Students, faculty, staff and alumni of TCU will continue to feel the impact of Chris Watts, the late dean of Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, who passed away in January.
To honor his legacy and contribution, TCU Trustee Marilyn Davies established the Dr. Christopher R. Watts Endowed Scholarship.
As we have reflected on the successes of Harris College, we also reflect on the profound impact that our beloved dean, Dr. Christopher Watts, had on all of us, on Harris College, and on the programs – new and existing – that he helped lead and shape.
- Robyn Ward, interim dean of Harris College
The Watts Scholarship will support students in the Davies School of Communication Sciences & Disorders. Watts served as chair of the school before being named dean in 2019.
“Many people have been looking for a way to memorialize the work Chris did as chair of COSD and dean of Harris College. We can now do that through the generosity of Ms. Davies and the rest of the TCU family,” Gerry Cumpiano, director of development in Harris College, said. “The establishment of the Dr. Christopher R. Watts Endowed Scholarship gives the TCU community the opportunity to continue Chris’ passion and work of supporting students as they prepare for meaningful careers after their time at TCU.”
The Davies family is no stranger to giving back to TCU. In addition to a previous gift that led to the naming of the Davies School of Communication & Sciences Disorders, a gift in 2021 endowed the Marilyn & Morgan Davies Dean of the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, a position Watts held.
Through his nearly two decades at TCU, Watts pioneered research in speech language pathology, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and dedicated countless hours to raising funds, building programs and mentoring students.
“Before he became Dean Watts, Dr. Watts was one of my first professors when I started my Ph.D. in 2018, and one of the few TCU faces I knew early on,” Austin Graybeal Ph.D. ’21, assistant professor in kinesiology, said. “Although I mostly considered Dean Watts a mentor, I was excited to start my dream job at TCU last fall and reconnect with him as a friend.”