TCU’s “Lead On” campaign to support scholarships, endowed faculty positions and more

By Jordan Montgomery, Staff Writer

Published Oct 13, 2023

Chancellor Victor J. Boschini announces the “Lead On: A Campaign for TCU” has surpassed its goal of $1 billion raised. (Photo: William Hartley)

Scholarships, employee endowments, the Burnett School of Medicine and many other programs will receive a boost in funding courtesy of “Lead On: A Campaign for TCU”.

Following four years of fundraising, Chancellor Victor J. Boschini and President Daniel Pullin announced on Thursday that the financial campaign has surpassed its goal of raising $1 billion with the help of more than 57,000 donors.

A large portion of the money raised will be put towards funding scholarships and financial aid, with an emphasis on need-based aid, as 71% of undergraduate students at TCU receive some form of assistance, Boschini said.

According to an official university press release, the campaign helped increase need-based aid funds by 185% over the last 10 years, growing from $43 million in 2012 to $123 million in 2022.

Guests were welcomed into the event with an archway into Schollmaier Arena on Oct. 12. (Jordan Montgomery/Staff Writer)

Luke Homfeldt, a senior biochemistry major from Oregon, shared his story of how being a Chancellor’s Scholarship recipient impacted his college experience.

“I was told that graduating from college, debt-free, was an impossibility. This simple statement reinforced in my mind that kids from small towns with big dreams, never see them come to fruition,” Homfeldt said.

During his time at TCU, Homfeldt has gotten involved in research, run in a political campaign and manage programs on campus. In May, he will graduate from TCU debt-free and wants to inspire others from small towns.

Luke Homfeldt, ’24, shares how being a Chancellor’s Scholar impacted his TCU experience. (Jordan Montgomery/Staff Writer)

The campaign will also support employee endowment funds. The impact of such donations is displayed through Dr. Kara Dixon Vuic, the recipient of the Lance Corporal Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt Endowment.

Named after a TCU student who passed away during his service in Afghanistan, this endowment has allowed for Vuic to study the influence conflict and war has on society as well as funding the LCpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt Symposium on War, Conflict and Society, which gathers experts in the field to discuss the cost of war, Vuic said.

The Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine will also be a beneficiary of the campaign. The newly-accredited medical school just graduated its first class in 2023 and alumni are now working in hospitals across the country. Some include Stanford, Vanderbilt, UCSD and UT Southwestern, Dr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy, the chair of internal medicine, said.

Sathyamoorthy credited the donors of the campaign for the success of the school of medicine and said without the support, it would be impossible to raise such a program.

The campaign will additionally support TCU athletic programs. TCU football head coach Sonny Dykes said the success of the 2022-2023 athletic year can be attributed to the donations made through the campaign.

“Without your support, our student athletes wouldn’t be able to achieve those successes and do what they do on a day-to-day basis,” Dykes said.

The amount of funding allocated to each particular program was determined by the donors, Boschini said.

In total, $709 million was raised to support students, academic programs and athletic programs while $299 million was raised to be used for campus facilities, according to the official campaign website.