An alumnus and supporter of the Neeley School of Business who was involved in a plane crash on Oct. 6 has pledged $500,000 to the school, making possible the creation of a new position.

The pledge, donated by Robert Schumacher and his wife, Edith, in April, is being used to create a new faculty position in innovation and entrepreneurship, said David Dibble, director of development for the Neeley School of Business.

Robert Schumacher was able to leave the hospital Nov. 27 and is continuing rehabilitation at home, his daughter Kathy Kyle said.

Looking at other honors colleges around the nation, sophomore political science major Alex Turner noticed one thing missing at TCU and set out to correct it.

"I was surprised we didn't have (a mentoring program,)" Turner said. "I thought since the (Honors Program) was going to make a jump to a college (this spring) ... it would be essential to have a mentorship program."

If all goes according to plan, the Watson Mentoring Program will begin this spring for Honors students looking for guidance, Turner said.

Students can expect a raise in housing prices in addition to the recently announced surge in tuition for the next school year.

Craig Allen, director of Housing and Residence Life, announced two possible campus housing rates for the 2010-2011 school year during a Residence Hall Association meeting Wednesday. Allen said both options are financially sound and will be presented to the budget office Friday. Allen will consider recommendations from RHA and the budget office when making the final decision.

The student publications pick'em team is back for the last time for more college football action. Each participant will get one point for a correctly selected win out of the chosen games and two points for an upset pick. News Now reporter Maddy Foxx remains in the lead with 46 points followed by Skiff editor-in-chief David Hall with 42 points. Skiff reporter Mary Sue Greenleaf picked all five games correctly two weeks ago to close in with 40 points. Skiff sports editor Travis L. Brown took fourth place back with 35 points, and Skiff news editor Michael Carroll has 34 points.

Froggie Five-0 was created 13 years ago to provide transportation for female students to make campus safer. This year, student leaders on campus are asking why men can't get rides too.

TCU Police officer Pam Christian spoke at a Residence Hall Association meeting Nov. 4 about safety on campus and the availability of student escorts. Among the topics discussed included adding male student pick-ups by Froggie-Five-0, Residence Hall Association President Eric Russell said.

Frog Trade, a first-time campus trading event in which students swap their unwanted goods, took place Thursday on the lawn of Sadler Hall. Eye patches were optional.

Chase Bruton, a sophomore supply chain management and marketing major, traded 144 eye patches, a deck of cards, a kite and a glow stick for a pair of shoes and some movies.

Bruton, who described himself as sustainable, said he has all kinds of useless things in his room, so he attended the event to trade up.

"I got some great stuff," he said.

In the wake of the global economic downturn many universities lost considerable value from their endowments and were forced to make budget cuts.

James Hille, the university's chief investment officer, said the average university endowment in North Texas fell 22 to 23 percent.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, universities with an endowment value more than $1 billion lost an average 20 percent of the total value of their endowments. Harvard lost about 30 percent of the value of its endowment and was forced to make drastic budget cuts.

Chris Gillett

Psychosocial Kinesiology major

Q: What's your favorite memory of your time at the university?

A: Passing Biomechanics.

Q: What are your plans after graduating?

A: Building prosthetic limbs somewhere in the area.

Meghan Leal

Graphic Design major

Q: What is your favorite memory of your time at the university?

Two oil and gas entrepreneurs have joined the university's board of trustees.

The new trustees, Bruce Hunt and Duer Wagner, attended their first board meeting in November. Hunt is president of Dallas-based oil and gas company Petro-Hunt Corp. He is a parent of two TCU graduates and one current undergraduate student. Wagner, who is an alumnus, heads an oil and gas company named Duer Wagner III Inc., with offices in Dallas and Fort Worth.