Facilities a priority for upgrade
University pledges $30 million for renovations

By Reagan Duplisea
skiff staff

TCU recently pledged $30 million for the renovation of academic facilities after the Commission on the Future of TCU’s report was published. However, many of those in the science departments have waited 30 years for the renovations and are questioning where TCU’s priorities have been until now.

Faculty and students in the biology, chemistry and psychology departments said they continually work with outdated facilities and frequently broken equipment.

“The labs have never been remodeled since the building was constructed,” said Robert Neilson, chairman of the chemistry department. The Sid W. Richardson Building was finished in 1970.

“We have equipment (in the biology department) that’s usable but nowhere near where it needs to be,” said Stephanie Mills, a senior psychology major.

Special to the Skiff Steam cones from the chemistry labs in the Sid W. Richardson Building are connected to 30-year-old, corroded pipes.

The chemistry department also has to work with outdated equipment, said Megan Stuebner, an assistant teaching assistant in an organic chemistry lab.

“The very fact that we have Bunsen burners is laughable,” Stuebner said. “What most modern labs have are electrical devices or sand baths. Those don’t involve gas. We don’t want a flame because we’re working with flammable chemicals.”

Steven Bachrach, the Dr. D. R. Semmes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Trinity University, said his department uses electric heating mantles or electric hot plates.

The department also uses steam cones to heat chemicals, but these are also outdated, said Jeff Coffer, an associate professor of chemistry.

“(Steam baths) were probably state-of-the-art 20 to 30 years ago,” he said. “I was so excited as an undergraduate when we got them 20 years ago.”

A steam cone works by placing a beaker over the cone’s small round opening. Steam comes up through the cone and heats the chemicals in the beaker.

Upon peering into the opening of the steam cones, it is clear that years of use have rusted and corroded the interior. Rust lines the inside and makes it difficult to regulate experiments, Coffer said. Stuebner said the cones’ steam lines frequently break.

“Six or seven have yellow signs on them that say, ‘Do not use: broken,’” she said. “We’ll fix one and then another breaks.”

Wil Stallworth, associate vice chancellor for plant management, said the Physical Plant tries to keep the equipment in working condition, but replacement parts for old pieces of equipment are hard to find.

“We try to fix it as best we can,” he said.

The Physical Plant completes 100 work orders a day across campus, Stallworth said.

“Some projects that are not being done are being deferred for funding,” he said.

Coffer said the chemistry department is also in need of fume hoods, a compartment with a door that pulls down that is ventilated and carries away toxic chemical fumes.

Higher education, but not higher facilities

Mills said the equipment she used in high school was of better quality than TCU’s.

Phil Hartman, professor of biology, said the freshman biology labs in particular are in need of updates.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that, if you were to sample students, over half would have had high school facilities that were as good, if not better, than the facilities here,” Hartman said. “They’re able to do less in their lab experiences here than in high school.”

Karyn Purvis, a graduate student in the psychology department’s child development laboratories, said her department has more basic needs.

“Chairs (in Winton-Scott classrooms) have rotted off the base,” she said. “It’s hard to study when you’re about to fall off the chair.”

Natalie Bayer, a senior psychology major, said she witnessed a chair collapse in class, spilling a fellow classmate onto the floor.

“We were just sitting in class and all of a sudden, the pole holding the chair up snapped and she fell over,” Bayer said. “Everyone laughed and she was really embarrassed.”

Clocks and overhead projectors are also broken, Purvis said. The worst “humiliation” is the room used for graduate students, where three dingy, frayed couches dominate the room and the overhead reflector has to be held up by a quarter, she said.

“When we have visiting scholars, this is the room they have to speak in,” Purvis said. “It’s so beyond low-tech, it’s absolutely abominable. I doubt if the Salvation Army would take some of the stuff we use.”
Making comparisons

Bayer said she has noticed that facilities are in better quality in other areas of campus.

