From the College World Series to full accreditation for the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, and from 100-degree heat to remote work, TCU and its faculty and alumni are in the news.
INSTITUTIONAL
Basically Beethoven and Mimir chamber music festivals enliven July
June 27, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
Each July, two chamber music festivals, Basically Beethoven in Dallas and the Mimir
Chamber Music Festival in Fort Worth, assemble musicians for enterprising programs.
Curt Thompson was a violin professor at TCU when he and a friend started Mimir 25 years ago. Each summer, still at TCU, it brings
together excellent musicians from major orchestras, chamber ensembles and conservatory
faculties to put on a series of public concerts.
New I-20 Wildlife Preserve Conservation Job Corps Program making West Texas an outdoor
classroom
June 26, 2023
Yahoo News
The I-20 Wildlife Preserve will enlarge its outdoor classroom after welcoming seven
Midland high school students into its new Conservation Job Corps program, which will
allow students to obtain hands-on experience in conservation, restoration, education
and research before entering college. As part of the program, students will travel
to the San Antonio Zoo. There, they'll meet up with zoo biologists who have been working
with TCU on a grow-and-release program for the horned lizard.
Texas A&M breaks ground on new Fort Worth campus with aim to close workforce gaps
June 22, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
The Texas A&M University System is building a new campus in the heart of Fort Worth’s
downtown. “We welcome Texas A&M to Fort Worth and anticipate a synergy between our
institutions that comes from collaboration in higher education,” Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. said in a statement. The university values “the opportunities to combine our efforts
with our Aggie friends for lasting economic impact that will benefit our city and
the entire region.”
Why is TCU's mascot a Horned Frog? Exploring TCU's mascot history
June 21, 2023
Sportskeeda
TCU’s success in college sports, including their recent achievements in the College Football
Playoffs and their progress in the College World Series, has brought attention to
their mascot, the Horned Frog. According to the TCU Admissions website, “The answer
goes way back to 1897, when the yearbook staff of the then-named AddRan Christian
University was looking to name its annual. Football began at the university the year
before, and legend has it that the football field was covered in the small-but-mighty
horned lizards.”
In year of firsts, TCU’s medical school is awarded full accreditation. What it means
June 15, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
After a year full of firsts for the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine, TCU gets
one more. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education awarded the school with full
accreditation, signifying it as a medical program leading to an M.D. that meets quality
standards since it opened in 2019. “This has been a tremendous opportunity to establish
a unique and innovative medical school in the most remarkable community in the country,”
said Dr. Stuart D. Flynn, founding dean. “The amazing individuals at Texas Christian University and the School
of Medicine embraced a mission to transform medical education to advance patient care.
Our goal has always been to inspire our students to be the kind of physicians that
you would want caring for you. And our students have worked very hard to get here
and they will be the leaders of health care moving forward.”
Why don't millionaires fund medical students?
June 7, 2023
Becker's Hospital Review
The physician shortage in the U.S. is common knowledge. Why don't more donors put
their money toward tuition for people to become physicians? It happens. Every once
in a while, an anonymous donor makes the decision to fund full tuition for an entire
medical school class. In 2022, an anonymous donation to the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU funded the full tuition for the third year of education for the 60-person class of
2024.
TCU Mural Honors Health Care Leaders in Chicago
June 7, 2023
Fort Worth Magazine
The latest mural featuring notable Horned Frog alumni in honor of TCU’s 150th anniversary
was just unveiled in Chicago. The new mural features four alumni who are making a
difference by practicing both the empathy and skill they learned in their pre-health,
nursing and M.D. educations at TCU. The honorees include Dr. McKenna Chalman, Dr. Courtney Sullivan, Dr. Brandon Zsigray and Emma Joy, RN. “We’re honored to celebrate these four outstanding alumni in Chicago in addition
to all the Horned Frogs who are making an impact as doctors, nurses, clinicians, and
researchers,” said TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. “Our medical school and nursing and pre-health programs lead the way for the future
of health care education curriculum and training.”
