From the President
The enduring impact of our donors’ generosity is visible across our campus, from new and renovated facilities to support for student scholarships and research. With the recent success of SMU Giving Day, I’m pleased to report that SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow has raised over $1.2 billion toward its $1.5 billion goal, with many additional opportunities ahead to strengthen the University’s goals. In this issue, you’ll discover how donors to the SMU Ignited campaign are creating new opportunities for our students, coming together as a community to make a difference and strengthening our academic position nationally.
On March 5, we celebrated SMU Giving Day, our annual one-day event to inspire involvement and support for dozens of crucial University causes. This year’s event proved an even greater success than we could have imagined, with more than 4,100 SMU students, alumni, family and friends getting involved with causes that they believe in across our campus.
Donors to SMU Athletics have always been vital to its success, and their participation in our journey to the ACC is fueling athletic excellence across our campus. Donors to the ACC Competitiveness Campaign have already given over $121 million to ensure our successful transition into the new conference. We encourage all of our Mustang friends, family and fans to join us in the third phase of the campaign. Gifts of all sizes are welcomed and appreciated as we prepare and support our student-athletes for this exciting new chapter.
In our Q&A, SMU alumni, donors and volunteers Laura Guerin Howard ’00 and William J. Howard ’00 describe why they have chosen to invest their time and resources in the University since they graduated.
Donors make a significant impact on students Jackson Ritz ’23, Raissa Umwali ’24 and Eli Laird ’21, ’23, ’27. Recent graduate and SMU offensive lineman Ritz found unique ways to connect his passion for engineering with his love of the game, utilizing skills learned from both to improve his performance both on the field and in the classroom. Umwali received an SMU Community College Scholarship and plans to use a statistics degree to service people in her native Rwanda. An engineering Ph.D. candidate, SMU scholarship recipient and two-time SMU alumnus, Laird is working with faculty researchers in SMU’s Intelligent Systems and Bias Examination Lab to reduce bias and preserve privacy in artificial intelligence facial recognition systems.
Through the SMU Ignited campaign, our donors continue to enhance the Mustang community. We thank you for all you do to shape the bright future of SMU.
Pony Up!
R. Gerald Turner
SMU President