David Arthur Smith was born in 1955, the first child of Thomas and Mary Ellen Smith. He grew up in the town of Highland in northwest Indiana. David's father was an attorney of civil law and his mother was a research biologist who later became a high school biology teacher and Dean of Girls. He has one sister, Marilee, who is an Occupational Therapist in Seattle, WA.

Throughout grade school and high school, David was interested in math and sciences. His love of nature was encouraged by both his parents and grandparents taking him on vacations to many of the national parks and forests throughout the United States. He also enjoyed hiking and camping trips with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts - and canoe trips "chaperoning" his mother and sister's Girl Scout troop. During high school, David competed with the swim team for three years and worked as a life guard and swim instructor. He graduated in 1973 as valedictorian of his class.

Dave went to Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, and began to pursue a major in high-energy physics. He later switched to the relatively new field of Computer Science. While at Purdue, Dave came in contact with Maryknoll Father Phil Bowers, who served on the campus ministry staff when he wasn't doing church dates for Maryknoll's Promotion Department. Dave joined Triangle, a national fraternity of engineers and scientists, and later served as its treasurer and president. During summer vacations, Dave lived on the UCLA campus and worked in the central computer facilities of TRW Space and Defense Systems in Redondo Beach, California. Dave graduated from Purdue in 1977 with a B.S. degree, having also been awarded membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honorary societies. Journeying eastward, David began graduate studies at M.I.T. in Cambridge, Mass., majoring in Artificial Intelligence. Dave became a regular monthly guest at Maryknoll's Chestnut Hill house - and often returned to his dorm with a box full of Marie Lincoln's famous chocolate chip cookies. In 1979, after attending the Easter retreat for vocation prospects at Maryknoll, NY, he responded to the call to mission (though the cookies were definitely influential!)

David's class was the last group to live at Maryknoll's Hingham seminary and the first in the Cambridge house. During OTP, he lived in Tanzania - for six months at Bunda Parish in Musoma Diocese, and then for a year at Chang'ombe Parish in Dar es Salaam Archdiocese. David was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 1985 and assigned to Tanzania. He first worked in Nyalikungu Parish, Shinyanga, with Fr. Leo Kennedy for two years. He was then appointed pastor of Ndoleleji Parish, Shinyanga, in early 1988 where he lived until August 1999. With the advent of battery powered laptop computers in 1986, Dave introduced portable computing to the African bush. Now nearly all of Africa's Maryknollers have computers in their missions!

As shepherd to the Christians in the thirty villages of Ndoleleji, Dave energized the catechists and lay councils to become more missionary in their outreach. From 1993 to 1996, Dave was assisted by newly ordained African priests. Then in March of 1996, Leo Kennedy rejoined his old confrere. In 1995, David was elected as second assistant to the Regional Superior.

In mid-1999, Dave was asked to take a new assignment as the Financial Officer for the newly formed Africa Region. He moved to Dar es Salaam to supervise the combining of the previously separate financial systems in Kenya, Tanzania, and the Middle East - while at the same time computerizing the accounting and reporting systems. During the 2000 Assembly, the regional membership asked that Dave also take on the project of creating a web site to communicate our unique experience as American missionaries in Africa - the results of which you are viewing right now! In 2000 and 2001, he similarly created websites for the Catholic medical school at Bugando and the Maryknoll Institute of African Studies.

In early 2002, while continuing as Regional Financial Officer and web master, Dave began a new ministry. He became the founding Head of the Department of Academic Computing at the University College of Health Sciences at Bugando, Mwanza, Tanzania. Living on the southeastern shores of Lake Victoria, he felt back at home among the Sukuma people. After three years at the University, the Computing center was fully operational and the second class of students had begun their medical education. At the request of Maryknoll's Superior General, Dave left the computer work at Bugando in the capable hands of two Tanzanians, who he had trained, in order to assist the Superior General with a unique job.

Working on a special project for the Maryknoll Society, Dave was instrumental in modernizing and unifying the financial accounting system used in Maryknoll's overseas Regions, U.S. Promotion Houses, the Seminary, and the Procurator General house in Rome. A trial phase was done using the Africa Region as a test. Achieving very positive reviews, Society leadership decided to standardize on the new accounting system. During the implementation phase, Dave personally travelled to Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Bolivia, Peru, and Guatemala.

In 2007, Dave was elected to serve for three years as the Regional Superior of the Africa Region. His responsibilities include visiting the missioners in their mission locations in Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Sudan, and Ethiopia. As Regional Superior, he also represents the Africa Region in leadership meetings at Maryknoll headquarters in NY. During the fall of 2008, Dave represented the Region at the Society's Twelfth General Chapter.

Still being based in Mwanza, Dave assists on a part-time basis (when his Regional Superior responsibilities allowed him the time) with the liturgical services at Mabatini Parish. He also helped to computerize the St. Augustine University library's card catalog, and he set up a virus-proof, self-repairing system on eighty public computers that the university students use for Internet access. Working with the staff of St. Mary's Junior Seminary in Mwanza, Dave created an education lab with 21 computers where all 300 seminarians become computer literate over the course of four years.

Dave will complete his term of office as Regional Superior on September 30, 2011. He has already been appointed to his next mission: beginning in November, he will serve as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers' Chief Financial Officer in New York.

David's Reflections      

      David's Education Ministry     Communication Ministry     Pastoral Ministry

Maryknollers in Mwanza, Tanzania