“I never really paid that much attention to it until I started taking business classes, with their nice chairs and PowerPoint projecting,” said Bayer, a business minor. “I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have nice equipment. I’m glad to have it, but everyone should have equal facilities.”

William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, said some departments have been given more funds because they fall within the university’s goals.

“The (M.J. Neeley) School of Business and the MBA program have been cited as a unit which we want to move forward as part of the goal of the university,” he said. “Some units are singled out to receive more resources. We want to meet the goals of globalization.”

Koehler said there are a variety of other reasons why the science labs have not been renovated in 30 years.
“The nature of labs is such that you generally don’t change a lab a little at a time,” he said.

When a lab is renovated, the entire building’s infrastructure must be changed to accommodate new fume hoods and steam lines, said Koehler, who used to be a chemistry professor.

Finding the funds

Dean of the College of Science and Engineering Michael McCracken said the cost of science equipment also plays a big part in deciding where to allocate funds.

“For each of the past several years, the university has budgeted approximately $250,000 for the purchase of equipment,” he said. “All colleges have the opportunity to request support from this fund.

“But the available funds have not been sufficient to meet all legitimate needs. To put equipment costs in perspective, some single items in chemistry or physics may cost as much as $300,000.”

When department chairs have not received funds for facilities in their operating budgets, some have tried to obtain the help of the Office of Advancement.

For those in advancement to begin seeking funds for a specific project, it must first be approved by the department chair, the dean of the college, the provost and the vice chancellor for advancement, said Nancy Petruso, assistant vice chancellor for advancement services.

Petruso said a donor could indicate if he or she wanted to donate to something specific, but her department has to approve it.

“We just want to make sure it’s what the university needs before the money is given,” she said.

Koehler said the decision to go to the advancement is made between the dean of the requesting college and himself. The decision depends on factors such as student demands and how many majors are in the department, he said.

“It also depends on how it fits in with the mission, goals and objectives of the university, what benefit it will be to the university and the probability that advancement will find funding,” Koehler said.

Melinda Moyer, a senior leadership gift officer, said the advancement office is focusing on finding funds for the William E. and Jean Jones Tucker Technology Center.

“We’re not working on anything actively (for the science departments) right now,” she said.

The $25 million Tucker Technology Center has become the largest fund-raising project the university has ever mounted, said Bronson C. Davis, vice chancellor for university advancement.

Sarah Donaldson, vice president of the House of Student Representatives, presented a report to the TCU Board of Trustees on academic facilities at their March meeting.

“It’s very important to be up-and-coming, to have a technology center that will attract new students, to have something new to brag about,” she said. “But we should be looking for long-term academic recognition.”

Donaldson said TCU should look into individual donors for facilities funds.

“They could fix this by calling a doctor who was a pre-med student and asking if they’d like their name on a chemistry lab,” she said.

Chairman of the biology department Wayne Barcellona said he has found the hierarchical chain of seeking funding from advancement inefficient and ineffective. The last time the biology department received funding from advancement was in 1986, he said.

The last request the biology department put in was for help for purchasing autoclaves, which sterilize supplies, Barcellona said. The current autoclaves are 30 years old.

“It’s been 18 months since we submitted a request and nothing has happened,” Barcellona said. “We just don’t hear anything. We’re just put off.”

If the autoclaves break down, research and teaching exercises can’t continue, Barcellona said. A new autoclave would cost $37,000.

Barcellona said his department isn’t notified why certain projects don’t make it through to advancement, but he has noticed better communication since McCracken became the dean of the College of Science and Engineering. McCracken was the dean of the AddRan College of Arts and Sciences for 19 years.

Barcellona said his department has found some funding through the Institutional Development program, which found grants for the anatomy and physiology labs.

Moyer said donors could range from individuals, to businesses, to foundations.

However, few departments receive donations from businesses, Davis said.

“It’s not as attractive from a tax standpoint,” he said.

Koehler said TCU, not outside sources, should fund improved facilities.

