Letter from SMU President and Chair of the Board of Trustees
Two years into our $1.5 billion campaign for impact, SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow continues to spark change and fuel innovation across our campus. Our generous donors provided over $146 million in gift revenue last fiscal year, and as of September 15, 2023, have pushed the SMU Ignited campaign total to $1.1 billion. Your support has also kept the University’s endowment strong at $2.0 billion in FY23.
Your investments in facilities, student support, and faculty teaching and research are building a brighter tomorrow on the Hilltop and in communities we serve around the globe:
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The September 1, 2023, announcement that SMU will join the ACC in July 2024 was only possible because of consistent donor support over many years for both athletics and academics.
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Several major construction projects underway will serve current and future generations of students in SMU Athletics, the Cox School of Business, and Meadows School of the Arts.
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The addition of academic institutes, centers, and endowments create new avenues of collaborative research and creative discovery across campus.
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New technology-driven gifts, endowments, and partnerships advance both student and faculty research and enhance our ability to address contemporary challenges.
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Expanded scholarship offerings – including for Pell-eligible students from across Texas – further our efforts to make an SMU education more accessible to meritorious students from all backgrounds.
Throughout the year, SMU celebrated the achievements of our alumni. We also welcomed new leaders to academic, athletic, and administrative positions who will further the University’s evolution as a collaborative institution focused on interdisciplinary research, academic distinction and athletic excellence.
In the third year of the SMU Ignited campaign, we remain grateful to our community of supporters and your involvement in the future of our University. We hope you are inspired by the examples in this report of the ways donors empower the current and future accomplishments of our community. On behalf of the SMU administration and Board of Trustees, we thank you for your enduring support that inspires our students, faculty, and the entire Mustang community to think big and do good.
