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In brief: Fall 2000

Ray Brown comes aboard as dean in charge of student recruitment, Steve Fink is the new director of athletics media relations and TCU adds two new degrees.

In brief: Fall 2000

Ray Brown comes aboard as dean in charge of student recruitment, Steve Fink is the new director of athletics media relations and TCU adds two new degrees.

Appointments. Marquette University Admissions Dean Ray Brown called his decision to become TCU’s dean in charge of student recruitment “plain smart for my family and me; I’m joining a university that is in the process of moving to the next level of distinction and has the substance to make it happen.” Brown, who began his position Aug. 1, replaced Admissions Dean Sandra Ware, who retired this summer. Prior to joining Marquette in 1993, Brown served as associate dean of students and director of admissions at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and director of admissions at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. He grew up in Mineral Wells, 60 miles west of Fort Worth. Brown and his wife Lisa have three children: Sarah, 16, Matthew, 10, and Zachary, 8.

TCU also welcomed a new director of athletics media relations, Steve Fink, who left behind a 13-year career with the Kansas City Royals. “I’ve been impressed with the administration and its vision and commitment to the future of TCU athletics,” he said. “It’s a great time to be a Horned Frog.” During his tenure with the Royals, Fink served as the primary media contact. Fink and his wife Charlene have a daughter, Lauren, 9, and a son, Ryan, 6.

The future is coming. Last year, some 450 alumni, campus and professional leaders came together to form the Commission on the Future of TCU. Chaired by well-known CBS newsman Bob Schieffer ’59 and directed by Vice Chancellor Larry Lauer, the group formed 17 different task forces examining all areas of the university, from technology to undergraduate and graduate education to athletics. On Oct. 9, the Commission will present its full report, breaking down hundreds of recommendations into “action categories” ranging from urgent to long-term. (The Commission recommendations will appear in the Winter issue of the magazine.)

A few good entrepreneurs. The James A. Ryffel Entrepreneurship Center has announced an “entrepreneurial summit” for April 6-7. In addition, said Director David Minor ’81, the center hopes to identify everyone in the TCU community who has ever operated his or her own business. The results of the search will be a networking and information database. Former or current business owners can call the center office at (817) 257-5608 or e-mail Minor at d.minor@tcu.edu.

Two new master’s. Think global implications, and you’ll have a good idea of what TCU’s journalism department has in mind for its new graduate degree being offered this fall, said Journalism Graduate Programs Director Doug Newsom. “Reporting becomes a knee-jerk reaction for most news writers,” she said. “Our new program will help them think of all the ethical implications that go into news that spreads globally almost instantly.”

A second new degree this fall, media arts, will educate students interested in broadcast media, providing a versatile background in production, analyses and the industry, said Roger Cooper, chair of the Radio-TV-Film department. “Technology is changing so fast that it’s hard to know what sort of jobs will even be out there in a few years,” Cooper said. “This program is based on the idea that success in media is based on a well-rounded knowledge of the media.”