The honors program in UT’s Haslam College of Business has been named in honor of Greg and Lisa Smith, longtime supporters of the university. The UT Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Greg and Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars during its fall meeting last Friday.
The Greg and Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars program helps to bring together some of Tennessee’s brightest young business minds at the state’s flagship university. Now in its 10th year, the program promotes international and intercultural awareness, leadership, and personal and professional growth.
“Lisa and I are very impressed with the caliber of students in the GLS program as well as the way the faculty pushes them to succeed and sets high expectations for them,” Greg Smith said. “The program gives these students access to things that I didn’t have until probably the middle of my career. The foundation that is built for these students is unbelievable.”
Scholarship recipients pursue a concentration in international business and spend the second semester of their sophomore year in London in a six-week full-time internship. Smith GLS students also take business courses together throughout their time in the college and must maintain a 3.25 grade point average.
The Smiths made a generous multiyear investment to endow the program in the hopes that it might expand its offerings to more students and more international study locations.
“Greg and Lisa Smith have been outstanding supporters of the Haslam College of Business’s students for the better part of a decade,” said Steve Mangum, dean of the college and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair. “They truly value giving our students exposure to intercultural inclusion and the global marketplace, which benefits graduates and the companies for which they work.”
Greg Smith has spoken to students in Smith GLS classes on multiple occasions, offering advice and perspectives based on his own experiences. He is a 1985 alumnus who serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council and the Global Supply Chain Institute Advisory Board.
Greg Smith is the executive vice president of supply chain for Walmart US and has worked in the top executive supply chain positions at ConAgra Foods and Goodyear. Lisa Smith graduated from Purdue University and worked for the Quaker Oats Company, Emerson Electric, and Unilever before becoming a full-time mother. They have been married 29 years and have four children who are either in college or have recently graduated.
About Join the Journey
As the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, aspires to become a preeminent institution, the $1.1 billion Join the Journey campaign will assist in positioning the university among the nation’s elite. The comprehensive fundraising campaign focuses on increasing support for undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty support, college priorities, and athletics. The funds raised will create a student experience that reaches beyond the ordinary, shaping the next generation of leaders for the state, nation, and world.
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CONTACT:
Katie Williams (865-974-3589, katiewilliams@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)