We come together today to celebrate the beginning of Texas Christian University’s 136th year and the vibrant academic life of this university.  Today, I want to look back upon the past five years and examine our priorities for the coming years.  We also will recognize the exemplary scholars and mentors who define Texas Christian University.

Our mission is clear: To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.  The first step in this process is to attract the students, faculty and staff who can achieve their full potential at TCU.  In fact, this is the first cardinal goal that grew from Vision in Action, our strategic planning effort that concluded in 2005.

ENROLLMENT

Students are our lifeblood, and our enrollment is key to the quality of the university experience. Over the past five years, the enrollment has grown moderately, generally in concert with the recommendations of Vision in Action. Though we will not have this year’s official numbers until after the 12th day of class, we know that total enrollment should be roughly equivalent to last year’s: about 8,000.  VIA determined that we should increase our graduate enrollment.  In the past five years, this population has risen by 225, and further growth is still a priority.

FACULTY

Our second cardinal goal is to design a vibrant learning community, characterized by distinctive curricular, co-curricular and residential programs.  At the heart of this vibrant learning community are TCU’s faculty and staff.  Consequently, adding new positions has been a top priority. In the past five years, we have added 89 new faculty positions. During this period, we have succeeded in lowering our student/faculty ratio from 15:1 to 14:1.3   Our target remains 13:1.

FACILITIES

TCU’s third cardinal goal is to sustain an environment of rich personal interaction enhanced by outstanding facilities and technology.

More than $155 million of construction is under way or was completed in 2008. During this and the past two academic years, 10 new state-of-the-art facilities were completed. About a dozen major reshoring, renovation and other capital projects were completed or are in progress.  Examples include the conversion of Jarvis Hall to Student Affairs and School of Music use and the complete renovation of Clark Hall.

For decades, University Drive, with its tree-shaded lawns and noble structures, had been TCU’s “front door.” But for those whizzing past in vehicles, time and traffic had turned the door into an impenetrable window.  That too has changed with the addition of the Ray Gates, the Teresa and Luther King Entrance, and the University Union arch that beckons all to enter the Campus Commons.

The Campus Commons is key to realizing our dream of a vibrant 24/7 community where people are drawn to the center of campus… a place where students and faculty can study, think, eat, gather, perform, debate, discover.  That vision is in motion now with the opening of the Brown-Lupton University Union this semester, and the four Commons residence halls last year.

The 24/7 campus is real.  Students operate on a different time clock. If you don’t agree, take a look around the campus at about 1:30 a.m. on a weeknight. Students are out on campus, engaging with one another. That’s why the library is opening its doors 24 hours a day, five days week, and why parts of the Union will be open day and night.

TCU’s fourth cardinal goal is to accelerate our connection with the greater community.  New facilities like the University Union with its ballroom, auditorium and conference center are helping us achieve this result.

As is the Mabee Foundation Education Complex, which opened last year. To create this complex, TCU renovated the existing Bailey Building and constructed Betsy and Steve Palko Hall.

The complex is the new home for the Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, the Center for Urban Education and the Alice S. Neeley Special Education Institute.  Consequently, TCU can reach more effectively into the community, bringing North Texas schoolteachers and schoolchildren here to teach and learn. Our education students and researchers benefit, and TCU’s influence grows.

“Big-time” Division I athletics are another part of the total TCU experience, and the Horned Frogs are Fort Worth’s “home team.”  The Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility and the Meyer-Martin Academic Complex are enhancing experiences for both students and fans.
The TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore not only offers textbooks and merchandise, but also a cafe where students can study and meet, and the TCU community can connect.

Finally, there is the East Campus Chiller Plant. It may not sound very exciting, but believe me, in June, July, August and September, it’s significant!

How has TCU been able to achieve so much over so short a period? The University’s fifth cardinal goal is to couple wise financial stewardship with a well-planned entrepreneurial approach to academics.  With this charge, the University has built both a powerful endowment and a robust fund-raising program.

