Category: op-ed

Texas Business Court is a bold experiment in corporate governance

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Dec. 2, Shane Goodwin, associate dean and professor of practice at the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas, for a commentary highlighting the profound impact the just-established Texas Business Court will have on corporate litigation. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading Texas Business Court is a bold experiment in corporate governance: https://tinyurl.com/yst92tdu ​

 

The just-established Texas Business Court represents more than just a judicial development, it marks a transformative moment for corporate governance in the United States.

With this bold initiative, Texas has positioned itself as a direct challenger to Delaware’s long-standing dominance in corporate litigation. As I explore in my paper, “The Lone Star Docket: How the Texas Business Court Will Shape the Corporate Landscape,” this court is currently operational in five of its 11 geographical divisions, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

The court is not merely about competing for corporate charters; it aims to redefine the framework and expectations of corporate governance for the 21st century, offering a vision that balances innovation, efficiency and accountability.

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SMU professor: Young psychosis patients need early intervention

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Nov. 26, Neely Myers, professor of anthropology at SMU Dallas and adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern, for a commentary about the need for families and community stakeholders to identify psychotic youth and help them find treatment before they cause harm to themselves or others. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading Young psychosis patients need early intervention: https://tinyurl.com/39a99zkf ​

 

Michael remembers the episode very clearly. So does his sister.

“I would think my family was trying to kill me … I was thinking I was Jesus,” Michael said. “It made Mom really depressed,” his sister Liza added, “because she did not know how to help him.”

This is unfortunately not so rare. Every day in the U.S., up to 900 people under the age of 25 experience the onset of first episode psychosis, which can lead to schizophrenia and long-term disability without effective early interventions. On average, a young person will wait 3.7 years after their symptoms start before they get treatment.

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Disrupt Or Disappear: Why Business Schools Must Evolve Or Become Obsolete

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 Nov. 15, Shane Goodwin, Associate Dean and a Professor of Practice at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for a commentary warning business schools that they must evolve in to navigate future challenges. Published in Poets & Quants under the heading Disrupt Or Disappear: Why Business Schools Must Evolve Or Become Obsolete: https://tinyurl.com/szx2tvzu ​

Donald Trump’s 2024 decisive victory serves as a clarion call and stark reminder that business schools must prepare future leaders to be resilient in the face of sweeping economic changes. Today’s leaders are navigating the disruptive shifts in trade, healthcare, tax, immigration, and regulatory policy—changes they should have been prepared to handle. Business schools cannot alter the readiness of current leaders, but they can—and must—equip tomorrow’s leaders with the adaptability and insight to thrive in an unpredictable world. This moment underscores the urgency of transforming business education to anticipate and prepare for future challenges.

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Why Is the Video Game Industry Fretting ‘Game Over’ Trends?

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Nov. 6, Elizabeth Storz-Stringer, director of academics at Guildhall, the videogame development school at SMU Dallas, for a piece advocating that the industry players reinstate gaming competitions to keep up-and-coming developers involved and creating new games. Published in Inside Sources under the heading Why Is the Video Game Industry Fretting ‘Game Over’ Trends? https://tinyurl.com/yc69vukx ​

 

Video games, the dominant market segment of the global media and entertainment industry, continue to eclipse film, television and music combined.  According to the New Zoo 2024 Global Games Market report, which surveyed 35 countries, revenue is projected to grow by 2.1 percent yearly, amassing $187.7 billion. With the number of players expected to reach 3.42 billion — an increase of 4.5 percent — 2024’s positive momentum seems unstoppable.

Despite the significant revenue and consumer gains, game creators find themselves at an all-too-familiar crossroads. The industry’s recurring cycle of talent acquisitions, studio consolidations and publisher efficiency cutbacks have once again led to fewer companies having a disproportionate share of the successful game launches. 

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In an SMU classroom, George W. Bush was a lesson on civic virtue

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Oct 26, Dallas Gingles, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Perkins School of Theology at SMU Dallas, for a commentary about how George W. Bush exhibited ‘civic virtue’ during a visit to his theology class. Published in the Austin American-Statesman under the heading: In an SMU classroom, George W. Bush was a lesson on civic virtue:  https://tinyurl.com/ftrp6b23 ​

 

I had the rare honor in September of welcoming a former president of the United States into my classroom. President George W. Bush surprised the students in my seminar, “Presidential Rhetoric and American Political Theology,” at Southern Methodist University, by arriving five minutes into the class and staying for a full hour to take questions from every student in the room.

The 43rd president periodically makes these visits to engage with students in SMU classrooms – one of the great perks that comes with the location of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on our campus. On this visit, as always, President Bush was thoughtful, honest, reflective and wise. But more than anything he was an exemplar of civic virtue.

