The Black Excellence Gala welcomed a capacity crowd at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall and included songs, dancing, poetry and the stories of award recipients, whose personal TCU experiences moved the audience.
September 18, 2023
By TCU Neeley School of Business
As part of TCU’s Sesquicentennial, the university hosted its first Black Excellence Gala. The event, held at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall, honored alumni, students, faculty and staff for their contributions across a storied 150-year history. Two leaders in the TCU Neeley School of Business – Ann Tasby and Horatio Porter ’92 – received special awards in celebration of their dedication to TCU.
Ann Tasby, director for Neeley’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and accounting instructor, received the Trailblazer Award. Tasby joined TCU Neeley in 2017 with extensive industry experience and has led strategic engineering of inclusive programming, alongside championing recruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty and staff for Neeley. The Suit Up – Lead On program, which provides professional business attire to students at no cost, and the Against All Odds: Stories of Grit and Determination speaker series, are just a few of initiatives established under Tasby’s leadership that are influencing the lives of students and leaders.
Horatio Porter, a member of the TCU Neeley Board of Advisor and Neeley alumnus, was presented with the Alumni Legacy Award. Porter joined the Neeley Board of Advisors earlier this year. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of the North Texas Tollway Authority and previously served in a similar capacity for the city of Fort Worth.
In addition to the award recipients, Newy Scruggs ‘23, a Neeley alumnus helped emcee the evening. Scruggs, who is an award-winning NBC5 Sports Director and an Executive MBA graduate, co-hosted with L. Michelle Smith ’93. Both emcees kept attendees connected to the festive atmosphere and a night of celebration.
Throughout the evening, the performances and award recipient speeches moved the audience with personal accounts of breaking through barriers and laying the foundation for the current generation of students.
Like so many other Horned Frog activities, the Black Excellence Gala was about more than entertainment, and also offered emotional and financial support for students. The Black Excellence Gala raised more than $100,000 for the TCU Black Alumni Alliance Scholarship.
The full list of award recipients included:
Sheree Pollock
Student Spotlight Award
Senior, Political Science Major
Zoranna Jones
Game Changer Award
Assistant Dean, College of Science & Engineering
Ann Tasby
Trailblazer Award
Director, Office of Inclusive Excellence; Instructor of Accounting, TCU Neeley School of Business
Horatio Porter ’92
Alumni Legacy Award
Fayneese Miller ’79
Pinnacle Alumni Award
