Did You Know? The Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship has helped nearly 700 physicians cover the cost of medical school There are currently 20 recipients receiving $94,600 for the 2009-10 academic year Past recipients have gone on to head the American Medical Association and many national and state medical societies

In 2006 a group of physicians touched by the generosity of the late Florence L. Smith created the Society of Smith Scholars. Society founders all received scholarships to attend medical school from the Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship Fund from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. The scholarship started in 1952 and is still helping medical students today.   Encouraging Smith Scholars to donate to the Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship Fund and help future physicians Raising visibility about the prestige of being a Smith Scholar Fostering bonds between current and past recipients Increasing scholarship award amounts to keep pace with escalating medical school costs

Smith Scholar Spotlight

Meet Dr. Alfred L. "Buzzy" Schulwolf

In this video, learn how Florence Smith inspired this retired Norfolk pediatrician to donate funds to help other Virginians attend medical school.

Percy Wootton, M.D.

Percy Wootton, M.D., a former American Medical Society president, remembers the day in 1953 when Florence L. Smith changed his life. He had just graduated from Lynchburg College and been accepted to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. But the Nottaway County native had no funds for medical school. Wootton had no money to buy a newspaper either so he headed to a public library to read the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“I saw an announcement about the new Florence Smith medical scholarship and wrote the Hampton Roads Community Foundation that day to ask for an application,” Wootton recalls. He filed the needed paperwork and was awarded $1,000 a year for each of his four years of medical school. The Smith scholarship covered almost all of his expenses.

Wootton was among the first 26 students awarded Smith scholarships. He went on to head the Medical Society of Virginia before becoming president of the American Medical Association in 1997. Wootton has retired from a career in Richmond as a cardiologist. He has served on numerous boards, including the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors. He has chaired the board of the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross and served on the board of The Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center at Richmond.

To read about other Smith Scholars click here.

Society of Smith Scholars c/o the Hampton Roads Community Foundation One Commercial Place, Suite 1410 Norfolk, VA 23510-2103 Phone: (757) 622-7951 Fax: (757) 622-1751 E-mail: smithscholars@hamptonroadscf.org

Home | About Us | Who Are Smith Scholars? | How to Give | Contact | © 2009 Hampton Roads Community Foundation.