Dear Colleagues,
This year has been action-packed (and it’s just February!) with the work and ideation underway as we prepare to launch LEAD ON: Values in Action. I am excited to work alongside Vice Provost Susan Weeks to lead the pillar of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity to promote and support our excellent achievements in these areas. In addition, I am working with the Provost’s Council to develop goals for Academic Affairs that align with the Strategic Plan. I welcome you to share your ideas with your deans so we can all work together to ensure that TCU remains a great academic institution.
Congratulations
I am so proud of my colleagues and all you do to bring distinction to your work and TCU. Congratulations on these honors and activities that showcase our outstanding faculty and staff.
- The Department of Modern Language Studies received a prestigious STARTALK grant to host “Chinese for the Professions: Navigating Linguistic and Cultural Differences” summer camp, thanks to Muriel Cormican, associate dean and professor of German, and Guangyan Chen, associate professor of Chinese, who co-wrote and submitted the grant.
- TCU recently joined the Social Science Research Council, an 86-campus consortium of research-intensive colleges and universities working together to advance innovation in delivering critically important public goods and services.
- A.A. Bradford Chair and Professor of Religion David Moessner was honored with a Festschrift in academia. A Festschrift is a collection of writings by authors in the same discipline to honor a fellow scholar. In Dr. Moessner’s case, 21 colleagues and friends from eight countries contributed to the book, “Research: Narrative Hermeneutics, History, and Rhetoric.”
- The U.S. Department of State selected Jan Lacina, Bezos Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education, to lead an English Language Specialist project in Israel. Now through July, Dr. Lacina’s project will provide English language teachers in Israel with resources to help students develop clear and structured written communication skills.
- The Art Galleries at TCU received a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- The TCU Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Germán Gutiérrez, earned first place in The American Prize in Orchestra Performance in the college/university division.
- Kevin Knight, Saul B. Sells Endowed Chair of Psychology and Director of the Institute of Behavioral Research, along with partners at the University of Kentucky, received a $4.7 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support a new study aimed at reducing overdose risk among women in the criminal legal system.
- Social Work Department Chair Nada Elias-Lambert collaborated with Burnett School of Medicine to host an impactful three-hour Intimate Partner Violence training session for third-year medical students to equip them with the knowledge and tools to support survivors.
- The Concierge Health International presented its inaugural Visionary of Medical Education Award to Jackie Rowles, Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Advanced Pain Management Fellowship in Harris College’s School of Nurse Anesthesia. The award honors her work with the global nurse anesthesia charity she founded, Our Hearts Your Hands, Inc.
- Michael Sherrod, William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence and Director of the Innovate Teachers Guild at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Abbie Shipp, M.J. Neeley Professor of Management and the 2024 recipient of the Rob Rhodes Professor of the Year award, were recognized among the Top 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets&Quants, a top publication renowned for its coverage of business schools. They were chosen from more than 1,000 nominations from 40 institutions worldwide based on their research, teaching excellence and impact on the industry.
I am sure I have overlooked others who deserve congratulations. If you or your department, program, school or college have been honored with an award or ranking, or received a grant for research or creative activity, send the information or story link to Elaine Cole, Director of Communications for the Office of the Provost, at e.cole@tcu.edu.
Thank you for all you do here at TCU, for our students and each other.
Best wishes,
Floyd
Floyd L. Wormley, Jr., Ph.D.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs