Wayne Smutz is dean of Continuing Education and Extension at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He leads the academic, financial, and operational efforts of this self-supporting enterprise, which delivers programs via face-to-face, online, and hybrid methodologies. Smutz also leads the department to have a much more active role in addressing critical Los Angeles challenges such as workforce and economic development, poverty and low educational attainment among minority and low-income populations.
Prior to joining UCLA in 2013, Smutz spent more than thirty years in Penn State’s Outreach and Continuing & Distance Education organization in a variety of roles, including program development and needs assessment, marketing, conference planning and online learning. Smutz works to create a culture of authenticity and empowerment within the organizations that he leads.
Smutz serves on the boards of the Online Learning Consortium, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, the American Distance Education Consortium, and previously on the board for the National Observatory for Cross Border Education. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and an master's in political science and a Ph.D. in higher education, both from Penn State.
