Smith is one of the founders and a past vice-president of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and he has served on NAME's board of directors and NAME's Publications Committee.
[8] Smith is the author of several articles on multicultural education and has conducted research on the impact of testing on the racial and ethnic composition of the nation's teaching force.
In addition, he has been a frequently invited lecturer and speaker at national conferences and consultant to school districts and colleges of education on preparing inservice and preservice teachers for culturally diverse student populations.
He was selected as the William Allen Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of Education at Seattle University for the 2007–2008 academic year.
Dr. Smith delivered the keynote address to the Doctoral Research Symposium on May 21, 2011, at the University of North Florida.
On January 29, 2015, he delivered the keynote address, "Growing a Soul for Social Justice" for the Martin Luther King Luncheon at Kansas State University.