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Saturday, March 29, 1997

TCU Chancellor William Tucker to retire

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Texas Christian University Chancellor William E. Tucker, who guided the institution through two decades of growth and a few controversies, will retire in summer 1998.

"Serving TCU has been a grand and absolutely rewarding adventure," Tucker told university trustees Thursday as he revealed his decision to step down.

"I don't want you to have to pry me loose, to haul me out. Besides, TCU will benefit from new eyes, new ears, new insight and new executive leadership as it moves into a new century of challenge and promise."

Plans for seeking a successor have not been announced, but trustees are expected to appoint a committee to develop a list of candidates and make a recommendation.

Tucker, who has served as the university's chief executive since Sept. 5, 1979, has led a campus with about 7,000 students, 1,300 employees and a $133 million annual budget.

Tucker called the football investigation "the valley" of his TCU career. On the brink of a second winning season, head coach Jim Wacker suspended seven players for accepting improper payments from football boosters.

The school's financial portfolio, which had a $52 million endowment in 1979, is now worth more than $558 million, ranking TCU in the top 50 of all U.S. institutions of higher education.

Under Tucker, the campus has gained five buildings, doubled the size of its library, started an engineering program and added an athletic training complex.

Board Chairman John V. Roach said trustees would prefer that Tucker not step down but they respect his decision.

"Obviously, all friends of the university will be eternally grateful for his accomplishments," said Roach, chairman of Tandy Corp.

Tucker's success garnered him one of the best salaries in the country for leaders of private doctoral-granting universities with programs similar to TCU's, according to a recent survey.

The school's latest tax return shows that in 1995-96 Tucker was paid $326,852, plus benefits of $17,880, for total compensation of $344,732.

A North Carolina native, Tucker arrived at TCU in the 1950s to study at Brite Divinity School, then called Brite College. After earning a divinity degree in 1956, he went to Yale University in Connecticut for master's and doctoral degrees.

An ordained Christian Church minister, he returned to Brite in 1966 to teach church history and was the divinity school dean in 1971-76.

Tucker spent three years as president of Bethany College in West Virginia before returning to TCU as chancellor.

Tucker said he will stay out of the trustees' selection of a successor and will serve as a university volunteer in the future.

"I don't intend to just move to the shelf ... Whatever else I do, I will be cheering for TCU," he said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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