Chad Smith, the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has donated $160,000 to the University of Minnesota’s School of Music. This generous gift has established the Curtis and Joan Smith Scholarship, which will award $10,000 each year to students pursuing their music dreams. Chad chose this school because both of his parents attended. His father, Curtis, graduated in 1957, and his mother, Joan, earned her degree in 1948.
“My father passed in 2001, but my mother is 98 years old; she couldn’t be here, but she’s excited,” Chad shared. He believes in the power of music, saying, “Music is fun and it’s a healer. It’s so many great things… If you’re passionate about it and you love it, you’re going to want to do it. So we’re just here to help.”
Chad recently launched the Chad Smith Foundation, and this scholarship is their first major initiative. The program will award its first recipients next fall. Patrick Warfield, the director of the School of Music, is optimistic about the impact of the scholarship. “This scholarship will make it possible for many more students to come to the University of Minnesota and actually pursue their dreams,” he said.
To celebrate the occasion, Chad played drums at a fundraising lunch and later performed during a football game’s halftime show. He jammed with Skwirl, the school’s rock group, playing two Chili Peppers classics: “Californication” and “Can’t Stop.”
If you’re interested in applying for this scholarship and others, be sure to check out the University of Minnesota’s website for more details.
