Robert H. Smith (philanthropist)

This article is about the American builder-developer, for other persons of the same name see Robert Smith

Robert H. Smith is a successful builder-developer. Smith is chairman of Charles E. Smith Co. Commercial Realty, a division of Vornado Realty Trust, and chairman of Charles E. Smith Co. Residential, a division of Archstone-Smith Trust, both REITs listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Smith is best known for spearheading the development of the Crystal City complex in northern Virginia.

Smith has given generously to the University of Maryland, College Park, his alma mater. The Robert H. Smith School of Business was named in his honor in 1998 to recognize his gift of $15 million, the largest gift the school had ever received. He has continuously supported its programs, subsequently making additional generous gifts as the school has expanded and risen in prestige. The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, completed in 2001, is named for his wife.

Interestingly, the Kogod School of Business at the American University in Washington, DC, is named after Robert P. Kogod, brother-in-law of Robert H. Smith.

Smith's family has also given charitably to a number of Jewish communal causes in the greater Washington, D.C. area, including the Charles E. Smith Life Communities, a senior housing and elder care campus in Rockville, Md., and the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, also in Rockville. Both organizations are named for Smith's father.

Smith has also served as president and trustee of the National Gallery of Art and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Smith with the National Humanities Medal.

He resides in Crystal City, VA with his wife, Clarice. They have two children, Michelle and David.

External links

• Bronze and Boxwood: Masterpieces from the Robert H. Smith Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington
• Audio: Bronze and Boxwood: Sculpting the Robert H. Smith Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington
• A brief biography of Smith at the UMCP site