Южный Методистский Университет: История и Современность

Private university in Dallas, Texas, US

Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a private research university in University Park, Texas, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South—now part of the United Methodist Church—in partnership with Dallas civic leaders. However, it is nonsectarian in its teaching and enrolls students of all religious affiliations. It is classified among "R 2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity". As of fall 2020, the university had 12,373 students, including 6,827 undergraduates and 5,546 postgraduates, representing the largest student body in SMU history. As of fall 2019, its instructional faculty is 1,151, with 754 being full time. In the 2020 academic year, the university granted over 3,827 degrees, including 315 doctorates, 1,659 master's and 1,853 bachelor's degrees and offers over 32 doctoral and over 120 masters programs from eight schools: the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, the Dedman School of Law, the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, the Algur H. Meadows School of the Arts, the Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Perkins School of Theology, and the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development.

The university was chartered on April 17, 1911, by the southern denomination of the Methodist Episcopal Church. At the time of the charter, church leaders saw a need to establish a Methodist institution within a metropolitan area. Originally, this new institution was intended to be created in Fort Worth through a merger between Polytechnic College (now Texas Wesleyan University) and Southwestern University. However, the church's education commission instead opted to create a new institution in Dallas to serve this purpose after extensive lobbying by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Robert Stewart Hyer, previously president of Southwestern University, was appointed as the first president of the new university. The effort to establish a new university in Dallas drew the attention of the General Conference of the Methodist Church, which was seeking to create a new connectional institution in the wake of a 1914 Tennessee Supreme Court decision stripping the church of authority at Vanderbilt University. The church decided to support the establishment of the new institution while also increasing the size of Emory University at a new location in DeKalb County, Georgia. At the 1914 meeting of the General Conference, Southern Methodist University was designated the connectional institution for all conferences west of the Mississippi River. SMU named its first building Dallas Hall in gratitude for the support of Dallas leaders and local citizens, who had pledged $300,000 to secure the university's location. It remains the university's symbol and centerpiece, and it inspired "the Hilltop" as a nickname for the school. It was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge after the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Dallas Hall opened its doors in 1915 and housed the entire university along with a bank and a barbershop. The hall is registered in the National Register of Historic Places. Classes were planned to officially begin in 1913, but construction delays on the university's first building prevented classes from starting until 1915. In the interim, the only functioning academic department at SMU was the medical college it had acquired from Southwestern University. As the first president of Southern Methodist University, Hyer selected Harvard crimson and Yale blue as the school colors in order to associate SMU with the high standards of Ivy League universities. During World War II, SMU was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V 12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. In 1987, the university football program's repeated, flagrant recruiting violations led to the NCAA administering what is called the death penalty against the program. The punishment included cancellation of the 1987 football season, most of the 1988 season, and a two year ban from Bowl Games and televised sports coverage. On February 22, 2008, the university trustees unanimously instructed President R. Gerald Turner to enter into an agreement to establish the George W. Bush Presidential Center on 23 acres on the southeast side of the campus. The center, which includes a presidential library, museum, institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation, was dedicated on April 25, 2013, in a ceremony which featured all living former U. S. Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and then incumbent U. S. president, Barack Obama. The library and museum are privately administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, while the university holds representation on the independent public policy institute board. The project raised over $500 million for the construction and endowment of the George W. Bush presidential center, which has a 249 year ground lease from SMU, with extensions, and operates completely separate from SMU. The university's endowment surpassed $1 billion for the first time in the university's history in 2005. Through its "Second Century Campaign" from 2008 to 2015, the university raised an additional $1.15 billion and celebrated the centennials of its 1911 founding and 1915 opening through the renovation of Fondren Library, the construction of five new residential halls, and other campus revitalization projects. After these expenditures, the endowment stood at just under $2 billion as of June, 2022.