New TCU medical school addresses physician shortage with an innovative curriculum
June 2, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
“As our first class of new physicians from the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University walked across the stage to receive their diplomas, they stepped into a new world
of medicine,” wrote Dr. Stuart D. Flynn, founding dean, in a recent op-ed. “These 52 students were the inaugural class and
landed excellent residency spots across Texas and throughout the country. We’ve taken
medical education to new levels, changing the way students learn and focusing on where
the transformational advances in medicine will occur. We’ve partnered with health
care systems Baylor, Scott & White and Texas Health Resources to create a breathtakingly
exciting 260 new graduate slots in North Texas by 2028. And we will continue to expand
these training programs, adding a robust pipeline to address the growing physician
shortage in Texas.”
FACULTY
Greg Abbott wants to call lawmakers back to pass a school voucher plan. Will they
budge?
June 27, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
When a school voucher proposal backed by the governor died at the end of the legislative
session, Abbott suggested he plans to call lawmakers back for a special session on
the issue later this year. “I think that probably the telephone lines and the text
messages and emails are just buzzing all over Austin trying to put together a coalition
of people who might be willing to support Gov. Abbott on those issues — but they’re
not going to support it without having some side payments involved,” said Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor.
‘Look out for each other’: Emergency medicine doctor shares signs of heat exhaustion
to watch for in adults and kids
June 26, 2023
WFAA-TV
Triple-digit heat will likely be with us this summer in DFW. Dr. JoAnna Leuck, associate dean of curriculum at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, specializes
in emergency medicine and said textbooks say concern starts when heat is over 90 degrees
for three days in a row. A week above 100 can be deadly. “We have just seen an influx
of everything from mild dehydration that just needs some IV fluids to really critically
ill patients that it’s the heat that really caused their illness,” she said. “We’re
worried that this is going to continue.”
Michael Frank Blair
June 26, 2023
Meer
Conduit Gallery is honored to announce a solo exhibition of paintings by Dallas-based
artist Michael Frank Blair. Blair’s work is concerned with the materiality of imagery and space specifically,
making work that is not reducible to the concerns of representation or illustrative
imagery. Blair notes of his paintings, “They, all in their own ways, leverage style
against material, material against composition, depth against surface, and order against
play, to create surfaces that reframe the facts and illusions of pictorial space in
a fresh way.” Blair has taught Art Criticism and Theory at TCU since 2013.
Tarrant may open nationwide search for an administrator. Will it be hard to fill the
job?
June 26, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
There are worries among some that as the climate in Tarrant County government becomes
more political, the next county administrator chosen by the commissioners may be handpicked
or partisan. And experts who spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram say finding a replacement may be a tough task for the commissioner’s court given
that changing environment. “There are a number of people who might otherwise be a
candidate for these kinds of positions that are not going to want to walk into kind
of a partisan atmosphere where they’re going to make half of their bosses mad whenever
they do anything,” said Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor.
Bob Schieffer College of Communication Welcomes Maynard 200 Faculty and Fellows
June 23, 2023
mije.org
The 2023 Maynard 200 Fellowship is partnering with the Bob Schieffer College of Communication.
Its opening reception includes an address by Uche Onyebadi, chair of the journalism department. The first full training day featured opening remarks
by Dean Kristie Bunton. Long-standing TCU faculty member Jean Marie Brown, associate professor of professional practice and director of student media journalism, has
also been instrumental in welcoming the Maynard 200 Fellowship. Under Brown’s tutelage,
the Fault Lines® methodology has also been applied to in-depth community reporting
by students. “Hosting the Maynard 200 professional development training program further
demonstrates our profound commitment toward upholding the principles of diversity,
equity and inclusion,” Onyebadi said.