“We have sought funding for specific pieces of equipment, but (money for facilities) should come through our own capital budgeting process,” he said.

In September, TCU instituted a new policy of charging students a $40 lab fee in addition to tuition for each science class. The charge is taken out of student accounts and transferred to the science departments.

Neilson said the fees aren’t enough to provide for the facilities needed.

“The fees will help give us money for operating expenses, but compared to what is needed, it is a small amount,” Neilson said.

Neilson said he and other department chairs make their needs known when they put in their budget request each year. However, what they are granted is only enough for their operating budget, which is used to pay for lab supplies, student salaries and chemicals.

“Our major needs are facilities,” Neilson said. “These are much more expensive than what we get for our operating expenses. It’s just a question if is the university prepared to meet those resources?”

Promises for the future

With the report announced at the commission and other moves forward, some faculty members said they feel they will soon see improvements.

Timothy Barth, chairman of the psychology department, said a new centralized ventilation system and fire alarm and sprinkler system were put into Winton-Scott Hall over the summer. A new fume hood was also installed in the department.

Barth said he remains optimistic that future changes will come.

“The chancellor is really serious about upgrading the quality of education,” Barth said. “From everything I’ve heard, they’re willing to come up with the necessary funds. But no one has given me a check yet.”

Barcellona said TCU recently replaced the biology department’s 30-year-old incubator room for $100,000.
“On a repair basis, it was costing us $5,000 to $7,000 a year,” he said.

Donaldson said she feels encouraged that there will be changes.

“Thankfully, the chancellor announced at the (Commission on the Future of TCU) luncheon that improving facilities is a priority,” Donaldson said. “But words must be followed by action.”

The formation of the Academic Facilities Master Plan Committee also has created growing optimism among faculty.

The committee, comprising eight faculty members from various disciplines on campus, formed last semester. They have been meeting regularly to prioritize the needs of specific departments and what the projected costs may be, said Edd E. Bivin, vice chancellor for administrative services.

“I think it’s great that the university is starting to have long-term plans,” said Ray Drenner, a professor of biology and committee member. “Bivin and others recognize the need to update facilities and keep them evolving with the times. It’s the start of a process.”

Drenner said the consulting firm Ellerbe Becket has done a detailed analysis of space on campus. The firm, which was also the consultant for the Tucker Technology Center, contacted all departments and has identified each square foot on campus to see where and how space can be better utilized.

Bivin said he hopes to have their report completed by the Board of Trustees’ meeting in the spring of 2001.
However, faculty members and students said they want to see changes soon.

Purvis said TCU risks losing potential graduate students and grant money because of current facilities.

“When you go for federal grants, you have to prove you have the equipment to support that grant,” Purvis said. “When you go to big agencies, they’re looking to see if the university is supportive of what you’re doing.”

Neilson said obtaining grants depends on factors other than proper facilities.

“It’s the size of the university and the department,” he said. “It’s more of a question of prestige, but you do have to demonstrate you have the right equipment.”

Neilson said outdated facilities damage the chemistry department’s recruitment of graduate students.

“If you’re a visiting student looking at our labs and then you look at other schools, there’s no question,” he said. “The quality of education is better at TCU, but the first impression of our facilities hurts us.”

“The last major remodeling of facilities occurred about five years ago,” he said.

Mills said if facilities are not improved soon, TCU may not fulfill its goal of increasing its academic reputation.

“If Chancellor Ferrari wants us to be a Tier 1 school, we need to look at all the departments,” she said. “I just want equal rights and equal opportunities.”

Reagan Duplisea
elsinore_skye@hotmail.com

Grad rates for athletes at 50%
Men’s basketball team ranks 8 percent above NCAA standard

By Steven Baker
skiff staff

Former TCU basketball players Shonda Mack and Prince Fowler both entered programs in 1995 at separate colleges before ending their careers as Horned Frogs. However, Mack has two bachelor’s degrees and Fowler is still working at TCU on his first.

