Menu

Author Archives: Corey Smith

1. The Family Business

   August 14, 2025 11:14 am Leave a Comment

   After signing with TCU as a three-star recruit and early enrollee from Rockwall-Heath High School, Josh Hoover ’25 saw the field for a single drive during his redshirt 2022 season, attempting and completing one pass in a 59-17 September blowout of Tarleton State.

   He came in as the backup quarterback the following summer and was under center full time by the midpoint of the season. Though the Frogs lost four of their final five contests, the then-20-year-old quarterback showed promising signs of explosiveness. Hoover hit the 300-yard passing mark in all but one of those games, throwing for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the finale against Oklahoma.  

   With Hoover serving as the incumbent, the 2024 season progressed into a star-making campaign. 

   Aided by a pair of eventual Day 2 NFL draft picks in wide receivers Jack Bech and Savion Williams ’24, team captain Hoover amassed a single-season program record 3,949 passing yards, leading TCU Football to a 6-1 finish to the year and a 34-3 dismantling of Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Mexico Bowl.  

   Still holding two years of NCAA eligibility, the seasoned signal-caller returns to campus to pursue an energy certificate with the TCU Neeley School of Business and for another run with the Horned Frogs this fall. 

   “He’s done a tremendous job leading our football team,” said offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, “and willing us to victory in some cases.” 

   Your sister is a sports journalist for Channel 5 in Oklahoma City, your brother is a college baseball player and your dad and grandfather were in the NFL. What was it like growing up in a household with that level of collective sports obsession? 

   It was always a part of our lives. My parents never pushed it on us. My sister didn’t really play sports; she danced and did stuff like that. But for my brother and I, it was something we grew up with. We wanted to be like our dad, wanted to be like our grandpa. It was all we ever really knew. The motivation growing up was to play sports at a high level, play in the MLB or the NFL or whatever it was. We didn’t care. We just wanted to play and be active and be the best we could at whatever we did.  

   Who was your hero growing up? 

   I’ve looked up to my dad a lot. I thought he was the coolest guy in the world, that he was able to play football and play at a pretty high level. And so I always admired that and hoped I could be there someday. That was something I looked forward to trying to do, to be more like him.

   

   Josh Hoover may hear his name called in next April’s NFL Draft. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

   Growing up, we would always ask questions, and he would answer. He would say NFL stands for “not for long.” He had a short stint there, and he would always talk about saving money and how some guys aren’t as smart with their money and other topics like that, and we just ate it up. Anything that was sports-related, we loved it. So yeah, we’ve had conversations about what to expect. I think coming to college gave me more insight and more perspective than a lot of other guys.

   My whole life, my dad had told me every level you go, it restarts. You’re not gonna be the guy when you show up in college. You’re gonna be the fourth, fifth guy, and you gotta work your way to the top. A lot of kids come in here, and they don’t understand that. They think you can just come in and start or come in and have success and that’s not how it works. So I always understood that approach and understood the way it was gonna have to be in order to be successful. And that was an advantage to me. 

   You were an entrepreneurship and innovation major. Did you grow up with an interest in business? 

   My dad runs his own business there where we grew up, so I was always around that and saw how he was his own boss and thought that was pretty cool. He could go play golf and do different stuff throughout the day. That was always what I saw: my parents running that business. And so that’s what I thought I would do — be my own boss someday. Hopefully, that’ll come true after football. I always had a mind for understanding how a business works. I was always asking questions and hearing how money flows and comes in and out and the different challenges a business faces. And so I was always interested in that.

   Has being a football player influenced your approach to academics, or vice versa? 

   I would say my football habits and work ethic have impacted my academics. It’s not easy to do both, be in the business school and go to all the meetings everyone else goes to, but then be here for seven hours a day and then come watch film at night. I probably don’t have as much time as some other people, but you have to be efficient with your time. That’s something football has taught me. And so I think I carried that over to academics and maintained that work ethic and the expectation of doing things right. 

   What is your typical schedule on a random Tuesday during the season, from when your alarm goes off to when you go to bed? 

   On a Tuesday, that’s our big install practice day. I get up at about 5 o’clock, get ready, get up here, get to breakfast. We start meetings at about 6:30. Do that, then practice until about 11. I think I had three classes last year during the fall on Tuesdays, from 12 to 5:30. And then I grabbed dinner and came to watch film at night until 8 or 9, then went home.

   It’s a long day. I mean, 5 o’clock to 9 o’clock, you’re doing something. But that’s what I’m used to, and that’s what I love to do. Never once has it felt like a job or a chore. It’s always been a choice. It’s something I always wanted to do. I’m glad it is that way. I think I wanna play football as long as I can. As long as it feels like that, it’s gonna be fun.

   Which pro quarterbacks do you look up to, and what have you learned from them?  

   Matthew Stafford was always somebody I enjoyed watching. Drew Brees, Tom Brady. Brett Favre was kind of at the beginning of my time, but I loved watching him. There are so many guys playing right now that are so talented; Patrick Mahomes doing what he’s doing, Justin Herbert, I mean, there are so many guys.  

   My approach is to take what I can from every single guy. I think everyone has something you can take and learn from. That’s my approach, just to learn as much as I can, soak that information in and then filter in, filter out what works for me, what’s gonna be best for my schedule, for my body, for my game. That’s how I approach it.

   Is there a professor or class you’ve been particularly impacted by at TCU?  

   Yeah, there’s a professor named Michael Grohman, instructor of management and leadership. He was in the military, a Navy SEAL. So I was always really interested in his class. He taught business leadership and just talked about a lot of different things within business. It wasn’t as much the curriculum that I was interested in; I was just interested in his experiences and things he’s been through from a leadership standpoint. I’m not gonna say football is like the military, but there are some similarities: the chain of command and the leadership aspect. Obviously, they’re doing way more things than we are, so I definitely appreciate those serving. But you know, Mr. Grohman was always helpful in that aspect and gave insight on how leadership works and how to go about your business every day the right way. I learned a lot from his class.  

   In terms of development, leadership or any other aspect of the football team, what do you think is the most notable change since the 2024 season opener? 

   I felt like last year, Week 1, we didn’t know exactly what we had. We thought we knew, but we weren’t really sure. A lot of guys emerged last year and came out of the deep water and to the surface. A lot of guys performed. And so, I’m looking forward to seeing that continue this year. The young guys coming up, performing and becoming the people we need them to be is crucial.

   Compared to last year, Week 1, there’s more of a defined culture and more of a defined expectation to follow in order to meet a certain standard. And that’s what we’re chasing. Now you go out to the practice field and there’s a certain practice standard, certain practice habits that you’re chasing and you’re not just out there practicing and hoping for the best.

   What’s the most ridiculous nickname a teammate has ever given you? 

   One that comes to mind was from LaMareon James from last year. We called him “Scud” and that’s what he calls himself. So we call him Scud and I guess at Media Day last year in Vegas, I wore off-white shoes and so he started calling me “Off-white Hoov.” He still calls me that. I’ve always thought it was funny. I didn’t even know what it meant for a long time. 

