A 15-member Campaign Leadership Council is headed by Convening Co-Chair Gerald J. Ford and Co-Chairs Ruth Altshuler, Ray L. Hunt, Caren H. Prothro and Carl Sewell. They will oversee the campaign's volunteer organization, which includes 39 steering committee co-chairs. To date, the campaign has enlisted 327 volunteers throughout the world.
Ruth Collins Sharp Altshuler, ’48, Dallas; Campaign Co-Chair; civic and philanthropic leader; former chair of SMU Board of Trustees; current SMU trustee
Gerald J. Ford, ’66, ’69, Dallas; Convening Campaign Co-Chair; chairman of the board and CEO, Diamond A Ford Corporation; immediate past chair of SMU Board of Trustees; current SMU trustee
Ray L. Hunt, ’65, Dallas; Campaign Co-Chair; chairman and CEO, Hunt Oil Company; former chair of SMU Board of Trustees; current SMU trustee
Caren H. Prothro, Dallas; Campaign Co-Chair; civic and philanthropic leader; current SMU trustee
Carl Sewell, ’66, Dallas; Campaign Co-Chair; chairman, Sewell Automotive Companies; current chair of SMU Board of Trustees
Michael M. Boone, ’63, ’67, Dallas; founding partner, Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.; current SMU trustee
Gary T. Crum, ’69, Houston; president, CFP Foundation; current SMU trustee
Linda Pitts Custard, ’60, ’99, Dallas; general partner, Custard/Pitts Land and Cattle Co.; current SMU trustee
Robert H. Dedman, Jr., ’80, ’84, Dallas; president, DFI Management, Ltd.; current SMU trustee
Milledge A. Hart, III, Dallas; chairman, Hart Group, Inc.; former SMU trustee
Gene C. Jones, Dallas; civic and philanthropic leader; current SMU trustee
Jeanne L. Phillips, ’76, Dallas; senior vice president, Hunt Oil Company; current SMU trustee
John C. Tolleson, ’70, Dallas; chair and CEO, Tolleson Wealth Management; current SMU trustee
Richard Ware, ’68, Amarillo, Texas; president, Amarillo National Bank; former SMU trustee
R. Gerald Turner, president of SMU, ex officio
Steering Committee for Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences
Kelly Hoglund Compton, ’79, Dallas; executive director, Hoglund Foundation; current SMU trustee
Frederick B. Hegi, Jr., ’66, Dallas; founding partner, Wingate Partners; current SMU trustee
Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, dean of Dedman College, ex officio
Steering Committee for Cox School of Business
Frank M. Dunlevy, ’71; San Francisco; vice chair, Cowen and Company; current SMU trustee
David B. Miller, ’72, ’73, Dallas; managing director, EnCap Investments, L.P.; current SMU trustee
Albert W. Niemi, Jr., dean of Cox School of Business, ex officio
Steering Committee for Meadows School of the Arts
Linda Harris Gibbons, ’58, Dallas; arts and civic leader
John S. McFarland, ’59, ’61, Dallas; co-founder and president, Penn Davis McFarland, Inc.
Sarah Fullinwider Perot, ’83; Dallas; civic and philanthropic leader; current SMU trustee
José Antonio Bowen, dean of Meadows School of the Arts, ex officio
Steering Committee for the School of Engineering
Bobby B. Lyle, ’67, Dallas; Convening Committee Co-Chair; chairman, president and CEO, Lyco Holdings, Incorporated; current SMU trustee
Karen Livesay Shuford, ’70, Dallas; civic leader and charitable trust consultant, Bank of America
Geoffrey C. Orsak, dean of the School of Engineering, ex officio
Steering Committee for Dedman School of Law
Alan D. Feld, ’57, ’60; Dallas; Convening Committee Co-Chair; executive senior partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P.; current SMU trustee
Marilyn Hussman Augur, ’89, Dallas; president, Marilyn Augur Family Foundation
Ron K. Barger, ’81, Plano; general counsel, Archon Group, L.P.
George W. Bramblett, Jr., ’63, ’66, Dallas; senior partner, Haynes & Boone, L.L.P.
Philip J. Wise, ’78, ’81, Dallas; founder, Cienda Partners and president, Mission Holdings, Inc.
John B. Attanasio, dean of Dedman School of Law, ex officio
Steering Committee for Perkins School of Theology
Dodee Frost Crockett, ’03, Wimberley, Texas; first vice president of investments for Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management
The Rev. Michael McKee, ’78, Hurst, Texas; senior minister, First United Methodist Church
Kay Prothro Yeager, ’61, Wichita Falls, Texas; vice president, Perkins-Prothro Foundation
William B. Lawrence, dean of Perkins School of Theology, ex officio
Steering Committee for Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development
Richard H. Collins, '69, Dallas, chair and CEO, Richard Collins Enterprises, Inc.
Connie Blass O’Neill, ’77, Dallas; civic leader; current SMU trustee ex officio
David J. Chard, dean of Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development,
ex officio
Steering Committee for Central University Libraries
Ann Warmack Brookshire, ’77, Tyler, Texas; certified public accountant
Tavenner C. Lupton, III, ’79, Dallas; president, Lupshire Management Company, Inc.
Gillian M. McCombs, dean and director of Central University Libraries, ex officio
Steering Committee for Campus and Student Life
Craig James, ’83, Celina, Texas; college football analyst and founder, James Development Corporation
Richard Ware, ’68, Amarillo, Texas; president, Amarillo National Bank; former SMU trustee
Christine Casey, SMU vice president for business and finance, ex officio
Paul W. Ludden, SMU provost and vice president for academic affairs, ex officio
Lori S. White, SMU vice president for student affairs, ex officio
Steering Committee for Athletics
Denny R. Holman, ’67, Dallas; chairman of the board, Folsom Properties, Inc.
Paul B. Loyd, Jr., ’68, Houston; founder and principal, Loyd & Associates; current SMU trustee
Steve Orsini, SMU director of athletics, ex officio
Steering Committee for Atlanta
Jennifer D. Flanagan, ’82, Atlanta; Templeton International
Martin L. Flanagan, ’82, Atlanta; president and CEO, INVESCO, PLC
Steering Committee for Chicago
Royce E. (Ed) Wilson, Chicago; president, Tribune Broadcasting; current SMU trustee
Leslie Zahn Wilson, ’81, Chicago
Steering Committee for Houston
Scott J. McLean, ’78, Houston; president, Amegy Bank of Texas
Dennis E. Murphree, ’69, Houston; principal, Murphree Venture Partners
Steering Committee for Los Angeles
Marion O. Palley, Newport Beach, Calif.; civic and philanthropic leader
Roger B. Palley, Newport Beach; investment advisor, Neuberger Berman, L.L.C.
Kelly Allen Welsh, ’78, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Kevin D. Welsh, Pacific Palisades; senior managing director, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P.
Steering Committee for New York City
James H. MacNaughton, ’72, ’73, New York; retired, former senior advisor and global partner, Rothschild, Inc.
Steering Committee for International Regions
Juan L. Elek, Mexico City; chair, Elek, Moreno Valle y Asociados; current SMU trustee
Helmut Sohmen, ’66; Hong Kong; chair, BW Corporation Limited; current SMU trustee
Ex-Officio Members
R. Gerald Turner, SMU president
Brad E. Cheves, SMU vice president of development and external affairs