{"id":2265,"date":"2021-11-23T12:12:36","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T16:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2022-01-25T14:14:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T18:14:28","slug":"jessie-cottman-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/jessie-cottman-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Jessie Cottman Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Jessie Cottman Smith<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ask Jessie Cottman Smith about venerable Frederick Douglass Library on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus and she responds, proudly, \u201cIt\u2019s my baby!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A native of the crossroads community of Tindley’s Chapel in southern Somerset County, Smith is a 1950 graduate of what was then Maryland State College. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University in New York, then worked as a librarian and teacher at Worcester High School in Newark, Md. for 15 years. She came \u201cback home\u201d to Maryland State in 1966.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith initially worked in the old campus library, one of the first brick buildings on campus, and then moved into Douglass, where she was a fixture until her retirement in 1998. She holds the distinction of being named UMES\u2019 first Dean of the Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fifth of nine children, Smith dropped out of school in 1947 and went to work so she could save up enough money to return to college.  She eventually received assistance and graduated three years later in 1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is probably why she and her husband, Morris, whom she married in 1972, feel so strongly about giving back to the university.\u00a0 The couple established an endowment \u2013 the Jessie M. Cottman Smith and Morris B. Smith Frederick Douglass Library Fund \u2013 and they faithfully contribute to it with ongoing contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the 1973 Hawk yearbook<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHad it not been for UMES, I would not be where I am today,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt is unthinkable for me not to give back. Where I was helped by others, I would like to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was popular among generations of students, too; the 1973 Hawk yearbook staff dedicated that year’s edition to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Smiths are seen often on campus and routinely attend functions throughout the year, from fund-raising galas to commencement ceremonies and alumni events. Smith is a member of the Tri-County Alumni Association member as well as a Life Member of the National Alumni Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is my duty to give back to the institution that gave me so much for so long,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also is a lifelong active member of Mount Zion United Methodist Church, where he serves in various capacities, whenever and wherever needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An exhibit room on the second floor of the Douglass library was named in her honor in April 2011. The festive event attracted a large turnout, including members of her extended family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are grateful to Jessie and Morris Smith for their faithful commitment to UMES,\u201d said Veronique Diriker, UMES\u2019 development director. “We are forever grateful for your generosity and the spirit with which they give!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Smith died Dec. 10, 2020.  She was 92<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask Jessie Cottman Smith about venerable Frederick Douglass Library on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus and she responds, proudly, \u201cIt\u2019s my baby!\u201d A native of the crossroads community of Tindley’s Chapel in southern Somerset County, Smith is a 1950 graduate of what was then Maryland State College. She earned a master’s degree in…Read more Jessie Cottman Smith<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-2265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=2265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}