New name for AddRan

AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences became AddRan College of Liberal Arts in August as the fall semester began.

Orientation faces challenges

Faced with a campus full of demolition and construction, student orientation this summer was a bit, well, disorienting. With the old Brown-Lupton Student Center demolished and the new Student Union not yet opened, orientation staffers had to find new places to prepare the university’s 1,640 incoming freshmen and their families for life at TCU. Boxed lunches were brought in for some meals and the Dee J. Kelley Alumni & Visitors Center was also able to offer an alternate dining venue. Student Development Services staff were making do through the summer, officing in dorm rooms while awaiting their move to the Student Union.

New dining plans to start

Dining Services changed meal plans in August to better accommodate the 24/7 campus. Student plans include unlimited, all-you-can-eat access to new dining venue Market Square, and Frog Bucks, which can be used at select vendors off campus.

A new themed semester

TCU is urging students, faculty, staff and the community to get engaged in sustainability this fall through the university’s 2008 Sustainability Theme Semester called “Think Purple, Live Green.” The campus will host a series of special classes, symposia and workshops discussing how to make human economic systems last longer and have less impact on ecological systems. Following 2004’s theme of “Politics and Principles” and 2007’s “Rights, Responsibilities, Respect,” the sustainability theme is designed to make individuals consider the role of their actions in society.

Live Green bags for sale

The shopping bags on the cover of the Summer 2008 will be available for purchase in late September in the TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore.

Campaign update

Commitments for the $250 million Campaign for TCU now total some $176 million – or about 70 percent of the campaign goal. In fiscal ’08, the University broke fund-raising records for the third consecutive year with gifts and pledges of more than $70 million, and the Annual Fund raised an all-time high of $7 million. High-priority campaign initiatives include scholarships and support for faculty and key academic programs.

TCU on YouTube, iTunes, Twitter

If you want more content about TCU, check out a special TCU section of YouTube: www.youtube.com/TCU. Viewers can watch everything TCU, from athletics clips to symposia to student-created videos. The university is using the media as another way to promote itself and inform its constituents. Currently the demolition of the Brown-Lupton Student Center has the most “views” of TCU-posted content with more than 1,700. The university is also looking into iTunes U for TCU-centric podcasting and Twitter for blogging.

Welcome home a hero

Sharon Heck Vestor ’67 was one of ­85 TCU alums to greet U.S. soldiers returning home from battle at DFW Airport in June at the Alumni Association’s “Welcome Home a Hero” event. The Fort Worth chapter’s effort earned the group the Alumni Association’s Community Service Award for the second year in a row.

Frogs on the runway

Jason Phillips of the football team showed off the team’s uniform during the fashion show portion of Coach Gary Patterson’s women’s clinic in July. Players and coaches answered questions and gave out prizes to the 150 women in attendance.

A moving experience

First-year student Esther Volmer was one of more than 1,600 freshmen who swarmed campus in mid-August to move into their new digs. For a second consecutive year, scores of faculty and staff members pitched in to help unload and carry their belongings inside.

Student Center recycling

Slats from the old Brown-Lupton Student Center ballroom were pulled up in late May by a group from First United Methodist Church in Azle, which is using the wood for a floor in its new community outreach center.

LT in the house

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson ’05 held his annual camp at TCU in late June. In a Thursday morning speech to 163 campers, he said started the camp to give kids up-close-and-personal contact with the pros because a meeting with Emmitt Smith as a boy inspired him.

Barbie Camp

Palko Hall hosted several specialty camps this summer including Summer Camp with Barbie, offered through the Office of Extended Education. Sixteen girls aged 5 to 8 learned table manners and got ­­plenty of playtime. Other options included Lego Camp and Youth Computer Camp. In all, 128 students participated.