David R Smith

David R. Smith, MD, is the sixth president of the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. Prior to his appointment at Upstate Medical University, Dr. Smith served as Chancellor of Texas Tech University and before that as President of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Dean of the School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Smith served as the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health, an agency with a $7 billion annual operating budget. A native of Ohio, Dr. Smith received his bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency and chief residency at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics since 1985. He is married to Donna Bacchi, MD, MPH, a board certified pediatrician, director of the Central New York Master of Public Health program, and chair of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Upstate. The Smiths have two grown children, Christopher and Jocelyn.