Specializing in the history of American women, Smith taught a variety of courses while at Emporia including American Women’s History, Introduction to Women’s Studies, Advanced Women’s Studies, and Readings in Women, Gender, and Ethnicity. Smith was the Director of Emporia’s Ethnic and Gender Studies Program from 2006 to 2013, and has written several books, including A Student Companion to the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (Oxford University Press, 2006) and New Paths to Power: American Women 1890-1920 (Oxford University Press, 1994). Smith’s academic career has been dedicated to Progressive Era women, with a concentration on the political and social changes that enabled women to gain increased power and agency