The SMU community also received a letter from Turner informing it that the upcoming academic year would be his last. His formal notice said in part:
"...it is with an incredible sense of gratitude to the SMU community, I am announcing today that the coming academic year, 2024-2025, will be my last to serve as the 10th President of Southern Methodist University (SMU).”
Prior to beginning his career at SMU, Dr. Turner served as the University of Mississippi’s chancellor. Upon his inauguration at SMU, he joked that life was too short to spend at an ugly university, alluding to aesthetic appeal of his new home campus, repeatedly listed as one of the country’s prettiest college campuses.
Flyer and poster printing services are frequently in demand on university campuses.
Turner has no plans to completely separate himself from the university. He explained that upon the new president taking office, which will most likely occur on June 1, 2025, he will assume the title of president emeritus. In this capacity he will, working on behalf of the new president, support SMU’s development and external affairs.,
A search committee, looking for the university’s next president, hopes to accomplish its task by the end of the 2025 spring semester.