Guild of Marshals

Thomas B. Fomby joined the Guild of Marshals as a procession marshal in 1997 under the guidance of Chief Marshal emeritus Brad Carter. Fomby succeeded Professor Carter as Chief Marshal in January of 2009. A Professor of Economics at SMU since 1975, Dr. Fomby is co-author of the textbook Advanced Econometric Methods and has authored numerous articles in professional economics and statistics journals. He has been Senior Co-editor of Advances in Econometrics (Emerald Publishing Ltd.) since 1986. Professor Fomby currently holds Research Associate positions with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the World Bank in Washington, DC, and the Clinical Sciences Department at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He has consulted with the U.S. Treasury Department, The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and various corporations including SAS, Texas Instruments, KPMG, and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company to mention a few.

• Expanded the December Commencement ceremony
• Created a new generation of ceremonial gonfalons introduced in December 2009
• Designed the Guild of Marshals Crystal Award and Perpetual Plaque that are presented to our most dedicated marshals
• Held the first annual recognition and awards ceremony for the Guild of Marshals on December 17, 2015
• Organized the first Rotunda Recessional for December candidates on December 18, 2015

Bradley Kent Carter served in the Guild of Marshals for 26 years, including 19 years as Chief Marshal. During this time, he continued to shape SMU's ceremonies, beginning many traditions we see today. Dr. Carter came to the University in 1970 and retired as a Professor emeritus of Political Science in 2015. Professor Carter taught political and organizational theory in the Political Science Department. He also taught undergraduate courses in the General Education Curriculum and graduate courses in the Master of Liberal Arts and Master of Liberal Studies programs. He wrote on the political ideas of James Madison and Mary Parker Follett. Professor Carter served the Political Science Department in several roles, including undergraduate director, from 1999–2014.

His service to the University included a 14-year membership on the Faculty Senate, with three terms as secretary and one as president. He has twice been honored as a Rotunda Outstanding Professor, twice received the Willis M. Tate Award for Distinguished Teaching and also received the “M” Award, SMU’s most prestigious honor. Douglas Bauer, a former student, established the Bauer Incentive Scholarship in Professor Carter’s honor.

• Commissioned SMU Custom Regalia
• Created the Rotunda Recessional after the Baccalaureate Service
• Assisted with the reinstatement of Honors Day Convocation
• Consolidated three December Graduation ceremonies in McFarlin Auditorium into one ceremony in Moody Coliseum
• Chaired the effort to create new Marshal’s Robes in May 2007
• Invited Phi Beta Kappa to participate in Opening Convocation
• Started using the phrase “Guild of Marshals” in December 1995
• Modernized the look of printed ceremony programs
• Chaired the effort to create the Lorn Lambier Howard Lantern, which debuted in August 2008

Jeffrey D. Chalk served in the Guild of Marshals for 15 years, including 3 years as Chief Marshal to the University. Dr. Chalk joined SMU’s Department of Physics in 1965. He has shown his dedication as a member of this academic community through service on a multitude of committees, and the positions he has held over the decades include chairman ad interim of the Department of Physics, secretary of the Faculty Senate, secretary of the Faculty Athletics Committee, and chairman of Division III of the School of Humanities and Sciences. For 20 years he served as a member of the Premedical Advisory Committee. Dr. Chalk was awarded the Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series Award for Excellence in Teaching and Faculty Service in April of 1994. He retired January 1, 1995, as associate professor emeritus of physics.

• Organized the first Rotunda Passage with Bradley Carter in the fall of 1989