ENDOWMENT

The University’s endowment provides the foundation for our progress.  In 2003-2004, the endowment totaled about $745 million.  Today that figure is $1.2 billion, an addition of more than $465 million.  Each year, 5 percent of the endowment is directed to the University budget.  Under the guidance of Trustee Mark Johnson, our chief investment officer, Jim Hille, is providing the stewardship that will further grow the endowment.

FUND RAISING

The fund-raising program is also fueling our success.  Let’s examine total philanthropy – that’s all cash giving, new pledges and pledge payments. In 2003-2004, total philanthropy was $20 million.  In 2007-2008, total philanthropy was almost $71 million.  That is an increase of more than $50 million.  Last year was TCU’s third consecutive year of record philanthropic support.

During this period, TCU entered the leadership gift phase of The Campaign for TCU, seeking campaign support from those closest to the University. In April we entered the public phase of the campaign.

To give you a sense of campaign progress, we have raised almost $180 million or 72 percent of the $250 million campaign goal.  Less than half of the campaign time has elapsed.  The Campaign has provided funding for programs, facilities and professorships across the campus.

These have been years of great achievement.  But there is much more to do as we create a world-class, values-centered university experience for our students.  I would like to examine both short-term and long-term priorities.  And in doing so, I’ll touch on some of the things that keep me awake at night.

SHORT-TERM PRIORITIES

First, we will further strengthen the student experience. The Campus Commons is designed to be the nexus of the TCU experience, linking all elements of campus. We must ensure this happens by:

• Taking advantage of the opportunities that the Campus Commons offers for interaction between all segments of the campus community;
• Appreciating that learning occurs in a variety of settings, 24 hours a day;
• Encouraging faculty and staff to frequent the University Union and to interact with students; and
• Making it clear that the entire campus community is invited to use the Union’s conference center. 

The Campus Commons will be completed next fall with the opening of Clarence and Kerry Scharbauer Hall, its academic component. The Commons enables us to optimize student welfare and integrate recreation, dining, living and academic spaces. With a campus location that meets the needs of students, they will be better able to take advantage of all the opportunities the university has to offer.

Second, we will make TCU a “select” place to work. This means continually exploring new ways to be a better employer.  Here are just a few examples:

• Increasing professional development opportunities like the résumé-building Management Institute and the Crucial Conversations course;
• Building on the wellness program, which already offers services ranging from flu shots to the annual Pedometer Challenge; and
• Continuing to provide support for faculty and staff and their families as they work toward TCU degrees, such as the Staff Assembly’s program to prepare first-generation students for college. 

The tuition benefit for employees, their dependents and their spouses totaled more that $5 million for the last academic year.  In 2008, 15 staff members completed a degree program and graduated by using the TCU tuition benefit.  One hundred eighty-four employee dependents attended TCU through the tuition benefit, and another 10 attended other universities through the tuition exchange.

Third, we will achieve greater diversity among students, faculty and staff.  Long-term goals include continued, stabilized enrollment, but with the ever-greater spice that diversity offers—race/ethnicity and geographic, to be sure. But even more important, differences that include faith traditions, cultural mores and life experiences.

Fourth, we will recruit another outstanding and diverse class for fall 2009. We have seen much success in the admission process.  Each year, the freshman class has been drawn from an increasingly larger applicant pool.  This year’s applicants numbered more than 12,000 for a goal of 1,550. Each year, SAT scores have risen.  Each year, the freshman class has become more diverse.  In fact, students of color comprise about 20 percent of the Class of 2012.  Much credit goes to Dean of Admission Ray Brown and his staff.

Much credit also goes to Director of Scholarships & Student Financial Aid Mike Scott and his staff.  For success in admission goes hand-in-hand with a strong financial aid program. This year, TCU awarded $60 million in scholarships and grants, an increase of 18 percent over the previous year. A full 75 percent of our students benefit from financial aid of some sort.

