INSTITUTIONAL
TCU Formally Installs Daniel Pullin as President
Nov. 10, 2023
FW Inc.
Daniel Pullin was formally handed the keys of leadership at an investiture ceremony that conferred
the responsibilities of university president on him. The formalities and decorum at
the Van Cliburn Concert Hall were in accord with academic tradition that acknowledges
the “great responsibility of stewarding a timeless institution and a university legacy,”
as well as commemorate the first year of Pullin’s presidency. “I look forward to working
alongside Chancellor Boschini and all TCU leaders to ensure we reach our next level of distinction,” Pullin said.
TCU ceremony honors new president, highlights university’s tradition
Nov. 10, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU celebrated the investiture of President Daniel W. Pullin in front of a full house Thursday at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU. Pullin, the
former dean of the Neeley School of Business, is the first president to serve under Chancellor
Victor J. Boschini, Jr. He began his new role in February and is responsible for operations supporting and
enhancing the school’s academic mission. “TCU’s vision of academic excellence and
unrivaled student experience is a shared goal to which the entire Horned Frog community
contributes,” Pullin said.
TCU Holds Investiture for President Pullin
Nov. 10, 2023
WFAA
Congratulations to Daniel Pullin with TCU making his university presidency official with an installation ceremony
last night. He actually started the job in February. In his speech Pullin said he’s
honored to help lead the school in the future as he challenged the community to dream
big.
It’s official: TCU celebrates new president
Fort Worth Business Press
Daniel W. Pullin was officially installed as president of TCU during an investiture ceremony at TCU’s
Van Cliburn Concert Hall. Hosting the full-house event were Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. and the TCU Board of Trustees. Attendees included other TCU officials; Fort Worth
and Tarrant County community leaders; representatives of other local colleges and
Big 12 Conference universities; and TCU students, faculty and staff. “I am honored
to have been entrusted with the role of helping lead TCU into its next 150 years,”
Pullin said.
Sens. Cruz, Cornyn Introduce Resolution to Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Texas
Christian University
Nov. 7, 2023
senate.gov
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced a resolution commemorating
the 150th anniversary of Texas Christian University in recognition of their legacy in Texas education and recent athletic success. TCU,
a private, four-year university located in Fort Worth, Texas, is focused on building
a powerful intellectual environment with a strong emphasis on faith, community, and
service. Sen. Cornyn said, “For 150 years, Texas Christian University has equipped
students with the skills and experiences necessary to pursue limitless opportunities
and achieve success. I applaud their commitment to excellence and look forward to
seeing how future generations of Horned Frogs will benefit Texas in the years to come.”
San Antonio Zoo Reintroduces 34 Texas Horned Lizards To The Wild
Nov. 8, 2023
Nation World News
The San Antonio Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research in San Antonio, Texas,
is celebrating a significant milestone by releasing 34 Texas horned lizards into the
Texas landscape. These horned lizards, hatched at CCR this summer, mark an important
step forward for the Texas Horned Lizard Reintroduction Project. Two lizards believed
to be from the previous release were found, along with scatter samples. These samples
were fast-tracked at Texas Christian University for confirmation through haplotype analysis, adding valuable insights to the project.
Top 50 Best Undergraduate Programs for Entrepreneurs in 2024
Nov. 7, 2023
Entrepreneur
The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur partnered to rank the top 2024 undergraduate
programs for studying entrepreneurship. Texas Christian University offers 106 entrepreneurship courses, and over the last five years graduates started
93 companies. The Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the only school in GCEC (Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers) history
to ever win back-to-back-to-back awards for its cross-campus entrepreneurship programming.
This cocurricular programming includes CREATE powered by the Shaddock fund, the Richards
Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition, the TCU Elevator Pitch Competition, the
Entrepreneurial Intern Scholars Program, the Horned Frog Investment Network, the Jane
and Pat Bolin Innovation Forum, the Innovative Teachers Guild and Neeley NIL.
2023 Parade of Lights celebrates TCU’s 150th Anniversary
Nov. 2, 2023
KXAS-TV
Get ready to light up the night and celebrate The Parade of Lights in honor of Texas Christian University’s momentous 150th anniversary. The evening will pay tribute to TCU’s rich history and
achievements. In honor of TCU’s remarkable milestone, football coach Sonny Dykes will join the parade as grand marshal, leading the way in commemorating TCU’s incredible
journey over the past 150 years.
FACULTY & STAFF
Meet Pax and Phoebe: Providing a warm and fuzzy ministry of comfort to Fort Worthians
Nov. 10, 2023
Fort Worth Report
Pax and Phoebe visited Milton Daniel Hall on Nov. 1 with a mission to comfort students
who were missing their pets back home, said Krystel Hernandez, hall director and alumna. The dogs are part of Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort
Dog Ministry who helped students de-stress. “It was also good for them to just kind
of take a break. Midterms passed, but there is still that residual stress from that
and finals coming around the corner,” Hernandez said. “So as much as possible, we
want to make sure that we’re catering to things such as mental health and making sure
that we have opportunities for them to sit back and relax a little bit.”
