THINKING BIG

IT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE EVERY 100 YEARS

IT’S BEEN AN EVENTFUL SUMMER leading up to our centennial, cruising the Danube with our Traveling Techsans, holding our summer National Board meeting, welcoming legacies at Legacy U, hosting Red Raiders at the Races in Ruidoso, meeting with fellow Techsans at Texas Tech Nights with the Astros and Rangers and attending many alumni chapter events. I’ve been asked if I’m ever in the office. I am more than I’m not, but I’m often with alumni where they are. There’s nothing more fulfilling and rewarding than getting better acquainted with our alumni, of all ages, where they proudly represent the Double T. Every Red Raider has a story, and I can’t ever hear enough of them.

Texas Tech University announced its centennial celebration in Allen Theatre on Aug. 25 with a historic and inspirational production by students in the theater and dance department. They told the story of Texas Tech’s first century, paying homage to the school’s Dairy Barn, the history of the Masked Rider, our community’s resilience and resolve following the Lubbock Tornado and steady emergence into the leading research institution we are today.

The Dec. 2 Carol of Lights® officially begins an exciting year-long celebration. If you haven’t attended Carol of Lights® in many years, we encourage you to return this fall, especially with everything planned, a reunion representing decades of grads from our first 100 years.

Our centennial year will also include the Goin’ Band’s appearance in the 2023 “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” It was a sight to see in Hemmle Recital Hall when Wesley Whatley, representing Macy’s, announced the news to band members. He referenced Macy’s desire to choose one of the best bands in the land for the 3 million people

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The Aug. 25 celebration performance.

Macy’s Wesley Whatley, center, delivers the good news to the Goin’ Band. At left in the photo is Joel Pagán, director of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland. At right is Lawrence Schovanec, Ph.D., university president.

who will watch the parade in person, along with more than 20 million who will watch nationally on NBC. The fanfare reminded me of the story when Amon Carter and Will Rogers funded the Texas Tech band’s train trip to Fort Worth to the football game against TCU in 1926 because they wanted the people of Fort Worth to see a real band. It was the band’s first road trip. Band director Dean Killion later coined the name “Goin’ Band.”

True to its moniker, the Goin’ Band performed at a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin in 1995. It Is now goin’ to New York for its biggest stage ever in ManhaTTan.

Speaking of stages, we will host centennial celebrations for alumni in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. All alumni are invited to participate in these centennial events and to volunteer at least 100 hours in local communities this fall, throughout 2023 and beyond, in honor of our university’s 100th year. The goal is to document more than one million combined volunteer hours by recording this service time on the 100.TTU.edu and texastechalumni.org websites. Red Raiders are already actively volunteering, but we want to collect all these hours during the centennial. In addition to individual efforts, many alumni chapters are already planning localized volunteer efforts in conjunction with Founders Day on Feb. 10. What a great way to get plugged in and involved with one of our active local chapters,70 and growing.

Special thanks to President Lawrence Schovanec, who has attended several chapter events this summer, touting our university’s continued growth and success. He acknowledged the increasing scrutiny ASHLEY RODGERS of higher education because of many factors, including increasing cost and student debt. He stated that universities need to do a better job of articulating the value and the many positive impacts of a college education, both for the individual and our state. He provided information about earnings, employment and quality of life that make a compelling case for obtaining a college degree. Texas Tech graduates fare well in all these categories. As it relates to graduation rates and debt, Tech continues to show improvement. For the academic year just completed, Tech students achieved record four and six-year graduation rates, up 5% and 12%, respectively, over five years prior. In the last three years, the

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percentage of students graduating with debt and the amount of debt they carry have dropped. These improvements are critically dependent on scholarships, which your membership and support helps us administer above and beyond university support.

We have a record freshman class enrollment of about 6,900 this fall with total enrollment again exceeding 40 000, the second highest in the Big 12. The university continues to prioritize student success and Tech’s stature as a national research university continues to grow. In August, Texas Tech received a grant of more than $50 million from the National Science Foundation, the largest grant in its history, to establish a research center to address the production of fertilizer. Tech was one of four universities in the U.S.to be selected as a site for a new research center, the others being Columbia University, Duke and Ohio State.

President Schovanec often tells prospective students that one of the biggest resources they will have as a Red Raider is the reputation and success of the graduates who preceded them. This is a tribute to our alumni, how they get the job done and give so much within their communities and to Texas Tech. I couldn’t agree more as we’re continually reminded of the grit, the hard work and the solid reputation of our grads, far and wide — a tradition we will carry into the next 100 years.

Thank you for your loyal support of Texas Tech and the Alumni Association

CENTENNIAL VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.TTU.EDU/VIDEO OR BY SCANNING THE QR CODE

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