The University of Maryland announced today a gift of $10 million from the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation to support MBA scholarships, as well as undergraduate leadership programs and facility enhancements for the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The gift will also continue to fund the school’s Center for Social Value Creation.
“We are extremely grateful for the Smith family’s continued support of the Robert H. Smith School of Business,” said business school Dean Alexander Triantis. “Their generosity will help us continue to attract, challenge and engage our students.”
A portion of the gift will go toward an MBA Scholarship Fund, which will help the Smith School compete for the best MBA students by providing additional financial aid.
“The many conversations about the business school that I had with my father, as well as experiences with him there, made me very aware of how important it was to him. It was natural that I would want to continue to support his legacy and carry on his commitments in the best way I could,” said Michelle Smith, President of the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation.
The gift will also fund facility renovations to ensure the Smith School of Business can continue to evolve with the ever-changing business education pedagogy, including new, dedicated spaces for specific programs and classroom re-designs that allow for more group discussion and interaction.