Student Development Services (SDS) maximizes student potential through individual and community development. By overseeing leadership development, community and international involvement, organizational membership, experiential learning, mentoring, transitional programming, and the cultivation of a culture of care, SDS provides students with the opportunity to learn, to lead, to achieve, and to contribute.

Who We AreSDS staff members are dynamic, innovative individuals who are passionate about mentoring students in their development as ethical leaders and responsible citizens of the global community.

What We Do• Help develop students in their capacity to think and act as ethical leaders• Engage students as successful, impactful and responsible citizens of the TCU, local, and global

communities• Create research-based, innovative, and value-adding programming that intentionally addresses issues

of student development, transition, retention, and success• Provide support and resources to parents, families, faculty, and others who influence student development

Our MissionTo maximize student potential through individual and community development.

Our VisionTo be a mutually supportive team of educators providing exceptional developmental experiences that enable students to better understand themselves and their communities and empower them to use their strengths and talents for the greater good.

Our Values• Collaboration—Creating intentional, meaningful, and mutually enhancing relationships to develop

strong partnerships that positively impact the lives of others• Caring—Showing care and compassion for others by being open, honest, available and inclusive• LeadingbyExample—Exemplifying humility, courage, integrity, resolve, genuine service, and

accountability• Excellence—Consistently surpassing what is expected• Challenge—Asking purposeful questions, providing specific and non-judgmental feedback• Support—Encouraging commitment in others by being present, inspiring, and motivational

Our Academic Partnerships In order to most intentionally develop and integrate students, SDS has developed unique partnerships with Academic Affairs. Programs such as Academic Orientation, Frog Camp Rome, the Common Reading, One Book, One TCU, Model UN, and ongoing transitional programming create a seamless educational experience for students, in which the co-curricular supports the curricular.

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SDS mentors students as they engage and develop as ethical leaders who are informed by diverse perspectives, critical thought, and an identity rooted in the unique challenge and support afforded to members of the Horned Frog community. While students develop at different rates, SDS staff members expertly use class identity and strategic interventions to positively affect student growth. A sampling of the intentional developmental programming provided throughout the year includes:

• Common Reading. Originating within SDS, the Common Reading has become a foundational piece of the first year experience, setting expectations for students’ academic life. After an SDS-proposed Vision in Action grant moved the program to Academic Affairs, staff members continue to partner with faculty to ensure a meaningful program that allows students to have the chance to spend time with TCU’s best faculty members discussing the year’s reading before classes start.

• One Book, One TCU. In response to the desire to create a community reading program for students, faculty and staff, the One Book, One TCU program was created. In its first year, Tuesdays with Morrie was chosen, and for the 2010-2011 academic year, Three Cups of Tea was selected in collaboration with the Common Reading for incoming students.

• Chancellor’s Assembly. At this celebration of TCU’s academic life, incoming students march into Daniel-Meyer Coliseum to the applause of faculty and staff members clad in academic regalia. The event, a bookend to Convocation, concludes with the candlelight passing of the Light of Knowledge.

• First Year, First Home Game. This program, held the day of the first home football game of the season, partners with student tailgates to grill hundreds of hot dogs for and hand out spirit items to first-year students. After the tailgate, first-year students given the opportunity to create the tunnel at the stadium for the players to run through as they enter the field before the game.

• Inward Bound. This one-day seminar guides students through reflection, values framing, and decision making processes to assist students in making informed decisions and ethical choices about academic, career, and social matters.

• The Mission Statement Scholarship Award recognizes juniors who successfully live out TCU’s mission statement through a financial award and recognition at the Ring Ceremony.

• Senior Fair coordinates all of the goods and services seniors need to graduate into a “one-stop shop.”

• The Senior Game celebrates a senior’s last home football game with the opportunity to go onto the field after the game to sing the Alma Mater with the team.

• First Lecture Series. The TCU First Lecture Series gives students the opportunity to present a formal lecture on a topic of their choosing to TCU faculty, staff, and fellow students.

• Transfers. Transfer Student Programs provide students with the opportunity to experience a smooth and easy transition into the TCU community and culture. By partnering with Orientation, Frog Camp, Connections, and other first-year programs, Transfer Programs help students become more familiar and comfortable with the University.

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A good leader is someone who positively affects change. A great leader is one who seeks a global perspective; one who is open-minded and willing to gain a deeper understanding of the world and their role in it. Throughout the year, SDS provides a variety of global experiences that cultivate these characteristics.

International Frog Camps Frog Camp London focuses on TCU’s mission to develop ethical leaders in the global community. During London, students visit and study sites that distinguish London as one of the world’s most important financial, political, philosophical, and cultural centers. By visiting the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, Dans le Noir (a special dinner served entirely in the dark), the Globe Theatre, and the West End, the students, faculty, and staff at Frog Camp London experience and discuss their opportunity to learn to change the world.

Frog Camp Rome, a unique partnership with the John V. Roach Honors College, exposes students to the “educated individual” part of TCU’s mission. While traveling abroad with Honors upperclass students, faculty, and staff, incoming students quickly find their place in TCU’s tradition of international scholarship. By immersing themselves in the history, culture, and traditions of Rome, participants in Frog Camp Rome gain a richer understanding of their role on campus, in the community, and around the world.

Model UNThe award-winning Model United Nations program at TCU, a joint program of Student Development Services and the Department of Political Science, offers students the opportunity to simulate the workings of the United Nations as representatives of one of its member-states. In their capacity as delegates to Model UN conferences, students research the policies of their designated country on a variety of topics including international trade and development, terrorism, international conflict, weapons of mass destruction, human rights, and the environment. Participation in conferences such as the National Model United Nations (NMUN) – DC, NMUN – New York, and NMUN – International conferences also helps students to improve their negotiating, public speaking and writing skills.

Heifer InternationalHeifer International Alternative Spring/Fall Break explores issues surrounding hunger and poverty, providing awareness of the great need in the world. These experiences challenge participants to examine their habits and consumption, and in turn their core beliefs, on the path to becoming more responsible global citizens.

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The TCU Leadership Center aims to recognize and celebrate student leadership and serves as a clearinghouse for programs, information and resources related to leadership skill development and training. The Center participates in various scholarship and leadership award programs that support leadership development and offers co-curricular seminars for students who are interested in growing as leaders.

• Seminars. Non-credit, interactive seminars give students the opportunity to explore various topics in leadership, including Creative Leadership, Ethical Leadership, Philosophy of Leadership, and Strengths-Based Leadership. Students who take three core seminars and two electives receive a leadership medallion to wear at Commencement.

• Connections. Connections is a six-week small-group centered leadership program specifically designed to help new students transition successfully into the TCU community. Students are challenged to wrestle with personal identity and self-awareness, investing in and helping shape a thriving campus community, and learning about the ways in which our personal and communal lives are connected to the larger story of the global community. Though not required, Connections attracts several hundred incoming students per year and represents, for many, the first step toward earning a leadership medallion upon graduation from TCU.

• CLP. The Chancellor’s Leadership Program is a 3½ year, cohort-based leadership development program based on the Social Change Model of Leadership that culminates in a capstone project combining a student’s entire academic and co-curricular experience.

• Conferences & Global Experiences. Since its inception, the Center has offered leadership-themed trips to Scotland, Mexico, Africa, Argentina and Chile. Domestically, Center staff coordinates and participates in conferences across the country, including hosting the State of Leadership Conference, a statewide, two-day leadership conference designed to engage students around a particular aspect of leadership and encourage students to be change agents.

• Consulting & Training. SDS has served as the umbrella for a host of programs and services others seek to replicate. Center staff regularly consult with various community stakeholders and educational institutions throughout the state and offer a range of training and workshops. A sampling of previous consultations include the City of Fort Worth, The Keller Independent School District, and Fort Worth Sister Cities International.

• Leadership for Life. Leadership for Life equips students to coach others through their leadership and personal development through a process of thoughtful, intentional questioning. First Year students have the opportunity to be assigned a personal coach—a successful upper-class student who has been specially trained by an internationally-known coaching expert in areas of goal-setting, prioritization, self-care, and maximization of individual strengths.

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OrientationOrientation assists new students, transferring students, and families with the transition to TCU by providing essential information and helping them meet new and continuing students, faculty, and staff.

• During Orientation, students register for their first semester at TCU, learn about campus resources, and get connected with mentors and services.

• First year students can choose to attend one of eight two-day sessions in June or from two in August; transfer students can attend a topic-specific one-day session in June or August.

• In the summer of 2010, nearly 5500 new students and their family members came to campus for one of 11 orientation sessions.

Frog CampFrog Camp is an off-campus experiential orientation that helps integrate and connect new students with the TCU, Fort Worth, and global communities. By doing that, upperclass students develop as leaders, facilitators, and mentors. With ten camps that take place around the world, Frog Camp is one of the most successful programs of its kind.

• Camp options include Challenge (spirit and teambuilding), Casa Nueva (Fort Worth culture), Alpine (Colorado high adventure), Quest (leadership and service), London (international leadership), Summit (competition and teamwork), and Rome (international Honors).

• Approximately 70% of the incoming class attends camp—one of the highest participation rates in the country for similar programs.

• In 2010, a total of 1,594 people participated in camp as a camper, facilitator, director, work crew member, or faculty/staff partner.

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TCU Student Organizations maximizes individual and community development by recognizing, supporting, and developing student groups and their leaders as they inspire, lead, and serve TCU’s campus and the surrounding community.

• With more than 200 student organizations in areas including cultural, service, social justice, religious, academic, special interest, sports clubs, and fraternities and sororities, student organizations at TCU positively impact every facet of campus while enhancing the collegiate experience that TCU is nationally known for.

• Student organization participation and affiliation encompasses approximately 60% of TCU’s enrollment. 4,200 students participate in an organizational experience and comprise nearly 6,100 memberships.

• Annually, organizations at TCU manage $200,000 - $300,000 and participate in 60,000 hours of community service, and travel regionally, nationally, and internationally.

