From cancer to brain worms and from campus to outer space, TCU faculty and alumni are in the news.
INSTITUTIONAL
University appoints Tom Wavering as chief university strategy and innovation officer
May 14, 2024
Ex Bulletin
TCU has announced that Thomas “Tom” Wavering will become the university’s first chief university strategy and innovation officer,
effective July 2024. Wavering will work collaboratively with TCU leadership to advance
the university’s mission and vision. He will provide strategic and operational guidance
as the university develops and executes its next strategic plan, with a focus on expanding
TCU’s culture of innovation and academic excellence. President Daniel W. Pullin said, “Tom is a builder, innovator and team player, and we are excited to welcome
him to TCU.”
15 Most Beautiful College Campuses in the U.S.
May 1, 2024
U.S. News & World Report
Campus beauty and design matter. One way some universities are able to stand out and
attract students is with the beauty of their campus. The aesthetics of a campus can
sway students in their college choice. TCU features a mix of historic and contemporary
buildings. One landmark is Frog Fountain, which consists of four flutes topped with
stylized lotus leaves – one for each class of students, with the shortest symbolizing
first-year students and the tallest representing seniors. The water flowing from flute
to flute represents the sharing of knowledge from class to class. TCU won a 2023 Professional
Grounds Management Society award and in 2024 was named a Tree Campus Higher Education
Institution by the Arbor Day Foundation for the eighth consecutive year, recognizing
commitment to caring for the university’s trees.
FACULTY
RFK Jr. Had a Dead Brain Worm. How Does a Parasite Get Into the Brain?
May 10, 2024
Verywell Health
A news report revealed that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he had a worm in his brain
that caused memory loss. Doctors say his description of the symptoms resembles neurocysticercosis,
a condition caused by a pork tapeworm. Dr. Claudia Perez, associate professor and neurology clerkship director at the Burnett School of Medicine
at TCU, said that the tapeworm itself doesn’t cause damage, but rather the brain’s
reaction to a cyst is what leads to symptoms. “What ends up happening is the silent
cysts that live in the brain are actually detected by your own body,” Perez said.
“Once your body detects that something’s there, it mounts an immune response. And
so what ends up causing the symptoms is the immune system trying to attack that cyst.”
Executive Podcast Club: DFW C-Suiters Reveal Their Top Listens
May 10, 2024
D Magazine
Leaders in North Texas were asked what podcast everyone should tune in to. Ranging
from societal and cultural topics, to industry-centric shows, as well as some comedic
relief, it’s a sense for how area executives stay up to date on current events or
unwind for a good laugh. Hettie Richardson, associate director of undergraduate programs in TCU Neeley, recommends the podcast
Women at Work by Harvard Business Review. “Everyone can learn from it. The information they present
is evidence-based and practical for almost anyone navigating a career and life.”
With Cameras Absent, US Tunes Out of Trump Trial Coverage
May 9, 2024
Barron’s
New York state rules prohibit cameras in the courtroom for the trial of former President
Donald Trump. With the absence of real-time theatrics, the American public has largely
checked out. Chip Stewart, media professor, said reports of Trump falling asleep in court provide an illuminating
example of how the lack of cameras has deprived the public of the full story. “Without
photo or video evidence, he was able to turn to his usual claim that reporters were
lying about it,” he said. “Imagine a front page or websites or the nightly news leading
with a photo of Trump sleeping during his own criminal trial.”
In good hands: The quality of nurse anesthesiology experience and education
May 8, 2024
Insight News
Did you know that Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, also known as nurse anesthesiologists
or nurse anesthetists, safely administer more than 50 million anesthetics to patients
each year in the U.S.? “When anesthesia is administered by a nurse anesthetist, the
care is recognized as the practice of nursing; when it is administered by a physician
anesthesiologist, it is recognized as the practice of medicine,” said American Association
of Nurse Anesthesiology President Dru Riddle, associate professor of professional practice and director of clinical education at
TCU. “Whether your anesthesia provider’s educational background is in nursing or in
medicine, patients can rest assured knowing that all anesthesia professionals give
anesthesia in the same exact way.”
A New Drug Is Helping Cervical Cancer Patients Live Longer
May 8, 2024
Yahoo
After receiving accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration in 2021,
Tivdak received traditional approval. The drug is for those with recurrent or metastatic
cervical cancer who are on or who have received chemotherapy, a group of patients
that, according to experts, has had less-than-ideal treatment options previously.
Side effects are something that medical practitioners have to keep in mind when they
decide to prescribe this course of treatment, particularly eye damage, Dr. Noelle Cloven, associate professor at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, told Verywell. “Patients
who are on this treatment have to use eyedrops to protect from getting dry eyes, eye
irritation events and vision disturbances,” she said. “These side effects are reversible
with different things like holding the drug or reducing the dose.”
