Impact Newsletter Winter 2017

NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF THE TCU ADDISON & RANDOLPH CLARK SOCIETY

Impact WINTER 2017

In This Issue

Happy New Year!

Clark Society Scholars

Last fall, 779 students graduated in December 2016 commencement ceremonies. In 2017, we will celebrate even more milestones, as well as begin another exciting year for the Addison & Randolph Clark Society.

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Events Pages 3-6

Featured Member & Scholar Page 7

Featured Faculty Page 8

Campus Events Page 9

Contact Us Page 10

With a current membership of about 4,500 generous donors who give to all areas of the University, the Clark Society is thriving. At its fall meeting, the Clark Board began implementation of a new three-year Strategic Plan that will further enhance the Board’s mission to promote a culture and tradition of giving to advance TCU, including recognition, stewardship and connection, as well as foster a common understanding and appreciation of Clark Society membership.

The Clark Board also launched a campaign to bring the endowed Clark Society Scholarship up to the $1 million mark, and we are within $200,000 of our goal, thanks to you. Now, we are asking all Clark Society members to help us reach our goal by the end of the semester. To make an impact on a TCU student today, click the link at the bottom of the page.

This past year, six seniors were each awarded a $5,000 scholarship. A total of 62 students have received $220,500 since the scholarship’s inception in 1999.

We have much to celebrate in our past, as well as a future filled with promise! Thank you for all you do to make TCU such a special place. Go Frogs!

DD Burke Alexander ’82 ’86 Clark Society Board Chair

ON THE COVER From Left: Bryan King, Caroline Carter King, Mary Kathryn King, Teresa King, J. Luther King, Jr., Tres King and Mason King.

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MAKE

YOUR IMPACT

Clark Society Scholars 2016 - 2017 RECIPIENTS OF THE CLARK SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP Clark Society Scholars are senior students who are nominated by TCU faculty and staff as students who represent the University with the highest degree of character, leadership and sense of service. Clark Scholarships are funded by gifts to the Clark Society Endowed Scholarship. First awarded in 1999, the scholarship has now supported 62 students who continue to represent TCU as they serve their alma mater, professions and communities.

to all of our Clark and Junior Clark members who continue to support this important Society initiative. Your generosity allows us to help fund the education and dreams of some of TCU’s brightest, most talented and deserving students!

Jacqueline Antwi-Danso is a senior astronomy and physics major from Ghana, West Africa. She is involved in the Chancellor’s Leadership Program, serves as chief strategist for TEDxTCU and was an officer in Beyond Borders.

Kari Hancock is a senior biochemistry major from Anchorage, Alaska. She is a member of the TCU Women’s Equestrian Team, a Chancellor’s Scholar and a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Sam Baxter is a senior supply and value chain management major from McKinney, Texas. He is a member of the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program, has served as an Orientation Leader and is an officer in his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi.

Gunnar Nystrom is a senior entrepreneurial management major from Tarzana, California. He is a Bat Outreach Program coordinator, a research assistant in the TCU endocrinology and aquatic toxicity lab and service volunteer with the Oscar and Evelyn Overton Foundation.

Katelyn Crow is a senior educational studies and English double-major from Plano, Texas.

She is a member of Autism Speaks, volunteers with Special Olympics and is the president of TCU Secondary Source, a future teacher organization.

Taven Sparks is a senior entrepreneurial management major from Centennial, Colorado. He is a member of Student Foundation, and the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program and is co-founder of the Frog Shadow Program.

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CLARK SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP

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Clark Weekend 2016

COME FLY AWAY WITH US Clark Weekend is an exceptional weekend held each fall to recognize and celebrate our Clark and Junior Clark Society members. The theme changes annually, and members attending this year’s Friday night event enjoyed an evening abroad featuring multicultural drinks, an internationally inspired menu and music by Trey and the Tritones.

The evening included remarks from Clark Society Board Chair DD Burke Alexander ’82, who introduced the 20162017 Clark Society Scholars. The student speaker, Lea Sandoval ’18, spoke on her study abroad experience to Seoul, South Korea. Thanks to everyone who traveled abroad with us!

CLICK FOR MORE PICS

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Come Fly Away With Us!

PREGAME TAILGATE The Clark Society hosts a pregame tailgate in Frog Alley before the football game on the Saturday of Clark Weekend.

