On March 7, 1985, the Board of Regents selected Samuel H. Smith to serve as the eighth president of Washington State University.  He took office on July 1, leaving his position as the dean of the College of Agriculture and director of both the Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station at Pennsylvania State University.

President Smith’s administration is best known for the establishment of the WSU branch campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver in 1989.  In 1997 Smith chaired the NCAA Presidents Commission, the major governing body for college intercollegiate athletics. Smith served as president until January 8, 2000.

The Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, also known as the CUE, was named in his honor.