{"id":222905,"date":"2025-09-13T06:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T06:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222905\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T06:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T06:45:19","slug":"smus-future-inextricably-linked-to-dallas-growth-new-president-jay-hartzell-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/222905\/","title":{"rendered":"SMU\u2019s future \u2018inextricably linked\u2019 to Dallas\u2019 growth, new president Jay Hartzell says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay Hartzell wants Southern Methodist University<\/a> to become one of the nation\u2019s best schools \u2014 and the university\u2019s relationship with Dallas will help it get there, he said Friday at his inauguration as president of the school. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe question of what is next for SMU is inextricably linked to what is next for Dallas,\u201d he said in presenting his vision for the private school\u2019s future. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that Dallas is winning. Companies are moving here. The arts, sports, entertainment scene is special. And quite simply, this is an appealing place to work and to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 growth<\/a> will attract more faculty, staff and students, he said. It will also bring more \u201cinfluential thought leaders\u201d to campus, and provide students with professional experiences and opportunities to work with Dallas community leaders. <\/p>\n

At Moody Coliseum on Friday, Hartzell told the school\u2019s alumni, trustees, faculty and students that SMU\u2019s location is \u201cone of the biggest advantages that we have over others.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Education Lab<\/p>\n

Receive our in-depth coverage of education issues and stories that affect North Texans.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSMU attracts and develops brilliance and drives progress, while Dallas amplifies our reach and puts our graduates to work,\u201d Hartzell said. <\/p>\n

More than 64,000 SMU alumni live in the DFW region, and more than two-thirds of the school\u2019s graduates choose to stay in North Texas for their first job, he said. That translates to an estimated $7 billion in annual economic impact. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe import talent,\u201d he said, noting that only 25% of incoming students are from North Texas. <\/p>\n

Hartzell, the former University of Texas president, took over in June after R. Gerald Turner stepped down after leading SMU for 30 years<\/a>. He has said he hopes to build upon his predecessor\u2019s work to \u201cmake the walls on campus more permeable.\u201d <\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

He wants to emphasize volunteer opportunities and internships for students in Dallas so they will choose to stay in the city after graduation, and highlighted SMU\u2019s \u201cpower to convene\u201d people, such as the school\u2019s Tate Lecture Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that \u201call of Dallas feels like special things happen here and they want to be a part of that,\u201d Hartzell told The Dallas Morning News in January.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"University<\/p>\n

SMU board chair David Miller has said he expects Hartzell \u201cto understand the potential of North Texas and embrace the value of SMU truly becoming Dallas\u2019 university \u2014 for all of Dallas.\u201d<\/p>\n

SMU\u2019s enrollment has grown despite its price tag. For a year of undergraduate education, the university estimates it takes about $86,000 to cover tuition, fees, housing and food.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\"University<\/p>\n

Although SMU\u2019s population has become more diverse, its Black and Hispanic student enrollment lags far behind the population in Dallas. More than half of undergraduates come from outside Texas, according to its campus profile. Nearly 70% of first-year students use scholarships or grants to pay for school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look for universities that have really transformed and improved over the last few decades, they\u2019ve been urban universities. I like the hand we\u2019re dealt,\u201d Hartzell said Friday. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t trade Dallas as this university\u2019s location for any other city in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab\u2019s journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jay Hartzell wants Southern Methodist University to become one of the nation\u2019s best schools \u2014 and the university\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":222906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,76159,65390,407,65389,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-222905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-ed-lab-college-careers","11":"tag-ed-lab-local-school-news","12":"tag-education","13":"tag-education-lab","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115195643862521112","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}