Audrey Solberg “Solly” Smith has donated a gift through the University of Nebraska Foundation that established the Audrey Solberg Smith Distinguished Lectureship for Teaching Excellence at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing.
Smith, of Snohomish, Wash., graduated with a degree in nursing from the University of Nebraska School of Nursing in 1947, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the UNMC College of Nursing in 1965.
The 81-year-old said the gratitude she feels toward UNMC’s College of Nursing motivated her to make the gift.
“I owe a lot to the university,” Smith said. “It was a wonderful experience. I had a lot of friends there. It was a wonderful life. We worked hard and learned an awful lot.”
The endowment, which also celebrates the 60th anniversary of her graduation, will provide an annual lectureship to promote learning skills and outstanding teaching at the UNMC College of Nursing.
The lectureship, said Smith, is a tribute to the importance of quality education and the inspirational impact of outstanding teachers. She said the education she received enabled her to serve others by building a deep, lasting foundation of knowledge, skills and ethics.
The first lectureship, which will be held Aug. 19, will feature a nationally recognized leader in nursing education, and coincides with the college’s 90th anniversary celebration.
“The college,” said Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., “is indeed proud of this most thoughtful
alumna, profoundly grateful for her generosity and inspired by her example. Her gift is a tribute to the nursing profession.”
The Smiths have a daughter who is a cardiovascular researcher in California.