Establishing an endowed chair in honor of
Ronald E. Smith, MDGreat Doctors are Trained by Great Leaders
Ronald E. Smith, MD
Dr. Smith’s colleagues, John A. Irvine, MD, a Doheny cornea specialist like Dr. Smith, and Alfredo Sadun MD, PhD, would like to raise the $2,000,000 for an endowed chair named after Dr. Smith. “There has been significant early support for this effort” says Dr. Irvine, who hopes to build the endowment in large part from contributions from alumni of the Doheny Eye Institute. These are many of the people whose careers and lives Dr. Smith touched.
An endowed chair supports a faculty position where the person selected to hold the chair represents the philosophy and intentions of the individual for whom it is named. The gifts in memory of Dr. Smith are placed in a fund in which the corpus remains intact and is invested, while income from the fund supports the faculty member selected as the occupant of the Chair.
“Dr. Smith brought out the best in people,” recalls Dr. Irvine. “He encouraged people to become the best clinicians, researchers, and leaders possible.” It’s fair to say that he helped shape the career of tens of thousands of ophthalmologists throughout his career. “The luckiest were the ones who passed through Doheny Eye Institute as medical residents and fellows,” adds Dr. Irvine. “He taught them how to care for and about both the patients and one another. He was an educator par excellence.”
At the time of his death, Dr. Smith was enthusiastic about the new affiliation with UCLA and poised to lead the transition of the faculty into the new academic and clinical enterprise with the Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Dr. Ronald E. Smith guided largely by example
Leadership Roles
An Endowed Chair?
An Endowed Chair is a prestigious award given to an individual whose work and scholarship are worthy of the person for whom the Chair is named and whose excellence in the field will advance those ideals.
If you knew Ron Smith, your gift is a wonderful way to remember his remarkable achievements. If you simply understand the power of scholarship and dedication to one’s field and community, your gift bears out your commitment to this important principle.
Questions and Additional Information
Please contact Development and Public Affairs of Doheny Eye Institute, at (323) 342-7101 or