Glassman Gets a Lesson in Mustang Pride

James K. Glassman, head of the new George W. Bush Institute at SMU, admits he’s got a lot to learn about the folkways of Dallas, Texas. The former Washingtonian executive editor and state department official is spending only about a third of his time here (the institute’s grand opening isn’t til 2013). But he’s learning his lessons quickly.

A big one came today, Glassman recalled during a noon talk with staffers at D Magazine, when he showed up dressed in a blue blazer, grey slacks–and purple tie–for a morning dedication event at SMU. Not realizing that purple’s the team color for TCU’s top-ranked Horned Frogs footballers–they take on the Mustangs tonight–Glassman said that SMU President R. Gerald Turner asked him, “Why have you got that tie on?”

Recounted Glassman, laughing: “I didn’t have the slightest idea. So I do make these sorts of mistakes.”