Liz Williams, SMU Treasurer, has announced her retirement from the University after 19 years of executive service. Williams served as University Treasurer for 9 years, after 10 years as Vice President for Business and Finance and Treasurer. She will continue to serve as treasurer until her successor is named sometime before the end of 2008.

In a letter to the SMU community, President R. Gerald Turner wrote, "For almost 20 years, Liz Williams has deftly overseen the financial well being of SMU, helping steer the University to the strongest fiscal period in its history.... Now, Liz will soon retire to spend more time with her grandchildren and on various charitable pursuits.

"While we wish her all the best and know that she will enjoy seeing more of her family, we will miss her devoted service to SMU. As treasurer, she has been responsible for managing SMU's endowment and planned giving assets. Since she came to the University in 1989, SMU's endowment has grown from $351 million to $1.4 billion - a testament certainly to our fundraising efforts but also to Liz's smart stewardship.

"Previously, as vice president for business and finance/treasurer, Liz oversaw all fiscal operations, treasury functions, human resource management, information technology services, most auxiliary and business services, and physical plant operations and management. Her institutional knowledge is vast, and I'm grateful she has agreed to stay on through the hiring of a new treasurer.

"This fall at a farewell event, we'll have a chance to thank Liz for her service. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating her on a job well done and in wishing her well in the years ahead."

Three members of the SMU faculty have been named University Distinguished Professors, as announced by the Office of the Provost. The professorships have been awarded to Greg Warden, Art History; Sherry Smith, History; and Cordelia Candelaria, English.

The University Distinguished Professorships were created in 1982 by SMU's Board of Trustees to honor outstanding faculty members who meet the highest standards of academic achievement. University Distinguished Professors are appointed in perpetuity and receive cash awards of $10,000 per year for a five-year rolling term.

Greg Warden has taught at SMU since 1982, chairing the Art History Division for six years and serving as associate dean for academic affairs in the Meadows School of the Arts since 1998. Since 1995, he has directed the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project and the SMU excavations at the Etruscan site of Poggio Colla, about 22 miles northeast of Florence. The University's Poggio Colla field school in archaeology is open to students from around the world, and students from more than 60 universities have participated in it.

Warden's major interest is the art and culture of ancient Italy, but his expertise - as both an archaeologist and an art historian - extends to a broader range of art from the ancient Mediterranean. His research interests include ancient metalworking technologies; Greek, Etruscan and Roman bronzes and decorative arts; and Roman architecture and patronage. He was director of the SMU-in-Italy summer program in Florence, Orvieto and Rome from 1987 to 1998 and received a Rotunda Award for outstanding teaching from the SMU student body in 1985-6. In addition, he was named the 1996-97 Meadows Foundation Distinguished Teaching Professor. He holds a Ph.D. in classical and Near Eastern archaeology from Bryn Mawr College.

Sherry Smith joined the SMU faculty in 1999 and currently serves as director of graduate studies in the Clements Department of History and as associate director of the University's Clements Center for Southwest Studies. Her research focuses on the intersection of western, Native American and United States cultural history. She teaches courses on the American West in the 19th and 20th centuries, women in the West, and Native American history, among others.

Currently serving as president of the Western History Association, Smith is the author of Sagebrush Soldier: Private William Earl Smith's View of the Sioux War of 1876 (University of Oklahoma Press) and The View From Officers' Row: Army Perceptions of Western Indians (University of Arizona Press). Her most recent book, Reimagining Indians: Native Americans Through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940 (Oxford University Press), won the 2001 James W. Rawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians for best book on race relations, as well as SMU's Godbey Authors Award. Smith is also editor of The Future of the Southern Plains, published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2003. She received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington.

Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, currently a Regents Professor at Arizona State University, will become a University Distinguished Professor when she begins her new duties as SMU's dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences in July. As chair of ASU's Department of Transborder Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, she helped establish its Southwest Borderlands Initiative to strengthen studies in this discipline and to recruit and retain underrepresented faculty.

