SMU Dedman School of Law Scholarship Challenge raises more than $12 million

SMU Dedman School of Law Scholarship Challenge raises more than $12 million, creates 27 new scholarships

Thirty-one donors have made major gifts to 27 new SMU Dedman School of Law Scholarships that will strengthen support for recruiting outstanding students. Thanks to an innovative program, the school will create permanent endowed scholarships in the donors’ names to extend their impact on future students in perpetuity.

In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the first law school founded in the city of Dallas, SMU announced the Dedman Law Centennial Scholarship Challenge. Between April 2024 and September 2025, donors to the drive gave $6 million, to be matched by $6 million from The Dedman Foundation.

The resulting scholarships will make an SMU legal education even more attractive and feasible for bright students.

“The ascent of the Dedman School of Law depends critically on our ability to attract and support top students, and these scholarships are a huge boost to our efforts,” said President Jay Hartzell. “We sincerely thank our generous alumni and supporters who rallied behind this important initiative.”

Gifts from the scholarship donors will be used immediately as operational support to recruit and retain the best and brightest students. When each donor completes their gift of $100,000 or more, the school will create a new endowed scholarship in the name of the donor’s choosing.

“The Dedman Foundation is proud to ensure that these donors’ gifts will endure for generations to come,” said Robert H. Dedman, Jr. ’80, ’84, SMU trustee and president of The Dedman Foundation. “The SMU Dedman School of Law shapes the future of legal experts who play influential roles in Dallas and around the world.”

The generous donors who made this initiative possible are:
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Jennifer Burr Altabef ’78, ’81 and Peter A. Altabef
James L. Baldwin, Jr. ’86 and Susan Collins Baldwin ’87
Christopher Bolen ’81, ’85 and Nancy Coudriet Bolen ’83
Christa J. Brown-Sanford ’04 and Ketric R. Sanford
Erin Nealy Cox ’95 and John T. Cox, III
Fatima Hassan-Salam ’85, ’91 and Junaid B. Salam
Mark S. Howard ’90 and Robin P. Howard
David S. Huntley ’80 and Tracey M. Nash-Huntley
Elizabeth Hurley and Sydney J. Hurley, IV ’83
Mignon S. Jones and Stuart A. Jones ’80
Barbara Golden Lynn ’72 and Michael P. Lynn ’75
Dana Manley and Robert M. Manley ’93
Harriet E. Miers ’67, ’70
Dawn Enoch Moore ’78, ’81 and Steven D. Moore ’78, ’98
Catherine G. Musslewhite and Jeffrey B. Musslewhite
Dian C. Nielsen and Peter W. Nielsen
D. Bobbitt Noel, Jr. ’76 and Karen H. Noel
Alice G. Nye and Erle A. Nye ’65
John D. O’Hara and Linda Ward O’Hara ’91
Emily A. Parker ’73
Anne Spivey Paup ’73 and Henry B. Paup ’73
Amy Ford Prestidge ’95 and Corey G. Prestidge ’96, ’99
Edward B. Rust, Jr. ’75 and Sally B. Rust
The Sumners Foundation
Ira Tobolowsky Foundation
Cynthia Hoff Trochu ’88
David S. Wallenstein and Harianne S. Wallenstein
Angela Wennihan Zambrano ’97 and Luis G. Zambrano ’01

“Donors to the Dedman Law Centennial Scholarship Challenge will lift the law school to unprecedented heights,” said Jason P. Nance, the Judge James Noel Dean at SMU Dedman School of Law. “These scholarships will fuel our success in both the short term and the long term. We are very grateful for their contributions.”