The Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees voted on Thursday, Oct. 24, to name the ATU School of Business as the LeMoyne Smith School of Business.
Smith and his wife, Jawanda, were in attendance for the meeting at Chambers Cafeteria West Dining Room. They received a standing ovation from the ATU Board of Trustees and those in attendance once the motion was approved.
“It’s just overwhelming,” said Smith when asked about the honor. “It is the highlight of my academic life.”
The designation of the LeMoyne Smith School of Business is in recognition of his long-time financial support of his alma mater.
In 2010, Smith established a $300,000 research scholarship in the ATU School of Business. As a result of his continued philanthropy in support of ATU, a portion of the research scholarship funds have been re-purposed into the C. LeMoyne Smith Professorship, a fund that will support an ATU School of Business faculty member in recognition of contributions to his or her discipline.
Smith established a new $1.55 million endowment with the ATU Foundation in 2019. The gift was directed to aid the ATU School of Business.
“(ATU) has remained truly committed to students,” said Smith at the time of his 2019 gift. “This is where you want to come and get a good education because the faculty care about you. The opportunities are there. You have to work and you have to make things happen, but you always know that the faculty commitment is there.”
After graduating from Pottsville High School, Smith enrolled at Arkansas Tech and pursued a degree in business. John Gibson (business), Dr. Herman Long (business), Dr. Allen Chaney (zoology) and Dr. Lowell Logan (biology) are among the Arkansas Tech instructors who made an impression on Smith.
Smith recalls afternoons whiled away with a soft drink, a sandwich and fellow students at the Techionery and evenings spent watching Sam Hindsman’s Wonder Boys basketball teams dispose of Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference foes at Stroupe Gymnasium.
He graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1956 and taught in K-12 school districts and at Arkansas Tech before an opportunity to contribute to education from the private sector presented itself.
South-Western Publishing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, hired Smith to sell textbooks and other learning materials beginning in 1960. He rose to become president and chief executive officer for South-Western Publishing in 1982. Smith continued in that capacity for eight years. He retired in 1991 as chairman.
Smith remained connected to Arkansas Tech through it all. He has served on the ATU School of Business Advisory Board and is a director emeritus on the ATU Foundation Board of Directors. Smith received Arkansas Tech’s highest honor in 1988 when he was inducted into the ATU Hall of Distinction.
Learn more about the ATU School of Business at www.atu.edu/business.