Candelaria's numerous publications include Seeking the Perfect Game: Baseball in American Literature and Chicano Poetry: A Critical Introduction. She also served as executive editor of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture and has been editor or co-editor of 10 books, monographs and periodicals. Among her numerous awards, in 2005 she received the Outstanding Latina Cultural Award in Literary Arts and Publications from the American Association for Higher Education Hispanic Caucus. In 2001 Candelaria was named Scholar of the Year by the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. She received her Ph.D. in American literature and linguistics from Notre Dame.

SMU Continuing Studies is now known as SMU Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE). The name change took effect June 1. Continuing Studies Director Amy Heitzman leads the new division.

Under the new, expanded CAPE, the Meadows Community Education program merges with the SMU Informal Courses for Adults program. The department also will expand its liberal and fine arts offerings and be home to community outreach initiatives and noncredit professional development programs, including the certificate programs in financial planning, nonprofit leadership and Spanish for the workplace.

Continuing education efforts of the Center for Counseling and Mediation and the School of Engineering will be offered through CAPE beginning in fall 2008.

The new name recognizes new strides in continuing education at SMU, wrote Leon Simmons Dean David Chard in an e-mail to the SMU community. As part of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development, "CAPE is well positioned to offer expanded noncredit continuing education in the liberal and fine arts to our campus and community in addition to its growing emphasis on professional development," he added.

• SMU Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE)

An SMU alcohol education program has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the NCAA. Mustang Winning CHOICES aims to reduce high-risk drinking behaviors, encourage responsible decision-making, and teach students skills to help peers make better choices.

The grant will allow for the expansion of alcohol education and increased outreach to athletes as well as the broader student body.

• More about NCAA CHOICES grants

William B. Stallcup Jr., who rose through the academic ranks to serve as SMU's president ad interim during one of the most crucial periods in its history, died Saturday, June 7, at his home in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, following a long illness. He was 87.

A biology professor who never intended to be an administrator, Stallcup served in various administrative positions for half of his four decades at SMU. The most critical of these was when he was named SMU's president ad interim in 1986 following the sudden retirement of SMU President L. Donald Shields and SMU's sanctions for NCAA football rules violations. Stallcup provided leadership and integrity during this period by presiding over sweeping reforms in SMU's athletics programs and governance structure, and helping restore public confidence in the University.

"A dedicated teacher, Bill Stallcup repeatedly answered the call to serve as an administrator in times of special need," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. "He provided leadership most importantly as interim president during a troubled time. SMU's transition to brighter days would not have been possible without his leadership, integrity and dedication. He also was instrumental in helping to develop SMU-in-Taos as a unique educational resource. In the history of SMU, he stands out as an exemplary steward of positive change."

• Stallcup left mark as student, teacher, administrator

The U.S. Navy's highest award for engineers and scientists has been officially named in honor of Delores M. Etter, TI Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education and director of SMU's Caruth Institute for Engineering Education. The honor was announced in early June by John S. Thackrah, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (RDA).

The Department of the Navy includes more than 35,000 scientists and engineers pursuing research, development, acquisition and sustainment. The Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers Award was established to honor those who reached superior technical achievements and to promote continued scientific and engineering excellence. Prior to joining SMU's School of Engineering, Etter served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for RDA.

Etter: "Truly proud" to be honored

SMU's New Student Programs and Division of Enrollment Services invite the entire University community for ice cream and community bonding at the 3rd annual AARO Kick-Off Celebration in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons, 1-2 p.m. June 26.

The event also kicks off the 2008-09 academic year as SMU welcome hundreds of new students through its Academic Advising, Registration and Orientation programs. The festivities will open with brief remarks by members of the SMU administration and AARO staff at 1:15 p.m.

Four members of the SMU track and field will compete at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships through June 14 at Drake University Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Silje Fjortoft (3,000m steeplechase), Andrea Kvetova (javelin), Christina Mueller (discus) and Ilyssa Pettigrew (800m) all qualified for the finals at NCAA Regionals earlier this month. Read more.

