Jeffrey Smith Joins Crafton Hills College as the New Dean of Social, Information and Natural Sciences

Publish Date: Aug. 23, 2023

Crafton Hills College will soon welcome a new crop of Roadrunners to campus for the Fall semester. But behind-the-scenes, the Yucaipa-based college has been growing internally by welcoming new faculty and staff on board over the break. 

Meet Jeffery Smith – Crafton’s new dean of social, information and natural sciences, a role he officially assumed on July 3. 

Smith, who previously served as chair of the history department at the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH), called starting at Crafton a “full circle moment” having grown up in the area and beginning his career in education in neighboring San Bernardino at Crafton’s sister college, San Bernardino Valley College, and Cal State San Bernardino. 

Smith said he is currently settling into his new role with his Crafton family cheering him on, calling the community’s welcome “kind, warm and great.” His goal is to build roots within Crafton’s walls, and has a plan in place to make that happen. “Some things I’d like to do is make strong connections with students and the faculty and the staff here at Crafton,” he said. “It’s a family environment here and in order to be effective [in your role] you have to build those personal connections at all levels.

“The amount of effort Crafton puts into their students is also remarkable,” Smith continued. “In my short time here, the number of times I’ve seen faculty and staff go above and beyond for their students has been incredible. This isn’t the type of place where people are just coming in and punching the clock – it’s a group of people that are more so following a calling.”

“Here, you can get a world-class education and take it wherever you want,” Smith said. Smith holds a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in history from the University of California, Riverside. He is the recipient of the UHH College of Arts & Sciences Achievement Award and has spent much of his career teaching world and U.S. history and writing courses both in a classroom and online setting. Smith currently lives in Yucaipa with his wife and three daughters.