From a top researcher to watch in North Texas to a unique partnership between TCU Neeley and athletics, TCU and its faculty and alumni are being featured in the news.
INSTITUTIONAL
Ed Schollmaier, longtime TCU donor, philanthropist, dies at 87
Sept. 15, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
One of TCU’s most well-known supporters and a longtime philanthropic leader in Fort Worth has
passed away. Ed Schollmaier died early Sept. 16. He was 87. “On behalf of the Horned Frog family, we are profoundly
saddened by the passing of our mentor and friend, Ed Schollmaier,” Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. said in a statement.
TCU athletics, business school partner to enhance NIL program
Sept. 15, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU continues to position itself for success in the NIL era. The latest development from
the athletics department is forming a partnership with TCU’s Neeley School of Business. That partnership will be formally announced at an NIL open house event with local
business leaders and TCU coaches including Gary Patterson and Jamie Dixon.
Fort Worth Zoo to release Texas horned lizards into wild
Sept. 15, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Since the Fort Worth Zoo first started breeding Texas horned lizards — also known
as horned frogs — in 2001, the ectotherms, or cold-blooded animals, team has worked
to address the species’ declining numbers. The Fort Worth Zoo teams with the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department and TCU, whose mascot is the horned frog, to work on reintroduction methodologies.
9/11 tribute highlights Cal pregame
Sept. 11, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU had a number of 9/11 tributes during its football game Saturday, highlighted by a
pregame military flyover. Fans attending the game saw a CV-22 Osprey out of Kirtland
Air Force Base in New Mexico fly over Amon G. Carter Stadium. Along with the military
flyover, TCU painted the 20-yard lines and midfield with red, white and blue. Frog
players also wore a 9/11 decal on the back of their helmets.
FACULTY
Researchers to Watch: Meet the Top Innovators Inside North Texas’ University Halls
Sept. 17, 2021
NTXInno
Often, many university researchers’ headlines don’t make it in the publications that
are read far and wide. Nonetheless, their ideas and technology form the basis of new
companies and inspire the work of others. Dr. Sai Chavala professor of surgery at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, has developed a method that essentially reprograms skin cells into retinal cells. The
company expects full FDA approval within the next two to three years.
Dallas police evidence loss could have been easily avoided, experts say
Sept. 16, 2021
The Dallas Morning News
While local and federal authorities investigate the loss of at least 22.5 terabytes
worth of data, mostly Dallas police investigative files, the inquiries seek to answer
two basic questions: How was it possible for one employee to cause the massive loss,
and what could be done to prevent something similar from happening? Storing large
amounts of evidence, files and police body camera footage on antiquated, physical
hard drives has been outpaced by the volume of digital evidence, said Johnny Nhan, criminal justice professor. “Any type of crime scene requires some sort of data
storage, so that’s becoming more and more important,” he said. “As there’s more computing
requirements, storage is going to be an issue, just preserving digital data is going
to be an issue moving forward.”
What’s redistricting, and why does it matter? Texas will soon craft legislative maps
Sept. 16, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Every 10 years after the new census count is complete, lawmakers draw the state’s
political boundaries, a process known as redistricting. Redistricting creates the
legislative boundaries in which you and your neighbors vote and ultimately factors
into who represents you in government. “Obviously you can greatly advantage one political
party over another,” said political science professor Jim Riddlesperger. “You can protect incumbents so they won’t be defeated, or you can make incumbents
you don’t like vulnerable to being defeated. And so, all of that will be going into
play when the legislature meets.”
Devin Nunes' defamation suit against journalist gets revived over a tweet
Sept. 16, 2021
Vanity Fair
Legal experts were baffled by an unusual court decision tied to Ryan Lizza tweeting
his 2018 Esquire article on the Republican lawmaker. “What was originally not actual malice now all
of a sudden is, at least plausibly enough for a lawsuit to advance to further costly
litigation. All over a tweet that changed nothing about the original story,” journalism
professor Chip Stewart told Politico.
Who is the TCU Endowed Chair for Early Childhood Education?
Sept. 15, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Texas Christian University is expanding its influence in the field of early childhood
education with a new endowed chair funded with a gift from the Bezos Family Foundation.
The inaugural chair will be Jan Lacina, a professor who focuses on early childhood literacy and associate dean of graduate
studies at the TCU College of Education.
Researchers say some people have developed ‘superhuman immunity’ against COVID-19
Sept. 14, 2021
KTVT-TV
Studies show both hybrid immunity and superhuman immunity are ways in which our bodies
may have extra fighting power against COVID-19. Hybrid immunity is when someone has
had COVID-19 and the vaccine. It provides people with antibodies from both. Superhuman
immunity starts off the same way, but that some people with particular genetics can
develop even more immunity. “It’s a descriptive term for an individual to generate
very high amounts of neutralizing antibodies,” said Dr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy, chair of internal medicine at the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine.
Explainer: Here’s what we know and don’t know about ivermectin, the deworming drug
some people are taking for COVID-19.
Sept. 13, 2021
Fort Worth Report
Regulatory bodies like the FDA are warning people not to take ivermectin to treat
or prevent COVID-19. “That basis in evidence has to be very high before large regulatory
or advisory agencies are going to stand behind it,” said Dr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy, a physician, professor and the department chair of internal medicine at the TCU
and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Because when these agencies stand behind something,
it then gives treating clinicians in any community significant guiding reassurance
to say, ‘We can do this, and we can do this safely.’”
TCU names Nac native Bezos Professor
Sept. 13, 2021
Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel
Jan Lacina, a 1989 Nacogdoches High School graduate, was recently named the inaugural holder
of the Bezos Family Foundation for Early Childhood Education at Texas Christian University.
