Former Bakersfield resident Gayland Smith establishes scholarship endowment

Scholarship honors local dietitian, will support kinesiology majors

By California State University, Bakersfield

January 13^th, 2022

California State University, Bakersfield is receiving a gift from retired accountant and former Bakersfield resident Gayland Smith to fund a new scholarship for kinesiology majors.

The Joy Anderson Smith Scholarship — created in honor of Smith’s late wife — will be open starting next school year to juniors and seniors majoring in kinesiology, with a preference for students interested in pursuing a career in nutrition.

CSUB received $27,000 in December to establish the scholarship, with additional payments expected in subsequent years.

“I want to thank the Smith family for their support and partnership with the kinesiology department as we work to develop the next generation of allied health professionals for the San Joaquin Valley and California,” said Dr. Brian Street, chair of CSUB’s Kinesiology Department. “This new scholarship is a great opportunity and comes at an important time, providing much needed support, but also, importantly, can be a profound catalyst for undergraduate and graduate students in kinesiology to reach higher, changing the career path of students and positively impacting our region.”

The gift will fund a $5,000 scholarship that will be made available to at least one student per year. To be eligible to receive the scholarship, students must have a grade-point average of 2.7 or higher and meet satisfactory academic progress as defined by the Office of Financial Aid.

“CSUB is a real asset to the community, and I want to do what I can to support the university,” Smith said.

The gift will help fulfill CSUB’s priority of supporting future leaders as part of the university’s first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, which was publicly announced in October 2021. The goal of the campaign is to raise $55 million by July 2024 to transform the university.

Smith said he wanted to create the scholarship to further his wife’s legacy. Joy Anderson Smith worked for many years as a dietitian at San Joaquin Hospital and Valley Children’s Hospital and spent part of her career privately consulting diabetics. She died in 2012 at the age of 69.

Smith described his wife as a “very loving person” who enjoyed sewing, gardening and preparing meals. She was involved in several organizations, including the Bakersfield Junior League and Diabetic Educators group.

“It’s a tribute to her. I want her to be recognized for her achievements, and this is kind of the best way to do it,” he said. “I want to see students follow in her footsteps and would hope they would give back in the future to help the community.”

Last year, Smith said he also started a similar scholarship at their alma mater, Fresno State. However, he also wanted to fund a scholarship at CSUB, as he and Joy had lived in Bakersfield for over 40 years and had strong ties with the community. In the 1980s, Smith even taught an accounting course at CSUB.

Smith said he hopes the scholarship will attract more students to the healthcare field and will encourage them to pursue careers as dietitians like his wife did.

“Joy felt that good nutrition was important in helping to develop and maintain a healthy body. It touches all of our lives,” he said. “If the scholarship helps individuals learn the importance of good health, it will have achieved its purpose.”

Former Bakersfield resident Gayland Smith establishes scholarship endowment

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

Runners on the Rise is the first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign at California State University, Bakersfield. The campaign is centrally focused on what is most important at CSUB: students. This ambitious effort aims to raise $55 million by July 2024, helping our students — and, in turn, the entire region — reach new heights of success. Join us on this upward trajectory atcsub.edu/rise.