North Texan - UNT Magazine - Fall 2021

A U N I V E R S I T Y of N O R T H T E X A S P U B L I C A T I O N

Vol. 72, No. 2 Fall 2021

North Stars FROM THE PROFESSORS WHO SERVE AS GUIDING LIGHTS to the staff behind brilliant initiatives to the students who make the Mean Green gleam, there are plenty of reasons to find your way back to campus this year.

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STICKING THE LANDING It was a seamless return to campus for new and existing Eagles as they embarked on the fall semester. The university rolled out the red carpet with exciting events like First Flight Week, the firstever “First-Gen Experience” (designed to help new students soar to success), and the opening of Eagle Landing, UNT’s newest dining hall that features seven independent restaurant concepts. “This year holds great possibilities,” UNT President Neal Smatresk says.

— Photography by Ahna Hubnik

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North Stars There’s a lot we’ve missed over the past 18 months — the casual conversations and spontaneous laughter, the hugs and high fives, the bumping into old friends on campus and in the stands. Now that we’re all back together again, we want to reintroduce you to the people who most make the Mean Green shine — including the professors who help dreams take flight, the staff who support student success, and the students who embolden us to be our absolute best.

26 A Numbers Game Curtis Goodwin (’20 M.S.) went from high school math teacher and coach to performance data scientist for the Houston Texans after earning his degree from UNT’s advanced data analytics graduate program.

D E P A R T M E N T S ON THE COVER From left to right, starting on back cover: Chelsea Bassett, director of Student Initiatives and Assessment; Angie Cartwright, associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education; Desiree Padron, director of the First Generation Success Center; Rick Reidy, University Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Sofia Nehal, master’s student; and Eric Giles, doctoral student, are pictured enjoying a meal in UNT’s newest dining hall Eagle Landing.

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B R I L L I A N T LY G R E E N F R O M O U R P R E S I D E N T P. 5

Record-Setting Enrollment, Excitement

U P F I R S T P . 9

Bolstering Student Opportunities / Star Student / Expert Take

D I A LO G U E P. 6

Remembering Larry McMurtry / Tell Us About / Instagram

I N N OVAT I O N P. 1 6

Breath of Fresh Air / Ideas Surge / Designing Drones / Taming Fungus

O N L I N E RELIVING HISTORY

28 Engineering Better Health In UNT’s fast-growing biomedical engineering department, students and faculty use their enthusiasm and knowledge to develop medical devices that will improve patients’ health outcomes.

42 Literal Lifesavers Kidney donations are critically needed in the U.S., and three UNT alumni heeded the call through direct and altruistic living donation. Now, they encourage others to learn more about the process.

Through her work at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Charlotte Decoster (’06 M.A., ’12 Ph.D.) educates the public about antisemitism and the Holocaust.

ARTISTICALLY IMPACTFUL

After experiencing a neonatal stroke at birth that resulted in a learning impairment, Keisha Casiano (’15) turned to art. Now a teacher, she uses art to help students understand and express hardship.

TECHNOLOGY LEADER

Johnna Sargent (’16), an engineer at Bell Flight, has earned the Modern Day Technology Leader Award from the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Conference.

northtexan.unt.edu/online

EAGLES’ NEST M U S E P. 2 0

The Seduction of Art / Books / Calling the Shots / Forward Thinking M E A N G R E E N P. 2 4

Game On / As Good as Gold / 2021 Mean Green Football Schedule

C O N N E C T I N G W I T H F R I E N D S P. 4 5

G I V I N G I M PAC T P. 5 4

An Act of Faith / Mean Green Pride / Making a World of Difference

Meet the Winners of the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards

R E T R O S P E C T I V E P. 5 3

F R I E N D S W E ’ L L M I S S P. 5 6

A Year for the History Books

Obituaries P E R S P E C T I V E P. 6 0

Talent Blooms as Studio Art Grad Student Creates Sculptures of Plant Life

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UNT offers more than any other university in the North Texas region — a vast range of degree programs, support services, breakthrough Tier One research, championship athletic teams, and a growing diverse and inclusive campus located in the best college town in Texas.

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FROM OUR PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY BRAND STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP VICE PRESIDENT JIM BERSCHEIDT ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT KELLEY REESE (’95)

SETTING T HE SCENE

MAGAZINE STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR JULIE ELLIOTT PAYNE (’97)

Record-Setting Enrollment, Excitement for a New Year

MANAGING EDITOR RANDENA HULSTRAND (’88, ’07 M.J.)

EDITORS ERIN CRISTALES (’11 M.S.) JESSICA DELEÓN JILL KING (’93 M.S., ’00 M.A.)

Campus is abuzz this fall and the optimism is palpable as a record-setting more than 42,000 students have chosen to study at UNT. It has been tremendously rewarding to welcome back those who studied remotely last year and to introduce thousands of first-time-in-college students to our Mean Green Family.

College is a transformational time for students, and our caring community helps them persist.

When faculty and staff act as guiding lights and difference makers, we help students succeed and find their passion, purpose and path following graduation. This issue’s cover story spotlights our wonderful staff and students and highlights seven “North Star” faculty who exhibit inspiring leadership in the classroom and put student success first (page 32). These instructors, nominated by alumni and students, represent hundreds of faculty worthy of such an honor for the difference they make in students’ lives.

For Curtis Goodwin (’20), it was a faculty member’s network that helped him land a dream job working for the Houston Texans as a performance data scientist (page 26). Seeking to combine his knowledge of mathematics and sports into an emerging field, Curtis found success with UNT’s advanced data analytics master’s degree, just one of the cutting-edge programs growing at UNT. That caring UNT spirit extends beyond the classroom, as evidenced by the story about alumni who donated their organs to serve as literal lifesavers for their family members and strangers (page 42), and the growing biomedical engineering department that is creating medical devices to reshape people’s lives (page 28).

As we navigate this fall, we are taking safety precautions while providing our students with a full university experience. I hope you will join us for Homecoming on Nov. 13 (page 15), cheer on our student-athletes (page 24), and stop by for a meal at Eagle Landing, our first standalone dining hall, so we can tell you, “Welcome Home.”

UNT proud,

Neal Smatresk President president@unt.edu @UNTPrez

ART DIRECTOR ANGILEE WILKERSON DESIGN EDITOR NOLA KEMP (’92) PHOTO EDITOR GARY PAYNE (’99) PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPRING ATWATER ERICA BLOUNT JAN CLOUNTZ ADVERTISING JACK FRASER (’11) MARYBETH MENZ (’08, ’12 M.A.)

DESIGNERS CLIFFTON CASTER HOLLY NELSON CIERA SCHIBI PHOTOGRAPHERS MICHAEL CLEMENTS RANJANI GROTH (’16) AHNA HUBNIK (’03) VIDEOGRAPHER ERIC MICHENER (’07) WRITERS AMY BRUNDEEN AMANDA FULLER LEIGH ANNE GULLETT TRISTA MOXLEY KRIS MULLER HEATHER NOEL MEREDITH MORIAK WRIGHT (M.S. ’19)

SOCIAL MEDIA EUNICE ARCHILA (’16) MELISA BROWN (’93, ’20 M.S.) MEGAN LAWTON (’20 M.ED.) ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS JACOB KING ERIC VANDERGRIFF STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS SYDNEY COOPER (’19, ’21 M.J.) BRITTNEY DEAR SARAH STEVENS DANIELLE ZACHARIAH

North Texa n

North Texan magazine (ISSN 0468-6659) is published two times a year by the University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017, for distribution to alumni and friends of the university. Periodicals postage paid at Denton, Texas, and at additional mailing offices. The diverse views on matters of public interest presented in the North Texan do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the university. Publications staff can be reached at northtexan@ unt.edu or 940-565-2108.

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Created by the Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications ©2021 UNT UBSC 9/21 (22-015)

Fall 2021 | northtexan.unt.edu | north TEXAN

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DIALOGUE

TELL US ABOUT REMEMBERING LARRY MCMURTRY When I learned that Larry McMurtry, the author of Lonesome Dove, died on March 25 of this year at the age of 84, it brought me back to 1957 when we were members of the same philosophy class at what is now the University of North Texas.

I believe it was in 2006, nearly 50 years after our shared class, that my wife, Jo Ann, and I visited with McMurtry in his bookstore in Archer City. I mentioned our class together, and he immediately added, “Yeah.

That was in Dr. Linden’s class!” I brought one of his books with me and asked that he add his autograph to it.

He said no, explaining his refusal by pointing out that he no longer gave autographs because after signing autographs thousands of times, his autograph had degenerated to little more than a scribble. I tried to convince him to make an exception for me. He hesitated and then took the book and made his mark, closed the book and put it back in my hand.

I thanked him graciously, and we made our exit. When we got back to our car, I inspected my prize: The first of its three parts appeared to be rustic, shaky representations of a capital “L’’ and a capital “M” followed by a short gently curved line.

How excited were you when you found out you were admitted to UNT?

Charles F. Liddell (’57) Burleson

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Kevin Wiscovitch My dad hugged me, cried, and said he was proud of me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.

Tiffani Martin I was so excited that I texted my family that I got excepted instead of accepted. No worries! Graduated with a good GPA and made the family proud. #GoMeanGreen Courtney Bailey Extremely. Valentine’s Day 2014, I was sitting in the hospital while my grandfather (who raised me) was recovering from heart surgery and multiple strokes. He was able to wake up and my entire family told him I got into college and he grabbed my hand and started crying. He was able to help me move into my dorm. He unfortunately did not get to see me graduate. He always knew I’d be the first in our family to graduate from college. I did it for him.

Janette Fisher Surrett Our freshman (Addison) surprised us when she got accepted into the music program, so I went to the grocery store (only place open) and bought everything green I could find.

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1. @ jasongranadoss Meet Jack. Rescued and loved. #throwbacktoseptember2020 2. @ johnnyquinnusa Meet my new friend Paula from Richmond, Texas. In a sea of 300+ people at yesterday’s speaking engagement, Paula was easy to spot from the main stage. I am so glad she stopped by my book signing table afterwards so I could compliment her on her excellent choice of university.

5. @UNT #GoMeanGreen #CAWWWWW #JohnnySpeaks 3. @ roxettesalas Day 43: niagara falls, ny 4. @ andypedals98 Here’s to my first #wheeliewednesday as a @unt ALUMNI!!

5. @ nickfitjohnson Today I’m a Ph.D. student, researching entrepreneurship at UNT!

Years ago, I was a student kicked out of college for poor grades. The journey was tough, but I’m here because of everyone who believed in me. Thank you for encouraging me to apply ... paying for tuition when I couldn’t afford it ... the recommendations ... the friendship and mentorship ... showing me that there can be a life in academia. Up next, Dr. Johnson! #thephdproject #UNT #phdstudent

Fall 2021 | northtexan.unt.edu | north TEXAN

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BG

The Green Brigade Marching Band recently revealed its brand-new uniforms — and they’re as showstopping as the musicians who wear them. The uniforms, paid for by funds from the Jerome Westheimer Family Foundation, feature a modern design that pays tribute to the program’s rich history.

Learn about the Green Brigade Alumni Reunion, set for Nov. 13, at northtexan.unt.edu/green-brigade.

BRILLIANTLY GREEN

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UP FIRST

Professor Wins ‘Arab Nobel Prize’

PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMS

BOLSTERING STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES UNT has unveiled a new partnership and degree program designed to give students a leg up in various high-demand industries. The university recently partnered with the UNT Health Science Center’s College of Pharmacy to offer a faster, cheaper option for students earning a bachelor’s degree while attending pharmacy college. The agreement will allow students in the HSC pharmacy program to earn dual credit for classes from their first year in the pharmacy college, which also will apply toward a Bachelor of Arts in biology from UNT Denton.

UNT’s College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism Management also began offering a bachelor’s degree in event design and experience management this fall — the first such degree program in Texas. Through collaborations with partners across the university such as the UNT CoLab, The Club at Gateway Center and UNT Dining Services, students will engage in real-life event planning and management experience. Along the way, there will be optional study tours to major travel destinations around the world where students will be immersed in leading events in the industry. At the culmination of the program, students will plan and execute a large event.

“Almost everything we do now in hospitality and tourism is about the experience,” says Kim Williams, professor and chair for the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “We’re taking it a step further to give students a holistic understanding of all aspects of event planning to make sure they have the knowledge and skills to execute a flawless experience for guests.”

Nada Shabout, a UNT art history professor, has received the Kuwait Prize for Arts and Literature from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. The Kuwait Prize, known regionally as the “Arab Nobel Prize,” recognizes the lifetime achievements of Arab researchers.

Scholars are named each year in four categories — basic sciences, applied sciences, economics and social sciences, and arts and literature — and every three years in Arabic and Islamic scientific heritage.

Shabout, a professor in the Department of Art History and coordinator of UNT’s Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Initiative, was recognized for her contributions to the study and teaching of modern Arab visual art.

“This is such a prestigious award that is not usually given to an art scholar, so I am very humbled by this honor,” Shabout says. “To get recognition in the Arab world is so important because it sheds light on modern art history in the region.”

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UP FIRST

Faculty/Staff Appointments

Many Join New Roles Over the past several months, UNT has welcomed new faculty and staff to the university, while also welcoming existing faculty and staff into new roles. In May, Susan Holmes — an experienced leader in nonprofit management with 17 years of experience — was named chief corporate relations and government affairs officer, where she will focus on building additional strategic partnerships with elected officials, corporations and other key stakeholders in Frisco and across the North Texas region.

In June, Aaron Roberts, professor of environmental toxicology in the College of Science and director of UNT’s Advanced Environmental Research Institute (AERI),

was appointed to serve as associate vice president of research in UNT’s Division of Research and Innovation. He replaces Pamela Padilla, professor of biological sciences, who was appointed dean of the College of Science. In addition, Amie Lund, associate professor of environmental toxicology, was appointed to lead AERI. Chandra Donnell Carey, associate professor of rehabilitation and health services in the College of Health and Public Service, will serve in a newly created, yearlong appointment as a faculty fellow. Also in June, Clayton Gibson was named the new vice president for finance and administration and CFO, replacing Bob Brown who retired in May. In July, Karen Hutzel — an internationally recognized and community-minded arts leader — took the reins as the new dean of the College of Visual Arts and Design.

That same month, Beth Tolan joined UNT

IN THE MEDIA IN A UNIVISION INTERVIEW, Teach North Texas’ Connie Kilday provided insight on how COVID-19 affected STAAR math results.

MICHAEL CARROLL, professor and director of UNT’s Economics Research Group, was quoted in numerous publications, including the Miami Herald and the Charlotte Observer, about renters falling behind on payments during the pandemic.

THE NEW YORK TIMES talked with Nat Pope, associate professor in the Department of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law, about the perils of extended car warranties for consumers.

IN NUMEROUS BROADCASTS ACROSS THE U.S., Kerry Goldmann — lecturer and associate director of graduate studies in the Department of History — discussed the importance of teaching critical race theory.

