Daniel Pullin, who became TCU’s chancellor on June 1, considers himself an “accidental academic.” His path to leading a Big 12 university was never a straight one.
He went to business school at Harvard University, law school at the University of Oklahoma, worked as a business analyst and started an entrepreneurial program at his alma mater at OU, where he found his calling.
“I just fell in love with the classroom and students and seeing the direct impact that you could have in a scaled way, on many people every day,” said Pullin, who came to TCU in 2019 to lead the TCU Neeley School of Business. “It’s just been an honor and a delight to build this career.”
Pullin takes the reins of TCU at a time of transition for higher education and college athletics, where federal directives are changing the landscape of what’s offered at colleges around the nation and a pending NCAA settlement that will change college athletics — especially at a Big 12 Conference school like TCU.
“It’s a position of privilege,” Pullin said during an interview with the Report. “(I’ve tried) to do that with a style of civility and open-mindedness and in a leadership style that embraces others and (tries) to achieve things together and not alone.”
In 2023, he assumed the position of presidency, where he learned in the footsteps of Victor Boschini, TCU’s longtime chancellor who served for more than two decades. Boschini stepped down as chancellor but assumed the role as the university’s chief enrollment officer and an active friend-raiser and fundraiser in addition to being chancellor emeritus.
The university is on an expansive track.
Pullin led the process to devise its 10-year strategic plan, “Lead On: Values in Action,” with aims to increase enrollment by about 5,000 students, creating an “unmatched” student-athlete experience and becoming a Carnegie R1 research institution.
The plan has four foundational pillars: student-centered growth; research, scholarship and creative activities; athletics; and community engagement. An instrumental part of that plan is charting TCU’s academic path.
“Daniel Pullin has been listening and preparing for his challenges as the ambitious plans for the continuing transformation of the university unfold,” said James Riddlesperger, a longtime political science professor who has taught American and Texas politics and is retiring this summer. “The four pillars of those plans are well underway, and Pullin’s major challenge will be to transform promise into reality.”
The planned growth of the student body, along with difficulties of international students coming to America, Riddlesperger said, will “require forward-thinking leadership.”
Rebecca Sharpless, who will serve as chair of the TCU Faculty Senate for the 2025-26 academic year, believes that Pullin has the ability to attain the goals outlined in the strategic plan.
“As president, Daniel has shown himself to be concerned with and interested in the academic mission that is at the core of the university, and we anticipate that his interest will continue even as higher education faces significant challenges from chaotic national changes and the arms race of big-time athletics,” said Sharpless, a professor in American history.
While president, Pullin prioritized innovation. He appointed a chief university strategy and innovation officer to cabinet level and supported a Name, Image and Likeness, also known as NIL, strategy in college athletics.
“Chancellor Pullin is the right leader to take TCU into our next exciting chapter,” said TCU Board of Trustees Chair Kit Moncrief in a statement. “Daniel leans into TCU as a values-driven university and has an expansive vision for how TCU can be the model for student-centered success.”
One of the ambitious goals outlined is becoming a top research university, or a Carnegie R1 research institution.
In 2025, 187 institutions nationwide achieved that status. TCU’s rival to the east, Southern Methodist University, attained R1 status earlier this year.
TCU’s plan is to get there with a 10-year runway. The Carnegie Foundation metrics to attain the status of “very high spending and doctorate production” involve $50 million in total research spending and graduating 70 research doctorates.
TCU would need to double its research spending, which is about $25 million, and need to add about 30 more research Ph.D.s to get to that goal, said Pullin.
Richard Galvin, a professor in the department of philosophy who has been teaching at the university for more than four decades, described TCU’s academic footing as slipping in recent years.
“We have to hold out hope that the new chancellor and provost/vice chancellor for Academic Affairs will be willing and able to reverse course and steer TCU on the path to being a more respectable academic institution,” said Galvin, who sees the university’s academic standing tied to the leadership of a provost.
Galvin has seen TCU’s ascent and descent in academic rankings as compiled by the U.S. News & World Report. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was languishing in the 120s and 130s, he said. With Provost Nowell Donovan, it began “an uninterrupted ascent to No. 76,” and then with another provost, it went down.
“We are now tied for 105 in the U.S. News rankings. Case closed,” said Galvin. “So much for football raising an institution’s academic profile.”
Pullin knows that his role comes with challenges and tough decisions — some of which will be “invariably unpopular,” he said. One of the most crucial things he learned from Boschini is the power of kindness, and how to maintain a positive momentum.
The incoming student body president, Reagan Stephens, said she’s inspired by Pullin’s “approachable” and “accessible” leadership.
“President Pullin doesn’t just hear students; he empowers us to lead, to take initiative and to dream big for TCU’s future,” said Stephens, a senior in political science. “I have confidence that he will continue to champion student voices and support bold ideas that move the university forward.”
Every week, Pullin carves out four hours from his work at TCU. For two, he thinks big, whether it’s reading articles on higher education or thinking about initiatives in the business community. For the other two, he walks the campus in his purple Converse without a map or an agenda.
“It’s a culturally signaling device,” said Pullin, describing his sneakers as a conversation starter. “We expect our teams to lace them up and run every day and compete. I think that’s what we expect out of our student leaders and our faculty and our staff, is to be that agile and be athletic, and nimble and innovate at every turn.”
On those days he walks about 15,000 steps, both outside and inside. He sees it as an opportunity to listen and learn from the campus community.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at [email protected].
The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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