University celebrates start of 135th academic year

Fort Worth, TX

9/11/2007

Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. welcomed faculty, staff, and students to the start of TCU’s 135th academic year by acknowledging TCU is undergoing rapid change that will affirmatively affect the entire student experience.
“It is exciting to begin this transformative year with so many dreams realized and so many aspirations well on the way to fulfillment,” said Chancellor Boschini. “Without a doubt, TCU is moving ahead of the curve. The energy on campus is striking.”
Over the next two years, TCU will dedicate eight new facilities including four new residence halls and a new Brown-Lupton University Union (all located in the Campus Commons); a new and renovated College of Education; a new Indoor Practice Facility; and a new TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore.
“When the Campus Commons is complete, we will have realized our dream,” said Chancellor Boschini. “We will have created an environment rich in personal interaction, a place where intellectual vitality and social engagement intersect and where students of different cultures and values can learn from each other.  In other words, we will have created a place where all the elements of living and learning at TCU will come together 24-hours a day, seven days a week.”

Chancellor Boschini's remarks follow (audio version):

“We come together today to recognize the beginning of Texas Christian University’s 135th year and to celebrate the vibrant academic life of this university.  Today, we pause to look back upon the past year and forward to all the promise of a new one.  We also will recognize the outstanding teacher-scholars and mentors who so define Texas Christian University.
But first, I’d like to extend a special welcome to our new students, new faculty and new staff.  Welcome to the TCU family!
I’d also like to say “welcome” and “thank you” to three very special guests from our Board of Trustees.  At this time, I’d like to introduce them to you and ask that they stand. Rev. Dani Loving Cartwright; Mr. John Davis; Mrs. Joan Rogers
One of our seniors, Luda Chuba, who served as a student liaison with the Board, commented: ‘I was honored to present numerous issues that concerned TCU students to the Board of Trustees. It was rewarding to see the members take our presentation to heart and act upon it -- hence the campuswide wireless Internet that is [so near completion].’  TCU Trustees, thank you for your leadership, service and generosity to the University in many, many ways!  And thanks, too, for that wi-fi network!
It is exciting to begin this transformative year with so many dreams realized and so many aspirations well on the way to fulfillment.  Without a doubt, TCU is moving ahead of the curve!  Through Vision in Action, our strategic planning effort, we have committed ourselves to creating a world-class, values-centered university experience for our students. The strides we have made in the past year are truly remarkable.  The energy on campus is striking.
As I review our recent accomplishments and current initiatives, I’d like to put them in the context of the five overarching goals determined through Vision in Action:
1). To recruit and retain students, faculty, and staff who can achieve their full potential at TCU.
2). To design a vibrant learning community characterized by distinctive curricular, co-curricular and residential programs.
3). To sustain an environment in which rich personal interaction is enhanced by outstanding facilities and appropriate technology.
4). To accelerate our connection with the greater community:  Fort Worth, Texas, the nation, and the world.
5). And to couple wise financial stewardship with a well-planned entrepreneurial approach to academic opportunities.
Whew!  What a demanding agenda!
First, let’s consider our outstanding students, faculty and staff.

NEW STUDENTS
For well more than a half-decade, TCU has seen the number of applicants grow, while their qualifications have become increasingly competitive. Members of the Classes of 2008, 2009 and 2010, you can be confident that the Class of 2011 and our 414 incoming transfer students uphold your high standards and continue our tradition of attracting talented students who can best benefit from a TCU education. Chosen from nearly 12,000 applicants, the 1,644-member incoming freshman class boasts high SAT scores, a male to female ratio that brings TCU to the national college average, and more students of color and more international students than in recent years.
Annually, Beloit College in Wisconsin releases the Beloit College Mindset List -- a look at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students.  I’d like to share with you a few characteristics of this year’s freshmen -- most born in 1989 -- in schools across the nation:
Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, they make autobiography happen in real time.
They learned about JFK from Oliver Stone, and about Malcolm X from Spike Lee.
For them, Time has always worked with Warner.
Avatars have nothing to do with Hindu deities.
And virtual reality is always available when the real thing fails.
In fact, many of this generation already are starting on their “Second Life” before they reach the second decade of their first one!

