TCU has a new chancellor with an ‘expansive vision’ for the university’s future
A new chapter is set to begin at TCU, as the university appoints a new leader.
Daniel W. Pullin is set to become the university’s 11th chancellor on June 1. The former dean of TCU’s Neeley College of Business, Pullin became TCU’s president in 2023.
Pullin’s role as president was essentially chief operations officer of the university, designed to support his predecessor, longtime chancellor Victor Boschini Jr. Once chancellor, he will face the task of maintaining TCU’s traditional emphasis on values and its history while bringing its aggressive growth strategy to fruition.
TCU planned for a two-year transition period, but Boschini said it quickly became clear Pullin would be prepared to take over well before that time was over. Their leadership transition began at the start of the year, with the majority of staff reporting to Pullin, who then reported to Boschini.
“I think he’ll be terrific, and I’m excited to see what he does,” Boschini said.
Often clad in purple Converse shoes and a coordinating purple tie, Pullin has already embraced TCU’s purple-hued aesthetic, a core part of its brand.
He believes that unlike some other major universities, TCU cares for students as individuals.
“A lot of universities, particularly really large ones, sometimes students or their families are nervous. They’ll go and get lost or just be a number, but I would say at TCU, it’s not a place to get lost,” Pullin told the Star-Telegram in August. “It’s a place you come to get found.”
As heir-apparent to the chancellorship, Pullin has led the rollout of TCU’s strategic plan, an outline of the university’s goals for the next decade. The university intends to strengthen academics, boost enrollment, grow community engagement and focus on athletics.
TCU aims to increase enrollment to 14,900 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students by 2035. Growing graduate student enrollment will help with another central part of the plan, attaining “R1” status, the highest research designation a university can receive.
A physical transformation of TCU’s campus is also on the horizon. The university wants to make West Berry Street into Fort Worth’s “place to be,” a project that has begun with a $500 million investment in new student housing expected to open in fall 2027.
In addition to managing the university’s rapid growth, Pullin will need to attract donors to help foot the bill. TCU has yet to announce a formal fundraising campaign to support the strategic plan, but the university is conducting a feasibility study.
“Daniel leans into TCU as a values-driven university and has embraced the 152 years of tradition and spirit that make TCU special,” said Kit Moncrief, chair of TCU’s board of trustees. “He is a new type of leader with an expansive vision for how TCU can be the model for student-centered success in a higher education landscape that’s full of opportunity for a university that thinks big and invests in the academic experience.”
Pullin, 49, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1998. He spent a few years working in the private sector before attending Harvard Business School, where he earned an MBA in 2003.
Before joining TCU, Pullin spent over a decade in various roles at the University of Oklahoma, where he began working in 2006. He held an economic development-focused role at the university, and eventually became OU’s vice president for strategic planning and economic development. While at the university, he pursued a juris doctorate at its college of law, which he completed in 2010.
Pullin was named interim dean of OU’s Price College of Business in 2013, a position to which he was appointed permanently and held for over five years.
“As he steps into the role of chancellor at TCU, I’m confident he’ll bring the same dedication and growth mindset to their community,” said Joseph Harroz Jr., president of the University of Oklahoma. “His leadership will no doubt foster progress and inspire lasting impact, just as it did here at the University of Oklahoma.”
Mike Berry, president of Dallas-based development firm Hillwood, said Pullin will be a “very good strategic growth leader for the university.” Berry, who sits on TCU’s board of trustees and received his MBA from the university in 1982, first got to know Pullin when the future chancellor was dean of the Neely School of Business. In that role, Pullin forged new corporate partnerships.
Boschini has left large shoes to fill, Berry said. He added that Pullin’s different, yet equally impressive, skill set makes him the right leader for TCU, especially as the region’s higher education landscape becomes more competitive.
“In our region, in order to remain relevant, you have to keep building new relationships and keep growing your brand, and keep being strategic. I think he’s doing that already, and he’s going to continue to do that, and I think that the economic impact will continue to be great,” Berry said.
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a TCU alumni and board of trustees member, said Pullin’s vision will position the university for the next 20 to 30 years.
“He realizes that these students are customers, and we have to take care of our customers, we have to give them service, and we have to put a good product out, and he’s all committed to that,” Williams said.
TCU’s vice chancellor for student affairs, Kathryn Cavins-Tull, said though Boschini’s departure is bittersweet, university staff are excited for what’s next.
Cavins-Tull said TCU received over 20,000 applications for the fall 2025 semester and expects to welcome about 2,700 first-year undergraduate students this fall. The university plans to have a first-year class of 2,850 students for the fall 2026 semester.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 5:28 AM.