Forty-two percent of the 729 men’s basketball players that entered NCAA Division I colleges as scholarship freshman in 1993-94 graduated by 1999, according to the 2000 NCAA Graduation Report. In comparison, one out of the two scholarship freshman men’s basketball players that entered TCU’s program in 1993-94 graduated. Although TCU ranks eight points above this standard, the six men’s transfer players that came to TCU in 1993-94 are not part of the university’s graduation rates reported to the NCAA.

Although TCU officials were not able to produce a report on how many of these six transfers have graduated by press time, they concede that the men’s basketball rates for all players could be negatively influenced by the student-athlete’s priorities of athletics over academics.

Director of Athletic Academic Services Milton Overton said the commercialism of sports may hinder men’s college football and basketball players from completing their degrees.

“If you are looking for the difference between men and women, (men’s) basketball and football are revenue producing sports,” Overton said. “A lot of them leave a semester early. Agents are looking for players.

(Agents) tell them they need to work out at basketball camps and NFL combines.”

Men’s basketball head coach Billy Tubbs said there are more professional opportunities in the NBA, CBA and abroad for the good basketball player as opposed to what is available for women’s basketball and men’s football.

“They all want to be in the NBA,” Tubbs said. “A lot of these young men’s intention is to graduate, but they are chasing a dream. I am not opposed to guys chasing that dream. It is an exception when they graduate in four years.”

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs William Koehler said the TCU administration, faculty, staff and public want the men’s basketball team to be a winner, but on the other hand, they also want the true student-athlete.

“My hope is that the student-athletes can graduate at a level equal to the general student body,” Koehler said.

Tubbs said when he recruits he looks for athletic talent first.

“You are attracted to people with athletic ability, but there are also some players that are eliminated by what they do in the classroom,” Tubbs said.

Sixty-two percent of the 53 student-athletes granted scholarships in 1993, graduated by 1999, which is 1 percentage point behind the 1,189 TCU students that entered in 1993 and graduated by 1999, according to the NCAA.

Fowler, who completed his eligibility in 1999, said he blames not graduating sooner to his immaturity.

“Basketball was my No. 1 priority and academics was second,” Fowler said. “I was more of a person that was going out all the time and partying instead of concentrating on school work, but I am mature now. It is fun to go out and play, but you have to do your work too.”

Mack said she was able to graduate from college in five years partly because of the strong academic support from the TCU coaches she played under.

“If we could not understand something, the coaches would go to class with us,” Mack said. “(The coaches) were very attentive to our study habits. Every test, every quiz, they wanted to know our grade on it. They let us know there was life after basketball.”

Mack said her male counterparts tend to think of the present instead of the future.

“Most (men’s basketball players) believe that they will play in the NBA or overseas hands down,” Mack said. “By the time they get focused, it is too late.”

Overton said graduation rates can be improved when you have a good system of academic support for athletes.

“There was no way that I would go to a school that doesn’t focus on academics,” Overton said. “That makes my job easier.”

TCU athletes have the Athletic Academic Services interactive World Wide Web site (www.aaso.tcu.edu), tutors and mentors at the $10 million John Justin Athletic Academic Center. Student-athletes study at the center Sunday through Friday, which is open 77 hours a week. The center includes computers with high-speed processors and Internet access, eight tutor rooms (six of these rooms are home to desktop computers with online capabilities) and dry erase boards in seven study rooms.

Overton said he credits Athletics Director Eric Hyman for obtaining $10 million in donations to build the center. Donations like this are not usually produced in one year, he said.

“By having an academic center, it allows us to recruit student-athletes that have focused on academics for a long time,” Overton said. “Now we have an opportunity to fight for recruits that are good students.”

Overton said TCU is the only college in the country with an interactive academic Web site. Athletes can log-on to the Web site with their student ID and find a specific tutor that offers aid for a specific class. Class attendance monitors report to the Web site and coaches about which athletes have attended class.

