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Draft:Harold J. Smead

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  • Comment: Smead seems to be a decent man. Making a donation to his school does not make him notable, nor does the naming of a department. Generally that just shows he gave money. For what is he notable? 🇺🇦 FiddleTimtrent FaddleTalk to me 🇺🇦 16:57, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

Dr. Harold J. "Joe" Smead (1925–2003) was a business executive and noted philanthropist. From 1974 through 1999, he was the president and CEO of Kaiser Aerospace.[1]

Smead earned his PhD at Purdue University, his MS at the University of Washington, and did his undergraduate studies at University of Colorado Boulder. He completed his BS in electrical engineering in only 26 months attending on a US Navy scholarship.[2] Today, the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at UC Boulder is named for him and his wife Ann. Ann continues to give generously to the program.[2] In addition, Joe and Ann were significant contributors to a number of non-profits primarily in the Vail Valley.[3]

Smead was born in Spokane, Washington and attended Gonzaga Preparatory School. Unable to afford tuition, he pledged his weekly earnings of fifty cents to the school president, and graduated in 1943. In 2005, he gifted the school $3.4 million dollars, the largest donation in school history.[4] He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2024.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Report, Daily Staff (2003-12-23). "Harold "Joe' Smead, 1925-2003". www.vaildaily.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  2. ^ a b "About Joe & Ann Smead". Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences. 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  3. ^ Harriman, Brown Brothers (2019-11-21). "Supporting Stellar Aerospace Students: A Conversation with Philanthropist Ann Smead". Brown Brothers Harriman. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  4. ^ "G-Prep alum leaves school $3.4 million | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  5. ^ "Hall of Fame". www.gprep.com. Retrieved 2024-05-01.