Amidst the numerous commemorations of TCU鈥檚 Sesquicentennial, five books were published by TCU Press to recognize and chronicle the university鈥檚 path to 150. From looking at the campus itself, to its history with race and to its overall evolution, the books pay tribute to TCU.
鈥淭CU Press has been privileged to take part in TCU鈥檚 Sesquicentennial celebrations,鈥� said Dan Williams, director of TCU Press. 鈥淢y colleagues and I published five wonderful books to help celebrate TCU鈥檚 remarkable growth and achievements. Each book is quite unique, but together they offer exceptional insight into how TCU has progressed from its earliest days to the present.鈥疉nyone who cares about TCU will find something to love in these books, and we hope that they will be read as TCU continues to grow and achieve.鈥�
As the books were released throughout the year, TCU News shared the stories behind the stories. Here, they are gathered in one place to enjoy once again.
Images and Stories of TCU鈥檚 First 100 Years 1873-1973
Self-proclaimed history enthusiast Gene Smith knows a lot about TCU鈥檚 past, but there were a few surprises even he discovered while compiling the recently released book鈥�Images and Stories of TCU鈥檚 First 100 Years 1873-1973.
鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot on TCU and knew what topics we wanted the book to cover, but I learned some things I didn鈥檛 know,鈥� said Smith, a TCU professor of history, the director of the Center for 国产麻豆AV Studies at TCU and an author, primarily on early American history.
As TCU celebrates its Sesquicentennial, a history book about the first 100 years is important, he said. For example, TCU is one of the oldest continuously coed institutions west of the Mississippi River and began integrating during the mid-1940s through its Evening College.鈥�
Walking TCU: A Historic Perspective
With campus in its prettiest of palettes, spring is the ideal time to take a walk around TCU. Phil Hartman can be your guide, thanks to the recent publication of鈥�Walking TCU: A Historic Perspective, the second edition, in honor of TCU鈥檚 Sesquicentennial.
The original鈥�Walking TCU by Joan Hewatt Swaim, former TCU reference librarian with family ties to the university, was published in 1992 and gives an account of the university鈥檚 history and the people who shaped it. The book鈥檚 focus was on the buildings and other campus structures 鈥� and one of Hartman鈥檚 favorites.
鈥淎bout 10 years ago I thought it would be good to update the book, given how many new structures had been built since it was first published,鈥� said the emeritus dean and professor in the TCU College of Science & Engineering. 鈥淲alking TCU today is a very different walk.鈥�
A History to Remember: TCU in Purple, White, and Black
The Black story of TCU doesn鈥檛 begin in 1964 with desegregation, when the first few Black undergrads enrolled (if only for a short while). The story begins long before and alongside the Black American experience, which shaped our nation, state, city and, ultimately, our university.
Frederick W. Gooding Jr., the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Honors Professor of Humanities 鈥� with colleagues Sylviane Ngandu-Kalenga Greensword, postdoctoral fellow, and Marcellis Perkins, doctoral candidate 鈥� are the authors of鈥�A History to Remember: TCU in Purple, White, and Black. Timed with TCU鈥檚 Sesquicentennial, their book represents a historical accounting of the collective Black American experience as filtered through the more specific lens of TCU, Gooding said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not that no one has ever written about the Black experience in relation to TCU, but nothing is as concentrated to this degree,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the beginning of conversation, and we hope to add more voices onto it and that there will be different iterations.鈥�
A Hope of Wisdom
Over the past 150 years of TCU鈥檚 commitment to higher education, change may have been a constant, but so has the hope of the men and women who have come to our university with a dream to learn and lead.
This hope 鈥� and the underlying belief that education is essential for the well-being of individuals and society 鈥� is a topic that transcends time and for which many have thought and written about critically.
In 1873, when brothers Addison and Randolph Clark established their college to educate responsible citizens, their father, Joseph Addison Clark, wrote an essay on education in reference to the individual. Then, in 1973, as TCU celebrated its centennial, Chancellor James M. Moudy added an essay on his beliefs about education. The collection was called鈥�A Hope of Wisdom鈥痑nd was published by TCU Press.
Now a third essay on education, written by Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr., has been added to the publication as TCU marks its Sesquicentennial.
A Remarkable Story to Tell: TCU 1973-2023
Imagine brothers Addison and Randolph Clark returning to TCU and taking a guided tour of their beloved university, one that is now listed among the top 100 in the U.S.
鈥淩emarkable鈥� is likely the word they would exclaim again and again.
The story of how a small, regional college aspired to be nationally recognized university is being told through TCU Press鈥� Sesquicentennial book,鈥�A Remarkable Story to Tell: TCU 1973-2023. It recounts the journey of the past 50 years to realize that very ambitious goal.
At the core of鈥�Remarkable is how visionary leaders 鈥� administrators, faculty, trustees, alumni and others in the TCU community 鈥� saw the university鈥檚 potential and shaped it to be the highly recognized and distinctive institution it is today. As they led, they maintained the values that the Clark brothers committed to: helping students develop as responsible citizens.