NEW STAFF
Kelly Milazzo - Student Financial Operations
STAFF LEAVING
STAFF PROMOTIONS
Lydia Babbit - Federal and State Grant Coordinator
Bill Chandler - Loan Operations Coordinator
Colleen Franklin - Federal, State, and Private Loan Coordinator
Birthdays
Cruz Lopez - May 3
Stephen Forrest - May 7
Tony Tillman - May 11
Walter Jimenez - May 16
Patricia May - May 20
Irma Herrera - May 21
Sherreetta Robertson - May 22
Stephany Coleman - May 24
Cheryl Swift - May 24
Jean Porter - May 27
Rick Diaz - May 29
Kimberly Wratislaw - May 31
Anniversaries
Joe Papari - 28 years!
Paula Anderson - 10 years
Monica Gomez - 7 years
Marcia Miller - 5 years
Consuela Mitchell - 3 years
Lori Atkinson - 2 years
Gretchen Voight - 2 years
Pavielle Chriss - 1 year
Commencement
Two beautiful days graced the finale of the academic year. Baccalaureate, Commencement, and the Diploma Ceremonies show SMUs finest -- our graduates, our faculty, our administration and staff, and our alumni.
May 2008 presented 1,846 graduates. Nine-hundred fourteen receiving bachelor's degrees and 932 receiving graduate degrees. Nine-hundred and eighty-eight participated in the Commencement Ceremony during which the graduates and guests enjoyed an interesting speech from Profession Allen Weinstein, noted historian and overseer of the National Presidential Libraries.
Over 400 graduates participated in Baccalaureate. Students and families were inspired by the sermon of the Reverend Dr. Sheron Patterson. The evening ended with the traditional Rotunda Recessional in which graduates walked from McFarlin Auditorium through Dallas Hall mirroring their entrance into the academic community with Rotunda Passage.
Congratulations to our graduates, their families, and all of the people at SMU who make this possible.
Some of our VIPs this month are:
Stan Eddy - Thank you for the pro-active effort to keep your students well informed and thank you for sharing all of your "Pre-mail" to other members of Financial Aid. This is such a good customer service initiative.
Cheryl Swift - Thank You - A million thanks for always being there to answer all our $$ questions. You have been much appreciated the last 2 years. Thank You,
Gretchen, Student Records Staff, Damon – It can become a tired saying, but things keep getting better. This year’s Honors Convocation was the best ever! Thanks Gretchen for your leadership, and thanks everyone for your work on this important event. Recognizing our top academic achievers is important, and I think with your help we did an excellent job at this. From the web site to the balloon towers on the steps of McFarlin, everything made this a special evening for our honored students and their families. Thanks again for all you do for SMU and our students. John Hall
The Grade Roster Calling Team - Sylvia Wiseman, Enrollment Resources, and Mitzie Goff. Yes, I do see the fruits of [our] labors. Please know that the communication plan to encourage prompt posting of grades has been a success. Thank you.
To: Guild of Marshals & the entire Academic Ceremonies community
From: Brad Carter, Chief Marshal
It is my practice to write a personal note of thanks to those of you who serve our students by taking a part in the ceremonial life of our SMU community. I much regret that I am not able to do so for those of you who gave your time and energy to the Honors Day Convocation. This particular ceremony comes at such a very trying time of year for all of us. Exams and graduation weekend are just around the corner. Worried students knock at our door. We begin to fear our calendars. But SMU owes you a big thank you. So do I. I do so much appreciate your willingness to give your time to help us honor our best students.
This was one of the very best Honors Day events. All of you did so very well. It was a great and wonderful treat to have choral music as part of the celebration of excellence. The Meadows Chorale was superb. We owe much to Prof. Elrod both foe her conducting and for her choice of Rytmus. With all its acoustical limitations McFarlin comes alive with the sound of unaccompanied human voices. Professors Palmer and Cheney and Ms. Lovelace added their special magic as we entered and recessed. Professor Spiegelman added the glory of the well crafted spoken word. Gretchen’s balloon arches and the large banners also served to remind us that this was a celebration. And this year it felt like a celebration.
By your efforts you served some of our most talented and gifted students. You also helped to honor Ross Murfin who restored Honors Day. You have demonstrated your interest in our students and your belief in the importance of our corporate life. Gretchen Voight, Nancy Skochdopole, and I are always amazed and what we all can, and do, make happen. Bless you and thank you.
AARO Kick Off - Ice Cream Social
Dr. Lori White, Vice President of Student Affairs and John Hall, Executive Director of Enrollment Services invite you to join them for the 3rd annual AARO Kick-Off symbolizing the beginning of another academic year.
The kick-off is celebrated with an Ice Cream Social held in the Commons of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center on June 26th between 1pm and 2pm - brief remarks at 1:15pm.
We hope you will join us. It always is a good time when the
SMU community comes together.
Special thank you to Stephen Forrest and Damon Wilkins for the photographs.
Division Meeting June 4th Important Dates
Quotation of the Month
SMU Trivia
Question
Answer
Student Employee Recognition
April 14-18, 2008 was Student Employee recognition week.
Mary Beard, Associate Director for Student Employment and Scholarships, and
others in Enrollment Services held a luncheon to honor Student Employees who
distinguished themselves in their work over the past academic year.
Twenty-three student workers were nominated for recognition.
Each contributed significantly to his or her work assignment. The nominees
were Mohammed Aqeeluzzaman Khaleel, Emily George, Derek R. Jones, Brittani M.
Arrington, Gerardo Daniel Palos, Megan Walker, Braunshay Pertile, Natalia Jones,
Mittie Muse, Meleah Chriss, Jeramaih A. Burbee, Catalina Aguirre.
Braunshay Pertile (pictured with Executive Director Marc
Peterson) was chosen 2008 Student Employee of the Year to represent the fine
work of all of SMU's student employees.
Congratulations Braunshay!
TxBUC$ Regional Workshops
The
Texas Bursar's for Universities and Colleges (TxBUC$) provides several drive-in
workshops in different location in Texas each year. The purpose of Texas
BUC$ is to share and brainstorm ways to improve customer service, improve processes and
to problem
solve issues common among the member institutions. SMU
Student Financials Services staff members attended several of the Regional
programs.
In the
month of March, Paulette Caraway and Charmissa Ajakaiye attended the Houston
Regional Meeting. In April, Cheryl Swift, Mirjan Laci and Claudia Favela attended the Forth
Worth Meeting. Anna Gomez and Cindy Castro attended the San Antonio Meeting
in May.
These staff had
All of
the conferences were very productive and the attendance was the best yet.
May 16 - Baccalaureate
May 17 - Commencement
May 26 Memorial Day
Holiday
May 28 - May AARO
May 29 - Summer I and III begin
May 30 - Summer I enrollment ends
June 3 - Summer III enrollment ends
June 27 -
Last day of Summer I
June 28 - Summer AARO Begins
July 1 - Summer II
begins
July 4 Holiday
Schooling is what happens inside the walls of the school, some of which is
educational. Education happens everywhere . . .
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
No. This is a common misconception. In the early 1900s, Dallas
produced a number of medical schools. Most of these schools were not
recognized by the Medical Education establishment at the time. One school
was named Southwestern Medical School which transferred its operation to SMU in
