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Mac Smith Scholarship

Mac Donald "Mac" Smith Scholarship - Check back after January 1st, 2025 for information on the 2025 Scholarship!

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In honor of MacDonald Smith, The Smith Family and the Iowa Federation of Labor are offering this scholastic scholarship.


MacDonald Smith, better known as Mac, was a second-generation Iowa Labor Union lawyer. He started working in his father’s law firm at the age of ten. Early on Mac learned the challenges and importance of being an advocate for the working person. Throughout his life he worked diligently, both politically and academically, to advocate and represent those working people regardless of their financial status or diversity.


Mac was valedictorian of his high school class, graduated from the University of Notre Dame Magna cum laude, and graduated with distinction from the University of Iowa Colleage of Law. He was a man of integrity known for his forthrightness, calm rational presence, his dry sense of humor and true humility.
He was a lifelong learner who valued education. He taught labor law courses as an adjunct at the University of Iowa Labor Center for over 40 years.


As a political activist, he served in various capacities for many campaigns over the years. He was well known for his ability to statistically get out the vote on election day. For decades, Mac was the point person, methodically calculating which areas of the city working folks were registered. He would successfully, based on those registered voters, direct the election day get out the vote canvassing. Hence, his expertise impacted many elections over the years. In 1996, Mac ran for the United States Congress. In 2004 he was inducted into the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Hall of Fame and in 2014 in the Iowa Federation of Labor Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was presented the Harry Hopkins Award, an award for outstanding leadership in politics.


Application Criteria:
1. Eligible applicants are a union member or the immediate family members (children/grandchildren, stepchildren/grandchildren, foster children/grandchildren, spouses) of individuals who are members in good standing of a recognized labor union.
2. Scholarship is open to those pursuing a post-secondary education. For example, a community college, college, university, trade school, apprenticeship school, etc.
3. Assistance is available to applicants for program expenses incurred after July 1, 2025.
4. Application and Essay Submissions can be made using this link or pdf submission:
 

 

Google Form Application: Mac Smith Scholarship Application 

 

PDF Application: Mac Smith Scholarship 

DOCUMENT
mac_smith_scholarship_printable_application.pdf
mac_smith_scholarship_printable_application.pdf

 

The scholarship application requires two parts:

  1. Please answer the essay question in the Google Form provided, or mail/email the completed pdf application as noted in the application. Watch Mac's speech at the 2018 Iowa Federation of Labor annual convention. As a rising high school graduate, please respond to the following question as it pertains to the contents of Mac’s legal report to the 2018 convention. What did you take away from Mac's speech and how can we use those lessons in the labor movement today?

Your response cannot exceed 250 words.

  1. The second criteria is for you as an applicant to attend some kind of public meeting/forum for the purpose of meeting the goals of this application and document your experience. Write a brief summary of that meeting and what you learned from attending. For example, you could attend a school board meeting, city or county board meeting, caucus, zoning commission meeting or a political candidate’s debate. It must be a meeting that is open to the public.

MacDonald “Mac” Smith, Iowa Federation of Labor 2018 Convention Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loTdf1W38Dg&t

5. Assistance available: The Mac Smith Scholarship Committee will award a scholarship in the amount of $1,000.

6. DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Once the student recipient is accepted into the academic program of their choice, The Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO will disburse the scholarship amount specified to the applicable Student Financial Aid Office or to the student. The student recipient is responsible for providing the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO with the disbursement request form and prior to making its disbursement, proof of enrollment.

Scholarship funds will be disbursed directly to the school for payment of tuition, room, board, books or fees. For students who are enrolled in an apprenticeship program, receipts of proof of purchase of school/apprenticeship related materials or tools must be provided to Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer for reimbursement. Awards are for continuous years of study at the selected institution. Students must notify the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer in writing before changing academic institutions.

 

7. Important dates:

Application available on January 1, 2025

Application & Essay deadline May 1, 2025

Recipient announced by June 1, 2025

Recognition at the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Annual Convention on August 20th-22nd, 2025

Contact Peter Hird at peter@iowaaflcio.org for any questions.