The Barnett Shale formation has become a household name for drilling companies in North Texas looking to open a pocket of natural gas. TCU rests atop this subterranean jackpot, and a new energy institute is in the making for the geology, engineering and business schools.With more global emphases being placed on alternative energy research and the threat of global warming, an endeavor such as this for TCU is a huge step in the right direction for preparing students in facing these issues.

Not only will this help merge different departments on campus work together in an interdisciplinary forum, it will substantiate a need for an emerging energy venture.

Research from the energy programs can help provide graduates from that program with valuable insight into how the fields of mining and providing energy work hand in hand. With the global demand for energy and a growing environmental concern with energy consumption, this program could highlight the importance of the TCU mission statement.

If the TCU mission is “to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community,” then this communal activity is helping bring together some of the best and brightest minds from various colleges.

Sometimes a college needs to look at a need in society that must be filled, and the energy research institute has done just that. With the combination of the Barnett Shale, local drilling companies and the growing demand for energy awareness, this institute could produce graduates who could make a difference in a community that is starting to understand the need for reliable energy and people who understand how to provide it.

When the classes for the institute begin in the fall, the first step toward making a new intelligent energy campaign will be under way at TCU.

Sports editor Marcus Murphree for the editorial board.