FORMER MEAN GREEN SOFTBALL PITCHER Hope Trautwein (’20) was widely heralded by media outlets across the country — including NPR and The New York Times — for pitching a perfect game against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, striking out every one of the team’s 21 batters.

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as assistant vice president for Student Financial Aid and Scholarships and Holly Hutchins (’94 M.A., ’04 Ph.D.) assumed the role as vice provost for faculty success.

Recognition

UNT ‘Voter-Friendly’ UNT has been named a “Voter Friendly Campus” by national nonpartisan organizations Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA — Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. UNT is one of 235 campuses in the nation that were honored this year.

The designation recognizes institutions for planning and implementing practices that encourage their students to register and vote in the 2020 elections and beyond.

BG • UP FIRST

THE UNT DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SCIENCE’S HEALTH LIBRARIANSHIP/INFORMATICS PROGRAM WAS RANKED NO. 6 IN THE 2022 U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGS OF SPECIALTY PROGRAMS IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES. THE PROGRAM IS RANKED NO. 1 IN TEXAS. SUPPORTING SUCCESS

Neurodiversity Network

“When you understand the concept of neurodiversity, it becomes your responsibility to remember that students or colleagues who appear different, perhaps a little ‘off,’ may have a sensory experience of the same environment that is different from yours, and may have a different way of communicating than the one you are used to, while being as empathetic and committed to the work as you are.

The responsibility to communicate goes both ways: just as neurodivergent people expend great effort on communicating with neurotypical people and fitting in to school and work situations (and find it exhausting), neurotypical people need to make more of an effort to communicate effectively with their neurodivergent peers. Autistic scholar Damian Milton calls this the double empathy problem. The more our campus community recognizes this and becomes more empathetic, the better

the school and work experience will be for all.” — John Murphy, Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Division of Jazz Studies, who was diagnosed as autistic in 2014 at UNT’s Kristin Farmer Autism Center and was named co-coordinator of UNT’s Neurodiversity Initiative in 2019.

The initiative, which has expanded significantly over the past few years, offers support to students, faculty and staff through programs such as UNT ENGAGE, UNT CAN, UNT EPIC, Eagle Chat, and the Neurodiversity Network Employee Resource Group (ERG).

UNT also recently launched ELEVAR, pictured above, a four-year inclusive postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities (learn more about important UNT initiatives on page 32).

UNT Esports Levels Up UNT Esports Coordinator Dylan Wray recently was recognized as one of the top 12 collegiate esports coaches and directors in the nation by eFuse, a company that serves as a hub for high school, collegiate and professional esports. Wray was one of two coaches and directors recognized in the state of Texas.

“Honestly, so much of a program’s success does not fall on just one person,” Wray says. “It’s all of the people who are involved in our program.”

That includes teams like UNT Rocket League, which recently took home first place finishes in the West conference and the West playoffs and third place in the nation in Collegiate Rocket League Spring. Additionally, Overwatch is currently ranked 14th in the nation out of nearly 325 teams, and the League of Legends team is rising in the rankings in one of the most competitive leagues.

“They put a lot of work into their craft,” Wray says. “They’re also willing to put themselves out there and work really hard to represent UNT in the best possible way.”

Explore the network. neurodiversity.unt.edu

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UP FIRST FOR THE 13TH YEAR IN A ROW, UNT RECEIVED THE TREE CAMPUS HIGHER EDUCATION DESIGNATION, AN ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION PROGRAM THAT RECOGNIZES COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FOR PROMOTING HEALTHY TREES AND ENGAGING STUDENTS AND STAFF IN THE SPIRIT OF CONSERVATION. Star Student

composing is just in his nature

Hear Gerard’s piece, which he will perform in concert. northtexan.unt.edu/composing-nature

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It rained during most of his hike across the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, so Garrison Gerard (’19 M.M.) carried his less costly recorder to capture the ambient tones emanating from the park’s spectacular expanse.

In the distance, he heard the polyrhythmic harmony of insects, the kind of organic ensemble that begged for a better mic. He rushed to his car to grab the necessary equipment, but once returned, the bugs were mum.

And then, as if on cue, a tree cracked and fell, rolling its way down a nearby hill.

“It was just the perfect time and place to record that sound,” says Gerard, a doctoral student in UNT’s music composition program. “And then, of course, there’s the joke that if a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to record it, does it make a sound?”

In his quest to combine nature and the 12 traditional musical notes in his compositions, Gerard has been witness to many sounds, from the frequencies in rivers and wind rustlings to the collaborative vibrations of animals

and insects. That quest to reflect and provide perspective into natural experiences — inspired by his lifelong love of hiking — led to Gerard’s inclusion in this summer’s Composing in the Wilderness program, a one-of-a-kind creative experience for composers. During the program, Gerard explored Alaska’s Denali National Park, composed music about it and had it premiered by top performers, all in a two-week period.

Gerard composed music for flute, clarinet, violin and cello. The goal of his six-minute piece, he says, was to explore the idea of perspective — what kind of complex sound combinations are different listeners attuned to at different moments?

“Every time I write a piece, I’m learning something different about the way I compose,” says Gerard, who at just 3 years old asked his mom for a cello. “What I learned this time, even in such a compressed timeline, was to really consider what I wanted to express and to have the audience experience — to really consider the trajectory of the piece.”

— Erin Cristales

BG • UP FIRST

EVENTS DECEMBER

OCTOBER

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The inaugural TEDxUNT event, “Create the Change,” will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. in the University Union. The event will feature live speakers discussing a wide array of relevant and engaging topics. Learn more at tedxunt.org.

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Celebrate Fall 2021 graduates at this year’s commencement ceremonies. To view the full schedule, visit commencement.unt.edu/fall-2021schedule.

Reggie Watts (pictured below), bandleader on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden, will perform as part of UNT’s Fine Arts Series. For tickets, visit UNTuniontickets.com.

NOVEMBER

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FEBRUARY The Kuehne Speaker Series will welcome political consultant and best-selling author James Carville. To learn more, visit kuehneseries.unt.edu.

The UNT President’s Lecture Series is proud to present James Beard and NAACP Image Award-winning vegan chef, food justice activist and author Bryant Terry. To reserve tickets, visit president.unt.edu/lecture-series.

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Nigerian-American writer and storyteller Tomi Adeyami will speak as part of UNT’s Fine Arts Series. For tickets, visit UNTuniontickets.com.

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The Kuehne Speaker Series will welcome former NFL running back, Heisman Trophy winner and mental health advocate Herschel Walker. To learn more, visit kuehneseries.unt.edu.

MARCH

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UNT’s 2022 Equity and Diversity Conference will feature a variety of speakers discussing topics related to equity, diversity and inclusion. To learn more, visit edc.unt.edu.

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UP FIRST

Expert Take

Buyer Beware Global supply shortages mean costs are currently rising for consumers — but what’s the long-term outlook?

“Supply chains differ in terms of product form, size, weight, distance, transportation mode, number of firms in the chain, functions performed, dollar values, cost drivers, materials, demand patterns, competition and more,” says Tim Hawkins, an associate professor in UNT’s G. Brint Ryan College of Business. “Any one of these facets can affect one supply chain but not another at any point in time, meaning supply chains are nuanced and temporal.”

That means, he says, consumers will likely pay the price across various industries. Home values are soaring, as demand has increased — but the supply of construction workers and building materials have dwindled.

Restaurants are dealing with the depletion of their most-desired items, from Chick-fil-A sauce to Starbucks’ baked goods. And retailers are struggling to fulfill demand for everything from big-ticket items like cars and appliances to incidentals like liquor (not to mention semiconductor shortages that have further chipped away at the supply chain).

Here, our UNT experts delve into what these shortages mean for many industries — and what consumers can expect moving forward.

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TIM HAWKINS

Associate professor, UNT’s Department of Marketing, Logistics and Operations Management

“Rising supply chain costs will necessarily be passed along to the consumer. In this environment, consumers may benefit from becoming not only more patient, but more flexible, or creative, in how their needs are satisfied, as product substitutions will likely be commonplace. They also may want to do a bit more homework to find alternative sources of supply to minimize price and understand delivery lead times.”

AL ATTAH

Senior lecturer, construction management, UNT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering

“The labor shortage has put a crunch on the supply chain. Without workers to produce materials or drive the trucks, everything has almost come to a screeching halt.

Consumers must understand that this is a chain reaction and if a homebuilder promises them a home will be ready in three to six months, they may have to double or triple that time since no one has any control over when the materials will be delivered.”

DATON LEE

Lecturer, UNT’s College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism

“For retailers who are able to secure production, there will be additional logistics costs to bring the merchandise to stores. This will negatively impact retailers’ bottom line as they will not be able shift all these costs to consumers. Nevertheless, retailers will have positive sales comps and less markdowns this year. For consumers, they will need to act fast and look for good deals early in the holiday season since inventories will be limited.”

This year’s Homecoming is going to be outta sight! So, be fly like Scrappy, sharpen your talons and shake your tail feathers down to your alma mater. A variety of events and activities, themed “The 1970s,” will take place throughout the week of Nov. 7 and culminate Nov. 13 at Apogee Stadium when the Mean Green face off against UTEP. Get the skinny on all the events at homecoming.unt.edu.

SAT. NOV. 13 UNT VS. UTEP AT 3 P.M. For tickets call, 940-565-2527 or visit meangreensports.com.

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INNOVATION

Above Alexandra PonetteGonzález is one of seven scientists selected to serve on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.

Listen to Ponette-González discuss her cutting-edge research in Episode 30 of UNT Pod. anchor.fm/unt-pod

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Breath of Fresh Air UNT ecosystem geographer selected to serve on nation’s top advisory committee informing air quality standards.

Alexandra Ponette-González, associate professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment, was recently selected to serve on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, the nation’s top advisory committee informing air quality standards. PonetteGonzález’s research explores the impact of global environmental change on nutrient and pollutant emissions and deposition to ecosystems. Her ongoing research has shown that oak trees can capture significant quantities of airborne soot, a major climate forcing agent and air pollutant. In June, she co-authored a paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on the diverse community of tiny organisms and non-living materials in precipitation that could potentially play big roles in ecosystems.

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BG • INNOVATION

“We have quite a few ‘bird nerds’ in UNT SER. This affiliation is exactly what these students need to launch into a global community of other like-minded professionals.”

— Jamie Baxter-Sly An instructional laboratory supervisor and adjunct lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, she is excited about the oppportunites that await UNT students now that UNT’s student chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration has established an official affiliation with the National Audubon Society via the Audubon on Campus Chapter Program.

CONTROLLING SOUND WAVES

AT NEW CAMP, IDEAS SURGE

UNT researchers are gaining the attention of the physics world with their discoveries that could lead to new methods of mechanically reflecting sounds or other vibrations, such as earthquakes. Potential applications of their acoustic shield range from removing traffic noise to enabling interception-free private communication to protecting buildings from earthquakes, tsunamis or ultrasonic attacks.

The technology uses phononic crystals made of aluminum rods embedded in water and symmetrically arranged. Researchers from the Department of Physics are demonstrating that phononic crystals that are partially submerged in fluid can be used for reflecting sound almost completely by rotating them randomly instead of keeping them in an ordered pattern.

UNT’s Girls Surge into Stem XR Camp — spearheaded by Aleshia Hayes, assistant professor of learning technologie — teaches underrepresented female students in grades 6-12 skills such as user experience (UX) and prototyping. The one-week pilot took place this July, with an expanded three-week version of the camp set for next summer.

During the event, the participants conceptualized their own apps based on the week’s deep dive into design thinking. And the learning flowed both ways — working in small groups with students allowed Hayes to better understand the hurdles teachers may face when integrating simulation technologies into their classrooms, a key part of her research.

Read more about the Girls Surge into STEM XR Camp. northtexan.unt.edu/stem-camp

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INNOVATION

Making Roads Safer to Drive Maurizio Manzo and Zhenhua Huang, researchers in UNT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, are using a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation’s Research and Implementation Division to solve a common problem that affects safety on roads — road striping. Changing the yellow or white lines is not a simple task for highway departments, and many of the methods currently used can cause major safety concerns because various striping patterns can appear on the road under different light conditions.

The goal of Manzo and Huang’s project is to find an economic way to eliminate existing striping. Their solution uses thermal ablation through lasers that will attach to TxDOT trucks to clean the paint off the roadway quickly and completely. The duo believes their method will have less environmental impact and be faster — depending on the material used — than conventional methods.

Designing Drones A core group of UNT engineering researchers are rethinking the way Unmanned Aerial Vehicles operate as part of an initiative to improve battlefield efficiency and soldier safety for the U.S. Army.

Kamesh Namuduri, professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering; assistant professor Hector Siller, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; and Nandika D’Souza, University Regents

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Professor in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering have developed a lightweight drone using specially designed materials and additive manufacturing with a goal of improving the UAV’s ability to fly farther and carry more payload, such as increased sensors, supplies or munitions for military units. The initiative is front and center for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory.

Taming Fungus Jyoti Shah, chair of UNT’s Department of Biological Sciences, is working to knock out a crop fungus that could improve food availability for future generations. In his research, Shah is looking at Fusarium head blight, a disease that affects wheat and barley. When this disease occurs, it results in losses ranging from $300 million to $1 billion per year in the U.S. alone. To counter this costly affliction, Shah and his team are working to identify genes in the wheat plant that may make it susceptible to the fungus.

Reducing activity of these genes makes the wheat plant more resistant to the disease. Shah’s research is funded through the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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By the Numbers

125% That’s the percentage of UNT’s current capacity in high-performance computing that UNT researchers will immediately have access to thanks to the university’s collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center.

“This new collaboration will have extraordinary long-term impacts for research at UNT,” says Mark McLellan, vice president of UNT’s Division of Research and Innovation. “It creates exciting opportunities for innovative and impactful research outcomes. Working with TACC will allow UNT’s research teams to effectively address a range of pressing global challenges.”

The TACC has developed some of the world’s most powerful computer resources. Under the five-year agreement, UNT faculty and students will have access to TACC’s high-performance computing systems under the same conditions as any faculty member at UT Austin.

OWNING THE INDUSTRY UNT’s Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM) is changing the face of manufacturing — creating advanced material components for the biomedical, defense, aerospace, energy, automotive and electronics industries — with next-gen solutions that will lead U.S. global competitiveness.

Learn more about the center’s exciting new technology and workforce training at caaam.unt.edu.

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MUSE

The Seduction of Art Conceptual multimedia Texas artist receives accolades for her diverse works including artist’s books, photography, installation and public art.

Celia Álvarez Muñoz (’82 M.F.A.) likes to lure viewers with an image or a word. In examining issues of place, nation, culture and language, her objects and installations have tackled topics such as women’s issues and Latinx culture and have been displayed everywhere from an elementary school in New York City to the Whitney Biennial, considered one of the world’s most prestigious art exhibitions. Her decades of prolific work have earned her the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Visual Arts from the Houston Art League and the 2011 Texas State Artist 2D. “I hope people gain a sense of validation through my art,” she says. “I don’t make work that exposes suffering. I’m more about the celebration of who we are — the possibility and hope and of course ushering in the next generation.”

