Honors Convocation – SMU Forum

SMU honors outstanding achievement, community service at 2017-18 Hilltop Excellence Awards and Honors Convocation

Laurel wreath stock photo - Hilltop Excellence Awards SMU faculty, staff, administrators and students were recognized with teaching awards, service honors and the University’s highest commendation – the “M” Award – at the 2017-18 Hilltop Excellence Awards Monday, April 16.

Earlier in the day, the University honored its best students at the 21st annual Honors Convocation. The address was delivered by Maria Dixon Hall, senior adviser to the SMU Provost, associate professor in the Division of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs in Meadows School of the Arts, and adjunct associate professor of homiletics in Perkins School of Theology.

> Find a complete list of award winners from Honors Convocation 2018

Appointed in August 2016 as Senior Advisor to the Provost for Cultural Intelligence, Dixon Hall is charged with oversight of the University’s efforts to ensure that all members of the SMU community are equipped to effectively create, collaborate, and work on solutions to change the world. In this role, she is responsible for development and implementation of the University’s new cultural intelligence curriculum and training program.

As director of mustangconsulting, Dixon Hall heads a staff of some of SMU’s best and brightest communication students. The group serves a global client list that includes corporate, nonprofit, and religious organizations such as Southwest Airlines (Dallas), The Dance Theatre of Harlem (New York), the Ugandan American Partnership Organization (Kampala/Dallas), The Lydia Patterson Institute (El Paso), and Carry the Load (Atlanta/Dallas).

A graduate of the Culverhouse School of Business at the University of Alabama, Dixon Hall earned her Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, as well as a Ph.D. in organizational communication and religion from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

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By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2018-04-17T08:41:21+00:00 April 17, 2018|Categories: For the Record, News|Tags: awards and honors, faculty achievement, faculty news, Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation, M Awards, Presidential Awards, Presidential Awards of Excellence, staff achievement, staff news, student achievement, student news|

SMU’s 2018 Honors Convocation and Hilltop Excellence Awards take place Monday, April 16

SMU’s annual celebration of high achievement in academics and community life takes place during the 2018 Honors Convocation and Hilltop Excellence Awards on Monday, April 16.

Honors Convocation begins at 5:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium, and the Hilltop Excellence Awards ceremony takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Martha Proctor Mack Grand Ballroom, Umphrey Lee Center.

> Coming April 16: Watch Honors Convocation live on the web at smu.edu/live

SMU reserves one Monday each April to celebrate the achievements of students, faculty, staff members, trustees and administrators in the two ceremonies. The Honors Convocation recognizes academic achievement at the University and department levels.

> Read the full list of SMU’s 2018 Honors Convocation award and honors recipients

This year’s convocation speaker is Maria Dixon Hall, senior adviser to the SMU Provost, associate professor in the Division of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs in Meadows School of the Arts, and adjunct associate professor of homiletics in Perkins School of Theology. Appointed in August 2016 as Senior Advisor to the Provost for Cultural Intelligence, Dixon Hall is charged with oversight of the University’s efforts to ensure that all members of the SMU community are equipped to effectively create, collaborate, and work on solutions to change the world. In this role, she is responsible for development and implementation of the University’s new cultural intelligence curriculum and training program.

As director of mustangconsulting, Dixon Hall heads a staff of some of SMU’s best and brightest communication students. The group serves a global client list that includes corporate, nonprofit, and religious organizations such as Southwest Airlines (Dallas), The Dance Theatre of Harlem (New York), the Ugandan American Partnership Organization (Kampala/Dallas), The Lydia Patterson Institute (El Paso), and Carry the Load (Atlanta/Dallas).

A graduate of the Culverhouse School of Business at the University of Alabama, Dixon Hall earned her Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, as well as a Ph.D. in organizational communication and religion from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

> Find more information on Honors Convocation

Retired and current faculty members who have RSVP’ed for the ceremony will assemble for Honors Convocation in academic dress no later than 5:10 p.m. on the third floor of McFarlin Auditorium. The faculty procession will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony on the Main Quad.

Participating faculty members must RSVP online by Thursday, April 12, 2018. Faculty members with questions regarding the procession can e-mail ceremonies@smu.edu or call 214-768-3417.

Later, the University will present several awards for excellence – including its highest honor, the “M” Award – during the 2018 Hilltop Excellence Awards. The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Martha Proctor Mack Grand Ballroom, Umphrey Lee Center. Hilltop Excellence Awards honorees will be listed in SMU Forum the day after the ceremony.

Follow SMU Student Activities @SMUStuAct for live updates from the ceremony, and share your Twitter and Instagram posts from the Hilltop Excellence Awards with the #HilltopExcellence hashtag.

