By Jeff Anderson staff reporter On-campus housing reservations could be online by Spring 2001 to make the current sign-up process more convenient, Residential Services officials said earlier this week. Nancy Grieser, coordinator of housing assignments, said Residential Services is at the forefront of the online reservation process. The idea of online room reservation developed last year. Grieser said online registration will happen because it is a way of using technology to simplify the process. "We anticipate we will have online (room) reservation by this time next year," Grieser said. "(Online reservation) is using technology to its greatest limits. I think it will be convenient for students." Online room reservation would do away with students standing in line to sign up for a room. Megan Burst, a junior management major, said online housing reservation would help students save time. "You wouldn't have to stand in line for an hour and a half and then find out you didn't get in," Burst said. "You might as well find out that you didn't get in (your room) by the click of a mouse." But Melissa McLemore, a junior speech pathology major, said online housing reservation could cause more frustration than the current room reservation process. Online reservation would take away the face-to-face interaction with the housing staff, she said. "At least when you stand in line, (students) can talk with someone if a problem arises," McLemore said. "Online room reservation could be easier but will still cause frustration (for students)." Grieser said online room reservation will be advantageous for students because they will find out right away if they got the room they wanted. "The reservation would be confirmed immediately for the student," Grieser said. Skye Stoulig, a junior accounting and finance major, said online room reservation will make better use of students' time. "I see online room reservation helping (housing) the same way as online registration helped registering for classes," Stoulig said. Stoulig said students will not have problems with sign-up sheets if online reservation is used. The online system will be more efficient, she said. Details of the online reservation system still need to be worked out, Grieser said. The priority system for sign up should follow the same basic schedule in place now, she said. Stoulig said online housing reservation should cause less stress for housing officials. "The entire sign-up process should run smoother with online room sign up," Stoulig said.
Jeff Anderson
Editor's note: This is the 11th in a series of articles profiling the 17 task forces that make up the Commission on the Future of TCU.
By Natascha Terc staff reporter The M.J. Neeley School of Business is lacking in technology, faculty and deans, but task force members are confident it can take TCU to a higher level, said William Moncrief, interim dean of the of the business school. In the fall, five faculty members visited 11 universities to compare those business schools to TCU's. Among the schools were Southern Methodist, Rice, Texas A&M, Baylor universities and the University of Texas at Austin. All the universities' business schools were ranked among the top 50 in the country, except Baylor. TCU is ranked in the top 70. "If we're going to move to the next level, we have to compete with the other business schools," Moncrief said. Stuart Youngblood, a management professor, said he is in the process of drafting a report from the data collected by faculty and task force members. Youngblood said the process was designed to allow for faculty and staff input, in addition to that of the student, graduate student, employers and trustees on the task force. "It is a very inclusive process," Youngblood said. "I credit a tremendous amount of its success to Chancellor Ferrari's vision of TCU's future and the process Bill Moncrief designed that enabled us to gather the data." The task force is one of 17 on the Commission on the Future of TCU, which was established by Ferrari to determine how the university can move to the next level of academic distinction. A finalized plan will be presented to Ferrari, faculty and staff July 1, the deadline for all 17 task forces, Youngblood said. Ronald Smith, chairman for the business school task force and president of the Harris Methodist Health System, said if a top business school produces quality students, more money can be raised to keep it at a successful level. "To attract the best students, we must have building endowments and the best faculty," Smith said. "To attract the best faculty, we have to pay them competitive salaries." Smith said increased salaries for faculty members would come from endowments. "Fund raising will focus on alumni, businesses that recruit from TCU and others who have an interest in TCU," Smith said. "It won't be limited to a certain area, but we hope alumni are excited and become a key target." Smith said achieving the optimum level of funds will take between five to 10 years, and improvements will not be focused on a particular area. "We have to work on faculty, staff, facility and program improvement concurrently," Smith said. "It will be a balanced approach and not just one piece at a time." Brandon Hunt, a senior electronic business major, said he is glad the task force is working to improve the quality of the business school. "They did the right thing by comparing the business school to schools of the same caliber," Hunt said. "If TCU comes up short, the school needs to take whatever steps are necessary to bring it up to standard with the other schools. "It's not like TCU isn't offering quality facilities as compared to many universities, but (it) needs to be as good or better as the schools (it) is competing with." Moncrief said the business school estimates the need for an additional $40 to $75 million within the next decade to put it at a desirable level. "It will take the low-end amount just to stay at the level we are now and between $60 and $70 million to go beyond our present level," Moncrief said. Moncrief said the money will come from endowments, and the task force is pleased to have raised almost $11 million in new outside money since July. Increased scholarships for graduate students are among the priorities of the task force, Moncrief said. "You've got to buy new students," Moncrief said. "The goal is not necessarily to increase the size of the graduate class but to increase the quality of students." Moncrief said there is also a need to promote the business school more. "We need a lot more money for advertising," he said. "We have started to target that now with the introduction of the Neeley School Magazine in January." Smith said he is ready to see the business school move to the next level of performance. "Over the years, (Harris Methodist Health System) has hired many undergraduates from the business school, and we think it's important that the business program remains strong," Smith said. "TCU is a very exciting place to be now whether you're a student, faculty member or volunteer."
