With 1,214 degree candidates, the Class of 2003 became the largest class ever to graduate from TCU. The new alumni leave alma mater with memories of extensive campus construction and a slew of new university programs.

Truly, their time was among the most dynamic in the history of the institution.

Their years were also Michael Ferrari’s, and much of the prosperity the university enjoys today came under his direction as chancellor.

Now, after five years, Ferrari retires and experiences a commencement of his own, leaving for his native Midwest to enjoy a brief respite with family before embarking on a new career in consulting. In one of his final acts as chancellor, Ferrari made sure to continue a tradition he began when he arrived at TCU in 1998 — signing every diploma by hand. “Students give us four or five years for an undergraduate degree,” he says. “It’s the least I can do.”

TCU had something in mind for Ferrari, too. In addition to many individual gifts given by well-wishers across campus, the university threw a campuswide picnic in his honor and a presented a symphony of his favorite music that was directed by German Gutierrez and performed by the TCU Orchestra and Concert Choral.

A touched and overwhelmed Ferrari said, “TCU will always have a special place in my heart. The people here, above all else, will be what I will treasure the most.”