May 30 marks the last full issue of SMU Forum for the 2007-08 academic year. The newsletter will return from summer vacation in August.

Meanwhile, we'll continue to post updates throughout the next few months. Keep up all summer long - subscribe to our RSS feed through your web browser or a news reader such as FeedDemon for Windows or NetNewsWire for Mac.

See you soon!

Four outstanding educators have been named 2008-10 Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professors by SMU's Center for Teaching Excellence. This year's honorees are Olga Colbert, Foreign Languages and Literatures; Ian Harris, Statistical Science; Larry Ruben, Biological Sciences; and David Willis, Mechanical Engineering.

The four new members will join four returning members of SMU's Academy of Distinguished Teachers: Christine Buchanan, Biological Sciences; Mark Chancey, Religious Studies; John C. Holbert, Theology; and Bonnie Wheeler, English and Medieval Studies. Read more.

Left, the new Altshuler Professors were honored by the SMU Board of Trustees at its May meeting. Left to right: SMU Trustee Ruth Altshuler, Harris, Colbert, Ruben and Willis.

Continue reading "Four named 2008-10 Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professors" »

Five innovative SMU researchers have received the University's 2008 Ford Research Fellowships. This year's recipients are Rhonda Blair, Theatre; Marc Christensen, Electrical Engineering; Rajani Sudan, English; Kumar Venkataraman, Finance; and Steven Vik, Biological Sciences.

Established in 2002 through a $1 million pledge from Gerald Ford, chair of SMU's Board of Trustees, the fellowships help the University retain and reward outstanding scholars. Each recipient receives a cash prize for research support during the year.

Read more about this year's recipients. Right, the new Ford Fellows were honored by the SMU Board of Trustees at its May meeting. Left to right: SMU Trustee Gerald J. Ford and his wife, Kelli; Vik, Blair, Christensen, Sudan and Venkataraman.

Continue reading "Five Ford Research Fellows named for 2008" »

Dr. Robert Ware Haley, whose research has helped improve hospital care and define the symptoms of Gulf War syndrome, was honored as the 2008 Dedman College Distinguished Graduate during the Dedman College Celebration May 7.

The ceremony also honored Anthropology Professor Caroline Brettell for her service as Dedman College interim dean from 2006 to 2008.

Dennis Foster, D.D. Frensley Professor of English, was named the Dedman Family Distinguished Professor. English and history major Jessica Erwin was honored as the Robert and Nancy Dedman Outstanding Senior Student.

Right, Robert W. Haley (second row center) gathers with SMU President R. Gerald Turner (fourth from right) and a few of the 21 Haley family members who have graduated from the University.

Haley: SMU faculty among "formative influences"

Continue reading "Physician Robert Haley is 2008 Dedman College Distinguished Graduate" »

SMU faculty and staff members from across the University have received 2008 President's Partners grants to implement their ideas for everything from improving the orientation experience for new faculty members to enabling graduate students in education to receive mentoring via video. Learn more about this year's projects.

Continue reading "2008 President's Partners grants fund on-campus innovation" »

Nine distinguished faculty members with 300 years of combined service to SMU have retired or will retire with emeritus status in 2007-08:

• Annemarie Weyl Carr, University Distinguished Professor Emerita of Art History, Meadows School of the Arts

• Steven Daniels, Associate Professor Emeritus of English, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

• David Hausman, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

• Paul Hook, Associate Professor Emeritus of Wellness, Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development

• John Mylan, Professor Emeritus of Law, Dedman School of Law

• Bryan Robbins, Associate Professor Emeritus of Wellness, Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development

• John Slocum, O. Paul Corley Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Management and Organizations, Cox School of Business

• Edwin Sylvest, Associate Professor Emeritus of History of Christianity, Perkins School of Theology

• Vigdor Teplitz, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Staff members flocked to the Clements Hall south lawn May 22 for SMU's 2008 Staff Appreciation Day and President's Picnic. Hundreds of SMU community members gathered to eat hamburgers, play games, and watch campus teams vie for the Tug-O-War trophy. See a slideshow.