“I can tell you who has missed class and who participates in extracurricular activities at any time, all year,” Overton said.

Overton said more important than programs is the leadership by the coaches.

“If you have a coach that cares about academics, most of the time those student-athletes will be successful academically,” Overton said.

Junior men’s basketball player Greedy Daniels said he expects to graduate after his two years of eligibility are up in part because of the academic facility.

“The (athletic administration) makes it easy; everything is at your fingertips,” Daniels said. “You can put in a 10 percent effort and get the job done here because they have so much stuff.”

Senior men’s player Ryan Carroll said he didn’t know what UCR stood for during his freshman year. But he could figure out what he needed to pass, he said.

“People will say you are here for both academics and athletics, but you are brought here for the sport,” Carroll said. “It is all about the management and organization to be successful. You have to keep a good daily routine. I don’t think TCU is hard if you go to class and do your homework.”

Tubbs said the spring semester is the most difficult, because sometimes players can miss up to two weeks if they go to the NCAA Tournament.

“The (TCU) faculty and support staff are tremendous,” Tubbs said. “If a (player) doesn’t make it at TCU, it is not (the faculty and support staff’s) fault.”

Of the five men’s players currently classified as seniors in basketball eligibility, only two said they are going to graduate in May 2001.

Steven Baker
lastevas@aol.com

New program attracts area students
Community Scholars boosts recruitment in Tarrant County

By Emily Ward
staff reporter

Being a student at TCU was once a dream Vanessa Pena never thought would come true.

Now as a freshman studying biology, Pena is one of the university’s first 12 members of the Community Scholars program.

The Community Scholars program, which has existed for less than a year, is TCU’s largest endeavor to recruit more students from area high schools, said Ray Brown, dean of admissions at TCU.

“It’s important for us that we are strong at home,” Brown said. “The Community Scholars program has surpassed everybody’s expectations.”

The idea behind the program was to encourage those students who would not likely consider TCU solely because of financial reasons, said Misty Tippen, an admissions counselor who works on the Community Scholars program at TCU.

Each student who is chosen to be a community scholar receives a full scholarship that pays for tuition, fees, housing and books, Tippen said.

Many of these students come from area high schools, where TCU had seen little to no applicants each year in the past, she said.

Pena, who is a graduate of North Side High School, said a lot of students at her high school wanted to go to TCU, but they could not afford it.

“In general, people from North Side would not go to TCU — not even people in the magnet program,” Pena said. “A lot of people applied and were accepted, but they could not go because of financial reasons.”

Last year, the program was open to students from North Side, Diamond Hill-Jarvis, O.D. Wyatt and Sam Houston high schools. This year Dunbar High School was added to the program.

Tippen said the amount of applications TCU has received from these five schools has drastically increased since the program was implemented. Some numbers have gone up more than 100 percent, she said.

lthough this may only mean a jump from zero applications to three, Tippen said this is just the beginning of an increase.

“The more people who see TCU is willing to work with them, the more they are going to come here, whether they get this scholarship or not,” Tippen said.

Pena has first-hand knowledge of Tippen’s idea.

“It’s like winning the lottery,” Pena said. “My mom always wanted to win the lottery, but now she says it’s like we have because look at the school I am going to.”

Students who are a part of the Community Scholars program are required to be active in Student Support Services, do community service, complete mid-semester grade checks, have monthly meetings with program advisors, attend Inter-cultural Council meetings, participate in the Chancellor’s Leadership program and attend four workshops each semester.

All the requirements seem to be a lot of work, but it really is not too much to do, Pena said.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Pena said. “I know so many people who are so smart, but they don’t have the money to go out there and show it.”

Emily E. Ward
e.e.ward@student.tcu.edu

Business school aims to decrease student to teacher ratio
Task force recommends $50 million
endowment for faculty positions

By Melissa DeLoach
staff reporter

If TCU is going to continue advertising the university as a small private school with small class sizes, more faculty are needed to deliver that promise, said Stuart Youngblood, professor of management.

