North Texan - UNT Magazine - Fall 2023

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. 74, No. 2 Fall 2023

From

Classroom To Career 32 P

skating into the new semester You never know what you can fnd on campus. How about an ice skating rink during a sizzling summer?

A slew of activities, from special interest sessions to a silent disco, helped students navigate their new life on campus — and spark friendships — during First Flight Week. The eager Eagles showed their enthusiasm for UNT in many ways, with one student even dyeing her hair green.

— Photograph by Leo Gonzalez

contents F E A T U R E S

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From Classroom to Career As students face an alwaysevolving job market, UNT is giving them the tools to land their dream job. Students can design their own degrees, consult with career coaches – such as Dee Wilson (pictured) – and visit a career center to develop the skills needed to earn internships and jobs.

“Instead of just going into it blindly, UNT does a great job at providing these resources for us so we’re ready,” senior Arsalan Nazari says.

24 Chasing Dreams Bill Schmidt (’70) won the bronze medal in javelin at the 1972 Olympics. But his life in sports didn’t stop there: He went on to become one of the greatest innovators in sports marketing.

D E P A R T M E N T S B R I L L I A N T LY G R E E N COVER ILLUSTRATION ©2023 Dean Rohrer c/o theispot

F R O M O U R P R E S I D E N T P. 4

Career Readiness and Innovative Degree Programs Set UNT Apart

U P F I R S T P.7

Research on the Rise / Star Student Expert Take / Experiencing the World G I V I N G I M PAC T P. 1 4

A Champion for Champions / UNT Alumni Awards

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North Texan | northtexan.unt.edu | Fall 2023

O N L I N E MIXING MUSIC AND MARKETING

40 Research on the Nanoscale Peruse research through the lens of UNT’s high-powered instruments like faculty do.

They are investigating materials on the nanoscale.

44 Inside Out UNT criminal justice students had a unique classroom last spring – the Bridgeport Correctional Center. Each week, they worked with the incarcerated population to learn about the many parts of the justice system.

When Dexter Purnell isn’t teaching in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business, he’s engineering hit songs.

NEW PAGE FOR MUSIC

Jason Levi (’04, ’07 M.M.) and Noelle Fabian Dragon (’12 M.M.) are introducing children to music in a fun and engaging way.

FULL CIRCLE HONOR

Brenda Barrio (’06, ’08 M.S., ’13 Ph.D.) received the ’Fessor Graham Award given to a faculty member for outstanding service to students.

northtexan.unt.edu/online

EAGLES’ NEST I N N OVAT I O N P. 1 6

Advancing Semiconductors / Mobility Tech / Improving Blight / Educational Support M U S E P. 2 0

Shooting for the Moon / Books / Greene Lights / Breaking the Code

C O N N E C T I N G W I T H F R I E N D S P. 4 8

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

Dog Tales / Legacy Family Celebrating Juneteenth / Mean Green Pride

Obituaries

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

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

When They Were Students

UNT Alumni at Meow Wolf

M E A N G R E E N P. 2 6

DATCU Stadium / Championships

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

COMMITTED TO STUDENT SUCCESS

Career readiness and innovative degree programs set UNT apart The beginning of a school year is always flled with excitement. Our amazing faculty and staf eagerly anticipate welcoming our students each year, and our campuses were abuzz with their infectious energy this fall.

Fall enrollment hit nearly 47,000 students, up 5.8 percent — our ffth consecutive year for record-breaking growth. It’s no secret that we’re the fastest-growing university in Texas and in the nation. Our caring and creative community sets us apart from every other university in the North Texas region and beyond. With more than 244 programs of study — including innovative degree programs that allow students to create an interdisciplinary degree that speaks to their passions — there truly is something for everyone at UNT. Student success is our top priority as we prepare students for graduation and establishing their careers in an ever-evolving dynamic workforce (page 32).

Thanks to the generosity of donors, UNT recently opened two new career centers — the Wilson Jones Career Center in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and the Satish and Yasmin Gupta Career Center at UNT at Frisco. From resume help to dedicated career coaches housed in each college, we’re ensuring our students have the resources for success.

This summer, we also announced a 15-year football stadium naming rights agreement with our longstanding partner, DATCU. A new era in athletics began as we played our frst football game Sept. 2 with the California Golden Bears in DATCU Stadium — our frst game as a member of the American Athletic Conference. It’s an exciting time for the Mean Green (page 26).

I am thrilled at our successes so far this fall, and we’re just getting started. I am proud of the momentum we gain as we continue to create the innovative, hard-working and passionate leaders of tomorrow.

UNT proud,

Neal Smatresk President president@unt.edu @UNTPrez

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Watch our latest national ad.

MAGAZINE STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR JULIE ELLIOTT PAYNE (’97) MANAGING EDITOR JESSICA DELEÓN EDITORS AMANDA FULLER JILL KING (’93 M.S., ’00 M.A.) HEATHER NOEL (’23 M.A.) LISA SCIORTINO ART DIRECTOR ANGILEE WILKERSON DESIGN EDITOR NOLA KEMP (’92) PHOTO EDITOR GARY PAYNE (’99) PROJECT MANAGEMENT JAN CLOUNTZ (’94) HARSH SANGANI (’23 M.S.)

PHOTOGRAPHERS LEO GONZALEZ AHNA HUBNIK (’03) VIDEOGRAPHER CARLOS MARQUES PAUL SLAVONIK TIMOTHY STEVENS (’13) PAIGE THOMAS WRITERS CHRISTIANA FLORES AMANDA FULLER AMANDA LYONS BESS WHITBY (’13, ’15 M.A.) SOCIAL MEDIA MELISA BROWN (’93, ’20 M.S.) ERIKA FOX ALICIA ZARTMAN (’22) ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS JACOB KING ERIC VANDERGRIFF STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS SKY ALLEN NATASHA DRAKE PAIGE HEYL NABEELA IQBAL MICHAEL KING MAECI RAY

ADVERTISING SHELBY BAHNICK (’17) CHRISTOPHER KNAPP DESIGNERS ROBERT BRATCHER CLIFFTON CASTER IVY TANI NOLA KEMP (’92)

North Texan

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 ofces. The diverse views on matters of public interest presented in the North Texan do not necessarily refect the ofcial policies of the university. Publications staf can be reached at northtexan@ unt.edu or 940-565-2108.

Postmaster: Please send requests for changes of address, accompanied if possible by old address labels, to the University of North Texas, University Brand Strategy and Communications, 1155 Union Circle #311070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017.

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Created by the Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications ©2023 UNT UBSC 9/23 (23-392)

DIALOGUE

SHARE YOUR MEAN GREEN PRIDE At UNT, we wear green on Fridays, but you can wear green any day to show your UNT pride. Need some gear? Visit our Homecoming tent Oct. 28 by DATCU Stadium, share your favorite memory and pick up a T-shirt! Send photos of you, your kids or pets showing of your Mean Green to northtexan@ unt.edu and we may share them in the North Texan.

Or tag @northtexan on X, formerly known as Twitter, add #MeanGreenPride and we may repost it.

QUALITY ISSUE Your magazine is superlative: from cover to content graphics with purposeful photography that complements content, visually attractive layouts, writing that is readable and substantive focus on people and how they afect their world evidently, good editing — quality issue after issue. You make the University of North Texas look good!

Lewis Hodge (’68 M.Ed.) Knoxville, Tennessee SOUND DECISION During my junior year at North Texas as a music education student, I spent many hours practicing saxophone and clarinet in the old Music Building. The practice rooms were far from being soundproof. I was easily distracted by someone playing the piano in an adjacent practice room.

One day as I was practicing, someone was practicing piano in the next room.

I decided to take a short break and check to see who was in that room. I exited my room and looked through the practice room window and saw a very attractive young girl seated on the piano bench. I thought, “I have to meet this girl!”

I knocked on the door, walked in and said, “Could you please quit playing so loud? I can’t focus on my practicing because of your loud playing.” (She really wasn’t playing that loudly, but it was the only pick-up line I could think of at the time.) I was surprised she didn’t tell me to go away and stop bothering her. She was actually very friendly and foolishly agreed to go on a date with me.

We married at the beginning of the spring semester of 1960 and have been together for 63 years. I had a long career as a university band director, music education professor and applied woodwind teacher and professional musician. My wife, Helen Jahn Holt Crews (’63), had a successful career as

a piano teacher, my accompanist and partner in our Crews Music Duo. Norval Griswold Crews (’60, ’63 M.M.) Wichita Falls GREAT TEACHER What a joy to read Keith Shelton’s story (spring issue)! He took me on at the Denton Record-Chronicle in the late ’70s while I was still a journalism student at UNT, nee NTSU. I was hired to work in the back shop and eventually made it to the copy desk and had the time of my life, later going out on writing assignments with one of the many talented photographers on staf.

Today I’m nearing retirement after working for newspapers and then a long career in corporate legal and communications. Thanks, Keith. I’ll never forget the great start I got in Denton!

Priscilla Dufy (’83) Stamford, Connecticut

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ARTS & DESIGN BUSINESS & INDUSTRY COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA DATA ANALYTICS & INFORMATION EDUCATION HEALTH & WELLNESS

At UNT, we know it takes passion to soar to the highest levels. We work each day to inspire students to build the future they want and to embrace the exciting opportunities they will face in our changing world.

As North Texas’ most comprehensive university, UNT ofers 244 degree options, Tier One research opportunities and career readiness through experiential learning in partnership with our world-class faculty.

• Texas’ fastest growing university and the choice of nearly 47,000 students

HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS PUBLIC SERVICE

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Learn more: programs.unt.edu

| Fall 2023 North Texan | northtexan.unt.edu STEM

• Named an America’s Best Value College by Forbes

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Scrappy greeted students and their families as they made UNT their home during Mean Green Move-In weekend in August. UNT is experiencing record-breaking enrollment, with nearly 47,000 students taking classes during the fall semester.

BRILLIANTLY GREEN

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UP FIRST

Grants Soar

Research on the Rise It’s been another historic year for research as UNT continues its climb as a Carnegie-ranked Tier One research university. From artifcial intelligence to biomedical engineering to integrated and intelligent mobility systems, UNT is a catalyst for creativity, fueling progress, workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship for the North Texas region and beyond.

In fscal year 2023, UNT garnered its highest-ever total of sponsored project awards with more than $75 million in funding from top national agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Education, National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

As an inaugural recipient of awards from the NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program, as well as NASA’s initiative to support Minority-Serving Institutions in their work to further strengthen academic oferings in STEM, UNT is bolstering its national reputation in research.

The university forged collaborations across the region, state and nation including an NSF-funded efort to develop new vehicle technologies, a U.S. Department of Energy consortium on emerging semiconductors and technologies and workforce-focused initiatives to address training gaps in health care and education as well as improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Faculty and students have earned prestigious recognitions — from Fulbright awards to early career and student researcher awards from national agencies. More than 60 faculty members were named as the world’s most cited researchers, and UNT’s

IN THE MEDIA BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES LECTURER JAMES BEDNARZ and graduate students including Maddy Kaleta are examining the declining population of the American Kestrel — and their work was featured as the cover story of the National Audubon Society’s magazine this spring. The organization’s website also featured the UNT Bird Campus Committee as an Audubon on Campus program.

NPR’S WORLD CAFÉ FEATURED DENTON in its “Sense of Place” series, with a week devoted to the music scene — including UNT’s One O’Clock Lab Band and two bands with alumni, Midlake and Brave Combo.

RESEARCHERS FROM THE G. BRINT RYAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS got some ink in The Wall Street Journal about another type of ink. A study by Paula Kincaid (’23 Ph.D.), Marcus Wolfe and Jeremy Short found crowdfunding campaigns can help raise more money by including people with tattoos in marketing materials.

PHYSICS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OHAD SHEMMER shared the risks of light pollution with CBS News. The professor was featured in a video explaining how light pollution from satellites is compromising modern astronomy. The interview also was conducted at UNT’s very own Sky Theater planetarium.

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Department of Political Science was ranked among the nation’s top research-producing departments.

“Our researchers across disciplines are making tremendous strides in their felds, and this historic success is a testament to their hard work, dedication and persistence,” says Pamela Padilla, UNT vice president for research and innovation.“As we look toward the future, we’ll focus on growing our research capacity, expanding opportunities for student researchers and ensuring our scholars have the support they need to make a diference with their work.”

BG • UP FIRST

PAUL GOEBEL, THE FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UNT’S STUDENT MONEY MANAGEMENT CENTER, WAS HONORED WITH THE 2023 FINANCIAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL FINANCIAL EDUCATORS COUNCIL.

scholarships

Experiencing the World

Charles Wood (’20,’23 M.P.A.) came to UNT for its thriving theatre department and envisioned a career as a stage manager. But his priorities shifted when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

He started volunteering with organizations in the area, including going door to door to encourage vaccine signups for the Denton Medical Reserve Corps’ Texas Motor Speedway Vaccination Clinic.

