January to December 2005
The SMU Board of Trustees authorizes planning to begin for a major gifts campaign in support of the Centennial Strategic Plan. The Board also establishes a 15-person Campaign Leadership Council led by five co-chairs: Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler ’48; Gerald J. Ford ’66, ’69; Ray L. Hunt ’65; Caren Prothro; and Carl Sewell ’66.
January 2006
The campaign receives early support from members of the SMU Board of Trustees, including Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler ’48; Linda Pitts Custard ’60, ’99; Milledge A. Hart, III; Bobby B. Lyle ’67; and Board Chair Carl Sewell ’66, among others. These gifts establish the campaign’s first endowed scholarships (President’s Scholarships in the names of L. Frank Pitts, Linda Pitts Custard and William A. Custard, and the Carl and Peggy Sewell President’s Scholarships), the campaign’s first endowed faculty position (the Lyle Professorship in Entrepreneurial Studies in the Cox School of Business) and other campaign funding priorities.
March 2006
The University receives a gift of $33 million from The Meadows Foundation, at the time the largest single gift to SMU in its history. The gift supports public programs, staff, acquisitions and exhibitions at the Meadows Museum and strategic planning and facilities at the Meadows School of the Arts.
May 2006
Jeanne Roach Johnson ’54 provides a $1 million gift to support renovation of the music practice rooms in the Meadows School of the Arts and the establishment of the Jeanne Johnson Piano Guest Artists Endowment Fund, which brings to campus outstanding performers and educators who interact with SMU’s students and faculty.
June 2006
The campaign receives a gift of $2.5 million from David B. Miller ’72, ’73 and Carolyn Miller, establishing the David B. Miller Endowed Professorship in the Cox School of Business and providing support for SMU Athletics.
August 2006
History is made again as SMU announces a gift of $35 million from Ray L. Hunt ’65 and Nancy Ann Hunt ’65. Their commitment supports the development of SMU’s Dallas campus as well as leadership academic programs to be identified during the course of the campaign.
Margaret McDermott joins with fellow Dallas arts patron Nancy Hamon to provide $1 million to renovate the public entrance plaza of the Meadows Museum. Plans call for completion of the project in late 2008.
September 2006
SMU dedicates the J. Lindsay Embrey Engineering Building, the first Gold-certified Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design (LEED) building on the SMU campus and the only academic building in Texas to qualify for this designation. Lead gifts for the facility were provided by the late J. Lindsay Embrey, Jr. '45, '47 and his wife, Bobbie Embrey; M. Lee Halford '42; Huitt-Zollars Inc. (president, Robert L. Zollars '72); Bobby B. Lyle '67; the Stemmons Foundation (president, Allison S. Simon); Robert C. Womack; and the Kresge Foundation.
SMU Trustee Paul B. Loyd, Jr. ’68 provides $1 million in additional support for the renovation of the Paul B. Loyd, Jr. All-Sports Center, creating new office space for the Department of Athletics.
November 2006
Adding to its support of the J. Lindsay Embrey Engineering Building and the Crum Basketball Center, the Embrey Family Foundation provides $1 million to develop the Embrey Human Rights Education Pilot Program in Dedman College.
December 2006
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Crum Basketball Center is held. Named in recognition of a lead gift from SMU Trustee Gary T. Crum ’69 and Sylvie Crum, the Crum Basketball Center provides new practice facilities for men’s and women’s basketball and builds on the April 2006 appointment of new men’s head basketball coach Matt Doherty and the 300-wins record of the women’s coach, Rhonda Rompola. Other major donors to the new facility include David B. Miller ’72, ’73 and Carolyn Miller, Vic Salvino and Gladie Jo Salvino and the Embrey Family Foundation.
Trustee emeritus Roy M. Huffington ’38 makes a $10 million gift, creating two endowed funds in support of student scholarships and faculty resources. Initially, these funds are being used to support students and faculty in Dedman College.
January 2007
A trust established by the estate of former U.S. Congressman and Judge Brady P. Gentry provides a gift of $2 million to support scholarships for students from several East Texas counties, including Smith, Van Zandt, Gregg, Wood, Upshur, Camp, Panola and Rusk counties.