   What’s one part of playing the quarterback position that people don’t understand? 

   I think it’s just the ups and downs. A lot of people don’t understand the emotional roller coaster that a quarterback goes through, and it’s because it’s not always expressed. You have to be even-keeled. There are gonna be good drives, bad drives, good throws, bad throws, bad luck, good luck. All these different aspects go into it, and you’ve gotta be steady and be the same guy every single day.

   If you could write a letter to yourself during your first year on campus, what advice would you include?  

   I would tell myself to be patient and continue working hard. It’s hard not to think short-term. You’re in that moment, you want to play and you want that short-term gratification of getting more reps in practice, and it’s hard.  

   My dad helped me stay mature throughout that process in understanding, “It’s your first spring out here. You’re not gonna get that many reps.” I got three reps of practice every day, and I would walk off the field and I didn’t say it but I thought, “Man, I probably should have stayed in high school.” 

   But by coming in a semester early, I got my body in a better position and started chipping away. 

   I had scout team reps against Dee Winters and Josh Newton ’23 MLA and all these guys who are great players. And I started chipping away, chipping away, chipping away. Then, a year later, I get a chance to compete for a job, come back up and get the job in the middle of the season. And it’s just this slow process, and it feels like forever, but when you look back, it’s all worth it. 

   

   Josh Hoover led the Big 12’s No. 3 scoring offense in 2024, guiding the Frogs to a 6-3 conference record and a blowout win against Louisiana-Lafayette in last December’s New Mexico Bowl. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

   When you go up against a team in North Carolina led by head coach Bill Belichick, who has won eight Super Bowls and is widely considered one of the greatest defensive coaches in history, does your approach change? 

   It’s another first game of the season. Obviously, I think we all have respect for Coach Belichick and what he’s done for football. Every single guy that plays football, we’re all football fans and so we’re appreciative for what he’s done for the game. But as far as playing that game and playing against that team, we’re playing North Carolina. We’re playing their players.  

   He’s been a great coach and a really successful coach. But at the end of the day, you’re playing guys on the field and so it’s still the same game plan for us. We’re gonna go out there, line up and execute our stuff, do what we do. And there’s not gonna be an ounce of fear, I’ll tell you that.  

   What do you want your time at TCU to be remembered for?  

   Everybody wants to win games, to win Big 12 Championships. You want to be a part of that. But at the end of the day, I just want people to remember what kind of guy and teammate I was. That I was there for the guys and really cared about them, not just as a football player but as a person.  

   Whenever I’m on my deathbed, hopefully a long time from now, nobody’s gonna be bringing the Big 12 trophy in there. It’s gonna be people that I love and care about.  

   And so that’s what I want people to remember about me, just the kind of guy I was on a daily basis. 

   Editor’s Note: The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

2. Volunteering at Camp Fire First Texas Leads Brian Miller to a Lifelong Passion for Helping Children Heal

   August 13, 2025 2:47 pm 1 Comment

   ONE WEEK AS A VOLUNTEER AT A SUMMER CAMP 30 YEARS AGO changed Brian Miller’s life. Now he’s using that same transformative power to uplift thousands of children across North Texas.

   As president and CEO of Fort Worth-based nonprofit Camp Fire First Texas, Miller ’95 combines his expertise as a licensed professional counselor with his love for the outdoors. He facilitates programs where children and teens can heal, whether they’re grieving a loss, recovering from trauma or simply disconnecting from screens to reconnect with themselves.

   From Credit Hours to Career

   Born in Michigan and raised in northwest Fort Worth, Miller came to TCU as a biology major. While “doing mediocre at best” in school at the time, he said, something clicked when he started taking psychology classes.

   

   Brian Miller began volunteering at Camp Fire First Texas’ annual El Tesoro de la Vida grief camp in 1993.

   One day after class, Miller’s professor David Cross, co-founder of TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, suggested Miller participate in a field study opportunity at a therapeutic camp.

   “I basically just heard, ‘You can get credit for going to summer camp,’ ” Miller said. What Miller didn’t realize was how profoundly that summer would redirect his life.

   In 1993, Miller volunteered at El Tesoro de la Vida, a weeklong grief camp hosted by Camp Fire First Texas in Granbury, Texas, for children and teens who had lost a parent or sibling. He has returned every summer since — first as a volunteer and eventually as a full-time employee.

   “I was amazed by how much therapeutic progress the kids made in such a short time in that environment,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t a clinician at the time, I couldn’t believe how much it changed their life in just one week.”

   When the week ended, Miller sought guidance from the professionals at the camp. “How do I grow up and do what you do?” he asked. Upon learning they were therapists, he decided to change his major to psychology.

   After graduating from TCU, Miller went on to earn a master’s in counseling psychology from Abilene Christian University. He then completed 2,000 hours of supervised clinical experience to become a licensed professional counselor.

   Miller spent 11 years working for My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, advancing from case manager to therapist to program manager for residential and outpatient clinics.

   Later, he spent nine years as a clinical services supervisor with Centene Corp., overseeing therapists stationed at military bases worldwide and providing crucial mental health support to service members and their families.

   Throughout his clinical career, Miller remained connected to Camp Fire First Texas, serving as a therapist in various programs. He also maintained lasting friendships with fellow staff, including Denis Cranford, a longtime volunteer camp director for El Tesoro de la Vida, whom he met during his first summer volunteering.

   Cranford, who served as a groomsman at Miller’s wedding, said he has enjoyed watching him grow from a college student into a dedicated professional who puts his passion into practice.

   “It’s not always easy to get [kids] to share their emotions,” Cranford said, but Miller “has this way of being cool and putting them at ease. He’s got a real talent for gaining their trust and getting them to talk and share.”

   Coming Full Circle

   In 2018, 25 years after his first visit, Miller returned to Camp Fire First Texas as vice president of outdoor programs, overseeing all activities at Camp El Tesoro’s scenic 223-acre Granbury property. Miller, who said he believes the benefits of camp are particularly crucial in an age of rampant mental health challenges among youth, made it his mission to expand the organization’s therapeutic camps.

   “I think kids are really struggling right now,” he said. “We’re seeing the highest instances of depression, anxiety and suicide attempts in teens that we’ve ever seen, so I think it’s a great time to be working on the solution side of that.”

   Under Miller’s leadership, Camp Fire developed partnerships with the Gladney Center for Adoption, the Texas Workforce Commission, CancerCare and others, creating camp experiences for adopted children, for those with learning disabilities or autism, for pediatric cancer patients and more.

   “I think kids are really struggling right now. We’re seeing the highest instances of depression, anxiety and suicide attempts in teens that we’ve ever seen, so I think it’s a great time to be working on the solution side of that.”
   Brian Miller

   “There’s incredible therapeutic value in the outdoors, especially now, when our youth are so screen-addicted,” Miller said. “We know that exercise — everything from taking a walk to trail running — helps with the neurotransmitters that make us happy.”

   This philosophy stems from Miller’s own life. He and his wife are Ironman triathletes who spend most of their time together outdoors. Miller also volunteers with Operation Canyon Rising every other year, guiding disabled veterans on rim-to-rim hikes of the Grand Canyon.

   

   Brian Miller champions the outdoors as a pathway to youth healing and development.

   Miller’s role at Camp Fire eventually expanded to include facility oversight for the organization’s entire operations, from Camp El Tesoro’s sprawling grounds with 60 buildings to the Fort Worth resource center. When the previous CEO stepped down, Miller was tapped to fill in. After eight months, in December 2023, he was named president and CEO.

   Miller oversees three main programs outside camp: structured after-school care for elementary students; teen engagement opportunities including STEM activities, college visits and cultural experiences; and education, mentorship and apprenticeship for early childhood educators. These initiatives are offered at child care centers and select schools throughout Fort Worth and Aledo.

   “We do a lot with the time we have with the children after school,” Miller said. “We really feel like it’s a value-add to their regular education experience.”

   A Campus to Campground Collaboration

   As CEO, Miller has prioritized building strategic community partnerships that expand Camp Fire’s reach and impact, including a growing collaboration with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development.

   Casey Call ’99 MEd (MEd ’04, MS ’11, PhD ’12), associate director of education and associate professor of professional practice at the Karyn Purvis Institute, has encouraged several TCU child development students to put their education into practice as volunteers at Camp Fire’s therapeutic summer camps.

   “They really get to take their classroom intervention skills and put them to use with kids at the camp who are homesick or having problems with socializing or behavioral issues,” Call said.

   TCU child development students learn Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, a revolutionary method of attachment-centered intervention developed by Karyn Purvis ’97 (MS ’01, PhD ’03) and Cross. Implemented worldwide, the method uses relationships and connections to help children and families heal from developmental trauma.

   Melissa Burdett ’23 MS, who volunteered at El Tesoro de la Vida grief camp as a master’s student, said that a key principle of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® is balancing structure with nurture: When children need more discipline, they also need an equal increase in connection and emotional support. “I noticed a boy and his counselor struggling, and I was able to help the counselor understand this principle,” Burdett said. “It really helped him be able to be more successful with the child.”

   “The TCU students from the Karyn Purvis school were an incredible addition to our camp staff,” Miller said. “They made it possible for some children who were struggling to have a good experience at camp. They even helped our other camp counselors with training tips and other insights that made our staff better.”

   

   Brian Miller was named president and CEO of Camp Fire First Texas in December 2023.

   Leading with Purpose

   As CEO, Miller brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and business acumen to Camp Fire First Texas. In 2025, he was honored with the Outstanding Service Award by the American Camp Association Texoma for his dedication and impact in the camping community.

   Noting his versatility, Cranford described Miller as “a true generalist” who can do it all. “He really understands how to treat a nonprofit as a business, but he also makes everybody feel important and involved and builds really strong teams.”

   Looking ahead, Miller plans to continue expanding Camp Fire First Texas’ impact, championing the transformative benefits of the great outdoors to enhance youth healing and development.

   “I’m really proud that my entire career has been in service to people,” he said, “and I’m pleased to be working on the solution to one of the biggest problems that faces our society.”

3. A New Frontier for TCU Athletics

   9:06 am Leave a Comment

4. Defining the Moment

   August 11, 2025 5:12 pm Leave a Comment

   Daniel Pullin is known across the TCU campus for inspiring the community to “dream big, be bold and Lead On” — a catchphrase that offers insight into the motivational force behind TCU’s 11th chancellor.

   On June 1, Pullin officially took the reins from two-decade leader Victor J. Boschini, Jr., inheriting not just a title, but a trajectory.

   Pullin’s pursuit of bolder ideas, a brand built for the future, a bigger student body and an expanded campus footprint is now woven into the fabric of the university’s strategic plan.

   “The time to create change is when you have the opportunity to try something new, because you’re at a point of great success,” said Kathy Cavins-Tull, vice chancellor for student affairs.

   TCU isn’t just growing; it’s magnifying its belief that it belongs in the upper echelon of U.S. universities. But, as Pullin, who spent the past two years as TCU’s president, said: “We’ve never lost sight of our focus. Regardless of what changes in the world, we will always operate at the individual student level. We will listen, and we will be on the critical path between where our students are today and their aspirations for tomorrow.”

   From Classroom Spark to Campus Catalyst

   Pullin’s enthusiasm for his new role is anchored in the promise of education. When he arrived at TCU in 2019 as the John V. Roach Dean of the Neeley School of Business, he made a beeline for the classroom, teaching an undergraduate entrepreneurship course.

   In class, Pullin and his students envisioned a future that didn’t yet exist but absolutely could and should. That blend of practical idealism and rapid manifestation of ideas cemented his bond with the Horned Frog culture.

   “Witnessing the nearly insatiable appetite of external industry partners and other collaborators to invest in our students and our progress and the broader impact we can make as an institution,” he said, “was a really great starting point for me to meet the organization where it was.”

   Where is TCU now? In its 152nd year, it’s bigger in size, accomplishment and ambition than ever before while simultaneously doubling down on efforts to build on recent advances.

   And its new leader? You’ll often find him striding across campus in purple Converse shoes. The sneakers are a deliberate tool, helping him connect with students while enabling him to “run at the speed of business.”

   Pullin represents a new archetype of TCU leader. The university’s first eight chancellors were Disciples of Christ ministers; his immediate predecessor is a renowned scholar of the educational practice. Pullin blends nearly 20 years in higher education with a stint with the world’s preeminent consulting firm, a Harvard MBA and a law degree.

   

   Daniel Pullin pitches in to help members of the TCU community with the annual planting of tulip bulbs outside of The Harrison. Photo by Amy Peterson

   He intended to make a brief stop at the University of Oklahoma, his alma mater, to run its Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth before returning to the business world. “But I fell in love with the classroom,” he said. “I could see direct impact every day in how I was investing my time and energy.”

   Merianne Kimmel Roth, vice chancellor for marketing & communication, has enjoyed a front-row seat to Pullin’s evangelism about education. “I have heard him speak at length about human potential,” she said. “He consistently gravitates to teaching because he gets truly excited about being with students. He’s deeply inspired by who they’re becoming, what they’re learning and the unique perspectives they bring into that environment — it’s a constant source of energy for him.”

   Vision & Strategy

   Pullin’s ascent to TCU’s top role was a confident journey. Over six years in Fort Worth, he went from dean of Neeley to president to chancellor. “I learned how to be a Horned Frog,” he said, “and to really tap into the passion and pride and aspiration of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.”

   His tenure has coincided with a period of explosive progression and national recognition for the university. Since he arrived, TCU has competed in the College Football Playoff national championship game, completed a successful $1 billion fundraising campaign, opened a cutting-edge medical school and unveiled a strategic plan aimed at elevating both the student population — to nearly 18,000 — and the university’s prestige as a research institution by achieving the highest designation, the Carnegie R1.

