A true friend of SMU Libraries
The Friends of SMU Libraries had another successful year of programming and raising funds to support SMU Libraries. At this year’s Annual Dinner and Meeting, Friends director Amy Carver announced the organization has awarded $45,500 to vital projects and programs at SMU Libraries. The Friends celebrated this achievement and an exciting year of programs with a dinner and talk by Dr. Seemee Ali, President of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.
Supporting student spaces at Fondren Library
The committee awarded the largest grant to student spaces at Fondren Library, impacting student success by enhancing student learning environments and supporting the addition and upgrade of spaces in the library. This important project directly improving the student experience has been a focus of fundraising efforts this year, with proceeds from the Friends’ Tables of Content dinner benefitting student spaces. With this grant, the Friends of SMU Libraries shows their strong support for SMU students, and for one of the busiest – and most loved – buildings on SMU’s campus.
Empowering students to lead
The Friends have not only supported student spaces, but also student opportunities. This year, they awarded $4,000 to the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection at Hamon Arts Library to support the ongoing student-led film series, in collaboration with the Film and Media Arts Division of the Meadows School of the Arts and with assistance from SMU’s Student Academic Engagement and Success, for the next academic year.
This spring, the student-curated film series called The Mind of Nolan featured speakers including SMU professors, actor Stephen Tobolowsky, and community leader Steven Stodghill. One student curator, Jenna Healy, says, “It has been a wonderful experience! I have gotten to know so many people and make many connections. I think it has been a great success overall, and I am proud of what we have accomplished.”
Scott Martin, moving image curator at the Hamon Arts Library and a vital partner of the film series has “been so happy with the student-led film series – its continued growth, student engagement and the campus-wide collaboration of it all – and none of it would’ve been possible without y’all’s support.”
Honoring and encouraging the next generation
The Friends of SMU Libraries also has a long tradition of supporting the people who make the Libraries the heart of the university. This year, Fiona Graybill and Eddie Marx received the 2025 SMU Libraries Student Employee Excellence Award from the Friends, and Kaitlin Siebert, patron resource coordinator, received the 2025 Jalesia Horton Memorial Library School Scholarship.
Grateful for our Friends
Learn more about additional grants awarded by the Friends of SMU Libraries, as well as the long history of the organization, and look for the Spring 2025 Newsletter to read more about the Friends. It’s been another great year for the books!
This post was prepared by Brynn Price, communications and engagement specialist at SMU Libraries.