![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_StevenSmith-8.jpg\")
El Paso Community College Police Officer Alex Gachupin, left, gifts a commemorative coin to retiring Vice President of Instruction and Workforce Education Steven Smith, Jan. 20, 2026. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\nThe situation was dire for Steve Smith. The 1980 Andress High School graduate was two years into a marriage with a retail job at a national department store in El Paso. His plan was to rise through its management ranks.<\/p>\n
The chain closed.<\/p>\n
Because of that setback, Smith, a tinkerer interested in personal computers, enrolled at El Paso Community College for some general education courses. He transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso and earned a bachelor\u2019s in computer information systems in 1988.<\/p>\n
A few government contractors hired the recent graduate for programming projects. The money was lucrative, but the jobs were temporary. Wanting something more permanent, he applied in 1989 for a job to teach programming at EPCC\u2019s Transmountain Campus.<\/p>\n
Smith laughed as he recalled how the campus\u2019 computer programming coordinator offered him the job as an adjunct professor on the spot on a Friday. The coordinator handed him a syllabus and told him he started the following Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest is history,\u201d said Smith, who officially retires Saturday after 37 years at EPCC. He spent the last 13 as vice president of Instruction and Workforce Education, where he has influenced the outcomes of tens of thousands of students through the years.<\/p>\n
Friends and colleagues recognized Smith at a Monday celebration at the college\u2019s Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount Blvd. About 250 people representing the college\u2019s past and present showed up to acknowledge the love, respect and admiration they had for Smith and his work. They also celebrated his 64th birthday.<\/p>\n
The audience listened to testimonials of those who knew and worked with Smith and watched videos with additional heartfelt and humorous recognitions that used \u201cStar Wars\u201d theme music playing softly in the background.<\/p>\n
El Paso Community College Police Officer Alex Gachupin, left, gifts a commemorative coin to retiring Vice President of Instruction and Workforce Education Steven Smith, Jan. 20, 2026. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
Smith, who attended the event with Joy, his wife of 44 years, said his heart was filled with gratitude for his time at EPCC, and for the great team that made his job easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a blessed journey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The career<\/p>\n
During an interview before the event, Smith said that he immediately knew after he started at the college that it was where he wanted to be in part because of its \u201clovely, family atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was a faculty member for 11 years and taught the college\u2019s first online class with a dial-up modem with telephone land lines. He saw how computer science would influence the future and took night courses at Webster University and earned his master\u2019s in computer resource management in 1998. While content as an instructor, he was concerned with instability in the college\u2019s leadership so he applied when a dean\u2019s position opened in 2001.<\/p>\n
He got the job.<\/p>\n
The opportunities and projects that followed are the main reason that he stayed. He liked new, different challenges that allowed him to have a greater influence on faculty and eventually on district policy as a vice president. He said each promotion was a leap of faith, but he listened to his mantra as he faced the unknown.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe bold and mighty forces will come to your aid,\u201d Smith said during a conversation in the foyer of the Transmountain Campus where he took undergraduate classes, taught computer courses and served as dean. \u201cNobody ever feels ready for these (administrative) roles. Take the leap. Nobody\u2019s looking for you to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Smith-Stem-Summer-Pgrm-07-2015.jpg\")
El Paso Community College administrator Steve Smith returned to the classroom to help with a summer STEM program in 2015. (Courtesy of Steve Smith) <\/p>\n
As vice president, Smith was responsible for 1,850 employees including around 400 full-time and 750 part-time faculty and a $70 million budget. Smith said that he is proud of his efforts to lower students\u2019 time to degree, and reduction in the number of excess credits. Those moves increased retention and graduation rates, and saved students time and money.<\/p>\n
He returned to UTEP to earn his doctorate in educational leadership and administration in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u2018His impact will be felt for generations\u2019<\/p>\n
People who know Smith and have worked with him spoke about his tranquility, accessibility, integrity, commitment to purpose and his willingness to listen, \u201cthink big\u201d and collaborate. They said his efforts, which include the creation and expansion of degrees and credentials of value, have led to positive outcomes for the college, its students, the community and the region.<\/p>\n
EPCC President William Serrata, who joined the college six months after Smith was named vice president in 2012, called Smith a trusted friend and leader who helped make EPCC a Top 10 finalist for the 2014 Aspen Prize, a prestigious national award that recognizes successful community colleges.<\/p>\n
Serrata also mentioned Smith\u2019s work to enhance the college\u2019s science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and programs. For example, Smith led the effort to build up the college\u2019s echocardiography program at the Rio Grande Campus and information technology programs at the Valle Verde Campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of really good work together,\u201d Serrata said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a key partner in moving the institution forward. I\u2019ve been privileged to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leila Melendez, CEO at Workforce Solutions Borderplex, said Smith\u2019s leadership was instrumental in the success of the ADTech program for students interested in pathways to engineering careers. He supported faculty who developed curriculum that would serve as the bridge between high school and the University of Texas at El Paso.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an executive who is relatable,\u201d said Melendez, who has worked with Smith for about 10 years. \u201cHe\u2019s easy to interact with and a pleasure to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_StevenSmith-6.jpg\")
Steven Smith, El Paso Community College\u2019s Vice President of Instruction and Workforce Education, says that his mantra was \u201cbe bold and mighty forces will come to your aid,\u201d Jan. 20, 2026. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
Armando Aguirre, executive director of Region 19 Education Service Center, said Smith has shown a dedication to student success and a willingness to embrace challenges. He called him a great partner of the center and the region\u2019s school districts.<\/p>\n
Aguirre recalled the two met around 2006 when he was principal of the Mission Early College High School in the Lower Valley and Smith was dean of the EPCC Transmountain Campus. Smith wanted to learn more about the early college concept in anticipation of the partnership with El Paso Independent School District to start the Transmountain ECHS.<\/p>\n
He said there were many skeptics to the early college concept, but Smith was not one of them. He said Smith saw the value in high school students taking college courses as they earned their high school diplomas. Today, the college is affiliated with 18 early college high schools and 21 Pathways in Technology (P-TECH) early college high school programs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a nutshell, I would say that our community in general, and specifically education, is better because of him,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cHe believed in what he was doing. He helped open doors to countless young adults in our community. I think his impact will be felt for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Amaya, EPCC\u2019s vice president for Student and Enrollment Services, talked about Smith as a natural leader who held employees to high expectations. The college named Amaya in November as Smith\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Smith is leaving a lasting legacy at the college in terms of student success, faculty innovation, and developing leaders who will continue to support and advance the work he started,\u201d Amaya said.<\/p>\n
In retirement, Smith said that he and his wife have domestic and international travel plans to include motorcycle trips. He also is open to continuing his efforts to help faculty and staff adjust to the changes created by state legislation such as Senate Bills 12 and 412 that were passed last year.<\/p>\n
Smith added that he also looks forward to riding his bicycle, tinkering in his workshop and spending time in his observatory on his five-acre ranch in Chaparral, New Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredibly gratifying ride, an amazing journey,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI don\u2019t leave wishing too many things had gone a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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