SMU’s Golden Mustangs Reunion and Inside SMU Powered by TEDxSMU, a new performance program hosted by the SMU Alumni Board, are among special activities planned for Founders’ Day Weekend April 10-13.
Alumni from the classes of 1963 and earlier will launch the celebratory weekend on Thursday, April 10, with the annual Golden Mustangs Reunion. The event will be hosted by the Office of Reunion Programs and the Golden Mustangs Reunion Committee in the Martha Proctor Mack Grand Ballroom at Umphrey Lee Center, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The program includes a luncheon, a guided campus bus tour and an opportunity to see the “Sorolla and America” exhibit at the Meadows Museum.
On Friday, April 11, Inside SMU will feature compelling stories and demonstrations from 16 SMU faculty, staff, alumni and student speakers on a wide range of topics. Alumni speakers are Blake Norvell ’04, who will discuss “NSA Wiretapping: A 4th Amendment Violation?”, and Dennis E. Muphree ’69, who will speak on “The Importance of Persistence.” Inside SMU is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. in the Greer Garson Theatre in the Owen Arts Center and is open to everyone. Tickets are $5 for SMU students, faculty, staff and alumni and $15 for the general public. Breaks are built into the program, allowing the audience to meet speakers and start the conversations that are the hallmark of the TEDxSMU experience.
The President’s Briefing and a Centennial Salute to the Faculty also are planned for Friday.
Special family-friendly events will open the SMU campus to the community from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 12. At SMU’s Meadows Museum, activities will complement the “Sorolla and America” exhibit, allowing children to paint outdoors, learn traditional Spanish dances and take part in a multi-sensory game of Texas Landscape Bingo. Student guitarists will play music that evokes the spirit of Spain, and artist Jon Bramblitt, who is blind, will demonstrate how he paints using only his sense of touch.
A short walk or shuttle ride from the museum, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum’s Native Texas Park will be blooming. Families can participate in a wildflower scavenger hunt, plant wildflower seeds and enjoy more SMU student musical performances near the Hall of State. SMU’s Peruna mascot will be on hand for photos, and there will be more family activities available inside the Bush Library.
From noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, SMU’s student Environmental Society is sponsoring Barefoot on the Boulevard, a free mini-festival that celebrates sustainable living with an afternoon of music, performances, and tabletop exhibits at the north end of Bishop Boulevard.
Among the activities wrapping up the Founders’ Day celebration will be a reception Sunday, April 13, in conjunction with the exhibit “Romantic Visions of the American Southwest: Works on Paper and Paintings by Edward G. Eisenlohr” in the Hamon Arts Library’s Mildred Hawn Gallery. The event begins at 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
As part of the University’s centennial celebration of the Year of the Faculty, alumni returning to campus for Founders’ Day events will be encouraged to record their memories of favorite professors through a variety of methods:
- Post on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #smufaculty.
- Complete the form at http://blog.smu.edu/yearofthefaculty/share-your-memories/.
- Look for one of the “Memory Stations” on campus during Founders Day Weekend.
Those memories are being collected and shared, along with stories about extraordinary faculty achievements and contributions on SMU’s Year of the Faculty site.
Watch Facebook and Twitter for #InsideSMU photos, topics and previews surrounding Founders’ Day 2014.