Texas's $4B investment fund for colleges such as UH, Texas Tech, to be decided by
voters in November
June 23, 2023
Houston Chronicle
The University of Houston and three other state institutions could become the beneficiaries
next year of a nearly $4 billion investment fund – a major financing asset that supporters
hope will place more Texas schools in the company of nationally esteemed universities.
Christine Hall, program coordinator of TCU’s master of education program in higher education leadership,
said the law affirms Texas' commitment to the growth of its universities. “I really
feel like higher education has been and is at a crossroads with public perception,”
Hall said. “A move like this shows that, for Texas, higher education is a public good.”
Check out the ‘Black Is Not a Monolith’ event
June 14, 2023
US Black Engineer & IT Magazine
Brandon J. Manning, associate professor of Black literature and culture, walked with Opal Lee on the
first federally recognized Juneteenth day two summers ago. Afterward, Manning nominated
Lee for an honorary doctorate from TCU, where she received a standing ovation. Manning’s
research focuses on contemporary African American literary and cultural studies and
popular culture, and he has published several essays in journals and edited collections,
as well as co-edited a special issue of The Black Scholar.
Presidential Run Following Indictment
June 14, 2023
KRLD
TCU political science professor Jim Riddlesperger joined the KRLD Newsline to discuss former President Trump’s presidential run, in
light of his recent indictment. “This is a very interesting case because there’s two
things at once. We’ve got a legal case going on, which constitutional scholars tell
us is a pretty strong legal case, but then of course … we have a political issue as
well.”
Functional connectivity discriminates epileptogenic states and predicts surgical outcome
in children with drug resistant epilepsy
June 14, 2023
Nature
Normal brain functioning emerges from a complex interplay among regions forming networks.
In epilepsy, these networks are disrupted causing seizures. Highly connected nodes
in these networks are epilepsy surgery targets. Here, we assess whether functional
connectivity using intracranial electroencephalography can quantify brain regions
epileptogenicity and predict surgical outcome in children with drug resistant epilepsy.
Among the authors, Christos Papadelis, professor at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.
Fort Worth Opera's New Director Brings Socially Relevant and Contemporary Works Centerstage
— Angela Turner Wilson Makes Her Mark
June 13, 2023
PaperCity Magazine
The Fort Worth Opera is ushering in a new director this year. Angela Turner Wilson is taking the lead as the opera’s general and artistic director, promising an array
of artistic programming this season. Excitement is building towards Fort Worth Opera’s
highly anticipated return to the stage at Bass Performance Hall in part because of
Turner Wilson’s growing influence. Turner Wilson is not just an opera fan. She has
had a career as a critically acclaimed soprano and more than a decade of experience
in education at TCU. Now she takes the reins at the acclaimed opera company in her
hometown ― the oldest, continually running opera company in Texas.
Can Texas’ grid handle the summer heat? Local experts weigh in
June 13, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
In early May, ERCOT projected that Texans’ lights should stay on this summer — barring
any extreme scenarios. Brownouts could be caused by a combination of hundred-degree
temperatures, outages at fossil fuel plants and low outputs from wind and solar farms. Tom Seng of TCU’s Ralph Lowe Energy Institute feels optimistic about the summer, based on
ERCOT’s Summer Weather Readiness Report. “They believe they can handle a peak this
summertime,” he said. “I believe the data supports that.”
ACTIVISM THROUGH ART: Dance film on the Holocaust inspires reflection, hope and action
against hate
June 13, 2023
360 West Magazine
Suki John, a 64-year-old choreographer and dance professor at TCU, describes her family’s history
as “the oldest story she knows.” Her mother, Vera John-Steiner, survived the Holocaust.
As a child, John sensed her mother had endured something significant, but more than
anything, she remembers her resilience. “My mother’s stories were really about human
connection,” John said. “She talked about how people held each other up to get through
it.” More than three decades after first presenting her mother’s story in a choreodrama, Sh’ma: A Story of Survival, John converted Sh’ma to a feature-length film during the COVID-19 pandemic. She previewed
it in Fort Worth this year, is working on a New York preview, and is seeking a distributor
to organize an official premiere. She also is raising money to edit a shorter version
she can take into schools for workshops.
