Allison Hannel '04 served in San Juancito, Honduras (2005-07).

Allison Hannel’s “proudest accomplishment” while serving as a business development volunteer with the Peace Corps in San Juancito, Honduras, was establishing the first restaurant in the agrarian village of 3,000 people. The humble venture consisted of only four picnic tables and a menu of eight variations on a rice-beans-tortillas theme, yet it thrived.

“My measure of success for the project was that just three months after we opened, two or three other restaurants opened, serving the same type of meals,” says Hannel, who earned a Bachelor’s degree in marketing from SMU in 2004.

Hannel and other members of the University community shared their memories and accomplishments during SMU’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps January 31. Approximately 40 returned volunteers now living in North Texas attended the event.

Michael McKay '87 is manager of the Peace Corps' Southwest region.

Michael McKay ’87, who holds a Master’s degree in public administration from SMU, manages the Peace Corps’ 10-state Southwest region. Of the more than 200,000 people who have served in 139 host countries, 111 are SMU alumni, he says.

Hannel’s service in the Peace Corps quenched a thirst for “living abroad and the experience of being immersed in another culture.” As a student and varsity volleyball player, her rigorous schedule left no time for study overseas, so she applied for the Peace Corps and was accepted a year after graduating.

In addition to opening the restaurant in San Juancito, Hannel assisted village artisans in marketing and distributing their handmade products, taught English and basic accounting, and helped start a high school computer center.

“Now all these kids I taught to use a mouse are my friends on Facebook,” she says.

After returning to Texas in 2007, Hannel found that “the combination of SMU and the Peace Corps set me apart from the pack” when she was exploring career options. She was hired into the AT&T leadership program and now serves as a senior brand manager for the company.

David Metcalf '99 served in Partido, Dominican Republic (1993-95).

Likewise, David Metcalf ’99 feels his term in the Dominican Republic (1993-95), coupled with an international finance degree, opened doors upon his return to the States. “My Peace Corps experience complemented the solid academic foundation I already had,” he says.

Assigned to Partido, a town of approximately 10,000 in the northwest corner of the country near the Haitian border, Metcalf used his finance background as a banking and small business consultant. He also learned to speak Spanish and gained insights into another culture that only come from becoming a part of it.

“The more you give, the more you get. It’s a chance to make a difference unlike any other,” says Metcalf, a manager with the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas.

Several faculty and staff members found their experiences in bridging cultural chasms with a common language of peace and hope to be truly life-changing.

Editors of two volumes in an anniversary series of Peace Corps accomplishments are History Professor Dennis Cordell (Africa and the Middle East) and writer Jane Albritton '67, '71 (Asia and the Pacific).

Thomas Tunks, professor of music education in Meadows School of the Arts, served in Colombia, South America (1968-69). “Every day, what I do is affected by those short years and what I learned,” he says. “You get so much more out of it than you give.”

Susan Kress, director of SMU Engaged Learning, served in Malaysia in Southeast Asia (1975-76). At the event, she thanked the Peace Corps for providing the opportunity “to become a citizen of the world.”

Dennis Cordell, professor of history in Dedman College, entered the Peace Corps in 1968 and volunteered in the central African nation of Chad until 1970. “If you’re thinking about what to do next, I urge you to consider the possibilities of the Peace Corps,” he said. “You very well may end up with the hardest job you ever loved.”

Cordell and other returned volunteers, including writer Jane Albritton ’67, ’71, are producing a four-volume anniversary series of stories from Peace Corps volunteers, in-country staff and trainers. Albritton, who served in India (1967-69), signed copies of the anthology she edited, Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth: 50 Years of Amazing Peace Corps Stories, at the SMU Barnes and Noble bookstore February 4.

Donald Ross '70 (left) served in Thailand (1963-65) and his son, Owen Ross, served in Ecuador (1996-98).

Among the 9,000 volunteers now serving in 75 countries are eight SMU alumni, according to McKay. Among them are Robin and Woody Al-Haddad. Robin ’04, a cultural anthropology major, and Woody ’96, an engineer, live in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa, and teach English and math in three schools. They chronicle the progress of various projects – from raising funds for high school textbooks to showing youngsters how to use toothbrushes – in a blog, “Rhino & Springbok’s Excellent Adventure in South Africa.”

In a recent posting, Robin recounted her high school students’ experiences as pen pals with seventh-grade students in Farmers Branch, Texas. Although designed to help the South African students improve their writing skills in English, the exercise also “opened their eyes to some of the similarities and differences between themselves and American kids,” she wrote. “It’s pretty universal that most teenagers love to talk about music, sports and animals. But when it comes to food – well, that’s a different story. I found myself trying to explain more than once what fajitas and sushi are.” 

Black Alumni of SMU history makers: (from left) Gene (GE) Pouncy Sr. ’74, Joe Pouncy ’74, Michael Rideau ’76, Michael Waters ’02, ’06, Charles Howard ’72, Charles Mitchell ’71, Rufus Cormier ’70, Detra Taylor ’72 and Anga Sanders ’70. The event honoring the alumni and announcing the Black Alumni Scholarship was part of SMU

An estimated 118 alumni and guests gathered to honor the past and celebrate the future when Black Alumni of SMU recognized 13 of its history makers and introduced the inaugural Black Alumni Scholarship February 17.

