Southern Methodist University and UMC Settle Legal Dispute

The university will remain connected to the denomination.

The long-running legal dispute between Southern Methodist University (SMU) and the South Central Jurisdictional Conference (SCJC) of the United Methodist Church concluded on March 18 after the parties announced they had reached a settlement.

Southern Methodist University / Video screenshot @SMU

“The board of trustees, the university, and I are pleased we have reconciled with the SCJC, and we very much look forward to a collaborative and enhanced relationship into the future,” SMU President Jay Hartzell said in a joint statement with the SCJC.

“I am grateful for the spirit of collaboration shown throughout this process, and especially for the thoughtful engagement of President (Jay) Hartzell and Provost Rachel Davis Mersey as we worked toward this agreement,” SCJC Chair Dr. Derrek Belase said. “These conversations have not only helped us address important matters but have allowed us to begin imagining what the future of this relationship can look like.”

The SCJC sued SMU in 2019 in Dallas County District Court after SMU’s board of trustees voted in November 2019  to divest the SCJC of its rights and “to make clear that SMU is solely maintained and controlled by its board as the ultimate authority for the University,” WFAA reported.

In the lawsuit, the SCJC claimed to have founded SMU in 1911 and placed the assets of SMU in trust for the benefit of the SCJC in 1924. In 1996, the adopted restated articles of incorporation again acknowledged the university’s relationship with the SCJC.

After the UMC voted to affirm the “traditional plan” in February 2019, which continued the denomination’s ban on the ordination and “marriage” of people who identify as LGBTQ, SMU’s board of trustees amended its articles of incorporation to “effectively terminate the long-standing and permanent relationship between SMU and SCJC,” the lawsuit stated.

Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.

However, in 2024, the UMC General Conference eliminated the denomination-wide bans on homosexual clergy and the officiating of “marriages” for same-sex couples. However, that did not end the legal dispute.

In July 2025, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the lawsuit could continue and remanded it to the lower court for further proceedings. The Supreme Court decided the Texas Business Organizations Code allows the SCJC to sue SMU for “engaging in conduct that its articles of incorporation do not permit.” It also held that Conference could pursue its breach-of-contract claim as a third-party beneficiary of SMU’s articles of incorporation.

Under the agreement reached last week, the University has agreed to file amended and restated articles of incorporation that clarify its governance and preserve its “historic and ongoing relationship” with the SCJC, according to reporting by UM News. Both parties also agreed to dismiss any pending litigation.

SMU is home to Perkins School of Theology, one of the UMC’s leading seminaries.

TO OUR READERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at [email protected].