So why does the thought of recruiting next fall’s freshman class make me lose sleep?  This was a particularly perplexing — and unexpected — year for admission.   Virtually every school fortunate enough to have a wait list went deep into it.

Obviously, there is much discussion of why this happened, but the two most compelling explanations seem to be the proliferation of applications from students applying to multiple schools and the economic climate in the United States. With headlines such as “Collapse of loan market has students scrambling” from the Boston Globe and “America’s middle class can’t take much more,” from Rolling Stone, people just don’t feel secure.

Fifth, we must continue to build upon the unprecedented success of The Campaign for TCU.  We must sustain campaign momentum as we work through the public phase and solidify broad support:  

• Scholarships are a high priority. In this economic climate, we must be able to offer competitive financial aid packages. To build the student profile we seek, we must have additional funds for Chancellor’s Scholars, Community Scholars and endowed scholarships;
• Increased faculty support is also imperative, as are new endowed chairs and professorships.

I am 100 percent convinced that we will raise far more than our stated campaign goal of $250 million.  It’s exciting to talk about the largest campaign goal in TCU’s history.  But it’s even more exciting to talk about, and experience, all of the amazing things this campaign is enabling us to accomplish at TCU.  For this, I thank each and every donor.

Sixth, we must complete two building projects and begin raising funds for several others.
Already in progress are:

• Scharbauer Hall in the Campus Commons, and
• A multiplatform journalism lab for the Schieffer School of Journalism that will enable students to gain necessary experience for the convergent world of 21st century journalism.

We also must develop fund-raising strategies and begin seeking funds for areas that are “program rich” and “space poor”:

• We must complete the feasibility study already under way to determine if there is financial support for a new facility for our world-class School of Music;
• We must find a way to construct a new building for the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance.
• We must complete the feasibility study under way to determine how to best improve the Mary Couts Burnett Library;
• We also hope to build a new Admission Center. This would be a small building with a large parking lot on the corner of Bellaire and Stadium drives, totally dedicated to the admission process. There are few top universities in this country with Admission Office facilities that are as modest as ours.
• Finally, we hope to turn the 78-year-old Amon Carter Stadium into the “Camden Yards” of collegiate football. 

And the last of our short-term goals is to achieve all this in an era of belt-tightening and elimination of waste.  Just as our families have seen the costs of food, energy and other necessities rise, so has TCU.  And the broader economic trends portend higher costs for colleges and universities in the months to come.

TCU’s financial position is sound.  But we must be mindful of our resources and budget carefully.  You can contribute by monitoring expenditures closely and instituting cost-saving measures in your area.

LONG-TERM PRIORITIES

Now to shift our focus to our priorities requiring more time.

Growth in TCU’s graduate programs, a key recommendation of Vision in Action, will continue to be a priority. A larger graduate presence could be achieved by enlarging our present programs or possibly adding carefully selected new ones.  Either option will require significant financial and personnel resources.

Preparing for the next accreditation visit by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is among our highest priorities.  The SACS team will be on campus in spring 2013.

We expect that everyone on campus is working to fulfill our mission and making decisions that are informed by data. We do this so that TCU will become better and better, not simply to please SACS.  But accreditation is vital.

SACS looks for “institutional effectiveness.” However, we focus on this issue not just because SACS will be here in four years, but also because it leads to an enhanced educational experience for our students. You will be happy to know that staff are currently dedicated to preparing for our next encounter with SACS.

We must move full-speed ahead with fund raising.  A maxim in higher education is that you’re either in a campaign or you’re planning a campaign.  Fourteen years separated the public kickoffs of this campaign and the last. That’s too long.  We must increase our endowment now and in the future, for gifts to the endowment translate into chairs and professorships, as well as scholarships.

