Cases of the flu continue to be reported in North Texas, including at SMU. Most reported cases have been mild.

Vaccines for novel H1N1 flu are not expected to be allocated to Dallas County universities, including SMU, until at least January 2010. SMU remains in close contact with local, state and national health authorities, and will alert the campus community by email and on the SMU flu website when vaccines are available.

SMU encourages its students, especially at-risk students, to obtain the H1N1 vaccine from local pharmacies or physicians, or from a family physician during Thanksgiving or winter break. The Dallas County Health Department has an updated list of local pharmacies that have received limited supplies of the H1N1 vaccine, including the Tom Thumb at 7000 Snider Plaza near campus. (Read more about participating pharmacies in The Dallas Morning News.)

Vaccines for seasonal flu are available on campus, as well as from local pharmacies and physicians. Students may go to the SMU Health Center during immunization vaccine hours for a seasonal flu shot:

• 1:30-3 p.m. Tuesdays
• 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays
• 1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesdays

No appointment is necessary. Seasonal flu vaccine will be available while supplies last. The cost for a seasonal flu vaccine is $25; for students insured with Aetna student insurance program, the cost is $5.

Novel H1N1 flu and seasonal flu are different; it is possible to catch both this season. The seasonal vaccine is recommended by the Health Center and other health agencies. In addition, seasonal flu vaccines administered before September 2009 will not provide protection for the upcoming flu season.

For 24-hour medical advice, students can call SMU's Health Center at 214-768-2141.

• Read a letter to parents about the flu from SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

• Read a letter to students, faculty and staff from President Turner.

• Watch a video on common flu questions with the Health Center's Dr. Peter Davis.

Continue reading "Update on Flu Vaccines" »

Political novelist and satirist Christopher Buckley answered questions from SMU and high school students on November 17, 2009, at the Turner Construction Student Forum of SMU's Tate Lecture Series. The author of 11 books and editor of Forbes FYI spoke to students with humor and candor about the future of journalism, making a living as a writer and the current political scene.

Here's a sample of the conversation:

Continue reading "Christopher Buckley discusses writing and politics at Tate Student Forum" »

Former President George W. Bush told an SMU audience Thursday, November 12, that the George W. Bush Institute will focus on education, global health, human freedom and economic growth. The Institute will be part of the Bush Presidential Center, which will include the presidential library and museum.

Construction on the center will begin in fall 2010, but the institute's first initiatives are under way with the selection of key leaders and plans for conferences beginning this spring.

"The Institute will be a vital hub of critical thought and practical action," Bush told about 1,500 SMU faculty, students, staff and presidential library donors at McFarlin Auditorium. "It will be independent, nonpartisan and designed to make an impact in the world."

The Institute first will focus on education reform, beginning with the appointment of nationally renowned education scholar James Guthrie to serve as the institute's director of education policy studies; he will serve as senior fellow at the institute. Simultaneously, the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU announced that he will hold a concurrent appointment as professor in the school, the first such appointment to be made between SMU and the Bush Institute. Read more about the appointment.

• Read more about the Bushes' speeches from SMU News.
• Watch a video of the Bushes' speeches at SMU.
• Bush Presidential Center design released.

Beginning Jan. 5-14, 2010, SMU will offer an expanded January interterm called J-Term. The concentrated program of study allows students to complete one three-credit-hour course within eight class days spread over a two-week period.

For the J-Term's inaugural outing, classes will be held Jan. 5-8 (Tuesday-Friday) and Jan. 11-14 (Monday-Thursday). The schedule provides six hours of instruction per day for a total of 48 contact hours, including time for exams. Available courses feature offerings from Cox School of Business, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, and Meadows School of the Arts (including the Temerlin Advertising Institute).

The daily schedule includes a break for meals. Most classes meet during the morning and afternoon from 8:45 a.m.-noon and from 1:15-4:30 p.m. Four afternoon/evening classes are available and will meet 1:15-4:30 p.m. and 5:45-9 p.m.

Students participating in J-Term will be responsible for their own housing. The SMU-in-Plano campus has no residence halls, and those at the University's main campus are closed during that period.

J-Term 2010 courses are not available for registration through Access.SMU. To enroll, students should meet with an adviser to select appropriate courses and to complete an application. The application must be received in Enrollment Services by 4 p.m. Dec. 10, 2009 (Reading Day).

For more information about J-Term 2010, contact Kate Livingston, SMU-in-Plano campus director, 972-473-3401.

• Visit the SMU J-Term homepage
• Learn more about SMU-in-Plano

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins shared his path to leadership - from shy first-year engineering student to Texas' first African-American district attorney - with students attending the President's Leadership Summit at SMU on November 11, 2009.

The program at Hughes-Trigg Student Center, sponsored by SMU President R. Gerald Turner and the Office of Leadership and Community Involvement, offers students an opportunity to learn from community leaders in a range of fields.

Watkins, who has worked to resolve cases of wrongful conviction while in office, said he realized early in his studies at Prairie View A&M University that he wanted to pursue political science rather than engineering.

"I got to study individuals who really made a difference and changed the fabric not just of this country, but of the world," he said.

He said he and all leaders face a challenging decision in tough situations: "Will you be a Mussolini or Martin King, a Hitler or a Gandhi? Will you be a person who progresses your society or a person who progresses your own selfish goals? My experience tells me - and history tells us - to do what's in the best interest of the people you've been chosen to lead."

