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From a mural in New York City to releasing horned frogs into the wild, TCU and its faculty, alumni and students are in the news.

INSTITUTIONAL

Team from San Antonio Zoo gathers at Hill Country ranch to rebuild ‘horny toad’ population
Oct. 4, 2022
Texas Standard 
Texas Christian University celebrates the “horned frog” as its mascot. A team from the San Antonio Zoo is working to ensure they never become extinct. For the last five years, the zoo has hatched baby horned lizards. When they’re a month or two old, the team releases them on select Hill Country ranches. During the release, they found Texas-horned lizard scat. It signified that horned lizards from previous releases have survived and still live here. While true success is measured over a much longer time, it was a sign of progress. “We send that off to a collaborator, our esteemed Dr. Dean Williams at Texas Christian University,” Andy Gluesenkamp, director of conservation at the Center for Conservation and Research at San Antonio Zoo added, “and he runs a horn lizard genetics lab. And they already have genotyped all of our individual lizards. … So, they literally will be able to tell which horned lizard, released which day, produced this scat.”

Young Texas horned lizards released to the wild in ongoing study 
Sept. 29, 2022 
KVEO-TV (Brownsville, TX) 
A group of Texas horned lizards hatched in a South Texas zoo this summer was released this week into the wild. The Center for Conservation and Research at San Antonio Zoo on Wednesday set free 50 of the zoo-hatched reptiles, known in parts of Texas as “horny toads.” The center has monitored for lizards from previous releases and found signs in two different areas of releases that happened in 2020 and 2021, zoo officials said. The scat was sent to Texas Christian University for genetic analysis. Analysis of scat provides further clues about the lizard’s life after its release from the zoo. 

MURAL CAMPAIGN

TCU Murals
Oct. 6, 2022
CBS-11
Texas Christian University graduates are getting some special recognition across the country as part of a lead-up to TCU’s 150th anniversary next year. The school is highlighting some notable Horned Frogs with a series of murals hand-painted in cities across America. The first mural was unveiled in New York City today and spotlights TCU alumnus John Devereaux, who is currently touring with the musical Hamilton. He credits his experiences and the people at TCU for prompting him to pursue his career in performing arts.

TCU Mural Campaign Spotlights Successful Graduates
Oct. 6, 2022
Fox-4
Murals celebrating TCU’s success stories are being unveiled across the country. The first one is in New York City, and it features Broadway actor John Devereaux. The 2012 Horned Frog graduate is currently touring with Hamilton. The hand-painted murals are part of a campaign leading up to TCU's 150th anniversary.

Murals Celebrate TCU’s 150th Anniversary
Oct. 6, 2022
WFAA
TCU is celebrating its landmark birthday in 2023. As part of the lead-up to TCU’s 150th anniversary, the school is highlighting notable Horned Frog leaders who found their inspiration at TCU with a series of murals, hand-painted in cities across America. The first one was unveiled in New York City. John Devereaux, a TCU alumnus, is currently touring with the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton. The university plans to unveil more murals next year.

TCU Painting U.S. Cities With Leading Alums in Honor of 150th Birthday
Oct. 6, 2022
Fort Worth, Texas Magazine 
TCU is sending out invitations of sorts to the world to join in celebrating its landmark birthday in 2023. Rather than stock, the university is using paint. As part of the lead-up to TCU’s 150th anniversary, the school is highlighting notable Horned Frog leaders who found their inspiration at TCU with a series of murals, hand painted in cities across America. The first mural in the series was unveiled in New York City this week and features alumnus John Devereaux ’12, currently touring with Hamilton. “John is amazing, and he represents what we believe is the power of all Horned Frogs: We find our passion and pursue it,” said TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. “In corporations, in classrooms, in operating rooms, and even on stages, you’ll find Horned Frogs leading on.” Devereaux said, “I am so grateful to everyone at TCU for nurturing and expanding my gifts.”

