The Dr. Tom and Brenda McDaniel Family and Dr. Randy and Mitzi Smith Family Hall of Fame Scholarship was created by merging the Tom McDaniel Scholarship Award, the Tom and Brenda McDaniel PLC Scholarship and the Randy and Mitzi Smith Athletic Hall of Fame Scholarship. Dr. Randy Smith and Dr. Tom McDaniel established this scholarship to honor one male and one female Northwestern student-athlete who exhibit the highest level of character, integrity, athletic and academic excellence.
The Tom McDaniel Scholarship Award was established to provide worthy incentive and encouragement for an outstanding male athlete who also attains academic excellence. This award was created by the Dr. Tom McDaniel family in the Spring of 1986 in his honor and in recognition of his being named an Outstanding Northwestern Graduate.
Dr. McDaniel became Northwestern’s seventeenth president in 2000. Under his leadership, the President's Leadership Class was developed. An endowment was established in 2000 with a gift from the Kerr-McGee Corporation to honor Dr. McDaniel and his wife, Brenda, upon his retirement from Kerr-McGee. Partial funding for the activities of this class was also provided by the newly created Presidential Partners program, established in 2000 during Dr. McDaniel’s tenure. Dr. McDaniel received his degree from Northwestern in 1960 and Brenda received her graduate degree from Northwestern in 1976.
The Northwestern Hall of Fame Scholarship was established in 1999 by the initial contribution from Dr. Randy and Mitzi Smith. Dr. Smith received his degree from Northwestern in 1975 and was a member of the Northwestern Ranger Baseball team. Dr. Smith later became Northwestern’s head baseball coach and then the Athletic Director. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame, inducting its first class in 1993. Under the leadership of Dr. Smith, other donors have given in honor of former players, coaches and physical education instructors.
Mitzi graduated from Northwestern in 1985. She spent 38 years in public education serving as a teacher and elementary principal in both Oklahoma and Kansas.
The awards will be named the Dr. Tom and Brenda McDaniel Family and the Dr. Randy and Mitzi Smith Family Award. This scholarship is intended to keep alive the spirit of those people who built a tradition of excellence for Ranger Athletics.
“Brenda and I are proud to partner with Randy and Mitzi on this Hall of Fame Scholarship to support deserving Ranger students,” said Dr. Tom McDaniel.
“These two families are great examples of how our Ranger Family steps up to help our students,” said Dr. Bo Hannaford, President, Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “I love this idea of combining these scholarships and creating two scholarships that will benefit more students in the future. As a former recipient of the Tom McDaniel Scholar Athlete Award many years ago, I know firsthand the impact these scholarships have and I want to thank both families for their generosity!”