Creating Opportunities for Students and Faculty to Achieve Dreams
“Georgia Tech is doing wonderful things, and we want to do whatever we can to keep that energy moving in the right direction.”
When Gail Panarello Smith, ChE 1978, attended Georgia Tech in the 1970s, she and the other female students made the most of their opportunities. “We joined clubs, participated in intramural sports, and held positions on campus. Several of us joined the Reck Club,” said Smith. They pursued their education with similar determination. She added, “All of those women have done extremely well in life.”
Smith went on to lead an accomplished career spanning four decades and held multiple positions in global leadership with Procter & Gamble. Recently, Smith and her husband, David, a retired banking executive, made estate provisions which will ensure that female graduate students and faculty in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering have ample opportunities to achieve their dreams.
The Gail J. Panarello Smith and David C.T. Smith Family Fellowship Endowment will support female Ph.D. candidates, with a preference for U.S. citizens. “We want to help the U.S. grow and stay strong in both technical fields and technology,” Smith shared.
The Gail J. Panarello Smith and David C.T. Smith Family Faculty Endowment will fund appointments for female faculty, including director’s chairs, faculty chairs, and professorships. These endowments will provide a more inclusive experience for women in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech.
For the Smiths, Georgia Tech is a family tradition, and their daughter Christine N. Russell, CHBE 2014, and son-in-law Daniel D. Russell, EE 2015, join Smith in preserving the family legacy on North Avenue. Steadfast in their support of education, the couple has directed their philanthropy to schools and universities, including Transylvania University, where their son David C.T. Smith II attended. Smith said, “We believe a rigorous education can provide skills and
tools to enrich people’s lives and careers.”