Inside Furman December, 2000

Quiet, steady leadership
Max Smith, grants administrator, retires after 26 years

By the time he was 39, Max Smith had worked for five colleges, serving in positions ranging from academic dean to foundation director and interim president. He had also been employed as an evangelist and earned four academic degrees.

Smith's work and education had taken him to Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin and New Mexico. By 1974, he was ready to settle down.

Through professional circles, he learned about an opening at Furman. The more Smith researched the institution, the more he liked it. The small liberal arts school had just completed its "Program for Greatness" capital campaign, raising more than $10 million. President Gordon Blackwell was making great strides in his efforts to boost academic standards and attract top faculty.

"I just felt that Furman was about to take off," says Smith. "I thought that it had tremendous potential. I thought that it would be a perfect fit for me."

It has.

Smith joined the Furman Development Office that year, and although his title has changed several times over the past 26 years, his responsibility - pursuing grants for the university - has not. During that time Smith has helped Furman secure more than $30 million in grants. He has also been a mentor to many faculty members, counseling them on the nuances of charitable foundations and corporate boards and coaching them through the grant-application progress.

The soft-spoken, unassuming Smith says that the decentralized approach has been a perfect fit for Furman. "There are other grant administrators that have large staffs," he says. "They have a person for foundation relations, another for corporate relations and a support staff. Here, it's just me and Sheila (Manchester). We have a tight ship."

It works, in part, due to Smith's credo: "It's much more effective to teach someone to fish than it is to give them a fish." He says, "We (he and Manchester) work as facilitators. We guide the process along and help where we are needed. We are just part of the process."

Smith's longevity, sterling reputation with national foundations and keen insight have served Furman well in the competitive grant-seeking field. The university's success record (actual grants compared to requests) is "remarkably high" says Don Lineback, vice president for development.

"There are few areas of this campus that have not benefited from the good work of Max Smith," he says. "From scholarships to research and other engaged learning opportunities to buildings and the campus itself, Max has had a hand in building the assets of this university in many ways, seen and unseen. We're all grateful beneficiaries of his experience and expertise."

A native of Mount Vernon, Ill., Smith initially pursued a career in the ministry. After graduating from Milligan College in 1956, he earned a degree from Southern Seminary and worked as an evangelist in the Chicago area for five years. In 1961 he earned a master's degree in education from Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., and later joined Midwest College, a small religious school in Oklahoma City, as academic dean.

During the next decade his focus slowly shifted from the ministry to education and ultimately to development. In 1970, Smith earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in higher education administration.

"While I was pursuing my master's and Ph.D., I really began to realize the impact and importance that grants can have on university programs," he says.

In retirement, Smith is looking forward to traveling and "getting some projects done around the house." He adds, "As I look back on my career at Furman, I will always be grateful for all the people that I have worked with. We have not always had the needed talent in our office to get the job done, but we were able to reach out in the university and find the person with the right talent to help us. Through their help, we've always had the support we've needed."