Happenings on the Hill
SMU Broadens Scholarship Eligibility
SMU is expanding an existing scholarship program and partnering with Dallas County Promise on a new one to help more students in the Dallas area attend the private university.
“There are future Dallas County leaders among the students attending high school in our community who may not get their best chance to lead because financial means is a barrier to an undergraduate college degree,” said Wes Waggoner, SMU associate vice president for enrollment management.
The university is expanding the opportunity to apply for 10 scholarships previously available only to Dallas ISD graduates to any high school located in the county. The Dallas County Mustang Scholarship awards 10 four-year combined scholarship packages worth more than $225,000 each to cover full tuition and fees. The application deadline is Feb. 1.
SMU also has partnered with Dallas County Promise to create the SMU Mustang Promise Scholarship, aimed at providing a bridge to students who begin their education in community college.
The program awards up to five two-year scholarships to eligible students who’ve successfully completed the Dallas County Promise program and plan to transfer to SMU.
Professor Named Inventors Fellow
Bruce Gnade, executive director of the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership and clinical professor within SMU’s Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, has been named a National Academy of Inventors fellow.
The honor is given to academic inventors who’ve shown a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that impact quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of the society.
The fellows, who must be holders of U.S. patents, are nominated by their peers.
Gnade holds 77 U.S. patents and 55 foreign patents and has authored or co-authored more than 195 peer-reviewed journal articles. His research focuses on flexible electronics with applications ranging from radiation sensors to microelectronic arrays for cellular recording.
Hunt Foundation gives $15M
The Nancy Ann Hunt Foundation (a supporting organization of the Communities Foundation of Texas) has given another $15 million to the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program, one of SMU’s signature scholarship programs for attracting student leaders.
With this gift, the Hunts will have contributed $65 million to date to the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program, a nationally recognized scholarship program.
“Our intent was to create a scholarship program that would be based upon more than just strong academic credentials,” Nancy Ann Hunt said. “We wanted to help SMU attract truly outstanding students who demonstrate a strong potential to be a leader throughout their lives — young men and women who will stand up, speak out, and make a positive difference to a broader community. We firmly believe that Hunt Scholars represent that type of person.”
