A six-year legal battle between the United Methodist Church and Southern Methodist University is reaching the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday.
The crux of the issue is who controls the university—its Board of Trustees or the church—following the university's 2019 attempt to distance itself. This move occurred as the church adopted stricter policies on LGBTQ+ ordinations and marriages, deepening existing ideological divides.
SMU's president, R. Gerald Turner, stated that the church's decision wouldn't affect the university, which is governed by the SMU Board of Trustees. The university continues to adhere to its nondiscrimination policy, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
Although the United Methodist Church has softened its stance on LGBTQ+ issues, the struggle for control of the private Dallas university persists.
SMU now has over 12,000 students and a $2.2 billion endowment. The conflict began when university leaders revised its articles of incorporation in November 2019 to affirm that the SMU Board of Trustees is the university's ultimate authority.
Additionally, the Board removed the language stating that the university was to be forever owned and controlled by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church.