A Proud Cornellian
A member of the Cornell Engineering College Council, Robert Frederick Smith was the 2020 recipient of Cornell Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes alumni who have broken traditional boundaries to transform society and whose professional accomplishments bring distinction to the college. He was also one of three Cornellians recognized by TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 “Most Influential People” of 2020. In 2017, he was named Cornell’s Entrepreneur of the Year, an award that honors a Cornellian who exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service, and high ethical standards. Smith is also a member of the Cornell Tech Council, which serves as the primary governance group for Cornell Tech and a subsidiary body of the Cornell University Board of Trustees.
“Cornell was such a wonderful experience in a fundamental time in my life,” Smith recalled during a campus visit in 2017, adding, “Cornell believes in rigor. We bring a different degree of rigor.”
Smith’s experience as an engineering student helped him to learn the work ethic and competitive drive he would need to succeed. These Cornellian characteristics remain with him today. As an undergraduate, he explained his studies taught him “the importance of sticking with problems and thinking them through.”
“My goal has always been to lift up and provide opportunity for those who have historically faced barriers to success. My hope is that these funds will elevate more students and afford them the opportunity to attend my alma mater and pursue careers in STEM, as well as continue to support the diverse pipeline of extraordinary talent that Cornell produces.”
Robert F. Smith ’85
Commitment and Impact
In 2016, Robert F. Smith and the Fund II Foundation, of which Smith is the founding director and President, made individual contributions that together totaled $50 million that was donated to Cornell Engineering’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The donation also funded technology scholarships for students from underrepresented communities at Cornell Engineering.
Through undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and other initiatives, Smith’s commitment to the school has enabled the development of additional opportunities for faculty and student learning. Research projects, programs engaging high school students in STEM fields, and programs to foster community connection among students and alumni are a few of the dynamic initiatives that are helping to prepare the next generation of critical thinkers who will address current global challenges.
To honor Smith for the generous gift, Cornell later renamed the school to be the “Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,” and launched the Robert Frederick Smith Tech Scholars Program, spanning Cornell Engineering and Cornell Tech.
In 2022, Smith announced a $15 million gift to Cornell Engineering, with a focus on assisting undergraduate students who come to Cornell from urban high schools and graduate students who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In addition to the undergraduate scholarship fund and graduate student fellowship fund, the gift established the Robert F. Smith Student Success Fund to offer support for student participation in national conferences, professional development training, connecting with employers, mentoring programs, and immersive learning opportunities.
Smith’s Career
After graduating from Cornell, Smith began his career at Goodyear Tire and Rubber and later Kraft General Foods before deciding to pursue his MBA from Columbia Business School. Smith has made several gifts to Columbia to help expand the school and provide funding to students from often underrepresented communities. In 2017, he made a $15 million donation to help with the university’s expansion into the Manhattanville neighborhood of West Harlem. In January 2022, Smith donated $10 million for The Robert F. Smith ’94 Scholarship Fund. Today, he serves on Columbia Business School’s Board of Overseers.
Following his graduation from Columbia, Smith worked at Goldman Sachs, where he specialized in investing in technology companies. At Goldman Sachs, Smith had a key role in early tech mergers and acquisitions, including Apple, Texas Instruments and eBay. In 2000, Smith left Goldman Sachs to start his own investment firm, Vista.
Vista invests in enterprise software businesses through private market investment strategies, including private equity and private credit. Additionally, Vista’s Private Wealth Solutions team provides eligible investors with the opportunity to invest in enterprise software. In 2023, Vista was awarded the Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International.
In recognition of Smith’s innovative approach to investing in software businesses and his leadership in the asset management industry, Forbes named him one of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds” in 2017. Smith was also inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame.
Smith’s Commitment to Philanthropy
Smith was first instilled with the power and impact of philanthropy by his parents and has dedicated much of his life to giving back. He guides the mission of Fund II Foundation, which administers grants to public charities to promote cultural, artistic, human rights, environmental and other public-minded efforts. In 2017, he became the first Black American to sign the Giving Pledge, making a commitment to donate a majority of his wealth during his lifetime to charitable causes. Smith also gifted $20 million, the largest by an individual donor at the time, to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In 2019, Smith announced a $34 million commitment to eliminate the student loan debt for the entire 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College and the debt incurred by their parents and guardians. His life-changing gift to the Morehouse graduates earned worldwide attention and is only one example of Smith’s generosity.
In order to expand access to higher education for students at other HBCUs, Smith followed up on his Morehouse gift with an additional personal donation of $50 million to Student Freedom Initiative (SFI) to match the original gift provided by Fund II Foundation. He was named Chairman of SFI in 2021. He also co-leads Southern Communities Initiative (SCI), which strives to accelerate wealth creation and economic growth in six Southern communities within the U.S. through locally led, measured and sustained initiatives.
He is a founding member of the World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance and a member of the Council of Inclusive Capitalism. In 2025, Smith contributed insights to the book, “Lead Boldly: Seven Principles from Martin Luther King, Jr.,” which provides historical context, explains how Dr. King’s leadership lessons impacted him and played a key role in his leadership
“I take [the responsibility to give back] seriously. To bring all of the education and dedication and effort to create in this world, in this economic structure, opportunity that I can then drive into philanthropic fabric to do what I think is the most important thing on this planet, which is to liberate the human spirit.”
Robert F. Smith ’85
Honors and Awards
Smith has been recognized for his longstanding commitment to philanthropy and community advancement. His honors include the Committee for Economic Development’s Distinguished Leadership Award (2024), the HBCU Impact Award (2023), the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award (2023), theGrio’s Philanthropy Icon Award (2022), the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Visionary Award (2022) and UNCF’s President’s Award (2019). He became Chairman of Carnegie Hall in 2016 and received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2019. In 2025, he was named to the inaugural TIME100 list of the “Most Influential People in Philanthropy.”