The original door to Amon G. Carter Stadium, with its Latin inscription, is now part of the Founders Club inside the stadium. Photo by Glen E. Ellman

In 1930, builders carved the Latin phrase Mens sana in corpore sano over an original entrance to Amon G. Carter Stadium. Its meaning — a healthy mind in a healthy body — is as important today as it was 90 years ago.

I like to reflect on how we are living up to this motto with compassionate and purposeful strategies for promoting mental health. This issue of TCU Magazine showcases stories of how we strengthen meaningful and nourishing connections among students, the Horned Frog family and the many lives our graduates touch. Because together, we are stronger.

Dr. Eric Wood, our director of counseling and mental health, is a pioneer in devising systems that not only treat acute mental health crisis situations but also create a culture of students supporting one another as they work to be the best versions of themselves. TCU has launched a series of peer support networks — from letter-writing campaigns and meditation groups to online community game nights — encouraging students to come together and uplift one another. This approach is not only effective; it demonstrates how TCU’s connection culture transcends social activities, spilling over to enrich the human relationships so vital to personal well-being.

We don’t just use tools for supporting mental wellness — we teach them. The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine’s Empathetic Scholar® curriculum creates the well-rounded physicians of tomorrow by incorporating emotional wellness throughout its lessons. On the heels of their second year, the students in this innovative medical school are already transforming health care for the future. I’m excited to follow their progress … and hope you will, too.

TCU is a leader when it comes to caring medicine, and the University continues to be a guiding influence in the health care sector through our alumni in many health professions. As CEO of Texas Health Resources, Barclay Berdan ’76 has led North Texas’ largest health system for seven years, navigating Ebola, Covid-19 and the ever-changing landscape of health care innovation and oversight.

As I’ve said many times since the day I set foot on campus, it’s not like this everywhere. Our sense of connection is the backbone of TCU, creating and maintaining a happy campus community — and a healthy one.