Mr. Ric Smith
smithrw@auburn.edu
Phone: 334-844-2757
Office Number: 232C
As Director of Experiential Learning for the Auburn University Department of Communication & Journalism, Ric Smith coordinates media and public relations practicum experiences and supervises undergraduate internships. His primary teaching areas are broadcasting, media relations and organizational communications.
Ric earned his B.A. at the University of South Carolina (1982) and his Master of Communication (1985) and Master of Education (1994) degrees at Auburn University.
His professional background is in broadcasting and corporate communications. Ric is the Jordan-Hare Stadium public address announcer for Auburn University football. He also announces the SEC Football Championship and the SEC Baseball Tournament. For two seasons he was the play-by-play voice of Auburn University Baseball, and for five years worked as the public address announcer for Auburn Baseball. In broadcasting, his experience includes serving as general manager of WMXA-FM. He has also worked as a field reporter/producer for ABC Radio Sports, ESPN Radio, WSFA-TV and other media outlets. Ric is a past member of the board of directors of the Alabama Associated Press Broadcasters Association. He worked as an information manager for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (Main Press Center), the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia (Water Polo) and the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics (Speed Skating). He worked as information manager for Outside Races in Athens, Greece during the 2004 Summer Games.
Ric began his career as communications director for Farmers National Bank. While in that position, he served as president of the Deep South Chapter of the Bank Marketing Association and as chairman of the Alabama Bankers Association marketing committee. He is a member of the Alabama Banking School faculty at the University of South Alabama. In addition, he works as a media and management consultant with a variety of organizations.
Ric hopes to one day play guitar with Bob Dylan.