Remembering Ray Nasher

The SMU family mourns the death of business and civic leader Ray Nasher, who changed the cultural landscape of Dallas with his vast and distinguished art collections, culminating in the building of the Nasher Sculpture Center in the Dallas Arts District. His devotion to the arts extended to SMU, where he served on the Executive Board and Campaign Committee of the Meadows School of the Arts, the advisory board of the Meadows Museum, and the boards of the Tate Lecture Series and Southwest Film/Video Archives.

“By providing Dallas with art and cultural resources so close to our campus, Ray Nasher has enriched the lives of our students, faculty and staff, strengthening our city as a place that would attract the best and most creative minds,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “He gave generously of his time directly to SMU through his participation and leadership on several boards. We will miss his inspiring presence but will daily be grateful for his influence.”

Meadows School of the Arts Dean Jose Bowen said that Ray Nasher was “a man of tremendous passion and vision for what public art could mean for a city and for all people. Artists and citizens everywhere have lost a man who made art matter and who made life better for all of us.”

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