Brenda Cline ’82
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kimbell Art Museum
Brenda Cline ’82 has been the executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Kimbell Art Foundation since 1993. She is helping the Kimbell Art Museum prepare for an approximately $125 million expansion to the Fort Worth landmark, which will include new galleries for traveling exhibitions, dedicated education studios and classrooms, a 300-seat auditorium and an expanded library, plus underground parking. It will be completed by mid-2013. Ms. Cline is married to Chad Cline ’81, and they live in Fort Worth with their two teen-age sons.
How has your career benefited from TCU and the Alumni Career Network?
I had a Horned Frog help me get started in the accounting and finance world. As a junior, during Christmas break, I tried to line up an internship for the following summer in my hometown of Wichita, Kan. I literally went knocking on doors. I didn’t get anything until I went to Arthur Young. One of the tax partners there was a TCU alum. His name is Pat Admire ’65. I believe I got that position because of him. I wound up working at Ernst & Young (formerly Arthur Young) in Fort Worth for over 10 years.
Why do Frogs seem to help other Frogs so willingly?
TCU is a place that’s built on relationships, and relationships help secure anything you do – employment, banking, investments, legal and accounting matters, business transactions. I think there is a comfort level in working with other Frogs. I even married a Frog!
Did a Frog hire you?
Yes, Ben Fortson ’57 and his wife, Kay, both of whom are TCU trustee emeriti.
Have you hired Horned Frogs?
Yes, over the years, I’ve hired several students to work for me; those were part-time positions. But I also hired a fellow Frog as a full-time colleague in my office a few years ago. I trust the quality of the work and appreciate the work ethic of TCU students and alums.
What’s the most valuable thing you gained from your TCU experience?
More than anything, TCU taught me to think and to communicate. My accounting professor Geraldine Dominiak pressed us to explain complex accounting theories in a straight-forward, understandable manner, and that’s served me well in my career over the years.
Why is being a member of the TCU Board of Trustees important to you?
I feel strongly that it is important to give back to the community that helped shape me and prepare me for the world. Nothing has had a greater impact on me than TCU, and I am eager and honored to serve on the Board so that I may help TCU continue to be the best it can be.