Muñoz encourages the next generation of artists to keep organized and stay motivated.

“You have to have goals,” she says. “How else can you challenge yourself? For me, I have to have that carrot dangling in front of me or the boot in the rear.”

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Read more about Muñoz’s career and inspiration. northtexan.unt.edu/seduction-art

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I ENJOY USING LAYERS UPON LAYERS TO BUILD MEANING AND SYMBOLS TO TELL A STORY.” — Denton artist Randall M. Good (’91) on his Renaissance-inspired ceiling oil painting with 12-karat white gold leaf that he created in Joy (’92 M.S., ’95 M.S.) and Jim Sibley’s home. Read more at northtexan.unt.edu/space-beauty.

Stages of Life

Books

Everything is Fine

Learn about Granata’s writing process. northtexan.unt.edu/ everything-fine

Freedom’s Ring: Literatures of Liberation from Civil Rights to the Second Wave Jacqueline Foertsch The English professor explores the role of “freedom” and “equality” in literature of major rights-seeking movements from the 1960s and 1970s.

In his memoir Everything is Fine, Vince Granata wanted to show that his family was more than what the media reported in TV clips or newspaper articles. In 2014, his family appeared all over the news after his brother Timothy, who suffers from schizophrenia and hallucinations, killed his mother during a psychotic episode.

“It bothered me that was the only story being told,” says Granata, a doctoral student in UNT’s creative writing program. “It felt important that I could tell a fuller story about my brother and my family.”

The American Professor Pundit: Academics in the World of US Political Media Valerie MartinezEbers, co-writer College professors’ roles in contributing to political media content is examined by the University Distinguished Research Professor of political science.

Alum has gone from musician and ballet dancer to author.

Hugh Nini faced a lot of unexpected turns in his life.

Growing up in Houston, he came to North Texas in the 1970s as a music major, but pursued ballet for a career. Following an injury, he pivoted to teaching — founding the Denton Ballet Academy in 1979, which trained thousands of students and became an institution in the city.

And then there was a spontaneous trip to a flea market in Dallas in 2000, where he and his now-husband Neal Treadwell found a picture from the 1920s of two men lovingly gazing at each other.

They ended up collecting more than 3,200 photos of men in love. That picture led them to compile similar images of men into the book Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s, which has garnered coverage in the Washington Post, Esquire and Rolling Stone and TV interviews from around the world.

The title of the book reflects not just the photos, but also the choices Nini has had to make throughout his life.

“The message of the book is love,” he says. “The subjects of the book all project love.”

Readers have expressed how much the book means to them, including at one small book signing.

“There were tears,” Nini says. “People are quite moved when they see this book. We get communications from people every day expressing what this book has meant to them. It’s been overwhelming.”

Sword of Empire: The Spanish Conquest of the Americas from Columbus to Cortés, 1492-1529 Donald Chipman The Emeritus professor of history draws on his expertise in colonial New Spain in this volume about the Spanish Empire in North America.

Learn about Nini’s time as a student studying with Anshel Brusilow. northtexan.unt.edu/stages-life

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MUSE PAULETTA WASHINGTON APPEARED IN THE TV SERIES GENIUS: ARETHA, STREAMING ON HULU. WASHINGTON, A TALENTED PIANIST, ATTENDED UNT’S COLLEGE OF MUSIC AS A GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE EARLY 1970S BEFORE SHE PURSUED A CAREER IN THEATER.

Visioning Music

Calling the Shots

Alumna directs some of TV’s most popular shows.

Bola Ogun was about to realize her dream. After years of working in Hollywood, she was ready to direct her first major production — an episode of Queen Sugar, the drama that runs on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.

So what was it like when she was able to call “action” for the first time?

“It’s a little bit like, ‘I’m really doing this!’ and ‘Oh my god, I better not screw this up,’” the musical theatre major says.

Now she’s racking up the credits — including episodes of Big Shot, God Friended Me, Legacies, Lucifer, Walker and the season finale for the upcoming second season of Raising Dion.

As a director, she not only oversees what happens on screen, but also off. Ogun knows it’s a unique job.

“I’m focused, and I’m having fun,” she says. “We play pretend for a living and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be fun. We get to blow stuff up. We get to use gross special effects on people. It’s never the same, and it’s exciting.”

Read more about Ogun’s rising career. northtexan.unt.edu/calling-shots

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Carmen Menza (’99) wants you to see her music.

That is the goal of the composer and visual artist’s Negotiating Dialogues, a five-movement modern chamber work inspired by technological advances in communication like AI and machine learning. The work includes three other artists and was presented by the members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 18.

A central element of this work will be improvisation and reconstruction of the original composition through real-time recordings of players that are manipulated and played back in subsequent movements. Generative animation responds to music through software creating a dialogue between music and visuals.

“It is theme and variations in a new light,” Menza says.

The artists include her husband, composer Mark Menza, who studied for his master’s in composition at UNT in the 1980s, and visual effects artist/projectionist Joel Olivas (’16).

Menza’s work has shown at Dallas Aurora Light-Video-Sound Biennial and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

“I enjoy creating immersive works that elevate the musical component to be equal to that of the visual and where music is interactive with imagery,” she says.

Clear Focus

Seattle photographer Alex Garland (’06) was covering a Black Lives Matter protest when a distinctive sound reverberated through the air.

“I know what a gunshot sounds like,” he says. “I knew it was close.”

The gun had been fired after an armed motorist attempted to smash through metal barricades and drive through the crowd. In order to stop him, a protestor ran up to the motorist, punched him and grabbed the steering wheel. The bullet hit the protestor’s arm. Garland, who always carries a trauma kit, ran toward the protester and wrapped a tourniquet above the wound.

That action earned Garland the National Press Photographers Association’s 2020 Humanitarian of the Year.

Garland, who has drawn on his UNT emergency management degree while working at protests around the world, says he feels honored by the award.

“You know I kind of struggled with that a little bit,” he says. “I only got this award because someone got shot and I acted in a humane way. There shouldn’t be an award for this, but I’m very grateful to be recognized.”

Learn more about Garland and his value journalism. northtexan.unt.edu/clear-focus

BG • MUSE

Major League Dreams

Katy Cagle landed a unique client — the Texas Rangers.

Katy Cagle (’10) had always been interested in architecture. But when she toured AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, she found her calling.

“There are people who design the interior of stadiums?” she thought.

“Sign. Me. Up.” Cagle, vice president of Venues Interiors for HKS Architects, received the plum assignment of her career as an interior designer — designing the clubhouses for the new Texas Rangers stadium, Globe Life Field. But the avid sports fan did not expect how surreal the five-year assignment would be.

“Nobody told me I was going to present to Michael Young,” she says.

“I had a bit of a moment. I get starstruck, I’m not going to lie.”

Cagle also helped design the locker room for the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host the 2022 Super Bowl. Her next project will be a facility for a major league cricket team in Grand Prairie.

The most challenging part of her job? “Every project, we’re trying to one-up the project we did before,” she says. “There are so many things we could do.”

But, she says, “I love every aspect of it.”

Read more about Cagle’s celebrity encounters and clubhouse designs. northtexan.unt.edu/major-league

Forward Thinking

What Makes Your Amusement Park Industry Job Fun? “I did pinch myself the first six months to a year. How am I doing this? Is any of this work? At Target, I often see kids running in the aisles to grab the last Aladdin toy. The best part is the end result, seeing everything come to life.”

— Demarcus Johnson (’12), assistant manager of public affairs for Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing, who oversees the products for Aladdin, Soul, The Lion King, Black Widow and The Royal Detective “I think a big part of the love for this industry is it is an escape for a little bit. It allows people to forget their troubles a bit. It doesn’t matter what you’re dealing with when you’re transported to another world. From the person who built haunted houses in the backyard as a kid, this is not work!”

— Cody Martin (’07), consumer experience project manager for Six Flags in Arlington and former project manager for Merlin Entertainments, where he helped with the Justice League: A Call for Heroes attraction at Madame Tussauds in Orlando “It goes back to my days in radio — creating content and experiences people want. My favorite project was the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley. There is such deep fandom with those stories, the experience brought me such joy seeing people walking into the land for the first time. It was pretty memorable.”

— Eric Gray (’04), former broadcaster for KNTU and senior director of content and engagement at Universal Parks and Resorts, who worked on the opening of the Volcano Bay Theme Park, Transformers: The Ride 3-D, Bourne Stuntacular, five hotels and dozens of other attractions Read more about these alumni and their careers. northtexan.unt.edu/amusement-park

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MEAN GREEN

Game On All UNT sporting events will return to full capacity this season — and tailgating is once again alive and well at Apogee Stadium.

Momentum is at an all-time high for the Mean Green, as all athletics teams are returning to full capacity for the 2021-22 season — buoyed by many of last season’s major milestones.

Some of those Mean Green milestones included achieving the second-highest overall winning percentage in the past 40 years; claiming Conference USA Championships in softball, women’s golf and men’s basketball; earning UNT’s first NCAA men’s basketball tournament win; securing Conference USA individual championships from Audrey Tan (women’s golf), Vicente Marzilio (men’s golf), and Zion Hill (men’s javelin); and posting a perfect score in the Academic Performance Rate in five sports.

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“I am so proud of our coaches, support staff and student-athletes who continue to raise the bar of excellence as we deliver on our mission despite dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic,” says Wren Baker, vice president and director of athletics. “In 2020-21, we saw a number of outstanding successes in the competitive arena, in the classroom and in the community.”

Additionally, construction is nearly final on the state-of-the-art golf practice facility made possible by a gift from Jerome “Bruzzy” Westheimer and support from numerous donors, and athletics has been looking at expanding the Athletic Center to better serve studentathletes in the areas of sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and academic support.

After a challenging 18 months, this season is all about looking to the future, Baker says.

“Despite a chaotic year with many disruptions,” he says, “Mean Green momentum remains strong.”

Find more information about Mean Green Athletics, including this season’s basketball schedule. meangreensports.com

BG • MEAN GREEN

Several FB Players on Watch Lists Fifth-year running back DeAndre Torrey is one of 57 players named to the watch list for the 2021 Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse, given annually to the nation’s most versatile player. Senior defensive lineman Dion Novil has been named to the watch list for the 2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, one of only five from Conference USA. Additionally, five North Texas football players have been named to the Conference USA preseason watch list — including wide receiver Jyaire Shorter, offensive lineman Jacob Brammer, linebacker KD Davis, long snapper Nate Durham and Novil — and nine have been named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-Conference USA teams.

Paramount Program UNT Athletics recently launched its Paramount program, designed to equip student-athletes with the knowledge and skills they need to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness. The goal of the Paramount program is to educate Mean Green student-athletes on current legislation, assist them in the process of building their personal brand and empower them with tools to develop their own potential business opportunities.

By the Numbers

15 That’s how many consecutive years the North Texas tennis team has been recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for its outstanding team grade point average — which this year, was 3.582. For all of those years, UNT has been led by head coach Sujay Lama and has had a 3.2 team GPA or greater. In addition to the team award, UNT tennis student-athletes Sophia Hummel, Nidhi Surapaneni, Lucie Devier, Kexuan Zhou and Louisa Junghanns earned ITA All-Academic individuals honors for having a 3.5-plus GPA.

REMAINING 2021 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE SEPT. 25 at LOUISIANA TECH OCT. 9 at MISSOURI OCT. 15 vs. MARSHALL UNIVERSITY OCT. 23 vs. LIBERTY UNIVERSITY OCT. 30 at RICE NOV. 6 at SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI NOV. 13 at UTEP NOV. 20 at FIU NOV. 27 vs. UTSA

Check for the latest ticket information: meangreensports.com

As Good as Gold Former and current Mean Green golfers prove their talents on national and international stages — including the Olympics.

The Mean Green was shining brightly at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. PGA players and former teammates Carlos Ortiz (’13) and Sebastián Muñoz (’15) entered the final round of the men’s golf competition tied for third and fifth, respectively, and were in the same pairing. Ortiz (pictured top right) was among the top scorers over the first three rounds, and Muñoz (pictured top left) ended the final round competing in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal. Ortiz is currently ranked 61st in the world and 35th in the FedEx Cup standings, and has 10 career top-10 finishes, including three this year, highlighted by his first career PGA Tour victory at the Vivint Houston Open back in November. Muñoz is currently ranked 79th in the world and 63rd in the FedEx Cup standings and won his first PGA event at the Sanderson Farms Championship in September 2019.

In April, senior Audrey Tan claimed the women’s golf program’s first-ever individual conference championship while leading the Mean Green to its first team conference championship in program history. In August, she qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Westchester Country Club (West Course).

And in June, incoming sophomore Vicente Marzilio automatically qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania with his victory at the Mexico International Amateur. The Mean Green also was represented in Oakmont by transfer Tucker Allen, who joined the program from Oklahoma. The last time two members of the UNT golf team played in the US Am was 2013, when Ortiz and Rodolfo Cazaubon qualified.

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A NUMBERS GAME

CURTIS GOODWIN (’20 M.S.) MARRIES HIS KNOWLEDGE OF MATH AND SPORTS AS A PERFORMANCE DATA SCIENTIST FOR THE HOUSTON TEXANS. STORY BY LEIGH ANNE GULLETT ITS A QUESTION AS THOUGHT-PROVOKING as one Curtis Goodwin (’20 M.S.) might have posed to the students in his AP Calculus class back when he was an instructor and basketball coach at Fort Worth ISD’s Boswell High School: How did a math teacher with a love of sports and numbers become one of the elite data analytics minds working in professional football?

“I’d say my journey was a little unique,” says Goodwin, who also previously taught and coached at high schools in Illinois.

“I’ve always been involved in sports, and I’ve always been involved in math. Data science didn’t really exist 10 years ago when I was coming out of college, or it was just getting started. Now, it’s pretty prominent.”

If there’s a question or problem statement — or simply, ‘What can the data tell us?’ — my job is to find if there is a story behind this.

The potential to land a job that was a perfect marriage of sports and numbers is what inspired Goodwin to enroll in UNT’s advanced data analytics graduate program in 2019. The knowledge and connections the program provided helped him land his current role as a performance data scientist for the Houston Texans.

For his master’s thesis, Goodwin focused on prediction win probability and game outcomes, as well as season outcomes for different NFL teams. Impressed by his graduate student’s work, Michael Monticino — mathematics professor and chair of the advanced data analytics program — reached out to Russell Joyner (’03), director of football information systems for the Texans, and connected the two. Goodwin joined the Texans staff under Joyner in June 2020.

“We have a very collaborative environment here at the Texans,” Goodwin says. “They’re very receptive to any idea and any piece of information that can help them move the ball forward.”

Although tracking tendencies have long been a key part of game preparation and scouting in sports, the rise of advanced data analytics in the industry is still fairly recent. Former Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane and author Michael

Lewis brought the potential of advanced analytics in professional sports to the mainstream with Moneyball in 2003. A little more than a decade later, the NFL partnered with Zebra Technologies and began embedding radio-frequency identification tags in shoulder pads to track players during games. Today, there are RFID chips in every player’s shoulder pads, the game ball, on the referees and in the pylons. All but one of the 32 NFL teams employ performance data scientists full-time on staff.

