Whether studying “From Homemakers to Bomb Makers: Women and World War II” in Louisiana, “Geological Engineering Design” in Wyoming, “Campaign and Elections” in DC, “Early Democracy” in Greece or “International Security” across Europe, students participating in the University of Mississippi’s Study USA or Study Abroad programs can now have a little financial assistance.
A longtime public service professional, Frances Permenter Smith of Oxford, Mississippi, made a $50,000 gift that establishes a scholarship endowment in her name. It honors her life and legacy while providing financial support to College of Liberal Arts students seeking research opportunities in the U.S. and internationally.
“It is so critical today that our young people learn more about issues that can and will shape our way of life — and be leaders in those efforts — in everything from environmental causes to public office,” Smith said. “Hopefully this scholarship will help students do that through faculty-led studies both in America and abroad.”
College of Liberal Arts Dean Lee Cohen expressed gratitude for Smith’s support.
“This generous gift will allow more of our students to study thought-provoking and important topics while simultaneously experiencing different places and cultures. Study USA and Study Abroad are life changing programs that help our students acquire skills that cannot be achieved in the classroom alone,” said Liberal Arts Dean Lee Cohen. “We are so grateful to Frances not only for this gift but also for the many other positive ways she continues to engage with and contribute to her alma mater.”
Smith serves on the College of Liberal Arts Alumni Advisory Board and co-chairs the College of Liberal Arts Now & Ever Campaign Committee.
“[Serving in that capacity] increased my awareness of the importance of endowments 10-fold,” Smith said. “The university does such amazing things for our students and the time to give is now. Plus, it’s easier to ask others to give when you have made the commitment yourself.”
Smith and her three sisters also endowed a scholarship in memory of their parents in 2013.
“We all believe giving back is important,” Smith said. “Where better than education?”
The donor grew up in Greenville and Gulfport, Mississippi, and followed her sisters to Ole Miss. She held various offices in her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and served on many ASB committees. But her interest in public affairs was sparked by her three years in the Campus Senate, being voted Senator of the Year her senior year. After graduating from Ole Miss in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, she secured her first job as an admissions counselor at her alma mater. Early in her career, she also worked in two statewide election campaigns.
Smith was a public affairs executive in a variety of public and private settings and spent 31 years in the telecommunications industry, serving as director of external affairs for Comcast before she retired in 2013. In that role, she was responsible for media relations, foundation grants, community events and franchise negotiations in Mississippi, Louisiana and South Alabama.
Prior to Comcast, she had a varied career, from public information positions at the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District and Pearl River Basin Development District to press aide in the Lt. Governor’s office. She was also a high-volume marketing representative for Xerox Corporation and worked as vice president of public affairs and communications for the Time Warner Cable division office in Jackson.
Smith was a member of the premier class of Leadership Jackson, was twice named Communicator of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators’ Mississippi chapter and selected for the first class of Top 50 Businesswomen in Mississippi. She was inducted into the cable industry’s Tower Club for outstanding service and received the Virgil Evans Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Cable Telecommunications Association.
She served as president of the Hinds County Economic Development District, Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Cable Telecommunications Association and Friends of the Jackson Zoo and on the board of numerous organizations. Inducted into the College of Liberal Arts Hall of Fame in 2023, she currently volunteers as vice president of the house board for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and for UM’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
Smith now resides in Oxford and, though no longer officially working in public relations, she remains hard at work as a proud ambassador of UM.
The Frances Permenter Smith Scholarship Endowment is open to support from businesses and individuals. Gifts can be made by sending a check to the University of Mississippi Foundation, with the fund’s name noted on the memo line, to 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655 or by giving online at https://give.olemiss.edu.
For more information about supporting the College of Liberal Arts, contact Caroline Hourin, director of development, at cehourin@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6385.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation