Fall will be here before you know it, so get your football season tickets now. With Boulevarding back in full swing, the alumni tent will return for home games. Plans for away-game tailgates are in the works, including SMU at TCU in Fort Worth September 25.
Read more at SMU Athletics.
Category: July 2021
“Never stop learning and improving” is Kristin W. Henderson’s motto. In her new role as SMU Alumni Board chair, Henderson aims to improve communication, expand connections and fortify alumni relationships.
Whether continuing to set world records with her U.S. Masters Swimming relay team or honing her public speaking skills, Henderson always strives for growth.
She is passionate about SMU and the differences it can make in the lives of others. She sees the value for alumni, students and the community. Working in collaboration with Young Alumni Board Chair Stephen Reiff, Black Alumni of SMU Chair Malcolm McGuire ’14 and Hispanic Alumni of SMU Chair Rumaldo Robles ’17, Henderson is leading the charge to champion shared priorities. The board chairs will work closely together to increase alumni engagement opportunities and lift up each other’s unique board initiatives, such as scholarships and mentorships for underrepresented populations.
Read more at SMU Alumni.
College life awaits the SMU Class of 2025, and it all begins at Summer Send-Off Parties. SMU is hosting hometown events across the country to welcome incoming first-year students into the Mustang family.
As students connect with classmates who hail from nearby, alumni and SMU staff will be on hand to answer questions about life as a Mustang and living on the Hilltop. This is a fun and casual community event that brings incoming students, returning students, new families and alumni together. All alumni are invited to join us in welcoming the newest members to our Mustang family.
Find in-person and virtual events.
SMU researchers put the COVID-19 pandemic to work as a proving ground for a fast, accurate and affordable immune response test. While its timesaving properties give it an edge, what really sets the “lab on a chip” device apart is the lifesaving potential it holds for rural areas and emerging countries where medical resources are scarce.
Lead researchers Ali Beskok and J.-C. Chiao, professors in the Lyle School of Engineering, are seeking funding to fully develop the potential of their breakthrough test.
Read the story.
Caeli Blake ’21 learned from a young age the importance of investing in herself. She credits her family, especially her mom, a professional singer and a former professor at Howard University, for instilling in her the drive and fortitude necessary for her to pursue a professional career in dance.
Blake was initially on the path to a double major in dance and advertising, but later decided to switch from advertising to education. “I made the switch, one, because of time, but then I took pedagogy at SMU and realized that I really enjoyed teaching dance. I liked what comes out of seeing what you can do as a teacher and having students.
“My goal with my education degree is to finish my dance career, moving audiences all over the world. Then I would love to teach at a performing high school and eventually become the Dance Division chair at SMU!”
Read more at Meadows School.
The SMU Cox School of Business honored four alumni at its annual Distinguished Alumni and Outstanding Young Alumni Awards Luncheon May 7. Distinguished Alumni Awards honorees included Brad Brookshire ’76 and R. Andrew Clyde ’85. The 2021 Outstanding Young Alumni honors went to Lizzy Bentley ’12 and Elizabeth Wattley’15.
Brookshire is chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery Co., which operates more than 180 stores under the Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods, Fresh by Brookshire’s and Spring Market banners. He is a longtime member of the SMU Board of Trustees, a member of the Cox Executive Board and stays active with a number of SMU initiatives and committees.
Clyde, a member of the Cox Executive Board, has served as president and CEO of Murphy USA since its spinoff as a public company in 2013.
Bentley is founder of CITY Boots, the realization of her lifelong passion for cowboy boots.
Wattley is the executive director of Forest Forward, a nonprofit organization fighting the effects of systemic racism in Dallas through neighborhood revitalization.
Pictured above, left to right, are Brad Brookshire ’76, Elizabeth Wattley ’17, Lizzy Bentley ’12 and R. Andrew Clyde ’85.
Read more at Cox School.
SMU’s Tom Fomby, professor of economics in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, is the 2021 recipient of the Faculty Career Achievement Award for his contributions to the teaching, scholarship and service missions of the University.
Fomby will be recognized by the SMU Board of Trustees in the fall.
“I am truly honored to have been chosen to receive this award. Without the support of my colleagues both within the economics department and outside of it, very few of my accomplishments would have been possible,” Fomby says. “SMU has afforded me the opportunity to achieve my career goals – researching at the highest level, teaching wonderful and talented students, and participating in the shared governance of the university via the Faculty Senate and serving on formative University committees.”
Read more at SMU Research.
As part of its goal of shaping champions and preparing students for life, SMU Athletics announces the addition of BOLD (Big Opportunities Live in Dallas), a suite of student-athlete development tools designed to help student-athletes navigate and capitalize on opportunities created by recent Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) legislation.
BOLD will, among other things, provide SMU student-athletes with the means to keep pace with the evolving NIL landscape. The BOLD program will incorporate INFLCR, a comprehensive NIL education and compliance solution, and campus resources from Cox School of Business, Dedman School of Law and Meadows School of the Arts.
Read more at SMU Athletics.
Enjoy these quick links to great stories and videos about some of the people, programs and events making news on the Hilltop.
- Outstanding faculty named Ford Research Fellows
- Researchers weigh in on drop in Texas math scores
- Preston Bryant ’14 among Forbes 30 Under 30
- Amber Venz Box ’08: From success to significance
- Meet the newest Maguire Public Service Fellows
- Watch: Winners of the black album mixtape Awards
- National grant awarded for research to help evacuees
- Hybrid program works for chaplaincy student
- Mustangs earn preseason College Football News accolades
- Watch: Exploring your roots through art