   His 2023 appointment as TCU president meant moving to The Harrison building to work alongside now-chancellor emeritus Boschini. This began an intensive, 29-month dual-leadership chapter that effectively positioned Pullin as the university’s chief operating officer.

   He said the phase led him to “become a student again.” He immersed himself in the machinery of a university operation that thrums in pursuit of the nation’s optimal college experience and student outcomes.

   “A university is an academic enterprise,” he said, “but it’s also a community that never closes. We have an active research agenda, an endowment that supports student access, a rapidly evolving college athletics franchise and a health care infrastructure with a school of medicine, a nursing school and other critical clinical professions. We’re a small city inside of Fort Worth, offering resources; creating economic benefit; importing talent; operating utilities, housing and a police force; hosting destination events; and more.”

   

   Research, Community and the Human Element

   As president, Pullin spearheaded the collaborative process for Lead On: Values in Action, the strategic plan guiding TCU through the next decade. This blueprint drew input from 10,000 TCU community members.

   “He’s good at getting people engaged and giving them the ownership,” said Rodney D’Souza, executive director of TCU’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, who collaborated with Pullin on TCU’s innovative name, image and likeness training program for student-athletes. “It’s not just him, but everybody involved.”

   Still, “the strategic plan personifies Daniel,” said James Hill ’05 MBA, whom Pullin recruited to become director of the TCU Center for Real Estate. “He’s real, and he’s empowering.”

   During the ideation process, Pullin was teaching students in his Special Problems in Entrepreneurship & Innovation course how to create a model for organizational evolution. “He shared the strategic plan with us in depth. We were able to see the future of the university in the framework of a business plan,” said Alexandra Holder, a senior accounting and finance major from Little Rock, Arkansas. “It was inspiring to see his enthusiasm for the future paired with a solid plan to achieve those dreams.”

   The plan identifies four core pillars: student-centered growth; research, scholarship and creative activities; athletics; and community engagement.

   Scaling up TCU’s size and impact carries risk, but Pullin and his leadership team, which includes Cavins-Tull and Roth as well as new Provost Floyd Wormley Jr. and new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Buddie, are confident.

   “I think we are in a time of really bold change within our industry,” Roth said. “And we have to meet it with bold aspiration.”

   By adhering to the heritage-rich Horned Frog values of integrity, engagement, community and excellence — what Cavins-Tull calls the “spine of TCU” — the university’s core will remain true.

   A hallmark of the TCU educational experience is the teacher-scholar model, a commitment to deep faculty engagement with undergraduates while devoting time to research. Class sizes will remain intentionally small as the undergraduate population grows 50 percent and the graduate students double, and faculty members will still dedicate themselves both to inspiring in the classroom and discovering new knowledge.

   The model’s benefits extend both ways, Pullin said. As faculty, “You get to use your talent and training to think about what’s next, or what might be or how can we do something better, but then you can take those insights and bring them into the classroom, into the performance halls, into the laboratories and share those with the next generation of leaders in the form of our students, and then ultimately graduates who can deploy and improve upon those insights in practice.”

   This imperative to empower the future is drawing the chancellor back to the classroom, even amid the intense demands of his new role. This fall, he’ll teach another entrepreneurship course, now a core requirement for all business majors.

   

   Daniel Pullin began his chancellorship June 1, inheriting not just a title, but a trajectory. Photo by Sara Donaldson

   In the classroom, “he’s pretty energetic, and he really likes to engage with the students,” said Eli Garcia ’20 (MBA ’24), who served as Pullin’s teaching assistant. “He likes to create an environment for discussion. … Whether he’s in the classroom or giving a speech directed to his cabinet, I think he likes to hear from everybody.”

   That engagement extends to faculty conducting research, which, Pullin said, “is about generating new ideas that ultimately benefit humanity.”

   Students at TCU enjoy the distinct advantage of hands-on participation in the research process. Beyond practical skills such as data collection and analysis, research allows students to communicate the integrity and importance of the discovery process, he said, “with the hope of being persuasive enough to encourage people to think differently or act differently.”

   Word has spread about the opportunities a TCU education presents. Annual applications have surpassed 20,000 “for a long time,” Cavins-Tull said, “and we’ve only been able to seat about 2,600 or 2,700 students. This is an opportunity now to say we can do more.”

   The university will welcome its largest class of incoming students in August.

   

   A Holistic Leader

   Pullin and his family are fixtures at TCU sporting and cultural events. The university’s social media accounts recently shared a photo of Pullin and his wife, Ann Bluntzer Pullin, who holds a PhD in organizational management and education administration, serves as executive director of the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University and is a global expert in the oil and gas industry, enjoying country music legend Robert Earl Keen’s TCU Night Out at Billy Bob’s Texas.

   

   Daniel and Ann Bluntzer Pullin celebrate the beginning of his tenure as TCU chancellor with country music legend Robert Earl Keen. Photo by Glen E. Ellman

   “The fine arts are the soul of the university,” Pullin said. “I think the fine arts make all of us just a little bit better of a human. And when we come together for a performance or a reading … it reminds us that we can come together on other things too.”

   Today’s opportunity, he believes, is an outgrowth of a shared history, both at TCU and beyond. The university was built from the ashes of the Civil War, a time when Texas and the nation needed to bridge division. University founders Addison and Randolph Clark understood that the path forward depended on a high-quality education — one that built character and knowledge while inspiring students to discover new ways to lead, collaborate and shape the future.

   The business leaders Pullin engages with in the 21st century validate this vision, sharing why they covet TCU graduates. Their feedback suggests that the university is delivering on the promised value of education, he said.

   “They’re looking for a workforce that’s curious, that’s willing to work with the latest tools and technologies to get the best data, to drive decision-making, to work with people with different experiences and skill sets as a team, to open strong lines of communication, to get to the best, risk-adjusted answer for their organization and then to have the courage and confidence to take action.”

   This is precisely the type of leadership TCU’s 11th chancellor intends to model, positioning the university not just to meet the moment, but to define it.

5. Julie Rootes Interiors: Successful By Design

   August 8, 2025 12:49 pm Leave a Comment

   Julie Dreyer Rootes ’96 felt the thrill of victory as she sat in a tony London hotel ballroom in September 2024 and heard her name called as a winner in the Design Et Al’s International Design & Architecture Awards. Her firm, Julie Rootes Interiors, took top honors in the Luxury Residence – Americas category for a project on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.  

   Her mother and sister cheered at their table as Rootes claimed the accolade, validation of her prowess in a career that combines her superlative taste with a focus on clients.  

   “It was definitely a pinch-me moment,” Rootes said. “My team and I really put our hearts into the project.” 

   A Fashionable Start 

   Rootes grew up in Mansfield, Texas, about 20 miles southeast of the TCU campus. She applied early decision to the university as a high school senior. “I knew from the first time I walked on campus that TCU was my place,” she said. 