September 2007
Paul W. Ludden is named provost and vice president for academic affairs at SMU. Under his leadership, the following new deans, each an outstanding teacher and scholar, are recruited to the University: David J. Chard, the Leon Simmons Endowed Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development; James E. Quick, dean of research and graduate studies; and Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, dean of Dedman College.
A groundbreaking ceremony and prayer service are held at the Perkins School of Theology to celebrate the beginning of construction on Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall. A $6 million lead gift from the Perkins-Prothro Foundation and trustee emerita Elizabeth Perkins Prothro ’39 makes the project possible. Along with $1.4 million in gifts from anonymous donors through the Texas Methodist Foundation, approximately 300 donors have contributed more than $11 million toward the $13 million project goal.
October 2007
A $10.1 million gift from the W. W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation of Communities Foundation of Texas establishes the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education and provides a lead gift for a new Caruth Hall, replacing the original building from the 1940s. The Caruth Institute is a national leader in engineering education focusing on the development of pre-collegiate science, technology, engineering and mathematics educational programs as well as gender parity in engineering education.
SMU trustee emeritus Edwin L. Cox, Sr. ’42 provides a gift of $5 million to initiate a drive to endow the successful BBA Scholars Program. Trustee John C. Tolleson ’70 is the first to respond with a commitment of $1 million, followed by other commitments totaling more than $4 million, including $2 million from an anonymous donor. The innovative program helps the Cox School recruit a stronger student body; with the help of the BBA Scholars Program, the SAT scores for entering Cox undergraduates have risen significantly over the past five years.
November 2007
Annette Caldwell Simmons ’57 and Harold Simmons provide a gift of $20 million endowing the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and providing a lead gift for the School’s primary facility. The Annette Caldwell Simmons School is a national leader in language, literacy, bilingual and reading research, as well as dispute resolution and counseling. The Simmons’ gift also establishes the Fairess Simmons Graduate Fellowship Fund and the Leon Simmons Endowed Deanship in memory of Mr. Simmons’ parents, both educators.
The estate of Catherine Perrine, wife of former SMU English Professor Laurence Perrine, provides $1.5 million to establish the Laurence and Catherine Perrine Endowed Chair in English, a faculty position specializing in creative writing. In addition, the estate provides $1 million to create the Laurence and Catherine Perrine Endowed President’s Scholarship Fund supporting at least two President’s Scholarships, to be chosen from among Dedman College majors.
December 2007
Trustee Richard Ware ’68 provides $1 million in support of several University priorities, including initiatives in the Department of Athletics and at the SMU-in-Taos campus.
January 2008
Trustee Caren H. Prothro and the Perkins-Prothro Foundation establish the C. Vincent Prothro Biological Sciences Initiative in Dedman College with a gift of $3.6 million. The gift provides $2 million for a Distinguished Chair of Biological Sciences, whose work will be supported by a $1 million Endowed Research Fund, a $500,000 Graduate Fellowship Fund and a $100,000 Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. The faculty chair and endowed funds are named in memory of Caren Prothro’s late husband, an SMU alumnus and longtime supporter of the University.
February 2008
Donors to the Circle of Champions, led by Gerald J. Ford ’66, ’69, provide new head football coach June Jones with financial resources to support efforts to build a winning Division I-A football program.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation announces that SMU has been chosen as the site of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, consisting of a library, museum and institute. As the Bush Foundation achieves its fundraising goals, SMU will receive funds to endow joint programs between the University and the Bush Presidential Center in areas such as political science, economics and law, among others.
Trustee emeritus William P. Clements ’39 and Rita Clements make a $4 million gift in support of facility improvements at the SMU-in-Taos campus. Beginning in summer 2008, planned enhancements include new and renovated student and faculty housing, state-of-the-art technology and a new student center. A number of donors have made additional contributions to the Clements’ gift, including Roy Coffee and Janis Coffee; Richard T. Mullen ’61 and Jenny Mullen; Jo Ann Geurin Pettus ’69; Caren H. Prothro; Steve Sands ’70 and Marcy Sands ’69; Richard Ware ’68 and William J. Ware ’02, among others.
March 2008
Alumni giving participation for the 50-year reunion surpasses the 30 percent goal, up from 24 percent this time last year, with 35 percent participation predicted by the end of May. One of the campaign goals is a 30-percent overall alumni participation rate.
Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain and Ireland, receives the Medal of Freedom awarded by the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in Dedman College. Along with public campus ceremonies, a private function raises nearly $600,000 for programs of the Tower Center, with major support provided by Berry Cox and Jeanne Tower Cox ’78; Gerald J. Ford ’66, ’69 and Kelli Ford; Jerry Jones and Gene C. Jones; Lawrence Lacerte and Joyce Lacerte; Ross Perot, Jr. and Sarah Fullinwider Perot ’83; and John C. Tolleson ’70 and Debbie Tolleson. The following day, the former prime minister also speaks with local high school students at the 2008 Hart Global Leaders Forum and participates in discussions with SMU students and faculty.
David B. Miller ’72, ’73 and D. Scott Luttrell ’77 establish the EnCap Investments & LCM Group Alternative Asset Management Center in the Cox School of Business with a gift of $3 million. Created to help meet the demand for alternative asset management professionals, SMU is one of only a handful of universities in the world to offer this training at the undergraduate level.
SMU’s Perkins School of Theology receives a $1 million gift from Barbara Cook Wendland ’55, ’86 and Erroll Wendland ’50, ’51 to establish the Wendland-Cook Professorship in Constructive Theology. The professorship will contribute to the academic study of systematic and constructive theology to address current issues, inequality of power, a commitment to the liberation of all peoples, the promotion of justice and the encouragement of nonviolence.
The Texas Instruments Foundation endows the Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair in Engineering Education and Director of the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education. Delores M. Etter, a nationally known engineer, scientist and innovative educator, is appointed to the chair and director positions.
Roy M. Huffington ’38 adds to earlier support with a second $10 million gift permanently endowing the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences in Dedman College, only the second endowed department in the college’s history. The gift also establishes five endowed funds in support of related science departments and programs.
Construction is completed on the new Turpin Tennis Stadium, made possible by a $1 million gift from Jack Turpin. Plans call for the construction of an adjacent indoor tennis stadium in 2009.
The “Remember the Ladies” campaign, benefiting the Archives of the Women of the Southwest in SMU’s DeGolyer Library, reaches a new milestone in its goal of raising $1 million to endow an archivist position. As part of this effort, the female members of the SMU Board of Trustees (Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler ’48; Laura Welch Bush ’68; Linda Pitts Custard ’60, ’99; Jeanne Tower Cox ’78; Gene C. Jones; Connie Blass O’Neill ’77; Jeanne L. Phillips ’76; Caren H. Prothro; and Ann B. Sherer) jointly make a gift to the Archives in honor of SMU President R. Gerald Turner’s wife, Gail Oliver Turner.
April 2008
The SMU School of Engineering receives an in-kind software grant with a value of $5.7 million from Siemens PLM Software. The software grant will be used to enrich the engineering curriculum at the Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing at SMU.
The Noel family endows the dean’s position in the Dedman School of Law in honor of Judge James Noel. Contributors include James L. Noel, III and Melinda C. Noel; Carol Noel King (JD ’76) and J. Stephen King (JD ’77); Ed (’75) and Pat Oden Noel (’75); Will (JD/MBA ’82) and Barb Noel; and Robert (’80 and JD ’89) and Deanne (JD ’89) Noel. The family’s gift also secures a $1 million matching gift from the Dedman Foundation.
May 2008
Ground is broken on the new Caruth Hall, replacing the original 1948 facility. To be built to LEED Gold-certified standards, Caruth Hall is named in honor of W. W. Caruth, Sr., whose family provided much of the original land parcel on which SMU is located. Lead donors to the project include the W. W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation of Communities Foundation of Texas; C. Robert Palmer ’57, ’66 and Rebecca Palmer; the Hillcrest Foundation; and the J. E. and L. E. Mabee Foundation.
SMU President R. Gerald Turner reports to the Board of Trustees at its May meeting that more than $300 million in early campaign commitments has been received and that an international campaign volunteer structure is in place. In response to the significant support and enthusiasm exhibited by SMU’s alumni, parents and friends and the campus community, the SMU Board of Trustees unanimously approves the September 12 launch of the public phase of The Second Century Campaign.