SMU honors Atlanta friends and supporters
at May Botanical Garden celebration

DALLAS (SMU) – Alumni, parents and friends of SMU from the Atlanta area were honored Thursday, May 1, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for their generous combined commitments of more than $2.1 million toward Southern Methodist University’s Second Century Campaign.

SMU President R. Gerald Turner, Vice President for Development and External Affairs Brad Cheves and members of the Campaign Steering Committee for the Atlanta region hosted members of the SMU community living in the greater Atlanta area – home to approximately 1,400 alumni and more than 70 current SMU students. The celebration underscored the impact that Second Century Campaign donors in the region are having on SMU students, faculty and the campus.

“We are deeply grateful to all of our generous friends and supporters in Atlanta,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.   “We know that SMU’s impact does not end at the Dallas County line, and the support for the campaign here in Atlanta is helping us reach our goal to endow more faculty positions and improve the already terrific academic experience on our campus.  This kind of financial support makes an enormous difference.”

The Second Century Campaign momentum continues with nine major commitments of $50,000 or more from the Atlanta region. More than 750 Atlanta-area donors have given more than 2,300 gifts during the Campaign, which began in September 2008, resulting in commitments to support faculty, scholarships and academic and student life programs.

Forty-five Atlanta-area donors have been recognized as President’s Associates donors for giving $1,000 or more in the last fiscal year, and more than 200 Atlanta-area donors have been recognized by SMU’s Hilltop Society for two-to-20 years of consecutive years of giving to SMU.

Atlanta Campaign co-chairs Jennifer and Marty Flanagan, who both graduated from SMU in 1982, helped host the event.  “We are proud to be a part of Atlanta’s SMU community," said Jennifer Flanagan.  "And we are proud that our local SMU alumni, parents and friends have accomplished so much through their support of the Second Century Campaign,” added Marty Flanagan.   The Flanagan's are past SMU parents, as well: Their oldest son, Casey, graduated in 2012.

To date, SMU’s Second Century Campaign has received commitments of more than $874 million toward its goal of $1 billion to support student quality, faculty and academic excellence and the campus experience. The campaign coincides with SMU’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the University’s founding in 1911 and its opening in 1915.

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SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.

Media Contact:

Kim Cobb
214-768-7654
cobbk@smu.edu