As Director of Experiential Learning for the Auburn University Department of Communication & Journalism, Ric Smith coordinates media and public relations practicum experiences and supervises undergraduate internships. He also serves as the executive producer of the Chattahoochee Heritage Project. His primary teaching areas are mass media and organizational communications.

His professional background is in broadcasting and corporate communications. In broadcasting, his experience includes serving as general manager of WMXA-FM. He has worked as a field reporter/producer for ABC Radio Sports, ESPN Radio, WSFA-TV and other media outlets. He is a past member of the board of directors of the Alabama Associated Press Broadcasters Association. For two seasons he was the play-by-play voice of Auburn University Baseball, and for five years worked as the public address announcer for Auburn Baseball. Ric is now the stadium announcer for Auburn University Football, the SEC Football Championship and the SEC Baseball Tournament. He worked as an information manager for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (Main Press Center), the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia (Water Polo), the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics (Speed Skating) and the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece (Outside Races).

During his time at Auburn, Ric has been recognized as a College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Faculty Member, Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Initiate and Mortar Board Teacher of the Semester.

Ric hopes to one day play guitar with Bob Dylan.