Horned Frogs in the News, Feb. 1-15, 2025

From tariffs to Super Bowl ads and from weight loss drugs to school vouchers, Horned Frogs are in the news. 

INSTITUTIONAL 

USA TODAY’s 37th Ad Meter Competition Opens 
Feb. 5, 2025 
Businesswire 
USA TODAY, part of Gannett Co., Inc., officially launched the 37th annual Ad Meter competition, the industry’s leading opinion tool for gauging public sentiment about Super Bowl commercials. Collegiate marketing and advertising students from Marist College, Tulane University, Michigan State University, Texas Tech University, Virginia Commonwealth University, TCU and more will participate and rate the national commercials on the Ad Meter platform, noting what resonated with them, what they liked and what commercials they believe missed the mark. These students will select their top five and bottom five commercials and these results will be published in an article with post-Super Bowl coverage. 

FACULTY 

Trump’s anti-media rhetoric turns to action 
Feb. 13, 2025 
NBCNews.com (with additional pickups in other outlets) 
Blocking reporters from covering news events at the Oval Office. Ousting journalists from their working spaces in the Pentagon. Investigating public media companies that are often the targets of conservative attacks. In the three weeks since he returned to the White House, President Donald Trump and his administration have moved beyond his usual anti-news media rhetoric to take a variety of actions that have limited some outlets’ access while hitting others with lawsuits and directives that critics say are naked attempts to bend news coverage to his will. “The idea of the FCC investigating a media outlet for its DEI programs is certainly in line with President Trump’s orders” cracking down on DEI within the federal government, said Daxton “Chip” Stewart, a journalism professor and assistant provost for research compliance at TCU. “I do think it’s extremely concerning. But Mr. Carr seems eager to launch investigations into any media that is not appropriately deferential to President Trump.” 

All-you-can’t-eat: GLP-1 drugs pose new challenges for restaurants, but how do they work? 
Feb. 13, 2025 
The Dallas Morning News 
A November 2024 survey looking at studies involving GLP-1 drugs for weight loss found up to 40% of the weight lost by people using the medications is actually muscle. This is why it’s important to take these medications under the supervision of a medical professional who can counsel you on a proper diet along with exercise, said Dr. Chris Bajaj, an endocrinologist and assistant professor at the Burnett School of Medicine. “[Losing] muscle mass is a huge problem for our patients and that is actually something that we talk about with everyone,” Bajaj said.  

School choice bill raises concerns for Keller families as Texas House set to review controversial bill 
Feb. 12, 2025 
CBSNews.com 
After the Texas Senate passed a bill last week allowing families to use taxpayer funds for private or home schools, some families are concerned about the impact on public education. The funding model for Texas public schools is based on attendance though, so if students choose to leave public school and use the Education Savings Account instead, that district will lose money. “We’re already relatively low in terms of the amount of money that we spend on public education in the state of Texas, and so you’re talking about schools that are already strapped for cash,” said Gabriel Huddleston, associate professor and director of the TCU Center for Public Education and Community Engagement.

Will Arlington ISD meet its 2025 STAAR goals? Here’s where student performance stands 
Feb. 11, 2025 
Fort Worth Report 
Arlington ISD students will need to turn around a broad decline in test scores to meet the district’s 2025 student performance goals. The district is on track to meet its non-test-oriented goals. It will likely meet its goal of 94% average daily attendance — 1 percentage point higher than 2023-24 school year’s number — and its goal of 90% of students receiving career readiness distinctions — a 3 percentage-point improvement from last year. Jo Beth Jimerson, professor, William L. and Betty F. Adams Chair of Education at TCU, called the district’s use of midyear curriculum assessments “extraordinarily healthy,” and said it allows officials to make needed adjustments in classrooms months before STAAR tests hit students’ desks. “The more data you can get, the better you can diagnose a problem,” said Jimerson, who specializes in educational data use. “It’s better to have multiple measures than just assume any one data point is telling you the whole story.” 

God Bless Retirement: A Family-Led Mission to Help Business Owners Transition with Dignity 
Feb 11, 2025 
The Business Press 
When the Chicotsky family launched God Bless Retirement in early 2024, their mission was clear: to assist business owners in navigating the often complex and precarious process of transitioning into retirement. Brandon Chicotsky, assistant professor of professional practice in marketing, serves as the managing principal of the newly founded brokerage, which has seen remarkable growth in just a few months. God Bless Retirement specializes in managing the buying or selling of businesses, emphasizing certified valuations, financing resources, and effective targeting of private and public marketplaces. The firm takes pride in being a family-led brokerage offering a personal touch. “We serve small business owners up to mid-market clients,” Chicotsky explained. “Our expertise in mergers and acquisitions allows us to bring sophisticated strategies to the lower market, where the mission of strengthening families and supporting dignified retirements is most important.” 

New aluminum tariffs could raise the price of a six-pack of beer 
Feb. 10, 2025 
Yahoo!News 
In response to President Donald Trump saying he plans to put a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products, Jacob Passey, director of brewing operation for Pinthouse Pizza, said Pinthouse is going to “weather the storm until we can’t weather it anymore.” Pinthouse Pizza, an Austin company, says 30% of their operations are focused on putting their house-made beer into aluminum cans for retail sale. Their primary provider for the aluminum used in the cans comes from China. Passey said production cost could go up a dollar or two for a four-pack, should those tariffs go into place. “The idea is that protecting our domestic producers of steel and aluminum is essential to domestic security,” Travis Tokar, professor of supply chain management, said. Tokar believes Trump may have motives behind the tariffs he’s not sharing with the public. “That could be a part of his strategy, you don’t want to just lay your cards all on the table,” Tokar says. “As a consumer who’s seen tremendous inflation thanks to the last administration…if there are reasons, if there is something bigger, it’d be nice to know that.” 

Super Bowl commercial wins and losses of 2025 
Feb. 10, 2025 
NBCDFW.com 
Advertisers spend big on the Super Bowl hoping to convince viewers we can’t live without their brand or product. Duke Greenhill, an instructor from the Bob Schieffer College of Communications at TCU, studied the ads and talked with NBC5’s Deborah Ferguson ’87 about the hits and misses. “The moment where brand can pay the cost of entry, which this year was about $8 million, to become part of the zeitgeist… it’s not about revenue or sales or features, it’s about becoming part of the market,” Greenhill says. Speaking about his three top choices, Greenhill says. “We can’t have that conversation without talking about Hellman’s. It spoke, of course, to the boomers and my generation referencing a classic cultural icon.” Greenhill’s second and third favorites were the “No Reason to Hate” ad, and the Google Pixel “Dream Job” spot. 

How Will Trump’s Tariffs Affect Homebuyers? 
Feb. 9, 2025 
U.S. News & World Report 
A 10% tariff on Chinese goods took effect a day after President Donald Trump agreed to pause threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada for 30 days. Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, which includes materials from Canada and Mexico. The back-and-forth about U.S. tariffs and potential reciprocal action has sparked uncertainty about the financial impacts of a global trade war. A lot of wood for homes comes from Canada. “While the U.S. has increased its production of lumber over the past years, we still rely on Canadian lumber,” said Patricia Jordan, associate professor of professional practice in the information systems and supply chain management department at the TCU Neeley School of Business. “Approximately 30% of lumber is imported from Canada.” 

China targets U.S. coal, gas, Google as Trump tariffs take effect 
Feb. 4, 2025 
Texas Standard 
The Trump administration’s tariffs on China have taken effect, while tariffs on Canada and Mexico are currently on pause. What are the implications for Texas and beyond? “Hopefully, not with an impact that you or I as consumers will notice on a day-to-day basis. It sounds like they’re starting with some tariffs against coal, crude oil and some things along those lines that are more symbolic than intended to have a negative impact on the average American,” explains Travis Tokar, professor of supply chain management at TCU. “Initially, it’s a wait and see for us.” 

