Couple who met at SCSU go on to impact communities 

In the late-1960s Dr. Michael and Diane Smerdon were two St. Cloud State University students — one studying physics and mathematics, and the other elementary education. One night they met through mutual friends.

The rest is history.

Both Michael — Mick to family and friends — and Diane graduated in 1970, and were married about one week later. Mick went on to earn a masters in physics as well as a doctorate in biochemistry and biophysics from Oregon State University, where he studied the structures of H1 histones and their interaction with chromatin within DNA. His postdoctoral research with Dr. Michael Lieberman at Washington University in the late-1970s was one of the first investigations into the role of chromatin structure in DNA repair.

“I was one of the first to study DNA repair in chromatin, the structure of DNA and protein packaged into the cell nucleus. This work led to an understanding of how DNA has to be unfolded before it can be repaired. Several diseases are defective in this unfolding process, many being cancer-prone,” Mick said. “Cancer is a disease that literally affects all of us. For personal reasons, I decided early in my physics career that I wanted to try to help understand the mechanisms that cause this deadly disease.”

He joined Washington State University in 1980, where he became a regents professor of biochemistry, and later in biophysics as well in 2006. Mick retired in 2021, and is currently a regents professor emeritus in biochemistry and biophysics. He is known as the “Father of DNA damage and repair in chromatin.” Mick has a long track record of significant contributions to the overall understanding of DNA damage and repair in chromatin, and was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for the last 40 years of his career. He is a recognized leader in the DNA damage and repair field, and has received multiple honors for his academic and scientific achievements — including election to the Washington State Academy of Sciences and publication of a special issue of “DNA Repair” honoring his career, entitled “DNA Repair in Chromatin.”

“I have always been so proud that his efforts have been recognized,” Diane said.

For Mick, any success he’s had has been a direct result of having Diane for a partner.

“You know the saying: behind every successful man is a pretty nice colleague called a wife or a woman,” he said. “She's the one that's been the driving force in our family since the get-go.”

Diane has taught kindergarten and other elementary grades over the years since graduating from SCSU. She took a number of years off to focus on raising their children, but also put her accounting skills to work over the years when helping Mick with grant writing.

“I honestly feel that my time that I had raising my kids was my career,” she said. “I mean, I really enjoyed so much seeing them grow and prosper.”

In addition to her work in the classroom, in accounting and raising her children, Diane played an integral role in saving Pullman, Washington’s original high school from demolition. The historical building ultimately became the Gladish Community Center, with Diane serving as its first executive director. The community center housed everything from childcare facilities and teen centers, to the Washington-Idaho Symphony, the Whitman County Historical Society and a number of businesses. It also became the first site for Spokane Community College in Pullman.

“The building became my child,” she said.

From raising their children, Mick’s research that included traveling for sabbaticals, building up the community center and everything in between, the Smerdons’ story all began with St. Cloud State.

“My (high school) senior class was only about 45 students, and the smaller class sizes and more personal attention by faculty at SCSU was appealing,” Mick said. “The personable atmosphere allowed me to meet my future wife.

“The rest is history.”