About Us

FAQs

What is the Society of Smith Scholars?
It is a society sponsored by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. Its members are physicians and medical students who have received Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarships from the Foundation.

When did it start?
The idea of forming a society emerged after the 50th anniversary of the Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarships in 2002. A group of former recipients led the effort to start the society, which was formed in 2006.

How do you join?
Anyone who has received a Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship is automatically a society member. There are no dues or forms to complete. Once a person has been verified by the Foundation as having received a Smith scholarship, he or she is welcomed into membership.

Why are Smith Scholars special?
Smith Scholars represent the best of our country’s medical profession. In order to be selected for scholarships, Smith Scholars had to excel in undergraduate school. They have gone on to head national and state medical societies, to teach at medical schools, volunteer on mission trips and at health clinics, conduct important research and tended to patients through all fields of medicine. Many have won accolades as being among the best physicians in the country in their fields. Two Smith Scholars devoted their careers to being medical missionaries in Africa and Pakistan. One of the original Smith Scholars is a former president of the American Medical Society.

What does the society do?
It links Smith Scholars through a Web site and mailings. Its goal is to encourage Smith Scholars to consider donating to the Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship to help raise the amounts of individual scholarship awards. The Society also works to promote the prestige of the scholarship and to foster bonds between current recipients and past recipients.

How do I learn the names of Smith Scholars?
They are included on this website. Go to the Who are Smith Scholars section to see names of recipients. If you received a Smith Scholarship and your name isn't included or is incorrect, please email Lynn Watson Neumann at lneumann@hamptonroadscf.org

What are plans for the future?
The Society of Smith Scholars plans to start a newsletter for Smith Scholars, some regular e-communications with members and a mentoring program to link practicing and retired Smith Scholars with current recipients. The Society will sponsor occasional gatherings so members can meet face to face.

Why does the Smith Fund need donations?
The cost of medical school continues to escalate. In 1952, when the scholarship started, most Smith Scholarship recipients received an average of $914 a year, which nearly covered the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board. For about 30 years many Smith Scholars graduated with little or no financial debt.

Today, medical school and related expenses average $40,000 a year, and Smith Scholars come out often with more than $100,000 in debt from loans. the Hampton Roads Community Foundation is working to increase amounts of Smith Scholarship awards, which now average $5,474 a year for each student. If the Foundation can increase the corpus of the Smith Fund then it can continue to increase scholarship awards to keep pace with rising costs of medical education.

Who was Florence Smith?
She was a Norfolk, Virginia physician’s daughter who created a scholarship fund in 1952 for medical students. She left $436,620 through her estate to create the fund. Since 1952 nearly 700 physicians have received more than $2.5 million in Smith Scholarships. Through investments the fund has grown to have a value of just under $2 million.