The name Robert H. Smith stands emblazoned across the many walls and walkways of Van Munching Hall. For most students, the name represents the title of a business school. But the man behind the title lent far more than nomenclature to a 238,000 square-foot south campus abode.
The business school was founded in 1921 as the Department of Economics/Business Administration with a clear mission “to produce thinkers rather than routine workers, executives rather than subordinates.” Three-hundred ninety four students enrolled that very first year. Almost 30 years later, a young Robert H. Smith enrolled in the University of Maryland’s School of Engineering. Finding aptitude in financials instead, he transferred to the business school and graduated in 1950 with a degree in accounting. In 1992, after a generous donation from Leo Van Munching, who graduated from Maryland in the same year as Smith did, the business school finally had a home but still lacked a name.
Though Forbes magazine once measured the Smith family fortune as nearing $560 million, Smith had a laudable attitude toward wealth: “Financial success is not a destination; it is only part of the journey, enabling you to reach your ultimate fulfillment, and that is to give something back to help make a difference.”
Smith demonstrated this commitment in 1997 when he donated $15 million (the largest donation the school had ever received) to found the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Smith is probably best known as the head of the realty development firm Charles E. Smith, named for his father. He saw an empty plot of land near National Airport and decided to build himself a city. In 1960, Smith and his family firm began development of the Crystal House apartment complex, inspired by a crystal-themed home in Miami Beach. This complex eventually grew into the thriving commercial and residential center of Crystal City, Virginia.
In 2008, Smith gave the business school’s commencement address. His speech was not about how to succeed, but rather how to fail.
“It is fear of failure,” he said, “that leads to a failure of principles.”
He remained convinced that ethical breakdowns and scandals are due not to evil or greed, but rather an inability to face failure. To be truly successful, he believed, one must be willing to fail.
“If you haven’t failed yet, you aren’t risking enough…you simply aren’t trying hard enough,” Smith said.
His speech evidences experience and wisdom, brilliant advice for the start of a new term:
Don’t be afraid to dream big. When you cease to dream, you cease to live. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Take the big swing. Aim for the high mark. Accept that