UT Arlington professor and filmmaker named Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ya’Ke Smith, a University of Texas at Arlington assistant professor of art and art history whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award and recognized by numerous film festivals, has been named the Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor in the College of Liberal Arts. The appointment takes effect Sept. 1. “It is really an honor to have been granted this prestigious professorship so early in my academic career,” said Smith, 31, who joined the University in 2009. Woodward established the professorship in 2010 through a gift that doubled in value through the