NEW SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS AND NEW FACULTY
To help us continue to recruit and retain truly outstanding students, I’m delighted to report that TCU’s alumni and friends contributed $3.6 million for student scholarships last year.  The teacher-scholar model and strong, mentoring relationships are hallmarks of the TCU experience.  Later in the program, we will have the opportunity to honor some of these special mentors and teacher-scholars.  But now I’d like to point to some achievements that will truly have a positive impact upon our entire TCU community.
We begin the fall semester with 20 new faculty positions.  In fact, over the last three years, we have added a total of 59 new faculty and instructional positions, improving the already low 14-to-1 student-faculty ratio. And we are committed to further lowering this key measure of educational excellence to 13-to-1 in the future. 

NEW ENDOWED POSITIONS
Endowed chairs and professorships are another mark of academic distinction. TCU has added four new endowed positions in the last year.  I ask them to stand now and be recognized.
-The J. Vaughn and Evelyne H. Wilson Professorship in Accounting, held by Dr. In-Mu Haw;
-The J. Vaughn and Evelyne H. Wilson Professorship in Marketing, held by Dr. William Cron;
-The Betty S. Wright Chair of Applied Ethics, held by Dr. Richard Galvin; and
-The Hal Wright Chair of Latin American Economics, held by Dr. W. Charles Sawyer.
A second Vision in Action goal toward which we have made significant strides is building a vibrant learning community, characterized by distinctive curricular, co-curricular and residential programs.

ACADEMIC DISTINCTION
From the symposium on energy sponsored with Oxford University to recognition of Prof. Ed Kolesar for research on the human eye
From the first MBA/Ed.D. degrees conferred through the Educational Leadership program to our support of the Fort Worth ISD in math, science and technology
From Image magazine’s recognition as the No. 1 student magazine in the country to the advertising campaign team’s top-10 finish in national competition
From leadership in community disaster preparedness and awareness to the eight-year-accreditation of the social work program
From high rankings in BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fortune to an international entrepreneurship conference
From the premier PianoTexas and Mimir Chamber Music festivals to Internet2 music classes connecting TCU and London’s Royal
Academy
From the upcoming tour of historic Texas maps to new student internships in  civic organizatons
From the “State of the Black Church Summit” to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)’s national General Assembly this summer
From our nationally recognized leadership programs to the upcoming theme semester focused on the three R’s of “Rights, Responsibilities and Respect”
TCU is truly providing world-class programs that also benefit our society.  I thank each member of our esteemed faculty and staff for making these extraordinary programs possible on our campus.

RENEWED FOCUS ON RESIDENTIAL LIFE
But without a doubt, during this transformative period in the life of Texas Christian University, the Campus Commons is taking center stage.
We know that the greatest universities are residential universities.  One of the most significant directives growing from Vision in Action is to ensure that our students benefit from the full residential experience.  In recent years, fewer than half have had that opportunity. 
This fall, with two of the four Commons residence halls open, the GrandMarc at capacity, and all sophomores now in campus housing, we draw ever closer to achieving our goal of two-thirds of TCU undergraduates living on campus.
In the Campus Commons, students in the Amon G. Carter and the Kellye Wright Samuelson residence halls are adjusting to the “suite” life.  That’s spelled S-U-I-T-E  -- though S-W-E-E-T is appropriate too.  The remaining two residence halls  -- the Teresa and Luther King Hall and the Mary and Robert J. Wright Hall  -- are on track to open for the spring semester.   Both the Kings and the Wrights are generous and loyal trustee families of our University from a nearby town called Dallas.
In addition, the new Brown-Lupton University Union is on target to be completed by next summer.
When these phases of the Commons are finished, we will begin to renovate the current student center for academic and student services space.  The transformation will be so extensive that the building will be renamed Clarence and Kerry Scharbauer Hall in honor of yet another loyal and generous trustee family from Midland.
When the Campus Commons is complete, we will have realized our dream. We will have created an environment rich in personal interaction, a place where intellectual vitality and social engagement intersect and a place where students of different cultures and values can learn from each other.  In other words, we will have created a place where all the elements of living and learning at TCU will come together 24-hours a day, seven days a week.  We truly will have elevated the TCU experience!
The Commons is the most dramatic campus transformation, but there are a number of other initiatives that are helping us sustain an environment rich with personal interaction and enhanced by outstanding facilities and appropriate technology.
On the corner of University Drive and Bellaire Drive North, College of Education faculty and students began the semester in the wonderful new Mabee Foundation Education Complex, truly a dream come true after many decades of waiting.  The complex includes a total renovation of the Bailey Building and construction of Betsy and Steve Palko Hall.  As a member of the education faculty, I can speak to the excellence of this new facility firsthand.  It’s truly a fabulous place to teach and learn.  And at last, the College of Education has a facility that equals the distinction of its programs!  I do hope you will visit the facility soon.
On the other side of Stadium Drive, the new Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility is providing a place where the Horned Frogs can stay on track -- no matter how bad the weather.  I’d like to add that the Frogs are among the leading teams in the nation in terms of academic achievement, as well as gridiron prowess, ranking in the top 20 for the latest graduation success rate.
Construction also is well under way on the new 34,000-square-foot TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore, scheduled to open sometime during your lifetime -- actually, during the spring semester.
These new facilities and other campus improvements add up to $150 million of construction currently under way or completed in 2007 -- all in addition to the $300 million investment in the campus in recent years.
A fourth Vision in Action goal is to accelerate TCU’s connection with the greater community:  Fort Worth, Texas, the nation and the world.
Let me mention just three ways TCU is making that connection.
This fall, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences welcomes the inaugural class of the Doctorate of Nursing Practice program.  The two-year program is designed to prepare experts in advanced nursing practice for clinical leadership in healthcare, business, government and education organizations.   
The College of Education’s Center for Urban Education is focusing on another vital societal need: the critical shortage of expert teachers for under-achieving urban schools. The Center for Urban Education is teaming with school districts and businesses to launch the Aspiring Educators Initiative to target potential teachers while they are still in high school.
Today, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, are reporting to the Congress about what may be the key issue of the year, the progress of the "surge" in Iraq and the efficacy of the Iraqi government. And on September 18, the annual Jim Wright Symposium will bring the Honorable Lee Hamilton -- co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission and adviser to the President — to inform the members of our own campus and surrounding community about the situation in Iraq.
Finally, Vision in Action directed us to couple wise financial stewardship with a well-planned entrepreneurial approach to academic opportunities.

ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH
The TCU Energy Institute -- established by the College of Science & Engineering and the Neeley School of Business -- is an ideal example of the entrepreneurial approach called for by Vision in Action.
TCU alumnus Ross Matthews, president of Sinclair Oil & Gas, has recently been named director of the Energy Institute. A new minor in Energy Technology and Management and a Petroleum Land Professional Program are among the Institute’s many exciting initiatives. 
The University’s proximity to the Barnett Shale formation, as well as our distinguished science, engineering and business faculty, uniquely position the TCU Energy Institute to become known as a global leader in cutting-edge energy research, education, policy analysis, and energy-related technologies.

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP - CAMPAIGN FOR TCU
TCU’s superlative new facilities, increased scholarship funding, endowed faculty positions and distinctive programs obviously cost many millions of dollars.  Fortunately, The Campaign for TCU is making stellar progress toward the April 3 kickoff of the public phase.  More than $123 million has been committed toward the working campaign goal of $250 million, thanks to extremely generous alumni and friends, our supportive faculty and staff, and our capable Advancement organization. Forty-nine percent of the goal already has been raised, with only 32 percent of the campaign time elapsed!

TCU IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE
Our achievements are impressive and many.  But there is so much more to Texas Christian University.
This is more than a community with beautiful buildings though we do have facilities that rival those at the greatest universities across the country. 
This is more than a community with exquisitely landscaped lawns, thousands of flowers and a park-like atmosphere though we do have those.
This is a more than a community that benefits from a solid financial foundation, a growing endowment, a successful campaign. These are the means to an end.
This university is about the people who teach and learn here.   
We are a community that values each unique individual, and we savor the excitement of bringing 1,600 new, one-of-a-kind students into the life of this university each year.
We are a community that values a frank interchange and dialogue, a community that values different viewpoints. We are a community that does not tolerate racism, sexism or any of the other --isms so prevalent in today’s news.
We are a community that values the special relationship between teacher and student.
We are a community where students can refine their thoughts, define their character, and set forth to change the world.
We are a community that loves all things purple.  We look out for each other and we want the best for every member of the TCU family.
Before we recognize the mentors and teacher-scholars who contribute so much to this family, let me offer the observations of one of our 2007 graduates, William Dallas Flowers III: 'I am so proud of the person I am today, and it is only because I have been surrounded with wonderful and inspiring people over the last four years.  I have come to realize that it is fine not being recognized for my every accomplishment. Instead I have realized that all I have done at TCU has helped shape me as an ethical leader and responsible citizen for any community I will ever be a part of.'
That is why we are here!”