BioState Representative Vernon G. Smith became a member of the Indiana House of Representatives when Earline Rogers resigned to fill the Indiana Senate seat of the late Carolyn Mosby. He represents Indiana House District 14 at the Statehouse in downtown Indianapolis whenever the State Legislature—the General Assembly—is in session.Prior to his election to the Indiana House of Representatives, Vernon had served on the Gary City Council since 1972. State Rep. Smith is currently a professor at Indiana University Northwest. He graduated from Froebel High School and earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ed.D. degrees from Indiana University; and has undertaken post-doctoral work at Indiana University and Purdue University. Vernon G. Smith has served in a wide range of civic and community leadership positions, including- founder and board president of the African-American Achievers Youth Corps, Inc.; Board of Trustees of the Criminal Justice Institute; chairman of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males; founder and chairman of the Gary City–Wide Festival Committee; Northwest Indiana Urban League Board of Directors; founder and president of I.U. Dons, Inc.; founder and member of Northern Indiana Association of Black School Educators; and founder and sponsor, Vernon Stars. State Rep. Smith is a member of the Indiana University Alumni Association and is a life member of the NAACP. He has been involved in the work of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; the Indiana University Northwest Chapter of the American Association of University Professors; the Gary Reading Council / Indiana State Reading Association; the Indiana Association of School Principals; Phi Delta Kappa; Brothers Keepers Shelter for Homeless Men; the Governor's Commission for a Drug Free Indiana; and Handgun Control, Inc. Vernon also serves as a deacon at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.
|
