In Memory Celebration Program: Dr. Walter L. Smith, Sr.

L. Smith, Ph.D., the seventh president of Florida A&M University (FAMU) was born in Tampa on May 13, 1935. Smith grew up in Cairo, Ga., Tallahassee, and Harlem, N.Y. In high school, he was a stellar athlete in track, basketball, and baseball. When he was FAMU president, Smith fondly recalled the days he played atop the rolling hills of Florida A&M College (FAMC), where his parents both worked.

A high-school dropout at the age of 16, Smith spent his young adult years in Harlem, where he found work as a messenger and racks pusher in the New York Garment district before he joined the U.S. Army. He served for 30 months during the Korean War. After his discharge at age 23, Smith enrolled at Gibbs Junior College in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he became president of the student government association.

Smith returned to Tallahassee and earned two degrees from FAMU -- the Bachelor of Arts in biology and chemistry, and the Master of Education in administration and supervision. Additionally, Smith served as assistant to the dean of FAMU’s School of Education from February 1972 through January 1973. He earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Florida State University in 1974.

Three years later, on August 11, 1977, the Florida Board of Regents appointed him FAMU president. His appointment began in September. He was inaugurated as FAMU’s president on April 22, 1978. Smith, who served until 1985, is

recognized for being a valiant advocate for his alma mater.

Notable achievements during the Walter Smith Years include the addition of undergraduate and graduate studies; the expansion of the Black Archives; several new and improved facilities, a boost in sports, the expansion of Bragg Memorial Stadium, and reaccreditation of the several professional education programs.

While Smith was president of FAMU, the University grew from seven to 11 schools and colleges and added a Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education. In 1984, the University was granted the authority to offer its first Doctor of Philosophy degree, the Ph.D. in pharmacology. The ‘80s also saw the expansion of the Gaither Athletic Center, which included the construction of a new Women’s Athletic Complex equipped with a track, an Olympic pool, men’s and women’s weight training rooms, and softball and baseball fields. Bragg Memorial Stadium was renovated and expanded to accommodate 25,000 spectators, and a modern field house was erected.

Additionally, new facilities were constructed to house the Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Architecture, Business and Industry and Nursing. Construction and renovation projects amounted to more than $34 million. As the University prepared to observe 100 years of its existence, the Smith administration launched the Centennial Celebration Fund to establish a University Endowment, which has grown to more than $130 million.

In 2007, the University named the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology building for him and acknowledged his accomplishments while president. Naming the building after a living person required an act of the Florida Legislature, and that body approved the request in 2006. Smith was instrumental in obtaining the funding to design and construct the original building for the School.

Following his term as president, Smith moved on to Africa where he was appointed senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malawi. During this period in 1985-86, he served as head basketball coach. His team at Chancellor College won the Malawi National Championship. Smith focused on new higher-education initiatives in Africa before returning to the FAMU campus.

Smith’s accomplishments and commendations were many to include the following:

• Smith was recognized by the National Education Association to assist in breaking racial barriers in teacher organizations in the southern and border states. His programs in Human Relations in the State of Florida received the National Rosena Willis Awards at the 1971 and 1972 NEA Conventions. This effort won him an African American Institute Scholarship and the opportunity to study in West Africa.

• In 1993, Smith was asked to return to South Africa; later, he became the founding president of South Africa’s first American-style two-year college.

• Smith was a U.S. monitor for the 1994 election that brought Nelson Mandela to power as President of the RSA.

• In 1998, he was inducted into the FAMU Athletics Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the program.

FAMU President Emeritus Smith was also the second president of Roxbury Community College in Boston, Mass.

Later, in 2002, Smith opened the Dr. Walter L. Smith Library in Tampa, his native city. The privately-owned library/ museum is dedicated to enhancing the educational development of the people in his boyhood community.

He is survived by his wife Barbara W. Smith; five children, U.S. Army Colonel John L. Smith, Attorney Salesia V. Smith-Gordon, Andre Smith, Walter L. Smith II and Tracy Abrams Butler; seven grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren.

In Memory and Celebration of the Late Walter L. Smith Sr., Ph.D. Seventh President of Florida A&M University(FAMU) Dale Clark FAMU SGA President(1983-1984) Presiding Wednesday, December 15, 2021 | 3 p.m.

Processional

“Total Praise” University Band

The Prayer of Comfort and Scripture Romans 8:35, 37-38

James Moran, Ph.D. First Vice President, FAMU National Alumni Association

Resolutions and Acknowledgements

Selection

Diane Hall Retired FAMU Administrator Diane Williams-Cox Tallahassee City Commission Darrien Bolden Jr. Senior Music Education Major

Reflections (Please limit comments to 2 minutes)

Theresa Frederick Office of U.S. Congressman Alfred Lawson Jr.

Fred Gainous, Ed.D.

Ninth FAMU President

Henry Lewis, Ph.D.

Former Interim President Retired Dean, FAMU College of Pharmacy

Tommy Mitchell Sr.

Seventeenth President

FAMU National Alumni Association Eulogistic Video Tribute The Right Reverend A.J. Richardson Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Selection Darrien J. Bolden Jr.

University Remarks Larry Robinson, Ph.D. Twelfth FAMU President Remarks on Behalf of the Smith Family

Attorney Salesia Smith-Gordon

Smith Family Legacy Tribute Alma Mater

University Band

Recessional

“Every Praise” University Band