Smith '68 earns top honors from Institutional Investor
April 2009
For the third consecutive year, Wayne T. Smith '68 has been recognized by Institutional Investor magazine as the nation's top CEO in the healthcare facility sector. Smith, who has presided over the steady growth of the Tennessee-based Community Health Systems 
as its chairman, president and CEO, will also offer a guiding hand in Auburn University's future financial development.
Smith was recently elected to serve a three-year term on the Auburn University Foundation's Board of Directors.
The Auburn University Foundation is a support organization that works on behalf of AU and Auburn University at Montgomery to generate charitable contributions. The board of directors, which consists of no more than 22 voting members, manages the affairs, property and business of the AU Foundation.
Smith has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to careful planning and management since joining Community Health Systems in 1997. Since Smith's arrival in 1997, the company's net revenue has jumped from $742 million to more than $10.8 billion -- an industry-leading 28 percent improvement. The company owns, operates or leases more than 120 general acute care hospitals in 29 states.
Smith earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in general education from the College of Education and was its inaugural Keystone Leader-in-Residence in 2003. Two distinguished professorships and an endowed undergraduate scholarship are credited to Smith through contributions made on his behalf by the Humana Corporation, where he worked for 23 years as president and chief operating officer.
Smith has been named by readers of Modern Healthcare Magazine as one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare'' for six consecutive years. He was ranked No. 36 in the magazine's 2008 poll, coming in behind such public figures as President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain and billionaire Bill Gates.
Last Updated: May 17, 2011
