The NCAA has hired George Smith as director of the Hall of Champions.

Smith, who began his duties January 22, comes to the Association after serving almost a decade as the vice-president for human resources and administration/operations for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Smith's responsibilities there included visitor services, operations, exhibit maintenance, volunteers and human resources. The 1.1 million square-foot museum attracted about two million visitors annually.

Before that, Smith spent three years in hospital administration and more than 15 years in labor relations and human resources management at Johnson & Johnson, Johnson Products Company and Armour-Dial Corporation, where he was in

charge of college recruiting.

Smith earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his master's degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

He is an adjunct faculty at both the Stuart Graduate School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Smith also is an active board member of the National Jazz Museum in Chicago and a co-founder of Jazz Fraternity, an organization devoted to educating the public about jazz.