   She majored in business with a minor in fashion merchandising. Even then, Rootes was interested in interiors and said she would have switched her academic focus if she could have remained on a path to graduate in four years.

   “Julie has great taste and always did,” said Tammy Wood Young ’96, a Pi Beta Phi pledge sister and Rootes’ college roommate. “Even back then she was good at design and well dressed, but she was also excellent at business.” 

   Throughout college, Rootes worked part-time at Banana Republic in Fort Worth. Before graduating in May 1996, she was recruited to the position of assistant buyer for a new Prada store in Highland Park, Texas. 

   “I have a strong right brain and strong left brain, and the job at Prada appealed to both,” Rootes said. “I soaked up quite a bit in terms of precision and attention to detail.” 

   

   Julie Dreyer Rootes likes mixing traditional elements with contemporary pieces in the projects she designs for Julie Rootes Interiors. Photo by Elena Zhukova

   After a year, she went to work for Next Generation Media, managing media advertising sales, first in Dallas before transferring to Los Angeles. Rootes lived in Manhattan Beach and commuted to Century City, where she met with executives from entertainment behemoths like Universal Studios and Fox.  

   Back to Class

   In 1999, Rootes became an account supervisor with Initiative Media, working with clients that included Microsoft, Macys.com and the now-defunct Palm Computing. After the dot-com bubble burst and 9/11 upended the economy, she enrolled in the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to hone her skills in interior design. She loved the experience, which taught her everything from architecture to color theory. 

   Not long after Rootes had her third child, a friend with her own interior design firm asked Rootes to come work for her. They worked on projects around Marin County, California, and later created a room in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase, arguably the highest-profile design event on the city’s calendar. When her friend abruptly shuttered the business, Rootes launched her eponymous firm in 2011 with a client she’d already been cultivating. 

   “I call myself an accidental entrepreneur,” Rootes said. “I never set out to have this firm.” 

   One project led to the next. In 2015, she did the San Francisco Decorator Showcase as the principal of Julie Rootes Interiors. “It was a full-circle moment that was so important to my career,” she said. “I have relationships to this day from that experience.” 

   Rootes began growing her staff, which now numbers around 10, to keep up with demand for her services. “I love clean lines and mixing some traditional elements with some contemporary pieces, but we’re not locked into one style,” she said. “I try to keep things fresh and elevated and sophisticated without being fussy.”  

   

   Julie Dreyer Rootes founded her interior design firm in 2011 and has steadily grown her team to meet increasing demand. Photo by Elena Zhukova

   Booming Business

   These days, most of her customers are repeat clients; the award-winning Kauai project was a second home for a Northern California family she’d helped before. To every project, whether a whole house design or a refresh of certain rooms, she brings a passion for fabrics, textures, colors and silhouettes. 

   “The great thing about working for Julie is I have really been able to dip my toe into every area of design,” said Alex Corallo ’23, who landed a job at Julie Rootes Interiors straight out of TCU. “Julie is good at having us all experience every aspect of the business, from picking fabrics to budget tracking.”  

   Corallo had just started at the company when she accompanied Rootes and several other colleagues to Kauai to install the award-winning project, which she described as a whirlwind. “I have a heavy hand in social media and marketing,” Corallo said, “and Julie allowed me to take some chances while producing new content.” 

   Corallo also appreciates Rootes’ integration of technology into projects, everything from radiant floors to using iPads to flip on lights or sound.

   Rootes eschews trends (“I always say ‘trends’ ends with ‘end’ for a reason”) but does pay attention to the evolution and nuances of how Americans tend to live today. She’s delighted to repurpose spaces, like transforming a bedroom into an office, or reimagining the whole home with her client’s lifestyle in mind. 

   As someone who lives with kids and dogs, Rootes also makes sure that fabrics, flooring and finishes can withstand the rigors of family life. 

   “We don’t want things that are too precious,” Rootes said. “No one wants to live their life afraid of wet bathing suits and dog paw prints.”  

   Rootes reflected on what she has learned since graduation: 

   The best lesson I learned from my first job with Prada was the fine art of details. If someone purchased something, you had to wrap the item with tissue and ribbon, and you had to make it look beautiful without using any tape. The meticulous attention to detail there was off the charts.

   The business side of interior design can be a little archaic, like people still wanting us to fax things. At Julie Rootes Interiors, we’re always refining our internal processes, such as how we document things. Some creatives don’t want to do the business part, but 60 to 70 percent of what we do isn’t creative.  

   The biggest challenge I face as an entrepreneur is the hiring and retention of employees. As I’ve grown, I have gotten much stronger in my hiring sensibilities. It’s so important to hire the right person in terms of relationships. A big part of that is good communication and clear communication.  

   When people ask me for tips about creating interiors, I tell them I love fresh flowers. They are among the easiest ways to freshen up a space. Art doesn’t need to be a grand, expensive piece. Choose art that you love, and it will make the home feel special and unique.   

   — As told to Lisa Martin  

   Edited for length and clarity. 

6. Small Colleges, Big Impact

   10:52 am Leave a Comment

   When Elizabeth MacLeod Walls ’01 PhD interviewed for the president’s position at Washington & Jefferson College in 2024, she instantly identified with the motto of the esteemed 244-year-old small liberal arts college in western Pennsylvania: Juncta Juvant — Together we thrive.

   Throughout her nearly two decades in higher education administration — half as president of small liberal arts colleges — MacLeod Walls has fostered collaboration on her campuses and beyond. Her efforts have bolstered school enrollments and endowments and strengthened the “town and gown” relationships. As a result, her institutions have grown, thrived and stood as vibrant examples of how the liberal arts tradition remains vital in today’s higher education landscape.

   Path to TCU

   MacLeod Walls grew up on the campus of a liberal arts college: Her father, Roger Cognard ’69 MA (PhD ’71), was a professor of English at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska, and her mother, Anne MacLeod Cognard ’70 MA (PhD ’73) was a humanities educator. When it was time to choose a college, MacLeod Walls looked only at small liberal arts colleges. “That was the universe I knew,” she said.

   At Hiram College in northeastern Ohio, where she met her husband, Craig Walls ’99 MDiv, MacLeod Walls thrived in her dual studies in history and English and cherished her close relationships with both peers and professors. When she and her husband pursued their respective graduate degrees in Fort Worth, she found a nurturing environment in TCU’s literature and rhetoric department. (Today the couple’s youngest son, John MacLeod Walls, is a sophomore English and economics double major at TCU.) 

   MacLeod Walls worked as a research assistant for four years for Richard Leo Enos, emeritus Piper Professor, Quondam Holder of the Lillian Radford Chair of Rhetoric and Composition. He appointed MacLeod Walls associate editor of the journal Advances in the History of Rhetoric.

   Linda Hughes, emeritus professor of English and Addie Levy Professor of Literature, began as co-director, along with Enos, of MacLeod Walls’ dissertation and became her professional collaborator. The pair co-edited the book The BBC Talks of E.M. Forster, 1929-1960: A Selected Edition. 