What do Trump’s military decrees mean? 
Feb. 2, 2025 
ZDFHeute (German news broadcast) 
Trump’s military policy decrees are causing a stir: withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe, an Iron Dome for the USA, no transgender people in the military — what do his plans mean? Kara Dixon Vuic, Professor of War, Conflict and Society in 20th-Century America, makes it clear that the Trump administration has repeatedly made unfounded claims that transgender soldiers would jeopardize military readiness. This is not true. In an interview with ZDFheute, she stressed that the regulation banning transgender people from serving is in direct contradiction to the Pentagon’s long-standing policy. For decades, the U.S. military has relied on diversity to increase its operational readiness. Trump’s regulation could now jeopardize this proven strategy. Vuic recalls the decision of former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who announced the lifting of restrictions on transgender soldiers in 2016. Carter stated that in the future, qualifications alone should determine who can serve in the military and how.  

STUDENTS

Fort Worth stock show vendors forge relationships with customers through cowboy culture 
Feb. 6, 2025 
Fort Worth Report 
Walking into the massive Texas Room at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, the bustling sights and sounds that comprise Fort Worth’s cowboy culture can be overwhelming. The vendors are there, of course, to sell their goods. More than that, they want to connect with people who share the same affinity for the state of Texas and Western culture. Art student Caya Crum runs her family business Crum Art and has sold pieces at the stock show for more than five years. Everything in their store are original works made by the entire Crum family — Caya, her parents and her sister. “This is our favorite show we do,” Caya said. “Everybody is so happy to be here since it only happens once a year. It’s like another Christmas.” 

ALUMNI  

WSTC Announces New Executive Director 
Feb. 13, 2025 
The Business Press 
After a nationwide search, the Workforce Leadership Committee, with endorsement from the Workforce Development and Workforce Governing Board has selected Robert Sturns ’97, as the next executive director of Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County. “I look forward to joining the team at Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, and continue to serve a region that I already know and love through a new economic development lens,” said Sturns. “While Tarrant County’s growth over the past decade has been a key driver in bringing new economic investment to the area, a highly-skilled workforce is critical to maintaining that momentum, and I’m eager to work with partners and stakeholders across the region to build on that success.” 

Digital health startup aims to save medical providers time while bringing down cost of AI tech 
Feb. 11, 2025 
Startland News 
CarePilot is on a mission to bring AI and automation to smaller medical clinics that don’t always have access to cutting-edge technology, shared founder and CEO Joseph Tutera ’24. “If you were to ask the American Medical Association like, ‘Hey, what’s the No. 1 problem facing healthcare providers in the United States right now?’ one of the bigger reasons is the administrative burden,” Tutera explained, noting, “When a provider in the United States sees 20 patients, they have to create 20 patient charts for each of those visits.” CarePilot — started in 2023 while Tutera was a student at TCU — allows providers to spend less time focused on paperwork and more time focused on patients, he continued.

Day Trips: The East Rosedale Monument Project, Fort Worth 
Feb. 7, 2025 
The Austin Chronicle 
The East Rosedale Monument Project in near-south Fort Worth has turned an ordinary bus stop into a work of art and a lesson in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Artist Christopher Blay ’03 took the shell of a 1970s-era gray and white city bus with bold orange and red stripes and turned it into an all-weather shelter at a bus stop in the historically African American neighborhood east of I-35. It is both a joyous monument with silhouettes of children’s heads and arms in the windows, and a solemn reminder of civil rights struggles. Plaques inside the shelter give a brief history of these events plus reminders of civil rights demonstrations in Fort Worth. Included are biographies of Opal Lee, the retired teacher who is often described as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” and the Rev. James Reeb, who was beaten to death by white supremacists in Selma, Alabama.

