From the U.S. credit rating to AI and the admission process, TCU is in the news.
INSTITUTIONAL
Aug. 14, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Beyond the nutrition, outfits and rowdiness, district and city leadership reiterated
the seriousness behind fixing academic and mental health obstacles caused by the COVID-19
pandemic that students are still overcoming. A multi-tiered support system is in place
so they can attack both academic and behavioral issues that they鈥檙e seeing, according
to the superintendent. This includes a partnership with 茄子视频 that provides a counseling clinic where families and students can receive counseling
at no cost.
Aug. 9, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
TCU鈥痺as named the No. 2 college campus in Texas for 2023. It earned an overall grade
of A and an A+ for its campus, as well as four stars from 1,702 reviewers. 鈥淭CU has
an incredibly inclusive and supportive community. The professors genuinely care about
their students and want their students to succeed. Many have their PhD, with years
of real-world industry experience,鈥� one senior said in their review of the university.
The Niche.com ranking is based on key statistics and student reviews using data from
the U.S. Department of Education.鈥�
Aug. 9, 2023
FW Inc.
TCU announced this week the initiation of the Four Directions Scholars Program designed
to provide opportunities and support for two first-year undergraduate students who
hold citizenship in federally recognized tribes. 鈥淭he Four Directions Scholars Program
is evidence of TCU鈥檚 commitment to Native American nations and communities,鈥� said Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, TCU鈥檚 chief inclusion officer, in a statement. Scott Langston, interim Native American nations and communities liaison, added 鈥淭hese scholarships
are integral to our goal of broadening access to TCU's offerings and aiding Native
students in emerging as leaders within their tribal nations upon graduation.鈥�
Aug. 2, 2023
Forbes
The newest influencer on the admission landscape is artificial intelligence (AI) and
it has the potential, if used wisely, to serve as a powerful guide to traversing the
path to college. Conversely, if permitted, AI can take the reins and lead applicants
down an inauthentic road that may be statistically predictable but can be misleading
at best and unethical at worst. Heath Einstein, dean of admission, makes a different prediction. 鈥淎I is a seemingly ubiquitous topic
among college admission counseling professionals. There is growing concern for how
students and their advocates could leverage ChatGPT and similar systems to manipulate
the admission process,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t won鈥檛 be long before a college leans directly
into AI, hoping not to mitigate, but entirely eliminate the 鈥榩roblem鈥� by asking students
to use technology to craft their best college essay.鈥�
FACULTY
Aug. 15, 2023
The 19th | 130,246 unique visitors per month
A new dashboard launched by the Biden administration to track heat-related illnesses
will help municipalities and medical professionals with prevention efforts and assist
families as they make housing decisions, particularly for older adults, experts say. Dr. David Capper, chair of clinical sciences at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, stressed the
importance of checking on older family members during extreme heat, especially those
who might be isolated. 鈥淚f family and friends know that grandma lives alone in her
house that she鈥檚 had for 60 years 鈥� the key is to be willing to reach out, to be willing
to check on her every day during severe heat waves,鈥� he said.
Aug. 14, 2023
Tekdeeps.com
It happens to the best of us brides-to-be: We do everything we can to make sure the
big day goes perfectly, and then, seemingly all of a sudden, we turn into a giant
ball of stress ready to destroy anything鈥攐r anyone鈥攊n our path. If you鈥檝e stopped
doing the things you love and that make you happy, whether it鈥檚 exercise classes,
hanging out with friends, or even taking a long swim, because of wedding planning,
it鈥檚 time to take things back. 鈥淭he best way to handle this is to realize that wedding
planning should fit into your life, not the other way around,鈥� said Angela Thompson, professor of sociology. 鈥淚f your entire lunch break is spent planning your wedding
instead of hanging out with colleagues, or you鈥檙e on a date with your fianc茅 and you鈥檙e
constantly on your phone looking at wedding decorations, you鈥檙e doing too much.鈥�
Aug. 14, 2023
MDPI
Research on judgments of learning (JOL) reactivity has revealed that the mere act
of measuring monitoring during learning can directly influence memory. Multiple mechanisms
have been proposed to explain JOL reactivity effects, and some mechanisms may be more
relevant in some contexts than in others. To investigate this idea, Michelle L. Rivers and Sarah K. Tauber from the Department of Psychology at TCU, along with three others, created an online
sample of participants and undergraduate students studied a set of moderately related
word pairs (e.g., dairy鈥揷ow) in preparation for a cued recall test. Outcomes suggest
that positive reactivity for related word pairs is not solely explained by attentional
reorienting during encoding.
