March 9, 2004

$1 MILLION GIFT TO ENHANCE PIANO PROGRAM
IN SMU’S MEADOWS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

DALLAS (SMU) — A gift of $1 million from Jeanne Roach Johnson of Dallas will enhance the piano program in the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. The Meadows program is considered one of the nation’s top piano performance programs.

“Our piano program brings distinction to the Meadows School of the Arts, the university and the region,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said. “We are grateful to Jeanne Johnson for this generous gift promoting the continued excellence and further development of the Division of Music. In supporting the piano program, this gift also will affect every performance area in the division because the piano supports all vocal and instrumental programs.”

“Jeanne Johnson’s historic and wonderful gift will have a lasting impact on the teaching of music at our university,” said Carole Brandt, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts. “Our students, faculty and audiences will benefit from her generous vision for generations to come.”

The Johnson gift will be divided into two funds. It will provide $250,000 to purchase new concert-quality pianos for use in performance spaces, faculty studios and student practice rooms and to support the maintenance of the Music Division’s piano inventory. Most of the gift, $750,000, will be used to establish the Jeanne Johnson Piano Program Special Initiatives Fund, which will generate income in perpetuity. This fund will allow the Division of Music to invest in priorities that would have the greatest impact on the piano program’s quality.

“I am tremendously impressed with the piano program at the Meadows School, and I felt the students deserved encouragement as well as quality instruments on which to practice and perform,” Jeanne Johnson said. “I am proud to be a part of these talented students’ educations.”

The Division of Music will “celebrate this remarkable commitment by presenting the Jeanne Roach Johnson Piano Recital each spring,” said Samuel Holland, interim chair of the Division of Music. “The students and alumni selected to perform in this recital will represent the best of our piano program. We anticipate that over the years the opportunity to perform in the Johnson Piano Recital will be considered one of the highest honors for Meadows piano students and alumni.”

Jeanne Roach Johnson, a private investor in Dallas, received her B.B.A. degree from the SMU School of Business in l954. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Meadows School of the Arts and is a member of SMU’s Dallas Hall Society. She served on the Texas Committee of The Campaign for SMU. In addition to her support of the Meadows School, she established the Johnson Women in Business Scholarship in the Cox School for women students with proven leadership skills, strong academic records and dedication to success in business.

SMU’s music program dates back to the university’s early years. What began as the School of Music in 1917 expanded over the decades to include visual, performing and communication arts and became Meadows School of the Arts in 1969. The Meadows School now comprises 10 academic divisions: the Temerlin Advertising Institute, Art, Art History, Arts Administration, Cinema-Television, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Dance, Journalism, Music and Theatre. The school also includes the Meadows Museum, housing one of the finest collections of Spanish art outside of Spain.

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