Presbyterian College alumnus Steve Smith ‘84 will deliver the 2024-25 Robert M. Vance Lecture on Business Ethics at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, in Edmunds Hall.
Smith, a member of the PC Board of Trustees, is the president of Swagelok North Carolina/East Tennessee, a company headquartered in Matthews, N.C., that manufactures fluid system components, such as hoses, tubes, fittings, and valves.
A four-year letterman and three-year captain of the Blue Hose Men’s Basketball team, Smith graduated in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and proudly supports his alma mater. In addition to serving as a college trustee, Smith served on the PC Alumni Association Board and with his wife, Gayla ‘85, is a member of the Scotsman Club and the William Plumer Jacobs Society.
The Smiths have frequently answered calls to give their philanthropic support to PC, including donations to the Championship Spirit campaign that included dedicating the gymnasium floor at Templeton Physical Education Center in honor of former head basketball coach Gregg Nibert. The couple also established the Gayla M. and Steven M. Smith Scholarship Fund to support a student involved with the basketball program.
The Smiths reside in Waxhaw, N.C., and are involved in their community through various charities and as members of Weddington United Methodist Church. They have two children: Ashton, a 2010 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Marshall, a 2013 graduate of PC who is married to 2013 alumna Lauren Lefeber Smith.
“Steve Smith is a True Blue role model of devotion and loyalty to his alma mater and a consummate professional,” said PC president Dr. Anita Gustafson. “In every role he plays – as an alumnus, trustee, family man, and business leader – Steve Smith exemplifies PC’s values of service, honor, and trust. I look forward to hearing his considerable contribution as this year’s distinguished Vance Lecturer on Business Ethics and what it means in today’s business climate.”
The Robert M. Vance Lecture Series on Business Ethics is funded by a generous gift from the Bailey Foundation and named after the late Robert M. Vance, a Clinton businessman and former PC trustee.
Vance considered ethics, honesty, and integrity paramount and lived these qualities as a business leader. The lecture series is a tribute to the late businessman’s legacy and numerous contributions to the Clinton community. The series serves as an opportunity for high-profile leaders in the business world to speak with PC students on how to run a successful business that maintains a moral code that employees can take pride in and use as a guide for day-to-day activities.
Past speakers include:
• Minor Shaw, Chair of The Daniel-Mickel Foundation
• Mike Baur, CEO, ScanSource
• Jim Samples ‘85, President, HGTV
• Danny Morrison, President, Carolina Panthers
• Bob McCoy, former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wachovia
• John Allison, Chairman and CEO, BB&T
• Walter Alessandrini, Former South Carolina Entrepreneur of the Year
• Jim Micali, Chairman and CEO, Michelin NA
• Bert Gall, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
• Jim Rosenberg ‘75, President and CEO, Burroughs and Chapin
• Chad Prashad ‘02, President, World Acceptance Corp.
• Robin Boren ‘97, Senior Vice President, Southern Company
• Charles Brewer, founder of MindSpring Enterprises
• Norman Scarborough, the William Henry Scott III Professor Emeritus of Entrepreneurship