The average class size of an upper division business course is about 40 students, said Mike Moncrief, senior dean of the business school. The aim for classes is 30 students for one faculty member, he said.

The business school task force of the Commission on the Future of TCU is requesting to launch a fund-raising campaign to the Board of Trustees to create a $50 million endowment for faculty positions, according to the final report completed in April.

“We have a high percentage of classes taught by adjunct professors because our number of students is so high,” Moncrief said. “Adjuncts are important because they are specialized in a particular area, but they have full-time jobs in addition to teaching. It is hard for students to see them and get in contact with them.”

William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, said although the board isn’t dealing with individual recommendations, it will consider prioritized recommendations from all academic units when they meet in March.

The business school currently has 1,600 undergraduate students, Moncrief said. To curb the mass number of undergraduates, he said as early as next fall, students enrolling in the business school will have to apply for entry.

Youngblood said one of the goals of the task force is to become a top 25 business school. To achieve this, he said the scarce resources need to shift to strengthening the graduate programs. TCU is now ranked in the top 70.

The task will not be a cheap undertaking, Youngblood said. About $100 million is needed to develop the programs and facilities to make the goal a reality, he said.

“We need to develop a renowned graduate program,” Youngblood said. “We want to excel — not be mediocre. Allowing (fewer) students in the undergraduate program is a trade-off that we will face.”

Lindsey Medick, a second year MBA student and member of the task force, said the recommendations are designed to make the business school more well known.

“To do this, we need to offer more programs to represent students’ and corporations’ interests to increase the quality of the school and become more recognized,” she said.

Next spring, groundbreaking will begin for the Sarah and Steve Smith Entrepreneurs Hall, said David Minor, director of the Ryffel Center. They donated $10.5 million in October for the construction of a building to house the James A. Ryffel Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Additionally, a Finance Center and Supply Chain Management program are waiting for monetary investments from corporations and individuals, Moncrief said.

“We have accomplished a great deal since April,” he said. “When our board of visitors met during Homecoming, I was stunned at our progress.”

Melissa DeLoach
m.d.deloach@student.tcu.edu

Students often overlook forms for financial aid, Stogdill says

By Emily Ward
staff reporter

Guaranteeing student loans and looking online for outside awards are actions often overlooked by most TCU students, said Kenneth Stogdill, financial aid adviser at TCU.

As the semester progresses, Stogdill says the time for looking into next year’s financial aid is steadily approaching.

Getting students to accept and guarantee their student loans is the biggest problem each year for the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid, Stogdill said.

Most students who do not guarantee their loans are either confused with the online guaranteeing process, or they don’t pay attention to all the information provided in financial aid letters sent out each year, said Sandra Tobias, associate director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid.

The process of guaranteeing loans online also poses a problem for many students, Tobias said.

When guaranteeing a loan online for the first time, it is a federal requirement for students to complete an entrance exam before proceeding to the next step of actually guaranteeing the loan, she said.

Many students make the mistake of thinking they have guaranteed their loan when they have only completed the entrance exam, Tobias said. Without completing the guaranteeing process, students will not receive their loan, she said.

This problem was especially evident this year because the government has instituted a new promissory note, Tobias said. According to the note, all students receiving loans were required to fill out the entrance exam, whether or not they had done so in the past.

Students need to be aware of the importance of guaranteeing their loans because if their bills cannot be paid by registration time, they will not be able to enroll in classes, she said.

The Web site for guaranteeing loans can be found through the financial aid Web site (www.fam.tcu.edu) or at (http://www.tgslc.org).

TCU encourages students to turn in their Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms by March 15 to ensure their eligibility for next year’s financial aid, Stogdill said. March 15 is the most important deadline students need to be aware of, he said.

Emily E. Ward
e.e.ward@tcu.edu

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