In this issue: Fall 2018
![Jeffrey Coffer, professor of chemistry at TCU, shines a laser pointer onto a piece of film to show the silicon nanoparticles. The bright area with red is the reflection of the nanoparticles on the film. Photo by Mark Graham](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TCU_JeffreyCoffer_12-355x240.jpg)
Features, Research + Discovery
Failure on a Small Scale: Tiny Holes Elude Silicon Researchers
Professor Jeffery Coffer doesn’t allow frustration to get in the way of solving a riddle.
![Illustration by Brian Stauffer](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/propeller_head-355x240.jpg)
Features
Kathy Cavins-Tull Talks About Failure-Based Lessons
In a Q&A, the vice chancellor for student affairs talks about how TCU’s safety net stands to help students succeed.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/fall-blue-TOC-355x240.jpg)
Letters
College Is All About Learning from Mistakes
You might have read or heard this popular story about failure. As a young man, Walt Disney was fired from a Missouri newspaper. An editor told him he “lacked creativity.”
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Fall-into-flowers-failure-illustration-355x240.png)
Alumni, Web Extras
TCU Magazine Podcast: Failure
How did you overcome failure? Three TCU alumni provide raw and introspective looks into their journeys.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Getty-Images-Uzenzen-355x240.png)
Campus News: Alma Matters
Does Failure Have Benefits? Faculty Discuss
Professors quote notable people like J.K. Rowling and Jimmy Buffett to reflect on the fruits of failure.
![Thousands gather in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2014 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the country’s genocide that left nearly 1 million people dead. Women are a major part of the effort to rebuild Rwanda and some of the next generation of leaders are studying at TCU. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-482938511-355x240.jpg)
Features
TCU Educates the Next Generation of Rwandan Leaders
Rwandan students seeking ways to positively impact their country’s future turn to TCU.
![The Skiff’s sports section included photos of the scoreboard in Austin, Texas, and a pass from quarterback Sonny Gibbs to Buddy Iles. On the next play, the duo again connected for a landmark touchdown — the only points scored during the game. Courtesy of TCU Archives](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Sonny-Gibbs-1961-355x240.png)
Alumni, Mem’ries Sweet, Sports: Riff Ram
Texas Coach Darrell Royal Compared TCU to the Cockroach
The assessment of TCU football has become a point of pride ever since a fateful 1961 upset.
![Zarnell Fitch rallies the defensive line. Courtesy of TCU Athletics](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Zarnell-Fitch-3-1-355x240.jpg)
Alumni, Sports: Riff Ram
Zarnell Fitch is a Rock Star Football Recruiter
The defensive line coach talks about recruiting and his admiration for Coach Gary Patterson.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/bauml-5825edit-355x240.jpg)
Campus News: Alma Matters
Michelle Bauml: Social Studies Activist
The Winter Professor in Early Childhood Education leverages her experience as an elementary school teacher to create broad educational — and social — change.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-CT-West_portrait_MG_05-355x240.jpg)
Alumni
Mechele West Protects People
A TCU education and faith propel the alumna’s safety and fitness career.
![Los Angeles area arts editor and film critic Carl Kozlowski '93, photographed on stage at the iconic Hollywood Laugh Factory where he regularly performs stand-up comedy. Kozlowski is also the founder and host of the Radio Titans Podcast. Photo by Christine Gandolfo](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-CT-Kozlowski_web-1200x1800_CG_04-355x240.jpg)
Alumni
Comic Carl Kozlowski Finds Humor in Unexpected Places
The Radio Titans host opens up about his health struggles, realigning his career and the numerous life lessons learned along the way.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-946417216edit-355x240.jpg)
Campus News: Alma Matters
Show Your Syllabus: Beyonce and Intersectionality
From “Formation” to “Lemonade,” this course utilizes the artistry, musicianship and feminism of Beyoncé to explore deeper issues of patriarchy, racism, classism and sexism in society.
![Among an assortment of plaques, photos and articles displayed on the wall of the Institute of Behavioral Research is a framed miniature American flag. The flag is accompanied by a certificate that states "THIS FLAG WAS ON BOARD APOLLO XIII DURING ITS FLIGHT AND EMERGENCY RETURN TO EARTH | APOLLO XIII | April 11-17, 1970" followed by the signatures of crew members James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise and the official emblem of the Apollo XIII mission. Photo by Glen E. Ellman, August 14, 2018](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-AM-Object_Apollo13-flag_GEE_8-355x240.jpg)
Campus News: Alma Matters
Symbol of Democracy Survives
A little flag from ill-fated Apollo 13 is on display at the Behavioral Research Institute.
![Kelsey Milbourn (left) as Viola and Garret Storms (right) as Orsino in a dress rehearsal for Trinity Shakespeare's production of Twelfth Night. Photo by Amy Peterson](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-AM-OnStage_12thNight_AP_1-355x240.jpg)
Campus News: Alma Matters
On Stage: Trinity Shakespeare Festival
For its 10th season, the festival featured performances of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-RD-Bontrager_color_RH_edit-355x240.jpg)
Research + Discovery
Army Survival Art Inspires Project
Subjects of 1957 Army drawings find new life in Nicholas Bontrager’s work.
![Illustration of sperm and egg cell. Illustration by Getty Images © ILEXX and CSA Images/Archive](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-531610705-355x240.jpg)
Research + Discovery
Reproductive Rhetoric is Center of Instructor’s Research
Layne Craig examines reproductive autonomy between the world wars.
![Jennifer Engler encouraged the actors — TCU students and professionals — to make up backstories for their characters. Photo by Joyce Marshall](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Engler-theatre-05-355x240.jpg)
Research + Discovery
Students Gain Experience Through Community Theater
Collaborations set the stage for TCU actors’ careers.
![Carl Kozlowski is the founder and host of the Radio Titans Podcast. Photo by Christine Gandolfo](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FALL18-CT-Kozlowski_web-1200x1800_CG_10-355x240.jpg)
Alumni, Web Extras
TCU Magazine Podcast: Carl Kozlowski
The comic has performed in some of the biggest clubs in Chicago, Los Angles and New York.
![The Codex Mexicanus is a small 16th-century book written in Nahuatl, a native Aztec language. Courtesy of Lori Boornazian Diel](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Codex-Plate-037b-355x240.jpg)
Research + Discovery
Ancient Manuscript Describes Assimilation of Aztecs
Art historian Lori Boornazian Diel decodes the story of Spanish invasion and the struggle to find a new identity after defeat.
![Lindsay Ma and Josh Bentley, both assistant professors for the Department of Strategic Communication, looked at organizational mea culpas after massive data breaches. Photo by Mark Graham](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TCU_Ma_Bentley_06feature-355x240.jpg)
Research + Discovery
Data Breach Warrants Carefully Crafted Apology
When sensitive information gets hacked, Joshua Bentley says it’s important for corporations to iterate four elements.
![](https://magazine.tcu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Agility-GettyImages-613753404-Converted-355x240.jpg)
Alumni
As Industries Shift to AI: Stay Relevant
Plus more career advice: I’m a freelancer — does it matter what I call myself?