Maureen Smith comes to research administration from an academic and non-profit organization background. Prior to joining UNLV, she managed collections and exhibitions at two Memphis-area museums and served as a Pre-Award Coordinator at the University of Memphis, where she provided department-level support to the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Intelligent Systems.

Maureen holds a Masters of Science in Medieval History from the University of Edinburgh and a Masters of Art in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester. She is a certified State Archivist in the state of Tennessee. Her academic specialties include the history of religion and witchcraft and the interpretation of objects associated with human remains in museums.