   “When you have the benefit of being truly mentored by people who care about you as a person as well as your professional trajectory, you carry that with you into your professional life,” MacLeod Walls said. “And so I have strived over the years to provide meaningful mentorship to younger colleagues and students.”

   

   Elizabeth MacLeod Walls, president of Washington & Jefferson College, outside Old Main on the Pennsylvania campus she now leads.

   Leadership Journey

   Craig Walls’ career in ministry brought the couple back to her hometown of Lincoln in 2001. At Nebraska Wesleyan University, MacLeod Walls taught English but was “bitten by the administration bug” under another inspiring mentor, Bette Olson, then associate vice president for institutional effectiveness.  

   “I love teaching, but I found that I really enjoy the synthesis and strategy that goes along with administration,” MacLeod Walls said. “I quickly pivoted.”

   After a three-year break from academia to balance work and family life, in 2007 MacLeod Walls succeeded Olson as director of institutional effectiveness at Bryan College of Health Sciences, located a few miles south of Nebraska Wesleyan. As MacLeod Walls began working there, the college was transitioning from being a nursing school within a hospital to a four-year, degree-granting institution.

   There, she ascended through four leadership positions, finishing as president. MacLeod Walls shepherded the school through the accreditation process, built the general education curriculum and mentored her administration colleagues on how a higher education institution should function. “Those were some of the most fascinating six years of my life,” she said, “because it was like a hothouse for higher ed learning.”  

   In 2012, Nebraska Wesleyan recruited her as dean of its University College, comprising 800 graduate students and adult learners spread over four campuses. She hired faculty and expanded academic offerings, including a combined MSN/MBA program.

   “Elizabeth is innovative and never afraid to explore ideas,” said Travis Jensen, adjunct professor of interdisciplinary studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University. “One of her greatest strengths is that if someone said, ‘What about this?’ she was all ears. … She was actually listening and evaluating how to flesh it out. She is very collaborative.”

   At the encouragement of Fred Ohles, then the president of Nebraska Wesleyan University, MacLeod Walls attended the Harvard Management in Education program as well as the American Council on Education Women’s Leadership Mentoring Program. “He kept sending me to these programs that really helped me to see the big picture of higher education,” she said, “and what it means to be an effective administrator.”  

   Revitalizing William Jewell College 

   At Ohles’ recommendation, MacLeod Walls applied for the president’s position at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. Founded in 1849, the college is one of the oldest west of the Mississippi River. After accepting the position in July 2016, she attended the weeklong Harvard Seminar for New Presidents.  

   “It’s the bread and butter of what it means to be a president: alumni engagement, how to manage a crisis, shared governance and how it affects the presidency,” she said. “To this day, I carry precepts I learned there into my presidency.” 

   MacLeod Walls viewed William Jewell College’s declining enrollment not as a challenge but as an opportunity.  

   “Elizabeth hit the ground running,” said Susan Tideman, former associate vice president for advancement at William Jewell College. “She had studied the institution, understood our traditions and knew what questions to ask. On her listening tour, she was talking to people about the heart of the institution and what parts should be carried forward.”   

   Liberal arts education is centered on teaching students to think critically to prepare them to problem-solve. MacLeod Walls defined William Jewel College’s unique position in the region by rebranding the school as the Critical Thinking College.  

   “I believe deeply in doing whatever I can to advance the liberal arts education sector in America, which is unique to this country.”
   Elizabeth MacLeod Walls

   “Critical thinking is their superpower,” she said. “That identity has now permeated the Kansas City market.”  

   MacLeod Walls also strengthened the college’s collaborations within the Kansas City area by joining the board of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the steering committee of KC Rising, which aligns community efforts to improve regional prosperity for all. By the end of her nearly nine-year tenure, William Jewell College had seen five solid years of enrollment growth.  

   “I believe deeply in doing whatever I can to advance the liberal arts education sector in America, which is unique to this country,” she said. Small liberal arts colleges “are struggling, and I want to bring all the gifts to bear that I can to help small colleges to thrive.”

   New Campus, New Collaborations  

   MacLeod Walls wasn’t looking for a job when a search firm contacted her about leading Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, but she was impressed by what she learned about the institution’s history and direction.  

   After becoming president in June 2024, MacLeod Walls declined a traditional inauguration in favor of a whistle-stop tour to engage with Washington & Jefferson alumni across the country. She’s excited to share how the college is thriving: a recent $50 million gift, a tuition reduction and the largest freshman class ever.

   “I’m telling the story of the institution,” she said, “but also really listening to them about where we should be going as a college.”

   MacLeod Walls has assembled faculty, staff, trustees and students to serve on committees to set the school’s course for the next five years. She has also brought together college and community leaders to identify potential collaboration opportunities.

   “She has immersed herself not just in our community of Washington but also the Pittsburgh region,” said Tracey Sheetz, vice president for enrollment and marketing at Washington & Jefferson College. “There aren’t too many people in this region who don’t already know who she is.”

   Washington & Jefferson College’s track record of innovation was among the traits that attracted MacLeod Walls to the school. The college recently launched a nursing program in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Washington; the program has already reached full enrollment. A task force of trustees, alumni and the vice president of academic affairs is evaluating additional STEM and health science programs to incorporate into its traditional curriculum.

   “We want to be as relevant as possible to the community we serve,” she said. “We’re willing to adapt around the liberal arts in ways that I think are necessary in the 21st century.”

7. Horned Frogs Forever

   August 6, 2025 6:54 pm Leave a Comment

    

   Every spring commencement, alumni celebrating 50 years since their TCU graduation dress in purple caps and gowns and wear medallions commemorating their golden anniversary. They walk into the graduation ceremony for the current class, carrying a banner displaying the year they graduated from TCU, as the crowd applauds.

   The 50-year reunion weekend marks their welcome into the Quinq Club alumni group. While the only step to membership is reaching the milestone anniversary, those who have experienced the festivities on campus recommend participating in person.

   “It made us feel important,” said Sharon Vester ’67, a Quinq Club board member and former president. “The school does a really good job of patting their 50-year graduates on the back,” said Terry Adams ’66, the Quinq Club president-elect.

   Following their procession through the commencement ceremony, the group walks to the Dee J. Kelly Alumni Center to enjoy a meal together. Dale Young, ’66, former Quinq Club president and emeritus board member, recalled how he reconnected with an old roommate and two women he graduated with at the event. “It’s like I never left TCU,” Young said.

   Current Quinq Club board members walk around the event, passing out pins and congratulating the newest members. Those who don’t attend the 50-year reunion can pick up their pin anytime they attend an alumni event.

   Quinq Club Gatherings

   The first meeting of the Quinq Club was in spring 1973. Today it has 10,000 members; 300 alumni are active in the Fort Worth-based club. 

   Brooke Shuman ’03 (MEd ’07), director of alumni relations, described the club as an opportunity to stay connected with the university. “Most [members] have lived past their full careers,” she said, “and they’re looking for connection, community and fellowship.”  

   The club hosts three dedicated events a year — a holiday luncheon, a summer social and a group outing. It also invites members to volunteer at university events and join other TCU alumni groups for activities. 

   

   Quinq Club members connect over Mexican food to celebrate the holiday season. Courtesy of TCU Alumni Association

   The December holiday luncheon includes Mexican food, a photo op with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and sometimes a performance by the TCU choir, band or orchestra. 

   At the summer social, held in the Dee J. Kelly Alumni Center, members play bingo, socialize and have lunch to escape the summer heat. The bingo game is so popular that it has a time limit. “We would [play] on all day,” said Vester, adding that the prizes are TCU-themed swag. “Everyone wants to win.”  

   One of the most memorable group outings was a taco crawl, where about 50 alumni took a charter bus to four restaurants in Fort Worth to sample tacos and margaritas. “It was such a good time because we didn’t sit with the same people at every place,” Young said. “We went to different tables, so the 50 of us really got acquainted.” During an April day trip to the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Okla., participants chose to spend time in the casino or spa.

   A Walk Down Memory Lane  

   The camaraderie is what keeps Adams coming back to the events. “It’s seeing the people that have similar interests, are a similar age, approximately, and just reminiscing about old memories of going to TCU,” he said. 

   The club events provide alumni with space to share memories, including impromptu storytelling. Shuman said that the club evolves with each added class year. “The stories and personalities of the classes that are involved are more colorful,” she said, “and I think it reflects on the experiences they were having as students at the time.” 

   The memories include pranks that were common at colleges in the ’40s to ’70s — panty raids, streaking and “woodsies.” According to Young, a woodsy occurred when sororities and fraternities would sneak off to Benbrook Lake to drink beer.  

   Vester recalled how women her freshman year were supposed to wear dresses when they left the dorm. When they didn’t feel like dressing up, she said, “the trench coat was our standard mode of dress because we usually wore our pajamas underneath and went to class.” 

   Giving Back

   Members of the Quinq Club participate in volunteer events on campus and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area together with other TCU alumni groups, like helping out at the Tarrant Area Food Bank. Such efforts give members the opportunity to connect with the broader alumni community. 

   At the annual Christmas tree lighting in the Campus Commons, TCU alumni groups help at a booth where guests can collect a light-up necklace, write a letter to Santa and make a Christmas ornament. Alumni distributed about 4,000 necklaces last December.  

   Quinq Club members don’t just want to sit around, Vester said; they like to help out and be seen around campus. “We’re a fun-loving group, but our whole purpose is to strengthen our ties to TCU and, in so doing, maybe renew some old friendships … make some new ones, all with the underlying cause of, ‘How can we serve TCU?’ ” 

8. Where We Hung Out: TCU’s Lost ’90s Landmarks

   August 4, 2025 3:51 pm Leave a Comment

   LIKE THE BACKSTREET BOYS, THE ’90S ARE BACK. Jelly sandals are cool again, crop tops are seemingly unavoidable in clothing stores and inflatable furniture is, apparently, still a thing. The same applies to entertainment and technology, with the return of Polaroid cameras, Tamagotchis and people binge-watching Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting online to self-soothe.

   This revival is particularly popular with Generation Z, or people born between 1997 and 2012. Over 97 percent of current TCU undergraduates are Gen Zers under age 25, reports TCU Institutional Research.

   No matter how trendy the era has become, there are some ’90s experiences today’s Horned Frogs can’t simulate, such as grabbing lunch at Pizza Hut in the Brown-Lupton Student Center or watching the sunset from the upper deck of the old football stadium.

   Some hot spots on and near campus, like Frog Fountain and Perrotti’s Pizza, have stuck around since the ’90s, while others have closed, relocated or changed completely.

   The Brown-Lupton University Union is an arched, three-story building with a clock tower, dining options and a plaza on the far end of the Campus Commons, a grassy stretch of lawn in front of Frog Fountain. But in the 1990s, the lawn was a parking lot separating Frog Fountain from the football stadium. The University Union, then called the Brown-Lupton Student Center, stood where Scharbauer Hall sits now and housed the bookstore, a Pizza Hut and a cafeteria often called the Main.

   

   TCU had a different look in the 1990s, when a parking lot covered the area that now houses the Campus Commons. Courtesy of Keith Robinson

   Don Mills ’72 MDiv, vice chancellor for student affairs from 1993 to 2011, said the student center was a hub of activity, and it was common to hear people say, “I’ll see you at the Main.”

   “If you were going to go anywhere in the student center,” he said, “you had to go right by that main cafeteria. … There was a lot of informal socializing there. It was terrific.”

   The bookstore was on the lower level of the student center, and while its selection wasn’t as big as today’s, alumna Stephanie Wellman ’95 said it was a solid resource. It also had a “send-home” payment option where students could forward the bill to their parents.

   “I liked it,” Wellman said, “because you could use your send-home to get mac and cheese or some Tide or little sundries, emergency things, whatever you needed.”

   Multiple alumnae said they remembered stocking up on Lancôme and other not-quite-essentials — much to their parents’ frustration, Kristel Vaught Jech ’95 said. “My dad still talks about the send-home bill.”

   The Notorious P.I.T.

   While most TCU students today weren’t around campus in the ’90s, at least one recent graduate was. Molly Beckman Kanthack ’95 (EMBA ’25), who is executive director of brand activation for her alma mater, met her husband as a TCU undergraduate, and her sister-in-law and brother are also Horned Frogs. She said one of the best memories was spending time with her brother on campus. “Those were some of the best four years of my life.”

   Kanthack and friends often grabbed dinner from the student center but ate by the fountain. “That was our main dining hall, so a lot of times we would just take food outside,” she said, “and sit around Frog Fountain or listen to a band.”

   

   Students work at a computer station in the Brown-Lupton Student Center in November 1999. The center was a prime gathering spot and included a Pizza Hut and a cafeteria called the Main. Courtesy of TCU Library Special Collections | Linda Kaye

   The student center was also home to “the Pit,” another popular stop for students who wanted to dine on campus. Jech said the Pit contributed to her “freshman 15,” referring to how students sometimes gain weight when starting college. “I usually grabbed something to take to study hall,” she said. “I drank so much fruit punch.”

   When the Main wasn’t open, Jech said the Pit would get crowded, especially between lunch and dinner. “You also had to pick up football tickets at a certain time in the Pit,” she said. “I missed a few games because I missed ticket pickup.”

   Alan Melson ’00 said Pizza Hut served as the backdrop for fun times with his fellow marching band members. “I have happy memories of many hours sitting in there talking with friends during lunch or after classes.”

   When he wasn’t in the student center, at band practice or DJing for the KTCU radio studio, he also enjoyed taking in the view from the seats of Amon G. Carter Stadium. “The old stadium back then was left open most of the time,” he said, “so it was fun to go up in the upper deck and watch the sunset.”

