Expanded, Renovated Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center Dedicated at TCU

TCU held a dedication ceremony on Friday, December 7, to mark the completion of a major expansion and renovation of the Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center on the TCU Campus in Fort Worth, Texas.

During the ceremony, Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. announced that the Dee J. Kelly Foundation gave $4 million, the largest commitment in support of the project.

The dedication ceremony and open house were held to honor the late Dee J. Kelly, distinguished TCU alumnus, and to unveil the center, which nearly doubled in size from its forerunner, which opened in 1996.

Kelly, a business and civic leader and longtime TCU Trustee, made the initial lead gift to support expansion of the center before his death in 2015 (October 2), and the Kelly family, made the capstone gift to complete the fundraising campaign for the project.

When the Kelly Center, which sits in front of the east side entrance to Amon G. Carter Stadium, first opened in 1996, the Burnett Foundation and Sid W. Richardson Foundation joined forces to make a naming gift to honor Kelly. At that time, TCU’s alumni population was about 56,000, and only 80 events and meetings were held at the center annually. TCU’s living alumni now number 90,700. About 2,650 new alumni are added each year. In the 2016 academic year, 1,050 events and meetings were held in the Kelly Center; about 250 were turned away for lack of space.

The reimagined Kelly Center is a showcase -- and a home -- for TCU alumni and visitors. New amenities include additional meeting spaces for smaller gatherings, updated electronic features for group presentations, new dining areas, a large, covered outdoor entertaining space, and an impressive new entrance and spacious lobby. Alumni relations staff have moved to a new second-story that provides light-filled meeting spaces, offices and storage.

Kelly grew up in Bonham, Texas. At TCU, Kelly was student body president and earned a BA in political science. After graduating in 1950, he made his way to Washington, D.C., to attend law school at George Washington University at night and serve as House Speaker Sam Rayburn’s legislative assistant during the day. He received his law degree in 1954 and served for two years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He eventually returned to Texas, where he worked for the Texas Railroad Commission, among other jobs, before serving as private counsel for Fort Worth’s Moncrief family. He later added the Bass family, Anne Marion, and other prominent clients, and founded his law firm, Kelly Hart & Hallman, specializing in oil and gas.

Kelly made significant contributions to TCU. He was a member of the TCU Board of Trustees for 32 years, served on the Board’s Executive Committee, and was co-chair of The Next Frontier Campaign. His dedication to the university was recognized when he was named Distinguished Alumnus in 1982.

“Although Dee never walked on water, or claimed to, or tried to as far as I know, he is unforgettable,” Dr. William E. Tucker, TCU Chancellor Emeritus, said at Mr. Kelly’s funeral.