Interim chairwoman fills theater department slot
Nancy McCauley succeeds the late Forrest Newlin
By Lauren Hanvey
Staff Reporter

Nancy McCauley, an associate scene design professor, is the interim chairwoman of TCU’s theater department after the death of Forrest Newlin on Dec. 16, said Sue Ott, department secretary. A committee of theater faculty is working to find a permanent replacement, she said.

The committee has drafted a job description for the position and will begin a national search within two weeks, Ott said. The department hopes to have the new chairman or chairwoman in place by summer, she said.

Newlin died at the age of 64. He was diagnosed with cancer Nov. 1, 2002.

Newlin’s was not the only recent death in the TCU community. William Lawrence Hendricks died Dec. 8 and Jane Justin died Dec. 27.

Hendricks was the director of Baptist Studies Program and lecturer in theology for the Brite Divinity School from August 1995 through August 1999. Jane Justin was the wife of John Justin, a TCU trustee from 1979-2001.

Less than a month after Newlin’s death, Ott said she already misses his kindness, intelligence and love for students.

“He always had minutes for the students, not just a minute but minutes,” Ott said.

Students always came first to Newlin, said LaLonnie Lehman, a professor of costume design. Lehman said she once had to wait almost two hours to meet with him because he was with a student.

“He was a wonderful colleague, a great force to lead the theater department,” Lehman said.

Newlin supported TCU’s mission to turn individuals into ethical leaders and responsible citizens, his wife, Margaret Newlin said. She said he loved the goals and purpose of TCU, which fit with his personal goals.

Jessica McKenzie, a junior theater major recalled that Newlin was always smiling when you went into his office.

“He was really a great man and we miss him,” she said.

Although his focus was on students, he had accomplishments around the world.

Forrest Newlin’s theater career spanned 42 years and his achievements included teaching and designing in Russia, Mexico and London, Margaret Newlin said. He was also a Fulbright lecturer at the National Institute of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan, for the 1985-86 school year.

Forrest Newlin taught at universities in six different states but spent the most time at Emporia State University, the University of Kansas, Texas Tech University and TCU.

He was very active in the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology and held six offices in the organization, Margaret Newlin said. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the Southwest Theatre Association in October 2002, she said.

Forrest Newlin was also an accomplished painter and he illustrated three theater textbooks, she said.

However, he was more interested in education than getting personal credit for his accomplishments, said Michael Skinner, a lighting designer and a former graduate student of Forrest Newlin’s.

A Forrest A. Newlin Memorial Theatre Endowment fund has been established by Newlin’s family and the TCU theater community. Use of the fund will be decided each year by theater faculty, said Adam Baggs, assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts. Some small donations have already come in, Ott said.

Lauren Hanvey