SMU Welcomes Three Alumni into Engineering Hall Of Leaders

DALLAS, March 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- SMU’s School of Engineering will induct a Chinese industrialist Richard Ru-Gin Chang, a Silicon Valley pioneer Art De Geus and a Dallas philanthropist Karen Shuford, into the Engineering Hall of Leaders, honoring the alumni for their business and civic contributions. The trio’s accomplishments will be featured at a celebration from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET Friday, March 28, at the Dallas Museum of Art.

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Richard Ru-Gin Chang is the president, CEO and executive director of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry in Mainland China. Chang is a recognized leader in the development of China’s information technology industry and received his doctorate in electrical engineering from SMU in 1985.

Art De Geus is the chairman of the board and CEO of Silicon Valley company Synopsis, a world leader in electronic design automation software for semiconductor design. He received his doctorate in electrical engineering from SMU in 1985.

Karen Shuford, noted Dallas civic leader and philanthropist who serves as a charitable trust consultant for the Bank of America private client group, has been a leader and volunteer for more than 20 civic agencies and organizations that support medical care, education and the arts. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering at SMU in 1970.

“These three individuals have had a tremendous impact on our world in ways that benefit each and every one of us on a daily basis,” said School of Engineering Dean Geoffrey Orsak. “Richard Chang has been selected as one of the 10 most influential people in China because he is heading up the first large-scale public-private partnership in that country. The work that Art De Geus did at SMU as a graduate student has led to an entire industry, for which he is largely regarded as the founder. And at a time when very few women pursued engineering, Karen Shuford demonstrated how powerful and broad an engineering education can be in terms of social philanthropy.”

About Southern Methodist University

A private university located in the heart of Dallas, SMU is building on the vision of its founders, who imagined a distinguished center for learning emerging from the spirit of the city. Today, 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach afforded by the quality of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.

SMU’s School of Engineering, founded in 1925, is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest. The school offers 20 undergraduate and 29 graduate programs, including both master’s and doctorate levels.