Teri Schrantz

By Meredith Lynd/reporter

Trinity River assistant professor Teri Schrantz reviews her book before a class on Aug. 28. Schrantz is also the first Faculty Association president for the Trinity River Campus.  Photo by Heather Bench/The Collegian
Trinity River assistant professor Teri Schrantz reviews her book before a class on Aug. 28. Schrantz is also the first Faculty Association president for the Trinity River Campus. Photo by Heather Bench/The Collegian

When Teri Schrantz received an offer to teach at the new Trinity River Campus, she not only took it, she made the campus her own.

The sociology assistant professor is the campus’ first Faculty Association president. She loves community service at a campus where all faculty members complete some form of service learning.

Even her daughter took a couple of classes at TR this summer, making her one of the first enrolled students.

“As soon as I heard there would be a downtown campus, and that was years ago now, I thought it would be a perfect adventure for me,” she said. “I’ve always loved the vibrancy of that area of Fort Worth.”

Like Schrantz, her husband, Dr. Jim Schrantz, also moved from SE Campus to TR Campus. In addition to teaching English, he serves as department chair.

Never afraid to embark on a new adventure, Teri Schrantz also moved from South Campus to SE Campus several years ago when it opened.

“I appreciate new challenges and opportunities,” she said. “I see them as a way to learn and grow while simultaneously serving others.”

Schrantz said one of the cornerstones of TR Campus is service learning, which fosters the college’s engagement within the larger community and promotes leadership, social and civic responsibility and student involvement and integral aspects of college education.

“Service learning has been a passion in my teaching for 13 years,” she said. “Helping students make beneficial connections is the heart and soul of the teaching/learning process.”

She lives that philosophy through her travels, like taking trips to China to work on human rights issues and East Africa to help inspire a global teaching exchange program.

Schrantz said she and her husband have mixed feelings about leaving SE Campus.

“Both of us have truly enjoyed our time and are grateful for our experiences at SE,” she said. “We will miss the folks there, but using the river as a metaphor for life — it flows — and if we are wise, we flow with it.”