But don't let him fool you, say those who have worked alongside him.

"I think Earl, if he has an ego, never lets it get in the way of what he's trying to do," said Sally Baker, who worked with Smith for nine years in the Colby communications department and took over as executive assistant to the president, Smith's position when he retired. "He's very self-effacing to the point where you can't believe it. He'll always tell you that he's not that smart . . . but he is all of those things but wants no credit for that."

Baker points to Smith's writing (she's a huge fan), his sense of humor, his patience as he listened to other points of view, his advocacy for Maine students, his sometimes-disguised but broad knowledge of history and politics and literature. "He's got so many areas of interest," said Jim Crawford '64, chairman of the Board of Trustees. "When we were together this last weekend we were visiting the home of the original pastor who came to Blue Hill, Jonathan Fisher. We visited his house and it turned out Earl has some of Fisher's early paintings. . . . It seems that every time you turn around there's another thing that Earl knows something about."

Smith, the College spokesman.

Perhaps it is that broad perspective that makes him, as Crawford puts it, "wise in his counsel." In fact, Smith seems to float above the fray no matter how dire the crisis. Scott Bullock, president of MaineGeneral Medical Center, where Smith chaired the board of trustees (his list of civic posts, from state representative to school board chairman, runs half a page), counted him among his most trusted advisors, one of those people who bolster you when things get rough. "When all the arrows are zinging past your head, they sort of have a way of conveying to you that they've seen a lot in their time and this too shall pass," Bullock said.

Dean of Students Janice Kassman, who worked alongside Smith for many years and reported to him for a time when he was dean of the college, referred to his "wonderful calming effect." The two rated problems on a scale of one to 10, and Kassman said Smith usually revised her estimation downward. "I'd think it was a nine and he'd say, 'Oh, no, that's a six.'"

Kassman said Smith, especially early in her career, was there for her to share many of the most important moments of her life, that she could go to him not only as a colleague but as a friend. "He never seems rushed. He never seems like you're bothering him. Whatever the issue was, he's right there for you. It's a gift."

Maybe it helps that Smith has, as Baker puts it, "his priorities in order."