Staff Directory

Merlene Aitken-Smith

Title:
Executive Senior Associate AD for Administration & Risk
Email:

A nationally respected collegiate athletics administrator with more than 20 years of leadership experience, Merlene Aitken-Smith serves as USC Athletics' primary liaison to University Human Resources, the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Athletics Compliance. She also serves as a member of USC Athletics' executive leadership team.

Aitken-Smith joined USC from Nevada, where she oversaw a broad portfolio that included human resources, facilities, events and capital projects while serving as the department's liaison to the university's Office of General Counsel. She led several transformative facility projects, including Nevada's new Indoor Fieldhouse and the Eric & Linda Lannes Basketball Building, while serving as the primary sport administrator for nine Wolf Pack programs.

Before joining Nevada, Aitken-Smith served as Associate Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Grambling State University, where she oversaw university compliance, safety and risk management, civil rights and Title IX, contract administration and institutional policy development. She previously served as Grambling's Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator, helping lead the university's NIL policy implementation while overseeing student-athlete academic services, leadership development and multiple sport programs.

Her career also includes leadership positions at Clayton State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina A&T, Winston-Salem State, Kansas, Washington and Michigan State. Throughout her career, Aitken-Smith has earned a reputation as an accomplished administrator with expertise in organizational leadership, compliance, human resources, risk management and student-athlete success. She has served on numerous NCAA, conference and institutional committees and was selected to participate in the NCAA Pathway Program for aspiring athletics directors and conference commissioners.

A native of Yonkers, New York, Aitken-Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Brooklyn College and a Juris Doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law.