Marshall University’s president and first lady give $50 million to the university
This $50 million gift is the largest gift the university has ever received and is the largest personal gift ever bestowed by a sitting university president.
Marshall University’s President Brad D. Smith and First Lady Alys Smith have given the university $50 million to fund the Marshall For All initiative, a plan that hopes to eliminate student debt and help students graduate debt-free by 2037. This is the latest in a longstanding history of giving to the university for the Smiths, with their lifetime total coming to $90 million, cementing the couple as the university’s largest donors.
According to an article on Marshall University’s website, the Smiths are quoted as saying of their desire to financially support the university, “We are honored to support Marshall University and the Marshall For All program with this gift. Our ‘why’ is simple: to level the playing field in West Virginia and Appalachia. We hope this gift ensures that every student with the dream of an advanced degree has the opportunity and support to achieve it — while also showing what’s possible for the future of higher education in our region and beyond.”
President Smith graduated from Marshall University in 1986 with a business degree. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Aquinas College in management. He then worked as the CEO of software company Intuit for more than a decade. In 2022, Smith was elected as president of the university.
Speaking of his role as president and his desire to provide financial support to the university, President Smith said, “Three years ago, on my father’s birthday, I stood in front of James E. Morrow Library and made a commitment to this university and the people of West Virginia that one day all Marshall students will be able to graduate debt-free. My father and mother have always been and remain my moral compass. They committed to providing an opportunity for their children to attend college and sacrificed to ensure my brothers and I could do so. It was a promise made and kept. Alys and I are blessed to transform that promise into the privilege to pay it forward. This gift is our promise to make that dream a reality for others who possess the aspiration and the grit to try.”
In addition to his role at the university, Smith also serves on the boards of Amazon and JPMorgan Chase. Additionally, he is co-chair of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence in Education.
Alys Smith attended The Ohio State University and The University of Akron School of Law. In her career, she worked for the Ohio Attorney General and at private law firms. She founded Better2Mediate and currently works as a Guardian ad Litem to represent foster children in court cases. Her career has been focused on justice and equity and has worked with boards of the Education Alliance, The Clay Center for the Arts, The Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), and the West Virginia First Foundation. She founded the Women Warriors Summit and the Marshall University BOLD Leadership Academy.
The Smiths’ philanthropic relationship with the university has been ongoing for several years with a grand total of gifts currently totalling $90 million. They have funded the Brad and Alys Family Scholarship Endowment, supported the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation, supported the University President’s Home restoration project, funded new band uniforms and football helmets. Their additional philanthropic efforts include the founding of the Wing 2 Wing Foundation to support education in Appalachia, the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (OEDC) at West Virginia University, and the Ascend West Virginia program.
This most recent $50 million gift to Marshall University will support the Marshall For All program, which was launched in 2023. The goal of the program is to ensure that all of the university's students can graduate debt-free by 2037, which will mark the university’s bicentennial. The program has two pathways: the Marshall For All: Debt-Free pathway and the Marshall For All: Tuition-Free WV pathway. The first pathway randomly selects students from West Virginia and the metro area to receive a bachelor degree without debt. The second pathway covers tuition and all fees for students whose families make less than $65,000 per year.
Nico Karagosian, who serves as the president and CEO of the Marshall University Foundation, said, “It is with tremendous gratitude that we share Brad and Alys’ transformative gift in support of Marshall For All. The Smiths are visionary partners who believe deeply in the power of accessible and affordable education for students across West Virginia and Appalachia. Their generosity propels us closer to our goal of eradicating student debt by 2037, Marshall’s 200th anniversary, while setting a new standard in higher education.”
For more information about Marshall University, visit the school’s website.