Professor Emerita | State University of New York at Oswego
Dr. Smiley was born on June 5th, 1932 in Columbia City, Indiana, to parents Orla Raymond and Mary Jane Smiley. At the age of seven, she started piano lessons, which is when her career as a musicologist first began to take shape. When she was 12, she decided to start learning how to play the flute, which she continued throughout high school.
In 1954, Dr. Smiley received a Bachelor of Science from Ball State University. After her graduation, she began her first job as a music teacher at a public school in Indiana – a position she held for seven years. During this time, she continued her studies at Northwestern University, where she achieved a Master of Music in 1958. The following year, she studied at the Ecoles d’Art Américaines in Fontainbleu, France with Nadia Boulanger, and then in 1970, she achieved her PhD at the University of Illinois.
After spending time in the public school system, in 1961 she became a faculty member of the music department at State University of New York at Oswego – a role she carried out until 2014. For five years during this period, from 1976 until 1981, Dr. Smiley was the chair of the music department. In 1974, she was promoted to a distinguished teaching professor and then in 2014, she was honored with the title of emeritus professor. Throughout her career, Dr. Smiley has taught many different courses and classes, from music history to women and music, and American music. Other areas of specialism include renaissance music and medieval music.
As well as her core responsibilities, Dr. Smiley has provided her skills and knowledge to various organizations. She has presented at numerous conferences, has contributed articles to many professional journals, provided research for the Ontario Singers and directed and performed with the Oswego Recorder Consort. In 1971, 1972 and 1974, she was an honorary fellow for the State of University of New York Research Foundation. Since 1978, she has been a member of the board of directors for Oswego Opera Theater and since 2009, has been the president. Between 2007 and 2021, she was the co-president-turned-president of the Oswego Branch of the American Association of University of Women. In 2013, she published her co-edited book “Remarkable Women in New York State History”.
As a renowned musicologist, she has affiliations with organizations such as the American Musicological Society, Society for American Music, Renaissance Society of America, National Organization for Women, College Music Society, American Recorder Society, Medieval Academy of America, Early Music America, the Oswego County Historical Society, Safe Haven, Heritage Foundation of Oswego, Friends of the Library, Delta Kappa Gamma, Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Tau Delta, Sigma Alpha Iota, Pi Kappa Lambda, Kappa Delta Pi, Mu Beta Psi, the Music Library Association, H. Lee Maritime Museum, and Friends of Fort Ontario. Dr. Smiley is also a member of the American Association of University Women, where she has carried out many roles including, branch council representative, branch council coordinator, cultural interests representative, diversity director and historian.
Dr. Smiley has received many awards throughout her illustrious career. In 1973, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has appeared in many Marquis Who’s Who publications, including the 2nd and 3rd editions of Who’s Who in Entertainment. Who’s Who in America featured her in the 44th through to the 70th editions, and Who’s Who in the East included her in the 29th, 30th, 33rd through to the 37th, and 39th through to the 43rd editions. Additionally, Who’s Who of American Women recorded Dr. Smiley in the 13th, 19th, 20th, and 24th through 28th editions. More recently, she has been given the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, by Marquis Who’s Who, for her achievements, leadership qualities, credentials, and successes she has accrued in musicology.
Dr. Smiley notes that her greatest achievement throughout her career is having the ability to create a positive impact on many generations of students she has taught. Another career highlight was whilst she was chairperson, the National Association of Schools of Music accredited the school’s music department.