O. Homer Erekson The John V. Roach Dean of the Neeley School of Business Texas Christian University
O. Homer Erekson is a folders guy. He has them stacked on top of his desk, under his desk and around his desk – yellow ones, blue ones, green ones. Prefers everything at fingertips reach, whether it is his TCU Quick Facts pamphlet, his many pens (more on that later), box of tissues and the cute little miniature resting place for his cell phone. Here are a few things on his desk:
Stack of folders: “Basically, I try to organize them and tag them, which helps me know where to find things exactly when I need to find them.”
Fish paperclip holder: “Love the Caribbean, which is where I got this. Go there regularly. Nothing special about the holder except I love where it came from. It’s a good place to be.”
Cell phone seat cushion: “It’s so my cell phone can relax.”
Ink pens: “The purple one I sign with a lot. The red I use mostly when teaching a class, making corrections, highlighting a document I’m working on. One is a darker pen so when I sign documents, such as diplomas for students, it gives a nicer, darker signature. One thing deans and faculty get a lot of is pens. They’re at every occasion.”
Boot beverage holder. “Came from Rodeo Purple day at the Stock Show this year. Haven’t used it, but it looks fun.”
Box of tissue: “Allergies.”
Display case: Items from his travels to places like India, China and Korea. Most special: collection of horned frogs.
Quote: “Part of the dean’s job is being agile, being able to move each hour or even half hour from one topic to another, whether it’s program development, fundraising or personnel.”