The honorees included award-winning athletes, outstanding student leaders and members of the “SMU 33,” a group of students who, in 1969, staged a sit-in to call attention for the need for more diverse faculty and curriculum.

The evening not only highlighted past accomplishments, but it also set the stage for future achievements through the Black Alumni Scholarship. The first scholarship will be awarded this spring to a rising sophomore or graduate student. To apply, a student must be a member of the Association for Black Students, maintain a 3.0 GPA and qualify for financial aid.

Anga Sanders ’70, a member of the “SMU 33″ honored that evening, called the scholarship “a long-awaited dream.”

Contribute to the Black Alumni Scholarship

A video that included photographs, newspaper clippings and other materials from the SMU Archives showed the University as it was when many attendees were students. The contrast between the SMU of yesterday and today was palpable for Detra Taylor ’72, another member of the “SMU 33.”

“It really is like being in a different place today,” Taylor said. “There is a sense of community and belonging now.”

The history of the black student experience at SMU was an inspiration – and revelation – for some current SMU students at the event.

“Hearing their stories made me proud, and it really motivates me to want to be more courageous as a student,” said Bri Evans, a first-year English major in Dedman College. “I want to affect positive change like they did.”

For Fred Leach, a senior majoring in history and film, the evening was personal: his father, Fredrick S. Leach ’83, an SMU Trustee, and his uncle, Bobby Leach ’86, are SMU alumni.

“This is their history, and learning more about it makes me even prouder of their accomplishments,” he said.

John B. Danna Jr. with his granddaughter, Mackenzie Martin, a first-year business student at SMU

As I read SMU Magazine, I certainly have fond memories from my days at SMU. I remember receiving my diploma for a business degree in 1953, and thinking of my uncle, Ralph Beaver, about whom Ms. Smith’s article was written. Uncle Ralph was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity and graduated in 1923. His wife, Hazel Matthews, also attended SMU at that time, and they were married upon Ralph’s graduation.

Also, my thoughts were with my father, John B. Danna, a prominent Dallas architect who attended SMU in 1920 and 1921. He pledged Kappa Alpha (KA) fraternity and was one
of its first members at SMU.

In 1949 I registered at SMU and pledged ATO like my Uncle Ralph. I graduated in 1953 and spent two years active duty with the U.S. Air Force. After my tour of duty I studied architecture in Austin, Texas. I returned to Dallas to work with my father in his architectural practice in 1958.

Another family member associated with SMU is my cousin, Claire McDougle Roberts ’57. After graduating from SMU and raising her children, she worked at SMU with alumni and is now retired.

Last year was another milestone in our family as my granddaughter, Mackenzie Martin, excitedly enrolled as a first-year student in fall 2011. I’m looking forward to seeing her graduate with the Class of 2015!

With so many changes over the years, it is great to see how SMU has grown and prospered as one of the prominent universities in the country.  The 100-year celebration, I am sure, will be an affair to remember. 

John B. Danna Jr. ’53, AIA
Dallas, Texas

Walter J. Humann

Presented by SMU’s Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, the annual award recognizes individuals who epitomize the spirit of moral leadership and public virtue. In Humann’s case, that involves his work in improving race relations,
government organization, infrastructure and other facets of life in North Texas. The award also recognizes his successful business career: Humann leads his own firm, WJH Corporation, and has held top management positions in other major corporations, including Hunt Consolidated, Memorex-Telex and the LTV Corporation.

“Having worked closely with both Walt and Erik Jonsson on many projects, I can say that Walt’s spirit of public service and responsibility to his community is cut from the same cloth as Mayor Jonsson,” says SMU Trustee Ray Hunt ’65, chair of this year’s ethics award event. “Everything Walt has done for Dallas and its citizens, not to mention in his private business, has been conceived and executed with the highest level of ethical conduct and moral responsibility. I believe that there is no one in Dallas more deserving of this honor than Walt.”

Humann was selected for the honor because of his lifelong commitment to improving the quality of life for the Dallas community, says Maguire Center Director Rita Kirk.

“With quiet tenacity and perceptive vision, he played a pivotal role in the desegregation of the Dallas Independent School District by founding the Dallas Alliance Education Task Force, which created the Magnet Schools of DISD, thereby enriching the education and lives of thousands of children.

“With everything he’s done,” Kirk adds, “Walt upholds the tradition of excellence that the J. Erik Jonsson Ethics Award was created to recognize.”

Nationally, Humann was selected in 1970 as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Men of America,” primarily for chairing the committee to create the U.S. Postal Service while serving as a White House Fellow (the first from Texas).

Regionally, the “father of DART” led the successful redevelopment of the North Central Corridor, with Central Expressway and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) rail line helping to solve the nation’s “oldest living highway controversy.” He founded the Jubilee Project in the late 1990s and served for more than 10 years as its chairman, helping revitalize a 62-block inner-city Dallas neighborhood.

Humann holds a physics degree from MIT, an M.B.A. from Harvard and a Juris Doctor degree from the Evening Division of SMU’s Dedman School of Law. He has received numerous business and public service awards, including The Legacy of Leadership Award from the White House Fellows Foundation in Washington, D.C. He also has received SMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998 and the Dedman School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004.