James Monroe Smith (October 9, 1888 – May 26, 1949) was an American educator and academic administrator in Louisiana, best known for an embezzlement scandal that sent him to prison.

In 1939, Smith was accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the university by forging bonds, the profits from which he lost in an attempt to corner the wheat market.

The federal conviction, for mail fraud in relation to the sale of the Bienville Hotel in New Orleans to LSU, led to a 30-month sentence; he was paroled after 10 months.

Earl Long, Huey's brother, named Smith head of rehabilitation programs at Angola State Penitentiary.

[6] His son, James Monroe Smith, Jr., also became an academic, serving as director of the Institute of Liberal Arts at Emory University.