Chris Benz Smith '72, PhD

Philanthropy, leadership, and community service come second nature to Dr. Chris Benz Smith ’72. A former GPS board member (2009–18), board chair (2014–17), and a Distinguished Alumna (2007), Chris considered herself a “middle-of-the-road kid” while a student but now appreciates the seeds that were unwittingly being sown. “GPS laid the foundation for leadership and for being a part of something bigger than myself.”

Over her remarkable career, Chris has certainly leveraged her strengths in her work educating and mentoring the next generation of health care professionals. Adding to the long list of her accolades and accomplishments is her recent appointment as the inaugural Dean of the new College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she was once a student in the UTC’s School of Nursing’s first class of Family Nurse Practitioner students, graduating in 1997. 

“I never thought I’d be dean of a college with over a thousand students,” Chris says. “But because of GPS, I learned what my strengths were and to make decisions based on the input of others. I was also taught to take advantage of opportunities that were presented to me, and I found where I thrived.”

She obtained her BS in nursing at Vanderbilt University and worked at Ochsner Hospital (New Orleans, Louisiana) prior to returning to Chattanooga in 1982, and earned her PhD from East Tennessee State University while working as a professor for the School of Nursing at UTC. She would later become UTC School of Nursing’s Faculty Nurse Practitioner program coordinator (2005), associate director (2011), interim director (2013), and director (2014).

Chris married McCallie alumnus Gordon “Trip” Smith, III, and they have three children: Jenny Smith Wright ’97, Gordon “Skip” Smith, IV ’00 (McCallie), and Alice Smith Harris ’03. The Smith Family legacy of GPS alumnae, service to the school, and giving runs deep. Chris’s mother-in-law, Frances Street Smith ’48, was also a GPS board chair (1978–81) and Distinguished Alumna (1984). The Smith Family was honored in 2003 with the naming of the expanse of lawn between the middle and upper school buildings as Smith Courtyard for their collective service and philanthropy to the school. 

“Trip’s family taught me the importance of giving, and my children have learned that by example from Trip and me,” Chris says. Of her service to GPS, she adds, “We have the opportunity to volunteer through the alumnae council, the parent council, and the board. When you serve, you gain a unique perspective to the benefit of the all-girls experience.” 

While GPS has changed over the 50 years since she was a student, Chris notes that its traditions and mission remain steadfast. “The traditions make GPS special—the black ribbon is the tie that binds and represents what’s constant about GPS, educating each girl to her fullest potential. The teachers know how to draw the talent out of each girl and are such an important part of your experience even beyond the classroom.”

What’s different at GPS? “The campus has really grown, and we gave our Chapel Talks to only the students and faculty—and my mom came,” she recalls. “I certainly never knew back then how often I’d speak in public!”

Outside of her service to her alma mater, Chris has devoted considerable time and her talents to organizations devoted to the health and welfare of others, particularly children. She became the first female president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chattanooga and serves/has served on the board of numerous organizations, including Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, UTC Administrative Services, Appalachian Highlands Center/Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement Advisory Board, the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, and Hospice of Chattanooga.

In 2020, she was appointed as a committee member of Chattanooga’s COVID-19 Joint Task Force and served on the City/County Mayor’s COVID Task Force.