Mark Smith, Dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services at Missouri State University, shares keepsakes from his office that capture who he is and his time in America since traveling from Great Britain.
May 2025
As a reminder of the popular Apple TV series, Ted Lasso, Mark Smith keeps a goldfish on his desk. The fish is an ode to one of Coach Ted Lasso’s most popular quotes encouraging his team to be like goldfish with a 10-second memory that allows them to quickly move on from their mistakes. Smith’s affinity for the show stems from his respect for Coach Ted Lasso’s leadership style and likening his life to Lasso’s in reverse. Where Ted Lasso is about a football coach from Kansas traveling to Richmond, London, to coach soccer, on the flipside, Smith traveled from his university near Richmond, where he studied soccer, to Kansas City, where he studied football.
Smith keeps a shelf with several MGBs, including his favorite in primrose yellow, with a picture of his son in an MGB because he owns and drives two of them, but also due to their meaning. “The fact is, they symbolize a little bit of home,” he says. “It’s a reminder for me of who I am outside of work, with my British heritage and love for working on cars.”
From books to photos, Smith has several autographed items from Coach Bobby Bowden, former football coach at Florida State University, throughout his office. Having done his dissertation in 2003 on Coach Bowden, he spent more than 20 hours with Coach Bowden observing his leadership. “It’s one of my prized possessions,” Smith says. “A lot of my leadership style has come from learning and doing my dissertation with him. So [the poster] is prime, front and center in my office because it epitomizes who I am and a big part of my academic journey.”
The autographed poster from Coach Bobby Bowden is more than a memento, it is one of Mark Smith’s prized possessions. It has a prominent position to serve as a reminder of the coach’s leadership style.
Purchase Photo
Smith has more than 40 Funko Pops, plastic figurines of pop culture icons. Smith likes to grow his collection as fun talking points. His collection includes Woody from Toy Story, Candyland, Wacky Races, Hamilton and a wide variety of other niche characters and soccer icons, so almost anyone who steps foot into his office will see a familiar face.
Of his Funko Pop collection, the most meaningful are the Wizard of Oz characters. Upon first coming to Missouri State University, Smith presented about The Wizard of Oz and it has been his theme for the last six years. “As you change and grow, you need to have courage, you need to have brains and you need to have heart,” he says.