> Learn more about the Hilltop Excellence Awards from SMU Student Life

By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2018-03-28T11:32:18+00:00 March 27, 2018|Categories: Calendar Highlights, News, Save the Date|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, awards and honors, faculty recognition, Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation, McFarlin Auditorium, SMU Student Activities, staff recognition, Student Affairs, student recognition|

SMU honors outstanding achievement, service at 2016-17 Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation

Laurel wreath stock photo SMU faculty, staff, administrators and students were recognized with teaching awards, service honors and the University’s highest commendation, the “M” Award, at the 2016-17 Hilltop Excellence Awards Monday, April 17.

Earlier in the day, the University honored its best students at the 20th Honors Convocation. The address was delivered by Jo Guldi, assistant professor of history in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

> Find a complete list of award winners from Honors Convocation 2017

A native Dallasite, Guldi studies the history of Great Britain and the British Empire, landscape history, legal history, property law, infrastructure, digital methods, international development, and agrarian studies. As a digital and data historian, she also oversees the lecture series “Data is Made Up of Stories: University-wide Futures From the Digital Humanities,” offered through the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute. Among other things, the series illustrates how text mining is used across different disciplines – from digital mapping of the transatlantic slave trade to an app that captures the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Guldi is the designer of Paper Machines, a free, open-source software toolkit that allows users to visualize large amounts of text for historical and political analysis over time and space, without requiring special computational resources or technical knowledge. She is the author of Roads to Power: Britain Invents the Infrastructure State (2012, Harvard University Press) and co-author with David Armitage of The History Manifesto (2014, Cambridge University Press), currently being translated for publication in six languages. She graduated from Harvard with an A.B. degree in literature, earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of California-Berkeley and was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital History at the University of Chicago. She was also a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows and served a fellowship in the metaLAB (at) Harvard. Prior to joining SMU, she served as an assistant professor of history at Brown University.

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By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2017-04-17T13:44:02+00:00 April 18, 2017|Categories: For the Record, News|Tags: awards and honors, faculty achievement, faculty news, Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation, M Awards, Presidential Awards, Presidential Awards of Excellence, staff achievement, staff news, student achievement, student news|

SMU’s 2017 Honors Convocation and Hilltop Excellence Awards take place Monday, April 17

Honors Convocation 2016 SMU’s annual celebration of high achievement in academics and community life takes place during the 2017 Honors Convocation and Hilltop Excellence Awards, Monday, April 17.

The 20th annual Honors Convocation begins at 5:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium, and the Hilltop Excellence Awards ceremony takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Theater.

> Coming April 17: Watch Honors Convocation live on the web at smu.edu/live

SMU reserves one Monday each April to celebrate the achievements of students, faculty, staff members, trustees and administrators in the two ceremonies. The Honors Convocation recognizes academic achievement at the University and department levels.

> Read the full list of SMU’s 2017 Honors Convocation award and honors recipients

This year’s convocation speaker is Jo Guldi, assistant professor of history in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. A native Dallasite, Guldi studies the history of Great Britain and the British Empire, landscape history, legal history, property law, infrastructure, digital methods, international development, and agrarian studies. As a digital and data historian, she also oversees the lecture series “Data is Made Up of Stories: University-wide Futures From the Digital Humanities,” offered through the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute. Among other things, the series illustrates how text mining is used across different disciplines – from digital mapping of the transatlantic slave trade to an app that captures the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Guldi is the designer of Paper Machines, a free, open-source software toolkit that allows users to visualize large amounts of text for historical and political analysis over time and space, without requiring special computational resources or technical knowledge. She is the author of Roads to Power: Britain Invents the Infrastructure State (2012, Harvard University Press) and co-author with David Armitage of The History Manifesto (2014, Cambridge University Press), currently being translated for publication in six languages. She graduated from Harvard with an A.B. degree in literature, earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of California-Berkeley and was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital History at the University of Chicago. She was also a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows and served a fellowship in the metaLAB (at) Harvard. Prior to joining SMU, she served as an assistant professor of history at Brown University.

> Find more information on Honors Convocation

Retired and current faculty members will assemble for Honors Convocation in academic dress no later than 5:10 p.m. on the third floor of McFarlin Auditorium. The faculty procession will begin at 5:30 p.m. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony on the Main Quad.

Participating faculty members may RSVP online by Thursday, April 13, 2017. Faculty members with questions regarding the procession can e-mail ceremonies@smu.edu or call 214-768-3417.

Later, the University will present several awards for excellence – including its highest honor, the “M” Award – during the 2017 Hilltop Excellence Awards. The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Theater. Hilltop Excellence Awards honorees will be listed in SMU Forum the day after the ceremony.

Follow SMU Student Activities @SMUStuAct for live updates from the ceremony, and share your Twitter and Instagram posts from the Hilltop Excellence Awards with the #HilltopExcellence hashtag.