   

   The Brown-Lupton Student Center, home to “the Pit” and other popular student spots, circa 1999. Courtesy of TCU Library Special Collections | Linda Kaye.

   Wellman, meanwhile, was listening to music on a boom box with her sorority sisters and keeping up with the latest TV shows. “When Melrose Place started, I lived in the Pi Phi house,” she said, “and I had a big Melrose watching party for the very first episode.”

   Other alumni shared a ’90s memory: visiting Flash Photo.

   The store on University Drive that now sells apparel and other school merchandise developed prints captured at parties and other campus events. Photos were hung on a clothesline for students to view and purchase. Alumni said they would run to Flash Photo after raucous parties to see if they were in any pictures — and to remove embarrassing ones.

   “One hundred percent, I was one of those people,” Kanthack said. Mills chuckled at these anecdotes. “As administrators, we never went to check.”

   Smells Like Team Spirit

   In 1999, Melson was inspired to write an article for the student publication Image Magazine about a strip of shops on University Drive. The block of shops and restaurants situated at the intersection of South University Drive and West Berry Street is now home to the TCU bookstore and several restaurants. But Flash is the strip’s only holdover from the ’90s.

   Melson, who studied broadcast journalism, said he wanted to illustrate the area’s history for readers and explore how it had evolved since the late 1920s. “I loved history and was interested in the history of the TCU area,” he said, “so I pitched the story idea to the Image Magazine editor, and they approved it.”

   After combing through old copies of The Skiff and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he interviewed the owners of Jon’s Grille and Record Town, the street’s only record shop. His article highlighted the different shades of school spirit and touched on a hot topic in Fort Worth at the time: the Berry Street Initiative.

   Mills said West Berry Street was a rough place in the ’90s, often called “Scary Berry” for its crime and poor walkability. The result was the Berry Street Initiative, a local group formed in 1996 and dedicated to improving West Berry Street through development and city funding.

   “There were a lot of issues along there,” he said of the street. “During the ’90s, TCU made a real effort, in partnership with the city, to develop Berry Street as a more pedestrian and safer place.”

   “I mean, yes, the campus looks different, but the faculty still, [their] doors are open … and they’re here to support you along the way.”
   Molly Beckman Kanthack

   Mills said this was also an era of change for TCU because it began building more student housing, encouraging students to spend more time on campus and promoting school spirit with weekly pep rallies and other events.

   “We began to have a lot more school spirit,” he said. The school’s status in athletics also changed in the ’90s, Melson said. TCU had been abandoned by four members of the Southwest Conference and had a more regional profile. All that changed when the school hired Dennis Franchione as the head football coach in 1998.

   “It was smaller,” Melson said of the school, “and, looking back, [it was] right on the cusp of gaining a larger status. … It was nothing like you see today.”

   The More Things Change

   Efforts to increase housing, revitalize West Berry Street and elevate TCU Athletics are still alive today. The TCU Campus Master Plan illustrates the school’s vision for campus growth, including renovating and constructing new athletic facilities, creating a residential village for east campus and further developing the Berry Street corridor.

   While TCU was different in the ’90s, some details remain constant. Students continue to gather at Frog Fountain, grab dinner on University Drive, battle for good parking spaces and rub the horned frog statue’s nose for good luck.

   Kanthack is now working with students and supporting them the way she said faculty and advisers helped her. She and Wellman have children attending TCU. Despite the new buildings and facilities, Kanthack said, the feeling of community is steadfast.

   “In this many years, that has not changed,” she said. “I mean, yes, the campus looks different, but the faculty still, [their] doors are open … and they’re here to support you along the way.”

9. John F. Davis III, 1952-2025

   2:22 pm Leave a Comment

   John Francis Davis III ’74 was nicknamed “Froggy” for a reason. He flat out loved TCU.

   Davis, a TCU Trustee for a quarter century, died April 27 at age 72.

   Born in Cocoa Beach, Fla., he grew up in Baton Rouge, La., and became an Eagle Scout at 14. He chose TCU because it was the farthest university from his home that accepted him, his family said. During his college years, he joined Kappa Sigma and created ties to the university that remained strong all of his life.

   Five years after graduating, he married Leah Muncey, forming a 45-year union. He began his career at 3M, worked in medical sales and dabbled in oil and gas. Two ventures he founded became well-known names: the hotel and travel reservations company Pegasus Solutions and 1-800-Flowers.

   With all of his accomplishments, nothing was more important to him than family.

   “As a father, he was my best friend,” said John Francis “Beau” Davis IV, one of three Davis sons (Andrew ’08, Joshua ’11). “He traveled a ton during my childhood but always made sure he made it home to catch our games.

   “We did everything together — summer trips to Europe, Dallas Cowboys games, TCU games. A lot of our time was based around sports.”

   As a TCU Trustee, his father made diversity his main focus, Beau said. “Not only diversifying the Board of Trustees but also the student body.”

   He was a powerful force in expanding campus facilities, especially in establishing the John and Leah Davis Academic Learning Center for student-athletes. He also had a big hand in developing the Hyatt Place TCU hotel.

   “He wanted to ‘up’ the experience of every person who walked across the campus — staff, student, anyone,” Beau said. “He wanted to leave it a special place.”

   At the funeral, Horned Frog or not, “we all wore purple.”

10. Alden Kresena: How It Started … How It’s Going

    August 2, 2025 12:52 pm Leave a Comment

    When ALDEN WILLIAMS KRESENA ’14 studied sculpture at TCU, she learned complementary skills in woodworking so she could make her own frames and pedestals.

    As she grew in experience, graduate students began asking her to make frames for their artwork. “I would mill them out and then cut my glass and my backing board,” Kresena said, “and hinge [attach] the artwork.”

    After graduation, Cameron Schoepp, her mentor and a professor of art, forwarded a lead on a job: William Campbell Contemporary Art needed a framer. Kresena worked for the Fort Worth art gallery for 10 years, framing and sometimes installing works. She enjoyed tackling challenges, like when a client brought in a free-edge work painted on vinyl for framing.

    

    Alden Williams Kresena specialized in sculpture as an undergraduate at TCU. Courtesy of Alden Kresena

    Kresena reached out to a local conservator — an expert in preserving and restoring artwork — in her quest to secure the vinyl work to a backing board without damaging the art.

    Today, in Kresena’s new role as assistant preparator at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, she works with conservators daily. Kresena was drawn to the museum, in part, for its in-house framing — a task she said many museums outsource.

    While an employee in the museum’s woodshop creates the frames, Kresena is on the team that handles the glass, mat, hinging and mounting of artwork following strict standards. Kresena continues to evolve her skills, keeping up with artists as they explore new media.

    “How a frame enhances an artwork … how the artwork goes on the wall, and then how all these artworks correspond and speak to each other — it’s a lot of layers,” she said. “I went to the Amon Carter and saw quite a few of their exhibitions. And so it’s cool now being on the other side of making these shows happen.”