In multiple ways, SMU engages with the wider Dallas-Ft. Worth community. SMU’s schools, institutes, faculty, staff, and students are involved in—and changed by—engagement with the vast challenges and opportunities posed by the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States: K-12 urban education, the environment, the arts, physical and mental health, conflict resolution, poverty, access to justice, pluralism, spiritual development, and more.

This website is a guide to the many ways in which SMU engages with the community. You can navigate through areas of involvement (such as education, health care, conflict resolution). You can find special programs that provide ways of engagement (such as the Service House, the Center for Academic Community Engagement, and service-learning). You can find the dozens of community nonprofit agencies with which SMU has partnerships. You can find out how to contact people and programs for further information, suggestions, and questions about SMU’s community engagement.

SMU Community News Updates:
Read all SMU Community Updates

	Community Service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In the annual SMU community service day held on Martin Luther King, Jr. day, SMU students partnered with students from Paul Quinn College to renovate space that will eventually serve for after-school education in South Dallas.
	Recognition for Civic Engagement. In Southern Methodist University was named to the annual President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for service and civic engagement. The Honor Roll is sponsored by President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, the USA Freedom Corps, and the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development
	Big iDeas Focuses on Challenges in Dallas. In the second annual Big iDeas competition that funds successful proposals, teams of students are submitting interdisciplinary proposals aimed at addressing big issues facing the Metroplex.

	ACE Center Courses Focus on Engagement. Courses through the ACE Center include participating in programs aimed at enrichment of academic skills for schoolchildren in the neighborhood of the ACE Center.
	Law Students Engage in Pro Bono. In 2008-2009, SMU Dedman School of Law students participated in almost 12,000 hours of pro bono legal representation.
	Preparing Ministers for Hispanic Ministries. The Perkins School of Theology supports curriculum and activities that prepare ministerial students for Hispanic ministries.

	Central Dallas Ministries’ President and CEO Addresses Hyer Society. The 2009 inductees to SMU’s most prestigious academic honor society, the Robert S. Hyer Society, were chosen after a process that included writing an essay on urban improvement strategies for the Southern sector of Dallas. The annual induction dinner for the inductees featured an address by Larry James, President and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries.
	1st Annual Dallas Hispanic Youth Symposium to Be Held at SMU. SMU will host the first annual Dallas Hispanic Youth Symposium from June 30-July 3, 2009. The Hispanic Youth Symposium is an intensive three-night, four-day program for about 200 qualifying students, aimed at allowing participants to develop a network of peers and mentors, learn about resources and tools for college, and develop a long-term career vision.
	Upward Bound Program at SMU. The SMU Upward Bound Program provides a pre-collegiate academic experience for 9th and 10th graders who qualify under guidelines that include income level, first generation college student, and desire to attend college. The Program includes an academic component during the academic year, as well as a summer residential program for college-bound students who have participated in other parts of the Upward Bound Program.