From Broadway to the tennis courts and from energy to exercise, TCU’s faculty, alumni and students are in the news.
FACULTY
US election stumbles into new territory after Trump verdict
May 31, 2024
AFP News
Torn apart and rewired by former President Donald Trump’s historic criminal conviction,
the 2024 presidential campaign moves into uncharted territory with all eyes on how
the two main protagonists navigate the dangers. Robert F. Kennedy, who is running
as an independent in the presidential race, predicted on X that the New York trial
would “backfire.” But Keith Gaddie, a political analyst and professor, said the political impact of the shocking events
has yet to be determined. “It probably doesn’t move a lot of votes, but in particular
states with particular swing votes, it could matter around the margins. So, in particularly
tight races, it can tip things back from one direction to the other,” he said.
Not a gym rat? Here’s how to get started on an outdoor exercise routine
May 29, 2024
Star Tribune
The health benefits of spending time in nature have long been established, and exercise
in general, of course, improves physical and mental well-being. Combine the two and
you double down on what adults need to stay healthy, said Debbie Rhea, professor in kinesiology. “We’ve got to get outside. We’ve got to be active,’’ Rhea
said. ‘‘If we’re going to live long lives, this is what it’s about.”
Best Credit Card Deals
May 29, 2024
WalletHub
According to Lance A. Bettencourt, professor of professional practice in marketing and academic director of the BNSF
Neeley Leadership Program at the TCU Neeley School of Business, credit card companies
are counting on loyalty from those who sign up based on a promotion. “Research is
clear that promotions like sign-up bonuses are very effective, yet often unprofitable
to the company offering the promotion,” he said.
Fort Worth play honors lives lost two years after Uvalde school shooting
May 24, 2024
Lee News Central
Two years have passed since 21 souls were taken at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde,
Texas. People will commemorate the deadly mass shooting in different ways, but one
woman wrote a play to help remember the lives lost. Assistant Professor Ayvaunn Penn said that after what took place in Uvalde, she couldn’t work on anything else until
she finished “For the Love of Uvalde.” It’s a collaboration between TCU, The Reducing
Gun Violence Action Team of Tarrant County and Stage West. “I was devastated when
I learned of the Robb Elementary School shooting,” she said. “My devastation cannot
compare to those who were directly impacted, but as a human being, I could not think
about anything else.”
Some People May Safely Extend Colonoscopy Screenings to Every 15 Years, Research Shows
May 20, 2024
Health
Most U.S. health experts recommend people get colonoscopies every 10 years. Researchers
in a new study suggest people with a negative colonoscopy and no family history of
colon cancer may be able to wait as long as 15 years between colonoscopies. This move
could even make colonoscopies more appealing to some people, since they’d have to
do them less frequently, added Dr. Rohan Jeyarajah, chair of surgery at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. It could also ease some
logistical issues. “[Longer intervals] would really have an impact on resources that
are available for colonoscopies,” he said. “At this point, we are struggling to get
people in for the 10-year colonoscopy mark based on physician availability. This is
especially true in rural communities where there is a lack of gastroenterologists
or surgeons who are able to perform screenings for colonoscopies.”
The COVID “FLiRT” Symptoms You Need to Know About
May 19, 2024
Good Housekeeping
As fun as the name sounds, FLiRT is not the official designation for the dominant
COVID-19 variant. That is actually a cheeky nickname for a whole family of different
variants (any that start with KP or JN). “The FLiRT variants came to the forefront
at the end of April,” said Dr. Nikhil K. Bhayani, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the Burnett School of
Medicine. “One variant in particular has risen to prominence: KP.2.” Bhayani said
that it’s “too early to tell how contagious this variant is” but that we “might see
an increase in COVID-19 cases this summer due to the fact that this is a new variant
that few people have been exposed to.”
Two arch-conservative billionaires loom large in North Texas House runoffs. Why?
May 17, 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Two Texas billionaires are looming large in North Texas elections, even if you aren’t
seeing them. Over the past decade the two billionaires have helped push Texas to the
right by backing lawmakers who have advocated bills on guns, transgender issues and
school vouchers. Their influence can be both overstated and understated, said Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor. “There are a whole bunch of dynamics working together
in Republican Party politics in Texas...,” Riddlesperger said. “But there are many
other factors as well.”
