Education Advocates

Gary L. Smith “retired” in 2000, but he still teaches a one-hour course every fall to 15 freshmen in the Honors College. A few years ago, he noticed something about his students: “I became increasingly concerned that they came from high school without a sensitivity to what’s going on in the world. Then I found they don’t know anything about MU.”

So, in addition to teaching about Clarence Darrow, the litigator famous for his defense of Tennessee high school teacher John Scopes, Smith, M Ed ’65, EdD ’71, works in facts about Mizzou: when it was founded, who has made major contributions over the years and why a statue of Thomas Jefferson sits on Francis Quadrangle.

Smith would know. He’s spent the past 50 years working on behalf of the university. His first role was as MU’s director of admissions and registrar from 1970 to 2000. Then he became executive director of the University of Missouri Flagship Council from 2008 to 2014, where he led efforts to advocate for and protect the best interests of the university. He continues to serve on the council’s board.

In honor of his unwavering commitment to higher education and Mizzou, the Legislative Network Committee of the Mizzou Alumni Association presented a 2017 Henry S. Geyer Award to Smith. Geyer was a state representative who believed education was key to progress and prosperity in Missouri, and he introduced a bill to establish the University of Missouri in 1839. “I’ve spent my whole life in public education in the state of Missouri,” Smith says. “Anytime your peers see fit to award something of importance to you, it is quite an honor.”

The committee also honored Rep. Nate Walker with a 2017 Geyer Award. The alumni association recognized Walker for his continued efforts to support higher education public policy. Tom Rackers, a lobbyist for the University of Missouri Flagship Council, says Walker always asks, “What can I do for Mizzou?”

Walker, BS Ag ’74, MS ’75, opposed a tax-cut bill that he says not only would have reduced state revenue collections but also harmed K–12 and higher education funding. In 2016, he says, he voted against more bills adverse to Mizzou, its Association of American Universities status and the state’s economy than ever in his legislative career. Walker also supports the medical research conducted at the University of Missouri Research Reactor as well as appropriations to expand education and training there.

“As a third-generation Mizzou graduate, it is part of my DNA to support pro-Mizzou and prohigher education policies,” Walker says. “I am honored and humbled to receive the Geyer Award for doing what is right for ol’ Mizzou. — Kelsey Allen

Rep. Nate Walker, left, and retired MU administrator Gary L. Smith received 2017 Geyer Awards from the Mizzou Alumni Association’s Legislative Network Committee.