From Broadway to the tennis courts and from energy to exercise, TCU鈥檚 faculty, alumni and students are in the news.
FACULTY
May 31, 2024
AFP News
Torn apart and rewired by former President Donald Trump鈥檚 historic criminal conviction,
the 2024 presidential campaign moves into uncharted territory with all eyes on how
the two main protagonists navigate the dangers. Robert F. Kennedy, who is running
as an independent in the presidential race, predicted on X that the New York trial
would 鈥渂ackfire.鈥 But鈥Keith Gaddie, a political analyst and professor, said the political impact of the shocking events
has yet to be determined. 鈥淚t probably doesn鈥檛 move a lot of votes, but in particular
states with particular swing votes, it could matter around the margins. So, in particularly
tight races, it can tip things back from one direction to the other,鈥 he said.
May 29, 2024
Star Tribune鈥
The health benefits of spending time in nature have long been established, and exercise
in general, of course, improves physical and mental well-being. Combine the two and
you double down on what adults need to stay healthy, said鈥Debbie Rhea, professor in kinesiology. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get outside. We鈥檝e got to be active,鈥欌 Rhea
said. 鈥樷業f we鈥檙e going to live long lives, this is what it鈥檚 about.鈥
May 29, 2024
奥补濒濒别迟贬耻产鈥
According to鈥Lance A. Bettencourt, professor of professional practice in marketing and academic director of the BNSF
Neeley Leadership Program at the TCU Neeley School of Business,鈥痗redit card companies
are counting on loyalty from those who sign up based on a promotion. 鈥淩esearch is
clear that promotions like sign-up bonuses are very effective, yet often unprofitable
to the company offering the promotion,鈥 he said.
May 24, 2024
Lee News Central鈥
Two years have passed since 21 souls were taken at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde,
Texas. People will commemorate the deadly mass shooting in different ways, but one
woman wrote a play to help remember the lives lost.鈥疉ssistant Professor Ayvaunn Penn said that after what took place in Uvalde, she couldn鈥檛 work on anything else until
she finished 鈥淔or the Love of Uvalde.鈥 It鈥檚 a collaboration between鈥疶CU, The Reducing
Gun Violence Action Team of Tarrant County and Stage West. 鈥淚 was devastated when
I learned of the Robb Elementary School shooting,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y devastation cannot
compare to those who were directly impacted, but as a human being, I could not think
about anything else.鈥
May 20, 2024
贬别补濒迟丑鈥
Most U.S. health experts recommend people get colonoscopies every 10 years. Researchers
in a new study suggest people with a negative colonoscopy and no family history of
colon cancer may be able to wait as long as 15 years between colonoscopies. This move
could even make colonoscopies more appealing to some people, since they鈥檇 have to
do them less frequently, added鈥Dr. Rohan Jeyarajah, chair of surgery at the鈥疊urnett School of Medicine at TCU. It could also ease some
logistical issues. 鈥淸Longer intervals] would really have an impact on resources that
are available for colonoscopies,鈥 he said. 鈥淎t this point, we are struggling to get
people in for the 10-year colonoscopy mark based on physician availability. This is
especially true in rural communities where there is a lack of gastroenterologists
or surgeons who are able to perform screenings for colonoscopies.鈥
May 19, 2024
Good Housekeeping鈥
As fun as the name sounds, FLiRT is not the official designation for the dominant
COVID-19 variant. That is actually a cheeky nickname for a whole family of different
variants (any that start with KP or JN). 鈥淭he FLiRT variants came to the forefront
at the end of April,鈥 said鈥Dr. Nikhil K. Bhayani, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the鈥疊urnett School of
Medicine. 鈥淥ne variant in particular has risen to prominence: KP.2.鈥 Bhayani said
that it鈥檚 鈥渢oo early to tell how contagious this variant is鈥 but that we 鈥渕ight see
an increase in COVID-19 cases this summer due to the fact that this is a new variant
that few people have been exposed to.鈥
May 17, 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram鈥
Two Texas billionaires are looming large in North Texas elections, even if you aren鈥檛
seeing them. Over the past decade the two billionaires have helped push Texas to the
right by backing lawmakers who have advocated bills on guns, transgender issues and
school vouchers. Their influence can be both overstated and understated, said鈥Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor. 鈥淭here are a whole bunch of dynamics working together
in Republican Party politics in Texas...,鈥 Riddlesperger said. 鈥淏ut there are many
other factors as well.鈥
May 17, 2024
POWER Magazine鈥
Students from the Neeley School of Business鈥痬et with influential leaders throughout Europe as part of
their course, The Geopolitics of Energy. The students and instructors from the Ralph
Lowe Energy Institute held discussions with the International Energy Agency in Paris,
the Energy Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels and with Liquid Natural
Gas group of Shell Global in London. The students were accompanied by鈥Ann Bluntzer, executive director of the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute, and鈥Tom Seng, assistant professor of professional practice. 鈥淭he idea is to expose our students
to energy use in other countries,鈥 Seng said. 鈥淭hat includes the energy mix, energy
policy, energy goals and their plans for emissions reductions. The EU has a net zero
by 2050 plan. The question remains as to whether they can achieve that. The Russian
invasion of Ukraine and some record hot summers have put that goal in jeopardy.鈥
STUDENTS
May 20, 2024
KENS-TV (San Antonio, TX)鈥
A twice-daily cattle drive through the Stockyards is how they commemorate Fort Worth鈥檚
authentic history. Now, one woman鈥檚 name will forever be etched in 鈥淭he Herd鈥 history
books.鈥Quinceola Reid, TCU student and military vet, made the trade from combat to cowboy boots. 鈥淚t feels
really big,鈥 Reid said. In The Herd鈥檚 25-year history, she became the first Black
female drover in 2021. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know when I first got the job,鈥 she said.鈥淚 was
just excited to be paid to ride horses versus paying an arm and a leg.鈥
May 14, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)
Class projects from鈥痶he Zoo Enrichment class weren鈥檛 just an exercise to get a grade.
They were tested in the real world to see if they made the grade. 鈥淭o create an enrichment
structure that helps to mimic behavior that would be seen in the wild,鈥 TCU Zoo Enrichment
student 鈥Abi Welch鈥痵aid, explaining the class assignment. Welch was part of the first student team from
TCU to design an enrichment activity structure for elephants. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing! It鈥檚
honestly one of the most incredible feelings I鈥檝e ever experienced,鈥 Welch said.
ALUMNI
May 30, 2024
ABC News
Talking about mental health often isn鈥檛 easy, particularly for men, who often fight
gender stereotypes that make them hesitant to share their feelings. It鈥檚 especially
true for men of color. Now, local barbers in Texas and Louisiana have created a safe
space for men to come together and have open dialogues about their mental health 鈥
in barbershops, a place where conversation is already part of the culture. It all
began three years ago for鈥Dr. Antonio Igbokidi鈥疢.D. 鈥24. In July 2020, he initiated his barbershop talk therapy project in Fort Worth. 鈥淭his
is an opportunity to, one, feel safe to talk about the things we want to talk about,鈥
Igbokidi told ABC News. 鈥淎nd two, figure out what can we do about the things that
we feel. We talk about a lot of things that people have questions on. Adverse childhood
experiences. Maladaptive coping skills. We talk about actually knowing where to go
when you have a crisis and finding people that look like you that you can go to.鈥
May 18, 2024
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)鈥
Why play one role in Hamilton when you can play many? As a standby, swing and dance
captain, that鈥檚 the extraordinary job鈥John Devereaux鈥12鈥痟as in the national touring production of the Tony Award-winning blockbuster. A bonus
for the Texas native is playing these roles for a hometown crowd. The show is playing
at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas before it moves to Bass Performance Hall in
Fort Worth. A friend urged him to audition for a show at TCU and that changed his
career trajectory. 鈥淔or TCU, it was a place where I gained my confidence. I feel like
I had gifts that weren鈥檛 tapped into as much, but I guess TCU pulled it out of me
and they gave me confidence and nurtured those gifts. It was kind of like an incubator
for those four years,鈥 Devereaux said.
ATHLETICS
May 19, 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram鈥
For the first time in program history, TCU鈥疢en鈥檚 Tennis is the NCAA national champions. The Horned Frogs defeated Texas 4-3 to capture the
title. With TCU trailing 3-2,鈥Jack Pinnington鈥痗ame clutch with a singles win. After dropping the first set, Pinnington stormed
back to win the next two. TCU鈥檚鈥Sebastian Gorzny鈥痵ealed the title with a singles win. The Horned Frogs captured two Intercollegiate
Tennis Association Indoor National Championships in 2022 and 2023 but had never been
crowned NCAA champions before this year.