In 2018, the NFL held its inaugural Big Data Bowl, an annual analytics contest for both professional and amateur data analysts to test their skills on the latest challenges in the game. The 202021 winners, a team of four friends, brought home $25,000 for their analytics work on defending the pass play.

“If there’s a question or problem statement — or simply, ‘What can the data tell us?’ — my job is to find if there is a story behind this,” Goodwin says. “My goal is to investigate that and then provide my findings.”

The possibilities presented by those questions are endless.

Teams use data to track a player’s workload, potentially determining rest days or fitness needs. They also look at opponents’ tendencies to game plan week to week. For example, data can reveal a lot about teams that aren’t good at diversifying and perhaps rely too heavily on certain strengths. A team can then design its defense or offense to work most efficiently against that tendency. The same data can also show a team its own tendencies, providing valuable feedback in game preparation from week to week.

It sounds like a lot — and it is. But Goodwin was more than prepared to tackle the numbers.

“The steepest learning curve is that there’s a lot more data once you get into the real world — how do you deal with 100 times, 1,000 times the amount of data?” he says. “The opportunities I had from an educational standpoint — the concepts and theories and skill sets taught in the advanced data analytics program — have been very helpful.”

Read about UNT’s advanced data analytics program and explore the NFL’s Big Data Bowl, an annual analytics contest for professional and amateur data analysts to test their skills and win money. northtexan.unt.edu/curtis-goodwin Fall 2021 | northtexan.unt.edu | north TEXAN

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Engineering Better Health STORY BY JESSICA DELEÓN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL CLEMENTS, RANJANI GROTH AND GARY PAYNE

UNT’s biomedical engineering department has expanded rapidly as faculty, students and alumni work to create medical devices to reshape people’s lives.

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The vision for the biomedical engineering department began on founding chair Vijay Vaidyanathan’s notepad. After he was given the nod in 2012 to launch the program for the College of Engineering, he jotted down his ideas. Then, he typed up the proposal.

In the first two years, Vaidyanathan taught all the classes himself. He had to hunt for lab space. He would sometimes bolt awake at night, wondering whether students would be able to find jobs when they graduated.

Nearly 10 years later, UNT’s biomedical engineering program — one of the fastest-growing programs at

the university — is ranked 9th in nation by BestValueSchools.org and has earned full accreditation from the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. Top health technology companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Alcon and Zimmer Biomet seek out graduates of the program.

Vaidyanathan now works out of the 26,250-square-foot Biomedical Engineering Building, a premier learning space that opened in 2019 at Discovery Park and boasts cutting-edge equipment and plenty of available lab space.

“For me, building this program has been like creating a startup,” Vaidyanathan says. “From very humble

Left Assistant professor Melanie Ecker in her lab with students Above Trevor Exley (’20, ’21 M.S.) and founding chair Vijay Vaidyanathan

beginnings and a faculty of one — it’s so exciting to see how we’ve grown.”

And the program for the in-demand field is flourishing, further establishing UNT’s reputation as a hub for leading innovative research.

Students are drawn to the challenge of collaborating with others from across disciplines — including biology, business, chemistry, computer science, mathematics and performing arts health services. And, they’re able to create medical devices and technology that can transform people’s lives.

“The goal is to use engineering to promote human health,” assistant professor Clement T. Y. Chan says.

“Our research will impact not only North Texas, but the whole nation.”

UNT biomedical engineers are thinking outside-of-the-box to find solutions.

In assistant professor Melanie Ecker’s case, she is using smart polymers that can be used in the enteric nervous system, specifically the intestines or

bowels, so as to enhance treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.

“We’ve all felt butterflies in our stomach when we are in love, have pain or even digestive problems in stressful situations,” Ecker says. “We want to better understand how the brain and gut are communicating with each other.”

She envisions a computer chip-like device similar to a pacemaker that is capable of stimulating the enteric nerves to reduce the burden of these disorders. Many devices are made of hard materials, such as silicon wafers, which can’t stick to the guts.

But Ecker’s polymers can change shape based on the stimulus when inserted into a body part. She and students in her lab hope to develop materials that will stretch and conform to the guts and have electronics embedded to “listen” to the nerves in the intestines, then record and decode the electrical signals they are sending to the bioelectronic devices.

“We want to have a material that

“

For me, building this program has been like creating a startup.

From very humble beginnings and a faculty of one — it’s so exciting to see how we’ve grown.

— Vijay Vaidyanathan

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Left Assistant professor Clement T. Y. Chan Right Assistant professor Brian Meckes

color pigment such as red, green or yellow.

The pigment then shows up in a fecal sample, allowing scientists to determine what is ailing the patient. It’s more efficient and cost effective than current methods of diagnosis and allows for treatment to begin more immediately.

“What approaches can we use to tackle a problem?” Chan says. “It’s very exciting and rewarding to take a project to the next level and improve people’s health.”

“

What approaches can we use to tackle a problem? It’s very exciting and rewarding to take a project to the next level and improve people’s health.”

— Clement T. Y. Chan

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is as stiff as uncooked spaghetti during the implantation, but softens inside the body like the cooked version,” she says.

Assistant Professor Brian Meckes and his research team are exploring better ways of delivering nanoparticle therapeutics to targeted cells by taking advantage of changes in the cell membrane that occur in diseased cells. The hope is to find better treatments for cancer, osteoarthritis or fibrogenesis.

His research earned him a 2021 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

“The research shows that cancer cells that are very metastatic — the most aggressive cells — tend to be the ones that are stiffer,” Meckes says. “In targeting by the nanoparticle, we can look and see if there is a difference between the membrane structure in a cell that is soft and a cell that is stiff. And now we have a potential therapeutic target.”

And Chan received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for his project, in which he and his team are trying to engineer bacteria — safe for humans to ingest — to specifically target, detect and recognize a range of pathogens or toxins. The bacteria, designed to sit in patients’ guts, will generate a

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The program’s students bring that same enthusiasm and creativity to their studies. At Discovery Park, they work in a makerspace, which includes a virtual surgery table where they can “remove” organs and “transplant” prosthetics. A bio 3D printer allows them to print artificial skin. The space is filled with their projects, such as a wheelchair that helps users climb stairs, a therapeutic chair to decrease pain, and an inflatable airbag for senior citizens to wear to help ease a fall.

As part of their capstone project, seniors are required to work together to create a device. Alexandra Teoh (’21) was part of a team that created a biomaterial that mimics the drug absorption properties of the laryngeal mucous membrane for the startup medical device company DUALAMS. The team used a UV curing system to make it and a compression testing machine, which tested the efficacy of their biomaterial compared to the typical testing methods — eliminating the need for animal testing.

Teoh, who began studying at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston this summer, is working toward a career in both pediatrics and research.

“Biomedical engineering sold me on pursuing research,” she says. “I really want to make sure my career is dedicated to creating solutions to help others.”

At a Plano high school summer program, Trevor Exley (’20, ’21 M.S.) found his calling when he created a 3D-printed hand controlled through his own muscles. Later, he was persuaded by Vaidyanathan’s vision

Preparing Graduates for Changing Marketplace

when he came to UNT (he also wanted a taste of the prestigious music program and played trombone with the Green Brigade and Nine O’Clock Lab Band during his undergraduate years).

Exley’s decision was affirmed by attending classes — and he also realized after taking the Artificial Intelligence for Wearables course taught by Assistant Professor Mark Albert that the biomedical engineering field demanded knowledge in multiple disciplines.

“You’re always going to have to be learning,” Exley says. “Last year, I was scrambling to learn Python (programming language) just so I could jump into machine learning.”

For his master’s degree, he used machine learning to examine the data of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease standing on force plate sensors. These sensors determined how the individuals were allocating pressure and measured such things as tremors.

Alternative tools such as those can be especially valuable and affordable for telemedicine and remote clinics — and help health care workers in organizations such as Doctors Without Borders who don’t work in traditional hospital settings.

Exley is now one of the first students in UNT’s biomedical engineering doctoral program, and he says he couldn’t find a better fit for his career.

“The doctoral degree will set me up to conduct research independently, sharpen my focus and become an expert in the field and contribute to science,” he says. “I’ll gain insight working on collaborative projects and look more closely at personal cases where I can innovate for medical devices to be more accessible and affordable to those who are in need.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, biomedical engineering will become the fastest-growing engineering field over the next decade with job growth rates of more than 60%.

UNT is primed to deliver on its mission to create degrees that prepare graduates for the rapidly changing marketplace. And with its unique approach of combining research and business skills, UNT’s program is supplying this growing workforce in industry, hospitals, research institutions and for entrepreneurs. Founding chair Vijay Vaidyanathan, a natural fit, has brought invaluable experience to the program as a researcher who has worked in business and academia.

Classes started in 2014 with a group of 45 students. Two years later, the department added more faculty. And, in 2017, the graduate program began.

“Before we knew it, we had 200 students,” he says.

This fall, the program debuted its Ph.D. program with 22 students, who can choose between a traditional research track or a health care startup track in collaboration with the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. And the department welcomed three new faculty members — bringing with them half a million dollars in grant money — to its staff of 11, who have won prestigious national awards and grants.

“America’s next big field for innovation is medicine,” says Edward Sean Gates (’18, ’21 M.S.), the department’s lab manager. “Medical devices and products need levels of engineering to ensure that human interaction with technology is safe, secure and reliable. With a multidisciplinary approach, we’re working to build a better, smarter tomorrow — together.”

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North Stars Story by Erin Cristales Photos by Ahna Hubnik and Ranjani Groth

From the professors who serve as guiding lights to the staff behind brilliant new initiatives to the students who make the Mean Green gleam, there are plenty of reasons to find your way back to campus.

I

t’s been awhile, Mean Green. Let’s get reacquainted.

There’s so much we’ve missed. The casual conversations and spontaneous laughter. The hugs and high-fives. The bumping into old friends on campus and in the stands.

At UNT, those seemingly small moments are a big deal, especially when the beating heart of our university is the people. That’s why we want to reintroduce you to a few of the folks who most make us shine. There are the seven UNT faculty finalists

— selected from more than 100 contenders — who current students and alumni nominated to be recognized for their inspiring leadership in the classroom. There are the staff members who devise innovative initiatives that bolster student success. And there are the students themselves — the creative leaders of tomorrow who embolden us to be our absolute best.

There’s really only one thing left to say (and we couldn’t be happier to say it): Welcome home.

North Stars (from top to bottom, left to right) Kimi King, Angie Cartwright, Katsura Aoyama, Brittany McElroy, Paho Mann, John Quintanilla and Rick Reidy

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THE ENERGIZER Kimi King Professor of political science Years at UNT: 28 Kimi King climbed into her rental car. It was Christmas Eve, and she’d just completed her visit to a Nicaraguan prison where Sandinistas had once been tortured. Now all she wanted was to return to the town center.

The ignition wouldn’t start.

She could wait for help, she supposed. But when you’ve traveled to all seven continents, trekked alongside armed guards protecting gorillas from guerrillas in Rwanda, and spent the bulk of your academic career researching international crime tribunals, self-sufficiency is the name of the game.

So she hotwired it.

“I think most people would be surprised to learn about the adventures I’ve had,” King says. “I’m not the same person abroad that you see in the classroom.”

Then again, maybe it’s not such a surprise when you consider her reputation for jumpstarting

students’ ambitions. As a professor of political science and coach of UNT’s nationally ranked moot court team, she’s inspired a generation of politicians, attorneys and academics with her irrepressible passion for constitutional law and commitment to student achievement.

“I remember feeling so empowered when I first met Dr. King,” says Stephanie Battaglia, an English major who is headed to law school following her graduation this fall. “No matter how many times you think, ‘I can’t do this,’ she’s like, ‘That’s just you in your head. I know you’re going to do a great job.’”

That’s really what it’s all about, King says. Yes, there’s the research that takes you to global hotspots, but that’s nothing

CAMPUS RESOURCE: NAVIGATE

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“Navigate allows us to be more strategic so we can take care of the students who need us the most versus assuming every student needs the exact same things.”

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Navigate is a comprehensive student success system that helps UNT faculty and staff better serve students. Through the Strategic Care platform — commonly referred to as Navigate Staff — faculty and staff can, among other benefits, share notes and information across departments; refer students to other areas through a case management system; and identify and target students who may need extra assistance.

Navigate Smart Guidance — commonly referred to as Navigate Student — is available on the web and through a mobile app, and allows students to schedule appointments with advisors, career coaches and other crucial staff members; sign up for study groups; and access information about additional campus resources. Crucial action items also can be communicated through the Navigate student portal to ensure students don’t miss important dates or deadlines such as bill payments, career fairs or applying for graduation. Learn more at navigate.unt.edu.

— Chelsea Bassett, director of Student Initiatives and Assessment

compared to the thrill of watching students present exceptional arguments in front of Texas Supreme Court judges or witnessing those always-exhilarating “aha” moments.

“My professors would ask me questions like, ‘Do you want to change the world?’”

King says. “And I thought, ‘I want to train armies.’ I don’t care if you’re left-wing or right-wing … when we look out at the world, what we all agree on is that we see something wrong with it. So the question is: How do we work together to change it?”

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THE MOVER AND SHAKER

Katsura Aoyama Associate professor of audiology and speech-language pathology Years at UNT: 9 Nearly every day, Katsura Aoyama takes an hourlong walk. For Aoyama, better known to her students as “Dr. Kat,” it’s about socializing as much as exercising — an unofficial office hour of sorts where students can join her for a jaunt around the Pohl Rec Center’s indoor track or call her up to chat about … well, anything really.

“We talk about things like what they want to do, which grad school they want to go to, how to enhance their chances of getting into grad school,” says Aoyama, who also

serves as the director of graduate studies for UNT’s Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology and the director of the Psycholinguistics Lab. “They’ll share things that maybe they didn’t feel comfortable talking about in regular office hours.”

Aoyama’s an expert in speech development — specifically psycholinguistics and language acquisition — but she’s also got the gift of gab. Even over Zoom, her warm, bubbly demeanor inspired students to open up about themselves and their goals.

“I just love her — she’s a wonderful professor and an exceptional human,” says Ashley Guzman (’09), an ASLP leveling student who joined the program this spring after 10 years of working in human resources. “She always spent a full hour with me during office hours talking about the program, giving me advice about which classes to take, asking me about me.

It was one of the kindest things someone could have done for me when I

CAMPUS RESOURCE: MULTICULTURAL CENTER Since its 1995 launch, the center has provided a plethora of culturally relevant and educational events that serve to celebrate and highlight historically marginalized identities, including programs that recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Asian Pacific Islander Month.

In its holistic approach to honoring the intersections of UNT students, the Multicultural Center — part of UNT’s newly renamed Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) — has collaborated with several campus partners over the years, including the Pride Alliance and Office of Disability Access. This fall, the center hosted its 11th annual Black Student Experience Retreat and inaugural Latinx Student Experience Retreat, in-person events that introduced first-year students to UNT campus life and resources.

