If it’s Friday, it must be SMU good news day. The latest Mustang blast is a $5M gift to the university’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business from Katy A. and Kyle D. Miller.
The monies will be used to “establish the Katy and Kyle Miller Courtyard, part of the future Cox School renovation and expansion project.”
Plans call for the Courtyard, with enhanced landscaping and seating areas, to be located along Bishop Boulevard just west of the new Commons, where people can come together for “lunch, study sessions, discussions and formal events.”
According to Silver Hill Energy Partners LP Founder/President/CEO Kyle, who earned his Bachelor of Business Administration at SMU in 2001, “We felt it was a privilege to give back to a place that has given us so much. The Cox School gave me the skills I needed to succeed in my career, and Katy and I are excited to pay that gift forward and empower future entrepreneurs and business leaders. We can’t wait to see what future Fortune 500 companies get their start over coffee in the courtyard.”
Supporting SMU runs in the philanthropic Miller family. In addition to providing millions of dollars to the university over the years, Kyle’s father, David B. Miller and his wife Carolyn Miller, provided an historic $50M gift two years ago this month to the Cox School.
Upon the announcement of the gift, Cox School Dean Matthew B. Myers commented, “The Miller family has been integral to the growth of the Cox School. We are very proud to count Kyle and his father David ’72, ’73, among our illustrious alumni.”
In addition to their support of SMU, Vanderbilt grad Katy and Kyle are on the boards of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, Goodwill Industries of Dallas Inc. and The Senior Source, as well as having served as honorary co-chairs along with their three children (Avery Miller, Emerson Miller and Harris Miller) for Community Partners of Dallas’ 2019 “Change Is Good”.
With this gift, the Cox School’s renovation is now $90M closer to its goal of $120M for a spring 2022 groundbreaking and “is part of SMU’s multiyear, $1.5 billion campaign for impact, SMU Ignited: Boldly Shaping Tomorrow.”
* Rendering provided by SMU