From superintendent searches to the role of private equity firms, and from video production to publishing, TCU faculty, staff, alumni and students are in the news.
INSTITUTIONAL
TCU graduation ceremony: two people earning triple degrees
May 6, 2022
WFAA-TV
During TCU's spring commencement ceremony, two graduates, Brent Hewitt and Sarah Jennings, celebrated a rare feat: earning triple degrees. “These students embody the hard
work and student excellence at TCU,” said Provost Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.
15 of the wildest, wackiest college classes taught in America today
May 5, 2022
Fox News
The wildest and wackiest courses are offered at U.S. institutions across our country
– one including Nature of Society: Beyoncé and Intersectionality at Texas Christian University. For three credits, students at TCU are taught the characteristics of the Houston-born pop queen. Open discussions in
class also cover such bold topics as racism, classism and sexism.
Prescription drug spending per covered member grew much faster in individual health
plans than large group plans
May 6, 2022
Newswise
Prescription drug spending per member covered — both before and after manufacturer
rebates—grew much faster for those enrolled in individual health insurance plans compared
to those enrolled in large group plans from 2015 to 2019, according to a new study
by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Texas Christian University. It’s the first study to examine prescription drug spending at the commercial insurance
plan level. Researchers examined pre-rebate and post-rebate annual drug spending per
covered member (inflation-adjusted) over the five-year period, separately by plan
type.
FACULTY & STAFF
Texas and Tarrant County vote: What to know about the Democratic, Republican runoffs
May 16, 2022
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The May 24 runoff elections feature a slate of candidates vying for some of the most
high-profile seats in the state and county. In March, roughly 11% of registered voters
turned out in the Republican primary and about 6% turned out in the Democratic Primary.
“Turnout that’s higher than March’s isn’t expected, even though there are several
interesting races in Tarrant County,” said TCU Political Science Professor Jim Riddlesperger.
Teachers say constant change in Jacquet Middle School leadership harming campus comeback
May 15, 2022
Fort Worth Report
Jacquet Middle School is one of Fort Worth ISD’s worst-performing schools. For the
past couple of years, JMS has seen five principals come, stay for a couple of years
and leave. This cycle will begin again next year with a sixth new principal. “The
role of principals has shifted in recent decades,” said Miriam Ezzani, assistant professor of educational leadership. “The principal builds a culture and
climate that’s conducive to learning. I’m not just talking about learning for the
student, but learning for teachers and administrators.”
Nonprofits Step Up to Stock Shelves With Baby Formula Amid Nationwide Shortage
May 14, 2022
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
Nonprofits are scrambling to support parents desperately hunting for baby formula.
Hope just arrived at Seasons of Change, an Arlington-based nonprofit, in the form
of baby formula. “Most babies can switch to another formula without any issues at
all,” said Dr. Erin Spence, a neonatologist and assistant professor at TCU School of Medicine.
Crowding youths in Tarrant juvenile detention isn’t ‘tough.’ Here’s how it makes crime
worse
May 13, 2022
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Brie Diamond, associate professor and chair of criminal justice, recently penned an op-ed addressing
the overcrowding and understaffing of Tarrant County’s juvenile detention facility.
“Overcrowding in prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers can amount to violations
of our Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment,” Diamond wrote.
“We should be actively skeptical of the argument that the best way to handle overcrowding
in our juvenile facility is to expose more kids to these conditions.”
Responding to the demand for campus mental health services
May 12, 2022
Inside Higher Ed
Eric Wood believes that colleges should reach across the campus and collaborate with established
resources in the community rather than relying on traditional models of campus counseling.
He discussed this in a recent op-ed. “It’s time to put aside our turf battles, shift
away from the traditional model of college counseling and focus on collaborating with
established resources in the community as well as other parts on campus,” he wrote.
Republican runoff for district attorney is a battle of backgrounds - and endorsements
May 11, 2022
Fort Worth Business Press
From an ideological standpoint, there are many similarities between Phil Sorrells
and Matt Krause, the two Republicans vying to become the next Tarrant County district
attorney. “I predict this will be a very low turnout election,” said Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor.
Explainer: What does it take to be a superintendent in Texas?
May 10, 2022
Fort Worth Report
Fort Worth ISD board members are trying to figure out who their next superintendent
should be. Jo Beth Jimerson is a professor at Texas Christian University’s College of Education, where she studies
school leadership. “The superintendent position isn’t one where people tend to stay
a long time, but it’s really important to find somebody who can stay for several years
because … it takes three to five years for substantive change,” Jimerson said.
