Gail Cooper Smith was appointed to the DSU Board of Trustees in 2011.
A seventh generation native of Utah’s Dixie, Smith was born in St. George and raised in neighboring Washington. Following her graduation from Dixie College, she completed work on her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education at Brigham Young University. Smith excelled as a college athlete and was a member of Dixie’s first Women’s ICAC basketball team, and is credited in making the winning free throw to bring home the championship trophy from the BYU Invitational. Later Smith taught both high school and junior high school, and coached basketball at Centerville Junior High.
In 1995, Dixie State awarded Smith an honorary doctorate. In 2000, she was enshrined into DSU’s Hall of Fame and was inducted in the inaugural class of the Dixie State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. The mother of six is also the author of the book, Shadow Fall: Reflections on Nurturing Family Values. She is married to Hyrum Smith and was instrumental in starting the Franklin Day Planner business with her husband. She and Hyrum are the parents of six children. She says that her children are her claim to fame. Her children say that her family is where her greatest work has been achieved.