Lacina began her career as an early childhood teacher in Texas. Her teaching and research
focus on literacy leadership, preparing globally minded literacy teachers and ways
to use children’s literature in reading/writing instruction.
September 11th – 20 Years Later
Sept. 10, 2021
CBS Weekend Roundup
Immigration advocates and researches say post 9/11 immigration policies have criminalized
migrants, fueled anti-immigration rhetoric and spread irrational fears. “Based on
various reports from the FBI and other government agencies, there aren’t terrorists
at the borders, but rather, it’s migrants,” said Luis Romero, assistant professor of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies. “We’re kind of going
back to that 9/11 moment after a lot of the rhetoric was really pointing to the immigration
system as a failure and responsible for causing 9/11 – those policies being used to
justify and make things like detention and deportation a more common and a more used
form of deterrent to prevent migrants from wanting to even come to the U.S. and sort
of removing them from the country once they’re here.”
ALUMNI
'It just makes you who you are now: Fairchild Air Force Base holds 9/11 remembrance
Sept. 13, 2021
The Spokesman-Review
Twenty years ago, Jason Murley ’05 was not a lieutenant colonel stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. Then just a sophomore
and an ROTC cadet at TCU, Murley was walking through the student center when he saw
“hundreds of people” huddled around a small TV, he said. Murley can remember watching
the plane crash into the south tower of the original World Trade Center. Murley, commander
of the 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron, was the keynote speaker during a ceremony at
Fairchild’s fire department held in honor of those killed 20 years ago.
Longtime Organ Stop Pizza organist retiring after more than 40 years
Sept. 9, 2021
Arizona's Family
It's the end of a musical era for one longtime Valley musician whose talent and keyboard
touch have entertained thousands at an East Valley pizza shop for more than 40 years.
Sept. 10 will be the last official performance for Lew Williams ’75 at Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Arizona. During his time at TCU, he won several competitions
in organ playing, gave numerous recitals, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree
and Performer's Certificate.
ATHLETICS
TCU’s Ike Ukaegbu is a rising star in college athletics
Sept. 17, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The name Ike Ukaegbu may not register with even the most avid TCU fans. He spends his days mostly working
behind the scenes, overseeing the compliance department since May 2014. But Ukaegbu
has become one of the most influential people in TCU’s athletics department.
SEC schools promising players compensation to transfer
Sept. 16, 2021
The Athletic
TCU's Gary Patterson is encouraging local business leaders and Horned Frogs supporters to embrace college's
new name, image and likeness rules, saying the team is at risk of losing players to
SEC schools attempting to lure athletes with compensation. Speaking at an NIL event
put on by the school, Patterson said if TCU doesn't step up in that department, it'll
be left behind.
TCU football’s Gary Patterson sends NIL message to boosters
Sept. 16, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Coach Gary Patterson encouraged local business leaders and TCU supporters to embrace the NIL era in college
athletics. How TCU is helping student-athletes profit off NIL is what recruits are
asking about most these days. And it will surely impact the program’s ability to keep
current players from entering the ever-growing NCAA transfer portal.
Victor Payne, who paved the way for LT, among those in TCU’s 2021 Hall of Fame class
Sept. 14, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Victor Payne ’02 always looked at TCU’s wall celebrating its Hall of Famers during his playing days.
He’d walk by it every day in what was then called Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. “I saw those
pictures every day and got to know those names,” Payne said. “To know that my name
and my picture will hang on the wall amongst those greats is very humbling.” Payne
is one of the headliners in TCU’s 2021 Hall of Fame class being inducted later this
month.
TCU football RB Zach Evans named league’s player of the week
Sept. 13, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU running back Zach Evans earned Big 12 offensive player of the week honors on Monday. Evans rushed for 190
yards on 22 carries in helping TCU to a 34-32 victory over Cal on Saturday. Evans
had a breakout game, rushing for a career-best 190 yards on a career-high 22 carries.
His 51-yard touchdown near the end of the first half ranked among the most pivotal
plays of the game.
TCU’s Dixon on Big 12 expansion: Still best hoops in country
Sept. 11, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Big 12 will remain the best basketball league in the country with its latest additions.
At least that’s according to basketball coach Jamie Dixon. “Obviously the basketball additions are tremendous, and it solidifies us as a Power
Five conference,” Dixon said. “We’ll continue to keep Big 12 basketball as the best
in the country.”
TCU football’s Gary Patterson on Big 12 expansion benefits
Sept. 10, 2021
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Coach Gary Patterson elaborated on his thoughts about Big 12 expansion during his radio show, pointing
to several positives that will come from the league inviting Houston, Central Florida,
Cincinnati and BYU. The Big 12 formally announced invitations to the four schools
as the league pursued expansion with Oklahoma and Texas bolting for the SEC in the
summer of 2025, at the latest. “Those were the four schools that checked all the check
marks,” Patterson said on his radio show that airs on 92.1 Hank-FM. “For us, it helps.”
What It Means to Hustle
Sept. 8, 2021
Oklahoma City Thunder
When Kenrich Williams ’18 first joined the Thunder roster last summer, there wasn’t much time before training
camp began for the staff to uncover much about the 6-foot-6 wing. However, by the
end of the season, Williams had earned the reputation as the most respected guy in
the Thunder locker room. “I think building that reputation is just being yourself,”
Williams reflected during his end of season interview. It quickly became evident to
everyone in the organization how he earned the nickname Kenny Hustle – a moniker he
earned during his time in college at TCU for the energy and effort he displayed on
the court.