Here are highlights of Watkins' question-and-answer session with students:

Continue reading "Leadership Summit Presents Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins" »

After a winning Homecoming weekend (see photos ), the SMU community is celebrating another long-standing tradition in November 2009: Family Weekend, set for November 13-15.

With a theme of "Passport to SMU," the weekend is filled with activities for families to learn about their student's experience at SMU. Highlights include:

• November 13 - Tour Ford Stadium at 10:30 a.m.; attend the Mothers' Club reception and luncheon, starting at 11 a.m. at Hughes-Trigg Student Center; meet the faculty at 2 p.m.; watch a student talent show at 8 p.m. at McFarlin Auditorium.

• November 14 - Tour the Meadows Museum, starting at 10:30 a.m.; have barbecue with the Dads' Club and tailgate on the Boulevard, starting at 11:30 a.m.; cheer on the Mustangs against the University of Texas-El Paso Miners at 2 p.m. at Ford Stadium.

• November 15 - Attend Mass at Perkins Chapel at 9 a.m.; the College Hispanic American Students host a luncheon at noon at Hughes-Trigg Student Center; and the Asian Council hosts a dinner at 6 p.m. at Hughes-Trigg.

• Find a full schedule here.
• Register here.

Students learned about the rapidly evolving world of social media and their place in it at the third annual Digital Threads, presented by Meadows School of the Arts on November 5-6, 2009.

As part of the networking symposium, visiting experts in the news, entertainment, advertising and communications industries - including many SMU alumni and parents - shared career advice and their experiences with Facebook, YouTube and other social media during classroom sessions and one-on-one meetings.

The guests included keynote speakers Terry Mackin, president of ForesightLab and an SMU parent; Larry Weintraub, CEO of Fanscape; Jimmy Dunne, president of Inspire and an SMU parent; and Tyson Wheatley, producer and news manager of CNN's iReport.

"These are people who have the careers you dream about," Meadows School of the Arts Dean Jose Bowen told the students filling O'Donnell Hall for Thursday's keynote, "Social Media Changes Everything." He also thanked SMU Trustee Royce E. (Ed) Wilson, president of Tribune Broadcasting, for his leading role in launching the symposium. "Over the last three years, he's brought a remarkable array of people - professionals from America's most important media companies," Bowen said.

Continue reading "Parents, Alums Offer Career Advice at Digital Threads Symposium" »

SMU's two new mustangs, given to the University earlier this fall by the National Wild Horse Foundation with the support of Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens, will participate in their first official University duties at this weekend's SMU football game against Rice. In a decision reached this week by members of the Student Senate, staff representatives and members of the Mustangs football team, the new horses will lead the team from the Mustangs statue at the north end of Mustang Plaza, passing through Doak Walker Plaza, and proceeding to Gerald J. Ford Stadium before each of SMU's three remaining home games.

Peruna, the Mustangs' official mascot, will then fulfill his generations-long tradition of leading the team from the locker room and onto the field. He also will continue to run across the field after SMU scores and will always be positioned at the end of the field to which the SMU offense is headed.

While Peruna handles his normal responsibilities, the mustangs will remain at Ford Stadium near the field's southwest corner.

The University wishes to thank Student Senator Matthew Neman, Student Body Vice President Allison Reyes, Student Senator and Peruna Handler Jake Torres, football Captain Chase Kennemer and teammate Pete Fleps for their leadership and unifying efforts to incorporate gracefully our new horses into the color and pageantry of SMU Mustangs football.

Photo right: Madeleine Pickens and SMU Athletic Director Steve Orsini stand between SMU's two new mustangs at the "Salute to the Mustangs" halftime event during the SMU-Navy game Oct. 17.

Students interested in the fitness and sports professions can now apply to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physiology and Sports Management.

Introduced this fall, the new degree offered through the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development offers two concentrations:

• Applied Physiology and Enterprise, which provides a science foundation in health and fitness.
• Sports Management, which provides the business background for students interested in work with sports organizations.

"This program is pretty unique," says Peter Gifford, chair of the Applied Physiology and Wellness Department. "We don't know of another that has this blend of science and business. Regardless of which concentration students choose, they'll have a thorough understanding of their ultimate product, the athlete."

Possible careers in this field include management of sports organizations, management of a health and fitness facility, corporate fitness programming, sports marketing and public relations, and representation of professional athletes.

The program also offers three minor concentrations. SMU's location is a clear advantage for students in this program: Gifford says the number of professional sports teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth region offers a great opportunity for student internships and, eventually, jobs.

For more information, visit smu.edu/apsm.

SMU is committed to students' health and well-being. The University requires all domestic students taking nine credit hours or more and all international students taking one credit hour or more to maintain health insurance as a condition of enrollment.

SMU's mandatory health insurance policy requires undergraduate and graduate students to either provide documentation of private insurance coverage or to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).

Students who do not elect or waive SHIP by January 25, 2010, will be enrolled automatically in the plan, and their student account will be billed a $669 spring premium.

To elect or waive coverage: When students enroll for Spring 2010, a "Health Insurance" button will appear in their Student Center in Access.SMU. Clicking on this button will start the process by which students will be able to either elect or waive SHIP.

For more information on how to waive or elect coverage, please visit smu.edu/healthinsurance.