“I realized how much I wanted to be a part of making my community better,” he says.“Public administration ofers exactly that.”

Wood earned a $40,000 Rotary Global Grant to pursue his dream of leading local government and community eforts to address the growing need for afordable and accessible housing. He is now studying for his second master’s degree in urban management and development

with a concentration in urban housing and land justice at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

While a student in the College of Health and Public Service, he served as president of the UNT Public Administration Student Association and worked as an eviction prevention specialist for United Way of Denton County in 2021.

He hopes to fnd a position in local government where he can work in housing and urban development.

“I’ve always wanted to experience the world and learn from a large diversity of people, and I feel like that’s something that’s always been encouraged at UNT. My education has been shaped by having a diverse group of friends and professors and being able to draw from opinions that I never even considered growing up.”

New Leaders UNT is welcoming several new leaders.

Lisa McIntyre is the new vice provost for student success, bringing more than 16 years of experience leading transformative initiatives at Arizona State University, most recently serving as assistant vice provost for student success innovations.

Paul S. Krueger, the former interim dean of the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University, is the new dean of the College of Engineering.

Laura Smith (’05 M.Ed.,’21 Ph.D.) is the new dean of students. She has worked in higher education for more than 25 years, most recently as associate dean of students at the University of Texas at Dallas.

With more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, Ramona Washington (’01,’15 M.S.) (pictured below) is the new chief of the UNT Police Department.

Washington has been at UNT since 2002 and previously served as captain of the department’s criminal investigations unit.

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UP FIRST

star student

Access to nAture

Environmental science student is opening up conversations about experiencing nature

In her great-grandmother’s garden, Krystal Toney has cherished childhood memories of playing among the fora, slipping lizards in her pocket and catching butterfies just to watch them soar away. Now studying environmental science at UNT, the doctoral student has gained a deeper knowledge of nature’s interconnectedness. She’s also discovered that access to nature is not the same for all.

As a Black woman, Toney has noticed people treat her and her family diferently when they go out for walks or hikes.“It seemed like every time we would go to these natural spaces, we were criminalized,” Toney says.“I went to social media to vent about it and other Black people commented and said,‘Oh, it’s the same for me, that’s why I don’t do it.’”

Those social media posts evolved into the blog “Black in Nature” where Toney sheds light on this inequity and quells the misconception that Black people aren’t doing environmental work. Her eforts to elevate Black voices have led to speaking engagements and two children’s books about bugs.

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“I’ve realized that access to nature doesn’t just mean opening the doors to go outside. It’s about creating safe spaces for people of all backgrounds to feel comfortable being in natural environments,” Toney says.

For her dissertation, Toney is exploring the disparities in access to conservation education and nature among Black and low socioeconomic students.

Toney hopes to land a job in environmental education. She’s already gaining experience in that work through her role with the Dallas Environmental Education Initiative, a program created by College of Science associate professor Ruthanne “Rudi” Thompson. Her dream role would be serving as a program director for the Trinity River Audubon Center near where her great-grandmother’s garden used to be in southeast Dallas.

“The community helped build that center, and I would love to see the residents more integrated with it. I want to create programs to get more people in tune with nature and environmental science.”

— Heather Noel

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EVENTS OCTOBER

1

NOVEMBER

“Cey Adams, Departure, 40 Years of Art and Design,” organized by the Boston University Art Galleries and featuring the artist’s pop culture-inspired works, runs through Dec. 15 at the CVAD Art Gallery in Room 160 of the UNT Art Building.

Learn more at news.cvad.unt.edu/galleries/ cey-adams-departure-40-years-art-and-design.

3-5, 10-11

UNT Opera presents Cendrillion, a retelling of the Cinderella story in French Romantic music. For ticket information, visit music.unt.edu/events.

DECEMBER

1-3

The New Choreographers Concert will feature performances created

by Dance@UNT students. Additional information is available at danceandtheatre.unt.edu/upcomingseason-productions.

15-17

Celebrate Fall 2023 graduates at this year’s commencement ceremonies.

For the schedule, visit commencement. unt.edu/schedule.

— Courtesy The Tuesday Agency

13-14 23 28

The Mayborn Literary Nonfction Conference will tap into craft storytelling when it sets up at Dallas’ Four Corners Brewery. To register, visit themayborn.com/mayborn-literarynonfction-conference.

Homecoming week kicks of Oct. 23 and culminates Oct. 28 with tailgating and football. For the full schedule, visit homecoming.unt.edu.

Reconnect with alumni from the College of Visual Arts and Design, view faculty demonstrations and more as part of the CVAD Celebrates 130/30 event. Visit news.cvad.unt.edu for details.

Fall 2023 | northtexan.unt.edu | North Texan

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UP FIRST

expert take

Mastering Meals Anthony Langston won the Hulu TV show Secret Chef. And he — along with other members of the UNT community — knows the secret to making a great meal.

Langston, who attended the Mayborn School of Journalism, creates delicious concoctions as culinary director of Denton’s Ten : One Artisan Cheese Shop.

“I enjoy the freedom of expression and creation. We get to have fun with what kind of favors we want to use.”

Sarah Kettelhut (’04) also believes in experimenting. As director of UNT Residential Dining Services, she helped the department win two gold medals this spring from the National Association of College & University Food Services’ Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards.

“Don’t be afraid to try new things like adding fruits or berries into savory grain dishes, salads and side dishes,” she says. “Enjoy eating seasonally and locally year-round.”

Joe O’Donnell, senior lecturer in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism and former executive chef, has a surefre tip for making the process easier. He supports mise en place, the French culinary term that means “everything in its place.”

“Upfront preparation ends up saving time in the long run,” he says. “An additional beneft of a proper mise en place is a quick cleanup.”

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ANTHONY LANGSTON

Attended UNT 2003-2004, culinary director of Denton’s Ten : One Artisan Cheese Shop

“My big thing is play with your food. I think grownups have been wrong all my life. Stay true to who are you. I love those big, bold favors. You’ve got to express yourself when it comes to cooking.”

