Rachel Anne Hopper, associate director of residence life, and Johnny Nhan, associate dean of graduate studies and professor of criminal justice, were chosen as finalists for the Michael R. Ferrari Award for Distinguished University Service. The two will be honored at a luncheon and the winner formally announced by Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. at the Welcome Home Celebration Aug. 23.
The Ferrari Award was established by the TCU Board of Trustees to honor the former chancellor and recognize the extraordinary situational leadership accomplishments above job or position expectations of a faculty or staff member.
“It is an honor, but it makes me remember all of the people I have worked with in my time at TCU,” said Peter Worthing, professor of history and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts, upon winning the award last year. “The Ferrari Award recognizes an individual, but the reality is that we rarely if ever accomplish things without collaborating with others. I have had the good fortune to work with many people on a number of projects that hopefully contributed to moving TCU forward.”
Worthing is followed this year by two nominees who have undoubtedly also contributed to moving TCU forward.
The nomination of Hopper centered largely around her work in TCU’s massive efforts amidst the coronavirus.
“Rachel Anne has been indispensable in TCU's response to COVID-19,” reads a quote from one of her nomination forms. “She has developed plans for the care of sick students in campus housing. She has also designed the logistics for our campus vaccination partnership with [Baylor Scott White], based on the drive-through move-in process she helped create for students at the beginning of Fall 2020. COVID-19 has required many new initiatives and problem solving for TCU. Rachel has been at the forefront of managing some of our most critical projects and transforms the quality of our response to COVID-19.”
And, as another nominator commented, she did it all “with a smile on her face.”
Nhan was nominated for his contributions in multiple areas of the criminal justice department.
“Johnny co-created the non-profit Operation Progress with the current chief of Fort Worth Police Department,” wrote one of his nominators. “This non-profit empowers underserved youth to become educated, ethical and productive adults. TCU has partnered with this non-profit to provide scholarships to some of these youth. He created the online graduate criminal justice program, which is currently ranked sixth in the country. Additionally, he created the LEAD [Leadership, Executive and Administrative Development] certification in the criminal justice graduate program, which teaches leadership to top law enforcement officials of North Texas.”
A program, he adds, that has produced three of the area’s chiefs of police.
For more on the Ferrari Award, visit the chancellor’s webpage.