Addressing mental health needs among college students
May 10, 2022
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The COVID-19 pandemic caused mental health needs to rise for many, including college
students. TCU’s Counseling & Mental Health Center uses a collaborative approach to
improving the access to therapy options for students. Eric Wood, director of the university’s center, said, “Many students have written letters about
how much the equine-therapy program helped them. One student told the university that
during the height of COVID-19 she was afraid to leave her house. The therapy helped
her anxiety.”
Who is TPG, the private equity firm based in Fort Worth and San Francisco?
May 9, 2022
Fort Worth Report
TPG Inc. reported its first-quarter results about three months after the Fort Worth-
and San Francisco-based private equity firm went public. “That is kind of the blueprint
of how private equity firms typically make money by helping companies become more
efficient,” said Thomas Allison, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the TCU Neeley School of Business.
STUDENTS
IDEA Public Schools rides pickleball craze with $60,000 fundraiser
May 10, 2022
Fort Worth Report
TCU senior Mark Polowczak ranks 106th in the World Pickleball Rankings. Polowczak and his teammate won the first
round of the first annual Sink-a-Dink pickleball tournament hosted by IDEA Public
Schools – where they raised more than $60,000. “The first tournament I played and
the first match I ever played in singles was against, I believe, the No. 3 guy in
the world. And I held my ground. So, I was like, I can do this,” Polowczak said.
KMFA-FM (Austin, TX)
May 10, 2022
KMFA-FM (Austin, TX)
21st-century world premiere American composer Harrison J. Collins is a student at TCU. His music is already being published and played across the country. One of his pieces
was written in 2018 about experience and struggle – the beginning of spring. “I wrote this as a meditation on feelings that my peers and I experienced as young
Americans in this tense and divisive world,” he said.
ALUMNI
Fort Worth video production company owner Red Sanders leads creative industry charge
May 12, 2022
Fort Worth Report
Right before graduating college, Red Sanders ’04 was faced with a choice: Move to Los Angeles or New York to pursue the film and video
production industry, or stay in Fort Worth and North Texas where he was raised. He
picked Fort Worth — but didn’t abandon his dreams. When he first started his film
production company, Red Productions, people were skeptical. “I felt like half my job
the first year there, with the first three people on staff, it was like just convincing
their parents like, no, this is a real business,” Sanders said. Now, Sanders is a
leader in Fort Worth’s creative scene.
Dallas Morning News parent company elevates Grant Moise to CEO, Katy Murray to president
May 12, 2022
The Dallas Morning News
Grant S. Moise MBA ’04, president and publisher of the Dallas Morning News, is being promoted to the chief executive officer of its parent corporation – making
him the first non-founding family member in nearly a century to lead the company.
“I plan to spend more of my days with the company’s board of directors to continue
evolving the digital-first strategy. Great companies have very close alignment between
the CEO and the board,” Moise said.
Robert Chesney appointed dean of the school of law
May 10, 2022
utexas.edu
The University of Texas at Austin selected Robert (Bobby) Chesney ’94 to serve as the next dean of the School of Law. Chesney earned a B.S. in political
science and psychology from Texas Christian University before earning a J.D. from
Harvard Law School. “I am humbled and honored to lead the School of Law, especially
now, as our university embarks on a bold strategic plan to become the world’s highest-impact
public research university,” Chesney said.
Former ballerina wants to make inclusive changes as new artistic director of American
Ballet Theatre
May 10, 2022
Independent Journal Review
The American Ballet Theatre picked a new artistic director after 30 years – Susan Jaffe. She received an honorary doctorate at Texas Christian University in 2010. “I’m going
to preserve the beauty and the depth of classical ballet, but with an eye toward where
we are today in the ballet world,” Jaffe says.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS: Hector A. Ramirez
May 10, 2022
ARTILLERY
Focused on Mexican-American culture, the work of Hector Ramirez ’20 is often drawn from memories of his childhood and family life in El Paso, Texas.
One of his MFA committee members at TCU was thoroughly bewildered when she first saw
his work Carpet Shoes. It was a worn pair of men’s brown leather shoes with rectangles of yellowish carpet
glued to their soles such that their footprints would be made by the carpet’s fibers.