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$20 million gift to SMU supports engineering research

Dallas philanthropists Mary and Richard Templeton endowed the dean position

A $20 million donation to Southern Methodist University aims to bolster the engineering school.

The funds will support research, provide financial assistance to doctoral students and pay for undergraduate scholarships, as well as endow the school’s dean position.

The huge gift, announced Friday, comes from Dallas philanthropists Mary and Richard Templeton.

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“SMU provides the kind of robust education and research opportunities that are vital to the success and growth of Dallas,” Richard Templeton said in a statement. He is a SMU trustee and CEO of Texas Instruments.

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The gift supports SMU’s $1.5 billion multiyear campaign launched in 2021 to help more North Texas students attend the school, to support athletics and faculty research, and to expand partnerships.

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“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,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said in a statement.

The new endowed dean will be Nader Jalili, who currently leads mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama.

SMU is a supporter of the Education Lab at The Dallas Morning News.

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The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

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, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, 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’s journalism.