Nationwide murals celebrate TCU success stories in honor of 150th
Oct. 4, 2022
Fort Worth Report 
As part of the lead-up to Texas Christian University’s 150th anniversary in 2023, TCU is highlighting notable Horned Frog leaders who found their inspiration at TCU with a series of murals, hand-painted in cities across America. The larger-than-life artistic portraits will appear in select U.S. cities to recognize outstanding individuals who represent the power of TCU’s alumni leading on in extraordinary ways in their chosen fields. The first mural in the series was unveiled in New York City today and spotlights alumnus John Devereaux ’12, currently touring with Hamilton.

FACULTY & STAFF

‘Home away from home’: TCU Intercultural Center offers space for students of all backgrounds
Oct. 10, 2022 
Fort Worth Report 
The vocals of the legendary Mexican musician Vicente Fernandez rang off the walls of the TCU Intercultural Center. Students and administrators prepared for Loteria day, a Mexican bingo-type game. “I grew up playing it, so I kind of want to pass it on to my students, whether they do know about it or they don’t know,” said Paloma Bermudez, student identity and engagement coordinator. “It is very important to teach and educate other students about other cultures and traditions.” The Intercultural Center opened in 2021 in the Brown-Lupton University Union.

Mental health crisis hits young Black, Latino people harder. What’s the solution?
Oct. 9, 2022
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Eric Wood, director of counseling and mental health, said the 2019-2020 school year saw a 45% increase in counseling usage from students. Use increased another 48% the following year. Many students, especially first-generation students and students of color, get access to these services for the first time in their lives when they are in college, he said. Becky Taylor, counseling professor, said, “We all know food and clothing are priorities, but mental health needs to be up there too.” Initiatives can be limited without an intentional and sustainable plan to maintain and expand resources, Taylor said.

Veasey, Granger seek re-election to represent North Texas in 'incumbent-friendly' districts
Oct. 6, 2022 
Fort Worth Report 
Two longtime fixtures of Tarrant County politics are seeking re-election to the U.S. House on Nov. 8: U.S. Democrat Rep. Marc Veasey and Republican Rep. Kay Granger. They face challenges, but experts say both are in comfortable positions for re-election thanks to their locations in noncompetitive, incumbent-friendly districts. James Riddlesperger, political science professor, said earlier this year that Granger is the ‘Dwight Eisenhower of Fort Worth.’ “She has a popularity that transcends political party in a time when that is a really unique characteristic. While Granger has been a very loyal Republican in her time in Washington, there are a lot of people in Fort Worth who remember when she was just a problem-solver and not a ‘Republican’ problem-solver,” Riddlesperger said.

Alternatives To Capitalism
Oct. 6, 2022
Planet: Critical
John Harvey, professor of economics, discusses the origins of capitalism and the history behind it. “Economics is dead,” Harvey said. “We’ve got income distribution problems; we have climate problems that are existential and so on. Economics is kind of giving up on looking at those.”

Bass and Belle Wild West Fest kicks off Oct. 6 
Oct. 6, 2022
The Bass and Belle Wild West Fest will feature Western genre short and full-length movies, documentaries, live music and workshops on writing, acting and independent movie production. The event will also have a wild west novelist as a guest, whose awards read like a “who’s who of literature.” Sydney Thompson, an instructor at Texas Christian University, will be a featured guest at this first-time film festival event.

Why are women running together for Tarrant County judge seats? They hope to be first Black female or Democrats to hold office since the '90s
Oct. 5, 2022
Fort Worth Report 
Three women are running for three different seats on the dais in the upcoming midterm elections, but they’ve decided to join forces in an effort to become the first Black female or Democrat judges in Tarrant County since the 1990s. “Slates allow candidates to pool resources together, and it’s a good strategy when candidates all have the same values,” said Matthew Montgomery, political science professor. “A single candidate on the slate can participate at an event or meeting and represent all members at once.” 

