Today, Robbie Briggs will introduce SMU President Dr. R. Gerald Turner, the featured speaker at the 4th annual Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society 2015 Distinguished Speaker Luncheon.
Turner, who joined Southern Methodist University in 1995, has led the institution in several high-profile expansion efforts, including building the Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Gerald Ford Stadium and the new SMU Tennis Complex.
“He has continued the tradition of an iconic and beautiful campus that is an asset to the entire Park Cities neighborhood, with 40 new buildings or renovated facilities,” Briggs says.
Turner also has grown the school’s endowment to new levels:
- University endowment has doubled.
- The Second Century Campaign has already raised more than $942 million toward its $1 billion goal
- A recent gift of $45 million from the Meadows Foundation set a record as the largest single gift to the university
Proceeds from the luncheon will fund scholarships at Highland Park High School for graduating seniors who plan to study architecture, history or another major related to preservation. The luncheon is sponsored by Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.
The Distinguished Speaker Luncheon leads into annual home tour by the Park Cities History and Preservation Society on April 11.
For the past 13 years the Park Cities History and Preservation Society has showcased outstanding examples of old and updated homes at its annual home tour. This year’s event, “A Century of Classics,” includes four homes that range from the oldest remaining home in University Park to a 1950s example of modern regionalism located on a block known as the “Culture Gulch,” thanks to the plethora of writers, artists and architects who once lived there. The tour is sponsored by Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. Tickets for the April 11 tour are available at area Tom Thumb stores and online at pchps.org.
President and CEO Robbie Briggs independently owns and operates Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty with seven offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Uptown, Lakewood, Ranch and Land, The Ballpark and Southlake.