In light of the turmoil within the Methodist Church over what it described as "fundamental differences" over LGBTQ policies, the university decided to separate itself from control of the church. In November 2019, the SMU board filed with the state of Texas amended articles of incorporation that eliminated the United Methodist Church's rights as listed in the 1996 articles. The amendment made it clear that SMU is solely maintained and controlled by its Board as the ultimate authority for the university and removed an overarching statement that the school would be "owned, maintained and controlled by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference." In March 2021, Dallas County judge ruled in favor of Southern Methodist University in the lawsuit.

From 1997 to 2020 Southern Methodist University operated a small campus, consisting of 16 acres and 4 buildings, in Plano, Texas, in Legacy Business Park. This campus hosted SMU's video game design school, SMU Guildhall, and other graduate level programs. After the university sold the Plano campus to a developer in 2019, SMU Guildhall and all other programs housed there moved onto the main Dallas campus in the new Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation on December 4, 2020.

Southern Methodist University's 2019 endowment of $1.664 billion ranked 67th largest among the endowments of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and it was one of only 110 institutions with an endowment greater than $1 billion as of June 30, 2019. On February 26, 2016, SMU announced that "The Centennial Campaign" which concluded on December 31, 2015, had raised $1.15 billion, the largest fundraising campaign of any institution in North Texas's history, the largest total for a private Texas university, and the fourth largest of any university in Texas. The Centennial Campaign, coinciding with the 100 year anniversary of the university's founding in 1911 and opening in 1915 also made SMU one of only 34 private colleges and universities in the United States to complete a campaign of $1 billion or more. Its previous fundraising campaign, "A Time to Lead", which concluded in April 2002 and raised $542 million was the largest fundraising campaign in the school's history at the time. Under R. Gerald Turner's leadership and through two successive campaigns in under 20 years, SMU has received well over $1.6 billion in commitments in support of institutional priorities. By 1986 as the university neared the 75th anniversary of its founding, SMU's endowment had grown from $60 million a decade earlier in 1976 to nearly $325 million, at the time the 27th largest in the country. the previous "The Design for the Third Generation" fundraising campaign, which had been concluded in May 1983 raised nearly $120 million in gifts and pledges.

The main campus of Southern Methodist University is mostly located in University Park, a municipality in Dallas County, Texas. The campus extends into the Dallas city limits, and into the city limits of Highland Park. It is located on 234 acres of land just west of US Route 75. Most of the campus is centered around Bishop Boulevard, an elongated, tree lined loop road that also serves as the site for "Boulevarding", SMU's version of the tailgating seen on many American college campuses. The campus was ranked as the most beautiful campus in America by Condé Nast Traveler in 2016 and also hosts the George W. Bush Presidential Center, located on the east side of the campus. The library and museum are privately administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, while the university holds representation on the institute board.

Since 1973, the university has owned a 423 acre campus located at Fort Burgwin, just outside of Taos, New Mexico. This campus hosts classes during intersessions between semesters and during the summer. Along with the normal academic courses offered at the site, students attending classes at this campus during the winter can opt to attend wellness classes centered around winter sports. Other courses offered at this campus are sometimes adjusted to utilize the surrounding environment, such as a course in field botany offered during some summers.

For the class of 2024 (entering Fall 2020), 14,010 students applied, 7,379 (52.7%) were admitted, and 1,531 enrolled/matriculated (20.7%) – including 758 women and 773 men, and the 1 year retention rate (entering Fall 2019) was 92%. The average SAT was 1,343 while the average ACT was 30.6. The middle 50% SAT range for enrolled students was 630–710 for Evidence Based Reading & Writing, 620–740 for math, while the ACT Composite range was 29–33. The University Honors Program is a liberal arts honors experience that serves to supplement the basic SMU University Curriculum. Students are required to take honors courses throughout their time at SMU, and the program culminates with a final senior project or experience. Each student's experience can be unique, and students are encouraged to pursue projects in their area of study or about their passions.

