Templetons Give $20M to SMU Engineering

A new $20 million gift from Dallas philanthropy and technology leaders Mary and Richard Templeton will support the work of SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering.

“SMU provides the kind of robust education and research opportunities that are vital to the success and growth of Dallas,” said Richard Templeton, SMU trustee and chairman, president and chief executive officer of Texas Instruments.

He said that $15 million will go for engineering education and research, endowment and operational support for strategic initiatives such as postdoctoral fellowships and research, financial assistance for doctoral students, and undergraduate scholarships for women and students from underrepresented populations.

An additional $5 million will endow and name the school’s dean position.

“The Lyle School has a proven reputation for building future leaders who are unafraid to ask big questions,” said Mary Templeton. “Rich and I are eager to see how our gift will support that kind of innovative thinking.”

The gift, announced Friday at the Lyle School, supports SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow, the university’s $1.5 billion multi-year campaign for impact.

“Through their enduring commitment to the Lyle School of Engineering and its mission, Mary and Rich Templeton are helping our faculty and students build a brighter tomorrow,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

The Templetons’ commitment to strategic initiatives combines with their prior commitments to the Lyle School of Engineering to create the new Mary and Richard Templeton Engineering Excellence Program. The program includes support for:

• Postdoctoral fellowships to increase the school’s research capacity and output, supporting the university’s rise into the category of universities with the highest research activity.
• Scholarships for doctoral candidates, who boost research and become the next generation of engineering leaders and problem solvers.
• Undergraduate scholarships that enable SMU to attract the brightest engineering students and meet more of their financial needs so students graduate in a timely fashion. The program includes opportunities especially for women and students from underrepresented populations, building on the Lyle School’s longstanding commitment to gender and ethnic diversity.
• Research support to meet the essential needs of initiatives that show substantial promise to become sponsored projects.
• Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair in Electrical Engineering, which supports an outstanding teacher and researcher who designs sophisticated technology.

The inaugural Mary and Richard Templeton Dean will be Nader Jalili, who is expected to join the university on March 1. The engineering leader currently serves as professor and head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama. With the naming of the Lyle School’s dean position, SMU now has donor-supported deans in all of its eight degree-granting schools.