Michael Smith – WDCHOF Scholarship Success Story

Posted on January 15th, 2024

The son of Hall of Fame member Neal Smith (Class of 2008), Michael Smith is a 2-time recipient of the Hall of Fame Scholarship, support from which helped him achieve his MA from Boston College and PhD in English from Duquesne University.

Currently he is Program Officer of the Fine Foundation, in charge of grantmaking portfolios for arts and culture organizations. Michael also serves on the board of PA Humanities and sits on the Committee on Honors and Awards for the Modern Language Association, and the Finance Committee of the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry.

He has reviewed grants for the Whiting Foundation, and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. His work on the poetry of Muriel Rukeyser and his interview with the esteemed Bertrand Westphal have been published in MDPI’s “Humanities” and the SJU Humanities Review, respectively.

Michael has taught at Marian Court College, Pine Manor College, Robert Morris University and Penn State, and consulted for philanthropy-based organizations like Aperio, LLC and Grantmakers of Western PA.

The WDCHOF Scholarship, in his words, allowed him to “concentrate more deeply on my academic work”. In facilitating grants for non-profit organizations in the Arts and Humanities, Michael demonstrates the far-reaching benefits to society at large of the support he received from the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, a proof of the value of the organization itself.

Comments are closed.