Press Release

BIRMINGHAM—Ralph H. Smith II, President and CEO of the Ralph Smith Group LLC, and special counsel at Jones Walker LLP, was recently elected as Vice-President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars. Mr. Smith was elected to this position at the quadrennial meeting of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars held in Washington, DC, on September 27, 2014. He is expected to assume the presidency in 2016. In addition to his position as Vice-President, Mr. Smith will continue to serve as the Administrator of both the American Trust for Oxford University and the Eastman Professorship Trust at Oxford. He is also responsible for the process of selecting Rhodes Scholars in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Mr. Smith has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the association since 2006 and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board since 2008.

The mission of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars is to bring the 2,500 Rhodes Scholars in America together in support of the Rhodes Scholarship, its values, and Oxford University through events, publication, networks, and the web. The association fosters social, intellectual, and professional connections that reflect shared experiences and perspectives.

About Ralph Smith and the Ralph Smith Group
Ralph Smith, CEO of The Ralph Smith Group and special counsel at Jones Walker LLP, served for almost a decade as General Counsel and a Member of the Chancellor's Senior Policy Staff at The University of Alabama System, where he also taught and advised on international initiatives.  A corporate and business transactions lawyer by training, Mr. Smith attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar from 1973-1976 and helped launch in 2012 the Global Innovation Alliance, a consortium of business, government, and academic institutions to promote innovation and economic development. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 to the Order of St. John, an Order of Chivalry of the British Crown with historical roots in the 11th century Knights Hospitaller and Knights of Malta. 

The Ralph Smith Group LLC (www.ralphsmithgroup.com), provides strategic consulting services to business and higher education worldwide.

About Jones Walker

Jones Walker LLP, with approximately 390 attorneys, provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base through offices in Alabama, Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Ohio and Texas.