The official honors program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business has been named in honor of supporters Greg and Lisa Smith. The UT Board of Trustees approved the naming of the Greg and Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars during its winter meeting.
As the honors program in the business school of Tennessee’s flagship university, the Greg and Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars brings together the state’s brightest young business minds. Now in its 10th year, the program promotes international and intercultural awareness, leadership, and personal and professional growth.
“Lisa and I are very impressed with the caliber of students in the GLS program as well as the way the faculty pushes them to succeed and sets high expectations for them,” Greg Smith said. “The program gives these students access to things that I didn’t have until probably the middle of my career. The foundation that is built for these students is unbelievable.”
Scholarship recipients pursue a concentration in international business and spend the second semester of their sophomore year in London, England, where they undertake a six-week, full-time internship. Smith GLS students also take business courses together throughout their time at the college and must maintain a 3.25 grade point average.
Greg and Lisa Smith made a generous multiyear investment to endow the program in the hopes that it might expand its offerings to more students and more international study locations.
“Greg and Lisa Smith have been outstanding supporters of the Haslam College of Business’ students for the better part of a decade,” said Steve Mangum, dean of the college and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair. “They truly value giving our students exposure to intercultural inclusion and the global marketplace, which benefits graduates and the companies for which they work.”
Greg has spoken to students in Smith GLS classes on multiple occasions, offering advice and perspective on his own experiences. He is a 1985 alumnus who serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council and the Global Supply Chain Institute Advisory Board.
Greg is the executive vice president of supply chain for Walmart, U.S., and also has worked in the top executive supply chain positions at ConAgra Foods and Goodyear. Lisa graduated from Purdue University and worked for the Quaker Oats Company, Emerson Electric and Unilever before becoming a full-time mother. Greg and Lisa have been married 29 years and have four children in college or recently graduated.