SARAH KETTELHUT (’04)

Director of UNT Residential Dining Services

“Eating seasonal and local produce is a great way to incorporate plant-based and nutritious foods into your daily meals. I enjoy visiting local farmer’s markets weekly to see what seasonal produce our local farmers have available. I am always inspired by all the diferent varieties and will ask the farmers how they have enjoyed or cooked their products at home.”

JOE O’DONNELL

Senior lecturer in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism

“When preparing a meal — whether for a simple child’s party or a multiplecourse gourmet meal — have all the ingredients gathered per the recipe and prepped before you start cooking.

Proteins and cooking liquids are portioned, vegetables are cleaned and cut and herbs and spices are measured. This also includes gathering all the equipment you’ll need to prepare the recipe.”

HOMECOMING 2023

CALLING ALL CREATURES OF FRIGHT TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO HOMECOMING 2023!

Whether you creep or crawl, join us for a Halloween scare if you dare. Events and activities will take place the week of Oct. 23 and culminate Oct. 28 at DATCU Stadium when the Mean Green take on Memphis.

Plan your screaming good time at homecoming.unt.edu.

FOR TICKETS AND GAME TIME VISIT MEANGREENSPORTS.COM.

GIVING IMPACT

A CHAMPION FOR CHAMPIONS When hundreds of fans gathered in May at East Side Denton to celebrate the UNT men’s basketball team’s championship victory at the National Invitation Tournament, the last thing the crowd expected to see was a non-traditionally painted fre truck approaching.

But this engine wasn’t there to put out any fres. It was there to serve as the glowing green chariot carrying the team of champions past the roaring crowd.

Among those in the crowd was Diann Rozell Huber (’76 M.B.A., ’01 Ed.D.), beaming then, and ever since, as the verdant fre engine rolled through, boasting a painted UNT Battle Flag, the words “Mean Green” emblazoned on all sides and a large silver bell above the front right bumper.

For Huber, a lifelong basketball fan and a supporter of UNT’s men’s team, the evening served as the culmination of years of eforts.

“It was a wonderful day to be on the Denton Square and then turn over by East Side and see all of the people who came out, not only to support the basketball team, but to bring Denton and UNT together through the fre truck,” Huber says. “It was wonderful.”

Huber, an infuential force in making the Mean Green fre truck a reality through heartfelt determination as well as a monetary gift, says early talks about the truck began about four years ago. The idea didn’t gain much traction until 2022, when she met with UNT President Neal Smatresk and, later, the Denton fre chief and shared her vision.

“I can probably confrm they thought I was crazy,” she says with a laugh. “Because I said, ‘When UNT has a national championship basketball team next year, we want them to ride on a fre truck in a parade.’”

And it seems she spoke it into existence right then and there. After the meeting, Huber says they reached an agreement and began the planning phase for the custom truck, designing it down to the mud faps.

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As for securing the fre engine itself, Huber had a connection in her son, Denton Fire Department Captain Clay Rozell, and says everything aligned perfectly. Denton Fire Station No. 3, which serves UNT, already was set to receive a new fre truck, leaving the existing one fair game for use. So, they proceeded to the design phase.

“We met at Station No. 1 with the frm that makes the fre trucks and they started showing us color chips and what we could do, what the fag would look like, what the grill would look like,” Huber says. “We got to look at all diferent scenarios, the most important being that the eagle was the UNT eagle and that the green was the UNT green.”

Another detail on the truck is the logo for Denton Fire Station No. 3, which is nicknamed “The Nuthouse” and features an all-white squirrel in honor of UNT’s famous on-campus albino squirrel, Lucky.

Leading up to the custom fre truck’s Denton debut, Huber says details were literally kept in the dark.

“In Wisconsin, where the truck was manufactured, it was kept behind curtains so that as other fre departments came to tour the facility, they didn’t see our Mean Green fre truck.

Then it was brought to Denton in the dark of night, so no one would see it, and it was hidden in a special place until the chief

The City of Denton fre truck took to the streets of downtown Denton for the May celebration of the Mean Green basketball team’s National Invitation Tournament victory.

BG • GIVING IMPACT

had it come out. It was really an unveiling to all of Denton.”

Huber used the knowledge she gained from her UNT degrees to launch iTeach, an alternative online teaching certifcation program, in 2003 as a way to remove certain barriers for those entering the profession. With three of her four sons and two daughters-in-law also attending UNT along the way, the family has a strong connection to the university.

“Being here in a town where UNT is such a presence, being successful in my career from what I learned at UNT and getting all that instructional knowledge, I felt like it was time to share and give back to the university that helped prepare me as a businesswoman and become who I am today,” she says.

Huber is a member of the Matthews Society, a UNT giving society, and is also a UNT Kuehne Speaker Series Emerald Lifetime Member.

While Mean Green fans will have ample opportunities to see the fully functioning Mean Green fre truck up close at UNT Athletics events this season, Huber is especially giddy about the fall launch of miniature Mean Green fre trucks, available at the DATCU Stadium Team Store and Voertman’s, with additional fre truck merchandise available at the UNT Union Barnes & Noble.

The exact-replica miniatures were another idea Huber championed, with a portion of the proceeds benefting the Denton Firefghters Association.

“It’s a great gift, but I wanted to make sure the frefghters association reaped some benefts from this because they’re giving to our community all the time.

Anyone who buys a truck is not just supporting UNT, they’re supporting our local frst responders, and I think that’s another wonderful tie between our city and school.” — Sean Riedel

UNT Alumni Awards

A new group of outstanding alumni will be honored at the Alumni Awards at 6 p.m. Oct. 25 in the UNT Union as part of Homecoming Week festivities.

Buy tickets at untalumni.com/events.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Outstanding Alumni Service Award

The most prestigious award given by the

Presented to individuals who have provided

UNT Alumni Association, honoring alumni

exceptional volunteer service to UNT or their

for professional achievement and noteworthy

community.

contributions to society and the university.

Drew Lawton (’91 M.B.A.)

Harry (’79 M.B.A.) and Linda (’72, ’82 M.B.A.) Eaddy

Phil Sorgen (’88, ’90 M.B.A.) Terri West (’82) Rising Star Award Recognizes recent graduates for distinguished 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 eforts to show exceptional UNT spirit.

Ernest (’11) and Monica (’06) Martinez

Sarina Davidson (’19)

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INNOVATION

Above PACCAR Professor of Engineering Anupama Kaul, left, principal investigator for the SEEP-IT consortium, is pictured with student researchers in her laboratory.

