Now available online, the latest issue of TCU Magazine is packed with engaging stories that illustrate the innovation and passion of the Horned Frog community. The fall issue showcases TCU research, people and programs — from a profile on a professor globally renowned as a crisis management expert, to a feature on the captain of the 1998 Sun Bowl team that started our football ascent, to an in-depth look at the first-year medical school experience.
Two years in the making, the cover story follows six TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine students through the school’s opening year.
“It’s a very big, in-depth story with a lot of personality,” said Caroline Collier, TCU Magazine editor. “It’s a glimpse into how this innovative medical school actually works. The idea was to capture what it would be like to be a medical school student at a place that prioritizes empathetic communication and allows its students to work with actual patients from the beginning. The writer followed the students into the lab, while they were working with patients and to social events where they blew off some steam. She talked to them as the pandemic brought a career in health care into very sharp focus.”
The fall issue also turns the spotlight on eight graduate student researchers whose work stretches all across campus — criminal justice, education, strategic communication, chemistry, history, art history, social work and developmental trauma.
“Most of the students had already worked for a while before they came to graduate school, and a lot of their research was tied to their prior careers and future plans,” Collier said. “These research projects weren’t just academic requirements but passion projects they had undertaken to better understand the world, grow in their careers and make a difference.”
Stories to look for in the Fall 2020 issue:
State of emergency: The Australian government leaned on Amiso George, professor of strategic communication, to evaluate how interprofessional teams communicated during their wildfires. She has also researched the Nigerian Ebola response and how the Malaysian government divulged details about the disappearance of flight 370. A global expert on crisis communication, George travels the world, layering on a cultural understanding of best practices in crisis communication.
A long winning season: A walk-on safety, Landry Burdine ’99 was captain of the team that won the 1998 Sun Bowl — the victory that started the Horned Frogs’ upward trajectory. Since his playing days, Burdine has been enjoying a successful commercial real estate career, but fellow Frogs may know him better as a sideline commentator for the TCU football radio team.
Psychology and the pill: In her book This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences, Sarah Hill, professor of psychology, sheds light on the cascading effects of hormonal contraception on a woman’s brain, mood, stress response and even how she chooses a spouse.
Horned Frog revival: Dean Williams, professor of biology, draws from his genetics expertise to help zoos and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department successfully reintroduce Texas horned lizards into the wild.
Leading the way: Floyd Wormley Jr., TCU’s new associate provost for research and dean of graduate studies,
discusses balancing research and administration, persevering to get funding and perfecting
the teacher-scholar model.
Q&A with the AD: Athletics director Jeremiah Donati talks about the opening of the new Legends Club & Suites on the east side of Amon G. Carter Stadium, what TCU athletics might look like post-pandemic and Sunday donuts.
“It’s an exciting issue and the stories fit together really well,” Collier added.