March 31, 2003

FIVE MAJOR SMU SUPPORTERS TO BE HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING PHILANTHROPY

DALLAS (SMU) -- The Belo Foundation, Linda and Mitch Hart, Dr. Bob and Jean Smith, Texas Instruments Incorporated and the Welch Foundation will be honored as recipients of the Mustang Award, SMU's highest honor to its supporters, in a ceremony on April 1 at the Mansion on Turtle Creek.

"The Mustang Award recognizes those whose longtime service and philanthropy have had a lasting impact on the university," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. "The new award recipients join a distinguished group of 23 individuals, foundations and corporations previously honored for their dedication and generosity since the award was established in 1995."

The Belo Foundation joined with SMU in 2001 in a partnership aimed at developing one of the nation's leading applied journalism programs. A $5 million gift from the foundation was designated to establish the Belo Distinguished Chair in Journalism in the Meadows School of the Arts and provide funds for a digital newsroom and television studio, which opened in January 2003. While digital equipment is still being obtained, the facility is now producing local news and feature programming for distribution by television, radio, Internet and print. The Belo Foundation was established in 1952 by Dallas-based Belo Corp., whose extensive media ownerships include The Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV and Texas Cable News. Belo support of SMU, which began in 1939, has totaled more than $5.5 million, including the Belo Foundation's recent gift for the journalism program. Ward L. Huey, Jr., retired vice chair of Belo Corp., is a current member of the SMU Board of Trustees.

Linda and Mitch Hart have provided vision and resources for innovative new programs at SMU. The Linda and Mitch Hart eCenter, established in 2000 through a $5 million gift, fosters cross-disciplinary activities related to technology and its implications for society. The Harts provided an additional $1 million to endow the position of Linda Wertheimer Hart Director of the eCenter. The Hart Global Leaders Forum, established through a $1 million gift, enables selected high school students to meet leaders such as former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The Harts' gifts to SMU total nearly $8 million. Mitch Hart, chair of the Hart Group, Inc., is an SMU trustee. Linda Hart, vice chair and CEO of the Hart Group, is an SMU law school graduate and current chair of the Tate Distinguished Lecture Series. Both have served on numerous SMU boards.

Dr. Bob Smith, a distinguished graduate of SMU's pre-medical program, was co-founder of Doctors Hospital and Doctors Nursing Center in Dallas. Gifts to SMU from Dr. Bob and Jean Smith and the Bob Smith, M.D. Foundation total more than $5.5 million. They include a challenge grant of $2.5 million for the SMU Annual Fund, $1 million for the Bob Smith, M.D. Foundation Pre-Medical Studies Center in Dedman Life Sciences Building and $1 million for the Dr. Bob and Jean Smith Auditorium in the Meadows Museum. Dr. Smith received SMU's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, served on the Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1996 and served on the Texas Committee of the Campaign for SMU.

The relationship between SMU and Texas Instruments began half a century ago. TI has participated in the undergraduate engineering co-op program since the 1950s. Except for a brief period, SMU's Board of Trustees has included a TI executive since 1968. Thomas J. Engibous, TI chairman, president and CEO, is a current trustee. Since the partnership began, gifts to SMU from TI, the TI Foundation and TI employees have totaled more than $5.2 million. Major gifts include $3 million toward construction of the Jerry R. Junkins Electrical Engineering Building, named in memory of TI's former chief executive officer, and $1.5 million to establish the Texas Instruments Endowed Chair in Reading Research, which will further bolster TI's and SMU's leadership in early childhood development. The Infinity Project, created by the SMU School of Engineering and TI, is the first program of its kind designed to attract high school and college students to engineering careers.

The Robert A. Welch Foundation, located in Houston, was established in 1954 to support fundamental research, particularly in the field of chemistry, at educational institutions in Texas. The Welch Foundation has a long history of generosity to SMU dating from 1958. Since then, the foundation has sponsored SMU research projects totaling $6.7 million in chemistry, biology and engineering. Welch Foundation grants totaling nearly $950,000 are currently funding research projects of SMU faculty members Edward Biehl, John Maguire, Michael Lattman, John Buynak, Patty Wisian-Neilson and David Son in the Department of Chemistry and Steven Vik in the Department of Biological Sciences.