Duane Smith: The Time-Traveling Professor

For more than 35 years, Dr. Duane A. Smith made history come alive for Fort Lewis College students through interactive courses.

Students arriving in Duane's class at FLC sometimes found him outfitted in his great-grandfather's original Civil War uniform—musket, bayonet and all.

"History is so vital for students' lives," says Duane, who spent his whole career at FLC. "I tried to get kids to understand that history is just people."

Duane loved answering students' questions and chatting with them at sporting events he attended with his beloved wife, Gay, now deceased. He even joined them in a softball game to cap off his popular class on early baseball.

Behind Duane's fun-loving exterior is a serious love of history. One of the most decorated professors in the state, he is the author or co-author of more than 50 books on Colorado history, the American West and the Civil War. FLC hired him immediately after he graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder.

"In the game of teaching, you're supposed to start at a small school like Fort Lewis and end up at Harvard or Yale," Duane says. "I had a chance to do that, but I stayed."

Now retired, Duane decided to include Fort Lewis College Foundation in his estate plan. He believes that students at FLC gain a better understanding of the world, as well as their own future plans.

"Small colleges like Fort Lewis always need money," says Duane. "I figured they were nice enough to hire me when I was a rookie teacher. I thought I owed them something. I certainly thought I owed the students something."

Help ensure that more students learn from teachers like Duane by including FLC in your will or estate plan. Contact Dave Kerns ’03 at 970-247-7427 or kerns_d@fortlewis.edu to learn more.