Houston Community College

	Ashley Smith General Counsel & Vice Chancellor \| Houston Community College
	E. Ashley Smith joined Houston Community College in August, 2014 as Acting General Counsel. He was subsequently named General Counsel and continues to serve HCC in that capacity. Prior to his engagement with HCC Mr. Smith was a professor of Business Law in the Cameron School of Business, University of St. Thomas. Previously Mr. Smith was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Stewart Information Services Corp., the New York Stock Exchange listed parent company of the Stewart family of companies. He maintains a 40-year resume in securities law, corporate governance, administrative law, governmental affairs and real estate. Prior to his joining Stewart, Smith served as Vice Chancellor for the University of Texas System, and was previously President and CEO of the US News and World Report number 2 ranked teaching and research hospital in the nation for catastrophic rehab in the neurosensory field of medicine. A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Smith began his career working for Southwestern Group Financial, a publicly traded company, serving as its vice president and general counsel. He also served as General Counsel to the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations (G-7) that was held in Houston. A member of the Texas House of Representatives from Harris County for 14 years, Smith chaired several standing committees including Financial Institutions, Higher Education, Science and Technology and the Budget and Oversight committee with oversight of the Texas Department of Insurance. Honored in 1991 as the High-Tech Legislator of the Year by the American Electronics Association, Smith was founding chairman of BioHouston, a non-profit corporation dedicated to establishing the Houston region in the life science and biotechnology commercialization arena. He served as Senior Advisor to Governor Rick Perry and chaired Governor Perry’s Task Force on Science and Technology. He is a former Director Emeritus of Bio-Houston and former board member of the Houston Technology Center and the American Leadership Forum. He is currently a member of the Texas State Bar and a former member of the Texas Real Estate Brokers Committee of Advisors to the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). Mr. Smith is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas; Smith also holds a Texas real estate broker’s license. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in addition to his J.D. from the University of Texas; he holds a masters of law degree in international and environmental law from the University of Houston and an MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Ashley Smith

General Counsel & Vice Chancellor | Houston Community College

E. Ashley Smith joined Houston Community College in August, 2014 as Acting General Counsel. He was subsequently named General Counsel and continues to serve HCC in that capacity. Prior to his engagement with HCC Mr. Smith was a professor of Business Law in the Cameron School of Business, University of St. Thomas. Previously Mr. Smith was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Stewart Information Services Corp., the New York Stock Exchange listed parent company of the Stewart family of companies. He maintains a 40-year resume in securities law, corporate governance, administrative law, governmental affairs and real estate.

Prior to his joining Stewart, Smith served as Vice Chancellor for the University of Texas System, and was previously President and CEO of the US News and World Report number 2 ranked teaching and research hospital in the nation for catastrophic rehab in the neurosensory field of medicine.

A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Smith began his career working for Southwestern Group Financial, a publicly traded company, serving as its vice president and general counsel. He also served as General Counsel to the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations (G-7) that was held in Houston. A member of the Texas House of Representatives from Harris County for 14 years, Smith chaired several standing committees including Financial Institutions, Higher Education, Science and Technology and the Budget and Oversight committee with oversight of the Texas Department of Insurance.

Honored in 1991 as the High-Tech Legislator of the Year by the American Electronics Association, Smith was founding chairman of BioHouston, a non-profit corporation dedicated to establishing the Houston region in the life science and biotechnology commercialization arena. He served as Senior Advisor to Governor Rick Perry and chaired Governor Perry’s Task Force on Science and Technology. He is a former Director Emeritus of Bio-Houston and former board member of the Houston Technology Center and the American Leadership Forum. He is currently a member of the Texas State Bar and a former member of the Texas Real Estate Brokers Committee of Advisors to the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).

Mr. Smith is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas; Smith also holds a Texas real estate broker’s license. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in addition to his J.D. from the University of Texas; he holds a masters of law degree in international and environmental law from the University of Houston and an MBA degree from the University of St. Thomas.

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