Phillip H. Smith
President

Phillip H. Smith of Manlius, NY (near Syracuse) was elected President of United University Professions in February 2008. UUP is the largest public higher education union in the nation and represents more than 34,000 academic and professional faculty on the State University of New York’s 29 state-operated campuses. A professor of cell and developmental biology at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, Smith has been active in the union for 28 years. Prior to his election, he served UUP in numerous leadership positions at both the chapter and statewide levels, including as Vice President for Academics and Chief Negotiator for the union’s 2003-2007 contract. He has also served as President, Vice President for Academics and Grievance Officer for UUP’s Upstate chapter. UUP displayed its recognition of Smith’s service to the union by presenting him with The Nina Mitchell Distinguished Service Award in 2005, the union’s highest honor. In 2006, New York State United Teachers recognized Smith as its Higher Education Member of the Year. Smith has authored articles in more than 80 publications, including peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and the mainstream press. In addition to his writing expertise, he is one of five founding core directors of the country’s first National Institute of Health Diabetes Research and Education Center at the University of Washington, Seattle. He served as principal investigator on numerous grants for the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Veterans Administration. Smith also acted as a scientific advisor to numerous research organizations, including the American Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Among his priorities, Smith emphasizes labor unity and developing a corps of new leaders for the 21st century. “The union has played and continues to play a major role in helping SUNY realize its full potential as a great public university. UUP must not only continue its successful job of advocacy, but also must pass that responsibility along to future generations of union leaders.”