New voice
Boschini gives his first Convocation speech
By Meghan Youker
Staff Reporter

Chancellor Victor Boschini said he does not know the answers.

He does, however, have the questions, and he finally asked them Tuesday at University Convocation.

“There are five critical questions we must answer together in the coming weeks and months,” Boschini said. “And when we have answered them, we then will know TCU’s future direction.”

TCU needs to consider the hallmarks of an undergraduate education and how to best achieve them, the future of graduate education, how academic programs and the new core curriculum can best fulfill the university’s mission, how the physical campus can better reflect TCU’s objectives and the optimal size for the university, Boschini said.

Mary McKinney, professor of Spanish and Latin American studies, said TCU definitely needs more graduate programs, but undergraduates also need additional classroom space.

Anne Helmreich, associate professor of art history, said increasing the number of graduate programs also means questioning the number of professional programs as opposed to more traditional graduate programs.

“It’s almost like working out one side of your body and not the other,” Helmreich said. “You need that balance between both.”

Junior music education major Virginia Neely said because she is considering TCU as a graduate study option, she was encouraged to learn the number of graduate students has increased from 10 percent to 16 percent of TCU’s total enrollment, since 2000.

“Seeing that TCU supports graduate studies is the most important thing,” Neely said.

Boschini said he has formed a strategic planning committee to review the progress of The Commission on the Future of TCU, which examined university-wide issues and developed a plan for building TCU’s academic distinction and reputation in the fall of 2000.

The planning committee will assess the commission’s work and draft a plan to move the university forward in the next three to five years, Boschini said.

Boschini said the commission made its recommendations in a different economic situation, and now the committee needs to examine how TCU can narrow its focus to best achieve the university’s objectives.

“The commission’s recommendations were made in an environment very different from today’s — a pre-Sept. 11 world, where the dot-com bubble had yet to burst and the future seemed limitless,” Boschini said. “That reality has changed.”

Nowell Donovan, chairman of the geology department, will chair the planning committee, and Leo Munson, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, will serve as vice chairman, Boschini said.

Boschini recognized Germán Gutiérrez, professor of music, with the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Research and Creative Activity. He also awarded Peggy Watson, director of the Honors Program, with the Wassenich Award for Mentoring.

Boschini said despite harsh economic times, $100 million has been raised in the first phase of a quiet fund-raising campaign that began in June 2000 and was directed toward contributors closest to the university.

“Last year was our second best in fund-raising history, with $26.5 million in gifts and a 30 percent participation rate in alumni giving,” Boschini said.

Boschini said a committee, including himself, vice chancellors and other campus representatives, will now coordinate the second round of fund raising.

The committee will review university priorities, determine fund-raising goals and set a date for announcing the fund-raising campaign to the public, Boschini said.

Funds will be used toward projects such as a new School of Education building, the renovation of the University Theatre and a new academic complex for Brite Divinity School, Boschini said.

Boschini said TCU must narrow its focus, because while the university’s resources are limited, its ambitions are not.

“I am confident that TCU’s future will be even greater than its distinguished past,” Boschini said.