Learn more about UNT’s Tier One research. research.unt.edu

Advancing Semiconducors UNT collaborating with researchers in U.S. Department of Energy consortium

UNT is leading a consortium to further the science and applications of emerging semiconducting materials toward electronic, photonic and sensing technologies, along with collaborators at the University of Texas at Arlington, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluf and two U.S. Department of Energy national labs. The Consortium on Sensing, Energy-efcient Electronics, Photonics with 2D materials and Integrated Technologies (SEEP-IT) will receive $1 million annually over the next fve years from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency. PACCAR Professor of Engineering Anupama Kaul is principal investigator for the consortium. Other UNT faculty serving as co-PIs are Yuankun Lin, professor of physics, and Pamela Padilla, vice president for research and innovation.

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BG • INNOVATION

CHECK OUT UNT’S AMAZING YOUTUBE SERIES, THE LAB, WHERE RESEARCHERS BREAK DOWN HOW THEIR RESEARCH IN SCIENCE, ART AND TECHNOLOGY IS REVOLUTIONIZING OUR EVERYDAY LIFE.

“The Texoma Region needs transformative change in logisics innovation to ensure long-term resiliency and agility for the global supply chains.”

— Terry Pohlen The director of UNT’s Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research and principal investigator for the $1 million National Science Foundation Engines Development Award on how the project could impact North Central Texas and Southeastern Oklahoma. UNT is leading a collaborative network in advancing logistics in the region.

MOBILITY TECH

IMPROVING BLIGHT

Researchers Song Fu, Xinrong Li and Qing Yang in the College of Engineering and Junhua Ding in the College of Information are part of a national efort to foster more collaboration in the development of emerging vehicle technologies.

Through the Center for Electric, Connected and Autonomous Technologies for Mobility (eCAT), the UNT team — along with researchers at Wayne State University, Clarkson University and University of Delaware — will leverage research across academic disciplines and industry expertise to transform the future of mobility and train the next generation of workers in this area.

Their work is funded by a fveyear $2.25 million grant through the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers Program.

A new study released from the College of Health and Public Service shows blight is improving in Dallas.

Faculty members Simon Andrew and Hee Soun Jang frst identifed and measured the most blighted areas of Dallas in a study commissioned by Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity a decade ago.

Now, they’ve released results from a follow-up assessment examining the change in physical aspects and socioeconomic risk factors between 2011 and 2021.

The study found that the number of census tracts, or geographic areas, sufering from the highest levels of blight in 2011 had decreased from 51 to 31 by 2021. Their data will be useful to government and community leaders eager to help Dallas become more cohesive and economically vibrant.

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INNOVATION

Educational Support College of Education researchers received U.S. Department of Education grants totaling more than $5 million this year to address training gaps for mental health counseling, special education teachers and speech-language pathologists working in K-12 schools.

Faculty members Matthew Lemberger-Truelove, Peggy Ceballos and Dan Li will focus on expanding mental health care and training in Title I schools in Denton and Lewisville ISDs. The goal is to not only increase the number of mental health providers, but also ensure these incoming professionals are prepared to respond to the evolving needs within schools.

In a separate project, professors Miriam Boesch and Katsura Aoyama launched the Project Communicate master’s program this fall, training special education teachers and speech-language pathologists to better serve students with autism spectrum disorder. Students have interdisciplinary coursework and conduct supervised feldwork in Dallas-Fort Worth area schools.

Music Hisory National Awards Rebecca Geofroy-Schwinden, an associate professor in the College of Music, earned two awards from the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities for her historical research on music cultures.

The NEH-Hagley Fellowship on Business, Culture and Society is supporting her archival research this fall at the Hagley Museum and Library toward a book about the musical and sonic world of the du Pont women’s community in the 18th and 19th centuries — from their immigration to the U.S. during the French Revolution to the outbreak of the American Civil War. The second award, the NEH Summer Stipend, will support research in Europe during summer 2024 for a book about music in the lives of elite women and their households along trade routes from the East to West Indies.

Both projects will broaden the experiences documented in music scholarship to ofer a fuller look at the impact immigration, revolutions and industrialization had on America’s development in a global context.

NSF CAREER Award: College of Engineering assistant professor Melanie Ecker earned the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious recognition for early career faculty. Ecker will use the $553,036 award, given through the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, to further her research on using smart polymers for biomedical applications.

Goldwater Awards: Jathin Pranav Singaraju, a Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science student at UNT, was named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar in recognition of his work in the biomedical engineering lab of Huaxiao “Adam” Yang. Jathin is UNT’s 71st recipient of a Goldwater Scholarship. Additionally, biology professor Jannon Fuchs won the 2023 Council on Undergraduate Research-Goldwater Scholars Faculty Mentor Award, recognizing her research, scholarship, teaching and mentorship. She’s the frst UNT professor to win the award. Of about 185 students she’s mentored, 10 became Goldwater Scholars.

Fulbright Awards: Four faculty and staf members and three students earned awards and recognition from the prestigious Fulbright Program for the 2023-24 awards cycle. Associate professor Diana Berman was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

Staf member Lauren Jacobsen-Bridges was a recipient of the Fulbright International Education Administrators Seminar to South Korea. Faculty members Saraju Mohanty and Joseph Oppong also received Fulbright Specialist Program Awards.

UNT students who earned Fulbright U.S. Student Program Awards this year are Odalis Alvarado and Lorelei Nichols for the English Teaching Assistant Awards and Garrison Gerard for the Fulbright/National Science Foundation Arctic Research Award.

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT TEXAS’ PROP 5 WOULD DO FOR UNT?

On Nov. 7, Texans will vote on Proposition 5 to decide whether to establish the Texas University Fund (TUF).

This constitutional amendment would create the TUF endowment, which would directly benefit UNT, University of Houston, Texas Tech and Texas State.

If successful, the bipartisan-supported TUF would provide new funding directly to UNT each year to conduct more research, elevate national rankings, and ultimately create more career-ready graduates to help drive the state’s economy.

With nearly 47,000 students and 244 degree programs, UNT is the fourth-largest — and fastestgrowing — institution in Texas, playing a critical higher education role as the North Texas region’s population continues to soar and is expected to expand to more than 35 million within the next decade.

WHAT THE TUF WOULD DO FOR UNT ECONOMIC GROWTH:

EDUCATIONAL ACCESS:

INSTITUTIONAL EXCELLENCE:

Prop 5 would allow more Texas universities to compete for research dollars, making Texas more attractive for companies to create more jobs here.

