G. Warren Smith II, who was president of Slippery Rock University from 1997 to 2003, died Sunday. He was 80.

G. Warren Smith II moved Slippery Rock University forward using his methodic, goal-driven management style, and left his mark on his coworkers' hearts as he did so.

Smith, 80, who died the day after Christmas following an illness, earned his doctoral degree in organic chemistry from Cornell University and served as a professor at that university and others before switching to the administrative side of university employment.

That move eventually resulted in Smith becoming Slippery Rock University's 14th president. He was a friend to all who knew him.

Smith served as president at SRU from 1997 to 2003.

'An exceptional man'“He was just an exceptional man,” said Bob Watson, who served as vice president for student affairs under Smith. “I can't speak highly enough of him.”Watson said Smith was an extremely well-read person who looked at every experience in life as a learning opportunity.“He was an extremely bright, intelligent man in a variety of fields, not just chemistry and science,” Watson said.He said if Smith encountered a friend or acquaintance who had an interest or hobby that Smith was not educated on, he would read up on the subject so the next conversation would be enhanced.“That made your interest and your thinking more valuable,” Watson said.On the subject of working for Smith, Watson and others are quick to make an important correction.“You didn't work for Warren Smith, you worked with him,” Watson said.He said Smith hired those who he believed could be trusted to speak their minds honestly while pursuing the tasks delegated to them.“He hired you to be a contributor to the senior level of the university, and that included disagreeing with him,” Watson said. “He said 'I don't want people to tell me what they already know. I want them to tell their perspective and thoughts that I have not considered.'”He said if Smith asked a staff member for an opinion and only heard his own opinion in return, he thought less of the suggestion.

“He made you feel like your opinion was valued,” Watson said. “You could tell as you were speaking with him that he was seriously listening and not just hearing you.”Smith also favored a planned approach to a project or action.“He was wanting counsel in a way that would be a planned effort, not just shooting from the hip,” Watson said. “He wanted to know what your steps were going to be and how they would achieve the goals and what individuals would be involved.”Watson said budget cutbacks and other issues often made his job difficult and stressful, but he never wondered if he had retained the backing of his boss.“When times for you were tough, he was really there with you,” he said. “You never felt abandoned because you always knew you had the chief officer of the university on your side, who always had the best interests of the university at heart.”

Watson said Smith's hobbies and interests were many and varied, including his fascination with British Land Rovers.He owned a model from the mid 1960s, two or three Land Rover sedans, and a garage full of parts that a Land Rover dealer in Pittsburgh said eclipsed the dealerships parts inventory, Watson recalled.Smith also collected kerosene lamps and would often gift a lamp to someone admiring one of the hundreds he owned.“Students, faculty, staff, alumni and townspeople have lost a real leader and a real friend,” Watson said.Robert Smith, who is not related, was hired by Warren Smith in 1999 as vice president for academic affairs.Smith went on to assume the university's presidency after Warren Smith left in 2003. He is now retired.He agrees with Watson's assessment of Smith's management style.

“He was one of the best bosses,” Smith said. “He never bossed me. His trust and confidence in people was extraordinary and it allowed myself and others to really blossom as leaders.”He called Warren Smith kind and dedicated to SRU students and the mission of public education.Smith said he was hired to work on reversing a nine-year decline in enrollment, which he did with Warren Smith's backing by creating a culture of confidence in the university that made it appealing to students.Smith said his boss's wife, Constance Smith, created the Institute for Learning in Retirement at SRU with her husband's endorsement.“That has really flourished at Slippery Rock University,” Smith said.He also recalled Smith's interest in Land Rovers and his involvement in the Boy Scouts.

Constance “Connie” Smith, shared her life with her husband through 59 years of marriage.The two met while students at Grinnell College in Iowa.“He seemed to know something about everything,” she said of her initial attraction to Warren Smith. “He had so many different facets to him.”She said one of her late husband's best qualities while running SRU was his trust in his vice presidents.“He didn't have a needy ego and so he was willing to share accomplishments and to let his subordinates go ahead and take over projects and see them through, which built a whole cadre of leaders.”She said of his seven provosts, two retired and five moved on to be university presidents.Smith said her husband also had confidence in his decisions and those of his provosts.“He had no trouble sleeping,” she said.Smith said of all her husband's many outstanding qualities, she will miss one in particular.“His hugs,” Smith said. “He was a great hugger.”