Indiana State University trustee Kim Smith and her husband Steve Smith have given $200,000 to establish a named faculty fellow in the Insurance and Risk Management Department at the Scott College of Business.

The fund will be used to reward high-achieving faculty that are advancing the insurance and risk management profession and creating new and innovative ways to educate students.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of Kim and Steve Smith,” ISU President Dr. Deborah J. Curtis said. “Kim Smith has not only shown the value of an ISU education with her exemplary career but she has given back as a trustee and donor. Kim and Steve’s gift will make a lasting impact on Indiana State University.”

Kim Smith is a 1977 magna cum laude graduate of ISU. She earned her law degree from Indiana University School of Law and began her insurance career in 1980 as a claims attorney in Indianapolis.

She joined Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company more than twenty years ago and worked her way through the ranks, being named the company’s President and CEO in 2014. She was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb in 2021. Smith served as President/CEO until her retirement in January 2022.

“Steve and I are proud to support Indiana State University, the Insurance and Risk Management program, and the insurance industry which I have served throughout my entire career,” Kim Smith said. “We hope that this faculty fellow will be a catalyst for other such fellows to be established at our great university.”

Steve Smith graduated from Hanover College. He earned his law degree summa cum laude from Indiana University School of Law. He served as a law clerk on the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court, worked at the Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg, and served as a Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for National City Bank, retiring in 2009.

Terry Daugherty, Dean of the Scott College of Business, said he’s grateful for Kim and Steve Smith’s support.

“Their vision for this gift stems from a desire to add long-term value while providing faculty the creative means to positively affect our program through research, teaching, and service activities,” Daugherty said. “The Kim and Steve Smith Faculty Fellows in Insurance and Risk Management endowment will immediately impact students while also enhancing the reputation of the college. This type of support is unique and reflects their commitment to help Indiana State deliver a world-class business education.”

Trustee and husband give $200,000 to fund faculty fellow (May 2, 2022)