lecture series, Elsie also wanted to ensure that those doing the work locally were celebrated and established the A. Wade Smith Community Award for the Advancement of Race Relations to recognize individuals in Arizona who were working to improve race relations at a community level. Elsie herself was honored in 2018 by the YWCA of Metropolitan Phoenix with their Racial Justice Award for all that she had done on both a personal and professional level to ensure equality and justice for all.

Elsie loved her family (she gave the best hugs) and her childhood home, Winnie’s Hill, in Jarratt, Virginia. She spent her summer vacations enjoying the wildlife and adding to the flora of her childhood home.

She leaves to cherish her memory: three sons, Arthur Wade Smith, Aaron Webster Smith and Allen Weldon Smith; three sisters, Mary Neal, Joan Moore Parker and Barbara Moore-Scruggs; one brother, Harold Moore; one sister-in-law, Joyce Moore; one brother-in-law, George Scruggs, Jr; four nieces; three nephews; five great nieces; two great nephews; two great-great nieces and one great-great nephew, as well as a host of cousins and devoted friends 

Friends may call 5 - 7 PM, Friday, March 4, 2022, at Green Acres Mortuary, 401 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85257, where entombment services will be held at 11:30 AM, Saturday, March 5, 2022. www.greenacresmortuary.net