Kindling creators, thinkers and problem-solvers

Your gift to the SMU Fund for Dedman College ignites imaginations and inspires innovations. You and fellow Dedman supporters are investing in the powerful intersection of education and opportunity for SMU students. You can help provide the unrestricted resources that are strategically necessary to implement the newest academic programs and address Dedman College’s most pressing funding needs.

Dedman College has been enriched over the past several years through the hiring of extraordinary new talent. To continue recruiting and retaining such faculty, we need to provide them with the teaching and research tools befitting their knowledge, skills and talents. With your astute investment, Dedman College can attract and retain top-tier faculty members who are conducting world-changing research, which can also advance our excellence in teaching. This benefits students at all levels.

Graduate students at SMU conduct cutting-edge research across campus, from our Center for Research Computing to the humanities to earth sciences, psychology and biological sciences labs. Because of the vital role graduate students play in the productivity and innovation for the University, Dedman College would like to establish a centralized fund to administer aid for graduate student and Ph.D. support.

The college’s laboratories are the key to achieving the University’s research mission and goal of rising in the national rankings. Undergraduate and graduate students receive invaluable training in these spaces. Many of our labs are outdated, however, and new space is needed so the college can continue to bring in more federal research dollars that support our faculty.

Additionally, the Dean’s Research Council provides seed money for early-stage faculty research, boasting an 11:1 ROI for federal research dollars. This targeted fund serves as a springboard to helping faculty move projects from concept to viability. In turn, these investments make faculty more competitive to receive external funding for their most innovative projects.

The Human Rights Program is educating a new generation of visionary change-makers to defend and demand human dignity. As one of only seven programs in the United States to grant a bachelor’s degree in human rights, the program offers over 100 academic courses, educational travel opportunities across the globe, and a variety of proven social innovation efforts in North Texas. SMU’s Human Rights Program provides a unique experience that challenges students to think beyond the classroom and encourages compassion and inclusion under the motto, “There is no such thing as a lesser person.”

The Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII) responds to a need for a new way of looking at the world, one that embraces the insights gleaned from the humanities, the sciences, the social sciences, business and the other professional endeavors. The institute brings together experts and activists from diverse fields to share and create knowledge and sponsors faculty and academic programs, undergraduate research programs and community lectures.