SMU launches $1.5B fundraising campaign for scholarships, research, athletics

Southern Methodist University launched a multi-year fundraising campaign worth $ 1.5 billion.

SMU officials announced the effort on Friday, which aims to be the largest fundraising target ever set by a private university in Texas.

“Every decade a university needs a major campaign that not only provides a lot of resources for the university, but also creates a lot of solidarity and enthusiasm among its alumni and supporters,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

SMU President R. Gerald Turner addressed attendees during the announcement of a multi-year fundraising campaign on September 17, 2021 that will bring great benefits to the city and region of North Texas.(Lola Gomez / photographer)

Turner said the school wants to not only invest in what it already has but also expand its roots and strengthen the campus community’s relationship with the city of Dallas. The SMU supports the Dallas Morning News Education Lab.

University officials plan to allocate $ 450 million to offer more scholarships that could help meet the full financial needs of more North Texas students from low-income families. School officials say there is a need to put in place a safety net for students as a sudden financial crisis can quickly bring their studies to a standstill.

According to the latest federal data, only 9% of students received Pell scholarships from 2019-20. About 13% of SMU’s undergraduate students are currently Pell-eligible, and more than half are from North Texas, according to university data. Pell Scholarships are awarded to students based on family income and the cost of college attendance.

As part of the new SMU campaign, an additional $ 450 million would be used to strengthen partnerships with business and social services – such as the West Dallas STEM School and the Dedman School of Law Legal Hospitals for those who cannot afford representation – that more external opportunities for students and to invest in university athletics.

“These partnerships improve our students’ real-world education,” said Turner. “We have around a third of our students who do these internships on a regular basis. We basically want everyone to do that. “

Turner also pointed to the existing partnership between the Toyota USA Foundation, SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development, and the Dallas ISD to develop an 8th grade MINT school in Dallas.

In athletics, officials want to invest in facilities and programs to increase the university’s support for student athletes – all of which will help the school attract more students to join its teams.

Most of the money raised – $ 600 million – would support SMU faculty and its research by developing new programs, opening new facilities, and purchasing the equipment it needs.

The vision of this campaign will increase the competitiveness of the SMU nationwide, said Austin Hickle, president of the SMU student body.

“It will take what we are already doing so well here at SMU to a new level,” said Hickle. He added, “I know what happened today will have an incredible impact on the SMU in 10 years when I come back.”

More than 47,000 donors have pledged more than $ 654 million during the planning phase of the SMU Ignited campaign, officials said. That exceeds $ 542 million raised throughout the university’s first campaign, which ended in 2002.

This is Turner’s third major fundraiser since joining the university in 1995. Guests, students, faculty, and staff gathered on Friday to hear the announcement and have a campus-wide picnic.

With private universities ineligible for most state and federal grants, schools like SMU rely on tuition, donations, and investments to cover costs and programs, buildings, and scholarships.

Some of the early donations for the university’s current campaign include $ 100 million from the Moody Foundation – the greatest gift in the university’s history – to establish the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies; $ 50 million from Carolyn and David B. Miller, who broke the record for the largest contribution in SMU history by an alumni family, to support students and faculty at the Cox School of Business; and approximately 90 individual contributions of $ 1 million or more.

The DMN Education Lab deepens reporting and discussion on pressing educational issues that are critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control over the Education Lab’s journalism.

[ad_1]