It is a great time to connect with fellow Clark and Junior Clark members before watching the Horned Frogs take the field.

This year, more than 300 members and guests enjoyed a Blue Mesa buffet before the Horned Frogs took on the Oklahoma Sooners.

CLICK FOR MORE PICS

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Philanthropy Week. It’s a Frog Thing.

PHILANTHROPY WEEK Philanthropy has been part of TCU’s fabric since the Clark family poured its resources into the school they founded. To honor our long philanthropic tradition, University Advancement hosted a weeklong series of events beginning November 14, 2016. Prizes were given out for daily social media challenges and concluded on TCU Gives Day when the TCU community was challenged to reach 1,000 donations in one day.

$166,698 RAISED 1,078 GIFTS 188 FIRST-TIME DONORS TCU GIVES DAY Giving truly is a “Frog thing.” 2016 marked our third annual TCU Gives Day, a 24-hour day of giving where TCU students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends give to all areas of the University during our national season of giving. On November 17, our worldwide TCU community came together to help make TCU’s vision, “To be a world-class, values-centered university,” a reality.

CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

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King Family Commons

King Family Commons Dedication Ceremony On Friday, September 9, 2016, TCU celebrated the official opening of the King Family Commons. Attendees enjoyed an open house, complete with the building’s dining options from The Press, O’Brien’s, Caliente and Magnolias.

The two-story building enhances the student experience on campus with multiple dining venues and common space for meetings, studying and coming together.

The King Family Commons is named in recognition of the transformational philanthropic support, vision and leadership of Mr. and Mrs. J. Luther King, Jr., and the King Family.

CLICK FOR MORE PICS

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Featured Members MARK AND LINDA WASSENICH

TCU has been a major influence on my life. In particular, the Honors Program lifted my learning experiences to a new level. We want to ensure the continuation of TCU’s unique characteristics, especially in mentoring and engaging students in Honors-level learning. - Linda Wassenich

Donors Mark and Linda Wassenich ’64 ’65 have stayed very involved with their alma mater. Linda has served on the TCU Dallas Alumni Board and the Board of Visitors for the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, and Mark has held a variety of leadership positions, including chair of the Clark Society Board and founding chairperson of the John V. Roach Honors College Board of Visitors, for which he received the inaugural Founders Award from the Honors College.

“I feel that TCU has a valuable role in Texas’ future by providing educated leaders.” Mark said, “The John V. Roach Honors College can help TCU grow its academic quality, promote undergraduate research and creative activity, and provide a Texas alternative to the best undergraduate schools on the East and West coasts.”

Mark and Linda continue to support scholarships, awards and other campus programs close to their hearts, but because of their family’s rich history with TCU Honors, they have chosen to build their greatest legacy through the establishment of the Wassenich Family Endowed Chair in the John V. Roach Honors College, an enduring gift to Texas Christian University that will ensure the continued development and progress of the John V. Roach Honors College.

Featured Scholar CAMILLE GRAGER ‘17 RECIPIENT OF THE MARTIN/BAIRD FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP HOMETOWN: Danville, California MAJOR: Art History, minoring in English FAVORITE ACTIVITY ON CAMPUS: My favorite position by far has been as a Visa Corps Ambassador. Visa Corps is an organization that enlists upperclassmen to encourage younger students to participate in studying abroad. Having the opportunity to study art in Florence, Italy, was one of the most rewarding and formative experiences of my college career, and I feel honored to pass on my love of travel to other students.

WHAT WILL YOU MISS: Although it’s hard to choose just one, I think the thing I will miss the most about TCU is the community.

Being a member of the Horned Frog family means the people on this campus are more than just students and faculty, they are what makes this place home.

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PLANS AFTER GRADUATION: I would like to go back to school to get a master’s in Art History and possibly go into curation or exhibit design.

Featured Faculty Dr. Diane Snow: Dr. Diane Snow is the new Dean of the John V. Roach Honors College and inaugural Wassenich Family Endowed Chair in the John V. Roach Honors College. Snow holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University.

Snow is thrilled to be at TCU. She is working to build connections with faculty and departments across campus in order to enrich the learning environment for students. Her goal is to open doors for them to benefit from opportunities for research under the mentorship of outstanding professors.

