Moton Museum Staff: Dr. Larissa Smith

Biography

Larissa M. Smith is Longwood University’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. In this role, she is chief academic officer and is responsible for Longwood’s five academic colleges, Greenwood Library, academic programs, and outreach centers.

Smith has been at Longwood since 2000. As a professor of history, she specializes in 20th century African-American history, history of the U.S. South, and Virginia history. She serves as university liaison to the Moton Museum, Virginia’s only civil rights National Historical Landmark, located in Farmville. She also was the lead historical consultant for the museum’s award-winning exhibit “The Moton School Story: Children of Courage,” which opened in April 2013, and authored the exhibit guide.

Prior to becoming Provost, Dr. Smith served as Associate Provost for Outreach and Initiatives, in which she worked closely with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, the Moton Museum, and Hull Springs. From 2014-2016, she served as vice-chair of the Academic Core Curriculum Committee, which led the development of Longwood’s new general education curriculum, called Civitae. She also chaired Longwood’s Faculty Senate from 2010-2013.