> Learn more about the Hilltop Excellence Awards from SMU Student Life

By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2017-04-11T10:36:28+00:00 April 11, 2017|Categories: Calendar Highlights, News, Save the Date|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, awards and honors, faculty recognition, Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation, McFarlin Auditorium, SMU Student Activities, staff recognition, Student Affairs, student recognition|

SMU recognizes outstanding achievement at 2015-16 Hilltop Excellence Awards, Honors Convocation

SMU faculty, staff, administrators and students were recognized with teaching awards, service honors and the University’s highest commendation, the “M” Award, at the 2016 Hilltop Excellence Awards Monday, April 18.

> Read the list of award winners from Honors Convocation 2016

On the same day, the University honored its best students at the 19th Honors Convocation. The address was delivered by Fred Chang, director of SMU’s Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security, the Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lyle School of Engineering.

An internationally renowned expert in cyber security and former director of research of the National Security Agency, Chang is also a Senior Fellow in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and a Distinguished Scholar in the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin.

The lead inventor on two U.S. patents, Chang has twice served as an expert witness at hearings convened by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. In addition, he has served as a member of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency and as a member of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies. Most recently, Chang was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9, 2016.

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Save the date: SMU Honors Day 2016 is Monday, April 18

Originally published Wednesday, March 30, 2016.

Honors Convocation 2015. Photo credit: SMU/Hillsman S. Jackson

SMU holds its annual celebration of high achievement in academics and community life during Honors Day 2016, Monday, April 18.

> Watch Honors Convocation live on the web: smu.edu/live

The 19th Honors Convocation begins at 5:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium, and the 2016 Hilltop Excellence Awards ceremony (formerly the Awards Extravaganza) takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom.

SMU reserves one Monday each April to celebrate the achievements of students, faculty, staff members, trustees and administrators in the two ceremonies. The Honors Convocation recognizes academic achievement at the University and department levels.

> SMU’s 2016 Honors Convocation award and honors recipients

Fred Chang, Lyle Endowed Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security

Fred Chang, 2016 Honors Convocation speaker

This year’s convocation speaker is Fred Chang, director of SMU’s Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security, the Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lyle School of Engineering. An internationally renowned expert in cyber security, Chang has made a career spanning academia, the private sector and government service, including a stint as director of research of the National Security Agency. He is also a Senior Fellow in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and a Distinguished Scholar in the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Chang is the lead inventor on two U.S. patents and appeared in the televised National Geographic documentary Inside the NSA: America’s Cyber Secrets. He has twice served as an expert witness at hearings convened by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He has been awarded the National Security Agency Director’s Distinguished Service Medal and was the 2014 Information Security Magazine “Security 7” award winner for Education. He has served as a member of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency and as a member of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academies.

Most recently, Chang has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9, 2016.

> Find more information on Honors Convocation: smu.edu/honorsday

Retired and current faculty will assemble for Honors Convocation in academic dress no later than 5:10 p.m. on the third floor of McFarlin Auditorium. The faculty procession will begin at 5:30 p.m. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony on the Main Quad.

Participating faculty members may RSVP online. Faculty members with questions regarding the procession can send an e-mail to ceremonies@smu.edu or call 214-768-3417.

Later, the University presents several awards for excellence – including its highest honor, the “M” Award – during the 2016 Hilltop Excellence Awards at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Theater. Hilltop Excellence Awards honorees will be listed in SMU Forum the day after the ceremony.

> Learn more about the Hilltop Excellence Awards from SMU Student Life

Outstanding achievement honored at SMU’s 2014-15 Awards Extravaganza, Honors Convocation

SMU faculty, staff, administrators and students were recognized with teaching awards, service honors and the University’s highest commendation, the “M” Award, at the 2015 Awards Extravaganza Monday, April 13.

> Read the list of award winners from Honors Convocation 2015

On the same day, the University honored its best students at the 18th Honors Convocation. The address was delivered by Brian Stump, Claude C. Albritton Jr. Chair in Geological Sciences in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

An expert in seismic wave propagation and earthquake source theory, Stump has become well known in North Texas for his continuing research on the increasing occurrences of small earthquakes that have shaken the area since 2008. In November 2014, he was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions to his field, particularly in the area of seismic monitoring in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

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By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2015-04-17T10:47:03+00:00 April 14, 2015|Categories: For the Record, News|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, awards and honors, Awards Extravaganza, faculty recognition, Honors Convocation, Honors Day Convocation, M Awards, Outstanding Senior Man and Woman, Presidential Awards of Excellence, Rotunda Outstanding Professor, SMU, staff recognition, student recognition|

Save the date: SMU Honors Day 2015 is Monday, April 13

Honors Convocation 2013. Photo credit: SMU/Kim Ritzenthaler

SMU celebrates high achievement in academics and community life during Honors Day 2015 on Monday, April 13. The 18th Honors Convocation begins at 5:30 p.m. in McFarlin Auditorium, and the 2015 Awards Extravaganza takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom.