The center also will host an MLK Day of Service and Cesar Chavez Day of Action in the spring, and will continue to build its partnerships with various campus organizations and departments for workshops and events. Learn more at idea.unt.edu/multicultural-center.

“We affirm our students in who they are, while also cultivating their leadership development and community building. As our institution has become increasingly diverse, we want to ensure that we are promoting and empowering our UNT community to perpetuate inclusion and belonging across campus.”

— Shabaz Brown, director of the Multicultural Center

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was so unsure about the change I decided to make.”

And it’s not just office hours where Aoyama works to better understand her students. She encourages them to send videos or personal examples that illustrate the concepts they’re learning in her phonetics and language development courses, which she then shares with the class. Forging those connections is just part of the job — the best part, Aoyama says.

“I think every student should know,” she says, “that we’re here to get to know them.”

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THE CREATOR

Paho Mann Associate professor of studio art Years at UNT: 14 If conformity were a supervillain, consider Paho Mann its creativity-caped adversary.

Mann’s got an eye for the uncommon, as evidenced by his ongoing photography project that peeks into the junk drawers of acquaintances and strangers — a series of images that capture and subtly celebrate hyperpersonal eclecticism.

“I was curious to see if I could understand more about us as individuals by making photographs of that,” says Mann,

who also is the coordinator of the College of Visual Arts and Design’s photography program. “I was interested in the individual actions that make these near-private spaces unique.”

That embrace of individualism is the same approach Mann takes in his classroom, where he nurtures students’ independent voices through their shared enthusiasm for art. One of the gifts of teaching studio art, he says, is guiding students toward projects that best express their singular vision.

“The core of my teaching,” Mann says, “is that students have the space to investigate their own ideas, make their own art and pursue their own interests.”

For grad students whose interests center around teaching photography, Mann also serves as their mentor, helping them prepare for the expectations inherent in assuming the role of instructor.

“He went above and beyond in what a professor is supposed to do to guide their students through a graduate degree,” says Shellye Tow (’21

“Ever since I stepped foot on campus, there has not been a college environment as caring, peaceful and energetic as this one. I can’t wait to experience the ‘Mean Green’ energy once again!”

— Sofia Nehal (’21), master’s psychology student

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M.F.A.), an aspiring teacher who recently graduated with a degree in studio art and photography and will graduate this semester with her M.A. in art history. “He helped me not just in my art practice, but really in my whole career moving forward.”

But Mann never views that mentorship as an “extra” responsibility. He just feels privileged, he says, to be one pitstop on his students’ journey to success.

“Studying art is a brave thing to do — even though it might feel intimidating, students come to your program with all this passion for the subject,” he says. “When you get to watch them succeed in school and afterward, that’s a really exciting thing.”

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THE EMPATHIZER Angie Cartwright Associate professor of counseling and higher education Years at UNT: 6

Angie Cartwright has racked up a laundry list of achievements, but “best poker face” won’t be one of them. She has too many tells. When she’s angry, she grabs a notebook and pushes on her glasses. When she’s surprised, her eyes grow unmistakably wide.

CAMPUS RESOURCE: EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIPS UNT offers Excellence Scholarships to transfer students and first-time freshmen who have demonstrated academic achievement through GPA and class rank (and transfer students who have completed an associate degree can qualify for a bonus one-time award of $500). Transfer students can qualify for two-year scholarships ranging from $1,500 to $4,000 and first-time freshmen can qualify for four-year scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $12,000. The awards are some of the most competitive offered at any university in North Texas and in the state, demonstrating a commitment to supporting students from a wide array of backgrounds and educational experiences. In Spring 2021, roughly 23% of transfer students received excellence scholarships, and in Fall 2020, 43% of UNT’s freshman class received financial help based on academic performance. To learn more about these awards and others, visit financialaid.unt.edu/types-scholarships.

“My facial expressions and body language give me away every single time,” laughs Cartwright, who also serves as the director of the undergraduate minor in counseling and project director for the grant-funded UNT Classic and Integrated Care and Behavioral Health Project, which are designed to address health disparities by enhancing the delivery of culturally competent mental health services to medically underserved communities.

“Instead of trying to hide it, I say, ‘You might notice from my face that I’m really surprised — let me explain why.’ Embracing authenticity has been really helpful.”

Throughout her career, Cartwright has used that authenticity to support everyone from aspiring counselors to community members who too often are overlooked.

“Whether it’s historically minoritized, LGBTQIA+ or offender populations — all the people who have been pushed to the margins by dominate culture, those are my people,” Cartwright says.

Her commitment to assisting the critically underserved has long inspired her students, as has her ascension to the upper echelons of teaching and counseling.

“Working with Dr. Cartwright was empowering — it showed me that women of color like me can reach high positions like she has,” says Hannah Klaassen (’17 M.S.),

“If you’re a great student, we want you to come to UNT, and we want to help fund your education.

These scholarships recognize and reward academic success, and allow students to reach their dreams by completing their college degree.”

— Brenda McCoy, senior associate vice president for strategic initiatives

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who recently opened Well Culture Counseling in Denton. “She was a cheerleader and an advocate who always expected great work from us. She pushed me to grow in ways that I didn’t even know were possible when I started the counseling program.”

And really, Cartwright says, that’s the impetus for her always-honest approach.

“For people to see someone who is genuine and authentic, who messes up and has flaws, that can be validating in a lot of ways,” she says. “Whatever your intersections are, whatever experiences you have, you can genuinely be you — and that’s not a problem.”

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THE DIRECTOR

Brittany McElroy Senior lecturer of broadcast journalism Years at UNT: 4 If you’re a one-plan kind of person, Brittany McElroy has news for you — literally. The breakneck pace of broadcast journalism means Plan A can quickly become Plans B through Z, and McElroy’s a pro at showing students how to roll with those unexpected punches.

“Journalism attracts a lot of type A perfectionists,” says McElroy, who previous to teaching spent a decade as a reporter, producer and anchor at TV stations in Texas, Louisiana and Missouri. “When you’re in TV news, you’re working on a deadline of a day, maybe two. So I have to show them how to go with the flow while still upholding the ideals of what good journalism is.”

For undergrads in McElroy’s Advanced Writing and Reporting for Broadcast and Web course — which she and her students more succinctly refer to as “the eight-hour class” — it’s a sink-orswim kind of scenario, with McElroy acting as lifeguard. The class meets one day a week for eight hours, and students are expected to report and produce broadcast segments in that tight timespan. It’s tough, McElroy admits — but so are her students. She’s consistently amazed by how adeptly they’re able to keep their heads above water.

“The thing I love about the class is that most of the time, when the students walk in the door the first day, you can just tell they’re so nervous — they’re like, ‘I can’t do this,’” says McElroy, who notes that collaboration is key to developing compelling stories. “But more often than not, they

CAMPUS RESOURCE: RAISEME RaiseMe — a social enterprise focused on using behavioral economics to drive student engagement and performance — rewards first-year students for behaviors that promote belonging/connection, academic preparedness, financial stability and career development.

Activities associated with student success — like meeting with advisors, joining virtual tutoring sessions and attending financial coaching — are incentivized. For each successfully completed task, students are able to earn monies that can be applied to their financial aid for the following year, and to receive their micro-scholarships, students must re-enroll at UNT and remain in good academic standing with the university. “RaiseMe helped me explore what UNT had to offer and reminded me of some really important deadlines for advising,” says Sara Santillanes, now a UNT junior. Learn more at raise.me/edu/ university-of-north-texas.

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“Promoting activities through RaiseMe’s platform during the pandemic empowered our firstyear students to take advantage of campus resources and activities that supported them during the many challenges of COVID-19 and beyond.”

— Stacey Polk, student success program manager

leave that class very proud of the work that they’ve done.”

That pride is a direct result of McElroy’s high expectations and unwavering support, says Joshua Carter, a broadcast journalism major who will graduate in Spring 2022.

“She changed the way I think when it comes to journalism,” says Carter, who during the eight-hour class created segments on a variety of topics, including one about COVID-19 vaccinations in minority communities. “She doesn’t want to let you fail. She’s just really there for you. That’s what’s amazing about her.”

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THE ENTERTAINER

John Quintanilla University Distinguished Teaching Professor of mathematics Years at UNT: 25

The first thing Marissa Arevalo (’17) remembers about John Quintanilla — or “Dr. Q,” as he’s known to his students — is that he slapped himself in the face with chalk dust on day one of his Math 4050 class.

“I was like, ‘Okay, this is an interesting person,’” says Arevalo, who notes she’d always been warned the course was challenging. “I thought, ‘I want to get to know this teacher.’”

That introductory dusting was, essentially, a calculated move on Quintanilla’s part — the subtraction of intimidation.

“I definitely like to keep the mood light,” says Quintanilla, who also serves as associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Science and was the co-founder and longtime co-director of the Teach North Texas program. “I’m serious about my subject but that doesn’t

“I am most excited about returning to this community where everyone is given an inclusive educational environment where they can learn to be their truest self.”

— Maeci Ray, graphic design sophomore

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want them to want to be here, and I want to make sure they’re getting something from being in my class that they can’t get from just watching YouTube or reading a textbook.”

And what many get, it seems, is a sneak peek into the kind of teacher they want to be.

“He has this way of getting to know his students in order to make himself a better teacher,” says Arevalo, now an algebra instructor at Krum High School. “I want my students to know that I’m not here to solely teach them math — I’m here to be their support system. That’s how I always felt in Dr. Q’s class.”

“We want the center to be a home away from home, a place where students can come with any questions or concerns. There are many similarities between first-gen students, but each student is unique and has their own individual needs.”

CAMPUS RESOURCE: FIRST GENERATION SUCCESS CENTER

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mean we can’t have fun doing it. I like keeping a light atmosphere — telling jokes, coming up with awful math puns, doing unorthodox applications.”

But, Quintanilla says, he’s serious about ensuring his students feel respected. He knows math can be a tough subject, and he has high expectations for everyone who walks through his door. That’s why it’s so important to make his classroom a safe space.

“If students have misconceptions about the material we are learning in class, I will correct those,” he says. “But I will never make my students feel silly for asking a question. I

— Desiree Padron, director of the First Generation Success Center

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The center opened virtually in March and already has made significant strides in supporting the university’s many first-gen students. In partnership with departments across campus, the center hosts programs and workshops that address areas such as financial literacy, academic support, career and leadership development, navigating graduate school and community resources. The center also takes a “people-first” approach in ensuring students are informed and connected to the individuals and departments that can best address their needs. Events also are part of its mission — in conjunction with First Flight Week, the center hosted a one-day seminar that included a panel of first-gen leaders from across the university, and Nov. 8, it will host programming as part of the nationwide First-Gen Celebration. Learn more at studentaffairs.unt.edu/first-generation-success-center.

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THE BRIDGE BUILDER Rick Reidy University Distinguished Teaching Professor of materials science and engineering Years at UNT: 24 Ask what students might be most surprised to learn about him, and Rick Reidy is, uncharacteristically, at a loss for words. They already know about his “less than storied” undergraduate career as a chemistry major.

They’re familiar with how he continues to put that chemistry knowledge to use in his beer-brewing hobby. They’ve heard nearly his entire arsenal of “my wife thinks I’m an idiot” jokes. “I’m pretty much an open book,” Reidy says.

Of course, the benefit of open books is they make important lessons easier to access.

“For us to learn things together, you need to trust me,” says Reidy, who also serves as an advisor and associate chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

“In some cases, students probably know more than they want to about me. They’re like, ‘Reidy, can you stop it with the damn stories? No one’s ever come up and said that

per se … they say, ‘Reidy goes off topic a lot.’”

What many students also say is how much fun Reidy is in the classroom — and outside of it.

“He had a real way of talking about his subjects and presenting tests and quizzes and projects in an interesting way,” says Tyler Hunt (’18), who was part of Reidy’s advising cohort. “As an advisor, he would really take the time to learn about us individually and our personality styles. That’s why I loved him so much as a teacher and as a person.”

In fact, Reidy is such a beloved figure that three former students asked him to officiate their weddings. Despite his initial reaction (“Can’t you find someone more qualified?” he asked), Reidy says it was an honor — another chapter in a story that grows richer with each passing year.

“I am extremely fortunate that many students will reach out and say, “You really made a difference,’” he says. “But it’s like being a parent — I have two sons, and I did my best, but they turned out wonderfully because they’re them. It’s the same thing with my students.”

• Listen to UNT Pod Episode 29, “North Stars,” to learn more about the faculty finalists.

• Submit your nominations for the 2022 edition of North Stars.

• Hear more from the students and alumni who nominated this year’s winners.

• Coffee or tea? Burgers or tacos?

Mac or PC? Can you guess the professors’ preferences? Play our “This or That” game to find out.

• Learn about more campus resources that help students soar.

Find it all at northtexan.unt. edu/northstars

“I am very excited to be a part of the student body during sporting events. The energy is contagious, and I cannot wait to cheer for the Mean Green!”

— Eric Giles, doctoral oboe performance student

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LITERAL

LIFESAVERS Story by Erin Cristales Photos by Michael Clements

Through living kidney donation, three alumni give the ultimate gift — and urge others to learn more about the process.

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rissi Oden (’05, ’10 M.F.A.) burrowed deeper into the covers of her gurney, a fruitless attempt to ward off the bone-deep chill of the pre-op holding area. An orderly brought her one pair of fuzzy socks. She wished he’d brought six.

But just because she had cold feet didn’t mean she had cold feet. If anything, Oden was excited. For the past six months, the art history alum had undergone a battery of physical and psychiatric tests. At her doctor’s suggestion, she’d abandoned her high-protein diet and weightlifting routine to lower her creatinine levels. And then, finally, the green light: She was given the go-ahead to donate a kidney to her 17-year-old stepdaughter, Trinity.

Just a month before the scheduled operation, Oden and her husband, Troy, traveled with Trinity and her three younger siblings to Greece for a Make a Wish trip. It was Trinity’s dream to see turtles swim in the Mediterranean, and thoughts of the upcoming surgery were assuaged by seaside solace.

But now, reality had arrived. For the first time since Trinity had been diagnosed with Stage IV kidney disease in middle school, Troy cried. Oden, though, was eerily calm.

“You know when you need to do something because it’s the right thing to do — you don’t even think twice about it,” says Oden, who serves as the first-ever cultural arts manager for the City of Bedford. “It’s my job to step up.”

If it weren’t for Oden — and other alumni who comprise UNT’s caring community — there might not have been many alternatives. In 2020, there were more than 91,000 individuals in the U.S. waiting on a kidney but fewer than 23,000 donations, according to organdonor.gov.

As of 2021, 83% of patients on the national organ transplant waiting list need a kidney.

“We want to increase the knowledge that living donation is an option,” says Jennifer Nixon (’11) a transplant social worker at UT Southwestern Medical Center who provides pre- and post-op support to kidney recipients and living donors. She often connects donors to services such as the National Living Donor Assistance Center, which can help with travel, lost wages or dependent care expenses during

Krissi Oden (’05, ’10 M.F.A.) donated a kidney to her stepdaughter, Trinity, three years ago.

recovery. “For anyone who is curious about the process, there’s a wealth of information on the websites of centers that do living donation.”

