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Linda Smith, MBA, BSN, RN
FOUNDER / PRESIDENT / CEO
FOUR-D COLLEGE®
Ms. Linda L. Smith has been a Registered Nurse for 32 years. By combining her love of Nursing, high standards of health care professionalism and a deep spiritual faith, she has founded the first and only African-American owned, fully accredited vocational career college in California licensed to teach Vocational Nursing and other allied health care programs. Four-DCollege is faith-based and prayer is observed at the beginning and end of Classes/Clinicals, meetings and gatherings.
In September 1992, Four-D College enrolled two students in its first class and today is proud of the more than 7,000 graduates who have begun careers in the medical field after completing courses in Programs including Acute Hospital Nurse Aide, Dental Assistant, Home Health Aide, Massage Therapist, Medical Assistant, Medical Billing/Coding, Pharmacy Technician, Pre-Certified Nurse Assistant/Home Health Aide with Cross Training and Vocational Nursing. Three courses are offered through the Continuing Education Department,(CPR / IV Therapy / DSD) with an annual enrollment of approximately 300 Students. Ms. Smith helps Students by having available to those who qualify a licensed, childcare center for their children while they attend classes. Another benefit Students enjoy is a Student Services Representative that they can meet with to help work out various personal and school concerns. Also provided to Students are tutoring, a Student Council and various agency referrals.
Four-D College has been honored as The Outstanding Business in San Bernardino County by the Private Industry Council, as well as Outstanding School of the Year by the City of San Bernardino. Ms. Smith was selected as a Business Person of the Year by the San Bernardino African-American Chamber of Commerce; received the Women of Achievement Award, and The Elizabeth S. Genne Life-Time Achievement Award by the West End Inland Empire YWCA. The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation awarded Ms. Smith The Black Rose Award; this award honors extraordinary achievement, consisting of those giving of themselves unconditionally to the African-American Community throughout the Inland Empire. Ms. Smith is also a recipient of the Women of Distinction Award, presented by The Business Bank of California in the City of San Bernardino.
Ms. Smith has been a nominee for Small Business Person of the Year; received recognition on numerous occasions from local and state officials for her dedication in serving the community; Essence Magazine featured her in an article under “How I Did It - Starting a Health-CareTraining School”. She was interviewed on the television show “Making It! Minority Success Stories”. Ms. Smith received the Wells Fargo/Turning Point Living History Maker Entrepreneur Award. The Press Enterprise presented her with the Caring Spirit Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement for Advancement. She also received recognition in the category of General Entrepreneur under the Press Enterprise Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award.
Ms. Smith received the Celebration of Excellence Award in Education-Postsecondary from the Inland Valley News. Four-DCollege has also won the African American Inland Empire Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award. She was featured in a four-and-a-half page article in Minority Nurse Magazine titled “Divine Inspiration”. She has been a recipient of the JBEAD Foundation SCOPE Corporate Award. She is continuously being honored by small and large groups alike.
Ms. Smith served as Past-President for the National Council of Negro Women, Inland Empire Chapter. She is a member of the Professional Women’s Roundtable and National Association for Female Executives, the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools West End Educational Advisory Committee and the Education Community Collaborative. She is a board member of The National Association of Women Business Owners/Inland Empire Chapter, The Visiting Nurses Association Support Services and the Inland Empire Hope Partners.
An outstanding achievement she has attained has been to help change a Dental Assistant policy that will affect all schools in California that have Dental Assistant Programs as well as some dental offices’ education methods. Ms. Smith challenged a statute that states schools cannot use actual dental offices for certain teaching purposes. She asked why vocational schools are required to create their own dental office environment on their campuses instead of also using real dental offices. It lead to a three-year strenuous effort but she was successful in gaining the cooperation and support of various boards to get the policy changed. It is a history-making decision in the healthcare field.
Ms. Smith is always seeking and implementing methods for keeping Four-DCollege flourishing, progressive and thriving. In addition to the Colton Campus, she proudly opened the first hands-on vocational health care college in the HighDesert, in the City of Victorville. She continues to successfully operate two Four-DCollege campuses.
Colton Campus:
1020 East Washington Street,Colton, CA 92324
Phones: 909.783.9331or 1.800.600.5422
FAX: 909.783.9334
Victorville Campus:
16534 Victor Street,Victorville, CA 92395-3920
Phones: 760.962.1325 or 1.800.600.5422
FAX: 760.962.1420
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