As a two-time alumna of the University of Central Arkansas and now as dean of UCA’s Schedler Honors College, Patricia Smith ’01, ’03 has witnessed the profound influence higher education can have on students’ lives. That firsthand experience has made her passionate about making education accessible to as many students as possible.
Patricia Smith (center) receives her Doyne Legacy Society clock from UCA’s vice president of advancement Mary Bane Lackie and UCA president Houston Davis.
Smith wanted to play an active part in providing opportunities for UCA students. But as the parent of 15-year-old twins, with expenses like cars and college on the horizon, making a major gift that could provide the kind of impact she was looking for wasn’t really feasible.
However, as she and her husband were updating their estate plans, Smith realized she could both provide for her children and plan for a substantial gift to the university.
“We set up a life insurance policy to make sure our kids were taken care of,” Smith explained. “There was room in the policy where we could set aside $25,000 as a planned gift for UCA, which is a much larger gift than we could give right now.”
Smith noted that making a planned gift to the university offered her several benefits. It allows her to provide scholarships for the Schedler Honors College, an area of campus about which she feels particularly passionate. It also creates a lasting legacy with a gift that will continue to benefit the university far into the future.
Smith’s gift also made her a member of the Doyne Legacy Society, which consists of alumni and friends who have made a planned gift to support the university. She hopes that her gift will inspire others to consider planned giving as a way to invest in the future of UCA.
“One of the real advantages of planned giving is that it can make a huge difference to the university in the long run,” Smith said. “I’ve seen how a planned gift can be really uplifting for students. It’s rewarding to think that my gift will help provide opportunities for UCA students for years to come.”
To learn more about creating your own legacy at UCA, please contact the Office of Legacy Planning at legacyplanning@uca.edu or (501) 852-2606.
By Philip Allison