• There are currently over 4,500 members in TCU’s OrgSync online system which centralizes campus involvement and streamlines communication amongst organizations.

• Student organization trainings are conducted regularly, with topics including Risk Management, Food Handlers Training, Contracts and Travel Workshops, Peer Mediation and Dialogue, and Website/Portal Development and Management in OrgSync. Additionally, a Student Organizations Activities Fair is held each semester to educate and recruit members.

TCU Outfitters: TCU’s Student Organization Peer Consulting Program. Every year, outstanding student leaders are selected to serve as Outfitters who work as consultants to student organizations, assisting in organizational and leadership advancement. Specific areas include recruitment and retention, marketing, and event planning, as well as help with membership profiles and organization renewal and recognition.

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Community Renewal is a campus initiative that promotes and works for a campus community where people know and care about one another. A campus-based version of Community Renewal International’s holistic model for creating safe, caring and socially sustainable communities, Community Renewal at TCU is a unique pilot project that intends to foster an ethos of care and communal responsibility on campus. The Community Renewal initiative encourages members of the TCU community to take responsibility for thinking and acting in ways that promote the well-being of those around them and the community as a whole. The initiative centers on the principle that communities thrive when positive, committed attention is given to human relationships.

• In its first semester (Fall 2010) SDS began integrating Community Renewal principles and practices into first-year programs, held a campus-wide public launch of the initiative with well over 500 students and staff performing in a Drum Café, began a Community Renewal-inspired approach to residence hall initiatives under the leadership of Housing and Residence Life, and held several public “We Care” events.

• To date, more than 1,400 students have signed a “We Care” commitment card, indicating their desire to build and sustain our campus community through intentional, caring relationships.

• 94 students have been trained as Community Leaders to do intentional community-building in their residence halls and other spheres of influence on campus.

• A “We Care” video project went live in March 2011 (www.wecare.tcu.edu) featuring stories of community from around campus.

• Community Renewal was featured in three Skiff (TCU student newspaper) articles and the cover story of TCU Magazine (Winter 2011 issue).

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Women’s and Men’s Programs at TCU explore the impact that gender plays in personal, professional, and cultural aspects of life through increased self-awareness, facilitated dialogue, and resources and referrals. Programs include:

• Café Express. An innovative conversational process focused on exploring questions of gender that matter.

• TCU Women’s Book Club. Every semester, the department picks a book to read and discuss. Recent selections include The Joy Luck Club and The Color Purple, both of which culminated in author visits to campus (Amy Tan and Alice Walker, respectively).

• (S)he’sCraftyWorkshop. Women and men of different backgrounds and perspectives work on a craft and conversation project together. Projects have included quilt blocks for veterans, knot blankets for those experiencing homelessness, and signs placed around campus to share love on Valentine’s Day.

• MENtality Lunch Series. This dialogue series identifies speakers and media outlets that encourage and engage men in conversations on topics such as mentoring, what it means to be a man and power and privilege. Featured speakers have included influential individuals such as Olympian Khadevis Robinson.

• CollaborativeProgramming. TCU Women’s and Men’s Programs frequently partner with campus constituents to host events in an effort to maximize attendance and impact. Recent events include the International Women’s Day Luncheon featuring former news anchor Sana Sayed, co-sponsored with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the TCU Student Muslim Association; Feed Your Body and Soul Week Kick-Off Luncheon featuring former Biggest Loser contestant Abby Rike, co-sponsored with Campus Life and the TCU Counseling Center; and a community leader reception for renowned author Alice Walker, in collaboration with the TCU Religion Department and the AddRan College of Liberal Arts.

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TCU Parent and Family Programs provide a supportive and developmental structure for parents and families as their students transition from adolescence to adulthood within the TCU community. These efforts are accomplished through an informational website, monthly educational newsletters, presentations, an ombudsman relationship, and individual conversations. Additional formal programs include:

• TheTCUParents’Association.All parents and guardians of undergraduate TCU students are members of the TCU Parents’ Association. This organization offers parents and family members an opportunity to formally connect and get involved with TCU.

• TCUParentCouncil. A group of approximately 60 families who meet twice a year to discuss issues surrounding the academic and co-curricular activities of the campus. In addition to receiving information, these parents provide feedback, act as ambassadors to parents within their own communities and assist with University initiatives.

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StrengthsQuest StrengthsQuest gives students and educators the opportunity to develop strengths by building on their greatest talents – the way in which they most naturally think, feel, and behave as unique individuals. Utilizing a unique partnership with the Gallup Organization, and a theoretical foundation grounded in positive psychology, SDS staff works with students to determine what they do well and how they can replicate that in a variety of settings.

Well BeingTCU is one of three universities chosen to participate as pilot members of the Gallup Campus Wellbeing Consortium, an initiative that will reach more than 100,000 students over the next five years. By focusing on the career, social, financial, physical, and community wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff, TCU is committed to a thriving campus community and recognizes that wellbeing is a factor of success.

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