A legacy of leadership: CALES alum Mark Smith earns honorary doctorate from the University of Arizona.


Mark Smith's dedication to transformative leadership and community service in Arizona started more than four decades ago. His legacy is sure to last many generations into the future.
Smith, an alumnus of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences (CALES), Smith will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from CALES on May 16, during the 2025 U of A Commencement Ceremony at Arizona Stadium. He was nominated by the faculty of the Cooperative Extension system.
“His service to the University, the agriculture industry and science are exemplary,” said Edward C. Martin, associate vice president and director of the Arizona Cooperative Extension system. “His impact goes well beyond Arizona. He is ambassador for higher education, and his impact on our students and the communities in Arizona will reach multiple generations.”
Smith is the president of Smith Farms Company of Yuma, Arizona, a multigenerational family operation that produces conventional and organic winter vegetables and durum wheat. He has been a powerful advocate for Arizona and Yuma desert agriculture for more than four decades, with significant contributions to farming, sustainability, science, technology, business and education.
"As a graduate of the U of A and lifetime supporter of the university's mission, it has been an honor to be involved in their commitment to agriculture in Arizona," Smith said. "I've appreciated the opportunity to work with the researchers and scientists as we developed Yuma's agriculture into a world-class production area."
Smith is part of a continuing Wildcat farming and community service tradition in Arizona. His father, John E. Smith, was a CALES alumnus and a successful cotton grower in Maricopa. In 1952, John and fellow U of A alum Fred W. Enke formed a partnership and later provided farmland that became the Maricopa Agricultural Center.
Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in agronomy and plant genetics and agricultural business in 1977. He was among the first graduates of CALES's agricultural business curriculum. During his time as a student, he helped establish the Agriculture Business Club, which is still active today as the Agriculture and Resource Economics Club.
While he built his successful family farming operation over the past 40 years, Smith has been a catalyst for key initiatives around water, sustainability and technology in Yuma and the Southwest.

He was a founding member of the Yuma Center for Excellence in Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) in 2014. The center is a unique public-private partnership that connects scientists to desert agriculture industry leaders with a focus on solving pressing, high-priority challenges.
In 2015, Smith was a driving force behind a document now considered the gold standard of water use data analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "A Case Study in Efficiency: Agriculture and Water use in the Yuma, Arizona Area" demonstrated that Yuma-area farmers were using 18 percent less irrigation water than they used on the same fields 40 years previously while significantly increasing output.
Recently, Smith has focused on efforts to bring broadband internet service to rural Yuma County, a critical need not just for agriculture, but for underserved families, education, healthcare, business and the military. His work resulted in a $20.7 million investment from Yuma County and two $10 million grants from the Arizona Commerce Authority.
"Mark Smith's steadfast support for the University of Arizona and his outstanding leadership in agriculture have profoundly transformed our community," said Tanya Hodges, executive director of YCEDA. "Through his dedication to applied research and advocacy, he has revolutionized agricultural practices and driven economic growth across the Yuma region."
Smith began serving on the Yuma Irrigation District's Board of Directors in 1983 and has been its president since 1994. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Foothills Band and is a member of the Imperial Dam Advisory Board, Gila Gravity Administrative Board and the Governor's Water Augmentation Council. He has served in leadership positions for the Yuma County Farm Bureau, Arizona Farm Bureau, Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, Yuma Civic Trusteeship and the Arizona Grains Council.

He was honored with the CALES Outstanding Achiever Award in 2014 and the CALES Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, a recognition his father earned in 1998. He was also named 2022 Arizona Farm Bureau Farmer of the Year and 2024 American Vegetable Grower Achievement Award.
Smith and his wife, Caroline, were key supporters of both YCEDA and the CALES Career Center and Forbes lobby renovation. They have three adult children, all of whom have careers in the agricultural industry.