Trump indictment: As legal peril grows, so does political divide
June 6, 2023
Christian Science Monitor
The 38-count indictment of former President Donald Trump and an aide alleges obstruction
and mishandling of classified materials, including documents concerning nuclear programs
and potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies. Trump’s competitors
are in an unprecedented and difficult situation, said Keith Gaddie, Al and Dawn Hoffman Chair of the American Ideal. On one hand, they need him to be
gone if any of them is to win the nomination. On the other, they probably need to
run on a platform similar to his to become the nominee. “One thing we shouldn’t be
doing in analyzing this environment is looking to history for analogs, because they’re
just not going to serve us,” he said.
Media mogul Martha Stewart isn't a fan of remote work
June 6, 2023
Business Insider
Domestic goddess Martha Stewart is jumping on the anti-remote work bandwagon. “You
can't possibly get everything done working three days a week in the office and two
days remotely,” she told Footwear News in a recent interview. A remote work vs return-to-office
war has been brewing for years between employees and employers. “It's already an ugly
war, and it's unfortunate,” Abbie Shipp, professor of management, said.
Impact of a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team on the Management and Outcomes of Patients
with Acute Pulmonary Embolism
June 5, 2023
Physician's Weekly
A recent study aimed to evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism
response team on the management and outcomes of patients with acute pulmonary embolism.
Authors include Nicole Russell and Dennis Gable, both from the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. The primary outcome measures were
in-hospital mortality, major bleeding events defined by the International Society
on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and utilization of catheter-directed interventions.
AI may be changing the way you shop
June 5, 2023
Fox 4 News
The idea of smart shopping takes on new meaning as artificial intelligence exerts
greater influence on businesses and how we buy. “The way artificial intelligence is
set up is really to be able to profile customers from the business’ standpoint or
from the marketing standpoint,” said Elijah Clark, marketing instructor.
ALUMNI
Fort Worth artist highlights issue with archives in exhibit featuring enslaved people
June 27, 2023
Fort Worth Report
Lillian Young ’18 spent two years researching wanted runaway slave adverts. What she found was that
Black history was not properly archived in history books. “I realized the descriptions
that were provided were very vague, but there is a person here,” Young said. Young’s
exhibition, The Problem With Archives: A Portrait is Worth Our Words, is on display at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center through July 22. During her
undergraduate career, she traveled with her TCU art professor Adam Fung to Panama and Nicaragua. “She has always found places to show that intersect with
the community and invite discussion,” Fung said.
Shanel Jones named new Berkshire Elementary principal in Northwest ISD
June 26, 2023
Community Impact Newspaper
Northwest ISD promoted Shanel Jones ’16 M.Ed. to become principal of Berkshire Elementary School. Jones currently serves as the
assistant principal of Love Elementary School, a role she has held since 2021 when
she joined the district. “Berkshire Elementary School has set a strong foundation
in its first few years, and this community values a strong education system and nurturing
atmosphere,” Jones said. “Our Berkshire Bears have set traditions that will last a
lifetime, and I can’t wait to provide our teachers and staff with the support they
need to enhance the education of our students and continue to cultivate our school
community.”
Frederic Forrest, Actor in ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘The Rose,’ Dies at 86
June 24, 2023
Variety
Frederic Forrest ’60, a character actor who had a memorable role in 1979’s “Apocalypse Now” and earned
an Oscar nomination for “The Rose” in the same year, died June 23 in Santa Monica.
He was 86. Forrest earned a degree in radio and television from TCU and later received
the distinguished alumni award. He moved to Hollywood where his first screen role,
in “When the Legends Die,” earned him a 1973 Golden Globe nomination for most promising
newcomer.