Why more food, toiletry and beauty companies are switching to minimalist package designs
Nov. 9, 2023
ReportWire
For decades, marketers of consumer goods designed highly adorned packages, deploying
bold colors, snazzy text, cartoons and illustrations to seize the attention of shoppers,
according to Lan Anh Nu Ton, assistant professor of marketing. Conventional wisdom held that companies needed
to do everything in their power to make their products stand out. But recently, there’s
been a move toward simplicity. “We found that the preference for simple packaging
was due to the fact that pared-down designs sent a subtle yet powerful signal: purity,”
Ton said. “This happened because the simplicity of the product package made participants
more likely to assume that the product contained fewer ingredients, along with fewer
preservatives, added colors or artificial flavors.”
What a Texas-sized battle over state history means
Nov. 8, 2023
Yahoo News
Texans revere their history, so perhaps it’s no surprise that here, as in other parts
of the United States, history has become a front in the political culture wars. “For
so long, the history of Texas was the history of great white men on horseback,” said Gregg Cantrell, history professor. “It’s the job of the historian to tell the truth. If you’re inspired
by the truth, great. Sometimes the truth is not pleasant; sometimes the truth does
not inspire you; sometimes the truth is not heroic. And if we only tell the kind of
truth that is inspirational or heroic, then we’re not really telling the truth at
all.”
2023 Texas summer was the second-hottest on record. Is this the new normal?
Nov. 5, 2023
The Dallas Morning News
This summer in Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas was historically hot — and dangerous. Triple-digit
temperatures tested the state’s power grid, canceled cattle drives and underscored
the life-saving importance of air conditioning. More than 20 people in Dallas and
Tarrant counties died from heat-related illnesses. A sweeping heat wave made this
summer the globe’s hottest on record, about 2 degrees above the 20th century’s average
temperature. “The proof is not so much in a hot summer or in a dry summer, but in
a sequence of events over longer periods of time,” said Michael Slattery, chair of the department of environmental and sustainability sciences. “And that
trend is coming through very, very strongly.”
Taylor Swift storytelling and the invisible string to communication theory
Nov. 3, 2023
Fort Worth Report
To celebrate the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” we spoke with Andrew Ledbetter, professor and chair of the Department of Communication (and self-proclaimed Swiftie),
about Taylor Swift and how her work ties into communication theory. “The power of
storytelling shapes not only her music but also how we perceive our own lives. If
you drill down into some of the key parts of the Taylor Swift secret sauce that make
her music so successful, it becomes clear that the narrative component, the storytelling,
is vibrantly woven throughout her music,” he said.
Atatiana Jefferson’s family could receive historic $3.5M settlement. What comes next?
Nov. 3, 2023
Fort Worth Report
The city of Fort Worth is considering an unprecedented settlement with the family
of Atatiana Jefferson, who was shot and killed in 2019 by former Fort Worth police
officer Aaron Dean. City leaders will vote on the proposed $3.5 million police liability
settlement at a future City Council meeting. Settlements like these can stir up concern
among police officers, said Johnny Nhan, associate dean of graduate studies and criminology professor. Patrol officers worry
that actions like use of force and high-speed chases could result in a lawsuit that
threatens their career, he said. “Patrol officers in a lot of large cities typically
feel they can’t do much, because it’s too risky and this has been going on for a long
time. But it’s a little bit more extreme these days,” Nhan said.
Black students in Fort Worth ISD still struggle to read at grade level
Nov. 2, 2023
Fort Worth Report
Many Black students at Fort Worth ISD are struggling to read at their grade level.
Black students’ reading scores lag behind those of most other groups in Fort Worth
ISD — a statistic that parents, experts and district officials have acknowledged.
Test scores are important, but that shouldn’t determine everything, said Audrey Sorrells, education professor. Sorrells’ research focuses on the intersection of culture and
disability through the lens of the Black student experience in public education in
the U.S. “Tests have good intentions but unintended consequences,” Sorrells said.
“Because if we don’t really have a good sense of what students value in learning,
and how we can bridge their cultures and learning across these different contexts,
then it’s very difficult to get a true picture of a student’s potential and their
expected outcomes.”
See meteorites at the Monnig Meteorite Gallery in Fort Worth
Nov. 1, 2023
KDAF-TV (Dallas, TX)
In 2003, Texas Christian University decided to open a gallery dedicated to a meteorite
collection donated by Oscar Monnig. It’s an incredible display of meteorites, and
the exhibition educates people as to the types of meteorites and what their geological
properties tell us about the planets in our solar system. “I get to look after this
museum, play with the meteorites, but I’m also a professor, so I get to teach here
at TCU, and I think that’s just a perfect combination,” said Rhiannon Mayne, curator and assistant professor. “Texas is a great place to find meteorites in the
United States, due to the climate and the fact that we have so much agriculture, and
what the general public sees is only about 5% of the whole collection, which makes
them the world’s largest university-based collection.”
