Stephanie Ann Smith Memorial Scholarship

The Stephanie Ann Smith Memorial Scholarship was established in 2000 by De Lancey A. Smith of Mission Hills, Kansas, to honor his late daughter who loved art and design. The scholarship is awarded annually to a student pursuing a bachelor's degree in theatre design. Preference is given to students who have chosen a concentration in scenic design by the start of their junior year.

Stephanie Ann Smith began to pursue art and theatre design in a Shawnee Mission East High School production of The Sound of Music, where she created props and scenery. She continued to study art in 1964 when she came to KU. As a student, she participated in theatre design for Rock Chalk Revue performances. To earn money for college, she created store displays and studied under the guidance of the display department director at Woolf Brothers, a clothing store in Kansas City. Later, she was employed by Russell Stover Candies, Inc., where she designed packaging for candies that is still in use today. Stephanie was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 1966, the year she married Warren Thomas of Kansas City. Eight months later her cancer returned and she died soon thereafter.