first assignment outside the United States was as Official Visitor to Latin America in 1944. Then he represented the Council of Bishops in India, Burma and Malaysia. Then he was made President of the General Commission on the structure of Methodism overseas, specifically charged with conferring with missionaries, local clergy, and national leaders in Europe, Asia, Taiwan and Japan. In 1957, he became President of the Council of Bishops of the Methodist Church.{{The highest position attainable by a Methodist clergyman. Honors The Rev. William Angie Smith was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Divinity in 1927 by McMurry College. Centenary College did the same (D.D., 1934). His alma mater, Southwestern University, followed suit in 1938 (D.D.). Smith has also served as a trustee of Southern Methodist University. He has also served as President of the Board of Trustees of Oklahoma City University, which named a chapel for him. See also List of bishops of the United Methodist Church Notes References Howell, Clinton T., Prominent Personalities in American Methodism, Birmingham, Alabama: The Lowry Press, 1945. Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops Nashville: The Methodist Publishing House, 1948. 1894 births 1974 deaths American Methodist bishops Bishops of The Methodist Church (USA) People from Elgin, Texas Southwestern University alumni Columbia University alumni