Prop 5 would provide more opportunities for Texas students to earn a high-quality college education here at home.

Recognizing Texas needs more nationally ranked public universities to fill high-paying jobs and spur economic growth, Prop 5 would establish an endowment — with no new taxes — to provide reliable funding at rising universities with proven track records in research and innovation.

Learn more about innovative UNT research: research.unt.edu

MUSE

Photo by E. Dan Klepper

Shooting for the Moon Photographer E. Dan Klepper (’77) uses technology to give a diferent view of nature.

E. Dan Klepper (’77) sees the moon in many diferent ways.

For his work Two Hundred Moons, he shot at least 200 photographs of the moon in the course of a few hours. While the moon is rising, the sun is setting — allowing him to capture that ambient light across the landscape and the refecting light of the moon. Every panel is a separate photograph, then assembled into one composition.

Klepper investigates the natural world through technology, utilizing digital photography and computer software. His work is represented by Foltz Fine Art in Houston and has been exhibited throughout the country and Europe. An active birder, hiker and cyclist, he has frequently written and photographed for outdoor and travel magazines and is the author of 100 Classic Hikes in Texas.

He now lives in Marathon, where he has been capturing the Big Bend area and running the Klepper Gallery for over 20 years.

His career took root during his time at North Texas, which allowed him to cultivate his interest in the natural world and explore it with technology.

“My experience at UNT established a foundational creative process that I still draw from today,” he says.

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Read more about how UNT shaped Klepper’s career. northtexan.unt.edu/shooting-for-the-moon

BG • MUSE

ULTIMATELY, I’VE ALWAYS JUST WANTED TO HAVE A LIFE WHERE I CAN PLAY MUSIC AND SUPPORT MY LIFE WITH IT. AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, I’M LIVING THAT RIGHT NOW.” — Duran Ritz (’12), drummer for Rare Americans, a Canadian rock band that was nominated for the Juno Award. Read more at northtexan.unt.edu/passion-in-percussion

Lighting Up Lives

Books

Pasures of the Empty Page

Read more about the infuence McMurtry had on other writers. northtexan.unt.edu/empty-page

Four Plays Andrew B. Harris The works and adaptations of the Professor Emeritus of theatre — The Lady Revealed, The Eternal Romeo and Juliet, TarTuff and A Christmas Carol — are included in this collection.

A Pulitzer Prize- and Academy Award-winning author and screenwriter, Larry McMurtry (’58), who earned an English degree at UNT, is considered one of America’s most infuential writers. His friend George Getschow, who taught literary journalism at UNT’s Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism from 2002 to 2017, edited Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry, a collection of essays penned by more than three dozen writers.

“Every essay in the book provides a piece to this puzzle of, ‘Who was Larry McMurtry?

Why did he become this incredible writer, this incredible screenwriter?’” Getschow says.

The Last Year Jill Talbot The University Distinguished Teaching Professor of English reflects on her college-bound daughter’s last year at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alumnus is creating lifelong memories for others.

Joe Bessner (’15) has a blast at work every day, literally.

The UNT alum works as a pyrotechnician for the company Pyrotecnico, handling frework shows for music festivals and concerts and has even come back to UNT for the Homecoming bonfre. He recently fnished overseeing the freworks for Reba McEntire during her tour.

The theatre major was heavily involved with the UNT Talons, the student organization that upholds many UNT traditions such as the Homecoming bonfre, the cannon, spirit fags and more. When one of his classmates asked him if he’d be interested in helping the lighting company she worked for with a freworks show, Bessner jumped at the chance and never looked back.

“The most important thing to have is passion. When we do concerts, everyone’s there to see the artist. They’re not there for freworks,” he says.“So, the moment that freworks go of, everyone just loses their mind. And I love seeing that look of joy on their faces. I love being able to provide a demonstration, a performance for someone and take things to the next level.”

Gendered Places: The Landscape of Local Gender Norms across the United States William J. Scarborough Analyzing administrative, survey and social media data, the associate professor of sociology explores how local culture reflects gender roles and equity in different U.S. regions.

Read more about Bessner’s life on the road. northtexan.unt.edu/lighting-up-lives

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MUSE STEVIE WALKER WEBB (’11), A SOCIOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES MAJOR, WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST DIRECTOR AT THE TONY AWARDS THIS SPRING. HIS BROADWAY PLAY, AIN’T NO MO’, EARNED SIX NODS.

Filmmaking Trio

Greene Lights

Trumpeter Frank Greene’s career has led him to big gigs.

Frank Greene has made quite a career as a trumpeter.

Greene, who studied at UNT from 1984 to 1987, was part of the orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman, and has performed with John Williams, Ray Charles and Chaka Khan. He recently played for Broadway’s Funny Girl.

But reaching this point required countless hours of hard work. At North Texas, Greene had more than 200 trumpet players to compete with for a position in seven lab bands. He was determined to make it into the top band. He practiced more than fve hours a day, and he soon advanced through the lab bands and made it to the One O’Clock Lab Band. At age 21, he was asked to join Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herds band — leading to his illustrious career.

“I hit all my major goals 10 years ago, but there is always more fun stuf beyond the horizon,” he says.

Read more about Greene’s career. northtexan.unt.edu/greene-lights

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A trio of Latino students who met through their media arts classes are now winning awards for their flms.

Founded by Brandon Rivera (’20), Emily Sanchez (’20) and David Velez (’19), Watchale — which means “to watch out” in Spanglish — is a collective that focuses on telling authentic stories through their flms, which include Rincón and Heatwave.

Their 2019 short Ladybug won Best Student Film at the Lone Star Film Festival, and The Sidewalk Artist won the Narrative Shorts Grand Jury Prize this year at Slamdance, a flm festival in Park City, Utah. The award brought them attention, and with the support of the Dallas Film Commission, they formed their own event, Film Soup, featuring flms, live entertainment and vendors in April in Dallas.

“For us, community engagement with the work is just as important as the process of making it,” Rivera says.

“That’s why we make the flms, to be more connected to people around us and express ourselves.”

Learn more. northtexan.unt.edu/ flmmaking-trio

Artis to a ‘T’

“I have every story imaginable about Willie, some are true, some are not,” Steve Brooks says.

Brooks worked for musician Willie Nelson from 1973 to 1983, creating posters and T-shirts that were featured in an exhibit this spring honoring Nelson’s 90th birthday at the UNT CoLab in downtown Denton.

