Blake W.H. Smith, PhD, Endowed Memorial Fund
In 1975, the MSU Department of Family Practice
consisted of just two people — Roy Gerard, MD, its founding chair,
and Suzy Barber, the executive secretary. Then Dr. Gerard hired the department’s second
employee — a graduate assistant named Blake W.H. Smith.
Blake Smith was to devote his next 24 years to
ensuring that the family practice faculty and staff developed
the academic skill base necessary to become one of the pre-eminent
family practice departments in the country. Over time, he earned
a doctorate in administration and higher education and moved into
the positions of clerkship coordinator, associate chair for Academic
Affairs, and senior academic specialist.
Smith's wide-ranging interests included provision
of health care in underserved areas, primary care in developing
nations, development of strong clerkships in family practice and
in community medicine, and development of a strong research component
in the department's academic activity.
His premature death in August 1998 grieved his
colleagues, yet his legacy included development of a family practice
faculty well grounded in the rigors of academic life and with
a social vision that extends beyond the walls of the university. In memory of Smith, and to ensure that the goals
that were close to his heart can continue to be achieved, a special
fund in the name of Blake W.H. Smith, PhD, has been established.
Contributions will support excellence in family medicine education,
with a special emphasis on maintaining the strength of the clerkship
programs and on providing a variety of educational experiences,
including rural and international clinical experiences.
David O. Hough, MD, Endowed Memorial Scholarship
The David O. Hough,
MD, Endowed Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Family Practice
provides an additional mechanism through which donors can support
the development of excellence in family medicine education.
The Hough Scholarship
was established to encourage others to emulate the accomplishments
of David Hough, who died in 1996 at the age of 50. In 1976, Hough
and Douglas McKeag, MD, initiated the MSU Sports Medicine Program.
His pioneering application of the principles of family medicine
to the field of sports medicine was nationally recognized for
its creativity and innovation. He became director of the program,
a responsibility he held at the time of his death.
The scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating MSU College
of Human Medicine senior who has been chosen as the outstanding
fourth-year student planning to enter a family medicine residency
program upon graduation. The student receiving this highly competitive
award must demonstrate the healing spirit that was so much a part
of Hough. This includes clinical competence, a great and demonstrated
sensitivity to the psychosocial aspects of the patient/physician
interaction, care and concern for others through professional
and/or volunteer experiences, and a commitment to family.
Roy Gerard Endowed Lectureship
in Family Medicine
Each year, a noted scholar in the field of family medicine is brought to speak at
Michigan State University through this program.
Family Medicine Fund
This expendable fund is used at the discretion of the Chair to fund department-related activities.
To make a contribution To make a tax-deductible contribution to any of these funds,
use the web links above or send the donation to the MSU College
of Human Medicine, c/o University Development, 4700 S. Hagadorn
Rd., Suite 220, East Lansing, MI 48823-5399. Checks should be
made payable to Michigan State University. A notation indicating
your choice of funds should be indicated on the check memo. |
