THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF TCU’S 11TH CHANCELLOR DANIEL W. PULLIN
Remarks as prepared.
November 6, 2025
Good afternoon,
It is an unmistakable honor to stand before you today as the 11th Chancellor of Texas Christian University. We, thankfully, build on the foundation of those who came before us: our teachers, our scholars, our leaders, and our daring visionaries whose faith, service, and excellence built this extraordinary institution. Our values remain our compass. They have carried us here, and they will continue to guide us through our opportunities, which are far more prodigious than the challenges that we are almost certain to encounter ahead.
Chair Moncrief, Vice Chair Clark, and the members of the Board of Trustees, thank you for your confidence, partnership, and commitment to the solidarity and autonomy of our board that has brought us this far and forever will. Likewise, I thank you for entrusting my family and me with the responsibility to make a lasting impact on so many.
Chancellor Emeritus Boschini, thank you for your mentorship and your and Megan’s loyalty to TCU over two decades of transformational leadership.
President Emeritus Gee, thank you for your friendship. I am deeply appreciative of your presence, the resounding impact you have had on higher education in America, as well as the presence of all the chancellors, presidents and delegates who join us here today.
TCU Governance Leaders, thank you for your tireless partnership, your gracious words today, and all that you do to foster the strength, community, and mission of TCU.
Community Leaders and Elected Officials, as we work together to share ideas and strengthen our commitment to a better future for our citizens, I am grateful for your thought partnership and support.
To our veterans and service members, thank you for your dedication to our country and for embodying the values we all hold dear.
To our amazing TCU Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni, thank you for infusing your immense talent, tireless energy, and steadfast loyalty to TCU. Your daily investment inspires us all and gives us the opportunity to, once again, dream anew.
And, importantly, to my remarkable wife Annie, thank you for your love and the family we continue to build together. Parker, Halsey – watching you grow into young men is one of the great joys of my life; and Thomas and Eliza – How special it is for me to be a part of your lives. I will always be here to love and support you all.
And, finally, to TCU’s founders, Addison and Randolph Clark, you were Disciples of Christ ministers. You believed that faith, unity, scholarship, and service could transform lives. And, you are still correct. Your first founding decision, an innovation at the time and still true today, was to educate men and women together. Together, you envisioned a university open to all, a university rooted in love of God, respect for knowledge, and the building of personal character as we likewise care for one another.
Today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’s tomorrow, my job is to make sure your spirit endures at TCU. As you charged us 152 years ago, we not only prepare students for impactful careers, but, more importantly, we align them for lives of leadership, service, and integrity. This purpose reminds us that education is not only about what we know, but about who we become and what we do with it.
For over a century and a half, our values have lived in our classrooms, our laboratories, our performance halls, and across our athletic fields and chapel steps. These same values of integrity, excellence, community, and engagement remind us of the importance of learning, which lifts the human spirit and fosters the shared connection that sustains us.
And I know, Clark brothers, your plan has never been about chasing trends or navigating the flashpoint item of the moment. Your plan, which is our plan, is based on how we prepare our students to meet the world with wisdom, resilience, and purpose. Your plan is about aligning our strengths in teaching, research, faith, and service to make a difference where it matters most.
The good news, Clark brothers, is that we will move with a prudent pace, as you did. We will continue to nurture TCU’s superpowers of creativity and curiosity. For example, we will lead in areas of emerging technology while preserving the human connection that defines the TCU experience. Above all, we will seek to remain true to the calling that has guided us from the beginning: to educate the whole person in mind, heart, and spirit.
In recent days, I had the opportunity to privately share with a few friends how much I remembered my late father, Gary, for the way he chose to invest in others. Tellingly, he would always do this before investing in himself, even when, in some cases, it was to his own disadvantage. He lived life selflessly. He was one of those all-too-rare people who made you feel better and more confident about yourself every time you met him. He lifted and inspired so many others, starting with me, and I am forever grateful for his example of investment.
Likewise, I recently spoke with a large group of community leaders about how fortunate I have been to live in Fort Worth, where so many people have poured into me during my time at TCU, indeed more than any chapter of my life. It’s their investment that motivates me, in turn, to similarly invest so deeply here as well.
To invest in this extraordinary university is to embrace the responsibility of servant leadership. A servant leader invests in people. For me, that means leading with courage, humility, and a deep commitment to others. It means listening first, empowering those around me, and creating space for collaboration and growth.