Aug. 12, 2023
Newsweek
Despite strong showings, the past year has been lackluster for Disney. Even though
Disney may struggle to make its money back on these films from cinema sales, they
will continue having value on Disney+ for years to come, according to Kimberly Owczarski, associate professor of film, television and digital media. 鈥淭hey released too many
films in a short time frame in what was already a crowded summer of competition,鈥�
she explained, and added: 鈥淭hey have relied too much on franchises that are either
skewing older or there are too many texts to keep track of in theaters and on streaming,
like with the Marvel properties.鈥�
Aug. 12, 2023
OLTNEWS
The International Energy Agency predicts that energy demand may not grow as quickly
next year, and the IEA cites the growth of electric vehicles. But Tom Seng, assistant professor of energy finance, isn鈥檛 buying it. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not being sold
at the clip manufacturers would expect, you know, we鈥檙e seeing discounts from Tesla
and others,鈥� Seng said. 鈥淎nd so I don鈥檛 give much credit to EVs having a big impact
on the drop in demand in 2024.鈥�
Aug. 11, 2023
Denton Record-Chronicle
In ERCOT鈥檚 preparedness report, the organization made conservative estimates for how
much energy it could generate at each power plant. Natural gas plants don鈥檛 perform
at peak efficiency during strings of 100-degree summer days, said Tom Seng of TCU鈥檚 Ralph Lowe Energy Institute. Seng, who previously lived in Tulsa, is over
halfway through his first Texas summer. He鈥檚 moved his workouts earlier in the morning
or later in the evening and runs ceiling and box fans in his home to avoid running
his air conditioner too frequently. Seng is waiting for the day he steps outside and
realizes, finally, that it is only 90 degrees. 鈥淲hen I step out of my apartment or
step out of my truck,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 really do feel like the sun is sucking the life
out of me.鈥�
August 10, 2023
顿补颈濒测鈥疜辞蝉鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Sheriffs, who in America are elected officials, have their 鈥渄ay-to-day tasks complicated
by being a politician and thinking about, okay, what policy should we put in place
for jails and how we run those?鈥� explains鈥�Emily Farris, associate professor of political science. 鈥淐an we find somebody good enough to reform
an office that is perhaps, just at its heart, bad? And I don't know if there's a solution.
This idea that there's no such thing as a progressive sheriff would certainly question
it and say, 鈥榃e just need to get rid of sheriffs altogether.鈥� That there needs to
be a different system in place and moving towards abolition ideas as well.鈥�
August 10, 2023
The Dallas Morning News鈥�
Texas鈥� record-breaking temperatures this summer have caused energy demand to soar.
The Natural gas plants don鈥檛 perform at peak efficiency during strings of 100-degree
summer days, said鈥疶om Seng, assistant professor of professional practice in the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute.
Seng said ERCOT likely accounted for worst-case scenarios in its summer preparations,
ensuring it had the energy supply to meet high demands.
August 6, 2023
Fort Worth鈥疪eport
The Burnett School of Medicine at TCU recently hosted a speaker for the incoming class
of 2027 about the importance of empathy and compassion, two qualities TCU administrators
believe to be key for the future of medical care. His speech helped frame the incoming
students鈥� education in terms of the importance of patient care, said鈥�Natalie Lundsteen, assistant dean for student affairs. Empathy and compassion are two tenets the medical
school鈥痟as been imprinting on students since its founding in 2019. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about being
empathetic scholars,鈥� Lundsteen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about caring for a patient who is sometimes
at the worst moment of their life and recognizing they can come out of it.鈥�
August 5, 2023
Phelps County Focus鈥�
Rudy Giuliani conceded in a carefully worded court filing that his assertions about
Georgia election workers committing fraud during the 2020 presidential race were false.鈥疶hat
concession has rekindled interest in Giuliani鈥檚 2020 Missouri testimony and the impact
it could have in a separate defamation suit filed in St. Louis by the same election
workers against the right-wing outlet Gateway Pundit.鈥� Giuliani鈥檚 admission won鈥檛
help the Gateway Pundit fend off the allegations, said鈥�Daxton Stewart, an attorney and journalism professor specializing in鈥痬edia鈥痩aw. 鈥淛ust repeating
something that someone else said that was false still makes a publisher subject to
defamation claims,鈥� Stewart said.
