Meadows Receives Largest Gift in SMU History

Foundation’s gift will support faculty and student excellence, as well as Meadows Museum

The Meadows School of the Arts announced March 1 a gift of $33 million from The Meadows Foundation, the largest single gift ever made by the Foundation and the largest single financial gift in the history of Southern Methodist University. Algur H. Meadows, through the foundation that bears his name, first gave to SMU in 1962, pledging funds designated for the construction and endowment of a museum to house Spanish works of art.

SMU president R. Gerald Turner said the gift will allow Meadows to strengthen its position as one of the most important schools within the university. “Since the Meadows School of the Arts opened in 1915, the arts have been a big part of SMU,” Turner said, “and the Meadows School of the Arts remains central to our educational mission.”

The $33 million gift includes $25 million to support goals and programs of the Meadows Museum, which boasts one of the finest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. These funds will be used for acquisitions, exhibitions, an educational curator position, an expanded educational program and special initiatives of the museum. Included within that $25 million is a $5 million challenge grant to match dollar-for-dollar new gifts for acquisition of additional works of art for the collection.

The remaining $8 million of the $33 million gift is earmarked for the Meadows School of the Arts, specifically to support faculty and student recruitment and enrichment, as well as to maintain the school’s facilities.

“It was the intent of Algur H. Meadows, who established the Foundation, that the school and museum bearing his name would be of great distinction,” Meadows Foundation president and CEO Linda Evans said. “In keeping with his wishes, the directors of the Foundation make this grant to further the reputation of both institutions. This gift is of historic importance to us, and it clearly reflects the confidence we have in SMU’s vision for the Meadows School of the Arts and the Meadows Museum.”

Evans added that the grant is designed to reach beyond the borders of the university.

“The grant is specifically designed,” she said, “to provide the margin of excellence to enable the school and the museum to be the very best and to broaden their outreach to the community.”

Turner said that the effects of the gift will reach beyond the improvement of facilities and the acquisition of additional art for the museum.

“This remarkable gift reflects the historic partnership between SMU and The Meadows Foundation that has resulted in a museum and arts school of international distinction,” Turner said. “Together they have inspired countless students and enriched the broader community for four decades. This unprecedented new gift from The Meadows Foundation will enable the arts school and museum to play an even greater role in the educational mission of SMU.”

Meadows School of the Arts Dean Carole Brandt said that the Meadows Foundation’s gift also will enable the school to expand its academic programs.

“We are thrilled by this incredibly generous gift,” Brandt said. “It is a tremendous vote of confidence for the entire school, and will enable us to strengthen existing programs and undertake new ones that will benefit the students of the University as well as the entire community.”

The gift will allow Meadows to extend its reach beyond the borders of the university and increase the school’s impact in the Dallas cultural society and in the worldwide artistic community, according to Robert Blocker, SMU provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“Algur Meadows envisioned a community of artists as an integral part of SMU, with students and faculty who contribute to society through the arts,” Blocker said. “True to his vision and the values of The Meadows Foundation, SMU remains committed to providing the finest education in the arts and to preparing cultural leaders for our global society.”

(Editor's note: SMU has received a larger gift since the March 1 announcement of the Meadows Foundation's gift to the Meadows School of the Arts.)