Campaigns go negative as race for competitive Tarrant County Precinct 2 commissioner seat tightens
Oct. 4, 2022 
Fort Worth Report 
Tensions over the crucial Tarrant County Precinct 2 commissioner seat are running high. “Candidates often turn toward highlighting the negative aspects of their opponents because it’s an effective method of reaching voters,” said James Riddlesperger, political science professor. “Negative campaigning is as American as apple pie — it’s been around since the beginning of American civilization,” he said. “You’re trying to give voters decision points to vote for one candidate over another, and so you’re going to try to label your opponent as unreasonable. That is a pretty easy thing to grasp onto.”

5 Habits That Have Been Wiped Out By The Internet 
Oct. 3, 2022
HuffPost 
Throughout the 1990s, the United States pretty consistently had 60-some million people subscribing to Sunday newspapers. By 2020, the number of Americans subscribing to a paper version of the Sunday newspaper was 25.7 million. “The physical part of reading the Sunday newspaper is gone for a lot of Americans, but at least reading the news on Sunday is still happening,” said Kristie Bunton, dean and professor of journalism at the Bob Schieffer College of Communication. “Maybe the internet did not wipe out the Sunday newspaper habit,” she said. “Maybe what the internet did ― what digital communication did ― was wipe out the habit of retrieving a physical newspaper off the front porch on Sunday mornings and shift the act of reading news to online platforms.”

The Lt. Governor's race, gubernatorial debate preview 
Sept. 30, 2022
KTVT-TV
Texas Christian University’s speech and debate team coach Amorette Hinderaker said the upcoming gubernatorial debate comes down to which candidate has the burden of proof. “The burden of proof never shifts in a debate,” Hinderaker said. “It always lies with he who proposes and so he who brings forth the proposal to change has the burden to prove the justifiability of their change, and, in that case, frankly, that’s O’Rourke because he is not the incumbent.”

Democrat lieutenant governor candidate appeals to Republicans. Will it work in North Texas?
Sept. 29, 2022 
Fort Worth Star-Telegram 
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, speaking at a campaign event Wednesday at the Fort Worth Club, has endorsed Democrat Mike Collier for lieutenant governor. But statewide Democrats, including Collier, are facing tough odds. “If I were to say who’s most likely to win in Tarrant County, I would say based upon history of voting, that would be Dan Patrick, but based upon trends in voting, you’d have to say that Tarrant County could go either way,” said Jim Riddlesperger, TCU political science professor.

STUDENTS

Moving ministries from idea to fruition 
Oct. 5, 2022 
United Methodist News 
“The Reclamation Project is a nonprofit agency that seeks to help women who are victims of sex trafficking to reclaim, restore and rebuild their lives by providing long-term residential housing options, coupled with comprehensive care and vocational educational opportunities,” said Yevette Christy, a doctoral student at Brite Divinity School. She was one of the “ministry entrepreneurs,” who in August attended a two-and-a-half-day seminar designed to help ministry ideas in the conference move from concept to launch.

ALUMNI

Get to know Felix Torres, music and artistic director for the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra
Oct. 3, 2022 
Mesquite News 
Felix Torres ’06 (MM ’12, ’14) is the music and artistic director of the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra. He has multiple degrees from Texas Christian University in music education and in conducting. “This was back in 2017, I had graduated for the final time from TCU. I was working in Arlington ISD as a high school orchestra director. All the while, I was figuring out the next step. I wanted to be an orchestra conductor for a very long time. There was a conductor search in the fall of 2017, then after my concert in December, I started the job. I’ve been there ever since,” Torres said.

ATHLETICS

TCU adjusting its Big 12 dreams upward in Sonny Dykes' Year 1 
Oct. 8, 2022
The Athletic 
Four months ago, Sonny Dykes sat in his new office in Fort Worth and talked through his vision for Year 1 at TCU and his sense of how it might end up playing out. Dykes has been in the rebuilding game for quite a while – Louisiana Tech, Cal, SMU – and has learned all the humbling lessons that come with trying to get a turnaround off the ground. “I mean, I think we’re gonna have a chance to have a bowl team,” Dykes said. “And I think if things go well, if we get off to a good start and play with some confidence, I think we could be really pretty good.”

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