Ferrari works out schedule for final semester
Dedicating buildings, setting budget tops list
By Jacque Nguyen
Staff Reporter

After May 31, Chancellor Michael Ferrari will no longer enter his office on the third floor of Sadler Hall and sit down for a day of work. Instead, he said he will be spending time with his family in Chicago, Ill.

Dedications of new facilities and making sure openings go well are set for the future, Ferrari said. The budget is going to be set and approved for next year, and future fund-raising campaigns will be made for scholarships and facilities, he said.

Rather than starting new projects, Ferrari said he will be working on completing what has been started since his arrival in 1998.

“The new chancellor should have the full opportunity for new initiatives,” Ferrari said.

Ferrari said he plans to spend time with the next chancellor and that he will serve as a resource person for a smooth transition into the next semester.

William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs, said he is familiar with transition because this is the third chancellor change he has seen in his career at TCU.

“Chancellors come and go, provosts come and go and students come and go, but the university remains intact,” Koehler said.

Ferrari said the chancellorship is a tremendous responsibility.

“It is not simply a position, a great parking space and a good salary, it’s much deeper,” Ferrari said.

After reflecting on family, Ferrari said, he has decided to end his five-year tenure and retire from his position.

Ferrari said the timing for his retirement is right because the university is at a strong point, but that he still has mixed emotions about leaving the university.

“This has truly been a capstone for an academic career,” Ferrari said.

Koehler said he will be upset to see Ferrari leave.

“Personally and professionally, I am disappointed,” Koehler said. “He left his mark on campus and was a strong influence on change.”

Ferrari is known for his open style of communication and establishing these lines among the faculty, staff and students, Koehler said.

Claire Moffett, a sophomore advertising/public relations major, said she appreciates this open communication.

“He seems like part of the student body instead of (someone) leading the student body,” Moffett said.

Former president of the Student Government Association Chelsea Hudson, said TCU is very fortunate to have such an outstanding chancellor who knows how to connect to the rest of the campus.

“Listening makes a difference in the way a university operates,” Hudson, a senior political science major, said.

According to the university’s Web site, there are several qualifications the university is looking for in a new chancellor. These qualifications include being innovative, team-oriented, decisive, articulate, understanding the competitive nature of the student market and being a relationship builder.

The search for the new chancellor has been passed from the search committee headed by Trustee R. Denny Alexander to the Board of Trustees and is now being evaluated by the board members.

Jacque Nguyen
j.f.nguyen@tcu.edu