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If I can vote, you can too

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Oct. 18, Melanie Jackson, SMU Daily Campus staff writer and DIS Study Abroad Copenhagen student who is also a Hunt Scholar, for a piece encouraging SMU classmates to vote no matter the obstacles. Published in the Daily Campus under the heading If I can vote, you can too: https://tinyurl.com/2j9xdd47 ​

 

I just voted in my first presidential election, 5,000 miles across the world from SMU with the help of the United States Embassy. If I can vote in this election, you can too.

Growing up, I dreamed of the moment I’d be able to vote in my first presidential election. I was excited as this truly marked a right of passage into adulthood. I never imagined this moment would have come in Denmark.

This semester I am studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark with DIS. DIS is a largely American program. Out of 1,600 students studying here for the 2024 fall semester, about 90-95% are American.

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Much of the world is terrified by another Trump presidency. Here’s why

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Oct. 11, Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at SMU Dallas, for a commentary outlining the dangerous consequences of Donald Trump’s “ill-advised remarks, ill-timed threats and outright lies.” Published in the Los Angeles Times under the heading Much of the world is terrified by another Trump presidency. Here’s why: https://tinyurl.com/347h5a7r ​

Words matter. Especially when uttered by a president, and especially overseas. “Speak softly, and carry a big stick,” Theodore Roosevelt advised, though he never envisioned a successor would prove capable of obliterating cities half a world away in under half an hour. That nuclear stick is pretty big indeed, capable since 1945 of keeping our most virulent adversaries, including Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang, from their most reckless ambitions. It also keeps allies in line. What do Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and South Korea have in common? Each is but a day away from joining the nuclear club. That day is when their leaders stop believing the president of the United States will come to their aid.

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The right partnerships for teacher certifications lead to better outcomes

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Oct. 1, Stephanie Knight, dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU Dallas along with Amy Richardson, director of Educator Preparation and Scholarship of Teaching at SMU Simmons, for a piece advocating Texas school districts should aim to certify new teachers and thereby contribute to a long-term solution to our teacher shortage. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading The right partnerships for teacher certifications lead to better outcomes: https://tinyurl.com/4fvmmudj ​

 

Recently, former Mesquite ISD superintendent David Vroonland highlighted in The Dallas Morning News the importance of quality Texas teachers for our future and economy, and the critical need to get all of our classroom leaders certified. In Texas, 34% of teachers hired in 2023 were not certified.

Uncertified teachers have missed out on the rigors and additional training covered during the one- to two-year certification process. For this reason, they are at a high risk of quickly burning out and dropping out of the profession.

The Texas Education Agency data shows that “hiring noncertified individuals contributes to retention challenges with only 37% of uncertified teachers still working in public education after five years.”

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A lesson for CBS: Live fact-checking is incompatible with good debate moderation

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Sept. 20, Ben Voth, a professor of rhetoric and director of debate at SMU Dallas, for a piece critical of the way some media outlets have been conducting presidential debates in recent years. Published in The Hill under the heading A lesson for CBS: Live fact-checking is incompatible with good debate moderation: https://tinyurl.com/mrxvrccw ​

 

Lindsey Davis and David Muir of ABC News moderated ABC’s Sept. 10 presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The debate, the second of the year, demonstrates the collapse of the traditional Commission on Presidential Debate forums that came into being in 1987. The commission originally planned to host a series of debates this fall that neither of the political parties would agree to for their campaigns.

The collapse of that process led to the current regimen of media network debate events now hosted by CNN and ABC. Most analysts recognize that Muir and Davis engaged in arguably partisan fact checking against the Trump campaign, raising inherent questions about how the next debate among vice presidential candidates Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) might be moderated by CBS News journalists Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

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What Interviewing a Suspected Serial Killer and His Victims Taught Me About Empathy

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Sept. 19, Charlie Scudder, a professor of practice in journalism at SMU Dallas, for a commentary examining emotional issues reporters and news sources navigate during the process of storytelling. Published in Texas Monthly under the heading What interviewing a suspected serial killer and his victims taught me about empathy: https://tinyurl.com/8ccapy6y ​

The first time he called, I was home with family on a Saturday afternoon in 2022. I asked if he had time later to continue our conversation. “Yeah, I have nothing planned,” he laughed.

It was a funny line. His name was Billy Chemirmir, and he was in the Dallas County jail awaiting trial on eighteen counts of capital murder. Just a few months earlier, his first trial had ended in a shocking mistrial. Of course he had time. It wasn’t like there were pressing appointments to schedule around while he was incarcerated.

I’d been covering the case against Chemirmir for three years as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News. He’d been accused of stalking elderly women at luxury senior living communities in the Dallas area, posing as a maintenance worker to get access to their apartments, smothering them to death with a pillow, and then rifling through their personal belongings so he could steal their cash and jewelry. He had been linked to two dozen deaths in all.

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