Faculty Directory
Walter J. Smith, S.J.
Part-Time Faculty
Walter J. Smith, S.J.
Ph.D.
Contact
Email: walter.smith@bc.edu
Education
- B.A., Boston College
- M.A., Boston College
- M.A., Sorbonne Université
- Ed.M., Boston University
- M.Div., Boston College
- Ph.D., Boston University
Research Interests
Lifespan Pastoral Care & Counseling, Professional Formation for Healing Ministries, Palliative and End-of-Life Care, Death, Dying, Grief, and Bereavement, Clinical Psychology, Counseling, and Pastoral Care, Lifespan Human Development, Professional Chaplaincy
Expertise
- Pastoral Care and Counseling
- Chaplaincy Studies and Medical Ethics
Profile
After spending more than four decades as a clinician, professor, consultant, trustee, department chair, dean, and chief executive officer, Father Smith joined the Boston College Jesuit community in 2020. He is a recognized clinical specialist in palliative and end-of-life care and has published two award-winning books in this field. As the CEO for 26 years of the world’s largest clinical pastoral education training and research center, based in New York City, Fr. Smith led a national initiative to develop standards for palliative care certification for professional chaplains.
As a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, he was a key participant in a task force charged to recommend strategies to integrate palliative care into the curricula of New York State medical schools. Currently, he a member of the palliative care and workforce development advisory boards at Mass General Brigham Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Fr. Smith consults and lectures nationally and internationally and has served as a director on the boards of national health, spiritual care, legal, advocacy, and higher education institutions. In 2022, he published an Amazon best-selling memoir/cookbook, Faith, Food & Friendship: Reflections and Recipes from a Jesuit's Abundant Life.