The Office of the Provost has chosen Harlan Smith as the new director of International Student and Scholar Support. The ISSS office offers immigration advising and support services to a wide range of international students.  Smith began in this role on August 19. 

Smith has spent the past three decades as an international educator and leader, beginning as a graduate student at USC where he worked with the VP of the International Center Pat Willer and the English Program for Internationals. He went on to hold several international affairs leadership positions at universities across the United States, most recently serving as assistant director for international student and scholars services at Kent State University.  

As director of International Student and Scholar Support at USC, Smith’s priorities will be implementing a new international student data management system, growing internal service capacities and improving campus systems to serve the needs of over 1800 international students on not only the Columbia campus but all satellite Carolina campuses. In addition to facilitating immigration support, onboarding international students and creating campus programming, Smith hopes to streamline use of staff expertise to address rapidly changing international student needs. 

“We are pleased to welcome Harlan to the Global Affairs team,” says Samuel Todd, associate vice president and vice provost for Global Affairs. “ISSS is the hub inside Global Carolina that supports the academic success of over 1800 international students from over 85 countries. Immigration compliance is often dynamic in an ever-changing global landscape, and Harlan’s experience- alongside his understanding of international student needs-will directly impact our campus.”  

Seamlessly integrating students into university life is an important part of Global Carolina’s campus internationalization efforts, and one Smith is eager to support.  

“During my first semester at Carolina, I’m going to keep my mouth closed and my ears open—a lot of listening,” says Smith. “I’m looking forward to being one of the people I looked up to when I was a graduate student. The roles are reversed, so now I get to be a mentor.”