Southern Methodist University has approximately 43% of its undergraduate student body affiliated with its Greek system. Starting in 2010, the NPC sororities began updating and rebuilding their older sorority houses. The multi million dollar projects was received critically by some, praised by others. The first house rebuilt was Pi Beta Phi, followed by Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Chi Omega. Alpha Phi Alpha was banned in 2004 due to hazing rituals during which a student went into a coma; four members of the fraternity were expelled from SMU as a result. In 2018, Phi Gamma Delta was ordered to cease all organizational activity pending a university investigation into hazing. Pi Kappa Alpha received a similar notice that year. On March 26, 2018, Pi Kappa Alpha was officially suspended by the university until the fall of 2022. This was the second suspension of a Greek Life organization in the 2017–2018 academic year after Kappa Alpha Order was suspended in October 2017. Kappa Alpha Theta was suspended in 2022 and entered a mutual agreement with SMU through May 2025, after allegations of hazing new members. New members were forced to consume alcohol on February 10, 2022, and were exposed to activities that impacted their safety and health. After Kappa Alpha Theta's suspension, former members established the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, The Society. The Society recruits new members, has a house, and participates in mixers with fraternities, just as Kappa Alpha Theta did. SMU added a provision to its Student Code of Conduct, warning of disciplinary action towards students who affiliate with unrecognized student organizations, such as The Society.

Southern Methodist University's athletic teams are known as the Mustangs and participate in the NCAA's Division I, with the football team competing as a member of Division I FBS. The football team plays at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus. The Mustangs compete in the American Athletic Conference (previously named the Big East Conference) for all sports beginning in the 2013–14 season. Prior to that, the Mustangs participated in the now defunct Southwest Conference and the Western Athletic Conference. On September 1, 2023, it was announced that SMU will join the Atlantic Coast Conference starting in the 2024 season. SMU's closest rival in athletics is Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. In football, SMU and TCU compete annually (with the exception of 2006) for the Iron Skillet. In 2005, a nationally unranked SMU beat then 24th ranked TCU for SMU's first win against a ranked team in 19 years (since October 1986). SMU also competes annually with Rice University in football for the "Mayor's Cup," a traveling trophy that has been created to enhance the Rice SMU rivalry, which dates back to 1916. SMU has won seven more games (48 41 1) than Rice in their rivalry. From 1980 to 1985, SMU had one of the strongest programs in Division I A (now FBS). They posted a record of 55–14–1, and finished these seasons ranked No. 21, No. 7, No. 2, No. 19, and No. 8 in the nation. These "winningest" years concluded with the Death Penalty on February 25, 1987, due to repeated violations conducted by boosters. The NCAA administered the "death penalty" for repeated, flagrant recruiting violations. Components included cancellation of the entire 1987 season, a two year ban from bowl appearances, a two year ban from television appearances, a limit of seven games, all on road, in the 1988 season, a loss of three assistant coaching positions for two years and a loss of 55 new scholarships over four years. Players were allowed to transfer without sitting out one season, per standard requirement. SMU responded to the combination of these conditions by canceling the 1988 season outright. June Jones was named the head football coach at SMU in 2008. He brought a record of 76–41, all at the University of Hawaii, where he won more games than any other coach in school history. Jones stepped down in 2014 as Head Coach after a 0–2 start to the 2014 season, in which the team was outscored 88–6. He was succeeded by former Clemson assistant Chad Morris. Chad Morris led SMU to the Frisco Bowl in 2017 in his third season before departing for the University Of Arkansas. Current head coaches of the men's football and basketball programs are Rhett Lashlee and Tim Jankovich, having started in 2021 and 2016 respectively. The SMU football program has produced many professional football standouts, such as Don Meredith, Doak Walker, Kyle Rote, Eric Dickerson, Jerry Ball, and Craig James. As of May 2021, nineteen Mustangs were active in the National Football League, including wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (Buffalo Bills), wide receiver Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills), tackle Kelvin Beachum (Pittsburgh Steelers), wide receiver Courtland Sutton (Denver Broncos), and wide receiver Trey Quinn (Washington Football Team).

SMU's marching band plays at football and basketball games, performing big band and jazz music. The approximately 80 member ensemble is nicknamed "The Best Dressed Band in the Land" due to its variety of uniform combinations. In 2001, the band performed at the first inauguration of George W. Bush.