Natascha Terc
By Omar Villafranca staff reporter The sound of jazz will be pouring out of PepsiCo Recital Hall and Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium today and Saturday when TCU's 23rd Annual Jazz Festival comes to campus. The festival will feature a competition between 30 high school jazz
bands and a performance by the TCU Monday/Wednesday/Friday Jazz Ensemble
and a special guest appearance by Chris Vadala. Proceeds from the Curt Wilson, director of TCU's jazz studies program and a professor of music, said high schools' participation in the event has increased because of changes on campus. "Last year, we had 15 (high school) bands," Wilson said. "We will have 30 this year because we have the space to hold them in the PepsiCo Hall." Donny Pinson, a senior music education major and member of the M/W/F Jazz Ensemble, said he remembers when his high school in San Antonio came to the Jazz Festival. Pinson related his memories to what this year's students will be seeing. "It's a great experience for them," Pinson said. "The benefit for the students is not the competition but that they get to hear other bands and the guest artists, and it's good for our recruitment." The festival kicks off today at 7:30 p.m. in the PepsiCo Recital Hall with a concert by the Jazz Combo with Vadala. The festival continues Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. with the high school jazz band competition. The festival closes with an awards concert of three big bands and Vadala at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Ed Landreth Hall Auditorium. The high school bands will be judged by a panel of six judges: Tim Ishi of Texas Wesleyan University; Cal Lewiston, a professional trumpeter; Tom Burchill, jazz director at Weatherford Community College; Bill Snodgrass, director of jazz at the University of Texas at Arlington; Sparky Koerner, director of jazz at the College of the Mainland in Galveston; and Rick Stitzel, a professor at Tarrant County College south campus. Brian Standridge, director of bands at Paschal High School, is taking his Panther Jazz Band to the Festival after a fourth-place finish at last year's event. Standridge said the festival is not just about competing. "The festival gives us a broader sense of what jazz education is doing in other school districts and other schools," Standridge said. Standridge said his students leave with more than a tune in their head. "We leave with an overriding sense of pride at whatever we've played," Standridge said. "Plus, I like our chances this year because this is the strongest band I've had," he said. Admission to the Jazz Festival is free for anyone with a TCU ID. Admission for those without a TCU ID is $3 for today's activities and $8 for Saturday's competition. For more information, call 257-7640.
Omar Villafranca
By Yonina Robinson staff reporter One of TCU's recent benefactors is a multimillionaire and a new Board of Trustees member, but the 40-year-old alumnus doesn't really know what he does for a living. "Someone recently asked me what I did, and I couldn't really describe
my job," James A. Ryffel said. "My Ryffel and his wife, Linda, donated $6 million to the M.J. Neeley School of Business on March 22. The James A. Ryffel Entrepreneurial Center will receive $5 million, and venture capital will receive the other $1 million. In the entrepreneurial center, students will learn the pre-startup procedures of businesses and how to gather resources to make a business grow. Chancellor Michael Ferrari said this gift was not the dominant factor in appointing Ryffel to the Board of Trustees. Instead, the Committee on Trusteeship, composed of seven of the 15 Board of Trustees members, extended Ryffel this invitation because of his character, his interest in ensuring the ongoing strength of the board, his dedication to work hard for TCU and because they wanted to encourage the involvement of younger alumni, Ferrari said. Ryffel, known to friends and business partners as Jim, is much more than an entrepreneur. Ryffel, who has bachelor's and master's degrees and a ranch management certificate from TCU, is a founder and chairman of the board of directors for Hispanic Television Network Inc. He has been the president of Woodcrest Enterprises Inc., a real estate firm, for the past 18 years. Ryffel was the founding investor and former director of FlashNet Communications Inc. and a founding investor in Data Tailor Corporation. He is also director of Worth National Bank in Lake Worth. "I don't know what sacrifices I've made to be successful," Ryffel said. "I wouldn't change anything about my life. I spend time with my family. I think if you manage your time well, you don't have to sacrifice your time. Working 18 hours a day doesn't make a business successful. Working smart makes a business successful. I tell people you should spend 20 percent of your day thinking." Ash Huzenlaub, a graduate of TCU and one of Ryffel's business partners at Woodcrest, said he searched around after he graduated from TCU looking for someone who could serve as a mentor. He said Ryffel fit right in with what he was looking for. "Jim is the ultimate visionary," Huzenlaub said. "He looks at every single thing. He's just a big brainstormer." Huzenlaub said Ryffel is exciting and always keeps the office in those same spirits. "You will never get bored here, and that's because of Jim," Huzenlaub said. "A flash comes in his head and, eureka, we're all going to jump on it." Huzenlaub said Ryffel serves as a great role model to everyone in the office. "Jim proves to anyone it's possible to be a strong Christian and successful businessman," Huzenlaub said. Ryffel is a member of McKinney Memorial Bible Church on South Hulen Street. "He has the heart to give not just money but time as well," Linda Ryffel said of her husband. "I think God made him that way." The Ryffels have been married for 14 years. Linda Ryffel also has two TCU bachelor's degrees. The two met while Linda was working on her second degree and working at a travel agency. They have four children: Travis, 9, Hunter, 7, Madison, 6, and Elektra, 2. Linda Ryffel said her husband's drive and determination are what made him into an entrepreneur. "He's always looking at the positive and ways to overcome adversity," she said. "I think that's why he's so successful." Linda Ryffel said publicly giving the $6 million to TCU was out of the norm for her and her husband. "TCU was a very public statement," she said. "That's not us. We usually give very privately. When you give for God, it's private." But she said they made the statement public for the good of TCU and the entrepreneurial program.
Yonina Robinson |
festival will help the M/W/F Jazz Ensemble's appearance at the
Montreux, Switzerland, and Vienna, Austria, jazz festivals.
friend
said, 'Go ahead. Tell him what you do. You're a deal junkie.' That probably
best describes me."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |