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SMU Tops Tulane, 80–64
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Must-see Photos: Homecoming 2016
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SMU Upsets No. 11 Houston, 38-16
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WATCH: SMU Family Weekend 2016
As the strains of “Varsity” filled Dallas Hall, incoming SMU students streamed through the landmark building for Rotunda Passage, marching toward McFarlin Auditorium and SMU’s 102nd Opening Convocation.
Rotunda Passage and Opening Convocation hold a special place in the hearts of alumni parents, grandparents and other relatives as the next generation joins the Mustang fold. Many graduates volunteer to serve as Alumni Marshals during this milestone event. Donning ceremonial regalia, the alumni line the Convocation path, welcoming students as they take their initial steps toward intellectual and personal growth at SMU.
Among this year’s participants were Robert Hyer (Bob) Thomas ’53, ’57 and Gail Griffin Thomas ’58. Robert, a Dallas attorney, is the grandson of SMU’s first president, Robert S. Hyer (1911–1920). Gail is president and CEO of The Trinity Trust Foundation and co-founder of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. The two met as students at SMU.
Their granddaughter, Electra Gail Thomas, is a member of the Class of 2020. She extended an invitation to her grandparents to participate in this pivotal moment in her future on the Hilltop.
“She is so excited to be at SMU, and we’re so excited for her,” Gail said.
As Charles Salazar ’88 watched students prepare to enter the Rotunda, he marveled at the opportunities that await his first-year son, Matthew.
“I hope he will take advantage of all that SMU has to offer, from study abroad programs to internships,” he said.
Charles received his bachelor’s degree from another university before graduating from Dedman School of Law, and he’s “very pleased” that his son chose SMU as an undergraduate. Matthew plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering in the Lyle School of Engineering.
The campus is already familiar territory to first-year student Gatlin Shore, son Michael Shore ’86, ’90 and Judy Shore ’90, both graduates of Dedman School of Law. One of their favorite family photos shows four-year-old Gatlin decked out in spirit gear, ready for game day at Ford Stadium.
“We’ve always been active in the SMU community, so coming to SMU as a student is like coming home for him,” said Michael, managing partner at Shore Chan DePumpo LLP in Dallas.
Cara Davila ’91 and Joe Davila ’92 were “surprised and excited” when their son, Jordan, decided to attend SMU as a journalism major in Meadows School of the Arts.
“We visited schools around the country – Wisconsin, North Carolina and California as well as Texas – so we weren’t sure where he would end up,” said Cara, who received a B.B.A. from the Cox School of Business. “He really liked SMU. It felt comfortable, and he wanted to be in Texas.”
Joe, who received a bachelor’s degree in management science from the Lyle School, is in mortgage finance, and Cara serves as the yearbook advisor for the International School of Luxembourg. The couple traveled from Luxembourg to help their son move in and stayed to participate in Opening Convocation. They were stationed at the front doors to Dallas Hall, providing Cara with a great vantage point for snapping a cell phone photo of Jordan as he processed by.
When the Class of 2020 graduates in four years, they’ll be joined on Commencement Weekend by alumni celebrating their 50th reunion. In recognition of that special Mustang bond, members of the Class of 1970 were invited to participate in the Rotunda Passage.
Buddy Ozanne ’70 says that next to his own graduation – he earned a B.B.A. from SMU – his proudest moment on campus has been the graduation of his son, Tyler Ozanne, who received a B.B.A. in 2002. He’s looking forward to following the progress of SMU’s newest students as they experience time-honored traditions while creating a few of their own.
“It feels great to welcome a new class to SMU,” he said, “and be a part of this memorable time in their lives.”
2016 Opening Convocation Alumni Marshals
Fred Arnold ’57
Cara Davila ’91 and Joseph Davila ’92
Raymond Fernandez ’78, ’82
Stephen Griffith’86
Balie Griffith ’53
Alexandra Gulledge ’92
Robert Hatcher ’85
Carolyn Hoffmann ’83
Carrie Katigan ’89 and Steven Katigan ’89, ’94
Jennifer Madding ’15
Buddy Ozanne ’70
Randy Phillips ’70
Cara Davila ’91 and Joseph Davila ’92
Raymond Fernandez ’78, ’82
Stephen Griffith’86
Balie Griffith ’53
Alexandra Gulledge ’92
Robert Hatcher ’85
Carolyn Hoffmann ’83
Carrie Katigan ’89 and Steven Katigan ’89, ’94
Jennifer Madding ’15
Buddy Ozanne ’70
Randy Phillips ’70
Sheila Rogan ’92
Henry Rogan ’93
Charles Salazar ’88
Judy Shore ’90 and Michael Shore ’86, ’90
Geoffrey Small ’86
Carrie Teller ’02 and Andrew Teller ’86
Gail Thomas ’58 and Bob Thomas ’53, ’57
Mary Jo Vida-Fernandez ’82
Marti Voorheis ’92 and Paul Voorheis ’92
Maidie Yale ’85
Amy Lou Yeager ’93 and Stephen Yeager ’93
Henry Rogan ’93
Charles Salazar ’88
Judy Shore ’90 and Michael Shore ’86, ’90
Geoffrey Small ’86
Carrie Teller ’02 and Andrew Teller ’86
Gail Thomas ’58 and Bob Thomas ’53, ’57
Mary Jo Vida-Fernandez ’82
Marti Voorheis ’92 and Paul Voorheis ’92
Maidie Yale ’85
Amy Lou Yeager ’93 and Stephen Yeager ’93
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#SMU2020: Scenes From Camp Corral
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Highlights Of Research Day 2016
Coming on the heels of its 100th birthday celebration, the University announced on February 26 that SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign has raised gifts totaling $1.15 billion, the largest amount ever raised by a private university in Texas.
The University’s Board of Trustees heard the final tabulation of gifts and pledges at its meeting February 26 on the SMU campus, following the official completion of the campaign December 31, 2015.
Teaching and learning at SMU are forever enhanced by the ambitious campaign: Donors provided 689 new student scholarships; raised the previous number of 62 endowed faculty positions to a new total of 116; and provided for 68 new or significantly enhanced academic programs and initiatives, including endowments for two schools. Twenty-four capital projects have been substantially funded, including new facilities for academic programs, student housing and athletics. Other gifts for campus enhancements support expanded career services and leadership programs.
The campaign succeeded against a backdrop of explosive North Texas population growth and the relocation of many Fortune 500 companies to the region. SMU President R. Gerald Turner said the unprecedented funding for scholarships, academic positions and programs, and facilities will benefit SMU’s home city and surrounding region in the form of innovative ideas, research and talented graduates.
“These gifts, in many ways, are gifts to the greater Dallas area,” Turner said. “All of the major metropolitan areas of the country have at least one nationally competitive university that not only helps educate the area’s workforce, but also serves as the educational and intellectual hub for many of the city’s needs and cultural assets,” he said. “SMU is proud to be that university for Dallas.”
SMU joins 34 private universities nationwide to have undertaken campaigns of $1 billion or more. The institutions include Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame, Emory and Vanderbilt universities.
“The future for SMU and Dallas is brighter because of the incredible generosity of donors to this campaign,” said SMU alumnus Gerald J. Ford, SMU trustee and convening co-chair of the campaign. “What their gifts will do for the next generation of leaders, researchers, innovators, artists and entrepreneurs is impossible to measure at this time, but the impact will be unprecedented.”
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Campaign resources enabled SMU to endow the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering and SMU’s newest and seventh degree-granting school – the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.
A strong example of SMU’s response to the needs of its home community, the Simmons School was established at the request of area school officials, offering evidence-based approaches to teacher preparation, school leadership development and community partnerships, as well as research on physiology and human performance. Within the school, the SMU Budd Center: Involving Communities in Education is reaching into West Dallas in particular, partnering with 29 nonprofits; 16 public, private and charter schools; and the Dallas Independent School District. They aim to address the social, emotional and educational issues that cause many students to disengage from learning, drop out or graduate from high school unprepared for employment or further education.
Also endowed during the campaign was the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crime Against Women at the Dedman School of Law, one of 10 specialized clinics and projects, where, under the supervision of faculty, students serve as advocates on behalf of clients in many areas of the law.
Mirroring the importance of the arts in a thriving community, the largest single gift to the campaign, and the largest in SMU history, was $45 million from The Meadows Foundation to support the Meadows Museum and the Meadows School of the Arts, which offer a range of nationally recognized academic programs and events that enhance the cultural offerings of the city and surrounding region.
“Dallas and SMU have grown up together, and both are experiencing an era of great promise and momentum,” said SMU alumnus Michael M. Boone, chair of the SMU Board of Trustees and a campaign co-chair. “Great global cities need great centers of learning that serve as incubators for creative ideas and innovative actions that change the world. I’m thrilled that this fundraising success helps ensure that SMU will continue to play a pivotal role in advancing the growth and entrepreneurial culture of Dallas for many years to come.”
Here is a partial list of academic programs receiving funding from The Second Century Campaign:
COX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
- EnCap Investments & LCM Group Alternative Asset Management Center
- Don Jackson Center for Financial Studies
- Kitt Investing and Trading Center
DEDMAN COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SCIENCES
- Embrey Human Rights Program
- Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences
- Texas-Mexico Research Program in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies
DEDMAN SCHOOL OF LAW
- Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crime Against Women
- Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation
BOBBY B. LYLE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
- W.W. Caruth, Jr. Institute for Engineering Education
- Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security
- Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity
MEADOWS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
- Art History Ph.D. Program
- Journalism Digital Studio
- National Center for Arts Research
PERKINS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
- Center for Preaching Excellence
- Center for Religious Leadership
- Center for the Study of Latino/a Christianity and Religions
ANNETTE CALDWELL SIMMONS SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
- The Budd Center: Involving Communities in Education
- Institute for Leadership Impact
- Research in Mathematics Education
GROWING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
The 689 new endowed scholarships created include support for undergraduates and graduate students in all seven schools of the University. Among them are Cox School of Business MBA scholarships for veterans and active military students and additional scholarships for transfer students. New support also is being provided for SMU’s top two merit scholarship programs – the Nancy Ann and Ray L. Hunt Leadership Scholars and the SMU President’s Scholars.
Other new merit-based scholarships include those offered by schools for students who express advanced interest in major programs – Cox BBA Scholars, Meadows Scholars, Dedman College Scholars, Lyle Scholars, Simmons Scholars and Dedman Law Scholars. Annual gifts for multiyear scholarships also provide essential support to these students.
FACULTY SUPPORT
The extraordinary quality of SMU’s faculty is a defining feature of the University. Support for The Second Century Campaign enabled SMU to add 54 endowed faculty positions, reaching a University total of 116, up from 62 in 2008. Endowments for new faculty positions enable SMU to broaden significantly the subjects researched and taught at the University, many of which are vital to the future of Dallas.
Among the notable examples of faculty endowment is Frederick Chang, the Bobby B. Lyle Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security and director of SMU’s Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security, who this year was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.
NEW FACILITIES
New campaign-funded facilities include buildings for the Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Perkins School of Theology and Lyle School of Engineering, as well as a new Mustang Band Hall, new tennis center and renovation and expansion of Moody Coliseum for athletics and academic ceremonies. Under construction are the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center and Fondren Library Center renovation; upcoming construction projects include the Gerald J. Ford Research Center and an aquatics center. At SMU-in-Taos, new facilities include a campus center, new and renovated housing and a chapel.
One of the most visible campaign projects, and one with significant impact on campus life, is the addition of five new residence halls and a dining center as part of SMU’s new Residential Commons system, including on-site classes and faculty in residence. Six other halls have been renovated as Commons, enabling all first- and second-year students to live on campus.
Overall construction funded by the campaign has been a major contributor to the Dallas economy. Since 2011 SMU has spent $390 million on renovation and construction projects, which have employed about 270 service providers, including architects, engineers, landscapers, contractors and suppliers.
“From the beginning, this campaign was about big ideas, innovative thinking and unbridled enthusiasm for SMU,” said Brad E. Cheves, vice president for Development and External Affairs. “Campaign co-chairs and SMU trustees set ambitious goals. Along the way, our longtime supporters and thousands of new donors joined in this effort. The momentum they’ve created is like nothing we’ve seen before. I’m excited to see where we go from here.”
BREAKING CAMPAIGN RECORDS
SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign made fundraising history in several ways. The campaign:
- Gained support from the largest number of donors – more than 65,000 from throughout the world, an increase of 58 percent from SMU’s previous campaign, which ran from 1997-2002.
- Saw an increase of 135 percent in gifts from outside Texas, as compared to the last campaign.
- Received the largest number of gifts of $1 million or more – 183.
- Exceeded its goal to receive gifts from 50 percent of alumni over the course of the campaign, achieving 59 percent.
- Surpassed its goal to achieve 25 percent of undergraduate alumni giving in a single year, reaching 26 percent for 2014–2015. (This measurement is used by some ranking organizations to gauge the level of alumni satisfaction with their alma mater.)
Concurrent with the campaign, starting in 2008, SMU improved in national U.S. News & World Report rankings from 68 to 61; undergraduate applications increased 57 percent to 12,992; and SAT scores rose to 1309.
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP
The campaign has been served by more than 400 volunteers from throughout the world led by six co-chairs, all SMU trustees: convening co-chair Gerald J. Ford, Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler, Michael M. Boone, Ray L. Hunt, Caren Prothro and Carl Sewell.
The Second Century Campaign was publicly launched in 2008 with a goal of $750 million. Rapid progress toward that goal and opportunities for further advancements led SMU leaders to increase the goal to $1 billion. The last four years of the campaign, 2011–2015, coincided with SMU’s centennial era, marking the 100th anniversary of the University’s founding in 1911 and opening in 1915.
SMU’s previous major gifts campaign, ending in 2002, was the University’s first successful campaign since its opening. “A Time to Lead: The Campaign for SMU” was launched in 1997 with an original goal of $300 million. Again, strong momentum led to an increased goal of $400 million. The final amount raised was $542 million.
Including both campaigns, in the last two decades SMU has raised over $1.7 billion for new scholarships, new academic positions, academic programs and capital projects.
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Meet SMU Football’s #StangGang16
The presentation took place at the museum’s open house from 4 to 9 p.m. and celebration in honor of Dr. King’s birthday. He was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta and would have been 87 this year. A contingent of past and present SMU student leaders made the presentation. The transcript was presented to leaders of the Dallas Civil Rights Museum. The museum is located at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center at 2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Building A, in Dallas.
Student Body President Carlton Adams, Association of Black Students President D’Marquis Allen, former Student Senate Chair Charles Cox ’67, ’75, ’79, who introduced Dr. King before his speech at SMU on March 17, 1966, and Dr. Michael Waters ’02, ’06, ’12, chair of the museum board, were among members of the SMU community celebrating Dr. King’s birthday with the museum.
Read more about Dr. King’s speech at SMU and SMU Dream Week 2016 events honoring his life and legacy:
Celebrating the centennial of SMU’s opening, President R. Gerald Turner recalls the vision of our founders, outlines campaign accomplishments and looks forward to the next 100 years.
[dropcaps]A[/dropcaps]s we celebrate the centennial of SMU’s opening, I invite you to think with me across the sweep of a century. Imagine the excitement, the anticipation, the sense of pride and purpose as a group of visionaries stood on this North Texas prairie 100 years ago to watch SMU’s very first group of students climb the steps into Dallas Hall. After almost five years of planning and building, the day was both the culmination of a dream and its launch. That remarkable inaugural day, September 24, 1915, was made possible by the twin pillars of leadership and partnership – pillars that continue to support the SMU of today.
One hundred years ago, leaders of what is now The United Methodist Church saw the need for an institution of higher education in the Southwest. And civic leaders in Dallas, recognizing the tremendous benefit a great university could bring to a growing city, worked hard to lure SMU here. Two permanent buildings stood on campus, built with funds given and land donated by our partners in Dallas and the Church: The Women’s Building, now Clements Hall, and Dallas Hall, named for our city, patterned after Thomas Jefferson’s rotunda at the University of Virginia. Its grandeur set the standard of excellence that would guide our first century and that still inspires us today. Whenever I want visitors to understand the grand vision of our founders, I always walk them into Dallas Hall and show them the beautiful dome and oculus of the rotunda. It never ceases to inspire.
MARKING MILESTONES
Over the five years of this centennial era (2011-2015), we have tried to channel the thoughts and excitement of those individuals who labored from April 17, 1911, when we were founded, to opening day. Each year, during this era, we have celebrated a major milestone in the creation of SMU. In 2011, we celebrated the charter establishing the corporation of Southern Methodist University with a new annual observance of Founders’ Day each April. In 2012, we celebrated the SMU Master Plan that founding President Robert S. Hyer unveiled in 1912. In 2013, we celebrated our libraries during The Year of the Library, as President Hyer named Dorothy Amann in 1913 as the first librarian of the University.
It was a wonderful coincidence to also celebrate in 2013 the magnificent opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In 2014, we celebrated The Year of the Faculty, the 100th anniversary of the hiring of the first faculty. And this year, The Year of the Student, we are reliving the excitement of those first 456 students who entered Dallas Hall in 1915 to begin their collegiate studies. A critical component of Dallas’ emergence as a world-class city, the creation of its university, was now in place and ready to grow with the city.
Our founders envisioned a particular type of university, located in a thriving city and shaped by its entrepreneurial, “can-do” spirit. It would be dedicated to academic freedom and inquiry, non-sectarian in its teaching, yet grounded in both the spiritual and moral values of the Church and the professional 
and educational needs of the city. The result was to be a unique marriage of faith and intellect: to reunite, in the words of Charles Wesley, “those two so long divided, knowledge and vital piety.” We are the keepers of that grand vision. We hope that those who gather on campus 100 years from now will feel the pride and optimism with which we began the second century, whose conclusion they will be celebrating in 2115.
Either fortunately or unfortunately, none of us gets to choose the era in history in which we live. But having the opportunity to live in Dallas at this special time of connection to SMU by alumni and friends, we have a dual responsibility. First, we have to finish well by bringing SMU’s first century to its best possible conclusion. I could not be more proud and grateful for the way we collectively – our University, our alumni, and donors and partners across Dallas, North Texas and the world – have done just that. Our founders had the imagination to see farther than anyone thought possible. Yet, I suspect they might be astounded to see the SMU of today.
We’ve grown to 101 buildings on 234 acres at our main campus and expanded east across Central Expressway, plus added satellite campuses in Plano and Taos. We have a great diversity of students from all 50 states and 90 foreign countries. As testament to the increasing quality of the students we are attracting, those taking the ACT now average 29.5 while those taking the SAT average 1309, a 165-point increase in the last 20 years. We offer 104 bachelor’s, 113 master’s and 27 doctoral research degrees in seven degree-granting schools. Several faculty members have been elected to prestigious national academies. We have nearly doubled the number of endowed faculty to 111.
With great excitement and gratitude, we competed for and were selected to be the site of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which has expanded our tradition of attracting world leaders to our campus. 
The beautiful Meadows Museum, celebrating its 50th birthday, is hosting world-class exhibitions never before seen in the United States to augment its incredible collection of Spanish art. Our student scholars are engaged in research projects designed to benefit not only Dallas, but also cities and communities across the globe.
As we complete our first century, our Cox School of Business ranks among the top business schools nationally and globally, and we are ranked by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as an institution with “high research activity.” The Dedman School of Law and the Perkins School of Theology also offer top programs among their competitors. In 2014, our undergraduate music program was ranked No. 1 in the nation among programs at comprehensive universities and dance was ranked No. 6. Dedman College, Simmons School of Education and Human Development, and Lyle School of Engineering also have unique, nationally renowned programs.
A NEW RESPONSIBILITY
By any measure, we indeed have met our first obligation to finish our first century well. However, being blessed to live during this historic time, we have a second responsibility: to launch SMU’s second century with the same optimism, devotion, persistence and unrelenting commitment to SMU’s success and excellence as were shown by our founders. It is our obligation to pour the foundation for our future just as solidly as we did for the many new buildings that now grace our campus. Therefore, ensuring a robust future is the primary purpose of our major gifts campaign during this centennial era. That is why we called it The Second Century Campaign, pointing forward, rather than naming it The Centennial Campaign, which tends to point to the past.
We started with what we thought was a stretch goal of $750 million. You will recall that we went public in September 2008 on the Thursday before Lehman Brothers fell the next Monday! Your support, even in the difficult days of that great recession, was sustained and generous.
[dropcaps]A[/dropcaps]s I said earlier, a university’s centennial is its time to triumphantly close one era while enthusiastically launching another. And you were absolutely committed to our meeting both obligations. Based upon your ongoing commitments, the co-chairs of the campaign and the Board of Trustees raised the original goal to an unprecedented $1 billion, knowing the huge impact such a milestone would have on our entire campus community. Because of your generosity and the hard work of thousands of individuals across the globe, I am pleased to make this historic announcement: Today, on the occasion of SMU’s centennial opening, The Second Century Campaign has received commitments of more than $1 billion dollars. That’s $1 billion, 70 million, and change.
Importantly, other goals have been achieved: Gifts from over 62,000 donors worldwide have helped us to exceed our yearly undergraduate alumni participation goal of 25 percent. And we’ve exceeded our overall alumni giving goal of 50 percent over the course of the entire campaign, reaching 56.9 percent.
Happily, a big part of my job today is to say thank you for helping us meet these historic milestones. Thank you to the campaign co-chairs: trustees Ruth Altshuler, Gerald Ford, Ray Hunt, Caren Prothro and Carl Sewell, who were joined in the past two years by Mike Boone, Board chair. They met quarterly with us and served as role models of giving, while also attending dozens of campaign-related events. (Ruth Altshuler attended nearly everything, mainly to be sure that Vice President Brad Cheves and I did exactly what she told us to do.)
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
In raising a billion dollars, SMU is joining a very elite club. Only 33 other private universities in the United States (and only Rice in Texas) have ever conducted campaigns of this size. Even more important is what those dollars will enable: more student scholarships to attract the best and brightest seekers and thinkers for the future, more endowed chairs and professorships to retain or recruit the very best to our faculty, and continuing facility and program improvements to enrich our campus experience, including our intercollegiate athletics programs. And we still have until December 31, when the campaign officially ends. So, it’s not too late to join those whose support we celebrate!
This year’s Commencement speaker, former President George W. Bush, said, “SMU is dynamic, diverse and destined for continued excellence.” We intend to fulfill that destiny by continuing to improve teaching, research, creative achievement and service as we rise in stature. How strong was Harvard in 1736 as it began its second century, or Princeton in 1846 at its centennial celebration? Compared with those years of existence, we are just getting started. But we have come a long way. This next century will be a time of crossing boundaries and borders as we continue to grow into our commitment that world changers are shaped here.
We will cross the boundaries of current knowledge with our research and advanced computing capability. For some of you, your time at SMU was defined by the smell of baking bread from the Mrs Baird’s plant across Mockingbird. The southern tip of that site is now home to our new Data Center. SMU recently 
moved into the top 25 in the country in our high-performance computing capacity. This allows us to analyze massive amounts of data, and through computer modeling, it facilitates innovative and interdisciplinary research – from the liberal arts and sciences to engineering and communications and fine arts.
Use of big data in an interdisciplinary environment is a major emphasis of the current draft of our new 10-year strategic plan, approved by the Board of Trustees at its December meeting. New faculty endowments will help us recruit and retain the talented faculty attracted to SMU by this new resource. Therefore, cross-disciplinary research and teaching, empowered by advanced computing approaches, will define our new scholarly productivity as we move into the first decade of our second century.
Reflecting the growing interest in interdisciplinary studies, our students are choosing double and triple majors and seeking global experiences. SMU’s latest Truman Scholar, Rahfin Faruk ’15, for example, majored in economics, political science, public policy and religious studies with a minor in mathematics.
We will cross the borders and boundaries of geography as we become even more global. One hundred years ago, we offered one educational site: here on the Hilltop. Ten years ago, we offered 18 education abroad programs in 12 countries; today our students choose from more than 150 programs in 50 countries, and that expansion will continue.
We are increasingly crossing boundaries between the campus and community. We are expanding engaged learning programs, sending faculty and students to conduct more than 200 community projects in places like West Dallas. In that community, our Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development is supporting the School Zone, helping give children the educational and societal tools to break the cycle of poverty. And we will continue to welcome citizens from the community to our campus for professional development and cultural opportunities.
OUR TIME AND CALLING
Although technology and communications will continue to revolutionize the way we live and work, some things will not – and should not – change. SMU will continue to be a bustling place of activity, but also a serene place of beauty, where students experience a personal, supportive campus community, captured so well in the words of Jimmy Dunne’s song, “SMU, In My Heart Forever.”
Our classes will continue to be small, allowing meaningful faculty and student interaction. We remain committed to a broad-based liberal arts education surrounded by outstanding professional schools. We will continue to affirm that a liberal arts foundation provides an irreplaceable window into understanding humanity and how to address complex problems, regardless of one’s professional pursuits.
We will continue to develop joint programming with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which already has begun to be the incredible resource that it will become during our second century. There, world leaders will continue to work to resolve current and future challenges, often in partnership with SMU’s Center for Presidential History and the Tower Center for Political Studies in Dedman College.
Finally, we will continue to enrich our academic programs with a growing focus on ethics, knowing that leaders who are both well-educated and grounded in enduring values will become those who help society progress. We offer one of only seven human rights majors in the country. We have no higher calling than to shape ethical world changers of tomorrow.
So, in summary, we will:
- Cross new interdisciplinary research barriers with advanced computing.
- Provide more opportunities for students to combine academic majors.
- Cross geographic borders by increasing the number of students who will study abroad.
- Connect more closely the University with the city, strengthening the relationship of town and gown.
- Expand the study of ethics in all we do.
We will remain attentive to emerging opportunities, knowing that as a private university we can adapt swiftly, ever mindful of our mission, but open to new ways of fulfilling it.
A university, like a city, is never finished. Universities evolve, and ours has evolved in a wonderful way. SMU’s first President, Robert Hyer, when asked when SMU would be completed, replied: “When the 
City of Dallas is completed.” Today, SMU and our host city are both more mature, more dynamic, more diverse and more international than our founders could have asked or imagined. Yet, Dallas and SMU are both far from complete – still evolving, still becoming ever more important to our country and beyond.
Our church founders would have wanted us to note that the Bible speaks of at least two great strategic locations: in the midst of the city and a city on a hill. The Psalmist says the Lord “is in the midst of the city … she shall not be moved.” And, as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “a city built on a hill cannot be hid.”
So, from our Hilltop, in the midst of our city, it is our time and our calling to get the second century under way so strongly that the bicentennial will be even greater than this centennial! As we reach back across 100 years to join hands with those founders of SMU, we also reach forward for the hands of those who, in 100 years, will reach back for ours, in appreciation for what we have enabled. This extension forward and backward vividly shows that our work is truly designed for the betterment of humanity across the ages. As President Hyer said at our founding: “Universities do not grow old, but live from age to age in immortal youth.”
Thank you for committing so much of your time and resources to ensure that SMU can move with great confidence into its second century, with full assurance of our commitment: “World Changers shaped here!”
View video of President Turner’s address
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Hats Off To SMU’s December Grads!
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Cement Your Legacy By December 31
When she came up with the idea to produce a holiday celebration on campus, Vicki Sterquell ’78 didn’t realize she was creating one of SMU’s most beloved traditions, Celebration of Lights. Sterquell, who resides in Houston, was a special guest at this year’s Centennial Celebration of Lights ceremony on November 30.
Here are some highlights from her account of that first magical event, called Festival of Lights at the time:
Deck Dallas Hall with orange lights?
Sterquell, a member of the Student Foundation Board, pitched the idea for a Christmas lighting party as a thank-you to the community for its support. At the time, SMU did not have a campus Christmas tree or “even celebrate the holiday season,” she says. The board agreed it was a great idea and planning commenced.
“After asking the head of the maintenance department at SMU, Dick Arnett, and getting permission from President James H. Zumberge’s office, I ordered Christmas lights to decorate Dallas Hall and some trees along the main quad, at a cost of $5,000. Since it was so late in ordering, the only lights available from the company were orange.”
Amarillo alumni to the rescue
Even though she had obtained permission through the proper channels, Sterquell learned in late October that no department had money budgeted for the lights. “I felt panic setting in,” she remembers. But that didn’t stop her. She persuaded all those who needed to sign off on the project to agree that she could proceed if she raised the $5,000.
When she told her parents about her plight, they suggested she contact Carolyn Newbold ’42, the society editor of her hometown newspaper, The Amarillo Globe News, and a fellow Mustang. “She offered to write a column about the event to help raise the funds needed. The next weekend I flew home to Amarillo,” where alumni donated the $5,000 she needed.
Let there be white lights!
The idea of orange lights adorning Dallas Hall didn’t appeal to the maintenance department crew charged with stringing the lights, and the department ordered enough white lights for the entire display. The catch: All the orange bulbs had to be replaced. “The entire Student Foundation and friends spent many hours late into the night taking the orange light bulbs out and replacing them with the white bulbs.”
A beloved tradition is born
“Our first event was called Festival of Lights and was held on the first Sunday in December [December 4, 1977],” she says. “The sidewalks were lined with luminarias, a large Christmas tree stood in front of the fountain, the University Choir sang Christmas songs and President Zumberge read the King James version of the Christmas story.”
When the lights were switched on, the crowd gasped and clapped, she says. “At the close of the ceremony, you could hear people singing carols as they walked back to their cars and dorms. It was truly an exciting event, especially for me, my committee and the entire Student Foundation.”
The next year, SMU’s signature holiday event was renamed Celebration of Lights.
Below is coverage of the first event from the 1978 Rotunda. These photos and videos of the 2015 Centennial Celebration of Lights capture the magic of this joyous Hilltop tradition.
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Scenes From SMU Family Weekend 2015
Friday, September 25
Class of 2010 Reunion
Class of 2005 Reunion
Class of 1985 Reunion
Class of 1980 Reunion
Class of 1975 Reunion
The Man in the Red Tie: Professor Harold Jeskey book event
Hunt Leadership Scholars Reunion
Reception Honoring Willard Spiegelman
Mustang Band Mini Reunion
Saturday, September 26
Class of 1970 brunch and party
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See The Author September 9
Founders’ Day Weekend April 16-18 celebrated several University milestones – the 100th anniversary year of SMU’s opening, the Year of the Student and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Meadows Museum.
“This year, 2015, is the Year of the Student because 100 years ago our first students climbed the steps of Dallas Hall to enter SMU, with all University operations centered in that single, grand building,” President R. Gerald Turner said at his annual briefing. “Appropriately, our students have been making history ever since.”
On Friday the SMU community commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Meadows Museum with a celebratory gathering that attracted international visitors (large photo above). Founded in 1965 by benefactor Algur H. Meadows, it houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Spanish art outside of Spain.
As part of the celebration, the Meadows Museum is presenting the first exhibition in the United States of paintings from the collection of Juan Abelló and his wife, Anna Gamazo, considered among the world’s top collectors. The Abelló Collection: A Modern Taste for European Masters features paintings and drawings spanning the 16th to the 21st centuries, including works by Spanish and other European masters.
On Saturday, the Meadows Museum welcomed visitors to travel to Spain without leaving Dallas with its “Passport to Spain” Community Day activities (small photos above). The family-friendly event included opera arias performed by Meadows School of the Arts student, painting demonstrations and dance performances.
Rounding out the weekend was a reunion of Golden Mustangs, for alumni from the classes of 1964 or earlier; Inside SMU Powered by TEDxSMU; President’s Associates reception honoring donors who make gifts totaling $1,000 or more in a single year; the President’s Briefing; and the Mustang Fan Fair at Ford Stadium, featuring the SMU football spring game.
More scenes from the Meadows Museum, Founders’ Day Weekend
> See more photos of Community Day at the Meadows Museum
In this SMU Magazine exclusive, Fred Chang discusses cyber issues with Kim Cobb, director of media relations in SMU’s Office of Public Affairs.
The Dallas Morning News described Fred Chang as a “cyber warrior” when he joined SMU in September 2013. His roles at SMU reflect the breadth of his expertise, as well as his goals – Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Centennial Distinguished Chair in Cyber Security, computer science professor in the Lyle School of Engineering and senior fellow in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies in Dedman College. Chang says he plans to tap as many SMU resources as possible to develop a multidisciplinary program aimed at tackling significant cyber challenges facing individuals, businesses and government. By November 2013, he was testifying before a congressional committee examining concerns about lack of privacy protection for people using healthcare.gov as it was being rolled out. And in January 2014, SMU announced the establishment of the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security with Chang as its director.
The past year has been marked by global cyber security problems. How are those issues shaping the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security?
The many cyber security incidents over the past year have underscored to the public just how widespread the problem is. Unfortunately, the headlines also have demonstrated that the cyber defenders continue to trail the cyber attackers. It has proven to be quite difficult for the defenders to get ahead of the problem.
From day one, a primary goal of the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security has been to conduct high-quality research that will contribute to the creation of a science of cyber security. We are working with industry partners to move from being reactive to proactive, and the creation of a science of cyber security with these same partners is a critical step in the process. Creating a science with universal standards and methods of measurement will take some time, but we’ve got to start. We expect that the research we conduct at the Institute will make important contributions to this new science.
It’s also important that we take a multidisciplinary approach in addressing the problem. The focus of our programs ranges from hardware and software security concerns to economic and social sciences issues to consideration of policy and law factors. That’s why SMU is such a good home for this program – the University has expertise in so many disciplines. I have had the good fortune to collaborate with Josh Rovner, the John Goodwin Tower Distinguished Chair of International Politics and National Security, associate professor of political science, and director of studies at the Tower Center for Political Studies, as well as Amit Basu, chair of the Information, Technology and Operations Management Department in Cox School of Business. And within the Computer Science and Engineering Department in the Lyle School, I am working with a team of truly committed people, including, among others, Mitch Thornton, who specializes in hardware security Tyler Moore, whose research focuses on the economics of information security, and Suku Nair, department chair.
You frequently say that cyberspace is getting to be a bad neighborhood. What keeps you awake at night as you think about strolling through “the neighborhood?”
Cyber attacks on the nation’s critical infrastructure are a constant worry. Attacks that would lead to a disruption of communications networks, health care, public safety, financial services, transportation and the like are unthinkable. Indeed, the federal government has made the protection of critical infrastructure from cyber attacks a major priority. And here’s another concern that I’ve had more recently: As security breaches and data exposures are becoming the new normal, I worry that we are all suffering from “security fatigue.”
We are constantly learning about some new data breach that may compromise our personal security and requires, for example, that we change our passwords as a defensive measure. I worry that people, upon hearing about the latest compromise, might think: “I just changed my password three weeks ago – I’m not going to do it again.” Are we going to become numb to the warnings? I’m certainly not advocating an overreaction to every new breach report, but I do worry that when a credible warning is issued, it may not be taken seriously.
What is SMU doing about these problems?
In the classroom, we want our students to have the right balance of technical implementation details, adversarial thinking and fundamental principles. On the one hand we want them to be “front-line qualified” when they graduate, but at the same time we want to ensure that they are well prepared for the future, because we know the specific attacks that they witness today will be very different two and five years from now. Undergraduate and graduate students gain valuable theoretical and practical skills that prepare them for additional formal training in cyber security or for positions in the job market.
We’ve been ramping up our research capabilities, focusing on world-class “problem-driven” research through the Deason Institute. We are working with research clients to produce tangible solutions – and by that I mean prototype software – to pressing, difficult problems within a shorter time frame. Another goal of the Institute is our interest in helping to solve the “skills gap.” Because there is a large shortage of highly skilled cyber security professionals, employers in the private and public sectors worldwide can’t find enough trained workers in the field to fill their openings. This problem will persist for a long time, but we are determined to help close the gap with well-trained, innovative graduates in cyber security from the Lyle School. And because our students have the opportunity to participate in industry-driven research through the Deason Institute, they graduate from the Lyle School with industry-focused skills.
For most people, the question of cyber security comes down to personal security. Is there really anything that individuals can do to protect themselves from cyber thugs?
Just like when you drive your car, you can’t guarantee that you won’t get into an accident. But like buckling your seat belt and adjusting your mirrors, there are some things you can do to help defend yourself in cyberspace. Let me mention three approaches:
- Update software – It’s a good idea to regularly and frequently update the software running on your machine. The software vendors are constantly providing updates that include improvements, including security patches that will close a security vulnerability that exists in the software.
- Be vigilant – Be smart when you’re on the web and when processing email. It remains all too easy for your machine to inadvertently download malware – nasty software intended to damage or take control of computers.
- Use difficult passwords – It continues to be the case that people use passwords like “password” or “123456.” It’s not necessarily convenient, but people are well served to use harder passwords.
You receive many requests for speaking engagements. What do people want to learn about cyber insecurity – especially in industry, where problems are occurring faster than many experts can form a response?
A lot of people find the cyber security problem both surprising and alarming – they realize the problem has become widespread, and they either know somebody who has been affected or they have been affected. There’s a saying that has been going around the business world as it relates to cyber security: There are two types of companies – those that have been hacked and know it, and those that have been hacked and don’t know it. So, that’s our challenge, and we are embracing it. We’re very excited about the research momentum we are building at SMU. We believe we are making a difference in the field of cyber security by helping to solve some challenging problems, and our positive outlook is being validated as an increasing number of research sponsors are approaching us for assistance. We’re off to a fast start and we don’t plan on slowing down.
What does it mean for your work, overall, to hold a centennial endowed chair and lead a new institute dedicated to solving global cyber security issues?
It was very clear when I joined the University that SMU intended to provide significant resources to make a real impact in the field of cyber security. The beauty of a centennial chair is that the donor has had the foresight to provide several years of operational support until the endowment matures. And the opportunity to develop and direct an institute that reflects the priorities I have embraced through work in government, business and academia will provide important resources for important work.
SMU opened five new residential facilities, dining commons and parking garage this fall at the southeast corner of campus. The facilities were built to accommodate another 1,200 students to fulfill SMU’s new two-year living requirement on campus. The six existing residence halls have been renovated to form SMU’s 11 Residential Commons, all of which include faculty in residence. Crests were created for each Residential Commons to provide a unifying identity among the residents.
>Read about life in the RC
>See an interactive map
SMU alumnus Brian Baumgartner ’95 – a.k.a. Kevin Malone from the hit series “The Office” – brightened up the cool and cloudy afternoon during his stop at Meadows School of the Arts for a conference hour with students November 14.
> Brian’s Back: Mustang Minute! Video
As expected, Baumgartner brought laughs to Margot Jones Theatre, where he spoke about his journey from SMU to Hollywood. His comedic genius permeated the question-and-answer session with students. They laughed uncontrollably, and even he couldn’t contain himself, cracking up at some of his own lines.
There also were touching moments. Upon seeing one of his former professors, Baumgartner leapt out of his seat with joy and gave Bill Lengfelder a heartfelt hug.
“You are a comedic genius,” Lengfelder said to the actor. “You came in brilliant, and you left brilliant.”
During the hour-long session, Baumgartner revealed that one of his favorite memories involves another famous Meadows alum.
When the Greer Garson Theatre first opened, Meadows invited accomplished alumni back to SMU to join in the celebration. Among those attending was award-winning actress Kathy Bates ’69. Baumgartner is a huge fan of Bates – “who doesn’t love Bates,” he interjected. His mother secretly contacted the actress, and for Christmas that year, he received an autographed book from Bates. Fifteen years later, when she made special appearances on “The Office,” Baumgartner was able to pull out that autographed book.
“I am getting a little emotional,” he said. “It was a special moment. And she’s Kathy Bates. She’s awesome.”
After graduating from SMU, Baumgartner went on to help found the Hidden Theatre in Minneapolis with fellow SMU graduates. He served as artistic director.
“I couldn’t visualize the path to move to New York, so that’s why I founded the company. Even though it’s horribly cold, Minneapolis was more livable,” he said.
While in business for about five years, the company experimented with putting on original plays and recreating works by comedians such as Steve Martin.
“It’s a lot of work getting a business going,” he said, “and we were relatively successful at what we were doing.”
Baumgartner later performed with several prestigious regional theatres in Minneapolis, including the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company and Theatre de la Jeune Lune.
After taking a year off to try film and TV, he moved permanently to Los Angeles. Four months later, he landed a role on “The Office.”
“We knew we had something special from the second episode called ‘Diversity Day,’” he said.
But, in the beginning, the audience didn’t share the cast’s enthusiasm. At first, the ratings were terrible, he said. He recalls a moment in Steve Carell’s trailer. He was sitting opposite John Krasinski, and they were bummed about their ratings. “Well, we got to do 12 episodes. That’s pretty cool,” Carell said.
Shortly afterward, the show found its audience and became a hit, running from 2005 until May 2013. Over nine seasons, the show received 42 Emmy nominations and won five awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
“The reason for the success of that show was college students watching. There is no doubt in my mind. Young people embraced something new,” he said.
Baumgartner has spent 2014 trying to recreate his identity as an actor. He dabbled in a few TV and film drama roles, and “spent the last year saying ‘no’ to anything that resembles Kevin. You have to constantly reinvent yourself.”
Baumgartner wrapped up the Q-and-A with these words: “Everything is valuable. No path is better or worst. They say take advantage of SMU, and that is 100-percent right. Go out and experience other parts of the University. SMU teaches you there is more. What you are learning here is so important.”
– Leah Johnson ‘15
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Are You One Of The 13,625?
SMU faculty send off thousands of students each year after graduation, hopeful that they have prepared them to become creative thinkers and citizens of the world. And professors appreciate being remembered by alumni. So to celebrate the Year of the Faculty in 2014, SMU is inviting alumni to share memories of a beloved or favorite professor. SMU Magazine is sharing some of those recollections. To read more memories – and add your stories – visit the Year of the Faculty site.
While I consider Schubert Ogden my mentor at Perkins School of Theology, when he retired, he suggested that I work with Billy Abrahamas my dissertation adviser. Although I never took any courses from Billy, we spent countless hours in deep discussion, bouncing ideas off each other. One of the things he showed me was that my own position [on theology] was not as solid as I thought it to be. He forced me to consider things I had never even thought of. He possessed an infectious enthusiasm and passion for his work, as well as a fierce dedication to his students. – Allen Pomeroy ’93
We all have teachers in our pasts who made a difference in how we viewed the world. For me there were two: Jeremy Adams, history, and Bonnie Wheeler, English. I accompanied them to Oxford one summer, during which I learned a great deal about medieval history, Arthurian legend, and how to power through lengthy bus rides and castle tours. I wouldn’t trade a moment of the glories we saw and the marvels we experienced. Professors Adams and Wheeler pushed us to study hard and challenged us to think for ourselves. I became a history teacher myself, and I hope I can bring the same enthusiasm and passion to my students. – Polly Granzow Viehman ’83, ’09
Franklin Balch, political science, was smart, entertaining and interested in his students’ intellectual progress and their well-being. Our freshman group seminar met in his home, where his gracious wife made incoming students from widely divergent backgrounds feel at home. Prof. Balch fanned our desire to be intellectually curious and to hone the critical thinking that should be the cornerstone of a liberal arts degree. – R. Bruce Moon ’81
- Taking Bill Barnard’s Intro to Primal Religions opened my eyes to cultures that see the world in ways we can’t even imagine … I took every class I could with him, finishing with a minor in religious studies, which I never imagined pursuing. – Bryan Ellett ’02
- Paul Boller’s History of American Ideas and Art Etzler in German stand out in my mind. Dr. Boller caused me to look at history with a critical mind. He inspired me to become a history teacher, and I used his notes as the bases for my own lectures. Not only was Dr. Etzler an outstanding professor, he was ever present on campus. From him I learned to appreciate every aspect of my university – the classroom, sporting events, cultural events, even bridge in the student center. – Mary Kay Overbeck Coleman ’59
When I was a first-year law student participating in a mock trial competition, Professor William Bridge patiently coached me and the other members of our team to give us a rudimentary understanding of the rules of evidence. He made the concepts interesting and clear. My practice, which involves criminal appellate litigation, requires familiarity with the rules of evidence, and I am always thankful that I received such a firm foundation from Professor Bridge. – Sarah Page Pritzlaff ’85
- Dr. Alessandra Comini folded art history lessons so masterfully into a historical period story that every student could savor as the most spectacular explosion of heart and mind. Never before or since have I witnessed a lecturer captivate an audience so wholly as to elicit a standing ovation at the conclusion of every single session. – Mark Logan ’92
- I enjoyed Virginia Currey’s political science classes so much that I took almost everything she taught. During the 1980s, the women’s movement was coming around to mainstream society. She discussed the ways in which women had made a difference in politics and had changed history. Dr. Currey encouraged all students to share their views without fear of intimidation. She taught me confidence. – Cindi Lambert ’85
Kenneth Hamilton ignited my interest in African-American history. His classes formed the foundation that I would use in writing articles on race and ethnicity. That foundation also proved helpful when I returned to graduate school and got my Master’s degree in history at the University of Nevada, Reno. – Geralda Miller ’98
- I actually had two favorite faculty members: Dr. John Deschnerand Dr. Albert Outler, Perkins Theology. Both not only talked the talk, but they walked the walk as Christians. They were kind, true gentlemen, brilliant in terms of their subjects, but wholly present in mind and heart to their students. I will never forget the impact they made on my life. – Mary Ann Lee ’67
- Dr. Edwin J . Foscue’s geography classes were always fun. We not only discussed the daily assignment but also current events and politics. The discussions were lively and everyone participated. I had enough hours in geography to change my major. – Walter Judge ’41
Bill Fox, who taught humanities, was my adviser, so we became friends. He was a wonderful teacher, both interesting to and interested in all of his students. He helped me navigate my first two years of college, leaving a lasting impression. I will always credit him for instilling in me a love of learning and an appreciation for the humanities. I went on to obtain a Master’s degree from the University of Dallas. – Susan Pollan ’73
- One of the most important persons in my life of 82 years now was Professor Samuel Geiser, who was a zoologist at SMU. I now have been a university professor for 50 years at Ohio State, Rice and George Mason. I keep Dr. Geiser’s picture on my desk to remind me what a splendid teacher and scholar looks like. – David Schum, ’56, ’61
- Dr. Mary Alice Gordon helped me discover an interest in the psychology of human/group interaction, leading me to a career in organizational development. She encouraged me to challenge myself with graduate courses while an undergraduate. My success at SMU is uniquely and distinctively entwined with her and significantly affected by having her as a mentor and a professor. – Sheryl (Sherry) Black ’80
- This Ohio boy was struck by what good teachers he found as an English major and history minor at SMU – Ima Herron, Herbert Gambrell, Larry Perrine, John Lee Brooks and George Bond, who would hand over the creative writing baton to me. Looking back, I am moved by the interest taken in me and the encouragement given me as a student and young faculty member by these committed teachers. It was for this reason I stayed to take a Master’s degree and began to take my writing seriously as something I could do and think of teaching as a vocation. – Marshall Terry ’53, ’54
Jim Hopkins in history is an example of the exemplary dedication of faculty to undergraduate education – one of the many things that attracted us both to SMU. As a history major, one of us (Read) recalls fondly the atmosphere of intellectual engagement and curiosity that Jim fosters in every classroom discussion. But our warmest memories are of Jim and his wife, Patti LaSalle, from Alternative Spring Break in March 1999, when they joined our group of SMU students on a service trip to San Francisco, where we served the city’s homeless. Over meals, Jim regularly led riveting discussions. Alternative Spring Break became an extension of the applied learning laboratory that Jim and others create everyday on the SMU campus. – Read ’00 and Vanessa Rusk Pierce ’01
- In summer 1958, I had two sessions of organic chemistry with Harold Jeskey. He was a wonderful man, a great teacher and influenced my life positively in many ways. Around 1975, I was in Dallas and went back to visit him at Fondren Science; he was coming down the hall toward his office. He called me by my full name and remembered everything about my time with him. I feel really blessed to have known him. – Eugene N. Robinson ’60
- Dr. G. William Jones ’51, ’56 had a passion for the art of cinema that was obvious from my first class, when he transformed “Citizen Kane” from a movie to a masterpiece of writing, editing, camera angles and sound. I took every class that he taught. My SMU experience with Dr. Jones led me to work in local television for many years. – Mary “Mabs” Bonnick ’76
Dr. Richard Johnson taught me, and so many others, the value of education. His pragmatic approach opened our minds and his humor and genuine concern for his students won our hearts. We all benefited from our time with Dick Johnson. – Carl Sewell ’66
I once told Alice Kendrick, advertising, that I did not like, nor watch, much TV. She said I should think twice about majoring in advertising then. She was always blunt, but right. I became a publicist in New York City, where I lived for 12 years, and now have my own event production business in Los Angeles. – Nichole Wright ’98
- I am forever grateful for the impact the late Professor Jeffery Kennington in engineering has had on my career. Not only he was a great teacher, but also one of the finest human beings you will ever meet. Professor Kennington was kind, thoughtful, and inspired his students to be the best they can be. – Bala Shetty ’85
I took six or seven classes from Don Jackson’63 in Cox School of Business. I used to sit in the back of his class and one day he asked me to come see him. He told me “it’s time to get off the back row and engage because you have great potential.” That was a turning point for me. – David Miller, ’72, ’73 (who later provided a lead gift to establish The Don Jackson Center for Financial Studies)
- I took Barbara Kincaid’s law and taxation classes in the Cox School, and loved them! I actually took my first class with her at SMU-in-Taos, which was an interesting choice compared to most of the liberal arts and cultural courses offered in this environment. It was a challenging class, and I loved her passion for teaching. She is a role model to all business-minded and career-driven women. – Alexandra Dillard Lucie ’05
- Dr. Lonnie Kliever really opened my eyes and mind with his religious studies classes. I was a pre-med student and took some very challenging and difficult classes. Dr. Kliever’s Philosophy of Religion was one of the toughest classes during my college tenure. I’m sure he never knew what a profound impact he had on my life, both then and now. – Joseph Newman ’83
- Joe Kobylka in political science made Constitutional Law class so much fun. It cemented my desire to learn more about the law and attend law school after graduation. – Tracy Ware ’95
- In Virginia Baker Long’s Office Management and Business Letter Writing classes, she included the importance of table etiquette when dining with upper management executives while being interviewed for a job. Poor table manners could make or break a job offer. All of these lessons have been helpful to me throughout life, in the business world as well as in my personal life. – Cora Sue Wootters Warren ’47
Sheri Kunovich, in her Sociology of Wealth and Consumption course, brought many things to our attention that most of us hardly ever think about. For instance, Americans are willing to work longer hours and spend less time with family just to have enough money to consume more, and buy things we don’t really need. Dr. Kunovich sheds light on how happy we could be if we all lived a little more simply. Her class was my last final before graduation, and in a way it was quite fitting, as I believe this class truly sent me off [well prepared] into the real world. – Gianna Marie Philichi ’13
- I graduated 37 years ago and often think of what I learned in the journalism classes of David McHam and Darwin Payne ’68. I would not have succeeded in law school if I had not taken David McHam’s writing class. He taught me that every word has a particular meaning and should be used correctly and carefully. Darwin Payne used his experiences as a journalist to motivate his students to consider the ethical issues involved when covering a story. I remember the stories about his interaction with Abraham Zapruder (known for his home movie documenting the assassination of JFK) and the difficult ethical issues he faced when interviewing him. – Margaret Dawkins ’76
Dr. Ruth Morgan taught a course on the American Presidency. Every class was filled with memorable information. I was amazed at how prophetic she was and that so much of the information I learned is still pertinent. She made us aware of not believing everything we read but to do the research and think for ourselves. Dr. Morgan was professional in every way and I felt that her course was one of the most valuable courses I ever took. – Gerry Brewer Hudnall ’71
Luis Martin was by far the best professor one could ever have. From the first minute of his History of Mexico class he was absurdly engaging. His class made one think about the opportunities that were presented for the simple luck of having been born American. There are few other professors I can even name from my college years. – Linda Olson (Eidsvold) ’86
- Jack Myers, creative writing/poetry, was rigorous. I learned enough from a few semesters with him to carry me successfully through an M.A. at Johns Hopkins and Ph.D. at University of Houston. – Leslie Richardson ’88
- Dr. Lloyd Pfautsch, choral conducting professor, had wonderful people skills, was great at making a seemingly daunting task simpler, taught us to analyze and break down complex pieces into approachable components, then rehearse properly until the expected result happened every time. His work and caring for each of us in a way that encouraged rather than belittled us was not truly appreciated until years later. – Hal Easter ’77
My mentor and huge influence on my professional life was Dr. Paul Packman – Mechanical Engineering Department chair and my M.S. and Ph.D. adviser. Not only did he teach me all about fracture and fatigue of materials, he also introduced me to the world of litigation consulting and to the world outside of Dallas through food and stories of his travels around the world. – Angela Meyer ’83, ’85, ’87
- I came to SMU to obtain my Bilingual/ESL certification in 1987. Dr. William Pulte encouraged me to apply for a scholarship to get a Master’s degree at SMU. What a great opportunity that was! One semester was so hard – I was working full time as a public school teacher and taking nine hours at SMU. He always encouraged me to stay with the program and finish. I received my degree and went on to become a lifelong learner, getting my principal’s certification and Master Reading Teacher Certification. Dr. Pulte has remained a valued mentor throughout the years. – Lisa Dupree ’89
One of the professors at Cox who made an impact on my career was Robert Rasberry. He reminded us that ethics was a critical part of business and encouraged my inquiry into ethical leadership and organizational behavior. I have been designing and delivering corporate training since 1998 and have worked with some of the largest companies in the world. When I stand in front of executives and discuss how the role of a leader is to create an environment where employees can make ethical decisions and behave in a way that promotes good communication and sustains healthy relationships, I try to honor Dr. Rasberry and all he taught me. – Martha Acosta ’96
When I was a Perkins Theology student, we had a project called the “West Dallas Work Project.” Dr. Joerg Rieger always taught that you must do theology with “dirt under your fingernails.” These were not merely words for him. On multiple Saturdays we headed to sites around West Dallas and did our best to make a difference. What a grand opportunity to work side by side with a professor, talk theology, and get our hands dirty together as we worked and lived out our calling! – Brian Minietta ’99
- I came to SMU as a junior in 1947 with hundreds of other World War II veterans. The director of both the band and the orchestra was A. Clyde Roller, who also was a WWII vet. I had known Mr. Roller from pre-war days in the Oklahoma Symphony, where he was the first oboe player. We all had tremendous respect for his musicianship and the genuineness of his personality. He left a year after I arrived, and the person who followed him was my high school director from Oklahoma City, Oakley Pittman. Mr. Pittman was a great band director, and we remained friends after graduation. I became the commander and conductor of the U.S. Army Field Band with the rank of full colonel. Mr. Pittman felt that he had played a major role in my success. – Hal Gibson ’50
- Dr. Bill Stallcup was a gifted teacher – and also such a kind person. He helped me with private tutoring in genetics and had endless patience with my mistakes! He was respected by faculty and students, and it was a blessing to learn from him. – Carol Hay (Caton) ’71
- Without the help of Walter Steele, Herb Kendrick, Larry Lee, Harvey Wingo,Bill Flitte,Joe McKnight and several others in the Law School, this country lawyer might not have been able to practice 44+ years. – William McGowan II ’70
- [I remember] the mentorship, leadership, friendship and professional career guidance provided by Dr. Jerrell Stracener’69, ’73, systems engineering program director. Without a doubt, this was the very best educational experience that has had a direct impact on my achieving a variety of career goals. – Keith Castleberry ’05
Marshall Terry’s creative writing classes were inspirational and downright fun! Marsh always encouraged us to find our own voices and to never give up. To this day, some of my best SMU memories are from his class. And one final icing on the cake was that he presented me my diploma at graduation. – Amy Cardin (Patterson) ’81
- The professor of whom I have shared the most memories over the years is the great Lon Tinkle in comparative literature. His look recalled that of Mark Twain. He was an author, scholar and reviewer of the highest regard, but it was his spellbinding speaking that made him unforgettable. He would, in his marvelous one-of-a-kind, part Texas, part British accent, take us on 80-minute literary journeys. He would always start from a launching point premised on the book that we were reading, but soon the storytelling would lead onto apparently disconnected yet mesmerizing avenues, only to have him tie it all up a second or two before the bell rang. Had it been in a theatre, he would have received a standing ovation. – Chris Rentzel ’72
- I took two or three semesters of Mary Vernon’s art history classes. Not only did I gain a deep appreciation for fine art, I also learned so much about design and color, and how artists hold the viewers’ eyes. This enlightenment fed my career in overseeing the production and design of several vertical market magazines and a newspaper. The insights I gained from Mary Vernon’s courses have permeated and enhanced my life culturally, also. – Suzanna Penn ’75
The late David Weber was a brilliant professor of history, and he had a way that made you want to learn. He wrote many books, and besides his knowledge of the Southwest, he truly loved the Southwest. He was kind, laid back and patient, and such a wonderful mentor to so many. He became my friend for life, and we kept in touch until he passed away. He had a profound impact on my SMU experience, and I will be forever grateful I was his student. – Katie Gordon ’86
- After almost four years, I thought I was through, “done and dusted” as they say Down Under, where I live. Then Jerry White [Entrepreneurship, Cox School] challenged me by helping me understand that nothing else matters if there’s not enough cash flow to make payroll. It’s a lesson I still carry with me today as a CEO. I should have known that it was going to be good when in the first class he gave us a Roman history lesson that explained double-entry accounting. It is the only interesting thing about accounting I have ever heard. I almost failed his class, but it was the best education I ever had. – Craig Campbell ’93
- I had some great teachers and, regrettably, two have passed away, including Dan Wingren, who was fabulous in his knowledge of art and art history, and Dr. Karl Kilinski, who was tops in his field of Greco-Roman art history. I was lucky to have taken one of his tours to Greece in 1976. Dr. Annemarie Carr was another facet to my education. But I owe a lot to Larry Scholder, who encouraged me to be a printmaker and guided me through the basics of etching. (I am still a printmaker, by the way.) It is very important to give positive as well as negative comments without stomping on a student’s ambitions. – Sandra Douglas ’83
- My wife, Kathleen Brooks ’63, and I earned our B.B.A. degrees from SMU, and our favorite professor was Frank A. Young in the Insurance Department. He taught insurance from a scholarly point of view as well as a vocational one. None of us will ever forget Mr. Young’s foolproof grading system, which was designed to require each student to prepare daily and have a comprehensive understanding of the entire course material. Professor Young knew each student by name and kept up with all of us. To this day, 50 years later, the Insurance Department alumni still look forward to receiving our Frank Young Newsletter (via email) with great anticipation and fond memories. – James Verschoyle ’63
Share memories of your favorite SMU faculty members here.
Harlan and Katherine Raymond Crow ’94 of Dallas are the newest donors who are supporting SMU’s new Residential Commons complex, which was dedicated May 9. Their $5 million gift is funding the Kathy Crow Commons.
They join five other donor families who are providing $5 million each to support the complex, comprised of five residence halls, a dining commons and a parking center. Designed to accommodate 1,250 students, the complex will enable all first-year students and sophomores to live on campus.
Opening in fall 2014, SMU’s new Residential Commons model of campus living includes 11 Commons created from new and existing residence halls. It will provide an integrated academic and residential student experience, with live-in faculty members who will have offices and teach classes in the Commons.
“Harlan and I have been highly impressed by the leadership of Gerald Turner and others at SMU, and the positive momentum and aspirations of the University are infectious,” says Kathy Crow. “Those factors, plus SMU’s decision to aim for $1 billion and my great pride in being an SMU Cox School alumna, inspired us to want to contribute to SMU’s goals in a meaningful and impactful way.”
Dallas civic leader Kathy Crow earned her M.B.A. from Cox School of Business. In addition to serving on the SMU Board of Trustees, she is a member of the executive boards of the Cox School of Business and the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. She also has served in the Women’s Economics and Finance Series at Cox.
Harlan Crow earned his B.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin and soon afterward joined The Trammell Crow Company. He has worked with Crow-affiliated entities for nearly 40 years and currently serves as chairman and CEO of Crow Family Holdings. He is a member of several boards of directors, including the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and the Monticello Foundation Board.
The Residential Commons and their namesake donors are:
Armstrong Commons. Liz Martin Armstrong ’82 and Bill Armstrong ’82. They founded Armstrong Oil and Gas, Inc., based in Denver, Colorado, conducting business throughout the United States, and they established Epoch Estate Wines in Paso Robles, California. Bill Armstrong is a member of the SMU Board of Trustees, and Liz Armstrong serves on several SMU leadership boards.
Crum Commons. Sylvie Crum and Gary Crum ’69. Before his retirement from private industry, Gary Crum was co-founder of AIM Management Group and served as director of AMVESCAP PLC. Both are the chief executive officers of the CFP Foundation, a Houston-based charitable organization. Gary Crum is an SMU trustee.
Loyd Commons. Penny Loyd and Paul Loyd Jr. ’68. Paul Loyd is founder and principal of a private investment firm in Houston and is past chairman and CEO of R&B Falcon Corporation, the founder of Carrizo Oil and Gas Corporation and co-founder of JVL Advisors. Penny and Paul Loyd together head The Loyd Charitable Foundation. Paul Loyd is an SMU trustee.
Ware Commons. Richard Ware ’68 and family, daughter Anne Clayton and triplet sons Patrick, William and Benjamin. Mr. Ware continued a family tradition by making his career in the banking industry. He is president of Amarillo National Bank, which has remained family owned and operated for five generations. He is the longest-serving non-Dallas member of the SMU Board of Trustees.
In addition to these alumni donors, Anita Ray and Truman Arnold, longtime philanthropists supporting education, are providing funds for the Arnold Dining Commons, open to all students on campus. He is founder and chair of the board of Truman Arnold Companies, one of the nation’s largest privately owned petroleum marketing firms. Both are co-partners in a family private equity firm, TA Capital, and also serve as trustees of the Truman and Anita Arnold Foundation.
To learn more about these donors and the Residential Commons complex through video interviews, visit smu.edu/residentialcommons.
Harlan and Katherine Raymond Crow ’94
Liz Martin Armstrong ’82 and Bill Armstrong ’82
Sylvie Crum and Gary Crum ’69
Penny Loyd and Paul Loyd, Jr. ’68
Richard Ware ’68 and Family
Anita Ray Arnold and Truman Arnold
A gift of any size by large numbers of alumni can make a big difference to SMU’s progress and reputation. That’s the key message that alumni leaders want to convey as the Second Century Campaign seeks higher alumni participation.
“To be direct, we need 13,000 alumni donors by May 31. But even beyond that date, we need more alumni to give annually,” says Leslie Melson ’77, chair of the Alumni Board. “We need alumni to adopt the habit of giving each and every year. Even those who have made large gifts also become annual donors, recognizing the importance of continual alumni giving.”
“This is not just about money, it’s about reputation,” she adds. “The number of alumni donors who support the University annually is noted by ranking agencies such as U.S. News & World Report as an indication of alumni satisfaction with the education they received. And the stronger SMU’s showing in national rankings, the higher the value of our degrees as we compete in the marketplace, lead our professions and serve our communities.”
Yearly giving directly supports daily operations that shape the quality of the educational experience at SMU, such as library resources, technology, faculty salaries and financial aid. It also helps to keep tuition increases moderate, benefitting student recruitment.
“Prospective donors who read about multimillion-dollar gifts to SMU could feel that their smaller gifts might not be important, but that is far from true,” says Caren Prothro, chair of the SMU Board of Trustees. “We deeply appreciate gifts at all levels, which carry a great deal of weight beyond their monetary value. And for alumni who hope to send family members to SMU, support for the University today will bring dividends in the quality of education those children or grandchildren will enjoy tomorrow.”
To make a gift, visit smu.edu/giving or mail to SMU Office of Development, P.O. Box 750402, Dallas, Texas 75275-0402.
By Patricia Ward
Tyrell Russell, a sophomore Hunt Leadership Scholar from Riviera Beach, Florida, planned on taking an organic chemistry course over the summer. Instead, he embarked on “the trip of a lifetime” with fellow SMU students Katie Bernet, Melanie Enriquez and Prithvi Rudrappa. In June they met up with a group of volunteers led by former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush ’68 for a weeklong renovation of a cervical cancer screening and treatment center in Livingstone, Zambia.
Immersed in a situation in which limited material resources and a patriarchal culture have blocked progress in the past, the students witnessed the power of a community’s boundless determination bolstered by its international partners’ resolve to improve medical care. As hands-on participants in the clinic overhaul, the students not only assisted with a lifesaving project, but they also found new purpose as they continue their educations at SMU.
“The experience gave me a new perspective,” says Russell, a double major in biology and philosophy in Dedman College. “It inspired me to explore the humanities side of medicine, including the cultural barriers that prevent people from seeking treatment.”
The students were recommended for the project by their respective schools or programs. After submitting applications, they were interviewed by Eric G. Bing, who traveled with them to Africa. Bing, professor of global health in the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, serves as senior fellow and director for global health at the Bush Institute. The Bush Institute paid all expenses, except for students’ vaccinations and malaria pills.
In Africa, the students worked with local Zambians, U.S. Embassy officials and Bush Institute staff – including SMU alumna Hannah Abney ’02, director of communications for the Bush Institute – on the Mosi-Oa-Tunya Clinic. The clinic is part of Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, the George W. Bush Institute’s flagship global health program. The public-private partnership focuses on cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment, as well as breast and cervical cancer education efforts, in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Cervical cancer is a growing public health concern in Africa. According to the World Health Organization, Zambia has the highest cervical cancer mortality rate globally, with 38.6 deaths per 100,000 women.
When the students arrived June 21, major construction had already been completed on the clinic, so the students pitched in on the finishing details, including interior and exterior painting and floor installation. The Bush Institute’s humanitarian project not only improved a critical medical resource, but it also created a cross-cultural bridge, says Enriquez, a Hunt Leadership Scholar from Corpus Christi, Texas.
“Working alongside Zambians daily during the renovation and speaking with the women at an operating cervical cancer clinic were priceless experiences,” says Enriquez, a sophomore on the pre-medical track in Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. “Even though we have lived completely different lives on opposite sides of the world, in most cases, we shared the same core values of family, faith and education.”
The extraordinary opportunity “showed me that learning should not be limited to the classroom,” she says. “I will now seek more opportunities, such as a study abroad program, to enhance my academic experience.”
Rudrappa also has set his sights on a health-related career, which he is now considering in a global context. The son of a primary care physician in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Rudrappa began working at hospitals as a high school student. He spent summers in facilities as varied as a small clinic in rural Missouri and an urban medical center in Detroit.
Working in Zambia “made me realize what a powerful health-care tool education can be, which has inspired me to get involved in shaping global health policy,” says Rudrappa, a junior Dedman College Scholar studying biochemistry and finance in the Cox School of Business.
He is now assisting Bing with a project to determine the costs and efficiencies of scaling up cervical cancer screening and treatment in Tanzania, Botswana and Zambia, countries included in the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative.
For Russell, a trip to a nearby village was a defining moment. “I was so impressed by the residents’ ingenuity and resourcefulness. They were able to find value in the smallest things,” he says. “It made me more appreciative of things that we often take for granted, like our health and family.”
The trip influenced Bernet, a junior advertising and photography major in Meadows School of the Arts, to visualize her future in broader terms. “I know that I want to do something that makes me feel the way I did during that trip,” she says, “like I’m a part of something that matters.”
Bernet, now a marketing and communications intern with the George W. Bush Presidential Center, used her photography talents for a project to highlight the women’s lives outside the medical setting.
“We distributed 19 disposable cameras and asked the women to take pictures of what they felt were the most important aspects of their lives,” she explains.
Most of the women photographed their children, families and homes, she says. “I have pictures of myself when I was young posing in the same way that a Zambian girl is posing in one of the photographs. We face vastly different circumstances, but underneath it all, we are very much the same.”
Hannah Abney recommends that students interested in global health and other Bush Institute focuses apply for internships.
“Because the Bush Center sits on the SMU campus, SMU students have a unique opportunity to volunteer and intern for projects that few other students have access to,” she says. “Whether it’s in global health or any of the other Bush Institute focus areas – including education, military service, women’s issues, human freedom and economic growth – one of the most exciting elements of the work is exposing SMU students to new and different ideas, and learning from them as well.”
Read about other SMU students making a difference around the world on the SMU Adventures blog site.
Jennifer Robb calls Fondren Library Center her “second home.” Robb, a junior majoring in applied physiology and biology, studies in the library almost daily. On the Tuesday before spring finals started, she set up her laptop and checked out a movie to review for a class on Hispanic film.
“When I’m studying or working on a research paper, I never have to leave the library,” she says. “All the resources I need are right here.”
While it is doubtful that SMU’s founders imagined libraries abuzz with students like Robb using laptops, tablets and smartphones, or scholars around the globe gaining access to the University’s special collections via the Internet, they did have a clear vision for building a great University with a library as one of its cornerstones. Provision for the first library was made in 1913, well in advance of SMU’s opening to students
in 1915.
In 1940, Fondren Library, SMU’s first library building, opened with Charles C. Selecman, the University’s third president, speaking these words: “The library is the heart of the University.” That description, inscribed below Selecman Tower in Fondren Library Center, still rings true today.
Fast-forward to 2013 as the University community commemorates the Year of the Library, a 12-month celebration of the fundamental importance of the libraries to the intellectual life of SMU. Programs and exhibitions planned throughout the year provide opportunities to discover the rich resources and one-of-a-kind collections housed in the nine facilities that constitute the largest private academic library system in the Southwest.
The Year of the Library quickly became the year of new milestones. On Founders’ Day, April 19, the SMU Board of Trustees commemorated the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center by presenting a rare volume to DeGolyer Library in honor of former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush ’68. The journal of American explorer John Maley, recounting his 1810-12 travels through the trans-Mississippi West, including Texas, represents SMU libraries’ four millionth volume.
The preservation of Maley’s eyewitness account of exploration illustrates how the libraries have acclimated to the shifting needs of students and scholars over the past century. While honoring the tangible and tactile brilliance of works on paper, the libraries embrace new technology as a catalyst for learning and research. Maley’s original 188-page text will be archived for study today and by future scholars as part of DeGolyer’s already strong holdings on Western Americana. At the same time, the document will be available to researchers everywhere online. Central University Libraries’ Norwick Center for Digital Services team, using its new Hasselblad H4D-200MS – the highest-resolution camera on the market – captured each page of the book as a digital image.
Likewise, the realities of serving new generations of users in new ways require reconfiguring spaces. Renovations planned for Perkins School of Theology’s Bridwell Library and CUL’s Fondren Library Center take into account essential technology upgrades and changing learning styles to accommodate small group study and work on collaborative projects.
Hayden Hodges, a junior majoring in engineering management with a minor in math, likes what he has heard about the remodeling plans. He says there is no substitute for physically going to the library and studies at Fondren Library “about two to three times a week.”
“I like the idea of having more places where students can study together or even just hang out in a comfortable spot,” he says. “The better it is, the more I’ll come.”
– Patricia Ward
Categories
Class Notes 1940-1949
1944
Vivian Castleberry, a longtime features editor at The Dallas Times Herald, was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Dallas Peace Center at the 26th annual Peacemaker Awards Dinner last December 5. Working to promote nonviolence, she founded Peacemakers Inc., a nonprofit that sponsors international women’s peace conferences. The University of North Texas named its peace studies institute for her.
1949
Shirley Mays Pond, now retired from her 25-year career as executive administrative assistant to various members of the Texas State Legislature, enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, music and politics. She has three daughters and three grown grandchildren.
Categories
Class Notes 1950-1959
1950
The Rev. Dr. William K. McElvaney (M.B.A. ’51, M.Div. ’57) received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Perkins School of Theology February 4 as part of Perkins’ Ministers Week. Following graduation from Perkins, he served for 15 years as pastor of several United Methodist congregations and for 12 years as president of the United Methodist-related Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO, where the William K. McElvaney Chair in Preaching was established in his honor in 1988. He received the SMU Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1980, and the William K. McElvaney Fund for the Advancement of Peace and Justice at SMU was started in 1993.
1952
Frank (Francis) Murray is promoting his 52nd book, Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene Are Miracle Workers (Gyan Books, New Delhi, India), especially geared to the developing countries, where millions succumb to skin problems, lung diseases, HIV/AIDS, measles, malaria, diarrhea and blindness each year. His 53rd book is Minimizing the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (Algora Books, New York, 2013).
The Rev. Robert E. Young (Master of Theology) participated in the 60th anniversary of Richland Hills United Methodist Church. Rev. Young was the founding pastor and served the church from 1953 to 1962. Six charter members of the original 89 were in attendance and received special certificates. He shared in the worship service with other former pastors and baptized his great-grandson, Baker Jay Blankenship. His grandmother was baptized in Richland Hills United Methodist in 1956.
1955
The Rev. Dr. Roberto Escamilla was presented the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Alumni/ae Council of SMU Perkins School of Theology as part of Perkins’ Ministers Week in February. He is minister of evangelism at First United Methodist Church in Ada, OK, an instructor in the Perkins School of Theology Course of Study School (COSS) and worship coordinator for COSS every summer.
1956
Richard L. Deats reports joining the King Scholars in the MLK Digital Project and speaking in Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, and at Boston University School of Theology.
Categories
Class Notes 1960-1969
1961
Mike Engleman has published Finding Home, the first book in a series called Lawes’ Raiders, an alternative historical fiction of the Texas Rangers in South Texas in the mid-1800s. Finding Home and the second book, New Life, are available at Amazon.com, and the sixth book in the series is under way.
John H. Massey assumed the presidency of The University of Texas Law School Foundation Board of Trustees Sept. 1, 2012. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from SMU’s Cox School of Business in 1993, the Presidential Citation Award from The University of Texas in 2011 and the Hall of Fame Award for high achievement in business from UT’s McCombs School of Business in 2012. He is active in agricultural and wildlife conservation in Colorado County and Matagorda County in Texas.
1965
Tim Smith (M.S.E. ’69) and his daughter, Tammy Smith Lahutsky ’89, are former Texas Instruments electrical engineers. His TI products include the logic chips that assisted the Apollo lunar modules to land safely on the moon and return to Earth and the chips used to develop the first Apple computer and IBM PC. After retiring from TI as a senior vice president, he started a medical devices company, Avazzia, in 2004, and Tammy joined him. Tim is CEO and principal designer of Avazzia’s FDA-approved medical devices used to manage pain, all developed, manufactured and distributed from the Dallas headquarters. Medical doctors prescribe Avazzia devices for drug-free pain management in patients; dentists use the products to relieve their own hand pain and back pain and for patients with pain/discomfort; athletic trainers manage pain in injured players without drugs; and diabetics use Avazzia products to manage pain connected with neuropathy. Its veterinary applications soothe muscles and stimulate healing in animals.
1968
REUNION CHAIRS: COOKIE KUYKENDALL FRAZAR and ALBON HEAD
Albon Head (J.D. ’71), an attorney in the Fort Worth office of Jackson Walker, was selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He was a 2012 “Super Lawyer,” appearing in last October’s issue of Texas Monthly magazine, and was chosen a 2012 Fort Worth “Top Attorney” by Fort Worth, Texas magazine in the December issue.
Categories
Class Notes 1970-1979
1970
Allen B. Clark, a disabled Vietnam War veteran, has authored Valor in Vietnam 1963-1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice, stories from the war and all branches of the military. Signed copies of the book are available at www.valorinvietnam.com.
David Hudnall retired at the end of 2012 after 38 years at Omnicom Group Inc. Advertising Agencies. For the last 16 years he has been president of Omnicom Management Services, providing financial, accounting, tax, HR and IT services to Omnicom-owned agencies in the Southwest.
1971
David S. Arthur (M.F.A. ’73) announces the second printing of The Kingdom of Keftiu, his historical mystery novel from Brighton Publishing LLC. It’s the first of a series of three novels, the second of which is in the editorial stage.
1972
Hugh R. (Buz) Craft has written Once Upon a TIME…IS TEMPERATURE! to “prove” that time is simply temperature. He covers various subjects in this printed piece he calls a bookazine. A list of publishers is available from Google.
Gail Norfleet is a Dallas artist whose third exhibition of paintings, monotypes, photographs, collages and paintings on glass was held at the Valley House Gallery this past January 11 – February 9. She has had solo exhibitions in Dallas at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary and the former Delahunty and DW Galleries. An art professor at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, TX, she also gives private instruction.
Peggy Higgins Sewell was honored at the TACA Silver Cup Award Luncheon in Dallas February 22 as an extraordinary arts philanthropist and a champion of the performing arts community of North Texas.
1973
REUNION CHAIRS: KENT HOFMEISTER and SUSIE FREY WOODALL
Stephen Tobolowsky is a veteran character actor on television and in the movies. Among other roles, he was Needle Nose Ned in “Groundhog Day.” In an award ceremony March 7 at Austin Studios, he was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. His new book, The Dangerous Animals Club, captures his storytelling flair.
1974
Gary Ingram, an attorney in the Fort Worth office of Jackson Walker, has been named in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and selected as a 2012 Fort Worth “Top Attorney” by Fort Worth, Texas magazine in the December issue.
Patrick “Pat” Yack has been named to PBS’ Digital Advisory Council, a national group of broadcasters that advises PBS on a variety of digital initiatives.
1975
John Samuel Tieman ’79, Ph. D., has published “Shame On You, Child: On Shaming, Educational Psychology And Teacher Education,” a chapter in the new book, The Uses of Psychoanalysis in Working with Children’s Emotional Lives, which is published by Jason Aronson, a division of Rowman and Littlefield. The book is designed to be used in, among other places, schools of education. Dr. Tieman also has an article in the spring issue of Schools: Studies In Education, which is published by the journals division of the University Of Chicago Press. The essay, “Miss Freud Returns To The Classroom: Toward Psychoanalytic Literacy Among Educators,” is a call for a more psychoanalytically informed approach to educational psychology and teacher formation, he says.
1976
John Holden, an attorney at Jackson Walker, was designated a 2013 “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers. Only one lawyer in each practice area in each community is so honored.
Ladine Bennett Housholder announces her new book, The Well Women, the tale of the Samaritan woman at the well interwoven with stories of challenge and healing of nine contemporary women. With discussion questions in the back, the book is suitable for study and discussion groups as well as personal reflection.
1977
Tim Seibles has been an associate professor of creative writing at Virginia’s Old Dominion University since 1995. He was one of 20 finalists for the 2012 National Book Awards, nominated for the somewhat autobiographical Fast Animal, his seventh collection of poetry (Etruscan Press), in which he traces his life from a 16-year-old to a present-day middle-aged man. Collectively, Fast Animal tells a story of how life changes for all of us.
1978
REUNION CHAIRS: BRYAN DIERS and STEVE and DAWN ENOCH MOORE
Wade Cooper is an attorney in the Austin office of Jackson Walker. In last October’s issue of Texas Monthly magazine, he was listed as a 2012 “Super Lawyer,” and he also was selected for inclusion in the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, regarded by many as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
Laurie Hickman Cox had her first solo exhibition at Valley House Gallery in Dallas December 12, 2012 – January 7, 2013, displaying oil paintings, pastels and cut-outs. In 1984 she attended a summer residency at The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine and since then has spent two summer residencies at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, ME, and one residency at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Village, CO.
Rod MacIlvaine and Cindy Funkhouser MacIlvaine celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary and the arrival of their sixth grandchild this spring. Their children are spread out from Seattle to London, so it makes for exciting places to visit, according to the MacIlvaines. Rod continues to serve as senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Bartlesville, OK, and on the adjunct faculty of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. His recent article, “The Apologetic Value of Religion and Wellness Studies,” was published in the Christian Apologetics Journal. His next article will appear in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice journal later this year. Rod has recently enjoyed reconnecting with his fellow fraternity brothers, especially his freshman year roommate from Boaz Hall.
1979
Renee Pfrommer Castle (J.D. ’82) married Robert L. (Larry) Crawford Nov. 5, 2011, in Rosemary Beach, FL. She practices law with her brother in Memphis, and her two daughters, Sarah and Cristia, attend Birmingham-Southern College.
Mary Collins received the Spirit Award last November from Women In Film.Dallas at the 2012 Topaz Award Gala, recognizing her outstanding contributions, dedication and trailblazing efforts within the film and television industry. She is founder, owner and president of The Mary Collins Agency in Dallas, which represents voiceover and on-camera performers. In 2012 she also was inducted into Worldwide Who’s Who of Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs.
Categories
Class Notes 1980-1989
1981
Sharon S. Millians was honored March 5 by the Fort Worth Commission for Women as an Outstanding Woman in the Workplace. She is a partner in, and co-chair of, the real estate and finance section of law firm Kelly Hart & Hallman. She has been on the list of “The Best Lawyers in America” since 1992, recognized as a Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly since 2003 and identified as one of the “Top 50 Women Texas Super Lawyers” and “Top 100 Super Lawyers” in the Dallas/Fort Worth region.
Regina Taylor moved to Chicago in 2010 and has now been selected by Chicago Magazine as one of six Chicagoans of the Year for 2012. Playwright, director and Golden Globe-winning actress, she has rewritten and revived her 10-year-old musical Crowns, a celebration of African-American women and their hats.
Lisa Benefield Thomas had her first classical label recording released last October 29 by Toccata Classics in London. It is solo piano music by American composer Arthur Farwell.
1983
REUNION CHAIRS: JANIE DONOSKY CONDON and MISSY KINZELE ELIOT
Dr. Melanie Moore Biggs is a licensed clinical psychologist at the V.A. North Texas Health Care Systems – Dallas V.A. Medical Center, where she works with Dallas veterans on the inpatient psychiatry service providing individual and group psychotherapy and psychological evaluations.
1984
Jeff Austin III was re-appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Transportation Commission in March for a term that expires Feb. 1, 2019. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation.
John Gilchrist was named a Fellow in the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, one of 183 fundraising professionals to have earned this highest level of distinction.
Megan Riegel was awarded South Carolina’s highest civilian honor — The Order of the Palmetto — for her work as president and CEO of the Peace Center for the Performing Arts. The award was given by S.C. Governor Nikki R. Haley on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at the Peace Center in Greenville, S.C.
Elizabeth Longino Waller of Birmingham, AL and James McBrayer Sellers, III ’83 of Lexington, MO were married on June 8, 2013, in New Orleans, LA. The ceremony took place in the original stables of the French Quarter’s historic Hermann House, now Broussard’s. The bride wore a circa 1905 gown that had belonged to the groom’s great-great-great aunt. Following their vows, the new couple, wedding party, and guests joined a Second Line Brass Band for a parade through the Quarter, returning to Broussard’s for a courtyard reception. The groom’s mother, Elizabeth Singleton Sellers ’56, a Kappa Alpha Theta sister of the bride, read I Corinthian 13. The guests included Elizabeth’s other Kappa Alpha Theta sisters Lucy Duffy Tankersley ’84 and Lisa Cave Andrews ’84.
1985
Larry Pierson, who earned an MS in engineering management from SMU, reports that he recently filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office for a Texas-sized internet data switch. At over 30,000 ports of 10-gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), it is much larger than any other telecom switch out there, he says. “One of the more interesting applications for it is to provide a fault-tolerant communications core for a supercomputer with over 10 million processing units. It can also be used to maximize (groom) the flow of data in long distance internet lines to help keep the costs of carrying internet services down.”
Christine Karol Roberts is an attorney in California and author of the children’s books The Jewel Collar, a tale of a Maltese dog and the lesson that sharing is the Christmas spirit and the spirit of true friendship, and Hannah the Hummingbird, a story of the adventures of Hannah and her baby hummingbirds. From last December through February 14, she donated 100 percent of all Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple iBook store sales from these books to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund in Newtown, CT. She was recognized among Los Angeles’ Women Leaders in the Law in March 2013 by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell.
Todd A. Smith, owner of The Todd Smith Law Firm, has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation, a mark of distinction and recognition of his contributions to the legal profession. Each year only one-third of one percent of State Bar members are invited to become Fellows.
1986
Margaret Love Tuschman DeVinney has transferred from her position in SMU Athletics as executive assistant for women’s basketball to administrative assistant for Athletic Forum and programs in SMU’s Program Services.
Evangelia Costantakos Kingsley, a Meadows School of the Arts graduate, and Chip Prince return to the Metropolitan Room in New York September 22 and 30 to sing songs about dance by Cohen, Coward, Gershwin, Rorem, Waits and many more. The show is directed by Eliza Beckwith.
Linda Yows Leitz was elected chair of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors last January 31 and will serve as chair-elect until her term begins Sept. 1, 2013. A financial professional since 1979, she founded and co-owns the financial planning firm It’s Not Just Money, Inc. in Colorado Springs. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in the personal financial planning program at Kansas State University.
The Honorable Brian McCall is chancellor of the Texas State University System, serving more than 77,000 students at eight institutions. In a ceremony in Waco Jan. 25, 2013, he was presented the Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award by the Baylor Alumni Association. He served two decades in the Texas House of Representatives and has authored The Power of the Texas Governor: Connally to Bush, based on his Ph.D. dissertation.
1987
Mark S. Bertrand has been appointed vice president for financial services for defense and space programs for Boeing Capital Corporation. Based in El Segundo, CA, and a resident of Long Beach, he leads a team supporting financial structuring and solutions for Boeing’s military and satellite systems customers.
Steve Hickman has moved from Phoenix to Seattle where he continues in his fourth year as the IP strategist for Honeywell Aerospace. In the 1990s he worked as a consultant in Dallas, Kansas City and Minneapolis, developing sustainable software architecture helping clients in industries ranging from aerospace and oil/gas to manufacturing, pollution and telecom.
1988
REUNION CHAIRS: CRAIG ADAMS and CHRIS CROCKER
Margaret White Weinkauf has returned to SMU as assistant director of development for the Meadows School of the Arts. She has chaired fundraising efforts in the Dallas community with a broad network of arts and cultural supporters and has extensive experience as an attorney.
1989
Julianne M. Furman has been named president of Polydesign Systems, a subsidiary of Exco Technologies. Based in Tangier, Morocco, she manages divisions comprising almost 800 people in France and Morocco.
Matthew Thompson has been recognized for legal excellence with his selection to the 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He practices immigration law in the Houston office of Jackson Walker.
Categories
Class Notes 1990-1999
1990
David A. Dreyer (M.F.A. ’92) had a fourth solo exhibition of his paintings and sculpture, “Resonance of Place,” at Valley House Gallery in Dallas from February 16 to March 16. He has been honored with the Moss/Chumley Award from the Meadows Museum at SMU and has had solo exhibitions at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas and The Grace Museum in Abilene.
Lee Mulcahy (Ph.D. ’00) is an artist in Aspen, CO. In January 2013 he exhibited at Germany’s Universitat der Kunst Berlin and the Carbondale Council for Arts and Humanities in Carbondale, CO. In March he was featured at Aspen’s Red Brick Center for the Arts.
Nisha Shah returned to the Dedman School of Law at SMU last December as the assistant director of development. She has experience as a trial lawyer and has chaired fundraising efforts and worked closely with lawyers and constituents throughout the Dallas area.
1991
Elise A. Healy, a Dallas-based immigration lawyer, has been named 2013 Dallas Immigration Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, reflecting the respect she has earned for her ability, professionalism and integrity.
1992
David Gunn and his wife, Kristen Smith Gunn ’94 recently relocated back to Texas after 14 years in Florida. They settled in the Katy area with their children, Preston, Peyton and Pierce. When they are not busy chasing the kids or reconnecting with friends and family, David works as vice president of Business Development and Strategy for SonarMed, a medical device company.
William Jenkins is a civil litigation attorney at Jackson Walker. He was selected as a Fort Worth “Top Attorney” for 2012 by Fort Worth, Texas magazine in last December’s issue.
Matthew Kadane has written The Watchful Clothier: The Life of an Eighteenth-Century Protestant Capitalist (Yale University Press, 2013). He is an associate professor of history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Andrea Iken Tennison and her husband, John Tennison, M.D., welcomed twin sons, James Tyler and Joseph Thomas, Jan. 31, 2011. Andrea reports that their big brother, Jack Truman, has been helping the boys learn to make pony ears!
Lisa K. Thompson has been promoted at Prairie View A&M University from assistant professor of educational leadership to associate professor with tenure and to coordinator of the Ph.D. program in educational leadership in the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education.
1993
REUNION CHAIRS: HILAREE CASADA, CAROLYN KERINS and BERNA RHODES-FORD
Jacqueline Bradley designed and implemented initiatives for fall 2009-fall 2012 that doubled success rates for under-prepared students in the writing program at El Centro College in downtown Dallas. She is chair of the Department of English and Developmental Writing.
Dan Davenport co-founded RiseSmart in 2007, a leader in next-generation outplacement solutions, helping laid-off employees get back to work. With his leadership, 30 Fortune 1,000 companies have switched from traditional outplacement firms to RiseSmart, now the fastest growing outplacement solutions provider in the U.S.
Logan Flatt is senior vice president of strategic planning at the integrated marketing agency Ansira, based in St. Louis and Dallas. As a Chartered Financial Analyst and member of CFA Institute, he is considered an expert on improving the impact of marketing on corporate financial performance. He lives in Dallas.
Phyllis Durbin Grissom has been elected grand president for Delta Delta Delta social Greek organization for the 2012-2014 biennium, announced at the 55th biennial convention in Tucson last July.
Victor G. Hill III married Jennifer Owens in Oklahoma City March 24, 2012. He is a senior network engineer with General Dynamics Information Technology – Air Force and Navy Solutions, and Jennifer is in her 18th year as an English teacher at Putnam City West High School.
Sean Whitley is a producer of “Home Strange Home” on HGTV.
Heather Wilson joined Ogilvy Public Relations as executive vice president and director of the corporate group, based in Chicago. Previously she was a senior vice president with Weber Shandwick and led its West Coast corporate issues and crisis management group in Los Angeles.
1994
John Dorsey reports that he and Andrew Stephan ’93 started their own production company – ten100 – three years ago. Their latest film, “Glory Hounds,” which took three years to make, premiered on “Animal Planet” in February to rave reviews. It documents the bond between military working dogs and their handlers on the front lines in Afghanistan. Last year they directed “The Marinovich Project” for ESPN, which was nominated for an Emmy for best sports documentary. And in 2010 they collaborated with Thaddeus Matula ’03 on “Pony Excess,” also for ESPN.
Jeffrey Hoffman was recently accepted into Theatre Bay Area’s inaugural ATLAS (Advanced Training Leading Artists to Success) program for directors, which will help him identify his career goals and better understand where he fits into the Bay Area theatrical landscape. He has been cast as Chris Keller in “All My Sons” at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre in Hayward, CA.
Daxton R. (Chip) Stewart is an associate professor at TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism with a law degree from The University of Texas and a Master of Laws and master’s and doctoral degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri. He combined his background in journalism and law as editor of Social Media and the Law: A Guidebook for Communication Students and Professionals (Routledge, 2012), which details the legal challenges that have arisen with social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube as they relate to journalism, advertising and public relations.
Abby Sassenhagen Williams and her husband, Todd Williams, were honored at the National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon in Dallas last November 30. Nominated by Austin College in Sherman, TX, they were named Outstanding Philanthropists by the Greater Dallas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for their support of educational opportunities for underserved populations. They chair the regional advisory board for Teach for America in Dallas-Fort Worth and helped establish the Williams Preparatory School in Dallas. Abby serves on the board of the Dallas Women’s Foundation and the Campaign Steering Committee for Campus and Student Life for SMU’s Second Century Campaign.
1995
Tracy Ware Odetunmibi and her husband, Ayorinde Odetunmibi, welcomed their daughter, Atinuke Nia Odetunmibi, August 17, 2012.
Hilary Russo (right) was honored in May with the “Excellence in Teaching” award from the National Society of Leadership and Success. Hilary is an adjunct professor at St. John’s University in New York City and teaches TV performance and production. She is also a TV host/lifestyle and design specialist and a guest host on QVC, the national shopping network.
1996
Melinda Jones has launched her own stationery line, Read Between the Lines, the first of several planned retail extensions from her company and blog, Super Much Love™. She honed her design skills remodeling premier Dallas properties and also had a successful career in advertising and marketing before pursuing her passion for fun paper products.
Colette Kress (right), a 24-year veteran of the tech industry, has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Nvidia Corp., a graphics chip maker. She previously served as senior vice president and CFO for Cisco’s Business Technology and Operations Finance organization for three years. Prior to that, she spent 13 years with Microsoft, including four years as CFO of its Server and Tools division. In addition, she has held various financial positions with Texas Instruments.
Nefeterius Akeli McPherson (J.D. ’08) was diagnosed with a rare bile duct and liver disease in her first year of law school at SMU. She received a lifesaving liver transplant Nov. 6, 2011, from a 12-year-old West Virginia girl who died suddenly from a brain hemorrhage. Now she has made a vow to keep her donor’s memory alive and spread awareness about the importance of organ donation through a public Facebook page: www.facebook.com/livertransplant. The Charleston (WV) Gazette ran a front-page story about Nefeterius and her donor last October 9 and a story about her efforts supporting organ donation February 8.
Constantine (Taki) Scurtis has been named a managing partner with LYND, a national real estate investment, development and management firm, which he joined in 2009 as vice president of business development. He will manage a LYND office in Miami, which he recently opened, as well as sourcing new real estate opportunities in South Florida.
1997
Bill Crean (M.S. ’98) has accepted a position as director of product management at InterDigital Communications and has moved to Wayne, PA (in the Philadelphia area) with his wife Stephanie (B.S. ’98) and children Will and Allison.
Shawna Ford Lavender is director of operations for SMU’s women’s basketball. An SMU player from 1993-97, she was head coach at Abilene Christian University for the last nine seasons.
Jason McKenna (Ph.D. ’02) was the speaker at a January 24 lecture at SMU, Emerging R&D in Support of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, presented by SMU’s Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity. He spoke of how technology is being developed to meet the often neglected needs of people confronted by natural disasters, faced with limited resources, living in everyday poverty. He is lead technical director for geospatial research and engineering at the U.S. Army’s Engineer Research & Development Center, leading a research team that supports the U.S. military’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief programs in the U.S. and internationally. In 2010 he received the Civilian Service Award, the highest given to civilian Department of Defense employees.
Todd Martin recently joined Culhane Meadows PLLC as a partner in the Dallas office.
Suzanne Campbell Wellen and her husband, Darrell, welcomed a son, John Jay, May 6, 2012. She is a business litigation attorney with Andrews Kurth LLP in Dallas.
| Todd Martin, SMU Law class of 1997, recently joined Culhane Meadows PLLC as a partner in the Dallas office. |
REUNION CHAIRS: JENNIFER CLARK TOBIN and TRAVIS WILSON
Alison Ream Griffin has been named to Delta Delta Delta international leadership as a member of the board of directors of this leader among social Greek organizations. Her position was announced at the 55th biennial convention last July in Tucson.
Monique Roy published a new historical fiction novel, Across Great Divides, in July 2013. This is her second book. Her first book for children, Once Upon a Time in Venice, was published in 2007. You can find out more at www.monique-roy.com. Books are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Jennifer Clark Tobin (J.D. ’01) and her husband, Aaron Tobin ’00, announce the birth of their first child, Anna Christine, in Dallas May 31, 2012.
Categories
Class Notes 2000-2013
2000
Travis Justin Matthews Sr. received his Doctorate in Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction in Higher Education from Texas A&M Commerce in May.
Ian McCann, after 12 years as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News, has joined the City of Richardson as information coordinator.
Dennis Rogers is director of communications and digital media for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
2001
Mary Elizabeth Ellis (right) is an actress living and working in Los Angeles, who has appeared in the television programs “New Girl,” “Up All Night,” “Happy Endings” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
Bernard Jones has been appointed an Oklahoma County District Judge. Jones earned a law degree from Notre Dame Law School and was previously associate dean for admissions and external affairs at Oklahoma City University School of Law and an associate at law firms in Oklahoma City and Ohio. He is board chair for the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City and serves on the boards for Sunbeam Family Services, the American Cancer Society, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children and the national board of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. Bernard lives in Edmond with his wife, Mautra, and son, Bernard.
David B. Lacy is a litigation attorney recently elected a partner at Christian & Barton LLP, a civil law firm in Richmond, VA. Treasurer of the Richmond Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, he is a member of the CLE Committee for the Bar Association of the City of Richmond and the Lewis F. Powell Jr. American Inn of Court.
Kristen Holland Shear and Mark F. Shear, OD, celebrated the birth of Benjamin Clay on September 23, 2013. Benjamin joins two older sisters, Savena and Cora.
Frank White (J.D., M.B.A. ’06) and his wife, Stephanie ’06, are parents of three children: twins Henry and Clayton, age 3, and Wesley, born Sept. 14, 2012. Frank has created a new website, CollegeFrog, which helps employers recruit accounting majors and manage the hiring process in one simple, inexpensive Web application.
2002
Jodi Warmbrod Dishman, a trial and appeals lawyer formerly with the San Antonio office of Akin Gump, has joined Oklahoma’s largest law firm, McAfee & Taft, as Of Counsel. She and her husband, Brent, also an attorney, live in Edmond, OK.
2003
REUNION CHAIRS: HADLEIGH HENDERSON and JIMMY TRAN
Dodee Frost Crockett, Managing Director – Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch, placed 20th on the list of “America’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors 2013” ranked by Barron’s. She focuses on building one-on-one relationships founded on trust and developing an understanding of her client’s needs and financial goals.
Juan José de León won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Great Lakes Region finals, in January representing Pittsburgh, where he has been in the Pittsburgh Opera Young Artists program for the last two seasons. In 2013-14, he will make his debut with The Metropolitan Opera in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys and with the Atlanta Opera as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He is spending the summer with the Wolf Trap Opera Company where he will perform in The Journey to Reims, Falstaff and Carmina Burana. He was a winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition in 2010 and made his Dallas Opera debut in 2011.
Cameron W. George was promoted to director of finance at Linn Energy (NASDAQ:LINE), a top-15 U.S. independent oil and gas company based in Houston. He joined Linn in August 2005 to help take the company public. Previously he was an energy investment banker with RBC Capital Markets.
Eva Parks joined NBC 5 Investigates as an investigative producer in 2012. In their first year together, the investigative team has won two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Best News Series and Continuing Coverage, and a national Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Investigative Report from the Society of Professional Journalists.
D.J. Pierce is an actor primarily known as the drag character “Shangela.” Having once appeared on the reality series “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” he broke out to guest on “2 Broke Girls,” “The Mentalist,” “LA Hair,” “Glee” and the E! Network’s “The Soup.” Last September he debuted in the YouTube scripted series “Jenifer Lewis and Shangela” and has recently launched a stand-up comedy tour.
2004
Susannah Cullum McGown and her husband, Patrick McGown ’09, celebrated the birth of their first child, Jackson Paul, Jan. 19, 2013.
José Leonardo Santos (Ph.D. ’08) was appointed social science assistant professor in anthropology at Metropolitan State University’s College of Arts and Sciences in Saint Paul, MN. He teaches 21 semester credits per year, advises students and frequently guests on Minnesota Public Radio. He has taught at SMU’s Taos and Dallas campuses.
2005
Matt and Melissa Rothschild Bragman (right) welcomed future Mustang Molly Elizabeth Bragman (Class of 2027) September 17. She was born just in time to watch the Battle for the Iron Skillet, says Matt. The Bragmans live in Long Beach, CA where Matt is an administrator for Green Dot Public Schools and Melissa is the entertainment events manager at the Queen Mary.
Ashley Randt Kneisly and her mother, Margo Geddie, who attended SMU’s Cox School of Business, work side by side managing large investment and retirement portfolios at The Geddie Group at Morgan Stanley in Houston. Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications and public affairs from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and says her mother has been a supportive mentor in her career in the financial services industry.
2006
Ruthie Leggett married Zachary Thicksten July 6, 2013, in Beaver Creek, CO. The newlyweds live in Little Rock, AR.
Melissa Meeks runs TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, an annual contemporary art auction in Dallas benefiting two organizations – the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research – and drawing prominent artists, art collectors and philanthropists from around the world. She was recently profiled in ELLE magazine as one of ELLE’s 2012 Fresh Makers, an art world power player. She is an active member of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium’s art council, with a hand in its founding.
Allison Pfingstag graduated from Tarrant County College in 2012 with a degree in dental hygiene and is now a dental hygienist in the family and cosmetic dentistry practice of Dr. Ted Hume III.
2007
Natalie Bidnick has relocated to Austin to attend graduate school at St. Edward’s University, working toward a Master of Liberal Arts degree with an emphasis in creative writing.
Tamara L. Jones has completed an orthodontic residency and earned a Master of Science in Dentistry degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She is excited to be joining Willow Bend Orthodontics in Plano.
Brent Turman (J.D. ’12) has been named an associate at the Dallas-based law firm SettlePou, where he concentrates on contract disputes, real estate litigation, consumer financial services litigation, negligence claims, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices claims and commercial disputes.
Jay Wieser has been selected a 2012 Fort Worth “Top Attorney” by Fort Worth, Texas magazine in the December issue. He practices civil litigation in Jackson Walker’s Fort Worth office.
2008
REUNION CHAIRS: ANDREW GALLOWAY and LUISA DEL ROSAL ISAIS
Katharine Brunson and Travis Clark were married in Dallas June 23, 2012, and live in Fort Worth. She is a paralegal with Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP, and Travis is a geologist with Dynamic Production Inc.
Mary Pat Higgins, at the Hockaday School in Dallas since 1990, is a CPA and Hockaday’s longtime chief financial officer. On Jan. 1, 2013, she began new duties as president and CEO of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, where she looks forward to possible construction of a new museum.
Lindsay Scanio is the new assistant director of alumni engagement at SMU. Previously she was coordinator for SMU alumni relations and a program specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, where she helped recruit and retain over 200 volunteers.
2009
Jamila Benkato received an M.A. in Global and International Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2012, after completing internships at the Arab American Institute and Human Rights Watch, both in Washington, D.C. After serving for a year as Program Coordinator for West Michigan Refugee Education and Cultural Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she is returning to California to become a member of UC, Irvine School of Law’s Class of 2016.
Brian M. Kwesiga was elected the 10th president and CEO of the Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) at its 25th annual convention held August 30-September 1 in Dallas. The organization promotes the “social, cultural and economic development of the Ugandan community in North America [which numbers more than 120,000] and beyond.” Brian chaired the organization’s 2013 Dallas Convention Organizing Committee (COC).
2010
Nikki Cloer married Sam McDonald Jan. 12, 2013, in Corinth, TX. The newlyweds live in Dallas.
Ashley Howe (M.S. ’12) and James Justinic (M.S. ’12) were married at Perkins Chapel Nov. 3, 2012. They met in the Mustang Band.
Andrew Nguyen was profiled as a “real hero” by Peter Calabrese on Huffington Post July 1, 2013. Nguyen founded Honor Courage Commitment, Inc. a nonprofit that provides free training, mentorship and education to develop vets into entrepreneurs. Nguyen, who holds a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship for SMU’s Cox School of Business, also launched WSI Search, a digital marketing and Web development firm, in 2008. He served in the Marines for four years all over the world, including Afghanistan, before returning to Dallas and attending SMU.
2011
Jordan Chlapecka and Jennifer Wagstaff were announced last October 3 as two of five national winners of The Big Ad Gig, an annual Advertising Week competition that invites aspiring copywriters and art directors to vie for a 30-day paid freelance position at one of the industry’s best agencies. Jordan won a spot at Deutsch, and Jenny, a position at Ogilvy & Mather.
Olivia Anne Smith is an artist whose first show, “Site Reading,” was front and center last September 23 – October 20 in Brooklyn at an experimental gallery called A Slender Gamut. She describes her work: “I throw an inked ball into the walls of a small, unlit room. Word, image, and action are suddenly indistinguishable. A drawing is something to be done to a wall inside the site of display, platform for performance, and exclusive container of art.”
2012
Natalie Blankenship and Ryan Wolfe were married June 8 at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church here in Dallas. They met in high school in Austin. At SMU Ryan was the president of Delta Sigma Pi and Natalie is a member of Delta Gamma.
Paul Boynton participated in the summer internship program of Sabre Holdings, a global technology company serving the world’s largest industry – travel and tourism – and now has accepted an offer to work for Sabre Travel Network as a marketing communications associate.
Laura Brandt has joined the Dallas-based law firm SettlePou as an associate in the commercial litigation practice group and the insurance defense practice group.
David de la Fuente has accepted a position as field representative/caseworker for Congressman Marc Veasey of Texas in the United States House of Representatives.
Kyle Hobratschk recently won the Turner House art competition with a copper plate etching of the Turner House itself. His was the winning entry in the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts art contest, marking the 100th anniversary of the historic residence. Kyle pursues painting, printmaking, woodworking and furniture design. He is a resident of Oak Cliff, a suburb of Dallas.
J. Jody Walker is a new associate at SettlePou, a law firm based in Dallas, where he is a member of the business counsel services practice group. At Abilene Christian University, where he earned his undergraduate degree with a 4.0 GPA, he was a starting linebacker for the Wildcats.
2013
After two years with Merrill Lynch, Trenton B. Owens recently transitioned to the role of financial advisor as an associate partner with the team of Price, Diwlorth & Associates here in North Texas. Trent resides in Dallas.
Categories
Petrucelli Helms Women’s Soccer
Two-time National Coach of the Year and 1995 NCAA Championship coach Chris Petrucelli has been named SMU’s head women’s soccer coach. In 22 years as a head coach, Petrucelli has compiled a 340-110-36 record. His career win total and winning percentage (.737) rank eighth among active Division I coaches.
The six-time conference coach of the year comes to the Hilltop after spending the past 13 seasons as head coach of the University of Texas women’s soccer program, where he compiled a 165-88-26 mark and signed some of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Under his guidance, Texas captured back-to-back Big 12 postseason titles (2006-07) and the program’s first Big 12 regular season title in 2001. He guided the Longhorns to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances (2001-08, 2010-11), and was lauded as the NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2006.
Before joining UT, Petrucelli developed the Notre Dame women’s soccer program into one of the nation’s best from 1990-98. He was honored by the NSCAA as the National Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1995 en route to becoming the only collegiate coach to win the award in consecutive years. During his tenure with Notre Dame, he led the Irish to the 1995 NCAA National Championship, three National Championship title matches (1994-96) and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
Categories
Redefining The Academic Experience
By Susan White
When first-year student Caroline Olvera attended an orientation session during the summer, she experienced momentary anxiety. As a member of SMU’s class of 2016, Olvera was introduced to the new University Curriculum (UC), which provides the foundation and structure for undergraduate education. The pre-business/accounting major says that all the requirements to fulfill the University Curriculum “felt overwhelming; I thought I was going to have to take all these credits that wouldn’t apply to my major.”
On the other hand, first-year English/creative writing major Matthew Anderson thought the new UC “sounded unique and was different from other places that I applied,” says Anderson, a Dedman College Scholar and a Hunt Scholar. Also considering courses in film and music, he says the UC “lets you explore interests in more than one thing and still graduate on time.”
Fortunately for Olvera and Anderson, as well as the 1,430 other first-year students who enrolled in SMU this fall, academic advisers assured them that not only were the new University Curriculum’s requirements doable, but many of those courses more than likely would be counted toward their majors. Olvera learned that her courses in microeconomics and introduction to calculus meet three requirements under the UC as well as apply toward her accounting degree. Theatre major Parker Gray realized that his theatre history course would count toward a history requirement as well as toward his major.
SMU administrators emphasize the flexibility of the University’s latest version of the undergraduate curriculum that all students are required to take during their four years at SMU. The new University Curriculum replaces what was known as the General Education Curriculum (GEC) to classes entering SMU since 1997. Classes before that entered under the Common Educational Experience, and even earlier, University College starting in 1960.
Flexibility in the new University Curriculum allows students to put their own stamp on their education and makes it easier for them to pursue multiple majors and minors, while still graduating on time with 122 credit hours (more in some majors). That aspect appealed to Sasha Davis, a Meadows Scholar majoring in theatre with an interest in arts activism, who says she wants to “build my own degree by taking courses in human rights and anthropology.”
Preparing 21st-century innovators and creators
Every so often, universities take stock of their academic offerings, particularly those in the liberal arts. In 2008 President R. Gerald Turner asked SMU’s provost to review the General Education Curriculum to ensure that it was meeting the needs of 21st-century students entering a global marketplace. Provost Paul Ludden asked a committee of 17 faculty and staff members, “What will be the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experiences that characterize a person with an SMU education, regardless of major?”
The committee used SMU’s liberal arts core as a guide – preparing students to communicate effectively orally and in writing, increasing their critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills, and developing their ability to innovate and create. The goal was to come up with something new that remained true to SMU’s intellectual tradition, laid out in the 1963 Master Plan that states, “Professional studies must rise from the solid foundation of a basic liberal education.”
Part of the committee’s directive was to ensure that SMU meets the intellectual needs of students with higher SAT scores. In the past 16 years, entering students’ SAT scores have risen 134 points.
“Today’s students are more demanding, expect greater challenges from their education, and want more options and flexibility in designing their degree plans,” says committee co-chair Dennis Cordell, professor of history and Dedman College associate dean for General Education and the University Curriculum. “The new curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary knowledge and research, introducing students to what is unique about higher education and offering faculty opportunities for collaborative teaching.”
In addition, the curriculum will accommodate more Engaged Learning opportunities that include international study, undergraduate research, service learning, internships, and creative and entrepreneurial activities.
‘Knowledge today is profoundly interdisciplinary’
The UC comprises courses in four components: Foundations, Pillars, Capstone, and Proficiencies and Experiences.
Foundations include Discernment and Discourse (previously Rhetoric), Quantitative Foundation, Ways of Knowing, and Personal Wellness and Responsibility. Although some of the components are similar to requirements under the General Education Curriculum, Ways of Knowing is new. The courses in this category, which students take as sophomores, will be team-taught by SMU faculty from various disciplines who will consider a common topic.
“Knowledge today is profoundly interdisciplinary,” says Vicki Hill, assistant dean for the University Curriculum. “Ways of Knowing will introduce students to the different ways in which university communities define and create knowledge. Such as, how do physicists think? What matters to a sociologist? What questions do accountants ask? But what happens when they are all in the same room looking at the same issue?”
The Pillars are five two-course sequences devoted to different ways of pursuing truth in Pure and Applied Sciences; Individuals, Institutions, and Cultures; Historical Contexts; Creativity and Aesthetics; and Philosophical and Religious Inquiry and Ethics.
The Capstone requirement, usually taken during senior year, allows students to use the skills, knowledge and methodologies learned throughout their undergraduate careers and apply them to a course, thesis, project or performance, or an internship, combined with a paper in which students reflect on the experience.
A paradigm shift for the entire University community
In addition, there are eight Proficiencies and Experiences that can be satisfied by coursework or out-of-class activities: writing, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, oral communication, community engagement, human diversity, global engagement and proficiency in a second language.
“The new curriculum encourages faculty to create courses that satisfy more than one requirement,” Hill says. “When courses can be double-counted, students have an easier time pursuing additional majors or minors. The more areas of inquiry with which a student is comfortable, the more equipped he or she will be to face a competitive job market.
“The UC represents a major paradigm shift for the entire University community – teachers and learners alike,” Hill adds. “This change will be accomplished in part through its focus on student learning outcomes (SLOs). The UC’s organizing principle is not where students fulfill the learning objectives, but rather what students have learned and how they demonstrate this knowledge.”
Other ways that the proficiencies can be satisfied include hands-on engagement or thoughtful reflection through a paper, says Hill. For example, “A student tour guide may be able to petition to have that work satisfy the expanded emphasis on oral communication. Or a student who spends spring break volunteering with Habitat for Humanity may be able to have that experience satisfy the emphasis on community engagement.”
In every case, she adds, faculty will review the student’s work to determine if the experience satisfies the requirement.
The “second language proficiency” gave many incoming students and their families pause, and was asked about most often during orientation, says academic adviser Tim Norris. The new UC requires students who enter SMU to improve their second language proficiency through college-level courses or by taking placement exams that show they have attained college-level proficiency. Both Parker Gray and Sasha Davis plan to take Italian because of their interest in the Commedia dell’arte style of theatre from that country. Olvera, who took French in high school, is taking a beginning French class this fall and intermediate French in the spring. All will fulfill the language requirement.
Wes K. Waggoner, dean of undergraduate admission and executive director of enrollment services, is on the front line of recruiting students to SMU. He, as much as anyone, has seen a rise in expectations along with a rise in student quality.
“In sending their children to college, today’s families look for a return on their investment, expecting a university education to be relevant and to give their students skills that prepare them for work in a global marketplace,” he says. “We like to tell potential students and their parents that their degree not only will help them get their first job but also their first promotion; the University Curriculum is designed to make them valued employees by giving them the ability to learn new skills in a changing workforce, as well as adapt to and manage multiple careers.”
SMU senior Andrew Lin spent a week in Washington, D.C., with two “rock stars.” He applies that term reverently to James G. Mead, curator emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, and Charles W. Potter, manager of the museum’s marine mammal collection. Lin worked with the renowned whale experts in July while collecting data for his Engaged Learning project comparing the anatomy of a 17-million-year-old beaked whale specimen with the Smithsonian’s modern whale bones and fossil specimens.
SMU’s Engaged Learning program challenges students to reach beyond the classroom in shaping their educations. The campuswide initiative comprises research, service, internships, creative activities and courses with community components. Fanning out across the globe, 100 undergraduates tackled significant projects under the Engaged Learning umbrella over the summer.
Students can either identify pressing issues and plot their own paths toward solutions or put their stamp on existing projects. Such flexibility suits SMU’s entrepreneurial students, according to Susan Kress, director of the Office of Engaged Learning. Established last year, the office serves as a clearinghouse for information about student engagement, as well as a link to the more than 30 campus organizations and 150 local and global community partners that offer avenues for academic inquiry, career development and civic involvement.
“Through Engaged Learning students have the opportunity to transfer the knowledge and skills of the classroom to real-life situations, learn from their experiences, reflect on them and use them as a basis for further learning,” says Kress.
More than 40 student-driven studies, including Lin’s, were deemed capstone level by a review committee. At the capstone level, students connect their SMU education to goal-oriented projects in the field.
“The project spans two academic years, typically junior and senior years,” says Kress. “It begins with an idea and proposal in the first year and project performance, presentation and publication in the second.”
Close collaboration with a faculty or staff mentor is a key facet of these high-level explorations. Mentors can structure projects to meet criteria for academic credit.
A final paper, report or creative product will be archived online in the SMU Digital Repository’s Engaged Learning Collections. Students can earn University Curriculum credits for Oral Communication and Capstone.
In Lin’s case, Louis Jacobs, a professor in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences and president of SMU’s Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, serves as his mentor. Lin’s Engaged Learning project qualifies as his senior research project in geology.
Leading the effort to identify common needs and increase research opportunities for students is SMU’s first Director of Undergraduate Research Bob Kehoe, an associate professor of physics and coordinator of the Undergraduate Research Assistantships (URA) program for the past two years.
Kehoe joined the University faculty in 2004 and is a member of the SMU team on the ATLAS Experiment, the largest detector in the Large Hadron Collider array at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. He contributed directly to the analysis published over the summer that observed a new particle consistent with the elusive Higgs boson “God particle.”
His own experience as an undergraduate researcher at Notre Dame informs his belief that a chance for hands-on discovery in a real-world environment “bridges the gap between the classroom and the external professional world and can be a very important stepping stone for students toward their careers.”
Michael McCarthy ’12 believes his Engaged Learning project launched his career on the right trajectory, calling it a “definite stepping stone” to a position as a business systems analyst for Epsilon, a marketing technology firm in Dallas.
“Now I’m expanding on the technical skill set I built at SMU, while learning how to manage client demands and building communication skills,” he explains.
For an Engaged Learning project, the senior major in statistics and mathematics analyzed data for Veterans Affairs in Dallas to evaluate home care support provided to veterans with spinal cord injuries.
“Through my project at the VA I learned how to devise a solution to a complex problem using data and how to manage a long-term multi-stage project,” he says. “Because of this experience, I entered into my role at Epsilon with a strong advantage, and it made the transition from college to industry much easier.”
– Patricia Ward
“Now I’m expanding on the technical skill set I built at SMU, while learning how to manage client demands and building communication skills,” he explains.
For an Engaged Learning project, the senior major in statistics and mathematics analyzed data for Veterans Affairs in Dallas to evaluate home care support provided to veterans with spinal cord injuries.
“Through my project at the VA I learned how to devise a solution to a complex problem using data and how to manage a long-term multi-stage project,” he says. “Because of this experience, I entered into my role at Epsilon with a strong advantage, and it made the transition from college to industry much easier.”
– Patricia Ward
From the ruins of an old fort and 13th-century Indian pueblo, SMU grew a campus that provides a unique setting for teaching and research.
An act of serendipity enabled Fort Burgwin to enjoy a second life as a University campus. The property was owned by a Taos-area lumberman who had heard that a fort once existed on the land but was unable to locate it. He enlisted the help of Fred Wendorf, then anthropologist of New Mexico, who not only found the buried ruins of the log fort but also excavated and reconstructed it.
SMU-in-Taos Cultural Institute
The annual SMU-in-Taos Cultural Institute
takes advantage of the historical, cultural and recreational riches of Northern New Mexico for a weekend of learning and outdoor adventure. The 2013 Taos Cultural Institute will be held July 18-21. Online registration will begin on January 1 on the institute’s site at smu.edu/culturalinstitute. Seven courses covering history, political science, archaeology, art, cooking and other topics of interest are now being finalized. Last summer, participants got a bird’s-eye view of the Rio Grande River during a hot-air balloon tour. More information about the SMU-in-Taos Cultural Institute is available online or by e-mailing taosci@smu.edu or calling 214-768-8267.
When Wendorf joined the SMU faculty in 1964, he brought with him the idea of developing Fort Burgwin into a research center. The late Gov. William P. Clements, Jr. ’39 was chair of SMU’s Board of Governors at the time and helped the University begin the process of acquiring the property that became SMU-in-Taos.
Over the years support from donors such as trustee emeritus Bill Hutchison ’54, ’55 has helped SMU-in-Taos develop into a premier site for research and scholarship on the Southwest. Hutchison remembers coming upon the campus “accidentally, while driving to Taos” en route to his ranch one day in the 1970s. He had not known of SMU’s presence in New Mexico, but it immediately captured his imagination. He comments, “What could be more interesting to somebody who likes the history and the culture of New Mexico than the ruins of an old fort and an archaeological dig?”
Subsequently Hutchison chaired the SMU Board of Governors, was a member of the SMU Board of Trustees, and led the Fort Burgwin Executive Committee. He recalls that after touring the property with Clements to determine its needs and potential, “we engaged in a fundraising effort that resulted in the building of the art center/auditorium, faculty housing, repairs to the [student] casitas” and improvements to the fort itself.
SMU’s interest in further developing Fort Burgwin foundered, however, during the budget-challenged 1980s and early ’90s. Hutchison credits its survival to Biology Professor William B. Stallcup Jr. ’41, former interim president of SMU who became director of SMU-in-Taos after his retirement. “Bill brought the thing back to life.”
Any hesitation about the importance of SMU-in-Taos ended with the appointment of R. Gerald Turner as president in 1995, Hutchison says. “Dr. Turner got the entire administration behind the efforts to improve and emphasize SMU-in-Taos. Talking to students who have studied there, I think it’s a great environment for learning and a very unusual experience for University students.”
The University’s renewed focus on SMU-in-Taos has been supported by both longtime and more recent donors. Thanks to recent gifts and purchases, the campus now sprawls across 430 acres – almost twice the size of the 237-acre main campus in Dallas. And the land now includes new and refurbished structures to facilitate study, teaching and research.
A gift from the estate of Bill Clements of three houses and 123 acres adjoining the campus continues a decades-long legacy of support. The new gift includes art, furnishings and other household items. In addition to the 2,800-square-foot main house, there is a 2,000-square-foot dwelling and a 1,400-square-foot cottage. A committee is considering options for the houses, one of which is to use the facilities for a conference/retreat center available to the SMU community and outside groups.
Over the years the late governor and his wife, Rita, provided more than $7.5 million for facilities and programs at SMU-in-Taos, including $1 million for the construction of Wendorf Information Commons.
Among other recent acquisitions and improvements:
- The purchase of the 2,000-square-foot home of Fred Wendorf, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at SMU, and five acres of land on the far eastern edge of the campus. Visiting scholars and SMU faculty will stay in the home.
- The conversion of Faculty Casita Two into a true duplex containing a one-bedroom apartment and a separate two-bedroom apartment. The remodeled casita, now suitable for faculty with families, was funded by an anonymous gift. Two similar faculty casitas await the same transformation when funding is obtained.
- The renovation of the three-bedroom officers’ quarters, supported by a gift from SMU-in-Taos Board Chair Roy Coffee, Jr. and his wife, Janis. The Coffees also helped fund improvements to student casitas.
In 2009 support for new and renovated student casitas, as well as technology upgrades and improvements to winterize facilities, transformed SMU-in-Taos. The changes made it possible to operate the campus from May through December, accommodating a new fall semester and a one-week Alternative Break volunteer program in March.
Casita Clements, a new student casita funded by Bill and Rita Clements, became the first commercial or institutional building in the Taos area to achieve Gold LEED certification for environmentally responsible construction. Other named residences and the donors supporting them include Casita Armstrong, funded by Bill Armstrong ’82 and Liz Martin Armstrong ’82 of Denver; Casita Harvey, funded by trustee Caren H. Prothro in honor of her mother, Juanita Legge Harvey; Casita Thetford, funded by Jo Ann Geurin Thetford ’69, ’70 of Graham, Texas; and Casita Ware, funded by trustee Richard Ware ’68 and William Ware ’01 of Amarillo, Texas.
Additional support for housing improvements has been provided by Dallas residents Maurine Dickey ’67, Richard T. Mullen ’61 and Jenny Mullen, and Stephen Sands ’70 and Marcy Sands ’69; and Irene Athos and the late William J. Athos of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Technology enhancements to provide cell phone and Internet connectivity also moved the campus into the 21st century. In partnership with Commnet, a wireless phone service provider, the campus has its own cell tower that offers full-bar signal strength. Wireless Internet access is available throughout SMU-in-Taos, and a recent broadband speed upgrade improved real-time video streaming. Other updates include new LCD projectors for classrooms, a large-format color printer for photography instruction and new flat-screen televisions for the dining hall.
The improvements and additions are part of a new master plan for SMU-in-Taos supported by the Executive Board and members of the Friends of SMU-in-Taos. Other components of the plan are being implemented as funding becomes available.
A ceramics class taught in an outdoor studio attracted sophomore Alexandra Jones to SMU-in-Taos for the August term. The chance to dive more deeply into an opportunity she calls “life-changing” cemented her decision to remain for the fall semester.
Jones, a Provost’s Scholar and BBA Scholar, prizes the small class sizes, the intense focus of the academic courses and the “amazing Wellness opportunities – everything from white-water rafting to horseback riding.” But what makes the Taos experience like no other is the camaraderie that develops among students and with faculty, she says.
“The living-learning environment has allowed me to connect with my professors in new ways,” says Jones, an accounting major with minors in anthropology and Mandarin Chinese. “Students are valued and respected like colleagues because we’re all expected to contribute to the community, and we’re all working toward the common goal of getting the most out of our time here.”
Faculty and their families reside on campus, so students “see them as individuals with outside lives, and faculty interact with students both in and out of the classroom,” says Mike Adler, associate professor of anthropology and executive director of SMU-in-Taos since 2006.
New Field School Excavations
Archaeological excavations in Taos continue to yield new clues to lost chapters of Southwestern history. Over the summer new digs focused on the Fort Burgwin guardhouse on the SMU-in-Taos campus and at a pithouse site on private land nearby.
The guardhouse appears on early maps of the fort, which helped a team from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania, locate the building’s foundation. The recovery of artifacts and documentation of the site will continue next summer.
The excavation is the most recent project of the Taos Collaborative Archaeological Program, an education and research partnership between SMU’s field school and the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute initiated in 2009.
New research by SMU students aims to shed light on the Pithouse period, which dates from approximately 900 A.D. to 1250 A.D. Lauren O’Brien, a doctoral candidate in Dedman College’s Department of Anthropology, started fieldwork with a team of three graduate students in early summer. In June and July she continued the project with five undergraduate students as the leader of SMU’s field school.
Little is known about the Pithouse period in the northern Taos Valley, she says. The ground dwellings pre-date New Mexico’s iconic pueblo structures. “We are the first group to begin research on and excavation of the site,” which is about 10 miles north of Taos in Arroyo Hondo, she says.
The pithouse measures approximately nine feet deep and 15 feet square. The semi-subterranean design provided natural climate control: The interior temperature hovered around 55 degrees, and with the addition of a fire, warmed to a cozy 76 degrees.
Among the finds so far are pottery, lithics (stone tools) and several worked turquoise pieces, which means the stones’ surfaces had been smoothed by humans using tools, says O’Brien. “We’re not really sure what the turquoise was used for; perhaps it was inlaid in pots.”
The objects, along with soil samples and other materials from the site, are now being studied on the Dallas campus.
“The lab is really where it all starts to come together,” explains O’Brien. “For example, soil sample testing will help us understand the environment: what was growing, what the pithouse inhabitants were eating and so forth.”
“There’s so much to learn about who they were,” she adds. “We’ll be looking for similarities and differences among materials collected from each pithouse and the surrounding activity areas.”
SMU-in-Taos opened for classes in 1974 on the site of Fort Burgwin, a pre-Civil War fort, as a unique center for teaching and research drawing from the cultural and natural resources of Northern New Mexico. The grounds include the site of a 13th-century Indian pueblo that has been the focus of SMU’s archaeology field school. Each year approximately 300 students take courses in the humanities; sciences; business; and performing, visual and communication arts.
Students enrolled in the fall semester take 12 to 18 hours of courses that meet core undergraduate requirements in a variety of disciplines, or they can focus on courses to earn a minor in business. The term is divided into four blocks, each of which lasts about three weeks.
Sophomore Sam Clark, an applied physiology major, believes “the block system makes it worthwhile to take the business minor route in Taos.” He took management, marketing, finance and personal finance, one course per block.
“I feel like I learned more because I got to focus on one subject at a time in a low-stress environment,” he says.
Breaks between sessions allow time for outdoor adventures. In September students visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado for sand sledding – sliding down dunes on sand boards or sleds – before beginning Block 2 of their classes.
An integral part of the curriculum is the “Taos Experience,” an anthropology class taught by Adler. “We take students off campus into this very diverse and complicated place we call Taos, which is very different from Dallas,” he explains. “Students get a better understanding of the many historical, ethnic and cultural differences that make up this place.”
Internships with local nonprofit organizations enable students like Jones to give back to their adopted community while developing practical skills. She works with Taos CPA, which provides accounting services for local nonprofits.
SMU also strengthens ties with Taos through cultural programs such as the Ima Leete Hutchison Concert Series, which showcases the musical talents of Meadows students each summer.
The Summer Colloquium Lecture Series brings members of the Taos community to campus on Tuesday evenings to hear SMU faculty and guest speakers discuss a broad range of topics. More than 1,000 people attended the free lectures last summer. And a fall series sponsored by SMU-in-Taos and the University of New Mexico-Taos offers free lectures in September and October.
Inspired by the strong service-learning link forged between SMU and Taos, Jones pledges to become more active when she returns to Dallas in January.
“It’s easy to sink into the shadows and let other people do the work,” she says. “At SMU-in-Taos I’ve developed a sense of responsibility to contribute to the community. Involvement has become a habit that I’ll take back with me.”
– Patricia Ward
Maurice W. Acers*
Lindalyn Bennett Adams
Allison Allen Holland
Richard A. Arnett*
William W. Aston*
Sue Davis Baier
Fritz E. Barton, Jr.
Don R. Benton
Laura Lee S. Blanton*
Floyd E. Bloom
Ina C. Brown*
Juan Chacin
Donald D. Clayton
Charles M. Cole*
Aylett R. Cox*
Glenn A. Cox, Jr.
Robert H. Dennard
Charles O. Galvin*
Arvel E. Haley*
Charles M. Harmon, Jr.*
Lawrence R. Herkimer
John A. Hill
Roy M. Huffington*
Ray L. Hunt
Nancy Ann Hunter Hunt
George E. Hurt, Jr.*
William L. Hutchison
F. Ben James, Jr.
Julia C. Jeffress*
Samuel R. Johnson
E. Gene Keiffer**Deceased
Lindalyn Bennett Adams
Allison Allen Holland
Richard A. Arnett*
William W. Aston*
Sue Davis Baier
Fritz E. Barton, Jr.
Don R. Benton
Laura Lee S. Blanton*
Floyd E. Bloom
Ina C. Brown*
Juan Chacin
Donald D. Clayton
Charles M. Cole*
Aylett R. Cox*
Glenn A. Cox, Jr.
Robert H. Dennard
Charles O. Galvin*
Arvel E. Haley*
Charles M. Harmon, Jr.*
Lawrence R. Herkimer
John A. Hill
Roy M. Huffington*
Ray L. Hunt
Nancy Ann Hunter Hunt
George E. Hurt, Jr.*
William L. Hutchison
F. Ben James, Jr.
Julia C. Jeffress*
Samuel R. Johnson
E. Gene Keiffer**Deceased
Frank H. Kidd, Jr.*
Sally Rhodus Lancaster
Jed Mace*
Virginia Holt McFarland
Don Meredith*
Carmen M. Michael
Ruth A. Montgomery
P. O’B. Montgomery, Jr.*
Stephen Halcuit Moore, Jr.*
Noreen Lewis Nicol*
William F. Nicol
Paul E. Page*
Cecil E. Peeples*
Charles H. Pistor, Jr.*
Lee G. Pondrom
Kenneth Prewitt, Jr.
Aaron Q. Sartain*
Carl Sewell
Mark Shepherd*
William T. Solomon
Susan Herring Stahl*
Ellen C. Terry
Robert Hyer Thomas
Paul J. Thomas*
Gail G. Thomas
Charles H. Trigg*
Kitty Trigg*
Charles H. Webb, Jr.
Temple W. Williams, Jr.
Evie Jo C. Wilson*
Sally Rhodus Lancaster
Jed Mace*
Virginia Holt McFarland
Don Meredith*
Carmen M. Michael
Ruth A. Montgomery
P. O’B. Montgomery, Jr.*
Stephen Halcuit Moore, Jr.*
Noreen Lewis Nicol*
William F. Nicol
Paul E. Page*
Cecil E. Peeples*
Charles H. Pistor, Jr.*
Lee G. Pondrom
Kenneth Prewitt, Jr.
Aaron Q. Sartain*
Carl Sewell
Mark Shepherd*
William T. Solomon
Susan Herring Stahl*
Ellen C. Terry
Robert Hyer Thomas
Paul J. Thomas*
Gail G. Thomas
Charles H. Trigg*
Kitty Trigg*
Charles H. Webb, Jr.
Temple W. Williams, Jr.
Evie Jo C. Wilson*
Categories
1950-1959
1959
Gary Harms is the new president of the Grand Opera Guild in Wichita, KS.
Categories
1960-1969
1960
Dr. Jack Rudd is founder and full-time volunteer field director of Teethsavers International Inc. In Africa he teaches a six-year molar course, whose graduates, in teams of 10-15, travel by truck and use simple hand instruments to fill the teeth of children in villages and primary schools. In 2007 Dr. Rudd received the Award of Distinction for Continuing Education from the Academy of Dentistry International. His soon-to-be-released book, Grateful for the Pain, traces his early struggles followed by the privilege of serving some of the world’s poorest children.
1961
Wynona Wieting Lipsett (M.M.Ed. ’83) is the proud grandmother of Andrew Taylor Lipsett (see Class of 2009).
1966
The Rev. Dr. Roy H. Ryan has a new e-book, Hot Button Issues for Religion and Politics, available from Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble-Nook.
1967
Pam Lontos sold her public relations firm PR/PR and opened Pam Lontos Consulting in Orlando, FL.
1968
Bryan Robbins was inducted into the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame April 13, 2012. He was a three-time All-American diver at SMU and coached the 1976 and 1980 Olympic diving teams. For 39 years he taught physical education and wellness at SMU, retiring in 2008, and now teaches yoga to faculty, staff and students.
1969
Charles R. (Rocky) Saxbe, an attorney at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, was named in the 2012 edition of Chambers USA as a “Leader in Their Field” in litigation: general commercial.
Categories
1970-1979
1970
Barbara Petersen Scott was elected to the board of directors of the Bank of Charles Town (WV) and its holding company, Potomac Bancshares Inc., at the annual shareholders meeting May 15, 2012. She is president of Summit Point Raceway Associates Inc. and BSR Inc., the operating entities for the 785-acre Summit Point Motorsports Park. She lives on a farm in Middleburg, VA.
1971
David Arthur (M.F.A. ’73) has published a second novel, The Kingdom of Keftiu (Brighton Publishing), an archaeological mystery set in 1935-36, which takes the reader from the ruins of an Egyptian cave to an island in the Aegean Sea, all somehow involving the fabled lost civilization of Atlantis.
Steve Browne was recognized by the Foundation Fighting Blindness with its Volunteer of the Year Award for the Southwest Region, acknowledging his service supporting the Foundation’s mission to save and restore sight lost to retinal diseases. The award was presented before an audience of 500 at the VISIONS 2012 national conference last June 30 in Minneapolis. Earlier this year he was instrumental in the success of the 4th Annual San Antonio/Austin 5K VisionWalk. Over the last four years his “Sight for Sore Eyes” team has raised $270,000 for vision-saving research, and he co-chairs a walk that has generated more than $660,000 since 2009. He is an attorney with the San Antonio-based firm Langley & Banack. Rev.
Howard (Rusty) Hedges has been appointed senior pastor of Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Carrollton, TX. He is married to the former Betsy Pharr.
1974
Jan M. Carroll, a business litigation attorney at Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Indianapolis office, is a Super Lawyer in the March 2012 issue of Indiana Super Lawyers magazine, and she’s on the list of the top 25 female Super Lawyers.
Elizabeth Becker (Beth) Henley is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Crimes of the Heart,” performed last summer at the Contemporary Theatre of Dallas.
Dan M. Linn announces his retirement from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts effective July 31, 2012. What started as a two-year learning experience evolved into a 40-year career. For the past 10 years he has been the manager for evaluation, development and succession planning, helping to ensure that the state tax audit function is ready for the challenges of the future.
1975
Sol Villasana has been named Of Counsel at White & Wiggins LLP in Dallas, the largest and fastest growing full-service, minority-owned law firm in Texas.
Pat Wheeler is an editor with Texas Links Magazines, host of a weekly radio show about golf, “Texas Links on the Air,” and now an author. His first book, When Golf Was Fun (Tales from the Late, Great Beer and Barbecue Circuit), was recently published.
1976
Betty Francine Carraro, Ph.D., started September 1 as director of the Wichita Falls (TX) Museum of Art at Midwestern State University. She has been executive director at three museums across the country; has held teaching positions at Texas State University, The University of Texas and SMU; and has completed a special teaching assignment at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England.
1977
Louis M. Mathis has written The Tear of Ra, The Second Coming of 9/11 (January 2012), available at Barnes & Noble and in paperback and e-book format.
1978
David Cassidy is an attorney at Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson in Baton Rouge, LA, listed among the leading lawyers in the 2012 edition of Chambers USA. In addition, he was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2013.
Rod MacIlvaine and his wife, the former Cindy Funkhouser, enjoy their work at Grace Community Church in Bartlesville, OK, where Rod is senior pastor. Last March they traveled to Santa Marta, Colombia, to co-lead a marriage conference for pastors and spouses. For 41 years Rod and his father have sailed large yachts recreationally. The book Successful Bareboat Chartering: The Essential Guide for Captain and Crew (Intermediate Publishers, May 2012) grew from their list of things they do when they sail. Their story was featured in the June 2012 issue of SAIL magazine in the article “A Father-Son Tradition: Forty-One Years of Bareboat Chartering in the Caribbean.”
Gary Sloan had a book reading and signing at theatreWashington (DC) last April 27 for In Rehearsal: In the World, In the Room, and on Your Own (Routledge Publishing, London 2011, New York 2012), his “how-to approach to the rehearsal process” based on 30 years of professional acting experience.
1979
Idalene (Idie) Kesner has been named interim dean effective October 1 of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where she is associate dean of faculty and research and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management. Her latest teaching award came from Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, which has a joint M.B.A. program with the Kelley School.
Categories
1980-1989
1980
Paul Carney received the 2012 Educator of the Year Award from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. An instructor in English nationally recognized for his work on college readiness for writing, he is the developer and coordinator of Ready or Not Writing, an online program allowing high school students to submit their writing to college English instructors for feedback and support, and the creator of Roadside Poetry, a public arts project celebrating the “personal pulse of poetry in the rural landscape.” He lives on an eight-acre hobby farm in Underwood, MN.
Timothy R. R. Gordon has been named to the board of directors of Middlesex Genealogical Society in Darien, CT.
Denise Marrs is the general manager for American Airlines in San Francisco, where her group has won three customer service awards. Working for American for 30 years, she has traveled extensively and worked in places such as London and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Her home is in Pacifica, CA.
Vernon Scarborough, Ph.D., is a professor of anthropology at the University of Cincinnati. He was part of a multiuniversity team to visit Tikal, a prominent urban city of the ancient Maya. Their findings on the Maya water and land-use systems appeared in an article that Dr. Scarborough co-authored: “Water and Sustainable Land Use at the Ancient Tropical City of Tikal, Guatemala,” which appeared last July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and received prominent coverage in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
1981
Deborah Ballard (M.F.A. ’90) is a Dallas artist whose sculpture was presented last May-June in an exhibition at the Valley House Gallery and throughout its sculpture garden. Seeing Egyptian antiquities on a recent trip influenced her sense of scale as revealed in her “Memories of Egypt” series. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Meadows Museum at SMU, the San Angelo Museum of Art and the Museum of Art of Monterrey, Mexico.
Denise Gerneth, writing as Denise Weeks, has published a mystery novel, Nice Work (Oak Tree Press, 2012), winner of the Oak Tree Press First Mystery Novel contest in 2011. The first book in a series, it’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or any bookstore. She used a pseudonym writing young adult fantasy novels and has done ghostwriting, but Nice Work is her first novel using her married name.
1982
Robert (Bob) Cheek plans to attend his 30th SMU class reunion. He has been disabled since 1993.
1983
Randy Krone is a writer-editor for the Dallas Mavericks official Wikipedia page, featuring the history of the Mavericks basketball franchise from 1980 through present day.
Sheron C. Patterson (M.Div. ’89, D.Min. ’96) is a well-known Dallas pastor, author and breast cancer awareness advocate. On May 13 she launched a fundraiser, “A Year of Living and Giving,” celebrating her five-year mark in surviving breast cancer by raising $200,000 to provide free mammograms for low income women in Dallas. She will partner with the Methodist Health System for screenings in areas with high cancer rates and low screening services.
1984
Joe Drape, author of the bestsellers Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen, The Race for the Triple Crown and Black Maestro, is an award-winning sports reporter for The New York Times. His Aug. 1, 2012, Times article on Forrest Gregg, “Coach Who Revived SMU Looks Back With Pride,” recounts his visit with the legendary coach who restored integrity to the SMU football program in the late 1980s. Now, after spending the past year with the football team at West Point, Joe has written Soldiers First: Duty, Honor, Country, and Football at West Point (Times Books, September 2012), an inside story of the 2011 Army football season. Joe lives with his wife and son in New York City.
Jennie Fish Firth (M.L.A. ’90) married Jeff Johnson July 13, 2012, in Austin, TX.
John Gilchrist passed the examinations for advancement to Fellow in the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, one of only 180 healthcare development professionals in North America to have earned this distinction.
1985
Linda Beheler (B.F.A. ’86, M.B.A. ’99) has joined the SMU Meadows School of the Arts Communications Studies Advisory Board. She works for Celanese Corporation, a Fortune 500 chemical and specialty materials company based in Dallas, with responsibility for global internal and external communications.
Laurie A. Farnan received the 2011 Great Lakes Region of Music Therapy Scholarly Activity Award and the national American Music Therapy Association 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award. She has influenced professional music therapy practice for three decades, having served as the coordinator of music therapy services at Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled for 36 years, training 121 interns. She developed a partnership with the Madison Symphony Orchestra as a consultant for the “HeartStrings” community engagement project, and she has been involved in Very Special Arts.
Rick Mase was promoted to vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where he has worked for 26 years. He has responsibility for the cash services function.
James T. (Jim) Moorhead is founder/publisher of Renew, a magazine and website he started in 2010 to stress the positive aspects of living in recovery (www.RenewEveryDay.com). There is much in every magazine to inspire and inform recovering alcoholics and addicts. Subscribers include treatment centers, sober living homes, therapists and individuals across the country. He lives in Chicago.
Cynthia Colbert Riley was appointed vice president for institutional advancement for the University of St. Thomas in Houston and will lead the University’s fundraising efforts in the “Faith in our Future” capital campaign. Most recently she served as the interim executive director and vice president for development at The Methodist Hospital Foundation in Houston.
Linda A. Wilkins has established Wilkins Finston Law Group LLP, practicing in employee benefits and executive compensation. She is listed in Best Lawyers in America in employee benefits law.
1988
Chris Hymer and Debbie Suchy reconnected after 25 years during last fall’s SMU v. UTEP tailgate and were married March 23, 2012. He is an executive chef for Lone Tree USA based in Utah, and Debbie owns Eclectic Galleries in Snider Plaza near SMU, specializing in American fine craft.
1989
Gregory W. Kugle has been appointed to the board of directors for Meritas, a global alliance of 175 independent business law firms in 75 countries. He is a director of the Honolulu-based law firm Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert.
Categories
1990-1999
1990
Sharon Humble is managing partner of law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP. She was honored by Philadelphia SmartCEO magazine as one of this year’s Brava winners July 18 at the 2012 Brava! Awards ceremony, where the achievements of 25 of Greater Philadelphia’s women business leaders were celebrated. She also was mentioned in the Philadelphia Business Journal August 9 as a recipient of the Minority Business Leader Advocate Award, which recognizes minority and nonminority executives who support minority businesses.
Artist Lee Mulcahy (Ph.D. ’00) of Aspen, CO, exhibited at the Red Brick Center for the Arts Biennale in Aspen and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin in May 2012.
1991
Marc Chehlaoui relocated to Lafayette, CA, with his wife, Christina, son Blake, 7, and daughter Grace, 5. Marc is a managing director in the institutional equity sales division of Needham & Company in San Francisco.
Jonathan G. Polak (J.D. ’94) of law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP was named a “Leader in Their Field” in litigation: general commercial in the 2012 edition of Chambers USA.
1992
Ken Ichiro Aiso is a violinist and former student of SMU Professor Alessandra Comini. Having performed as warm-up at some of her lectures around the country, he has obtained an invitation for them to do a dual performance on Richard Strauss in Tokyo December 1. He is currently on tour in Europe.
David Gunn is the new vice president of business development and strategy at SonarMed, a medical device manufacturer in Indianapolis, where he builds relationships with healthcare systems and creates partnerships with strategic industry participants. He works in the Houston office.
Andy Wolber writes a column for TechRepublic.com’s Google in the Enterprise blog. The column helps organizations understand and leverage the power of Google apps.
1993
Macy Jaggers (J.D. ’02) founded the criminal defense law firm Macy Jaggers, Defense Attorney PLLC. She lives in Dallas with her husband, Michael, and two children: Jenna, 16, and Max, 10.
Berna Rhodes-Ford was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Southern Nevada chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners at the 14th Annual Women of Distinction Awards. She is managing shareholder of Rhodes-Ford & Associates, a law firm specializing in corporate, employment and healthcare law. She is a past president of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Southern Nevada and a Leader Under 40 in Nevada Business Magazine.
1994
James Isleib and Jennifer Cook Isleib, married 15 years ago at SMU’s Perkins Chapel, celebrated their anniversary with a trip to Italy. He is CFO for ghg, grey healthcare group, and she is vice president of accounting operations for Russell Stover Candies. They live in Leawood, KS, with their two dogs, Cosmo and Camden.
1995
A. Shonn Evans Brown (J.D. ’98) is a Dallas trial attorney and new partner at Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank LLP. She is secretary-treasurer of the Dallas Bar Association and has served as co-chair of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers’ committee to support diversity and education. She is a director of both the Dallas Black Theater and Bryan’s House and has held leadership positions with the Dallas Museum of Art’s Junior Associates Circle and the Junior League of Dallas. She has been recognized five times in the Texas Rising Stars listing and was named in 2006 by D magazine as one of Dallas’ top lawyers under the age of 40. She was honored in the statewide “Multicultural Power 100” list published in 2010 by the Texas Diversity Council. Shonn serves on the SMU Alumni Board.
Melinda Morrison Gulick is Arizona’s first Cox Conserves Hero as announced by Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land, an honor based on her longstanding commitment to and passion for Arizona’s open space. She also volunteers for the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, the City of Scottsdale Preserve Commission and the Desert Discovery Center Task Force.
Colleen Smith McTaggart and her husband, Lawrence, welcomed their third child, Patrick James, Jan. 11, 2012. Their older son John is 5, and daughter Claire is 2.
Unrhea Session announces the birth of her daughter, Teagan Elizabeth, Dec. 19, 2011.
1996
Michael Brown has been named Head of School at The Outdoor Academy in Pisgah Forest, NC, where he lives with his wife, Susan Daily, and their children, Noah and Wren. The academy is for high school sophomores and emphasizes intellectual achievement, environmental awareness and character development.
Anthony P. de Bruyn received his 10-year Employee Service Award from The University of Texas System, where he is assistant vice chancellor for public affairs and the chief spokesperson for the UT System Board of Regents, UT System chancellor and the executive leadership team. He lives in Austin and enjoys visiting the 15 University of Texas institutions across the state.
Jeremy Kulisheck (Ph.D. ’05) was named forest archaeologist for the Cibola National Forest in Albuquerque, where he oversees the archaeologic and historic preservation programs for the national forest lands in central New Mexico and the national grasslands in northeastern New Mexico, the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma.
1997
Andrew Graham is an attorney in the Dallas office of Jackson Walker LLP selected as a 2012 “Rising Star” in the April 2012 issue of Texas Monthly magazine.
1998
Mark Rainey Allen and his wife, Lauren, and daughter Rainey announce the birth of Sydney Wheeler Feb. 13, 2012. Mark owns Case Advances LLC, which provides litigation funding to clients of attorneys.
1999
Amy Albritton Eaker joined the staff of SMU’s Planned and Endowment Giving May 29 as director, encouraging larger gifts to the University through planned giving opportunities. Previously she was in private law practice focusing on estate planning and probate. Since 2004 she worked in the nonprofit and charitable trust administration division of JPMorgan.
Timothy Janus was crowned world burping champion by the World Burping Federation last June 8 in New York City.
Jason Shanks was listed in the April 2012 issue of Texas Monthly magazine as a “Rising Star” for 2012. He is an attorney in the Dallas office of Jackson Walker LLP.
Categories
2000-2011
2000
Quinton Crenshaw has joined Carlson Restaurants Worldwide as director of communications, overseeing employee and executive communications and public relations for the U.S. division of T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants. Previously he was senior manager of global communications for Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Tré Douglas received a Master of Science degree in health care administration from the University of Maryland, University College May 12, 2012. He completed an internship at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital with the Internal Audit Department.
Tammy Nguyen Lee was a recipient of the 2012 National Association of Asian American Professionals Leaders of Excellence Award. She was honored in 2010 with SMU’s Emerging Leader Award. She and husband George Lee, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, are founders of ATG Against The Grain Productions, a nonprofit organization that produces films, media, programs and events that promote awareness and unity of Asian- American culture, artistry and identity.
2001
Kenyon Adams is a vocalist, songwriter and actor in plays and the movie “Lucky Life.” He performs original music in New York City and recently released an EP. In 2011 he joined American Restless, a Brooklyn-based blues-rock band in which he sings, writes and plays harmonica. He works as arts ministries coordinator at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Hear Kenyon at www.reverbnation.com/kenyonadams.
Michael Arthur Harper (M.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’09) received the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award from the Secretary of the Navy, honoring his service from June 2009 to June 2012 as the Office of Naval Research Science Advisor for Commander, Naval Forces Central Command and Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet. His efforts supported Partnership-Strength Presence; Maritime Security Operations; the Struggle Against Violent Extremism; and Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. He was selected recently to serve as associate director for Irregular and Expeditionary Warfare with the Office of Naval Research.
2002
Jonathan Adamson has been named a partner in the Dallas office of Hall Capital Partners to lead the company’s presence in Texas. His experience managing private equity funds in the distribution, manufacturing, energy and real estate sectors will benefit Hall’s growth in Texas.
Misty Morley Broome (J.D. ’08) is a partner in the recently formed Dallas law firm Johnson Broome Cantu PC.
Jonathan Childers, an attorney with Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail Shank LLP in Dallas, was named to the 2012 Texas “Rising Stars” list published in the April 2012 Texas Monthly magazine.
Holly F. Smith owns Holly Smith Reps in Dallas, representing local commercial photographers and a video production company.
The Rev. Michael W. Waters (M.Div. ’06) and his wife, Yulise Reaves Waters (J.D. ’08) announce the birth of their third child, daughter Liberty Grace, Feb. 1, 2012. He is founding pastor of Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. Church in Dallas, and she is an assistant city attorney for the City of Dallas. Michael has been interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio for recent writings. Last May he was awarded a $10,000 fellowship from the Beatitudes Society, one of only eight emerging faith leaders from across the United States to be so recognized. The yearlong fellowship will equip him with the resources and relationships to create new models for church and the pursuit of social justice. He is completing a Doctor of Ministry degree at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology.
2003
Dodee Frost Crockett was recognized on Barron’s magazine’s list of “America’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors” published June 4, 2012. She lives in Dallas and has been at the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management office for 32 years.
Ashley Hamilton has returned from working abroad with Disney Cruise Lines and recently took a position with Anthony Travel Inc. as an event manager.
Eddie Healy began playing guitar at age 13. Now he is a classical guitarist, composer and performer in Dallas-Fort Worth and music instructor at several area colleges. “Direction” is his new album of guitar music he composed. Listen to the entire CD at http://www.reverbnation.com/eddiehealy.
Jerrika Hinton wrote, produced and directed a short film, “The Strangely Normal,” which is now on the festival circuit.
Bill LaRossa has become a partner with HelioPro LLC, a manufacturer of customized magnetic bracelets. His entrepreneurial endeavors include LaRossa Shoe Inc., a past recipient of the SBANE New England Innovation Award. He is a principal of W.L. Trading LLC, the exclusive distributor of the Primigi brand of children’s clothing and shoes from Italy, and a board member of the