[An honor’s college] should be a place where students who want to achieve and take advantage of rich opportunities can all come together and share ideas, because there is so much to learn at the intersection of things!

Dr. Richard Denne: Dr. Richard Denne decided he wanted to be a geologist on his eighth birthday after going rock hunting in an Iowa quarry with his cousin. “I found this really neat fossil. My cousin was a geologist, and she took it back to her college. They couldn’t figure out what it was, so they sent a picture to the Smithsonian Institution. They wrote back including the name of the fossil and its age, and I was hooked.”

As the inaugural Hunter Enis Endowed Chair in Petroleum Geology, Denne is eager to bring his field experience into the classroom, where he believes it will be of great benefit to TCU students. In fact, one of his favorite parts of industry work was teaching new employees. He plans for his students to get plenty of exposure to field work.

Geology is best learned looking at the rocks. When I’m out there on a rock outcrop with students, nothing beats that.

Dr. Rhiannon Mayne: Dr. Rhiannon Mayne has been appointed the inaugural Oscar and Juanita Monnig Endowed Chair of Meteoritics and Planetary Science. Mayne received her Ph.D. in geology from the University of Tennessee. She came to TCU in 2009 from the Smithsonian Institution and has served as the Monnig Meteorite gallery curator since that time.

The Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Gallery opened in 2003 and is one of the largest university-based meteorite collections in the world. It contains almost 3,000 samples from more than 2,300 different meteorites.

Mayne’s new endowed position enriches both the Gallery and the School of Geology, Energy & the Environment.

This opportunity means that TCU is investing in the future of the collection, which is exceptionally important to me. This move should help the collection to continue to grow.

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Campus Events Leap Frog for Kinderfrogs The Leap Frog for Kinderfrogs event celebrated 16 sweet years on October 20, 2016. The annual Leap Frog for KinderFrogs Dinner & Auction raises money for academic program materials, classroom enhancements, endowment support and most importantly – scholarships for families who need financial assistance.

College of Fine Arts Gala, Joy to the Frogs The joyful noises of the holiday season rang beautifully at the eighth biennial College of Fine Arts Gala, Joy to the Frogs, on November 30, 2016. More than 300 guests enjoyed a special evening highlighted by student performances from the Department of Music. The monies raised are used to enhance the College’s programs and give students educational and professional opportunities that they would otherwise not have.

Starpoint Homerun Derby Current and past Starpoint students and families along with friends of the school came out to “Light Up the Night” on September 24, 2016, for the Homerun Derby and Dinner. Although the weather impacted the Derby Contest, guests still enjoyed a ballpark dinner and the country tunes of the Ray Johnston Band, all benefiting the school’s groundbreaking work in educating children with learning differences.

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Are you interested?

If you would like to nominate yourself or a fellow Clark or Junior Clark Society member to be a Clark Society Board volunteer, please e-mail Nancy Madsen at n.madsen@tcu.edu by February 13, 2017.

Save the Date!

Chancellor’s Council Dinner: Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Chancellor’s Council members are in the vanguard of TCU’s Addison & Randolph Clark Society by contributing $10,000 or more annually.

Adult Recess: Thursday, March 30, 2017

Board Nominations

Adult Recess is a collaborative event exclusively for TCU Young Alumni and Young Alumni Donors hosted by the TCU Junior Clark Society, Frog Club, Office of Loyalty Giving and Alumni Association.

Contact Us CLARK SOCIETY clarksociety.tcu.edu

JUNIOR CLARK SOCIETY juniorclarksociety.tcu.edu

YOUR LIBRARY MEMBERSHIP library.tcu.edu/clark-society.asp

CLICK TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

OFFICE OF DONOR RELATIONS TCU Box 297045 Fort Worth, Texas 76129 817-257-7806 donorrelations@tcu.edu Established in 1991, the TCU Donor Relations office serves as a link between TCU and its donors.

Questions and/or comments concerning stewardship, the Addison & Randolph Clark Society or any other TCU-related topic may be directed to the Donor Relations staff.

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The Clark Society Impact is an online publication of the Texas Christian University Addison & Randolph Clark Society and is distributed to all Clark and Junior Clark Society members at the conclusion of each semester.

Thank you for being a member through giving to TCU!

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