DALLAS — An era is coming to an end at Southern Methodist University in Dallas as President R. Gerald Turner announced Wednesday that he will step down from his position at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year.
Turner, who has been serving in this role since 1995, said he, alongside David Miller and Rich Templeton, began discussions of presidential transitioning after they were elected to chair and vice chair respectively in 2022.
The timing of this departure and planning allowed the trusteeship committee to create a search committee which has the goal of naming the 11th president by the end of the spring semester, Turner said.
"It's my intention to continue to work full-time for the university as President Emeritus," Turner said in a university post on X. "It will take three more years to complete the SMU ignited campaign and we must strengthen our membership in the ACC."
Turner said there are still a lot of projects that he wants to help out on, including aiding the new president in any way he can.
The longtime president said he will continue to work hard to reach the university's goals for the school year and they can reflect on his time and the end of his tenure, but for now -- it's business as usual.
"It's a joy to work with the students and the entire SMU community as president of SMU," Turner said. "So the plan is for all of us to continue to go full speed ahead during this academic year."
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