October 24, 2005

SMU HONORS 2005 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

DALLAS (SMU) – An artist, engineer, ambassador, and journalist will on November 3 receive the highest honor SMU bestows upon its graduates, the Distinguished Alumni Award.

The 2005 recipients include David Bates, J. Lindsay Embrey Jr., and The Honorable Jeanne L. Phillips. Javier J. Aldape will receive the Emerging Leader Award. SMU’s Homecoming will begin with Distinguished Alumni Award banquet and ceremony at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Dallas. For more information visit homecoming.smu.edu.

David Bates

David Bates is internationally acclaimed for his paintings and sculpture, yet he remains true to his Texas roots. His paintings emanate from the regionalism popularized in Dallas during the 1930s and 1940s, and his sculpture fuses elements of Cubism and African art with Southern traditions.

Born in Dallas, Bates earned a B.F.A. degree in studio art from SMU in 1975. He was chosen the following year for an independent study program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Returning to Dallas, he completed the M.F.A. from SMU in 1978.

J. Lindsay Embrey Jr.

J. Lindsay Embrey Jr. has made a tangible impact on the growth of the Metroplex. Beginning in the mid-1950s, when he and George Underwood Jr. developed Richardson Heights, Embrey was a major force in the growth of the Richardson area. He is now chair of First Continental Enterprises.

More than 2,000 engineering students have received scholarships through an endowment he established in 1978. He and his wife, Bobbie, provided the lead gift for the Embrey Engineering Building, now under construction. SMU honored them in 1999 with the Mustang Award, and the School of Engineering presented Lindsay Embrey with its Hall of Leaders Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004.

Jeanne L. Phillips

The Honorable Jeanne L. Phillips has brought dynamic leadership to diverse roles in business and politics. In 2001 President Bush appointed her to the ambassador-level position of U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. Returning to Dallas in 2003, Phillips founded International Strategic Partners Inc. In summer 2005 she joined Hunt Consolidated Inc. as senior vice president for corporate affairs and international relations.

Phillips earned a B.A. in English from SMU in 1976. Elected to the SMU Board of Trustees in 2004, she also serves on the board of the John G. Tower Center for Political Studies.

Javier J. Aldape

Javier J. Aldape is dedicated to building newspaper readership in the nation’s growing Spanish-speaking market. Named editor and vice president of Hoy (Today) in 2005, he oversees editorial coverage and marketing for the Spanish-language daily published by the Tribune Company, with editions in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

In 1999 Aldape was named publisher of Diario La Estrella, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Spanish-language newspaper. In 2003 he became vice president of the Star-Telegram. A native Texan, Aldape earned a B.A. degree in history, art history, and Latin American Studies in 1992 from SMU, where he was editor of The Daily Campus.

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Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas with more than 10,000 students and offers degree programs through seven schools. More information about SMU is available at www.smu.edu.