August 5, 2023
The Lens with Stephanie Kelton
It wasn鈥檛 all that long ago that leading economists were arguing that the Trump tax
cuts had so wrecked the nation鈥檚 finances, that it would be next to impossible for
Congress to fire off enough fiscal support to thwart an economic downturn. That was
obviously wrong. To the extent that the downgrade makes any sense at all, it stems
from the increasingly erratic posturing around the debt ceiling limit. It is about
our willingness鈥攏ot our ability鈥攖o pay our bills. 鈥淐an the U.S. be forced into debt
default? Never,鈥� said economics professor John T. Harvey. 鈥淐ould the gridlocked, highly partisan, and dysfunctional U.S. government prevent
us from meeting financial obligations we absolutely have the legal and economic ability
to meet? Yes. Shame on us, United States. And for that, the debt is the least of our
worries.鈥�
August 2, 2023
贵辞谤产别蝉鈥�
Yesterday, Fitch issued a downgrade of US long-term debt from AAA to AA+. Is there
a universe in which this makes sense or is it Fitch that deserves a downgrade? First
and foremost, it needs to be made clear that it is impossible for the United States
to be forced into default on debt denominated in dollars. Not unlikely, not improbable,
but impossible. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 mean that there can鈥檛 be other consequences, like inflation
or crowding out of the private sector (both of which also require at that we are already
at full employment), but default is off the table,鈥� said鈥�John T. Harvey,鈥痯rofessor of economics.
ALUMNI
August 8, 2023
Fort Worth鈥疪eport鈥�
Innovation and art share something in common: creativity. That is why鈥疍J Perera鈥��10,鈥痠s teaching students the value of utilizing innovation not just in the classroom,
but for their future. As an immigrant and artist, Perera鈥檚 world widened from the
opportunity education provided him. But he also learned the necessity of using creativity
to be innovative in art, but also in life. Now, after receiving many awards and honors,
he is teaching his students about using technology in art, innovating the artistic
space, and how creativity and innovation build off each other.
August 8, 2023
贬辞辞辫濒补鈥�
Mary Neita Werner鈥��52,鈥痺as destined to become a great musician. Her mother, Vivian Harder Johnson, was
a highly-sought piano teacher in Fort Worth. 鈥淢y mother was the finest keyboard person
in this town, and I鈥檓 not saying that because she was my mother 鈥� she was,鈥� said Mary
Neita. 鈥淓verybody in town studied with Mother. And I could play the piano, but I didn鈥檛
get her talent.鈥� Being the best cellist in school landed her a four-year scholarship.
She and a few other band members would form units and play garden parties and tea
parties for extra spending money.
August 7, 2023
Since late 2020, local entrepreneur Chris Koerner鈥��19 MBA,鈥痟as been in the spotlight for making a substantial amount of sales by reselling
Buc-ee鈥檚 related items on his site TexasSnax.com. Before Koerner came up with this
idea, the popular chain really didn鈥檛 have much of an online store presence. That
was until Koerner filled six carts with more than 600 items from the Denton Buc-ee鈥檚
locale to sell online in the fall of 2020. 鈥淚 was driving home from a Buc-ee鈥檚 one
day and thought to myself that they must kill it in online sales,鈥� Koerner said. 鈥淎fter
I got home, I went to their website and didn鈥檛 see anything online.鈥� This was what
Koerner called his 鈥渓ightbulb moment.鈥�
August 3, 2023
The Spokesman-Review鈥�
Collin Pittman鈥��21,鈥痠s a young but experienced director, who will call the shots on 鈥淛immy Buffett鈥檚
Escape to Margaritaville,鈥� at the Spokane Valley Summer Theater. 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful
to be given such a great opportunity,鈥� Pittman said. 鈥淏ut I believe this is the perfect
show for me to step into since it has that summer feel and it鈥檚 upbeat.鈥�
August 2, 2023
Connecticut Post鈥�
Sandra Brown鈥��69鈥�is the author of 73 New York Times best-sellers. Her new book, 鈥淥ut of Nowhere,鈥� is a fast-paced, emotional thriller
where the lives of a young mother and a high-rolling consultant collide under devastating
circumstances 鈥� culminating in a desperate manhunt that will change their futures
forever. Brown holds an honorary doctorate from TCU.鈥�
ATHLETICS
Aug. 11, 2023
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
With the NCAA allowing a foreign tour once every four years, TCU Basketball decided to travel to Europe to play four exhibition games and go sightseeing. This
is a great opportunity for Frog fans to get a first look at what the 2023-24 team
will look like. On Aug. 4, TCU departed for Paris to play two exhibition games before
traveling to London for two more. Games were against teams from various professional
teams from different leagues over the world. In Paris, they played Areus All-Stars
and Elite Basket Congo, Aug. 8. They arrived in London by train before playing Barking
Abbey and the Surrey Scorchers. TCU won all four games in blowout fashion, scoring
over 100 in each.
August 9, 2023
Sports Illustrated
Meet the eight incoming freshmen to Horned Frog Soccer. Women鈥檚 Soccer鈥痺elcomed a
new class of freshmen for the 2023 season:鈥�Sasha Carbone,鈥�Gabbi Ceballos,鈥�Katrina Chong,鈥�Brooke Conover,鈥�Bella Diorio,鈥�Marli Galdamez,鈥�Elise Krone 补苍诲鈥�Landen Matthews. Head coach Eric Bell and the team kicked off their 2023 season against SMU in August.