Hands-On Giving

Debra Smith Knez, J82, A09P, grew up in a family devoted to giving back. She watched her father, Richard A. Smith, serve on the boards of hospitals and schools, and her mother, Susan Smith, create the groundbreaking Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“They were hands-on philanthropists,” Debra said. “I had the two best mentors anyone could have right in my home.”

Her parents’ committed, considered approach to giving has shaped Debra’s own philanthropy. “It’s one thing to write a check—it’s another to immerse yourself, to learn to understand and be thoughtful,” said Debra, an annual leadership-level contributor to the Tufts Fund who just finished ten years as a Tufts trustee, serving on the Academic Affairs Committee, among others. “I never wanted to be involved with any institution unless I knew I had the time and could roll up my sleeves.”

In 2008, Richard and Susan Smith, a graduate of Jackson College, established the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Presidential Initiatives Fund at Tufts. Susan passed away in 2016, but the family tradition of philanthropy continues at the university: this year, Richard made a generous gift to his fund, which is being matched by Tufts and will support teaching, research, active citizenship, transformational student experiences, and other priorities of Tufts President Anthony P. Monaco.

Backing strong leaders has been a go-to strategy for Richard, an entrepreneur who has grown small businesses into large ones and invested in many nonprofits. “One of the best gifts you can give a university is flexible funding for the president to use where he sees fit,” he said. “I’m pleased to be supporting that at Tufts.”

Debra took her father's lesson to heart and this year created the Debra Smith Knez Presidential Initiatives Fund, which is also matched by Tufts and supports the president's priorities.

For Debra, supporting Tufts is personal. As a student majoring in political science, she had professors such as Sol Gittleman, who helped her understand her duty as a citizen to stay informed, keep an open mind, and make good decisions. “That’s a strong Tufts message that all students receive, even if it falls outside the purview of their majors,” Debra said.

Debra went on to serve on the boards of Boston Children’s Museum, the Meadowbrook School in Weston, the United Way, and Building Educated Leaders for Life. Today she is a trustee of the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which is especially focused on youth and education, and the Knez Family Charitable Foundation, which supports educational and children’s causes in Greater Boston. In the end, she said, “I guess I just care that every young person has the opportunity to have a strong education.” Part of that is attracting and supporting faculty, said Debra, who in 2007 led the Knez Family Foundation in establishing two three-term Junior Faculty Fellowships in the School of Arts and Sciences through the Knez Family Faculty Development Fund. To enhance recruitment more recently, she created the Knez Family Faculty Investment Fund. “For me, one of the most important parts of the equation is making the environment and culture for the faculty really enticing,” she said.

In the past three years, the fund has helped bring assistant professors Benjamin Wolfe and Mimi Kao to the biology department, Assistant Professor Nathan Ward to the psychology department, and Professor Anthony Romero to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts—individuals who enhance the caliber of the university where Debra sent her daughter Jessica, A09, and where her own interest in citizenship and education bloomed. “We are so blessed that our students can have that experience,” Debra said.