Korydon Smith, professor and chair of architecture at UB and founding co-director of UB's Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE), works at the boundaries of the field, where opportunities exist to challenge convention and make unexpected connections.

Applying dual training in architecture and higher education leadership, he works across disciplines - from planning to anthropology - to build design solutions for those who have been traditionally marginalized or excluded from decisions about the design of their built environment.

Smith’s educational philosophy is highly collaborative, advising thesis projects on the design of refugee settlements and housing for homeless populations, and working intensively with students through exploratory learning and team-based problem-solving. He finds that the most exciting moments are with first year undergraduates, when “struggles transform into breakthroughs, successes, and confidence.”

He joined UB's architecture faculty in 2012 from the University of Arkansas, where he served 11 years as professor in its Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. He has taught a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses in architectural design, theory, and research methods, as well as study abroad in four countries. He is frequently consulted by architecture firms, municipalities, universities, and non-government organizations on the design of buildings, processes, and policies related to design for people with disabilities and other populations.

While Smith's research has taken him to locations around the globe, he draws upon his roots in rural and impoverished Chautauqua County in Western New York. Reflecting on his experience working on farms, in car repair shops and on demolition and road construction projects, Smith says: "Rural life builds an array of skills useful in architectural design – tenacity, resource-constrained innovation, technical know-how, and attunement to the sensory environment.”

An acclaimed scholar and respected academic leader, Smith was appointed chair of the department in 2018. He served as the school’s associate dean for academic affairs from 2014 to 2018.

• EdD, Higher Education Leadership, University of Arkansas 
• MArch, Architectural Theory and Design, University at Buffalo

• Gary Day Outstanding Teacher Award, Graduate Student Association, Department of Architecture, University at Buffalo (2014)
• Global Awards for Excellence in Urban Design, Congress for New Urbanism (2013), for housing design for Kigali, Rwanda, “Building Neighborhoods that Build Social and Economic Prosperity: Manual for a Complete Neighborhood,” [Stephen Luoni and Jeffrey Huber (manual authors), and Korydon Smith, Peter Rich, and Tomà Berlanda (project organizers and research team)]. 
• Collaborative Practice Award, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) (2012-13), for housing design for Kigali, Rwanda, “Building Neighborhoods that Build Social and Economic Prosperity: Manual for a Complete Neighborhood”