Fall Commencement set for Dec. 20

DALLAS (SMU) –More than 600 students from SMU's seven schools will graduate at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 20, at the December Commencement ceremony in Moody Coliseum. 

Gerald J. Ford

Business leader Gerald J. Ford, an alumnus and member of the SMU Board of Trustees, will deliver the commencement address. Ford is chairman of the board and the principal shareholder of both the Diamond A Ford Corporation and Hilltop Holdings Inc., a Texas-based diversified financial holding company. He also is the co-managing member and principal investor in Ford Financial Fund II LP, a private equity firm.

At the ceremony, students and faculty in academic regalia will enter Moody Coliseum with their respective schools, accompanied by music and applause from proud families. Each graduate will be individually recognized. 

For those who cannot attend, the ceremony will be live-streamed at 10 a.m.

Ford earned a B.A. degree in economics from SMU in 1966 and earned his J.D. degree from Dedman School of Law in 1969. He is former chair of the SMU Board of Trustees and a member of the Executive Board of Dedman School of Law, a member of the Campaign Leadership Council and currently is the convening co-chair of SMU’s Second Century Campaign. He is a past member of the executive boards of Cox School of Business and Dedman College and of the Board of Directors of John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies.

For more information about December Commencement is available online. 

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