Since its founding in 1970, Friends of SMU Libraries has been committed to helping the libraries maintain excellence. They have funded over $1,000,000 in library materials, books, electronic resources, equipment, and services. The Friend’s Grants Committee meets annually to review and award grant monies to benefit SMU Libraries. This year the Grants Committee met in April and reviewed grant proposals. The committee included chair, President Sam Childers, Mike Hazel, Janis Knott and Nancy Miller, with Amy Carver and Cindy Ruppi as ex-officio. The committee approved a total of $18, 116 in grants and $6,000 in scholarships totaling $23, 116 in grant monies distributed for 2022. The following grants were approved by the committee:
- $5,000 to the SMU Archives and Norwick Center for Digital Solutions (nCDS) for transcription services and student funding for the “Voices of SMU” Oral History project.
- $3,266 to nCDS for the purchase of new Vestaboard digital signage for the libraries.
- $2,500 to the Business Library to support student-facing needs during the upcoming relocation period and building renovation.
- $2,500 to the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection at Hamon Arts Library for archival materials and supplies to support the preservation of two notable donations of film and film-related materials: the Jeff Gordon Collection and the Stephen P. Jarchow “Gods and Monsters” Collection.
- $2,000 to Bywaters Special Collections at the Hamon Arts Library for professional framing and transportation costs of the Octavio Medellin drawing, “The History of Mexico”, part of the Octavio Medellin Artwork and Papers.
- $2,000 to the Hawn Gallery at Hamon Arts Library to cover gallery operating costs such as installation materials, installer fees, signage and print materials.
- $850 to Fondren Library to print 2 large vinyl wall maps with oversized images of historic maps from the SMU collection for the GIS Lab.
Grants approved for yearly distribution:
- $3,000 to SMU Libraries to support three SMU Libraries Student Worker Excellence Awards in the amount of $1,000 each. This year’s recipients are Aiden Egbuchunam, Lauren Horton and Jackson Malley.
- $2,000 to support the Library School Scholarship Award. This year’s scholarship recipient is Sierra Schuman, Research and User Experience Intern.
To learn more about Friends of SMU Libraires grants program visit https://www.smu.edu/libraries/join/friends/about/grants.