‘IT’S A RUSH’

It was one of those very websites that convinced Mollie Ferguson (’19) to move forward with becoming a donor. Back in 2019, Ferguson’s mother told her of an acquaintance whose father needed a kidney, but the son wasn’t a match.

“He wasn’t high on the transplant list because of his age,” says Ferguson, a logistics and supply chain management alum and analyst at BNSF Railway who also is a living donor ambassador for the United Network for Organ Sharing. “It sounded like they really needed help.”

Their story prompted Ferguson to look into altruistic transplant opportunities at Medical City Fort Worth — “I was 20, and didn’t even know at the time you could just donate a kidney to anyone,” she says. After researching the process, Ferguson applied. The hospital called the next day.

She underwent the required evaluations and spent time at the transplant center to learn more about what to expect. On Aug. 20, 2019, Ferguson was wheeled into surgery, where she donated a kidney to a patient she had never, and still hasn’t, met.

“Knowing that someone’s health will be better just because of this one decision I made, it’s a rush,” says Ferguson, who spent only one night in the hospital and was back in class less than a week later. Nearly two years after her surgery, she’s also signed up to be a bone marrow and liver donor. “There are nearly 100,000 people waiting for a kidney — it’s amazing to me that we can’t dwindle that number down.”

‘THESE SURGERIES ARE LIFESAVING’

More than a decade after her kidney donation, Kristi Nelson (’94) still fields questions from concerned viewers.

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“Just a couple of months ago, one sent me a message on Facebook saying, ‘I remember you gave a kidney to your mother — how are you both doing?’” says Nelson, a news anchor/reporter for Dallas’ NBC 5 who filmed an Emmy-winning series about the donation called “Kristi’s Gift.” “A lot of people remember it.”

At the time, Nelson’s mother — a Type 2 diabetic — was undergoing dialysis and worried about her odds if she were placed on the transplant waiting list.

The process would likely move much faster if a family member or friend was a match, but Nelson was careful not to jump into the decision too quickly, taking the time to ask questions of medical professionals and reaching out to other living donors.

“If you want to help but you’re worried, just make sure you’re healthy enough to do it,” Nelson says. “And think about how you’re going to feel later, whether you donate or you don’t. Which outcome would make you the happiest?”

Ultimately, Nelson became Baylor Health’s 798th living kidney donor — and, more importantly, she’s what her mother proudly calls “my daughter, and my donor.” Nelson not only shared her personal story with the NBC 5 audience, but continues to raise awareness as a board member of the Southwest Transplant Alliance, an organization that facilitates transplants in Texas.

Kidney donation is particularly important in the Black community, she says, where diabetes and high blood pressure are prevalent.

“These surgeries are lifesaving,” Nelson says.

“There’s a need, and living donors play an important role in satisfying that need.”

NBC 5 anchor/reporter Kristi Nelson (’94) is what her mom calls “my daughter, and my donor.”

Mollie Ferguson (’19) took part in altruistic kidney donation, meaning the recipient was unknown.

‘AN AMAZING GIFT TO GIVE’

The second Oden was able to walk, she trekked through the breezeway that connects UT Southwestern to Children’s Medical Center. She couldn’t believe the difference, she says — the color already was back in Trinity’s cheeks, and she looked healthier than she had in years.

“I just started crying,” says Oden who, three years after the surgery, says her life remains “completely normal.” For Mother’s Day, Trinity wrote a message on her Facebook wall: I’m in constant awe of your compassion and love, it read.

Their story, though, didn’t have the intended happy ending — nearly a year after the surgery, Trinity’s body rejected the kidney, and she’s back on the waiting list. But Oden says she’s never regretted the decision to donate. She’d do it again if she could.

“It’s an amazing gift to give, and if you have the chance to do it, you should,” she says. “There are a lot of what ifs, but the main one is: What if you don’t?”

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Explore resources about the kidney transplant process, including what to expect before, during and after donation. And read about some of the most important and exciting advancements Nixon has seen in the transplant field. northtexan.unt.edu/literal-lifesavers

EN

Alumni Jenny (’09) and Matt McElligot (’09) broke out their best Eagle Claws at Apogee Stadium to celebrate the Mean Green’s first game — and win — of the season against Northwestern State. Prior to kickoff, UNT alums reconnected at the Alumni Pavilion for a fun-filled GameDay Grille. The event opens two hours before each home game (and is free to Alumni Association members). Learn more at untalumni.com.

E AG L ES ’ N E S T

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

CLASS NOTES keep up with the latest developments in the UNT family and tell your peers what you’ve been up to since leaving the nest. Send your news to the North Texan (see contact information on page 7).

1950 JACK FROST, Los Angeles,

California is remaining active at age 94. He served 27 years in the U.S. Navy, including during World War II, and retired as Commander. He taught and coached basketball and football, earned his doctorate at Texas Christian University and served as superintendent of several school districts, including Georgetown ISD for 19 years. He retired in 1988.

Georgetown ISD named an elementary school in his honor and hosts the Jack Frost Basketball Tournament. He used to run five miles a day, but he now runs in his pool.

1966 RICHARD FLOURNEY

(’67, M.S.), Cypress, was a practicing psychologist for four decades and wrote several books to help adolescent and adult readers understand mental health issues such as bulimia, stress, burnout, sleep disorders, dreams and ultimately peace. Now in retirement, he’s turned to writing a children’s book, Papa Has to … (Christian Faith Publishing), which was inspired by his three grandchildren who frequently told him, “Papa has to come to my birthday party/go to the zoo with the family/come to my recital.”

1969 JIM RUNGE, Eldorado. As

a recreation and leisure studies major at North Texas, Jim participated in every intramural sport — becoming

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a champion in tennis, fencing singles and badminton doubles; qualifying for the national fencing championships in foil, as well as the national Modern Pentathlon Championships in 1967; and establishing his career in recreation. He was the McKinney Parks and Recreation Director in 1971 and founded the Runge Recreation Ranch in Navo in 1973, sponsoring many sport competitions until 1979.

He owned and operated the haunted house, Count Dracula’s Quality PreOwned Casket Company, from 1988 to 1994, and operated Texas Promos, Etc. from 1979 until his retirement in 2008. He became involved in National Senior Games in 2020 and was named its Athlete of the Month in 2015 after competing in more events than any other participant. He currently serves as an impersonator of more than 50 personas.

1971 SEAN MCCLENEGHAN

(M.A.), Martinez, Georgia, was inducted into the New Mexico Press Association’s Hall of Fame. He retired as Distinguished Achievement Emeritus Professor of New Mexico State University, where he served as the head of the Journalism and Mass Communications Department, now the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, and the Center for Broadcasting for 12 years of his 32year career there. He earned his other

| northtexan.unt.edu | Fall 2021

SCHOOL TO BEAR ALUMNA’S NAME The same day she received her second vaccine shot, Pat Cheek (’65) received another dose of good news.

Charles Stafford, a family friend, called. He said Denton ISD’s ninth middle school would be named for her: Pat Hagan Cheek Middle School. Her children, who had known the news ahead of time and gathered to watch as Cheek received word, saw their mother react with complete bewilderment.

“I was completely taken aback,” Cheek says. “I’m excited.”

Pat Hagan Cheek Middle School is set to be built by fall 2022, and the distinction honors Cheek’s decades of teaching in Denton schools and volunteering for the Denton community.

“Being named after a middle school is an incredible honor,” Cheek says.

— Brittney Dear

Read the full story. northtexan. unt.edu/selfless-hearts

EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

Alumni profile

an act of faith

THOUGH THERE WAS FOOD ON THE TINY FISHING BOAT, TIMOTHY Tran (’21 M.A.) couldn’t eat. For days, the small vessel had played ragdoll to the whims of the Pacific swells, thrashing violently along the outskirts of Indonesia. Seasickness had destroyed the appetites of the nearly 250 people aboard. All they were hungry for, Tran says, was survival.

The men, women and children were there for one reason: an escape to freedom. It was Nov. 20, 1978, and Tran — a native of South Vietnam — had been living under the rule of North Vietnam since the fall of Saigon three years earlier. In the interim, thousands of South Vietnamese had fled the country by boat, seeking asylum from neighboring nations. Nearly half of those who set sail in search of a better life succumbed to the voyage.

So as the oldest son of eight siblings, it was Tran who accepted the risk. His family scraped together all the money they could to aid his departure, and at 17 years old, alone and afraid, he spent seven days and nights stranded at sea.

More than 40 years later, the memories remain as crisp as the ocean air.

“It was life and death on that small boat,” he says. “My only thought was, ‘Am I going to survive this?’”

Tran temporarily found dry land at a refugee camp in Pulau Tengah, Malaysia, before the U.S. government offered him permanent asylum. By the time he reached his new home of Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 7, 1979, he weighed only 130 pounds and his hair had grown long. It was dark when he arrived, nearly midnight, and though he knew little English and carried no belongings, his hope burned bright.

He had made it.

“I had no clue back then that I would end up where I am today,” says Tran, who earned his master’s degree in international studies from UNT this spring. “I believe God had a plan for my life.”

That plan included a military career, during which Tran served as a chaplain in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, even earning a Bronze Star in 2004 for his service during Operation Freedom.

Though he had spent the past two decades in the U.S. Army, Tran wasn’t ready to kick back following retirement — “I had all the time in the world and no idea what to do with it,” he says. Then in spring 2019, inspiration struck, and he enrolled in UNT’s international studies master’s program — graduating with a 3.9 GPA. But it’s the school of hard knocks where he learned his most important lesson.

“Coming to the U.S. with nothing was not easy, there were a lot of obstacles I had to overcome,” he says.

“But I want people to remember that every setback, no matter how hard, takes you closer to higher ground. There’s always hope.”

— Erin Cristales

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

ALUMNI PROFILE

degrees from Fresno State University and the University of Texas at Austin.

BEAUTY OF CHAOS

1973 PAUL PEARCE (Ph.D.),

WILLIAM BASINSKI COULD SEE THE TWIN TOWERS from his Brooklyn loft. After he and his friends watched the World Trade Center collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, they sat on the roof in shock and disbelief, and he put on his latest composition that he had just completed, The Disintegration Loops.

“When we were on a roof looking at the buildings collapse, I felt like I had been commissioned to soundtrack the end of the world,” he says.

As the world began to process what happened, word spread about his work. It is now considered a masterpiece, with part of the work featured in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Basinski’s career took root in his time at North Texas from 1976 to 1978. He switched his major to composition and living in Bruce Hall, where his fellow dormmates would go through the charts together, he began to develop his own style. His private composition teacher was the late Larry Austin (’51, ’52 M.M.), the world-renowned composer and director of UNT’s Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia — although Basinski didn’t realize how well-known Austin was at the time.

When Basinski brought his work to Austin, the composer told him, “Do more.”

Basinski not only found his voice in music, but as a person. He met a group of art students who “were fabulous and gay, and I found out I wasn’t the only weirdo.” One of those fabulous artists was James Elaine (’77), who had graduated a year before and was in town for a visit. Elaine lived in San Francisco, and Basinski left North Texas to be with him and follow his dreams.

They’ve been together ever since.

Through the years, Basinski recorded music

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Conroe, is the owner and laboratory director of Nova Biologicals, which has provided global microbiological testing services and consultations to businesses and households since 1993.

Paul also is the founder of the Pearce Foundation for Scientific Endeavor, and he has developed the Environmental Service Optimization Program, which aims to reduce the effects of health care-associated infections.

1977 RANDY PRUETT, Irving, and worked a variety of jobs. The couple moved to New York City in the 1980s and lived in a loft that received transmissions from a radio station at the top of the Empire State Building that played American popular standards. Basinski loved the string sounds, especially the intros and outros, which he made into tape loops and slowed down.

“All of a sudden I realized there were these huge waves of melancholy,” he says.

Mixing the loops in real time, he recorded them to a cassette with short wave radio static.

And he earned respect as one of the world’s top composers of ambient and experimental music.

Two decades later, Basinski began archiving the old loops to a digital format. But he knew the 20-year-old tapes were in danger of disintegration. He put on the first loop that eventually became the Disintegration Loop 1.1., with the full six-loop work becoming a four-volume album known as The Disintegration Loops. All six movements have now been transcribed and will be available for performances in the orchestral repertoire when the pandemic permits.

“I realized, even in the bleakest of times, use the time you’ve been given,” he says. “Get in the studio, get back to the work — one never knows what can happen.”

— Jessica DeLeón

was promoted to senior vice president and account manager at Cooksey Communications. He has more than 30 years of experience in strategic communications and was previously honored as Dallas Communicator of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and was president of the IABC’s Dallas chapter.

1983 PAULA MCDONALD,

Granbury, released her second book THEOSYNTHESIS, a compilation of obtaining balance in the world through health, spiritual well-being and emotional care. Paula is the owner and broker of Beam & Branch Realty, PLLC. She previously wrote and published Beloved Not Broken, a Bible study program for women. She is a former educator who won the Christa McAuliffe Teaching Excellence Award for the State of Texas.

1989 JAMES PAWELCZYK

(Ph.D.), University Park, Pennsylvania, was named a new member of the board of directors for the Center for the Advancement of Science in

EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

in Space (CASIS), which manages the International Space Station. The former astronaut currently serves as an associate professor of physiology and kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University and is the director of the dual-title Ph.D. program in clinical and translational sciences.

that provides natural peanut and nut butters. Yesika previously was in recruiting and office management at Snelling Staffing Services. While a freshman at UNT, she was a member of the UNT Green Brigade marching band. She attended UNT from 2002 to 2005.

1991 MELANIE MARSH,

1999 DEBORAH KEEN, Plano,

Greenville, was selected as a Distinguished Educator by the Lone Oak ISD Education Foundation and was honored with a Lifetime of Excellence in Teaching award. She teaches algebra and calculus at Lone Oak High School.

1994 ART HAYS, Austin, was one

of two music composers on the new Netflix show Izzy’s Koala World. While at UNT, he played tenor sax with the One O’Clock Lab Band. He toured with Matchbox Twenty from 2000-01. Art has written and produced advertising music for Avon, Dodge, Ford, Samsung, Frito-Lay and more, and his songs and scores have appeared on numerous TV shows, such as Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Pinkertons.

1996 LATOSHA HERRON-

BRUFF, Dallas, was named the first-ever senior vice president for community engagement of the Dallas Regional Chamber, the largest chamber in North Texas. Latosha has 20 years of advocacy work under her belt. Prior to accepting this position, she served as vice president of government and public affairs for Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity.

YESIKA HORTON, Denton, is the founder of Spread Happiness Nut Butters, a vegan-based company

won the American Lawyers Alliance Teacher of the Year Award at the national level for her innovation in law education. Deborah has taught in the Career and Technical Education Center for Frisco ISD since 2012. She founded the Youth Safety and Civility Alliance (YSCA) in 2018. She also was the Texas Lawyers Auxiliary 2015 Texas Teacher of the Year.

