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All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Board approves new budget, plans more renovations

The board of trustees approved a $315 million budget Friday, including increased employee compensation and additional financial aid for the upcoming school year at its final meeting of the year.The new budget includes $9.4 million in additional compensation for employees and $6.4 million in additional financial aid. It also includes $500,000 to improve student life, including student health and well-being, housing and student services, according to Tracy Syler-Jones, assistant vice chancellor for marketing and communication.

Student body president Jace Thompson said the board’s discussions were an indication of how well the university is doing right now.

“The meeting discussed a lot of the present and future projects of TCU,” Thompson said. “There were a lot of items to discuss but no real bombshells to talk about.”

Thompson also said the board approved to proceed with the renovation on the older dormitories beginning next fall with Clark Hall. Once it is completed in fall 2008, Clark will be a co-ed dormitory.

In addition, the university is looking into the possibility of renovating Amon G. Carter Stadium as well, said Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.

“We hired a marketing and architecture firm to help us work out the costs for the renovation,” Mills said. “I think people would like to see the stadium get renovated but we’re just in the investigative stage right now.”

Mills said the new indoor practice facility will be named after former All-American quarterback Sammy Baugh. Baugh led the Frogs to a Sugar Bowl win in 1936 and a Cotton Bowl win the following year before being selected by the Washington Redskins in the 1937 NFL draft.

TCU also reported that the endowment reached $1.1 billion. Thompson said the board requested for Jim Hille, chief investment officer, to submit a report to them comparing the endowment to that of other universities.

Ray Brown, dean of admissions, told the board the university has now received 11,703 applications for 1,650 spots in the fall freshman class. He said that at least another 100 applications are still expected to be submitted as well.

“What we’re experiencing this year is a phenomenon unlike any I’ve ever heard of in my nearly 30 years of doing admission work,” Brown said. “An increase of 38 percent over the previous record year is simply stunning.”

He said to put this into perspective, and he said he felt an increase of even 5 percent during the year would have been considered a success.

In other news, the board voted unanimously to remove the loyalty oaths listed in the faculty/staff handbook before the upcoming school year, according to Nowell Donovan, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

The Mary Couts Burnett Library also announced it’s considering leaving the library open until 3 a.m. on weeknights instead of closing at midnight. This won’t be decided on until a later date.

The next board of trustees meeting is scheduled for a date between Nov. 7 and 9.

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