Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University

A nationally ranked private university with seven degree-granting schools, Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a distinguished center for teaching and research in Dallas. Noted for its small classes, leadership opportunities, international study and innovative programs, SMU was opened to students in 1915. Today SMU operates satellite campuses in Plano, Texas, and Taos, New Mexico. Founded in 1911 by the United Methodist Church in partnership with civic leaders, SMU was shaped by the entrepreneurial spirit of the region and today is nonsectarian in its teaching and committed to academic freedom and open inquiry. Founded in 1925, the Southern Methodist University Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering was the only school at SMU not named for a donor until receiving a large donation from alumnus Bobby Lyle (founder of Lyco Energy) in 2008. The donation, combined with proceeds from a fundraising drive, were used to create a lab similar to Lockheed Martin’s for designing military aircraft (the first of its kind at an American university), additional engineering programs in partnership with Lockheed Martin, the establishment of a new Center for Engineering Leadership and a new engineering minor.

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