Brooks, who attended North Texas from 1969 to 1971, has drawn posters for musicians since the 1970s, with his most famous work created for Nelson.

He designed the singer’s logo, with “Willie Nelson” written in rope. Some of his more famous T-shirts include one with Nelson fying an airplane shaped like his trademark tennis shoes. Brooks’ favorite T-shirt said “Premium Willie Music” with “Willie” spelled out in smoke.

“It’s what I always wanted to do — just draw and doodle and get paid for it,” he says.

Learn more. northtexan.unt.edu/artist-t

BG • MUSE

‘Breaking the Code’

Media arts graduate student Michael Flanagan captures legendary artist Vernon Fisher in new flm.

Michael Flanagan needed a subject for a flm that would serve as a thesis for his Master of Fine Arts degree in documentary production and studies.

He found it on campus when he saw an exhibition featuring the works of Vernon Fisher on display in the College of Visual Arts and Design Gallery.

Flanagan was in awe of Fisher, UNT Professor Emeritus of art and one of the leaders of post-modern painting.

Before Fisher’s death in April, Flanagan made Breaking the Code, a documentary that explores how Fisher’s work was made and the impact it had on others. The movie includes interviews from art critics and Fisher’s former students, including Jef Elrod (’90) and Baseera Khan (’05), as well as footage of Fisher painting.

Breaking the Code, which includes an original score composed by Kirsten Soriano, associate professor of composition at UNT, has been seen at several flm festivals. But he got the biggest approval from the flm’s subject.

“Vernon wasn’t somebody who would beat around the bush,” Flanagan says.

“The fact that we were able to share the flm with him and that he appreciated it is probably what I’m most proud of.” (Read Fisher’s obit on page 58.)

Learn more about the making of Breaking the Code. northtexan.unt.edu/breaking-the-code

The Art of the Matters Professors crafting new music, art inspired by events.

Three UNT professors will pursue creative research projects in the next year as the 2023-24 Institute for the Advancement of the Arts Faculty Fellows.

Quincy Davis, an associate professor of percussion in the College of Music, will create a new musical composition called Empathy Suite, which is infuenced by the confuence of two world events in 2020 — the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd. The multi-suite work will be performed by students and faculty musicians on the UNT campus.

Ana M. Lopez, an associate professor in the College of Visual Arts and Design, will explore the expressive potential of the bolo tie, its history in relation to marginalized communities and current relevance as a gender-neutral form of adornment. Through her research, she will create a new art piece and a traveling exhibition of contemporary interpretations of the bolo tie.

Priscilla Ybarra, an associate professor in the Department of English, will design a public humanities project to tell the story of Denton, emphasizing its histories from beauty to violence. Oral histories, collaborations with community groups and community meetings will help determine the narratives that will be emphasized in a community-designed performance envisioned for spring 2024.

Read more about the fellows and their projects. northtexan.unt.edu/art-matters

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CHASING DREAMS THE JAVELIN WAS BILL SCHMIDT’S WAY OUT OF COAL COUNTRY. HE HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD LEAD TO AN OLYMPIC MEDAL, AN INDUSTRY-DEFINING CAREER AT GATORADE AND MICHAEL JORDAN. TEXT BY ERIN COGSWELL PHOTO BY WILLIAM DESHAZER “Nobody will believe it.”

That was the response Bill Schmidt (’70) received when he told a friend he was writing a book about his life and career. After all, going from a coal mining camp in western Pennsylvania to courtside with Michael Jordan is a tale too good to be true.

It happened, though, and much more — medaling in the 1972 Olympics, directing sports at the World’s Fair and Olympics and basically inventing sports marketing at Gatorade. Schmidt chronicles his unlikely life and career in his new book, Southview to Gettysvue. Born in a coal camp in Southview, Pennsylvania, he was one of seven children. His twin brother Bob was his closest companion. When the twins were just 2 1/2, their coal miner father died by suicide, leaving their mother to care for the family.

Their future seemed predetermined, but Bill and Bob had no desire to follow in their father’s footsteps, so they turned to sports.

Bob chose wrestling, and Bill eventually was drawn to the javelin.

“Where you’re born determines where you start out in life, it doesn’t determine where you end up,” he says. “It’s about building dreams and having some faith and knowing what you need to do.”

“It’s not about being in the right place at the right time. It’s expanding on an opportunity that exists and growing it into something more meaning ful and results driven.”

With no javelin coach, Schmidt studied his competitors and taught himself. Despite winning district titles, he graduated with no scholarship ofers. So, he went to work, frst at a small metal and wood fabricator company and then with one of their clients.

Meanwhile, his high school track coach looked for colleges that needed a 200-foot javelin thrower. He found one at North Texas.

Schmidt moved to Denton in 1966 as a walk-on athlete. He earned a partial scholarship his sophomore year and a full scholarship as a senior. He recalled driving to competitions with his coach, Winton “Pop” Noah, and how meets became a “family afair.” He says he competed for Pop as much as for himself.

“I’ll prove myself if given the opportunity,” he says.

In college, Schmidt earned All-American status and won some of the top meets across the country. With a business administration degree in hand, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970, during the Vietnam War. He continued competing in the javelin and set numerous military records. In 1972, he competed in the Olympics in Munich, Germany, winning the bronze medal. It was

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the realization of a lifelong dream, although he didn’t think he actually could win the medal until the night before his fnal throw.

No American has medaled in the men’s javelin competition since.

Next, Schmidt earned a master’s in business education from the University of Tennessee and taught and coached around Knoxville and at the university for a few years. Then came the big break that would launch his marketing career: He was hired as sports director for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. With zero budget, he produced 23 events and ended with a $300,000 surplus.

Gatorade sponsored one of the events and that led to a marketing position. However, Schmidt was soon asked to run track and feld and boxing for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He took a leave of absence, accepted the position with no budget, and again ended with a surplus — this time, $225 million.

“It’s not about being in the right place at the right time,” he says. “It’s expanding on an opportunity that exists and growing it into something more meaningful and results driven.”

Schmidt returned to Gatorade as its frst vice president of sports marketing. In 1984, it was an $85 million brand; when he left 15 years later, it was $2 billion. He’s the reason Gatorade is synonymous with sports. He got the drink placed on sidelines — setting the stage for the famous Gatorade dunk. He’s also behind the brand’s iconic “Be Like Mike” deal with Michael Jordan.

“People think it was pretty easy to pick Michael Jordan,” he says. “Well, not at the time it wasn’t. They’d won one NBA World Championship. But the Michael Jordan deal put Gatorade and me on another level.”

