McClure “Mac” Smith, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of OB/GYN when the Olson Center for Women’s Health opened in 1993, died Sept. 28. He was 87.
Colleagues say establishing the Olson Center for Women’s Health fulfilled a vision set by Dr. Smith and the center’s namesakes, Dr. Leland Olson and his wife, Dorothy, to create a health science center focused specifically on women’s health. At the time, the Olson’s gift was the largest single-family donation at UNMC.
Dr. Smith’s inclusive leadership skills allowed him to rebuild the department of obstetrics and gynecology, said Carl Smith, MD, who later served as chair of the ob/gyn department from 2002 to 2024, and knew Dr. Smith (no relation) for almost 50 years.
“Dr. McClure Smith was one of my faculty when I was a medical student at UNMC. He was a masterful educator and a superb surgeon, and this interaction led to my return as one of Mac’s junior faculty a decade later.”
He also was a strong role model and supporter of faculty development, Dr. Carl Smith said. “I appreciated his subtle and unflappable leadership style and will miss his wry sense of humor and the subtle tilt of his head when you had just done or said something that was not exactly on target.”
Rick Blum, who met Dr. Smith as a new administrator in 1992, remembers his kindness toward him and others. “He wouldn’t speak much in a group until allowing others to speak first, and then, without ever raising his voice, he would speak with a command that belied his small stature. He would never directly give an order to do something, but would say something like ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we could compare the last three years’ numbers?’ …I am privileged and grateful to have known him.”
Dr. Smith earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1964 and served with the U.S. Public Health Service, Division of Indian Health, in Chinle, Arizona, where he was director of community health services. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at UCLA.
His academic career took him to UCLA, UNMC and the University of Oklahoma before he returned to Nebraska to serve as the department’s gynecologic oncology division director and, from 1987 to 1996, as professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
During his career, he trained generations of physicians, conducted clinical cancer research as a National Cancer Institute investigator, and held the Distinguished Chris J. and Marie A. Olson Chair of Clinical Investigation in Obstetrics and Gynecology. His commitment to women’s health and medical education continued through the 2001 establishment of the McClure L. Smith Professorship in Gynecological Oncology at UNMC. He retired from UNMC as professor emeritus in 2000.
A memorial service will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church, 5002 E. Douglas Avenue, Wichita, Kansas, on Oct. 23, at 10 a.m. A private family interment will follow at Wichita Park Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Hospice House – The Josie Harper Residence, 7415 Cedar Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124.