An estate commitment currently valued at $6 million from Philip Collier Smith will provide scholarships for humanities students at Portland State University. The planned gift is among the largest philanthropic commitments supporting scholarships in the university’s history and one of the most significant investments advancing the study of the humanities in Oregon.
“We are thrilled by this landmark commitment from an exceptional individual who deeply understands the value of the humanities to create a more reflective, just and humane world,” said PSU President Stephen Percy. “Philip Collier Smith is creating an important legacy for PSU students and for Portland.”
Philip Collier SmithA lifelong scholar of the humanities, Smith earned an undergraduate degree in English from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of California Hasting College of the Law before launching a successful career specializing in corporate and real estate law. A fourth generation Californian, Smith moved to Portland in 1990 to establish the Collier Smith Corporation, a portfolio management firm.
Now retired, Smith places great value on the skills and practices he developed through the study of the humanities and credits them with advancing his many professional, personal and civic endeavors.
“We cannot foster a flourishing democratic society or a thriving economy without the humanities,” said Smith. “Their study deepens our understanding of the past and present – and promotes the sharpening of reason and imagination necessary in a complex world.”
Smith’s estate gift is also a long-term bet on PSU’s diverse student body – around half of whom are the first in their families to graduate from college.
“When PSU students join the workforce, they bring valuable perspectives and attributes,” added Smith. “When they succeed, they change not just the course of their own lives but that of their families and communities.”
Smith’s estate gift will eventually create an endowment in perpetuity to award merit-based scholarships to PSU undergraduate and graduate students studying in fields traditionally associated with the humanities, such as anthropology, archaeology, art history, English, history, mathematics, philosophy, religion, sociology and languages.
“This game-changing philanthropic investment makes an important statement about the enduring value of the humanities,” said Todd Rosenstiel, dean of the PSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Philip’s legacy will forever remind us that society benefits from dialogues within and across cultures, and from critical reasoning about human values and traditions.”
“Portland’s hopeful future will live at the thriving intersection of creativity, culture and business,” Rosenstiel added. “Innovation in every industry, especially in the creative industries, is the heart of our regional economy, and requires reflective thinking, cultural understanding and effective communication—skills sparked by study in the liberal arts and sciences. Those are also the skills that will empower students to create and contribute to a more just, inclusive, and economically vibrant society.”
Preference for the Smith scholarships will be given to students enrolled in PSU Honors College humanities courses.
“This gift is important both to our students and our city,” said Shelly Chabon, dean of interdisciplinary general education, including the PSU Honors College, a university program providing high-performing students with a liberal arts college experience focused on urban service and engagement. “It will help us apply the wisdom and values of the liberal arts to the practical life of the city.”
The gift is also noteworthy as a significant philanthropic milestone for Portland State.
“A gift of this size is a point of pride for the university and its alumni,” said Sarah Schwarz, president of the PSU Foundation. “It signals that PSU can and should receive gifts of a scale commensurate with its vital mission — and that is terrific.”