A Win, Win, Win.

by Dr. Vicki Hill, Director of the A-LEC

Top 25 in Athletics.

Top 50 (or better!) in U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings.

Top 50 (at least!) in Carnegie classifications for graduate programs.

How can SMU be all things to all people? Aren’t there inevitable contradictions inherent in these goals? Fortunately, those are questions for President Turner, the new Provost, and the Board of Trustees to answer. Not me.

But I am pleased with one of the ways that the A-LEC is contributing to all three initiatives. It all comes down to graduate students. For 2007-2008, the Office of the Provost has approved funding for four new graduate assistantships, and these Ph.D. candidates will work not in their home departments but instead for the A-LEC, providing advanced subject-specific tutoring and study skills instruction to SMU undergraduates, primarily student-athletes.

Everybody wins. Several Dedman College departments have increased their number of funded graduate students. Win. The A-LEC has more tutors. Win. Our student-athletes have access to even better assistance. Win

Win, Win, Win. I like the sound of that.

And props to all of our student athletes who made the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.