At Fall Convocation, Chancellor Boschini focused on TCU’s “culture of connection” and the TCU Promise.  Every day, hundreds of faculty, staff and students fulfill the elements of the promise, making this university the great place it is. Since that time TCU This Week has published regular articles spotlighting faculty and staff who fit that mold.

 

For the first time, we’re focusing on four individuals who last year launched the Values and Ventures program in the award-winning Neeley Entrepreneurship Center. This added enhancement has taken a great business model and added the aspect of putting heart and soul into a successful enterprise.

 

Brad Hancock, Director of the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center, notes that being values-oriented is one way TCU is set apart from other entrepreneurial programs. “We’re not the only ones. We have other colleagues interested in creating ethical entrepreneurs, but we’ve created a business plan competition where 20 percent of the judging is based on how well you incorporate personal values into business.”

 

Ray Smilor arrived at TCU in 2009 as the Robert and Edith Schumacher Executive Faculty Fellow in Innovation and Technology, and was enthused to join others here to “infuse the concept of one’s values and convictions across campus,” he says.

 

Ray and Brad, along with Jon Carr and Ann McDonald, have worked all year to grow the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures 
Business Plan Competition from an impressive debut last April into a worldwide opportunity for undergraduates. This year, they expect 20 universities from as far away as The Netherlands and Croatia to be on campus April 19-20 to be judged on their values-centered business plans.

 

The international aspect adds a new dimension for all Neeley students who come to listen and learn from the presentations: exposure to concepts beyond their own experience, the true means of becoming global citizens.

 

If you would like to submit names of faculty and/or staff who exemplify the TCU Promise, please e-mail s.record@tcu.edu and include a brief description of that person’s contributions.  Here are the elements of the TCU Promise:

 
The TCU Promise is a reciprocal commitment to excellence through discovery and achievement that unites the TCU community.

TCU faculty and staff commit to providing:
    Relevant and challenging curricula
    Energetic and innovative learning opportunities
    An invigorating social milieu
    Practicing high standards of personal behavior while engaging in intellectual curiosity and active learning

The University commits to:
    Nurturing a safe and diverse environment that is committed to:
    The free exchange of ideas
    The discovery and dissemination of knowledge
    The encouragement and recognition of creative and scholarly distinction

By upholding the TCU Promise, faculty, staff and students ultimately create a unique environment on campus and it's what we like to call the TCU Experience.