A New Boston High School alumnus, who is credited with rebuilding the reputation of Southern Methodist University (SMU), is making a transition into a new role after earning the distinction of the longest serving president in the university’s history.

R. Gerald Turner became the tenth president of SMU in 1995. Turner is the longest serving president in the school’s 114-year history.

The 79-year-old reflected on his journey that led him to SMU and the legacy he will leave behind.

Turner, a 1964 graduate of NBHS, said he comes from a family of educators.

“My dad was the junior high principal and my mother taught fifth grade, so I’m just in the family business,” he said.

After graduation, Turner attended Lubbock Christian College where he earned his associates degree. He graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree with majors in psychology and math.

While working on his master’s degree from the U.T., Turner spent two years as a high school algebra teacher. He then returned to U.T. to complete his doctoral studies.

Turner said he learned a valuable lesson as a high school teacher.

“It told me that anybody that teaches high school needs a lot of respect and appreciation,” he said.

Turner began his collegiate career in 1975 as a professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. In 1979, he moved to the University of Oklahoma to serve as the vice president, a position he held until 1984. He began a 41-year career in collegiate leadership when he became the chancellor of the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) in 1984.

But it is his time at SMU that Turner said is his legacy.

Under Turner’s leadership, SMU’s football program saw revival after the 1987 “death penalty” handed down by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). SMU earned Carnegie Foundation R1 research status giving them the distinction of a top research university in the country. And the university’s endowment quadrupled to more than $2 billion.

In 1995, SMU had an enrollment of about 9,100 students. Today, more than 12,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs across eight degree-granting schools.

“Over these 30 years, the university advanced from being a good local university to being an excellent national university. Sixty percent of our students are from out of state,” he said. “I think people that come here are amazed at how beautiful the campus is … Over that period of time, we’ve built about 40 new buildings and so the place doesn’t even look like it did.”

That architecture includes the completion of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in 2013, a feat that, Turner said, several other Texas universities were also vying for.

“It was a battle. So many other places wanted it,” he said.

After 30 years, his last day will be June 1 when he hands the reins to Jay Hartzell, former president of University of Texas in Austin.

But Turner said he is not leaving SMU behind. The board of trustees has named him president emeritus.

“My office moves from here in the president’s suite to another building. I’ll still be here at SMU doing things, but just not carrying the load of the president. I’ve got development kids of things and I’ll steer recruitment … I don’t know how to relax,” Turner said. “I intend to slow down where I can, travel some and things like that but I am going to still have responsibilities here and I’m happy about that.”

And he said he will always be a Mustang at heart.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll say. Kids that go to college in four years become very strong supporters of their institutions. What if you stay here 30 years?”

While he will continue to call Dallas home, Turner said he plans to visit his old stomping grounds more.

“Not often enough,” Turner said when asked if he gets back to New Boston. “I just hadn’t been able to get there. But now, hopefully, I’ll have time to check in more often … as long as it’s not a Saturday home game.”