Five remarkable Horned Frogs were honored for their contributions to TCU, their professions
and their communities at the 2025 Leadership Awards Celebration.
Among the honorees was a beloved member of the TCU family, the late Trustee Ron Parker
’76, who passed away Feb. 22. His wife, Paula Rhodes Parker ’77, received on his behalf
the Royal Purple Award, recognizing Parker’s extraordinary service and support of
TCU and the greater community.
“He would be honored and humbled with this tribute,” Paula Parker said. “Nothing made
him happier than his beloved university … He strongly believed in this school, as
do I.”
Ron Parker was recruited to TCU on a football scholarship and was a tight end, team
captain and Most Valuable Player in 1976, when he also received his bachelor’s degree
in political science. The Chicago Bears drafted him after graduation, and he later
transitioned into a successful corporate career. He joined PepsiCo in 1982, which
led to a nearly 30-year career culminating in a role as senior vice president of human
resources, labor relations and global diversity and inclusion. After retiring, he
served as president and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council and later as president
and CEO of the National Association of Securities Professionals.
He began his tenure on the TCU Board of Trustees in 2001, holding leadership roles
and serving on multiple committees and subcommittees. He served as co-chair of Lead
On: A Campaign for TCU, the university’s most ambitious and successful philanthropic
campaign, which launched to the community in 2019 and raised over $1 billion for people
and programs.
Parker met his wife of 47 years at TCU. Together, the Parkers established the first
fully endowed athletic scholarship for tight ends at the university and an endowed
scholarship and an endowed professorship in TCU’s Harris College of Nursing & Health
Sciences. They worked tirelessly as co-chairs of the university’s successful $100
million Scholarship Initiative as part of The Campaign for TCU. In 2012, the Parkers
received TCU’s Valuable Alumni Award for outstanding and continuing service and financial
support to the university.
Since 1954, TCU has honored outstanding alumni, parents and friends of the university
at this annual awards celebration. Today, more than 100,000 Horned Frog alumni and
countless supporters are part of the TCU family — yet only a select group of over
500 individuals have earned these prestigious honors.
Joe Brown ’08 (MBA ’24) president of the TCU National Alumni Board, presided over
this year’s event, held this spring in the Tucker Family Ballroom of the Brown-Lupton
University Union. Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr., presented the awards.
Other 2025 awardees included:
- Tom McDonald ’65 (M.S. ’67), recipient of the Valuable Alumni Award, whose bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from TCU helped propel him to a remarkable career in scientific discovery at Alcon and Nestlé Nutrition research and development. Since retirement, he has become a grassroots historian. His first book, Texas Rangers, Ranchers, and Realtors, was published in 2021, and his second, Alcon Laboratories — A Vision Fulfilled (1947-1997), in 2025.
- Clark Jones ’89 (M.S. ’92), recipient of the Alumni Service Award, began his academic career at TCU in 2007 and has earned accolades from his students for his passion for teaching and science. Now a senior instructor of microbiology, he was named 2023 TCU Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year for his dedication to teaching and mentoring students. Jones also has tackled many leadership roles at TCU, including serving as chair of the Clark Board and the TCU Faculty Senate.
- Matt Williams ’20 received the Outstanding Young Professional Award. Williams began his career with DaVita, a leading provider of kidney care worldwide. He quickly distinguished himself by heading the company’s COVID-19 vaccine supply chain operations and coordinating the patient triaging command center following Hurricane Ida. Earlier this year, he was promoted to senior manager and has begun advising leadership teams on digital transformation initiatives. He heads DaVita’s TCU recruiting team, returns to campus to teach classes and mentor students interested in health care careers and serves on the university’s National Alumni Board.
- Madison Brown ’25 received the Distinguished Student Award. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology
with a minor in deaf and hard of hearing studies this spring and was a member of the
John V. Roach Honors College, the TCU Student Foundation and the Psi Chi Honor Society.
A STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Scholar at TCU, she sought
opportunities to mentor future generations of STEM students. Brown’s research experience
as a TCU student was extensive and she plans to pursue a master’s degree in clinical
mental health counseling.
Read more about the 2025 Leadership Award recipients from the TCU Alumni Association.