A servant leader unites others through shared values and dreams. A servant leader helps others see what is possible and guides them toward it. Servant leadership is not about the mere wielding of formal authority, but rather, how one uses their blessings of time and energy to positively influence others through trust, empathy, and vision.
At TCU, we know each one of us has that same opportunity to serve as we invest in each other, especially our students. When we do so, we realize a return on our selflessness as we change lives, build bridges, heal the sick, cultivate strong citizens, and the families and communities that support them.
Similarly, investing in education equips us not only with knowledge, but with wisdom. And, what we have invested in together, and what we are committed to still, elevates us all. In a world that often feels divided, uncertain, and fast-moving, education is what we need more of, now more than ever.
Of course, what really gets me excited about this opportunity is that I believe in the next generation. Though some might call that idealistic or even naive, I believe in our students’ potential because I see it in action every day. I know, and am impressed by, their passion and their power to shape a better future. Each day, I see them both achieve and stumble and, almost always, learn from those stumbles. Ultimately, I see them conquering challenges and dreaming big, as the TCU community invests in them to see those dreams realized.
So let us return to an embrace of idealism. Let us optimistically move forward into the future with courage. Let us continue to invest in a university that reflects the very best of what higher education will be, for generation after generation.
Starting with our students, TCU is a place where if you can dream it, you can do it. Look around this week, if you’ve been here, and you probably have, you know that we are the university that puts its Values into Action.
And, if you want to see what the future of higher education looks like, look at TCU.
Together, we are building the university of the future – one that is innovative and highly connected to the world it serves.
The university of the future is one that grows with intention: one that is focused on mission, values, and the marketplace.
TCU will do all this while staying true to our enduring commitment to build ethical and responsible leaders equipped to contribute to the world that needs them.
We are creative. We stimulate. We positively agitate the status quo. We invest in research, scholarship and creative activities in an interdisciplinary way, because this is what our students and our world need. Daily, we generate insights into the most critical issues of our time, so that our students are prepared to deploy and improve upon them in practice. Our graduates will lead and excel in jobs of the future that haven’t even been created yet, and our world-class faculty and staff are the vessels to get them there.
The university of the future is curious, creative, agile, and always ready to think differently. There is nothing “ordinary” about TCU. Remember, our Values are in Action. And while the world will change, our commitment is immutable.
For example, the world’s tools, techniques, and technology will always be changing, improving, and advancing what is possible. Yet, TCU will always champion the importance of the human connection. TCU’s forever distinctive Teacher-Scholar model, which features perhaps the nation’s finest mentor-student relationships, is irreplaceable – and non-negotiable.
The university of the future is one whose students understand that they don’t have to wait until graduation to be compassionate, engaged citizens, and leaders.
It’s a university where students engage with current issues, understand local and global challenges, and have opportunities to spur meaningful change that squarely places them as part of something far greater than themselves.
And, of course, the university of the future will always believe in, and invest in, its people.
TCU is the university of the future. And our values-based strategy is our call to action. It challenges us to lead every day with integrity and excellence, innovate with courage, and engage our communities with compassion.
The TCU of today – and tomorrow – is a place where the pursuit of meaning and purpose is honored, where curiosity is celebrated, and where the tradition of our founders thrives. It is a place where our students learn the power of investing in others.
In closing, I share a favorite quote from a TCU Chancellor:
From Chancellor Emeritus Victor J. Boschini, who – alongside so many achievements, opportunities and challenges throughout his tenure – teaches us to never lose sight of our human connection:
“What defines the culture of TCU is the connection we all have to each other at every level and at every step. Alums, housekeeping staff, the professors, the current students, athletics, there’s a thread woven between all of us. We value our relationships with each other more than anything else. That really is the hallmark of TCU.”
And so, as we look ahead, Horned Frogs, it is this enduring sense of connection that will continue to define who we are and guide everything we do. It is this shared commitment – to one another and to our values – that ensures TCU remains not only a place of intellectual curiosity, achievement and where bold aspirations come true, but a community where relationships and purpose thrive.
I hope, and believe, that the Clark brothers are proud of the TCU of today, and that their vision will endure forever.
Thank you, TCU community, for your trust, your faith, and your investment in each other.
Thank you, God, for blessing Texas Christian University.
Dream Big. Be Bold. Lead On.
Go Frogs!
Daniel W. Pullin
