FALL 2023 NEWSLETTER
SMU Corporate Engagement is your connection to SMU for cutting-edge research partnerships, strategic philanthropy, talent acquisition, and continuing and executive education. We connect companies, nonprofits and individuals to SMU faculty, students and staff who are ready to collaborate with businless.
Around campus:
Dedman School of Law’s Corporate Counsel Externship Program aids companies in identifying talent
One of the critical needs we hear from companies of all shapes and sizes is recognizing and securing student talent. The Corporate Counsel Externship Program in SMU’s Dedman School of Law gives businesses the opportunity to discover lawyers in training who fit their practice area and industry focus.
Led by Steve Yeager, the law school’s assistant dean for student affairs, the program features business professionals representing over 100 large corporations, small businesses and nonprofits. Students work approximately 10 hours weekly for a 12-week period. Placements run September through November.
“Business law has long been a curricular strength of the law school. Many corporations make their homes here, and our students are interested in working in-house at some point in their careers,” Yeager says. He adds, “It has been an absolute joy to look back and retrace our students’ incredible learning experiences. There is a whirlwind of synergies when a law school works closely with for‐profit companies for the benefit of law students. If properly structured and supervised, experiential learning in corporate legal departments supplemented by classroom learning provides law students with an incredibly valuable educational experience.”
If you would like to host a student at your organization or learn more about the Corporate Counsel Externship, please contact Steve Yeager at syeager@smu.edu or 214-768-4178.
Cox School of Business expansion and renovation continues apace
Over a year ago, SMU broke ground on the Cox School’s $140 million renovation and expansion project. This summer, construction on the David B. Miller Business Quadrangle remains on track for completion mid-2024. The renovation and expansion will provide cutting-edge facilities to foster educational distinction, drive industry research, and train students for an ever-more collaborative and technology-driven business world.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project is planned for May 2024, and the first classes in the new building are scheduled for August 2024. The two-year project expands the Cox School’s floor plan by more than 30%. Four new buildings connect existing facilities and create a cohesive space to support collaboration for students and faculty in Cox, across campus and with the Dallas business community.
There are still opportunities for you or your business to get involved. For more information visit the project website or contact Ashley Pitts, director of development at SMU's Cox School of Business, at apitts@smu.edu.
AT&T Data Science Scholars Program produces second cohort of students
In August, 12 SMU undergraduate and graduate students completed the AT&T Data Science Scholars Program (DSSP), which includes a certification in data science and a full-time paid internship at AT&T. With curriculum developed jointly between SMU and AT&T executives, the DSSP provides SMU students an opportunity to receive a certification in a technology field highly coveted by industry and to gain real-world experience working with data scientist mentors at one of the premier corporations in America. The DSSP also allows AT&T to create a pipeline of highly trained data scientists for the company who are ready to succeed in a competitive professional environment.
Led by Bivin Sadler, an instructor in the University’s Continuing and Professional Education office, the DSSP is concluding its second successful session with an eye toward the future.
SMU can develop a customized program in data science or other fields of study for your company’s talent acquisition needs. If your organization is seeking to build its own data science student pipeline or a similarly tailored program in an area of need, please reach out to Tim Angell, director of corporate engagement, at tangell@smu.edu.
2023 SMU Mustang football gets underway
Join us on the Hilltop and support the Mustangs as they start another season of American Athletic Conference action! Homecoming this year will be October 28 against Tulsa. Purchase tickets here. See you at Ford Field!
Coming soon:
We invite you to forward this newsletter to your colleagues. We’re happy to add them to our mailing list. To learn more about research activities at SMU, please follow SMU’s Research News site and LinkedIn.
Let’s talk.
Best,
Rob Strauss
Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Tim Angell
Director for Corporate Engagement
SMU
Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
P.O. Box 750402
Dallas, TX 75275-0402
www.smu.edu/CorporateEngagement
cfr@smu.edu
