About Us

Our Mission

The Division of Student Affairs creates and supports a robust student experience and forges strategic partnerships to best serve the entire SMU community. As educators and scholar-practitioners, we create purposeful learning and leadership opportunities for students to clarify and develop their knowledge, values, skills, and identities - challenging each to become a world changer.

Student Affairs Commitments

In conjunction with SMU's philosophy of developing world changers through the vital foundation of a liberal arts education, the Division of Student Affairs has established commitments to direct how our staff approach their work holistically supporting students in the development of meaningful lives. These commitments are the overarching expectations for our work in this student-centered environment, and are promises from our staff to each other and to the student body at SMU. By embodying these commitments in both words and actions, we strive to move our division forward, together.

  1. Breaking Down Barriers

    We commit to helping students break down the social, physical, and emotional barriers that may inhibit their success.

  2. Modeling the Way

    We commit to modeling the way for our students by engaging them with respect and integrity, and by demonstrating congruence in expectation and action.

  3. Acting Responsibly

    We commit to being responsible stewards of our resources and influence, and promise to hold ourselves and each other accountable in our daily work.

  4. Innovating Our Work

    We commit to a culture of intellectual curiosity and innovation to develop, with student input, new strategies and implement new programs to more effectively serve our entire campus community.

  5. Positive Agent of Change

    We commit to being agents of positive change on our campus and in our communities, excited by what the future holds for SMU and empowered to help shape the future.

  6. Developing World Changers

    We commit to purposefully engaging our students as individuals and leaders, to recognize their unique skills, talents, and identities and to help develop each one as a world changer in their own right.