FWISD students see academic growth, but remain behind national averages, below grade
level
May 7, 2024
KERA News (Dallas, TX)
Fort Worth ISD leaders presented an encouraging trend to the school board and city
council: Students in kindergarten through eighth grade showed academic growth on a
midyear test. The data, they said, also shows Fort Worth ISD students are behind national
averages — and likely won’t catch up. TCU Education professor Jo Beth Jimerson said that while Fort Worth ISD students do fall behind national average, there’s
still hope and potential for improvement in the data. Teachers can, and should, use
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores to influence the rate of student achievement
and make changes to classroom instruction on a student-by-student or classwide basis.
“MAP can be likened to a coach on the sideline during a game, providing real-time
insights that need adjustments, while the STAAR is more like the box score after the
game, showing the results,” Jimerson said. Teachers use the data to know what they
need to adjust from one semester to the next, she said.
Opinion: After ’68 protests, Richard Nixon won calling for ‘law and order.’ Will Donald Trump?
May 3, 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
America in 1968 was more turbulent than in 2024. Assassinations roiled the world,
including those of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Students
marched against a Vietnam War that was killing 50 Americans every day, and for long-overdue
civil rights, equality and justice. Jim Riddlesperger, TCU political science professor, pointed to one obvious difference with 2024: Campus
protests have spread fast, but, if the protests slow down, they’ll be forgotten. Also,
both President Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump take Israel’s side. Another TCU
political scientist, Manochehr Dorraj, said the parallel to 1968 is “on target with two major caveats.” First, a quick
ceasefire would mean the war fades as an issue. If there isn’t a quick ceasefire,
Dorraj wrote, young people and American Muslims might stay home “thinking that this
year they have no candidate worth voting for.”
ALUMNI
Man, 21, youngest ever to earn TCU doctorate
May 11, 2024
CBS News
At TCU graduation, history was made. Carson Huey-You became the university’s youngest Ph.D. He is just 21 years old. Breaking records
is nothing new, because he was also TCU’s youngest ever undergrad, enrolling in their
physics program at only 10 years old. He went on to get his master’s degree in 2019
and now has his doctorate. Huey-You is planning to work in the theoretical quantum
physics industry.
TCU student to make graduation history … again, and again
May 10, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
A TCU student is making graduation history for the third time. Carson Huey-You received his doctorate diploma in physics May 11, and at 21 will become the youngest
Ph.D. in TCU history. It was 2013 when physics professor Magnus Rittby met the 10-year-old
aspiring physics student. “He was 10, and he came into my office with his younger
brother and mother,” said Rittby, who quickly realized Carson could handle a college
workload and had a maturity about him. Rittby had to convince TCU leadership. “The
condition became, after some negotiation, that his mother had to be with him all the
time.” With Claretta Kemp as her son’s constant companion, Carson started his freshman
year in 2013 at 11. And three years later, got a bachelor’s degree in physics, the
university’s youngest undergrad ever. In 2019, there was another historic graduation
when he got his master’s degree. “It’ll be the end of a chapter and the beginning
of a chapter all at the same time. It’s been a very long process,” Huey-You said.
“But I’m glad it’s done.”
TCU student to become youngest doctorate recipient in university history
May 10, 2024
KDFW-TV (Dallas, TX)
A student is about to make history as the youngest recipient of a doctoral degree
in school history. Carson Huey-You, 21, started going to school at TCU when he was just 11. At 14, he became the youngest
TCU student to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics. Two years later, he walked the
stage after earning his master’s degree. He accepted his doctorate in physics at a
ceremony May 11. Huey-You works in theoretical quantum physics and says he’s taking
a quick rest before jumping back into his research.
TCU Burnett School of Medicine grad is first physician in family
May 9, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
When Rebecca Sobolewski was growing up in a Chicago suburb, her mom gave her two career choices. “We didn’t
grow up in the best neighborhood, didn’t have a lot,” Sobolewski said. “My Mommy looked
at me and my sister and said I need a nice car and a nice house one day, so one of
you is going to be a doctor and one of you is going to be a lawyer.” Sobolewski’s
older sister became a lawyer, now she is a doctor. “It’s so exciting and a little
bit nerve-wracking being the first physician in my family,” Sobolewski said. She earned
her medical degree from the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU May 11. There are few
professions where someone’s life is in your hands, so medical school comes with a
certain amount of pressure. “Especially when you’re one of the only ones, right,”
Sobolewski pointed out. “So being the only Black woman in my class, there was a lot
of pressure to pass all the exams and do well.”
Polaris Dawn crew talks to TODAY ahead of spacewalk
May 6, 2024
TODAY
Polaris Dawn crew members joined the TODAY show to share details about their upcoming
historic mission as they get ready to attempt the first spacewalk by commercial astronauts.
The five-day private mission is set to launch in early summer on SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule
where they’ll also be testing out brand-new spacesuits. In addition to her work, Anna Menon ’08 will be reading a children’s book she co-wrote to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital. Kisses from Space is the story of a mama dragon coming home from an out-of-this-world adventure and,
snuggling her baby dragons close, she tells them of her journey and how she thought
of them the entire time. “It is the story of how love can overcome any distance. And
I will be reading this book, live from space, to my kids back here on earth, as well
as … the brave patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Menon said.