DATE: April 07, 2008

CONTACT: Mike Bonnette, (864) 656-1694
bbonnet@clemson.edu

WRITER: Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu

Augusta's Randy Smith receives Clemson Alumni Distinguished Service Award

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Alumni Association recognized Randy Smith of Augusta as one of five winners of the 2008 Distinguished Service Award, the university’s highest alumni honor.

Distinguished Service Award honorees demonstrate a dedication to enhancing the value of the university for future generations; service to church, community, profession and public service; and personal accomplishments that serve as a model for present and future Clemson students.

Smith, who played football for the Tigers, earned a pre-medical degree from Clemson in 1966 and his M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia in 1970. For 30 years, he has been associated with University Hospital in his hometown of Augusta. He was president of the medical staff and currently chairs the board of trustees of the University Health Care System. He helped plan and implement a $93 million expansion of the system, including a $50 million cardiac center.

Smith has extended a helping hand to patients in less-developed countries. On 26 separate trips, he has used his skills as a teacher and plastic surgeon to provide up-to-date information to other doctors and badly needed help to patients in Asia, Europe, Africa and Central and South America.

Smith has been honored by the countries he served as well as the American Medical Association, the Medical Association of Georgia and Augusta area service clubs. In 1997, he received an honorary degree from Clemson University.

An eight-year member of the Clemson University Foundation board of directors, he established the Randolph Smith Endowment for Excellence. He supports IPTAY and the Palmetto Challenge and is a member of the Benjamin Ryan Tillman Society and Tiger Brotherhood.

Smith is married to Becky Jo H. Smith and has four children: Katherine; Randolph; Rebecca, a Clemson alumna; and Michael, a current Clemson student. The Smiths are active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.