The university endowment lost about 17 percent of its market value this year soon after the financial crisis gained momentum in June, according to the chief investment officer.

James Hille, chief investment officer, said he told the Board of Trustees investment committee that from January to the end of October the endowment went from $1.2 billion to about $1 billion. Hille said the figure isn't exact, but said the loss is about $200 million.

When I sat down to write my senior column, I immediately thought I'd be writing a sentimental piece about how much I've learned at TCU and about how much I have changed. I imagined I would look back and laugh at myself as a wide-eyed freshman who sat down in the wrong classroom on the first day of school.

But I did that my sophomore and junior years, too.

I'm still nervous about studying for finals, I still vow after every test that I will never procrastinate again and I still get lost in Sid Richardson.

For the past few years, December graduation rates have increased. Later this month, more than 800 students will receive their degrees, a university official said.

Kristi Harrison, manager for academic progress, said 885 students will receive their degrees during this month's commencement ceremony. This number includes students who finished their degree requirements this past summer and students who completed their degree requirements during this semester.

Gary Patterson's Christmas has come early.

"What (the NCAA) needs to do is put us with somebody ranked," head coach Gary Patterson said after TCU's last game against Air Force Academy. "Put a Boise State with one of our teams in some bowl game if they want a little publicity if Boise doesn't go to a BCS game."

Patterson said he is looking forward to facing the Broncos.

I never had any intention of graduating early.

In fact, I did everything in my power to make sure it didn't happen.

I came to TCU still on hyperdrive from high school, and I brought an abundance of AP and transfer credits from a community college, and added to that a 12-credit Spanish class and multiple double-dipped core classes. As TCU is on a flat rate, I wasn't about to pay for classes I wasn't taking, so I also crammed my semester with as many as I could without having to pay for more.

Amid the economic downturn, some graduating seniors are turning to graduate school in hopes of avoiding the troublesome job market, a university official said.

John Thompson, executive director of career services, said during an economic crisis he sees many students turn to graduate school because they didn't get job offers or weren't satisfied with the jobs they were offered.

"Graduate school is always an option," Thompson said. "But it's a more attractive option when the job situation isn't very good."

For probably the first time, and I hope not the last, I agree with Barack Obama about using taxpayer's money.

According to a Nov. 24 Detroit Free Press article, the president-elect said in a press conference the same day that Congress was right in not giving in to the Big 3 automakers in Detroit because they did not have a definite plan for the $25 billion in taxpayer money they were seeking.

The yellowing trees on Hemphill Street are golden paint strokes against the gloomy sky on a chilly Tuesday morning, the leftover of a November thunderstorm the night before. Against this backdrop, several...