The Future of Texas Film Is $200 Million Brighter
June 22, 2023
Texas Monthly
In the 2023 session, the Texas Legislature approved the highest film incentives budget
the state has ever seen. Red Sanders ’04, a TCU film graduate who opted to hang out a shingle in Fort Worth rather than move
to Los Angeles, started Red Productions in 2005. In addition to producing music videos,
commercials and independent films, he’s been active in the effort to get the state
legislature to provide more funding for the incentives program. He related to me a
story about testifying before a House committee. “The chair of that committee, who
represented an area in West Texas, said to me, ‘I remember seeing this movie recently
called Hell or High Water, which is set in my district, but I don’t remember any mountains in my district,’”
Sanders said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, that was shot in New Mexico, because Texas didn’t
have the incentives to support it then.’”
An Evening with Rob Baird
June 21, 2023
Patch
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Rob Baird ’09 began his music career while pursuing a ranch management degree at TCU. After countless
performances in Fort Worth's well-known bar scene, Baird's career quickly picked up
steam allowing him to record his debut record “Blue Eyed Angels” which included the
career-changing “Fade Away.” This effort immediately launched Baird's career when
he signed with Carnival Records and began releasing music that gained national attention.
Katy ISD Names New Principals for Existing Schools
June 19, 2023
The Katy News
When school bells ring for the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, some students
and families in Katy ISD will have a new principal to greet them on their first day
of school. The superintendent announced Genevieve Lopardo ’01, as principal of Seven Lakes Junior High. Lopardo holds a Bachelor of Music Education
from TCU.
Exhibit in Fort Worth exposes problems in the archives of Black History
June 19, 2023
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
The paintings that line several walls at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center show
people whose stories are buried in the past – and those living now whose stories need
to be heard. The exhibit is called The Problem with Archives. It's the work of TCU graduate Lillian Young ’18, a historical artist who enjoys learning from the past and discovering pockets of
Black history. “I started digging deeper into archives and the further I got, I saw
how Black people are portrayed in these archives historically. In keeping up with
our history, we become less human and more of an object which makes sense since our
nation was built with slavery,” Young said.
From bowie knives to muskets and machine guns, historians testify in Measure 114 trial
about America’s gun history, regulations
June 8, 2023
The Oregonian
Lawyers defending Oregon’s gun control Measure 114 have called several historians
to the stand who testified on the rarity of guns capable of firing more than one round
without reloading at the time the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. Brennan Rivas ’13 MA (’19 Ph.D.) has studied historical weapons regulations, testified about early gun regulations.
Rivas testified about early regulations in the 1800s that prohibited bowie knives;
multiple states that regulated firearm transfers by taxing their sales, restricted
gunpowder or the concealed carry of weapons, and some places, such as Philadelphia,
in 1713, that prohibited firing a gun “without a license.”
NextGen makes impact on spiritual lostness
June 8, 2023
Kentucky Today
More than 1,600 individuals will be serving and working with IMB missionaries in 72
countries as IMB’s NextGen teams. One team, a social media team going to Argentina,
were in amazement at how God lined up their unique giftings. Kareyn Hellman ’23, just graduated from TCU with a degree in strategic communications. “I was like, ‘I
can’t stay here. I have to go!’” Hellman said. “These are the people who need the
gospel.”
Fort Worth Symphony marketing manager wants to make you feel welcome in the arts community
June 8, 2023
Fort Worth Report
Katie Kelly ’18 still remembers the moment she decided she wanted to devote her career to music.
Now a classically trained trumpet player, she was playing in her eighth-grade honors
band in Memphis, Tennessee, when after the performance the crowd stood up, applauding
with big smiles. Inspiring people through art makes her feel the same way. “Being
able to bring people in and invite people online and in real life, through social
… (to) our concerts, is the real-life embodiment of that for me,” Kelly said. After
earning a master’s degree in music – trumpet performance from TCU, Kelly started working
for the Fort Worth Symphony in 2017. She now works as the senior manager of communications.