Recently, we received a generous gift of $8 million from Paul and Judy Andrews of Fort Worth.  Their gift will help endow the Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education.  Their gift also will help endow the John V. Roach Honors College. 
We also received a $2 million gift from Trustee Trevor-Rees Jones and his wife Jan.  The Rees-Jones gift will support the outstanding work of Drs. Karyn Purvis and David Cross in the Institute of Child Development.  These are just two examples of recent gifts that are making a tremendous difference at TCU.  We are receiving great support from other donors as well, but our dreams and aspirations require us to do even more.  Our goal is to raise at least $65 million for scholarships and at least $60 million for faculty support and academic programs in the current campaign.  So we will remain very focused on these priorities until our goals are exceeded.

As for the future, we are already talking about funding priorities for the next campaign.  The TCU community will continue to generate new ideas and have even greater dreams and aspirations that will require extraordinary philanthropic support from our loyal and generous alumni, friends, parents, corporations and foundations.

We must continue to practice the best possible stewardship of our resources.  That means moderate spending and a strong endowment, both of which have resulted in TCU’s success in recent years.

Sustainability is another aspect of stewardship. This fall’s theme semester, “Think Purple, Live Green,” focuses our attention on this important issue, particularly how we as individuals can become more environmentally aware.  In addition, the University is putting much care into sustainability issues.

We are taking many steps, large and small, to achieve this goal, including energy conservation, green buildings and recycling.  Scharbauer Hall will be registered for LEED certification. It’s a benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green practices.  The University employs four LEED-certified engineers and architects.  These are just a few of the scores of ways TCU is addressing sustainability issues.

Finally, we will continue to monitor and adapt to the national educational climate.  In my work with the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, I have the opportunity to meet and work with leaders in higher education, as well as with legislators and government regulators. From this perspective, these are trends that I anticipate to grow in the coming months and years:

• First, more government regulations, even at private institutions like ours
• Second, more accountability and scrutiny, and particularly scrutiny about the role of athletics
• Third, increased criticism and concern about tuition and other costs
• Fourth, more questions about institutional value from students and their families
• And fifth, more doubt about the contributions of higher education to society.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act is another concern. This legislation is the source of all federal student aid plus funds for many other programs. After six long years of negotiation, the act was recently passed and signed by President Bush. Among key issues are accreditation, reporting and record keeping, campus safety and endowment reporting. 
We will learn more about the Higher Education Opportunity Act and how it may impact TCU on September 19.  Our campus will be one of six sites across the country to host public meetings concerning the act’s implementation. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Education will be on our campus to hear testimony of interested parties across our region who will provide recommendations for the most effective implementation of the act.  I urge you to take this opportunity to witness the hearings and experience such an event.

CONCLUSION

Today we have considered many expansive — and expensive — ideas. However, I believe they are all attainable.

Five years ago, people doubted that we could afford the education complex that our students and faculty deserved.  A frequent refrain was, “teachers don’t have money to give.”

Five years ago, people said we wouldn’t be able to raise enough money for a new University Union. A frequent refrain was, “Let’s just raise enough money to repaint and refurnish the old building.”

Five years ago, people told us that no one would buy boxes in our football stadium.  A frequent refrain was, “TCU is just not ‘big-time’ enough.”

Even as late as one year ago, people told us we’d never be able to afford an international Frog Camp for freshmen.  A frequent refrain was “the costs and logistics are insurmountable.”  Of course, this summer we held the first international Frog Camp. 

Look around you. We have accomplished all this and much, much more.  Together —as a TCU family — we have done it!

People here work harder than those at any other place where I have been fortunate to work.  (One great example is our grounds crew, the amazing folks led by Robert Sulak.  They make our various construction sites look beautiful before, during and after construction.)

This place has convinced me that we can and will achieve any goal we set our minds to.  However, there is one thing that can hold us back — the failure to dream large. 
The great architect Daniel Burnham observed:  “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.”

We must make big plans…have big dreams.  We must stay focused.  We must do all it takes to realize our vision, the vision of a world-class, values-centered university experience.  We can settle for no less.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.  Because Convocation celebrates the beginning of another academic year, I offer my sincerest appreciation for everything you will do to ensure each student has the best experience possible in 2008-2009.