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Lives
Aldie
“
Chapin
gave me a
chance when
I needed
it most,”
said Gregg
Smith ’67 to a group of
Chapin’s family and friends
gathered at SAIS in October
2010 to honor the alumnus
and beloved member of the
school’s staff.
When Smith arrived at SAIS in
1965, having just returned from the
Peace Corps, the financial aid he was
counting on had fallen through. “I did
not have anything to fall back on. I
went to Aldie, and he told me not to
worry, that he would take care of it.
And he did. Today I am a proud member
of the class of 1967.”
Stories about Aldus Chapin ’53
abound. While studying to become one
of SAIS’s first graduates, he hid behind
a big football player named Woodie
Vest ’53 in Dean Philip Thayer’s international
law class in the hopes the
dean would not call on him, according
to The Story of SAIS. Nevertheless,
Chapin’s SAIS education helped him
find a job and success in public service
as a CIA case officer. He later became
assistant dean of SAIS, where he oversaw
admissions, development and several
other offices. Drawn by his greatest
passion—art—he eventually left SAIS
and became executive director the
FinAnCiAL
Aid
Changes
Classmates John Franklin Jr. ’67, Alan Platt B’67, ’67, Bonnie Wilson B’67, ’67, Ph.D. ’71,
Gregg Smith ’67 and John McLaughlin B’66, ’66 at the reception honoring Aldus Chapin ’53
Corcoran Gallery of Art. He spent the
remainder of his celebrated career as
a respected leader in the Washington,
D.C., arts community.
When Chapin died in 2009, a
group of family and friends established
the Aldie Chapin Fellowship to ensure
promising students like Smith were
guaranteed a space at SAIS. The effort
raised $237,000. Chapin’s brother
and JHU Trustee Chris Angell made a
lead gift in honor of his older brother.
Smith made the largest contribution,
rededicating a fellowship in his own
name to the Chapin Fellowship.
Smith went on to establish a new
full fellowship with a generous $1
million gift. A cancer survivor who
had been given months to live just a
few years ago, Smith added, “Thanks
to Aldie, I know something of second
chances.”
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