The first year of The Second Century Campaign’s public phase was filled with celebrations and events marking campaign progress. Here is a timeline recapping some of the year’s most significant developments.

2008

September 11–12 Campaign kickoff

The University launches The Second Century Campaign with a series of events that celebrate the historic and ambitious effort. Later events around the U.S. and in Mexico also mark the campaign launch and spread word of campaign goals.

September 28 Mexico City kickoff

October 14 Los Angeles kickoff

October 15 Atlanta kickoff

October 17 Naming of Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

SMU recognizes Bobby B. Lyle, Dallas entrepreneur and industry leader, for his leadership and generosity.

October 20 New York City kickoff

October 23 Chicago kickoff

November 6–8 Homecoming

Reunion class giving to The Second Century Campaign tops $4 million for the year.

December 5 Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall Groundbreaking

A year after celebrating a $20 million gift from Harold C. Simmons and Annette Caldwell Simmons ’57, SMU breaks ground on the building that will house Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

2009

January 28 Houston kickoff

The campaign is celebrated in Houston, four months after Hurricane Ike forced postponement of the original launch party event.

April 19 “Remember the Ladies!”

A celebration featuring prominent Texas women marks the halfway point on the way to raising $1 million for Archives of Women of the Southwest, housed in DeGolyer Library.

April 24 Cox Endowment Hall of Donors

Cox School of Business unveils 113 plaques placed in the Fincher Building main hall honoring donors who have established endowments to strengthen faculty and academic excellence and student quality.

April 24 President’s Associates and Hilltop Society launch

Donor recognition societies are established to encourage the broadest possible yearly participation in The Second Century Campaign by alumni, parents and friends.

April 24 President’s Briefing

President R. Gerald Turner delivers the first annual report on SMU’s fiscal year, highlighting campaign progress in advancing student quality, faculty and academic achievement and the campus experience.

May 31 Record Giving

Alumni help SMU finish the fiscal year with the University’s largest-ever yearly giving total.

June 15 Golf Center groundbreaking

The University breaks ground on the new SMU Payne Stewart Golf Learning Center at the Dallas Athletic Club.

July 24 Taos dedication

The University dedicates new student housing at SMU-in-Taos, making possible the first fall semester of classes at SMU’s Northern New Mexico campus.

September 4 Mustang Plaza and Mall dedication

SMU dedicates the new plaza and mall linking Moody Coliseum with Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports.

September 11 Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall dedication

SMU dedicates the new 20,000-square-foot Perkins School of Theology facility and the renovation of Kirby and Selecman halls.

September 12 Milestone

SMU celebrates the anniversary of The Second Century Campaign kickoff and announces that the University has exceeded the halfway mark toward its $750 million campaign goal.