European Leaders Tell Texas Students Oil + Gas Demand Remains Strong
May 17, 2024
POWER Magazine
Students from the Neeley School of Business met with influential leaders throughout Europe as part of
their course, The Geopolitics of Energy. The students and instructors from the Ralph
Lowe Energy Institute held discussions with the International Energy Agency in Paris,
the Energy Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels and with Liquid Natural
Gas group of Shell Global in London. The students were accompanied by Ann Bluntzer, executive director of the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute, and Tom Seng, assistant professor of professional practice. “The idea is to expose our students
to energy use in other countries,” Seng said. “That includes the energy mix, energy
policy, energy goals and their plans for emissions reductions. The EU has a net zero
by 2050 plan. The question remains as to whether they can achieve that. The Russian
invasion of Ukraine and some record hot summers have put that goal in jeopardy.”
STUDENTS
First Black female drover with the Fort Worth Herd talks history of storied program
May 20, 2024
KENS-TV (San Antonio, TX)
A twice-daily cattle drive through the Stockyards is how they commemorate Fort Worth’s
authentic history. Now, one woman’s name will forever be etched in “The Herd” history
books. Quinceola Reid, TCU student and military vet, made the trade from combat to cowboy boots. “It feels
really big,” Reid said. In The Herd’s 25-year history, she became the first Black
female drover in 2021. “I didn’t know when I first got the job,” she said. “I was
just excited to be paid to ride horses versus paying an arm and a leg.”
TCU students work with Fort Worth Zoo to enrich animal habitats May 14, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
Class projects from the Zoo Enrichment class weren’t just an exercise to get a grade.
They were tested in the real world to see if they made the grade. “To create an enrichment
structure that helps to mimic behavior that would be seen in the wild,” TCU Zoo Enrichment
student Abi Welch said, explaining the class assignment. Welch was part of the first student team from
TCU to design an enrichment activity structure for elephants. “It’s amazing! It’s
honestly one of the most incredible feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Welch said.
ALUMNI
Barbershop therapy: providing a safe space for men of color to talk about their problems
May 30, 2024
ABC News
Talking about mental health often isn’t easy, particularly for men, who often fight
gender stereotypes that make them hesitant to share their feelings. It’s especially
true for men of color. Now, local barbers in Texas and Louisiana have created a safe
space for men to come together and have open dialogues about their mental health –
in barbershops, a place where conversation is already part of the culture. It all
began three years ago for Dr. Antonio Igbokidi M.D. ’24. In July 2020, he initiated his barbershop talk therapy project in Fort Worth. “This
is an opportunity to, one, feel safe to talk about the things we want to talk about,”
Igbokidi told ABC News. “And two, figure out what can we do about the things that
we feel. We talk about a lot of things that people have questions on. Adverse childhood
experiences. Maladaptive coping skills. We talk about actually knowing where to go
when you have a crisis and finding people that look like you that you can go to.”
These Texas natives are ready to swing into action in ‘Hamilton’ tour
May 18, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
Why play one role in Hamilton when you can play many? As a standby, swing and dance
captain, that’s the extraordinary job John Devereaux ’12 has in the national touring production of the Tony Award-winning blockbuster. A bonus
for the Texas native is playing these roles for a hometown crowd. The show is playing
at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas before it moves to Bass Performance Hall in
Fort Worth. A friend urged him to audition for a show at TCU and that changed his
career trajectory. “For TCU, it was a place where I gained my confidence. I feel like
I had gifts that weren’t tapped into as much, but I guess TCU pulled it out of me
and they gave me confidence and nurtured those gifts. It was kind of like an incubator
for those four years,” Devereaux said.
ATHLETICS
TCU men’s tennis takes down Texas for program’s first NCAA championship
May 19, 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
For the first time in program history, TCU Men’s Tennis is the NCAA national champions. The Horned Frogs defeated Texas 4-3 to capture the
title. With TCU trailing 3-2, Jack Pinnington came clutch with a singles win. After dropping the first set, Pinnington stormed
back to win the next two. TCU’s Sebastian Gorzny sealed the title with a singles win. The Horned Frogs captured two Intercollegiate
Tennis Association Indoor National Championships in 2022 and 2023 but had never been
crowned NCAA champions before this year.