Thank you for joining us. On behalf of the TCU Neeley School of Business, it is an honor and a pleasure for me to welcome to you to Neeley, to TCU, and to Fort Worth, Texas. Whether you’re a prospective student, a parent, a candidate for a faculty position, an alumnus, an employer, a corporate partner, a benefactor, a current member of our campus community, or simply someone who’s interested in learning more about us, I want to personally welcome you (or welcome you back) to the Horned Frog community. I’m delighted that you’re here. To those of you who already know us well, thank you for everything you do to make our business school and our university the envy of our peers. To those of you who are exploring your options, I sincerely hope you decide to join us and make us even stronger.
At Neeley, we have lofty ambitions, and we continue to aspire to strengthen our place among the elite private business schools in the U.S. and the world. Our guiding light in these ambitions and in our day-to-day activities is the Neeley Promise: “The Neeley School of Business unleashes human potential with leadership at the core and innovation in our spirit®.” This is not just an empty slogan here at Neeley, but instead serves as a genuine touchstone and inspiration.
The Neeley Promise starts in the classroom. If you participate in and complete a Neeley program – whether it be an undergraduate degree, graduate degree, or a nondegree program – our commitment to you is that you will emerge as a better and more self-aware leader. Our classes and our programs provide a rigorous foundation of technical skills, integrated with critical behavioral and leadership skills, that help our students contribute to their professions from their very first day of employment and for decades into the future. Further, although we care about performance here at Neeley, we care equally about people and about purpose. In turn, the educational experience is holistic with an unwavering focus on personal growth and a collective commitment to inclusive excellence.
Neeley is also a scholarly institution, and we believe that research is important, in and of itself. Our research faculty work hard every day to better understand the world, to create new knowledge, and to build our school’s research reputation in the wider academic community. We appreciate that research is not enough, though. We believe that it is also our responsibility to use this research and our faculty’s expertise to collaborate with industry, contribute to civic discourse, address societal grand challenges, and build public trust in higher education. To that end, our faculty are recognized thought leaders in their disciplines, and our world-class centers and institutes serve as the interface between our school, their respective disciplines, and business practice.
Again, welcome to the Neeley School of Business. This is a special place. We are proud to count among our number hundreds of committed faculty and staff, thousands of students, tens of thousands of alumni, and many, many friends and supporters around the world. If you are not already part of this wonderful community, we hope you decide to join us very soon. I look forward to welcoming you to campus when you’re next in Fort Worth. And as we say around here, Go Frogs!
Craig Crossland
John V. Roach Dean