As part of a new tradition on the SMU campus, President R. Gerald Turner delivered “The President’s Briefing,” giving the audience an overview of SMU in the last year.
Seated in the audience were members of the Board of Trustees and Alumni Board members, along with select students representing the “Faces of SMU,” Charanya Krishaswami, Andres Ruzo, Allison Griffin and Jamie Corley.
Turner began his speech by addressing the pressing economic issue, stressing the importance of the approaching May 1 scholarship deadline and how it is causing concern about student deposits being turned in on time. Turner said he is “worried people are holding their money close,” and with the economy continuing on its current path, the university is struggling to obtain the normal amount of student deposits for this time of year.
However, applications for admissions were at an all time high in 2008-09, and the average SAT score for incoming students has increased by 97 points in the past decade, according to information provided at the briefing. The incoming fall class will offer 1,300 spots for approximately 9,000 applicants, 650 of which will go to in-state students and 650 going to students from out-of-state. International student enrollment will pull from the out of state number.
In conjunction with the 1,300 application spots, Turner stressed the importance of bringing diversity to the Hilltop, including hosting a wider variety of majors. The goal, Turner said, is to have all schools in SMU rank amongst the country’s Top 50 in publications. With the Dedman School of Law posting the highest passing rate for the Bar Exam in the state of Texas, SMU is well on its way to seeing this reputation develop throughout Meadows School of the Arts, Dedman College, Perkins School of Theology and other schools of interest.
Using the “Faces of SMU” as an example, Turner put emphasis on the rankings of each school in national publications, particularly Businessweek’s ranking of the Cox School of Business’s full-time MBA program as No.18 in the nation.
Plans to diversify the campus include adding a fall semester to the SMU in Taos program. Turner also said more financial aid opportunities for study abroad programs will be made available to students.
In wake of the Texas Monthly article about the death of Jake Stiles, Turner said the article “made something as bad as it can be,” but “tough times are followed by easy years.” He highlighted that 97 percent of SMU students are never involved in judicial activity, and assured the audience that the Greek system is not leaving and there is no effort to close Greek organizations.
Another topic Turner highlighted was the athletic program at SMU. Recognizing the five programs that captured Conference USA titles this year, Turner admitted that he realizes only about 90 percent of the people care about having a winning football team.
“I promise we will start the season undefeated,” joked Turner, “and we can do better than last year.”
Part of improving athletic programs at SMU, especially in regards to basketball, is renovating Moody Coliseum as part of the Second Century Campaign.
Other projects include beginning construction on the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development and renovations on the Perkins School of Theology.
The Bush Library was also addressed by Turner, who said the exact location of the structure would be on the east side of campus. Admitting there is controversy surrounding the structure coming to SMU, Turner said that while he knows not everyone is happy with it coming to the Hilltop, more controversy draws more attention.
The library will be located where the open tennis courts currently stand and where the white Binkley apartments used to be, not in the University Gardens area. Turner said the University Gardens area will be used as a lacrosse and intramural field and will also be home to new recreational tennis courts. Turner announced the groundbreaking of the Bush Library would be in 2010, with the grand opening in 2013.
Land left remaining in the University Gardens area could possibly be used as required sophomore housing, as Turner said SMU’s main competitors like Vanderbilt and Notre Dame have this, leading to more student involvement.
“With everything going on …we are absolutely driven to make sure we don’t lose momentum and we will push through this recession,” said Turner at the end of his speech. “There are no perfect places, but SMU is a great place to be.”