In an era when university presidents and higher education itself are under evermore intense scrutiny, it was too easy to take for granted the work R. Gerald Turner did for Dallas.

In a deliberate, strategic and almost quiet way, he has been building up a university in the center of our city, quite literally brick by red brick.

Turner’s decision to step down next year as president of Southern Methodist University is a historical mark for our region. His three decades of service have accrued to the benefit of Dallas, even to those who have never set foot on the hilltop.

We would proffer this idea: great cities cannot exist without great universities. The ideas and energy such institutions produce, the minds they attract, the young people they shape — these are each at the foundation of a true city, a true polis, as the ancient Greeks would have called this organization of human lives that becomes a society.

With his wife, Gail Turner, as a partner at his side, Turner led the transformation of SMU into a nationally ranked university with increasing standing in the humanities, the arts and the sciences.

He has been driven in seeing its athletics thrive, with a focus on restoring its football team to national prominence.

He worked to increase the share of underrepresented populations in the student body, a crucial part of any serious university’s success.

And he was the leader most responsible for putting SMU on sound financial footing for generations to come by building up its endowment to an enviable $2.03 billion.

We are unabashed in cheering on SMU’s success, because when a city’s universities are strong and vibrant, so too will that city be.

There is more to be done still. We know how hard Turner and the faculty and staff at SMU have worked to achieve R1 research status. That classification marks a university that, in an average year, spends $50 million on research and development and that produces at least 70 research doctorates. Schools that achieve this ranking demonstrate that they can attract and support top research talent.

SMU would be only the second private university in the state, after Rice University, to achieve R1 status.

Turner has put SMU in a position to do just that even as he has seen it expand need- and merit-based scholarships for deserving students who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend.

If we know Turner, we know his move to president emeritus will be, let’s call it what it is, a well-deserved semi-retirement.

Because Turner will always be a part of SMU, and everyone who knows his love for the school welcomes that with open arms.

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