$1.8 million plaza to replace academic commons at TCU

By Jillie Yager, Staff Writer

Published Sep 8, 2025

The Clark Brothers Statue being on ground level signifies the start of renovations. (Jillie Yager/Staff Writer)

A $1.8 million donor-funded plaza is set to replace the academic commons on the east side of TCU’s campus.

The plaza will include three arches that represent three time periods: TCU’s past, present and future. The arch representing TCU’s present will recognize the leadership donors who supported TCU during Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, the university’s historic $1 billion campaign.

Here, near the library, is where renovations will take place in the academic commons. (Jillie Yager/Staff Writer)

TCU Trustee Eddie Clark and his wife, Pam Clark, are the lead donors. Other project donors include Trustee Anita Cox and Trustee Emeritus Kelly Cox, Trustees Neils and Elaine Agather, Trustee Amy Roach and Tull Bailey and Trustees Rick and Connie Wittenbraker.

“The pivotal support of our generous donors has brought TCU where we are today,” Julie Whitt, the Associate Vice Chancellor of Donor Relations and a committee member for the plaza project, said. “Our donors are helping shape TCU’s legacy. Inscribing their names on our new landmark is an enduring testament to how far we’ve come and where we are headed.”

The renovations will include benches and landscape changes to create a gathering and community-centered space on campus.

The plaza is expected to be completed this fall. Although construction is not visibly underway, the Clark Brothers Statue has been lowered from its pedestal. The statue features brothers Addison and Randolph Clark, who founded the university in 1873 as AddRan Male and Female College.

Created by Carol Thornton, the statue was donated in 1993 by Chancellor Emeritus William E. Tucker and his wife, Jean Jones Tucker, to honor the brothers’ role in establishing the university. The new plaza will incorporate the statue to sustain the campus’s rich history throughout the master expansion plan.

TCU’s Race and Reconciliation Initiative started the plaza committee. Aisha Torrey-Sawyer, director for TCU’s Center for Connection Culture and a committee member for the plaza project, said she hopes the TCU community will appreciate the history, time and dedication the Race and Reconciliation Initiative invested in telling the story of TCU’s past.