Chad Smith launches music scholarship through University of Michigan – The Detroit News
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and hometown boy made good Chad Smith is launching a music scholarship at the University of Michigan, the rocker has announced.
Smith, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills, made a surprise appearance at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium during Sunday’s Band-O-Rama to make the announcement.
“We want to give something back and be able to expose people to opportunities to be able to follow their passion, just like I did growing up,” says the Lahser High School grad.
The scholarship — part of the Chad Smith Foundation, launched in August — is presented in the name of Smith’s parents, Joan and Curtis Smith. Smith’s mother, Joan, is 98 and still lives in the house Smith grew up in.
“It’s a family affair,” Smith told The Detroit News earlier this week, of naming the scholarship after his parents. “We’re honoring their legacy.”
Smith’s parents both attended the University of Minnesota, and Smith has launched a scholarship there, too. (Smith was born in Minnesota.) But he says when Michigan and Minnesota play each other, he always pulls for Michigan. “They still have the coolest helmets in football,” says Smith, 64.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer — he was inducted as a member of the Chili Peppers in 2012 — says the scholarship is meant to help a student in need, and to foster education in the arts.
“It’s an easy fit for me to be part of this, and I think education is important. You’ve always got to be learning and growing as an artist,” he says. “So if I can shine a light on it a little bit and help somebody out that’s passionate about music like I was and give them an opportunity? We just want them to be able to pursue what they love. And what’s better than that?”
The $40,000 scholarship will be available to one incoming freshman into U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance in the fall of 2026. Details on how to apply for the scholarship are forthcoming, but Smith says he hopes it’s a program that continues annually.
“I’ve been so fortunate to be able what I love to do for a very long time, I think it’s important to give back, if you have the opportunity to give back,” says Smith, who lives in Los Angeles.
He says launching his foundation was “a little daunting at first,” but things are coming together nicely.
“I think this is the right time, because I have some time and energy to be able to do it, and it just seems to line up,” he says. “It’s great to be able to do things connected with your family and put some positivity back in the world, God knows we need that right now.”
agraham@detroitnews.com
