Owen Smith, director of the newspaper operations management program at RIT, knows papers. Prior to arriving in Rochester in 1995, he served as both the director of government affairs at the Sacramento Bee and as director of production operations. He received his most recent master’s degree from the University of Southern California and one prior to that in print technology from RIT. His bachelor’s degree is from Jackson State University in Mississippi. For a short time, he also studied at University College Galway in Galway, Ireland. There he studied Anglo-Irish literature. Right now, he is a doctoral candidate at USC in public administration.

Owen first got interested in printing when he was working as an apprentice newspaper printer and color separator his freshman year in college. "The schedule of a morning paper worked for a college student," he says. "That’s how I got lured away from journalism, which I originally thought I would do."

Building a strong foundation is his favorite part of teaching at RIT: "There is enduring satisfaction that comes from imparting knowledge and providing experiences that you know are going to provide students with a basis for lifetime learning," he says.

Newspaper operations management as an area of study is full of opportunities, Owen says. "The industry is going through rapid change and the old ways of doing business are being phased out quickly. This will require a fresh generation of managers. Therefore, there are lots of opportunities to move up the ladder quickly."

A native of Mississippi, Owen enjoys country blues music (Blind Lemon Jefferson is his favorite blues artist) as well as reading and studying political philosophy.