ATHLETICS
Finally. Fort Worth’s Westside Little League All-Stars are slated for the big screen
June 22, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
After some scaling back and re-tooling, one of the most famous sports stories in Fort
Worth’s history will soon be a Hollywood motion picture. “You Gotta Believe,” about
the 2002 Fort Worth Westside All-Star baseball team that reached the Little League
World Series, is currently being filmed. In the game, Fort Worth Westside pitcher
Walker Kelly ’12, who would go on to play for TCU, struckout 21 batters.
TCU’s CWS run ended in heartbreak, but the Horned Frogs will remember the journey
there
June 22, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The bottom of the ninth inning during TCU’s College World Series’ 3-2 loss to Florida
was a microcosm of their baseball season. TCU, behind solid pitching from Kole Klecker and Ben Abeldt, kept the Gators’ NCAA home run leading offense quiet, but the Horned Frogs could
only get one run themselves. “When we got swept by West Virginia, we had a decision
to make in the course of where this season was going to go,” said TCU coach Kirk Saarloos. “I think as a unit we just came together and we played TCU brand of baseball. And
there’s nothing that can really compete with that. And just from that point on, it’s
just been awesome just watching this team develop and the friendships that we’ve all
had. It’s the tightest group that I’ve ever been a part of. And just been a phenomenal
group.”
How TCU turned its season around to become the hottest team in college baseball
June 15, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
Only a couple of days after being swept in a three-game series at West Virginia in
late April to extend their season-long losing streak to five games — “Definitely a
pretty low point,” record-setting slugger Brayden Taylor said — the Frogs trailed in the eighth inning at home against Dallas Baptist before
Bowen’s big blast. Then, as freshman Karson Bowen bounced toward home plate and then into the TCU dugout after his go-ahead grand slam,
head coach Kirk Saarloos saw something the Horned Frogs really needed at that time. “Relief is the thing I
saw,” Saarloos said. “All the credit goes to our players, because they got into a
position of ‘Man, it’s not fun losing.’ They kind of looked at one another and held
each other accountable, but stayed together,” Saarloos said. “It’s very easy to fracture
and go different ways when things aren’t going great.”
TCU’s ‘Wrecking Crew’ Is Peaking Just in Time for the College World Series
June 15, 2023
Texas Monthly
TCU is back in the College World Series for the first time since 2017 with a team
that one opposing coach describes as a “wrecking crew.” TCU was 23–20 at the end of
April, a month that provided second-year head coach Kirk Saarloos with a Ph.D. in adversity. “I’d never been through a harder season in my life,” he
said. “We knew we were a better team. We just weren’t playing like it. To keep our
guys believing in the fact that we were just around the corner from playing really
good baseball—it’s tough to do sometimes.”
‘It’s going to be a dog fight.’ TCU leaves for College World Series, their 6th trip
to Omaha
June 14, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU fans turned out in the sweltering heat Wednesday to cheer on the baseball team
as they departed campus for the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Horned
Frogs are making their sixth trip to the World Series, their first since 2017. Caroline Bredthauer came out with her son. “We just wanted to come out and support this baseball team,
they’ve had an amazing end of the season and just wanted to show them how much the
community, alumni and the families here in Fort Worth support them.” Bredthauer and
her husband are TCU alumni and are ecstatic about TCU’s success across all sports.
However its baseball season ends, this is the greatest year ever for TCU athletics
June 6, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The 150th year of the university may be the finest in the history of the school. Certainly
it was the finest in the history of its athletic department. TCU will host Indiana
State in an NCAA baseball Super Regional; the winner of the best-of-three series goes
to Omaha for the College Baseball World Series. “It was so cool to see them go to
the national championship game and go all the way,” former TCU defensive end and current
Dallas Cowboy Ben Banogu said this week. “I would not have bet my game check they would have been there at
the beginning of the year.”