News

Alumni Each year, SMU awards a group of leaders during Homecoming Week with the highest honor the University can bestow upon its graduates. The 2023 Distinguished Alumni are Robert H. Dedman, Jr. ’80, ’84, president and CEO of DFI Management, Ltd; Emily Rich Summers ’66, founder and principal of Emily Summers Design Associates; and Ray W. Washburne ’84, chairman of the board of Sunoco LP and president and CEO of Charter Holdings.

University News Proven business entrepreneurs and executives Megha Tolia and Nirav Tolia have been named co-founding directors of the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership in SMU’s Cox School of Business.

Research Neena Imam has been named the inaugural Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Director of the O’Donnell Data Science and Research Computing Institute at SMU, a position key to the University’s commitment to data focused education and next-gen computational research.

Research Biology professor trying to determine if different quality control pathways in our bodies might be working together to repair damaged components in cells.

Student Life Championing meaningful research and preparing students in engineering and other fields for a data-driven world increasingly relies on a university’s strengths in data science, research computing and digital innovation. A new $30 million gift from the O’Donnell Foundation, founded by the late Peter O’Donnell, Jr. and the late Edith Jones O’Donnell, will support the future of technological innovation and education at SMU.

Research Dallas Love Field Airport partnered with JetWind Power Corporation to capture wind blasts from aircraft and convert them into environmentally friendly electricity. Students and researchers from SMU and Clarkson University assisted with the early modeling for this new method.

University News Jeffrey R. Schmid, president and chief executive officer of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation (SWGSB) at SMU’s Cox School of Business, will assume the position of president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City beginning August 21, 2023.

University News A new partnership between SMU Dedman School of Law’s Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center and the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) aims to improve outcomes for families across North Texas by helping Dallas County prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys make informed decisions – faster – about whether to file criminal charges against individuals.

University News The SMU Police Department will undergo an accreditation assessment by a team of assessors from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).

University News Brad Cheves, SMU’s vice president for development and external affairs since 2004, has been selected University Park’s 2023 Citizen of the Year.

Research Microwave frequency data from lunar orbiter reveals deposit of cooled magma beneath a volcano that likely erupted 3.5 billion years ago

Research A team of paleontologists from the United States, the Netherlands and France found fossils of a 94-million-year-old mosasaur in Utah.

Research A team of scientists led by The University of Texas at Austin has filled a major gap in the state's fossil record -- describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas.

Alumni The University is deeply saddened by the death of alumna, philanthropist and Dallas community leader Linda McElroy Gibbons ’58, who passed on June 15, 2023, at the age of 86.

University News SMU was honored with Project Unity’s Advocate Award for organizational unity at a special celebratory event, Together We Sing, on June 15.

Student Life Phillips Foundation has announced a $1.7 million multiyear grant to SMU (91×ÔÅÄ) to establish the SMU Impact Lab, a student-focused initiative to invest in commercial opportunities that produce substantial financial and social returns.

Research SMU researchers and global astronomers seeking to use DESI data and simulations to measure dark matter halos surrounding and permeating galaxies.

University News SMU’s Jeffrey Kahn authors brief joined by Lawrence Tribe, Charles Fried and other jurists skewering false defense of Russian anti-criticism law

University News SMU mourns the loss of Norma Knobel Hunt, who passed away on June 4, 2023, at the age of 85.

Alumni The University mourns the loss of SMU alumnus, benefactor and friend William J. O’Neil ’55, who passed away on May 28, 2023, at the age of 90.

Research SMU’s Deason Institute launches a Cyber Autonomy Range with IBM to strengthen autonomous systems against cyberattacks, backed by $850K in software and support.

University News Purpose and profit are truly great partners, organizers say

University News Philanthropist and Broadway producer G. Marlyne Sexton has made a $15 million gift to SMU Meadows School of the Arts to create a specialization in musical theatre that will prepare graduates for a lifetime of leading roles.

University News From bringing world leaders to Dallas, to boosting the regional economy through jobs, tourism and unique opportunities for SMU students, the partnership has delivered on the expectations of the University leaders who brought it to North Texas.

Student Life It's been 20 years since SMU announced it would add Equestrian to its roster of sports. The win against Auburn completed the best season in program history.

University News Brian Tyler, CEO of McKesson Corporation, a Top 10 Fortune 500 healthcare services company, will be the featured speaker at SMU’s May Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 13.

University News A rare 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible will be exhibited to the public at SMU’s Bridwell Library April 18-20

Student Life Dallas Regional Science & Engineering Fair winners to receive $26k in cash prizes, awards at celebration dinner

University News Maria Dixon Hall, an SMU Altschuler Distinguished Teaching Professor and the University’s Chief Diversity Officer, has been named the 2023 Education Champion by the Congressional Award Program.

Student Life Dallas-Fort Worth business leader and entrepreneur Jack Knox ’60 ’63 has given $11 million to SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow.

University News SMU is celebrating a landmark $20 million gift to the Lyle School of Engineering from Dallas philanthropy and technology leaders Mary and Richard Templeton.

University News SMU has named Amanda W. Dotseth Linda P. and William A. Custard Director of the Meadows Museum. Dotseth, who will be the first female director of the Meadows Museum, served as the director ad interim and curator of the Museum since the passing of its previous director, Mark A. Roglán, in 2021.

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Alumni The indoor ceremony, scheduled for 9 a.m. at Moody Coliseum, will be streamed live.

University News Position is key to University’s commitment to achieving R1 research status

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Student Life Armstrongs commit $5 million to endow Dedman College dean position

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