Kay Granger announces she will not seek another term in congress
Nov. 1, 2023
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
Longtime Fort Worth congresswoman Kay Granger will not run for re-election. “Today
I am announcing that I will not seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives
in 2024. Serving my community has been the greatest honor, and I have always fought
to improve the lives of my constituents," Granger announced in a press release on
her website. James Riddlesperger, political science professor, said while it's not surprising to see someone retire
from Congress after serving for so long, it is surprising to see someone voluntarily
step away from so much power and influence. “Kay Granger is one of the three or four
most important members in the House of Representatives,“ Riddlesperger said. “Fort
Worth has become accustomed to having a very big voice in decision making in U.S.
politics.”
Congresswoman Kay Granger of Fort Worth not seeking reelection after almost 30 years
Nov. 1, 2023
WFAA-TV (Dallas, TX)
After nearly three decades in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Kay
Granger (R-Fort Worth) has announced that she will not seek re-election. She currently
serves as the first Republican female chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
“She's been a giant in Fort Worth politics and in Congress,” professor of political
science James Riddlesperger said. “She is literally the person who holds the purse strings in the country.” Riddlesperger
noted Granger's experience in nonpartisan city government likely influenced her behavior
in Congress. “She's a problem-solver to the bottom of her soul. She's never really
cared whether an idea is a Republican idea or a Democratic idea. She's been in favor
of good ideas.”
Who will replace Kay Granger? These North Texas Republicans are considering a run
for office
Nov. 1, 2023
KERA News
The clock is ticking for Republicans to enter the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep.
Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth. Tarrant County officials are charting their plans - or
not - to be the next person to represent Texas' 12th Congressional District, a ruby
red area that President Donald Trump won by 18 percentage points in 2020. James Riddlesperger, political science professor, described the open race for the 12th Congressional
District as a rare moment. Since 1919, only five people have represented the district
— three of whom have been influential, he said. “It’s going to be a very competitive
race, even though we don’t know who those candidates will be,” Riddlesperger said.
After GM's deal with auto workers union, policymakers say labor is having a moment
Nov. 1, 2023
WFAA-TV (Dallas, TX)
The United Auto Workers is the latest union to secure better pay and benefits after
striking this year. Inflation and concerns about artificial intelligence prompted
more union activity, said David Allen, the Luther Henderson Chair in Management and Leadership at the TCU Neeley School
of Business. Americans’ perception of work has also changed, post-pandemic, he said.
“People are seeing that it looks like, in some cases, some of these big employers
are doing really well and making good profits,” Allen said. “The labor markets have
been pretty good and unemployment is relatively low, so people are feeling like they
have a little leverage.”
ALUMNI
Meet Alexa Landestoy, the new NHL Network on-air host who has been dubbed 'beautiful
and talented' by adoring viewers
Nov. 9, 2023
The U.S. Sun
Sports reporter Alexa Landestoy ’18 began her broadcast career with her parents filming her on an iPad on a high school
football field. Now the stunning on-air talent is continuing her rapid rise by being
named as a new NHL Network host, debuting on the late Wednesday night edition of On
the Fly. Landestoy majored in sports broadcasting and minored in journalism. After
gaining some work for the TCU Horned Frogs football team, she secured an internship
at Fox Sports Southwest and was soon working as a college football sideline reporter
across Texas. “They were flying me across the state of Texas doing full reports and
the Friday football coverage,” she said.
FunkyTown Food Project's executive director nourishes students' dreams
Nov. 9, 2023
Fort Worth Report
Reginald Robinson ’15 MEd learned to love the land while growing up at his grandfather’s farm. That, along
with a childhood in a family that cooked, developed Robinson’s unadulterated love
for food. After years of working in a variety of positions in education and as executive
director of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Robinson now is taking his
passion for food and teaching to the FunkyTown Food Project. Robinson, who earned
a master of education, said, “All the dreams that you have in your life cannot be
actualized unless you sustain yourself, unless there’s nourishment. At a very fundamental
level, I take food that seriously, that it is the very vehicle that’s going to help
you reach your dreams.”
Veterans Day parades planned in Fort Worth and Dallas this weekend
Nov. 10, 2023
KXAS-TV
There are several events happening across North Texas, including parades in DFW to
honor the men and women who have served our country. The theme of this year’s Tarrant
County Veterans Day Parade was “Saluting TCU Warriors” in honor of Texas Christian
University’s 150th anniversary. The theme will salute the university's military legacy
and programs, as well as one of its most famous alumni, Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Horace S. Carswell Jr. ’39. He was killed in action in World War II and is the namesake of the former Carswell
Air Force Base in Fort Worth, now the current joint reserve base.