Soon SMU will celebrate its centennial anniversary. Through the decades, the university has been served by any number of gifted and dedicated faculty, administrators and staff.

However, the recent retirement of Marshall Terry and the untimely death of Jim Caswell have deprived SMU of two of the most exceptional figures in the university’s history.

Although very different in temperament and professional interests, they each represented the same generosity of spirit and dedication to the personal and intellectual development of our students that inspired me as well as, undoubtedly, many of my colleagues. Their lives and careers at SMU made a difference to us all and reflected the best in every one of us.

Hopefully, Marshall Terry will remain a part of the larger SMU community for many more years. This we celebrate. But today is a day of mourning for the loss of a friend and colleague whose legacy will remind us that each new day at SMU must be based on the values the university nurtured in Jim Caswell. We must be reminded that, in turn, he nurtured these values in generations of our students for over four decades.

About the writer:

James Hopkins is an Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor. He is part of the Clements Department of History. He can be reached at [email protected].