SMU reserves one Monday each April to celebrate the achievements of students, faculty, staff members, trustees and administrators in the two ceremonies. The Honors Convocation recognizes academic achievement at the University and department levels.

> SMU’s 2015 Honors Convocation award and honors recipients

Brian W. Stump, Albritton Professor of Geological Sciences and AAAS Fellow, SMU

Brian Stump, SMU’s Claude C. Albritton Jr. Chair in Geological Sciences

Brian Stump, Claude C. Albritton Jr. Chair in Earth Sciences in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences of SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, will be the convocation speaker. An expert in seismic wave propagation and earthquake source theory, Stump has become well known in North Texas for his continuing research on the increasing occurrences of small earthquakes that have shaken the area since 2008.

But his work in detecting ground motion from explosions has for more than 20 years helped the United States government in ensuring that the world’s nuclear powers abide by their agreements related to underground nuclear testing. He served as scientific adviser to the U.S. delegation to the Conference on Disarmament from 1994 through 1996 and continues to be called upon frequently to assist the U.S. government in the interpretation of seismic and acoustic data.

In November 2014, Stump was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions to his field, particularly in the area of seismic monitoring in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He is the fifth SMU professor to receive this honor.

Retired and current faculty will assemble for Honors Convocation in academic dress no later than 5:10 p.m. in the Perkins Administration Building lobby and will process together to McFarlin Auditorium. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony in the Dallas Hall Quadrangle.

> Watch SMU’s Honors Convocation via live streaming Monday, April 13 at smu.edu/live

Participating faculty members may RSVP online. Faculty members with questions regarding the procession can send an e-mail to ceremonies@smu.edu or call 214-768-3417.

Later, the University presents several awards for excellence – including its highest honor, the “M” Award – during the 2015 Awards Extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballrooms. Awards Extravaganza honorees will be listed in SMU Forum the day after the ceremony.

> Find more information on Honors Convocation: smu.edu/honorsday
> Learn more about the Awards Extravaganza from SMU Student Life

By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2015-04-10T16:30:45+00:00 April 7, 2015|Categories: Calendar Highlights, For the Record, News, Save the Date|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, awards and honors, Awards Extravaganza, faculty recognition, Honors Convocation, McFarlin Auditorium, staff recognition, Student Affairs, student recognition|

Calendar Highlights: The Spring 2015 term at a glance

Welcome back! SMU’s 2015 Spring Term begins Friday, Jan. 16 – a few important dates at a glance:

Friday, Jan. 16: First day of classes for the 2015 Spring Term
Monday, Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Day (University closed). SMU celebrates MLK Day of Service 8 a.m.-1 p.m. – learn more at smu.edu/volunteer
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Spring 2015 General Faculty Meeting
Monday-Sunday, March 9-15: Spring Break
Friday, April 3: Good Friday (University closed)
Monday, April 13: Honors Convocation and Awards Extravaganza
Friday, April 17: Founders’ Day
Monday, May 4: Last day of classes for Spring 2015
Tuesday, May 5: Reading Day
Wednesday-Tuesday, May 6-12: Final examinations (no exams scheduled on Sunday)
Friday, May 15: Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 16: All-University Commencement and school/department diploma ceremonies

By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2015-01-15T13:45:23+00:00 January 15, 2015|Categories: Calendar Highlights, Save the Date|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, Baccalaureate, Commencement, Day of Service, Easter, exams, Founders' Day, Good Friday, holidays, Honors Convocation, MLK Day|

SMU hails outstanding achievement at 2013-14 Awards Extravaganza, Honors Convocation

SMU faculty, staff, administrators and students were recognized with teaching awards, service honors and the University’s highest commendation, the “M” Award, at the 2014 Awards Extravaganza Monday, April 21.

> See images from Honors Convocation 2014 at SMU News

On the same day, the University honored its best students at the 17th Honors Convocation. The address was delivered by Eric Bing, professor of global health in the Department of Applied Physiology and Wellness in SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and in the Department of Anthropology in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

Bing, who holds a concurrent appointment with the George W. Bush Institute as senior fellow and director of global health, has developed and managed global health programs in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, including HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in Rwanda, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Belize and Jamaica.

> Find a list of University, school and departmental awards from Honors Convocation 2014

See the Awards Extravaganza 2014 winners list under the link.

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By Kathleen Tibbetts| 2014-05-28T12:26:23+00:00 April 22, 2014|Categories: For the Record, News|Tags: academic calendar, academic ceremonies, awards and honors, Awards Extravaganza, faculty recognition, Honors Convocation, Honors Day Convocation, M Awards, Presidential Awards of Excellence, Rotunda Outstanding Professor, SMU, staff recognition, student recognition|