Central State University Honors Businessman Joshua I. Smith

Business executive and philanthropist Joshua I. Smith was honored at building renaming ceremony on October 17, 2014.

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Oct 21, 2014, 05:25 ET

WILBERFORCE, Ohio, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Central State University announced that the Center for Education and Natural Sciences was renamed to honor business executive and philanthropist Joshua I. Smith.

Businessman and philanthropist Dr. Joshua I. Smith is joined at the building renaming ceremony by Central State University president Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, his wife Reverend Jacqueline Smith, Esquire and executives from Caterpillar, FedEx and Disney.

In March of 2014, Dr. Smith announced a $1 million-dollar-gift to Central State University. The gift deepens a longstanding philanthropic relationship between Central State University and the Smith family. Smith is a 1963 cum laude graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, and did graduate work in law and business administration at the University of Akron and Central Michigan University. He is also a nationally renowned entrepreneur and lecturer who has been chairman and managing partner of The Coaching Group since 1998. In this capacity he is the coach/senior advisor/consultant to the CEOs of portfolio companies. Smith frequently assumes active roles in his client's companies that include serving as chairman or vice chairman of the board, board member, or advisory board member.

He served on the board of directors of four Fortune 100 companies: Caterpillar, Inc., FedEx Corp., Allstate Corp. and SCORE and as vice chairman of Comp Care, Inc., a publicly traded, specialized healthcare services firm. He has also served on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Inland Steel, and the Board of Visitors of Bowie State University, where he was chairman. Smith was featured in a recent Black Enterprise article "Meet America's Most Powerful Corporate Directors."

During the ceremony, on Friday, October 17, 2014, the building was officially renamed the Joshua I. Smith Center for Education and Natural Sciences.

About Central State University
Founded in 1887, Central State University is an 1890 Land-Grant institution that academically prepares students with diverse backgrounds and educational needs for leadership and service in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.

Contact: Dr. Gayle Colston Barge
937-376-6216

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SOURCE Central State University