Obituary: John Smith, former BC VP

John Smith, former University vice president and treasurer, died on Sept. 11 of a heart attack while attending the Boston College-Penn State football game in Alumni Stadium. He was 81.

Smith was BC's top financial officer from 1970 to 1991, helping establish sound financial bases. At the beginning of his tenure, BC's endowment totaled only $5 million, making the school's financial future questionable. When he retired, the endowment had increased greatly and BC received top bond ratings from several investment houses. Today, the University has an endowment totaling $1.1 billion, making it one of the nation's wealthiest institutions of higher learning.

"He did three principal things," said University Chancellor Rev. J. Donald Monan, SJ, who was president during most of Smith's tenure. "He put certain financial systems in place that averted almost certain bankruptcy. Secondly, he led the nation by years by putting in place a system for the expansion, repair, and renovation of all our facilities. Thirdly, he was the one who put the big focus and energy into increasing the endowment."

"He had very creative ideas about how to finance BC," said CSOM professor Frank Campanella, who was the University's executive vice president during Smith's tenure. "He worked very hard to strengthen the balance sheet so that the University could borrow funds and become financially sound."

One of Smith's biggest achievements was the introduction of deprecation funding in 1976, an accounting measure that after its institution, was ruled as a requirement for all colleges and universities by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. He played major roles in the construction and renovation of several buildings, including O'Neill Library, Conte Forum, and most of Lower Campus.

Smith also helped form the Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation, which provides low-interest college loans to middle-income students and their families.

He received an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University when he retired in 1991, after 21 years on the job.

A native of Bloomfield, N.J., he served in the Army during World War II.

Smith received graduated from Rutgers University, and earned an MBA from New York University's School of Management.

Though a solid fit at BC, Smith's background was not in higher education. A Certified Public Accountant, he worked at the Raytheon Corp., the Bendix Corp, and Healthcare International, as well as several accounting firms before joining the University.

Those close to Smith remember him as a very kind, loyal person with a fun sense of humor.

"He was a wonderful person and everyone who met John has a story about him," said Monan. "All of the stories end with a smile because he had such a wonderful sense of humor. John was really so kind to anyone with a problem and was a real fun person to be with. He lit up every room."

"He was extremely kind, very funny, and extremely confident in the finance field," said Campanella.

In his homily at Smith's funeral service last Wednesday, Monan noted his friend's dedication to helping others and achieving excellence.

"It was one of John's children who recognized that simply being technically the best was not enough," said Monan at Wednesday's service. "John's deepest aspiration was to make sure that his extraordinary gifts have an influence beyond the merely professional, that they would be of help to others. I personally believe it was this aspiration that helped bring John to Boston College."

Monan recalled Smith's relationships and family ties as well, speaking fondly of his various roles as father, husband, friend, and administrator.

"To the tips of his fingers, John was a brilliant, insightful, imaginative, rigorously professional financial executive," said Monan. "And at the same time, he was an unmistakably good, religious person, kind and considerate, irrepressibly humorous, intuitively sympathetic to anyone with a problem."

"He was a great friend," he added, "and I will certainly miss him very much."

Smith is survived by his wife, Helen Topping Smith; four sons, John, Thomas, Robert, and Richard Topping; a daughter, Margaret Smith-Betar, and 15 grandchildren.