PGA Tour Golfer Tom Hoge Pledges Donation to Cook Children’s for Every Birdie Made During the 2025 Season 
Feb. 6, 2025 
Cook Children’s Checkup Newsroom 
PGA Tour golfer Tom Hoge ’11, is raising funds for Cook Children’s, the pediatric health care system located in his hometown of Fort Worth. For every birdie Hoge makes during the 2025 PGA TOUR season, he will donate $50. For every eagle, he will donate $100. In 2024, Cook Children’s became an official partner of Hoge. Because both parties are located in Fort Worth and have a passion for excellence and giving back, it seemed a natural fit for a purpose-driven partnership. “Beginning the formal partnership with Cook Children’s last year was really exciting. We always wanted to work on a campaign to help drive donations to their important mission,” Hoge stated. “After sitting with the team, we created the Birdies for Basic Needs Campaign, where I’ll be supporting the case management department of Cook Children’s. I hope you’ll join me in participating in the campaign and following along this season. Together with Cook Children’s, we can give children and their families the support they need during hard times.”  

The Man Behind the Wheel  
Feb. 6, 2025 
The Forest Scout 
Almost every Lake Forest, Illinois, resident has driven by and been both startled and amazed at the sight of a pickup truck with dogs cruising in the back. Many know of the iconic Samoyed Show Dogs, but most don’t know of the man behind the wheel: Mark Litzsinger ’78. Early in his career, Litzsinger developed depression, leading to a lifetime of struggle with medicines and treatments, leading to Litzsinger penning a book about his experiences, which is now being turned into a movie. Litzsinger has recently been awarded Alumni of the Year for his fraternity and has just been put into his high school’s hall of fame. Litzsinger also has bigger dreams of building state-of-the-art mental hospitals in every state so everyone has access to the help they need.  

Award-winning journalist anchored in community 
Jan. 31, 2025 
Cross Timbers Gazette 
It’d be hard to blame Kris Gutierrez ’99 if he were distracted by the ever-present allure of the bright lights of national and local TV news. Being anointed “the guy” for media outlets such as Fox News and NBC 5 DFW can do that to anyone. The same can be said for winning numerous Emmy awards and achieving countless career-firsts most young news anchors could only dream of achieving. “I’m still the same kid — albeit with a few more gray hairs,” Gutierrez said. “They say you can tell what matters most to someone when you look at where they spend their time. This community has done so much for me, which is why my heart will always be here and why my wife and I are so grateful to raise our kids in southern Denton County.  

ATHLETICS 

After losing brother in Bourbon Street attack a month ago, wide receiver Jack Bech honors him at Senior Bowl 
Feb. 1, 2025 
CNN 
NFL draft prospect Jack Bech honored his late brother after winning Most Valuable Player at the Senior Bowl on Saturday. Bech, a wide receiver out of TCU, caught the game-winning touchdown to lead the American Team to a 22-19 win over the National Team in Mobile, Alabama, all while wearing his brother’s number. An emotional Bech was seen embracing teammates and coaches after the game and told the NFL Network broadcast that his brother’s “wings were on my side.” “All the big brother does in life is want to see his little brother succeed,” Bech said. “He’s been my role model my whole life. The person I looked up to. The person I wanted to be. He’s the best big brother I could ask for.” 

Jack Bech Senior Bowl MVP: How TCU WR honored brother Tiger, who was killed in New Orleans attack 
Feb. 1, 2025 
MSN.com 
The Senior Bowl gave NFL draft prospects a chance to raise their stock, but this week meant much more to one participant. TCU wide receiver Jack Bech participated in the 2025 game despite tragedy striking his family earlier this year. Tiger Bech, Jack’s brother and a former Princeton football standout, died on New Year’s Day in the attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. On the day, Bech totaled six catches for 68 yards and one touchdown, and he was named Senior Bowl MVP. Speaking with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero after the game, Bech explained that he believes his brother assisted on that touchdown. “My brother has some wings on me,” he said. “He gave it to me and he let that all take place.”