Pat Smith returns to Oklahoma Christian University

Oklahoma Christian University recently welcomed back faculty member Pat Smith to the computer science department.

Smith said he missed teaching and being with students.

“I enjoyed being in the classroom. I enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that I was helping someone advance their life, and improve themselves,” Smith said. “It gives me great satisfaction to be a part of the process of helping people achieve a degree, but also mature and become the professional and Christian person that they want.”

David North, professor of computer science and program chair of the computer science department, participated in the hiring process.

“We had an open position posted for a computer science faculty in the spring,” North said. “Professor Smith contacted me and asked if the position was still open and would we be interested in visiting with him about that position.”

Smith teaches a freshmen programming class where students learn the programming language C++. Smith also teaches a junior ethics and technology class where students learn how to think through ethical dilemmas.

North said Smith is an excellent addition to the computer science staff, not only because of his years of experience in the computer science industry, but also because of his teaching expertise and care for his students.

“Professor Smith really cares for students,” North said. “He’s really interested in them being successful. He wants to get to know them, he wants to help them.”

Before returning to Oklahoma Christian University, Smith worked for the technology company CISCO Systems as well as the Tinker Airforce base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At CISCO Systems, a company that built equipment for data centers, Smith’s job was to help companies understand how the equipment worked.

Oklahoma Christian University welcomes Pat Smith to the computer science department to help teach a new generation of students the intricacies of computer science.