Biography
Stephen W. Smith, Ph.D. is a professor of special education at the University of Florida (UF) teaching graduate courses in special education research, emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), and principles of prevention of behavior problems in education. His research focuses on effective behavioral prevention strategies, executive function, and the self-regulation of behavior (goal-directed effortful control of thought, action, emotion), issues related to aggression and violence in schools, and understanding verbal aggression of students with EBD. Dr. Smith has been Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator of 29 federal and state-funded research/development grants and is the author of 24 professional books and book chapters. Dr. Smith has presented over 200 professional papers and research findings at many state, regional, national, and international professional conferences. He has been invited to speak about educational issues in Ireland, Australia, and Taiwan. While at UF, Dr. Smith has received three teaching awards, a University Research Award, and has served twice as a UF Distinguished Research Professor. For 2013-2014, he was one of six recipients of a university-wide Doctoral Mentoring Award for outstanding work with doctoral students. He was the Irving & Rose Fein Endowed Professor from 2012-2015. Most recently, Dr. Smith was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Education Research Association, Special Education special interest group and the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Education, University of Kansas. Dr. Smith was a Panel Scientist for the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences for six years and is on the Editorial Board of a variety of professional journals in education, special education, and psychology. Prior to receiving his Ph.D. in special education from the University of Kansas, he was a teacher of special education students for eight years.
