About the Smith Society

The Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society was founded in 1999 by Bill Dickinson (Cowell ’68). Bill grew up in an orphanage and foster homes, and went out on his own when he was sixteen. He was one of the first students to arrive on the new UC Santa Cruz campus in 1965.

He credits the pioneering spirit of those early years and the gracious quality of the Cowell College community with teaching him to have a vision for his life and preparing him to pursue it.

Page & Eloise Smith

Key in his experience was the mentorship he received from Page and Eloise Smith. The couple set the example of a lifetime by treating all who crossed their paths with dignity, grace, and respect.

Page Smith, a distinguished American historian, teacher, and author, was the founding provost of Cowell College—the first of what grew to be ten colleges on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Among his contributions in shaping early campus culture was the personalized narrative evaluation system, rather than letter grades.

Eloise Pickard Smith, an accomplished artist and community leader, partnered with her husband in presiding over a creative, imaginative, caring college environment. Later, as the first director of the California Arts Council, she created the California Prison Art Program, which brings top artists into prisons to teach.

Bill saw creating the Page and Eloise Smith Scholarship as a way to hand on the Smiths’ spirit and UCSC’s founding student-centered values in service to deserving students. It would support students who, as he had, arrive on campus with little or no traditional support—students who had survived serious childhood abuse or neglect yet still reached for their educational dreams.

At a reunion of pioneer classes in 1999, Bill reached out to his former classmates, and together they established the Page and Eloise Smith Scholarship fund.

An idea grows

In identifying who should receive the scholarships, Bill connected with Cheryl Jones in the Financial Aid office. That first year, they had enough to help three students—and the numbers grew from there. A small group of volunteers, meeting around a dining room table developed the scholarship idea into the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society. Gary Miles, a professor of ancient history, started our mentoring program in 2002. Amy Hamel, an academic advisor, joined the effort in 2005.

Together they formed a core team that oversaw the growth of what is today’s Smith Society. The society is based in Cowell College, with the ongoing support of its provost.

Today, a network of connections with faculty and staff throughout campus, with retirees and community members, with alumni and donors—and students who dreamed bigger than the world taught them to expect—form the heart of the Smith Society.