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From Broadway to the tennis courts and from energy to exercise, TCU’s faculty, alumni and students are in the news. 

FACULTY 

  
May 31, 2024 
AFP News 
Torn apart and rewired by former President Donald Trump’s historic criminal conviction, the 2024 presidential campaign moves into uncharted territory with all eyes on how the two main protagonists navigate the dangers. Robert F. Kennedy, who is running as an independent in the presidential race, predicted on X that the New York trial would “backfire.” But Keith Gaddie, a political analyst and professor, said the political impact of the shocking events has yet to be determined. “It probably doesn’t move a lot of votes, but in particular states with particular swing votes, it could matter around the margins. So, in particularly tight races, it can tip things back from one direction to the other,” he said. 

 
May 29, 2024 
Star Tribune  
The health benefits of spending time in nature have long been established, and exercise in general, of course, improves physical and mental well-being. Combine the two and you double down on what adults need to stay healthy, said Debbie Rhea, professor in kinesiology. “We’ve got to get outside. We’ve got to be active,’’ Rhea said. ‘‘If we’re going to live long lives, this is what it’s about.” 

 
May 29, 2024 
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According to Lance A. Bettencourt, professor of professional practice in marketing and academic director of the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program at the TCU Neeley School of Business, credit card companies are counting on loyalty from those who sign up based on a promotion. “Research is clear that promotions like sign-up bonuses are very effective, yet often unprofitable to the company offering the promotion,” he said.  

 
May 24, 2024 
Lee News Central  
Two years have passed since 21 souls were taken at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, ӣƵAPP. People will commemorate the deadly mass shooting in different ways, but one woman wrote a play to help remember the lives lost. Assistant Professor Ayvaunn Penn said that after what took place in Uvalde, she couldn’t work on anything else until she finished “For the Love of Uvalde.” It’s a collaboration between TCU, The Reducing Gun Violence Action Team of Tarrant County and Stage West. “I was devastated when I learned of the Robb Elementary School shooting,” she said. “My devastation cannot compare to those who were directly impacted, but as a human being, I could not think about anything else.”  

 
May 20, 2024 
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Most U.S. health experts recommend people get colonoscopies every 10 years. Researchers in a new study suggest people with a negative colonoscopy and no family history of colon cancer may be able to wait as long as 15 years between colonoscopies. This move could even make colonoscopies more appealing to some people, since they’d have to do them less frequently, added Dr. Rohan Jeyarajah, chair of surgery at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. It could also ease some logistical issues. “[Longer intervals] would really have an impact on resources that are available for colonoscopies,” he said. “At this point, we are struggling to get people in for the 10-year colonoscopy mark based on physician availability. This is especially true in rural communities where there is a lack of gastroenterologists or surgeons who are able to perform screenings for colonoscopies.” 

 
May 19, 2024 
Good Housekeeping  
As fun as the name sounds, FLiRT is not the official designation for the dominant COVID-19 variant. That is actually a cheeky nickname for a whole family of different variants (any that start with KP or JN). “The FLiRT variants came to the forefront at the end of April,” said Dr. Nikhil K. Bhayani, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the Burnett School of Medicine. “One variant in particular has risen to prominence: KP.2.” Bhayani said that it’s “too early to tell how contagious this variant is” but that we “might see an increase in COVID-19 cases this summer due to the fact that this is a new variant that few people have been exposed to.” 

 
May 17, 2024 
Fort Worth Star-Telegram  
Two ӣƵAPP billionaires are looming large in North ӣƵAPP elections, even if you aren’t seeing them. Over the past decade the two billionaires have helped push ӣƵAPP to the right by backing lawmakers who have advocated bills on guns, transgender issues and school vouchers. Their influence can be both overstated and understated, said Jim Riddlesperger, political science professor. “There are a whole bunch of dynamics working together in Republican Party politics in ӣƵAPP...,” Riddlesperger said. “But there are many other factors as well.” 

 
May 17, 2024 
POWER Magazine  
Students from the Neeley School of Business met with influential leaders throughout Europe as part of their course, The Geopolitics of Energy. The students and instructors from the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute held discussions with the International Energy Agency in Paris, the Energy Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels and with Liquid Natural Gas group of Shell Global in London. The students were accompanied by Ann Bluntzer, executive director of the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute, and Tom Seng, assistant professor of professional practice. “The idea is to expose our students to energy use in other countries,” Seng said. “That includes the energy mix, energy policy, energy goals and their plans for emissions reductions. The EU has a net zero by 2050 plan. The question remains as to whether they can achieve that. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and some record hot summers have put that goal in jeopardy.” 

STUDENTS 

 
May 20, 2024 
KENS-TV (San Antonio, TX)  
A twice-daily cattle drive through the Stockyards is how they commemorate Fort Worth’s authentic history. Now, one woman’s name will forever be etched in “The Herd” history books. Quinceola Reid, TCU student and military vet, made the trade from combat to cowboy boots. “It feels really big,” Reid said. In The Herd’s 25-year history, she became the first Black female drover in 2021. “I didn’t know when I first got the job,” she said. “I was just excited to be paid to ride horses versus paying an arm and a leg.” 

 May 14, 2024 
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX) 
Class projects from the Zoo Enrichment class weren’t just an exercise to get a grade. They were tested in the real world to see if they made the grade. “To create an enrichment structure that helps to mimic behavior that would be seen in the wild,” TCU Zoo Enrichment student  Abi Welch said, explaining the class assignment. Welch was part of the first student team from TCU to design an enrichment activity structure for elephants. “It’s amazing! It’s honestly one of the most incredible feelings I’ve ever experienced,” Welch said.  

ALUMNI 

 
May 30, 2024 
ABC News 
Talking about mental health often isn’t easy, particularly for men, who often fight gender stereotypes that make them hesitant to share their feelings. It’s especially true for men of color. Now, local barbers in ӣƵAPP and Louisiana have created a safe space for men to come together and have open dialogues about their mental health – in barbershops, a place where conversation is already part of the culture. It all began three years ago for Dr. Antonio Igbokidi M.D. ’24. In July 2020, he initiated his barbershop talk therapy project in Fort Worth. “This is an opportunity to, one, feel safe to talk about the things we want to talk about,” Igbokidi told ABC News. “And two, figure out what can we do about the things that we feel. We talk about a lot of things that people have questions on. Adverse childhood experiences. Maladaptive coping skills. We talk about actually knowing where to go when you have a crisis and finding people that look like you that you can go to.” 

 
May 18, 2024 
KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX)  
Why play one role in Hamilton when you can play many? As a standby, swing and dance captain, that’s the extraordinary job John Devereaux ’12 has in the national touring production of the Tony Award-winning blockbuster. A bonus for the ӣƵAPP native is playing these roles for a hometown crowd. The show is playing at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas before it moves to Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. A friend urged him to audition for a show at TCU and that changed his career trajectory. “For TCU, it was a place where I gained my confidence. I feel like I had gifts that weren’t tapped into as much, but I guess TCU pulled it out of me and they gave me confidence and nurtured those gifts. It was kind of like an incubator for those four years,” Devereaux said. 

ATHLETICS  

 
May 19, 2024 
Fort Worth Star-Telegram  
For the first time in program history, TCU Men’s Tennis is the NCAA national champions. The Horned Frogs defeated ӣƵAPP 4-3 to capture the title. With TCU trailing 3-2, Jack Pinnington came clutch with a singles win. After dropping the first set, Pinnington stormed back to win the next two. TCU’s Sebastian Gorzny sealed the title with a singles win. The Horned Frogs captured two Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor National Championships in 2022 and 2023 but had never been crowned NCAA champions before this year. 

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