2008 ESTER FLORES, Dallas,

was named a 2020 Rising Star by The Bond Buyer, a leading municipal finance publication. She has worked for more than a decade at HilltopSecurities, going from analyst, assistant vice president and vice president for the firm’s public finance division to her current title as director and investment banker.

ERIN PACK (’11 M.Ed.), Salt Lake City, Utah, has written three books: The Washington Journey, Everything You Need to Know About Suicide and Self Harm and Everything You Need to Know About Alcoholism. She is a middle school teacher and new teacher mentor in suburban Salt Lake City and freelance writer of nonfiction young adult books and articles. While at UNT, she was a member of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Phi Alpha Theta and Peer Educators.

TAKING A SHOT Ever since she was in high school, Theresa Acosta (’99, ’01 M.S.) wrote down a list of goals in a black-andwhite composition notebook.

One of those goals was to work as a head athletic trainer for a WNBA team.

After years of working in various positions with the Detroit Shock and college teams, she was hired by the New York Liberty in 2019. Acosta is the only Latinx who holds that title in the WNBA. She is one of the first people to arrive before a game and one of the last to leave. While the season itself runs from mid-April though October, the intensity is non-stop, with travel from the team’s home arena at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, to the other 11 markets in the WNBA. “Every day, it’s like I get to be around the best in the world,” she says. “For me to be in this arena, watching these women basketball athletes on a daily basis and knowing that I can assist with that, is truly amazing — and I enjoy every bit of it.”

— Jessica DeLeón

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

Alumni profile

MAKING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

Jhoalmo Sibrian (’17) came to the U.S. as an immigrant from El Salvador. He is now on track to become a U.S. diplomat.

He was awarded the 2021 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship, which will fund his master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University. Sibrian currently works for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as a Congres-

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sional Hispanic Caucus Public Policy Fellow and will then transfer to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as a Rangel Fellow. After completing his master’s and an internship at a U.S. embassy overseas, he will be assigned to a post in a foreign country in 2023.

“It means so much because my mom came to the U.S. seeking refuge from a 12-year civil war and, thanks to her grit and support, this also is her American dream,” Sibrian says. “I am extremely grateful for all her work and sacrifice. I am here because of her, and I am honored to join a cohort that represents the strength and diversity of the United States.”

Sibrian’s path to international diplomacy began as a teenager, when he volunteered with an umbrella group of organizations — including LULAC and the International Rescue Committee — that helped immigrants and he was intrigued by their stories.

“I became invested in learning why they fled,” he says. “At the same time, their stories were very similar to mine, including some of the reasons why they came to the U.S. seeking refuge such as family reunification, danger and dire conditions, political instability, and the lack of educational and professional opportunities in their countries. It sparked that passion to want to be involved in advocating for their rights and making sure their voices are heard.”

Sibrian transferred to UNT from Tarrant County College in 2015, where he earned a Terry Scholarship and a bachelor’s degree in international studies specializing in Europe, Latin America, and security and diplomacy.

He absorbed the lessons in his Latin American, sociology and anthropology courses.

After graduation, he served as a fellow in the Fulbright program for two

years. He served as an English teaching assistant at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia — and ended up teaching his own classes. Then in 2020, he was selected as one of 14 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellows across the U.S. He moved to Washington, D.C., where his tasks included everything from attending meetings to writing legislation and letters to heads of state.

“I thought I already knew about the process of how Congress worked,” he says. “I think being part of it and seeing the kind of impact they can have has really surprised me. Seeing it in action is, “Wow, there’s so much power.’”

He knows he doesn’t have the typical story compared to other colleagues, who come from Ivy League colleges or wealthy families.

“Every day, I am mesmerized by the opportunity of being there,” he says. “Most people don’t come from the background as an immigrant and someone from a low-income family.

For example, someone once told me, ‘People like you don’t come around here often.’ I think that says a lot about the people I interact with. I have worked my way to this point.”

This fall, Sibrian moved to Boston to study public policy at Harvard University. In 2022, after the first year of graduate school, he will work an internship at a U.S. Embassy overseas. In 2023, he’ll receive his assignment as a diplomat.

Sibrian says he would love to work in Thailand because he is intrigued by its food and culture.

But he is open to working in any country — and his main goal remains helping others.

“I know there will be challenges,” he says. “But I’m a lifelong learner and trust my personal, professional and academic background.” — Jessica DeLeón

EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

Mean Green Pride

3

1

2

1 HAGAN LEE WITHERS is already

in the Mean Green spirit, following a proud family tradition. He is the son of Jeff Withers (’10), a realtor in Denton, and Rachel Withers (’10), who takes care of their three children. Withers’ company, Withers Howell Real Estate Group, is a sponsor of Mean Green football. His parents are Johnny (’74), a dentist, and Jayne Howell, who attended North Texas from 1974 to 1978, and runs the company with Jeff.

2 FIVE COLLEGE OF MUSIC alumni

have gone from Mean Green to Army green as members of the 25th Infantry

4

Division Band in Hawaii. From left to right: Jamie Edwards (’14 M.M.); Stephen Thacker, who attended from 2004 to 2008; Philip Blienberger (’06 M.M.); Ross Shone (’17); and Trevor Duell (’16 D.M.A.).

3 WHEN MEMBERS OF Alpha Delta

Pi learned that College Inn, where many sororities lived in the 1980s, would be demolished, they knew it was time for a reunion. Nearly 40 members who were part of the 1979 to 1983 classes got together this summer to take one last look.

Read memories from College Inn alumni at northtexan.unt.edu/college-inn.

5

4 MARGAUX OGUNSOLA (’13), likes to spread the Mean Green spirit in her classroom. Ogunsola teaches third grade science at Annie H. Rainwater Elementary School in the CarrolltonFarmers Branch ISD.

5 EMET EICHLER was born to Lauren

Eichler (’14) and her husband, Joel Eichler, on April 5, 2021. Lauren works for Fort Worth-based social media agency Social Factor on full-time assignment at Toyota’s North American Headquarters in Plano.

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

2011 ALEXIS MILLER, Lewisville,

ALUMNI PROFILE

was named Region 11’s 2020 Elementary Teacher of the Year. A psychology major at UNT, she earned a master’s degree in health administration from the UNT Health Science Center. She was a member of the Zeta Eta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and vice president of Pan-Hellenic Council. She worked in health care administration before transitioning to education after participating in a summer literacy program. She is currently a student in the College of Education’s principal certification program.

A DREAM IMPACT WHEN UNT ALUMNA HILLARY SHAH (’21) FACES BARRIERS IN HER SOCIAL-JUSTICE work, she finds encouragement in the words of the late American politician Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

“And many times, I’ve had to bring a folding chair,” Shah says. “But I think it’s better to bring a folding chair than not show up at the table.”

The political science and economics major, who graduated in May, has been prolific in her public- and community-service work. She cares deeply about empowering people of color, people living in poverty, felons and others. Her efforts to advocate for marginalized communities earned her the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the nation’s premier graduate fellowship for college students pursuing careers in public service.

Shah was one of 62 students in the U.S. selected this year for the scholarship, which Congress established as an official federal memorial to the nation’s 33rd president.

Shah, who was a member of the UNT Honors College, was the fourth UNT student to win the Truman Scholarship. Over the years, there have been eight UNT finalists for the award.

As a Truman Scholar, Shah will receive a $30,000 scholarship for her graduate study. In addition, scholars receive priority admission and supplemental financial support at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government.

“It feels like a dream. I never did any of the work because I wanted to be thanked for it or get anything in return, but it’s really nice to be seen

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and be validated that what I’ve been doing has been good and impactful,” Shah says.

While at UNT, Shah served in the Student Government Association as vice president and was a founding member of the Coalition of Civic Empowerment. She was active in expanding student voter registration and voter education on campus. She even helped break a state record during her freshman year in 2018 by registering 752 eligible voters in one day. As a member of the UNT Moot Court Team, she excelled in debate competitions at a national level, including an award-winning argument against the University of Chicago in front of Texas Supreme Court justices.

She served as an intern at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington D.C., as well as in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Commerce through the Washington Leadership Program, a national organization that focuses on fostering the next generation of leaders from the South Asian community.

“I don’t have a dream job. I have a dream impact. I want to uplift marginalized communities,” Shah says. “Maybe that’s through litigation, policy writing or advocacy — whatever that is, I want to raise visibility for those who are disenfranchised and given lesser resources than the majority class. Everything I do will be through that goal.”

— Heather Noel

2012 MICHELLE FOLTA (M.M.,

’15 Ph.D.), Columbus, Ohio, was one of 10 finalists for the Grammy Music Educator Award, given by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum.

Michelle is an associate professor of choral/general music education at Columbus State University and the artistic director for the Voices of the Valley Children’s Chorus. During the coronavirus pandemic, she fed her college students with a weekly meal called a “porch picnic” after learning some of them were going without nutritious meals.

2019 BRI SMOCKS (M.Ed.), Long

Beach, California, is the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Levi & Toonk LLC, which publishes a biographical board book series chronicling the developmental experiences and milestones of an African American toddler as he grows into a young man, based on Bri’s son. She co-founded The Equity Collective, which promotes intersectional environmentalism, and also is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, serving those in need.

RETROSPECTIVE

A YEAR for the history books Top left Students in the early years of UNT’s jazz studies program.

Top right Young journalists work to gather information for news articles.

Bottom left Willis Library under construction on the UNT campus.

Bottom right Students in the early 1950s collaborating with a mentor in UNT’s business school.

FRESH OFF the heels of the MAYBORN SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY — which was celebrated during the 2020-21 school year, three quarters of a century after C.E. “Pop” Shuford established the university’s first formal journalism program — several other colleges, programs and departments across UNT also are commemorating milestones.

UNT’s College of Music is heralding 75 years of its jazz studies program. In 1946, the first laboratory band was formed to try out the music from a dance band arranging class, part of a curriculum proposed in the master’s thesis of Gene Hall, who would direct the program. Later named jazz studies, it was the first degree of its kind in the nation and the program soon made a name for itself around the world — particularly with its One O’Clock Lab Band, which has earned seven Grammy nominations and toured internationally.

The 1946-47 school year also marks the 75th anniversary of UNT’s organization into the first college and schools,

known then as the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School and the Schools of Business Administration, Education, Home Economics and Music. (UNT is now home to 14 colleges and schools). Business is celebrating a double anniversary this year, since it was 50 years ago that it was redesignated the College of Business Administration.

The college was renamed again in 2019, after UNT regent and business alum G. Brint Ryan (’88, ’88 M.S.) and his wife, Amanda, gave UNT $30 million — the largest gift in university history.

Additionally, Willis Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Originally known just as the “Library,” the building — which sits in the center of campus — was renamed in honor of A.M. Willis Jr. in 1978 during his 13th year as a regent for the university and ninth year as chairman of the Board of Regents. Now it is home to some of campus’ most innovative resources, such as The Spark, a hands-on makerspace for the UNT community that includes 3D printing, filmmaking and VR equipment.

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GIVING IMPACT

HONORING OUTSTANDING ALUMNI The following alumni will be honored at the 2021 UNT Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Union Ballroom.

Distinguished Alumni Award The most prestigious award given by the UNT Alumni Association, honoring alumni for professional achievement and significant contributions to society and the university.

Lynn Gravley (’87) is president and CEO of NT Logistics, Inc. He serves on the board of directors for the North Texas Tollway Authority and the Transportation Intermediaries Association, and is chairman of the Highway Logistics Conference.

World Bank’s Youth-to-Youth program and serves on the board for Inspire Spaces, Inspire Students.

Wilson Jones (’85) held several prominent positions during his career with Oshkosh Corporation, including chief operations officer, president and CEO. In 2018, he won a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award honoring the top CEOs.

Outstanding Alumni Service Award Presented to individuals who have provided exceptional volunteer service to UNT or the community.

Frank Lawlis (’62, ’65 M.Ed.), a retired faculty member, held several positions on the Dr. Phil Show, including chief of oversight production and resource supervisor. He serves on the Dr. Phil Foundation Board of Directors, the Mensa Research Journal Editorial Advisory Board and the Inner Space Training Advisory Board.

Michael Penaluna (’88), member of UNT’s inaugural class of the Emergency Administration and Planning program, worked as an emergency management coordinator at the City of Denton Fire Department. He now serves as a consultant for UNT Emergency Management and volunteers as a guest lecturer and mentor at the university.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award Presented to alumni under the age of 40 for professional achievement that has merited the honor and praise of peers and colleagues.

Ulys Knight Spirit Award Given to an individual or group that has made noteworthy efforts to show exceptional UNT spirit.

Dustee Jenkins (’01) is currently the head of global communications and public relations at Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming service. She previously served as senior vice president and chief communications officer at Target.

David Wachira (’13 Ph.D.) is a public finance and governance specialist at The World Bank. He is co-secretary for The

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Steven Pettit (’02) is a Mean Green Club Member and steadfast UNT athletics supporter. He is the former director of pharmacy operations at Dougherty’s Pharmacy in Forest Park Medical Center and has served as an advisor to Vitae Industries.

Nominate alumni for next year’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards. untalumni.com/nominate

EN • GIVING IMPACT

“Thanks to the Kuehne Speaker Series donors, I’m a member of the UNT family, part of a tight-knit community.

It’s truly life-changing.”

— Lorenzo Wilson Accounting junior and Kuehne Scholar

Kuehne Speaker Series Scholarship Program The UNT Kuehne Speaker Series was established in 2013 by alumnus Ernie Kuehne (’66) to create meaningful networking opportunities, bring prominent speakers to North Texas and give UNT visibility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But there’s always been a deeper vision for the donor-founded series — supporting academic excellence at UNT. Now, with more than $3 million raised for scholarships, the series Board of Directors has launched the Kuehne Speaker Series Scholarship Program. In the spring of 2021, the first three Kuehne Scholars were awarded $25,000 each for the 2021-22 academic year — one of the largest donor-funded scholarships at UNT. “This is such an amazing opportunity that offers a lot of financial stability and helps me set a firm foundation for the plans I have after graduation,” marketing senior Camryn Yoder says.

The Kuehne Scholars will receive more than funds to help with tuition, room and board. They’ll also have access to networking and mentorship opportunities with members of the board of directors and at the semi-annual Kuehne Speaker Series event.

“These scholarships go beyond financial aid,” says David Wolf, vice president for university advancement. “They provide exceptional opportunities to pair recipients with

From left, 2021 Kuehne Scholars Camryn Yoder, Lorenzo Wilson and JaQualia Morris

members of the incredible Kuehne Speaker Series Board of Directors, who will ensure our scholars are set up for success.”

Accounting junior JaQualia Morris says that being a UNT student has already helped her strive for greatness. As a Kuehne Scholar, she is motivated to push even further academically.

“I feel very encouraged, like my hard work is paying off,” Morris says. “And now my family can relax and know that I am focusing on school and putting forth my best efforts.”

Hesitant to apply for such a competitive scholarship, accounting junior Lorenzo Wilson was speechless when he was told he had been selected as a Kuehne Scholar. But the award falls in line with how he sees his university — a caring place full of opportunity.

