Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment, (785) 832-7336.
LAWRENCE-- A late actor's Hutchinson-based foundation pledged $500,000 to support a geriatrics professorship at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, KU Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway announced today.
The grant to the KU Endowment Association was made by the Delos V. Smith Senior Citizens Foundation, named for the father of the late actor and KU alumnus Delos V. Smith Jr. The funds will provide a salary stipend to support the Delos V. Smith Jr. professor in community geriatrics, who will be selected later this year.
Hemenway said the foundation's gift would benefit older adults and their families throughout the state.
"We are delighted that the Delos V. Smith Senior Citizens Foundation has made an investment in geriatrics at the University of Kansas," Hemenway said. "Research and service in support of the state's aging population is an important mission for the university and an area of strength in the School of Medicine."
The new Delos Smith professor will teach and mentor students participating in the school's geriatric health-care education program, a six-week clinical rotation in geriatrics that is required for all medical students during their third year. In addition, the professor will instruct practicing physicians taking continuing education courses in geriatrics at the school, conduct research and present geriatric health-care information to community organizations such as Alzheimer's support groups.
Because of the state's large population of older adults, Dean Joseph C. Meek Jr. of the KU School of Medicine-Wichita said Kansas ranks fifth in the United States in the number of people over the age of 85. Over the next ten years, he said, the number of Kansas citizens in that age category is expected to double, increasing the need for health-care professionals trained in geriatrics.
"Because this professorship will enable our research and education to be directed towards the community, we hope to improve the quality of life for the elderly in our region," Meek said. "We could not be more grateful to the foundation for its support of our community geriatrics education and research."
John H. Shaffer, secretary of the foundation and a longtime friend of Delos V. Smith Jr., said the grant was a fitting tribute.
"As Delos became older, he became a firm believer in education and the need for senior citizens to stay involved and active," Shaffer said. "Dr. Meek saw a need in light of the aging population. The board is very pleased to honor Delos in this manner, and we share Dr. Meek's enthusiasm in enhancing the geriatric education program at the school."
Delos V. Smith Jr. was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society as a KU student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. After graduating in 1928, he began a lengthy career as an actor, producer and director in television, film and theater. His film credits included the role of Scanlon in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and his Broadway work included "Front Page," "Three Sisters" and "Our Town." In 1985, the Kansas Film Commission named him best actor. After living in New York, London and Los Angeles, Smith returned to his home in Hutchinson, where he taught drama classes at Hutchinson Community College.
Smith established the foundation in 1977 with the intention of creating and financially supporting a new senior center in Hutchinson. In 1987, he opened the Delos V. Smith Senior Citizens Center, a community activity center for older adults.
Shaffer said that Smith wasn't the kind of man anyone could easily forget: he had long hair, a bushy gray beard, and when most people saw him, he was wearing a sweat shirt, sweat pants and tennis shoes. Even some of those closest to him were unaware of the extent of his wealth until his death at age 91.
Following his death, the foundation received Smith's estate, increasing its assets from about $1.5 million to $20 million. Since then, the foundation has expanded its grant-making mission beyond the senior center.
KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the oldest foundation of its kind at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.
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