Texas Christian University

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Texas Christian University
Motto: Disciplina est Facultas
Knowledge is Power
Established: 1873
Type: Private
Endowment: $1.26 billion (USD) (June 30, 2008)[1]
Chancellor: Dr. Victor J. Boschini, Jr.
Faculty: 479 (full-time)
Students: 8,696
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Campus: Urban, 325 acres (1.3 km2)
Mascot: Horned Frog
Affiliations: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Website: http://www.tcu.edu

Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Its mascot is the "horned frog" and its school colors are purple and white. Over the past few years the university has engaged in a multi-million dollar construction project which has led to the construction of four new residence halls, the new Brown-Lupton University Union, the Sam Baugh indoor football practice facility, Amon Carter Stadium renovations, a new campus bookstore, and a full renovation and addition to the School of Education. Construction is currently underway to replace the old Student Center with Scharbauer Hall.

Contents

[edit] History

Thorp Spring, Texas, campus.

East Texas brothers Addison & Randolph Clark, together with their father Joseph A. Clark, founded what was then called the AddRan Male & Female College in 1873 after the brothers had returned from service in the American Civil War. The college was named after AddRan Clark, the first son of Addison. The boy died of diphtheria at the age of three. His name was derived from a contraction of the two brothers' names. That name is now preserved in TCU's AddRan College of Liberal Arts. It memorializes the university's connection with its founders.

Early image of the TCU campus in Fort Worth.

The Clarks were scholar-preacher/teachers who were products of the Campbellite movement, one of the streams of the Restoration movement in the nineteenth-century American church. The Campbellites were the spiritual ancestors of the modern Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, and the non-instrumental Churches of Christ (non-institutional). Campbellites were also major proponents of education, and the Clarks operated a preparatory school, the Male & Female Seminary of Fort Worth, from 1869 to 1874. But they also envisioned an institution of higher learning for both men and women that would be Christian in character, but nonsectarian in spirit and intellectually open-minded.

TCU students inside a dorm room at Jarvis Hall.
Statue of TCU founders Addison and Randolph Clark.

They planned to establish their college in Fort Worth on five city blocks purchased for that purpose in 1869. However, from 1867-1872, the character of Fort Worth changed substantially due to the commercial influence of the Chisholm Trail, the principal route for moving Texas cattle to the Kansas railheads. A huge influx of cattle, men, and money transformed the sleepy frontier village into a booming, brawling cowtown. The area around the property purchased by the Clarks for their college soon became the town's vice district, an unrelieved stretch of saloons, gambling halls, dance parlors, and bawdy houses catering to the rough tastes of the Chisholm Trail cowboys. Its rough and rowdy reputation had, by 1872, acquired it the nickname of "Hell's Half Acre" (the heart of which is today occupied by the Fort Worth Convention Center and the Fort Worth Water Gardens).

The Clarks feared this negative environment undermined the fledgling university's mission. They began to look for an alternative site to establish their college, and they found it at Thorp Spring, a small community and stagecoach stop 40 miles (60 km) to the southwest, near the frontier of Comanche and Kiowa territory. It was perhaps a marker of their Campbellite sensibilities that the Clarks feared the Indians less than they feared the corrupting influence of "the Acre."

AddRan College (TCU) was one of the first coeducational institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi River, and the very first in Texas -- a progressive step at a time when only 15% of the national college enrollment was female and almost all were enrolled at women's colleges. The inaugural enrollment in Fall 1873 was 13 students, though this number rose to 123 by the end of the first term. Shortly thereafter, annual enrollment ranged from 200 to 400. The college formed a partnership with what would become the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1889 and was renamed AddRan Christian University. The church does not own or operate TCU; TCU is self-owned and self-governing. The church partnership is based on a common Disciples heritage and shared values.

The need for a larger population and transportation base prompted the university to relocate to Waco from 1895 to 1910. A featured speaker at the Waco welcoming ceremony was the president of crosstown rival, Baylor University. The institution was renamed Texas Christian University in 1902, though almost immediately it was dubbed with the unofficial moniker by which it is most popularly known today: TCU.

In 1910, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the university's main administration building. A group of enterprising Fort Worth businessmen offered the university $200,000 in rebuilding money and a 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus as an inducement to relocate to their city. This move brought TCU home to the historic source of its institutional roots. It also completed TCU's nearly 40-year transition from a frontier college to an urban university.

[edit] Academics and demographics

TCU is classified under the Carnegie classification system as a doctoral/research institution. It offers 100 undergraduate majors, 54 master's programs, and 12 doctoral programs. However, although doctoral/research in academic classification, the university retains strong liberal arts roots. The humanities, social sciences, and sciences are emphasized throughout the curriculum, with a particularly strong emphasis on writing, critical thinking, and communication skills. Among 2,400 four-year colleges and universities in the United States, TCU is routinely ranked by U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" ranking as among the top 120, or the top 5 percent.

Between 2006 and 2010, TCU is spending $295 million reconstructing its main campus as a University Commons, a centrally located green space bounded by a new 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) University Union; four new, suite-style residence halls (housing mostly sophomores and juniors); and a new academic building that will become the headquarters of AddRan College of Liberal Arts. The purpose of this reconstruction is to reinforce and maintain TCU's traditional status as a predominantly residential and pedestrian-friendly campus. About two-thirds of TCU students live on campus.

The student population is about 8,700, with roughly 7,500 undergraduates and 1,200 graduate students. The undergraduate enrollment is 76% white, 7% Hispanic, 5% black, 2.5% Asian, and 9.5% other or unknown. About 57% of TCU undergrads are female and 43% are male.[2]

[edit] Institutions

  • AddRan College of Liberal Arts
  • Brite Divinity School
  • M.J. Neeley School of Business
  • College of Communication
  • College of Education
  • College of Fine Arts
  • Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
  • Schieffer School of Journalism
  • College of Science & Engineering

[edit] Student life

[edit] Student media

  • The Daily Skiff, published since 1902, is TCU's student newspaper.
  • The Horned Frog is the school yearbook.
  • Image Magazine is TCU's student magazine.
  • TCU has a radio station as well, which stretches widely across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It is KTCU, FM 88.7 "The Choice"
  • KTCU also broadcasts TCU football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball.

[edit] Campus Sustainability

TCU has strived for a greener campus by launching the “Think Purple, Live Green” Campaign. So far, the campaign has been successful and has had over 1800 signatories to the “TCU Live Green Pledge”. Incentives have also been offered for students that find innovative ways to live more sustainably on campus. The university is also retrofitting lighting on campus and converting to low-flow fixtures. Texas Christian University received a C- on the The College Sustainability Report Card, but hopefully TCU will improve this year after finishing their Green Theme Semester. [3][4]

[edit] Greek life

Texas Christian University boasts a robust Greek life, including the following organizations:

[edit] Athletics

Horned Frogs logo
Main article: TCU Horned Frogs

TCU competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports as a member of the Division I Mountain West Conference. Over its history, TCU was a long-time member of the former Southwest Conference, competing with Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, Southern Methodist University, Houston, Arkansas, and Rice. After the Southwest Conference's breakup in 1995, a period of transition began for TCU athletics. TCU soon joined the Western Athletic Conference, then shifted to Conference USA in 2001, and in 2005, moved again, joining the Mountain West Conference.

TCU's varsity sports have a long and storied history of excellence, boasting eight men's and ten women's varsity squads. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming & diving, track & field, cross country and tennis. Women's sports include basketball, volleyball, golf, swimming & diving, cross country, track & field, soccer, rifle, equestrian, and tennis.

[edit] Football

Main article: TCU Horned Frogs football

The Horned Frogs have won two national championships, one in 1935[6] and the other in 1938[7]. Additionally, the team has captured fourteen conference championships. Many notable football players played for TCU, including Sammy Baugh, Davey O'Brien, Jim Swink, Bob Lilly, Aaron Schobel, Matt Schobel, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Tucker, Bo Schobel, and Jason Phillips.

The Horned Frogs play their home games in the on campus 44,008 seat Amon G. Carter Stadium. Gary Patterson has coached the team since December 2000, leading the Horned Frogs to a 73-27 record (.730), including five bowl wins in eight appearances and in 2008 the highest season-ending national ranking (7, AP and 7, ESPN/Coaches) in five decades.

[edit] Notable alumni

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

[edit] Athletes

[edit] Business and community leaders

   Todd Gordon-  Farmers Insurance Agent

[edit] Alumni in arts and entertainment

[edit] Fictional alumnus

  • Roy Hinkley, a.k.a. "The Professor" on the TV series Gilligan's Island has, among his six degrees, a PhD from TCU.
  • Kenny Lee Puckett, Professional golfer, protagonist of "Dead Solid Perfect" by author Dan Jenkins.
  • Billy Clyde Puckett, Professional football player, protagonist of "Semi-Tought" by author Dan Jenkins.
  • Captain Karen Walden (played by Meg Ryan), Courage Under Fire, 1996 movie directed by Edward Zwick.
  • Rev. Lovejoy, The Simpsons, Season 20: "Wedding for Disaster", www.thesimpsons.com

[edit] Campus Gallery

Frog Fountain located within the Campus Commons area.

Horned Frog statue.

Aerial view of Sadler Hall.

Amon Carter Stadium.

The Bailey Building, part of the Education Complex.

The Bailey Building, part of the Education Complex.

The Barnes and Noble Bookstore.

Ray Gates, the entryway into campus.

The Bailey Building, part of the Education Complex.

Robert Carr Chapel.

TCU's campus looking toward Robert Carr Chapel.

Jarvis Hall.

The University Recreation Center.

Veterans Plaza.

[edit] References

  • Swaim, Joan. (1992). Walking TCU. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press. ISBN 0-399-14218-50875651046
  1. ^ "2008 NACUBO Endowment Study" (PDF). National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/documents/research/NES2008PublicTable-AllInstitutionsByFY08MarketValue.pdf. Retrieved on February 6, 2009. 
  2. ^ University Fact Book
  3. ^ "Theme Semester". http://www.themesemester.tcu.edu/index.asp/. Retrieved on 2009-06-08. 
  4. ^ "The College Sustainability Report Card". http://www.greenreportcard.org/. Retrieved on 2009-06-08. 
  5. ^ http://www.skiff.tcu.edu/pdfs/0115.skiff.pdf
  6. ^ Complete List of Williamson National Champions from CFB Database
  7. ^ NCAA Division I-A national football championship

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 32°42′35″N 97°21′46″W / 32.709605°N 97.362823°W / 32.709605; -97.362823

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