“Thanks to the Kuehne Speaker Series donors, I’m a member of the UNT family, part of a tight-knit community,” Wilson says. “It’s truly life-changing.”

Learn more about the scholarship program and the Kuehne Speaker Series 2021-22 season, featuring James Carville and Herschel Walker. kuehneseries.unt.edu

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FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

unt alumni, faculty, staff and students are the university’s greatest legacy. When members of the Eagle family pass, they are remembered and their spirit lives on. Send information about deaths to the North Texan (see contact information on page 7).

1950s

1960s

JANE MCGINNIS RUSSELL (’50), Monroe, Louisiana. She attended North Texas as a member of the Demonstration School and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in home economics with minors in music and art. She earned her master’s degree in education from Northeast Louisiana State University. She taught in Dallas schools and volunteered for the Monroe Symphony. She is preceded in death by her father Andrew Cleveland (1910), mother Jeffie Clayton McGinnis (1911) and brother Andrew Clayton McGinnis (’53). She was a member of the Matthews Society.

J. SCOTT HOLYFIELD (’60), Dallas.

He was a certified public accountant, former treasurer of Braniff Airways, executive vice president of an independent oil and gas company, and owner of the Aw Shucks/Blue Goose restaurant group. A member of the President’s Council, he was a generous contributor to the G. Brint Ryan College of Business.

EDDIE JOHN DEES, SR. (’54), Santa Anna. He was a gifted pianist and arranger and led his band, The Eddie Dees Combo, in the 1960s and 1970s.

He later earned his master’s degree in special education and his doctorate in pastoral counseling and worked as a school counselor in Texas for many years. A master of all trades, Eddie also started a home/business security company and renovated several of his homes. His wife Jatis P. Dees (’53), also a pianist and educator, preceded him in death in 2018. All three of their children — Layle, Eddie Jr. and Lynne (’75, ’80 M.F.A.) — attended UNT.

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LARRY MCMURTRY (’58), Archer City. One of America’s best-known authors of Western fiction, including contemporary Texas, McMurtry wrote more than 30 novels, as well as essay collections, memoirs, histories and screenplays. In 1961, he published his first book, Horseman Pass By, which became the movie Hud. One of his most famous works, Lonesome Dove, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and the story later was adapted into a beloved TV miniseries. Other bestsellers include The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment, which also were adapted into Oscar-winning films. He co-wrote the Brokeback Mountain screenplay, for which he shared a Golden Globe and an Oscar in 2006. In 2014, he received the National Humanities Medal and was honored at the White House. At North Texas, he wrote for the Avesta literary magazine. He won the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1986. His bookstore, Booked Up, was associated with UNT’s Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism’s Archer City Writers Workshop and writers were invited to meet with him at his home or at the store.

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TONY GOOLSBY (’61), Dallas. He attended UNT after serving in the U.S. Army, graduating with a degree in elementary education. He ran a small insurance agency for more than 20 years in Dallas, and also worked as a teacher, coach, principal and pharmaceutical representative. Tony was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1988. He and his wife, Toppy, dedicated the Goolsby Chapel to UNT in 2001, and Tony created the AT&T Tony Goolsby Student Award Fund for UNT in 2004.

Tony also was a member of the Kendall Society and a brother in UNT’s Delta Phi Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity.

CHARLES OXFORD (’60), Sulphur Springs. After graduating with a marketing degree, he served in the U.S. Army for two years. Charles worked at Lehn & Fink in New Jersey as the vice president of sales before moving to Arkansas and owning three businesses.

He later moved back to Texas and served on the Sulphur Springs City Council. Charles donated generously

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to UNT Athletics and other programs and was a member of the Matthews Society.

DERAL RAY SEGLER (’60), Port Arthur.

He worked in education for 45 years, retiring in 2001, and owned Bridge City Driving School. In his free time, he enjoyed carpentry and hunting.

He was a member of the UNT Alumni Association. He was preceded in death by his wife Elizabeth Segler (’60), who he met at North Texas.

MARGARET “PEGGY” LADENBERGER (’61 M.Ed., ’70 Ph.D.), Dallas. She established The Merl Bonney Endowed Visiting Chair in Psychology at UNT and was a member of the Matthews Society. She had a lifelong passion for mental health, earning her doctorate in guidance and counseling from UNT and running her own psychology practice.

She co-authored a weekly parenting column for The Dallas Morning News and taught a women’s empowerment class at Southern Methodist University’s School of Continuing Education. She also helped establish Suicide Prevention of Dallas in 1967.

LONA “DEENIE” JUDD (’62), Shreveport, Louisiana. She taught at elementary schools and at the university level. Lona was active in many organizations and her church. She is preceded in death by her husband Louis Judd (’56, ’76 M.B.A., ’80 Ph.D.).

BRENDA MARTIN GRAHAM (’63, ’69 M.Ed.), Marietta, Georgia. She taught in Denton and Dallas ISDs for 12 years. In her final year of teaching in Dallas, she was selected as Teacher of the Year at Stults Road Elementary School. She and her husband, Barry, then relocated to Georgia, where she taught school for one year, then raised her children before teaching again from 1993 to 1994. At North Texas, she was a member of Gamma Eta chapter of Alpha Phi.

C.B. “BUCK” MAHANEY (’64), Plano.

He was known for his bronze sculptures of wildlife that were featured in museums and the Southwest Gallery in Dallas. He also was a businessman and served on the Parker City Council. He was an avid hunter and traveler.

1970s RICHARD FAULK (’74), Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He graduated from North Texas with a degree in music, then earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University. He had a successful legal career in Dallas, Houston and Washington, D.C., and even argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He composed music for his church and family. He and his wife, Candace, established The Richard and Candace Faulk Young Composers Fund to assist students studying composition and produce an annual Richard and Candace Faulk concert. They were members of the Chilton Society.

LAURA ANNE WIENTJES (’78), Rowlett. A music major, she enjoyed playing the piano, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

1990s KIMBERLY KAY WHITE PULLIN (’94), Allen. She began her career as an educator with Dallas ISD and later became a human resource administrator and realtor. Kimberly was a member of Delta Sigma Theta. She was an avid volunteer and sports fan. She had suffered injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident in 2013, but always retained a positive outlook. Survivors include her husband Ryan Pullin (’92).

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superintendent in Wichita Falls and superintendent in Montague and London ISDs. He started his career as a teacher, coach and administrator for Clear Creek, Woodville, Dallas, Keller, Muenster and Saint Jo ISDs.

2010s RILEY GALE (’10), Dallas. He was the lead singer of the metal trash band Power Trip, which he formed in 2008 while a student. Power Trip went from a local DFW band to touring around the world and it earned a Grammy Award nomination this year. Riley earned his technical writing degree from UNT and always had a passion for writing.

ALEXANDRA PACE (’14), Denton. At UNT, she was a member of Phi Sigma Pi. She earned her master’s degree in applied sociology at the University of Texas at Dallas. She worked in digital marketing and was a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor.

2020s NICHOLAS NATHANIEL SLAUGHTER, (’20), Prosper. He was set to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in business and served as a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was described as “an amazing young man” who loved his family and friends while being an exemplary role model to his nieces and nephews and a source of support for others. As a high school student, he played football, a sport he loved.

ELIJAH CORTES, Denton. He was enrolled as a freshman and studying construction engineering in the College of Engineering.

DAVID FREEMAN (’03 M.Ed.), Corpus Christi. He was superintendent of Flour Bluff ISD since 2019. Prior to this position, he served as associate

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University Community MICHAEL ABERNETHY, 63, of Little Elm, who had served as senior director of procurement services for the UNT System since 2016, died Dec. 9 in Grandview. He worked for universities as a director of purchasing and procurement for 27 years and served in the U.S. Air Force, including a stint during Desert Storm, for 12 years.

LINDA ALLMAND (’61), Fort Worth, who was a dedicated librarian for more than 40 years and taught as an adjunct professor at UNT in the 1990s, died Nov. 21. After earning her bachelor’s degree in library science and history from UNT and a master’s degree from the University of Denver, she worked in libraries in California, Dallas and Fort Worth. As director of the Fort Worth Public Library, she worked out a partnership with the Amon G. Carter Foundation and the city of Fort Worth to automate the library’s holdings — earning the title of the city’s female newsmaker of the year in 1984. She was the president of the Texas Library Association in 1987. At UNT, she was a member of the Chilton Society and established two funds for the College of Information, where she was a Hall of Fame Award recipient.

PAUL JACKSON COWAN, 93, of Denton, who taught science education at UNT from 1966 to 1987, died Nov. 3. As a professor and chair of the educational leadership division in the College of Education, Cowan emphasized “learning by doing” instead of textbooks for future science teachers. He previously taught at Hardin-Simmons University, where he had been hired to begin a new program in science education.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master’s degree from the University of Utah. In 1964, he completed a

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doctorate in science education at the University of Texas, the first awarded by the university in that field.

DAVID W. HARTMAN, 78, a Professor Emeritus, died Dec. 30 in Denton. He worked at UNT from 1992 to 2013, serving as an anthropology professor and associate dean of the School of Community Service — which under his leadership became the College of Public Affairs and Community Service and is today the College of Health and Public Service. While serving as dean from 1998 to 2006, he instituted new majors, oversaw growth of academic programs, worked to increase research and service collaborations with the community, and established scholarships that expanded diversity. He also helped develop online learning and the first addiction studies minor at a four-year university, and he established international academic programs for sociology and anthropology in Jerusalem, Israel and Mazamitla, Mexico. David received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology from Wichita State University and his doctorate in urban anthropology from Wayne State University, and taught at Wayne State and Virginia Commonwealth University before coming to North Texas. Memorial gifts may be given to the Libertad Hernandez Landa Scholarship that David established at UNT. HELEN HUDSPETH, 83, of Forestburg, who was employed in Housing from 1985 to 1997, died Nov. 2. Before working at UNT, Helen served in the grocery store business for 20 years.

WALTER RAYMOND JONES, JR., 61, who served in various jobs at UNT from 2011 to 2016, died Oct. 29 in Dallas.

He worked as a cook at Kerr Hall and in housing/custodial during his time at UNT. Known as “Old School” to friends,

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he enjoyed cooking, collecting watches and making people laugh.

CALVIN CLEAVE ‘JITTER’ NOLEN, of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, who saw enrollment increase and new campus buildings built during his tenure as university president from 1971 to 1979, died Aug. 13 at age 96. Enrollment rose 11% during his eight years in office, with the number of graduate students also increasing. The budget increased 66%. Major construction projects were completed, including Wooten Hall, the Art Building, the Coliseum, the General Academic Building and the Sullivant Visitor Center, now the Sullivant Public Safety Center. Additionally, the University Union was expanded, construction began on the Physical Education Building and a south wing was added to the Music Building. The School of Community Service, the Intensive English Language Institute and the computer science department were among the programs created during this time, and Hayden Fry was hired as football coach and athletic director — turning the Mean Green football team into a force in the 1970s. Research funding increased during Nolen’s tenure, with outside funding increasing 580%. There also was a new emphasis

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on alumni activities. In 1975, legislation was signed placing the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth under the university’s Board of Regents and designating Nolen as president of TCOM. Before coming to North Texas, he served as vice chancellor for development at Texas Christian University.

His selection as president of North Texas was considered controversial since he didn’t have a graduate degree.

Even after Nolen left the university, he remained a popular figure, with the Council of Deans signing a letter that said he had “worked energetically and unceasingly for the transformation of the institution from a good one to a great one.” After leaving office, he served as vice president of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation from 1979 to 1994 before moving to Colorado. Nolen, who received the nickname “Jitter” as a high school Boy Scout, was a member of the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1947. He retired from the Naval Reserve as a commander in 1989. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in educational psychology in 1948 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (LL.D.) by Texas Christian University in 1971. He served as director of UT’s Student Center and on the UT System’s development board before moving to TCU in 1968.

He and his wife, Frieda, donated to the A.M. Willis Endowed Scholarship Fund and were members of the Chilton Society. He served as a prominent lawyer and judge, reaching Circuit Judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

DAVID HAROLD SAUNDERS (’76, ’86 D.M.A.), Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

At North Texas, he was a graduate assistant to maestro Anshel Brusilow.

He earned a doctorate in conducting, but translated his skills to working with people using technology. He founded the North Texas Youth Orchestra in the early 1980s. In New York, he was instrumental in getting New York City back online after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He was a mentor and volunteer.

RICE TILLEY, 84, who served as a member of the Board of Regents for the UNT System from 2003 to 2009, died Oct. 28 in Fort Worth. He served in the U.S. Army for two years before beginning his 50-year career as an attorney.

He was active in numerous Fort Worth organizations, serving as founder of Leadership Fort Worth and chairman of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

MEMORIALS Send memorials to honor UNT alumni and friends, made payable to the UNT Foundation, to University of North Texas, Division of University Advancement, 1155 Union Circle #311250, Denton, Texas 76203-5017. Indicate on your check the fund or area you wish to support. Or make secure gifts online at one.unt.edu/giving. For more information, email giving@unt.edu or call 940-565-2900.

EDITH O’DONNELL, 94, a generous philanthropist and strong proponent of education, died Nov. 14 in Dallas.

She and her husband, Peter, donated generously to UNT programs, including the College of Visual Arts and Design Excellence Endowment and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.

In 1957, Edith and Peter established the O’Donnell Foundation and gave to numerous Dallas arts and educational organizations.

ROBERT PARKER, 82, of Tyler, a strong supporter of UNT, died Aug. 27 in Tyler.

tion and the discovery of a bacterium, died Jan. 26. Vela joined the microbiology faculty in 1965 and went on to serve as associate dean of science and technology in the College of Arts and Sciences and become the first Latino professor to be awarded tenure at UNT. His research on bacterial physiology and nitrogen-fixing bacteria included discovering a bacterium that was named after him — Paenibacillus velaei.

The bacterium is surrounded by a large capsule and its polysaccharide could be used in the food and pharmaceuticals industries. He also was a Fulbright lecturer, a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, an industry consultant, an expert witness and a textbook author. He wrote 75 scientific papers and lectured around the world. During his 35-year tenure at UNT, he supervised 20 doctoral students and 40 master’s students. He also was the first Hispanic member of the Denton City Council. He served on the Texas Municipal Power Agency and the Denton Airport Board.

For his service, the G. Roland Vela Athletic Soccer Complex at North Lakes Park in Denton was named in his honor.

G. ROLAND VELA, 93, of Denton, Professor Emeritus of biology whose long career included international recogni-

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PERSPECTIVE

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“I called this series ‘GMO non OMG,’ as a reference to science having significant influence over plants’ development more so than naturally occurring mutations.” — Phil Samson, a studio art graduate student in UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design, who reached out to UNT botanists such as Kent Chapman in the BioDiscovery Institute to understand current research in the field.

Samson’s readings of the research spurred striking fluorescent sculptures shaped from acrylic plastic, steel, resin and other materials. Read more at northtexan.unt.edu/phil-samson.

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Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications 1155 Union Circle #311070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017