In an interview with the Smith Family, we reflect on the inception of the Smith Center and why its mission is important for equipping UTIA’s faculty, staff, and students to address the pressing issues facing international agriculture through teaching, research, and outreach.
At the center of the Smith Center’s mission is a simple truth: food brings people together. It’s a universal connector, transcending background and geography. This belief, rooted in the hearts of Donnie (BS Animal Science ’80) and Terry Smith (BS Elementary Education ’80), has inspired their generous giving—transforming lives at the University of Tennessee and beyond.
“We knew we needed spaces to support research and educate a new generation,” Donnie says. “We wanted UT Extension’s expertise applied to real-world challenges—poverty, childhood stunting, food insecurity,” Donnie explains. “We felt like we had to do what we could to try to make a difference in the grand challenges facing the agriculture industry. That looked like donating to support the folks out there trying to answer these questions: how will we feed this planet over the next decade, fifty, hundred years? And what’s at stake if we fail?”
Donnie sees Tennessee as a global model for agricultural solutions. West Tennessee leads in row crops; Middle Tennessee has a strong beef supply chain and a rising poultry industry; and East Tennessee, where UTIA’s research includes dairy and specialty crops like hops and organics, home to the Great Smoky Mountains, the country’s most biodiverse national park that offers unmatched research opportunities. “The state of Tennessee is practically an ideal laboratory to do the research, teaching, and outreach to solve the challenges facing us on a global scale,” Donnie says. “Just look at the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan, pioneer of no-till farming and carbon sequestration. If you’re going to affect climate change, if you’re going to feed the population, if you’re going to provide the fiber that people need to clothe themselves, you can find all of that right here in Tennessee.”
Terry emphasized that the University of Tennessee was the first place they thought about when they decided to act on their passion for solving world hunger. “It was just natural for us to come back here where it all began,” she says. “We were educated here, and it’s a place we love so much. We knew that UT would help make our vision a reality.” They endowed the Donald and Terry Smith Chair for International Sustainable Agriculture in 2014, then expanded that endowment in 2017 to create the Smith Center.
Their daughter, Rachel, shares their passion. “If you’re thinking of reasons to support the Smith Center and, like me, you don’t have a background in agriculture, it’s important to recognize that creating opportunities for food security in the global South leads to creating opportunities for education, social development, economic growth, and better health outcomes. All that progress depends on people getting to eat three times a day, every day,” she says.
When asked what they were most proud of about the work the Smith Center is doing, Terry emphasized how great it was to see where the Rwandan farmers from the Center’s flagship USAID project are now. “Through learning how to raise chickens, these farmers were able to increase their income, and now their kids can go to school. They have insurance and have added other income streams. Their lives are improved by becoming entrepreneurs, and it’s amazing that our partnership with UT made that happen,” Terry explains.
Donnie is excited about the opportunities the Smith Center has helped create for students in the Herbert College of Agriculture. He recalls speaking to a class at UT when a student asked about food waste. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have had a resource for her. Now, I can send her to the Smith Center. That’s the kind of impact we dreamed of—students gaining global experience, sparking ideas that might one day solve the world’s biggest food challenges.”
Supporting the Smith Center means connecting UT students, faculty, and staff to global opportunities and real-world issues in agriculture. The Smith family can’t imagine a better way to build on their original vision. “I’m unabashedly biased because I’m a UT grad, and I love this place. I know so many people, so many UT faculty and administrators and researchers, and Extension specialists and agents who are passionate about this work. Their dedication is unmatched,” Donnie explains. “So, if I were thinking about how to invest in finding solutions to these issues, I would want to know that there is a competent group of incredibly intelligent, insightful, and inquisitive people that will steward my donations. They’re there. It’s right here.”
In the words of Donnie Smith, “This is the Volunteer State. We can do anything, and we’ll volunteer to help anybody.” At the Smith Center, those words are more than a motto; they’re a mission.
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