Following a stint as the CEO of eyewear and apparel giant Oakley, Schmidt ran a consulting frm before retiring. Today, he lives with his yellow Lab, Sam, in the Gettysvue Golf Community in Knoxville, often speaking at the university and coaching young javelin throwers. Throughout his share of high-profle, high-pressure situations, Schmidt says building relationships has been critical, as has listening to those around him and “knowing what he didn’t know.” His advice is simple: If you’re going to dream, dream big, and if you have a dream, chase it. He also counts North Texas as responsible for his success without question.

“It provided me with the opportunities and experiences that defned who I am today,” Schmidt says. “I’m forever proud of the time I spent at UNT and forever grateful for the opportunity they gave me.”

Read more about Bill Schmidt’s time at North Texas and the Olympics. northtexan.unt.edu/chasing-dreams

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MEAN GREEN

DatCU staDiUm is the new name for the home of mean green football.

The stadium, which opened in 2011, is still relatively young, but it’s brought plenty of memories to the Mean Green nation. Game day begins with the smells of favorite foods and conversations with faithful tailgaters. As the kickof gets closer, the Green Brigade marches from Victory Hall and around The Hill to the stadium. On the feld, football players touch the Spiriki statue for luck as they head for the sidelines. Then it’s game time, with fans cheering, spirit teams leading yells and Boomer the cannon blasting after each Mean Green score.

Halftime brings the unrivaled sounds of the Green Brigade. And win or lose, the Mean Green family always ends it with, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

— Photograph by Ahna Hubnik

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MEAN GREEN

Glory to the Green Athletics notches victories and valuable partnerships

This year, the Mean Green claimed new championship titles, new coaches, a new conference and a new name for the football stadium.

The winning streak began in March with the men’s basketball team capturing the National Invitation Tournament title. (Top right, two fans enjoy the winning moment at a watch party at East Side Denton.)

In April, the women’s golf team scored its third straight Conference USA title and the polo team took home the Division I United States Polo Association Men’s National Intercollegiate Polo Championship. The softball team made it to the Conference USA fnals in May. And Bleed Green, a men’s basketball team that includes former Mean Green players, netted an appearance in the fnals of The Basketball Tournament.

Beginning this fall, all Mean Green athletics teams now compete in the prestigious American Athletic Conference. Guiding their way into the new conference are new leaders Ross Hodge, who will coach the men’s basketball team, and Jason Burton, who will lead the women’s basketball team. They join new head football coach Eric Morris and Jared Mosley, vice president and director of athletics.

DATCU Stadium is the new name for the home of Mean Green football — thanks to a naming rights and campus agreement with the fnancial institution that serves nearly a dozen Texas counties.

Founded by North Texas State College faculty members and area educators in 1936 as a credit union, DATCU will be a unique Mean Green team player in its role as the ofcial fnancial institution and exclusive credit union of UNT Athletics and the UNT Alumni Association. (Bottom right, President Neal Smatresk and Athletics Director Jared Mosley pose with DATCU ofcials, CEO Glen McKenzie and President Melanie Vest, at the celebration of the stadium name.)

Along with fnancial literacy programs for students, DATCU will provide discounted fnancial services, UNT merchandise and event tickets for faculty, staf and students.

“Our two organizations share such a rich history that we feel we can unlock greater partnerships across our campus in providing frst-class experiences and services to our students, faculty and staf,” Mosley says. “We look forward to many more years ahead as we work together to build champions and prepare leaders.”

Check out more sports news: meangreensports.com

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BG • MEAN GREEN

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MEAN GREEN Jason Burton, UNT Women’s Basketball Head Coach

Ross Hodge, UNT Men’s Basketball Head Coach

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BG • MEAN GREEN

2023 NIT Champions, UNT Men’s Basketball

2023 Conference USA Women’s Golf Championships Fall 2023 | northtexan.unt.edu | North Texan

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CLASSROOM FROM

Illustration ©2023 Dean Rohrer c/o theispot

CAREER TO

A FIRST-CLASS EDUCATION FOCUSED ON PROBLEM SOLVING AND WORKFORCE READINESS IS MORE THAN PREPARING UNT STUDENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL CAREERS — AND ALL THE LIFE HAPPENINGS ALONG THE WAY. TEXT BY CHRISTIANA FLORES | PHOTOGRAPHS BY AHNA HUBNIK ILLUSTRATIONS BY DEAN ROHRER

Above Career Coach Eric Green dispenses advice to a student.

Throughout high school, Arsalan Nazari envisioned a career in the medical feld to become a general practitioner.

From there, Nazari was accepted into the health science program at Collin College where he studied to become a certifed nursing assistant and licensed emergency medical technician. It wasn’t until he started exploring other courses that interested him while working toward his associate degree that he realized a one-size-fts-all degree didn’t ft him.

Illustration ©2023 Dean Rohrer c/o theispot

“I learned about the project design and analysis program at UNT at Frisco, and the design part really drew me in,” Nazari says. “It was small, more specialized and more hands-on. Plus, the professors were sharing real-world experiences and what I could do with the degree, which I really enjoyed learning about.”

UNT is investing in career readiness to solidify its reputation for cutting-edge programs that meet the demands of business and industry while preparing students for the careers of their dreams. In recent years, the focus has shifted from supporting students as they work toward a specifc degree to helping them design a degree they can put into action — an essential component of success in our rapidly evolving job market. Resources like academic advising to keep students on track and ensure they are getting the most out of their college experience, career coaching to help them chart a path to success and several UNT Career Centers focused on

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further developing the skills needed to land internships and jobs are key to helping students build a path from the classroom to career.

Beyond project design and analysis, other innovative degrees — such as biomedical engineering, data analytics or sports entertainment management — are at the forefront of program oferings at UNT. Students can earn a certifcate or a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree — in person or online. A variety of programs emphasize interdisciplinary and project-based learning that, when combined with career-readiness programs and resources, can be a game changer for students when they graduate.

Since 2012, UNT has produced more than 105,000 degree holders, equating to an economic impact of $5.4 billion in potential annual earnings. But UNT isn’t just working to crank out new graduates — the university also is striving to ensure students are ready for the workforce and don’t leave with unnecessary debt. Since 2014, UNT has reduced the percentage of graduates with student loan debt by almost 10%, and nearly 40% graduate today without any debt.

“As a university, we’re focused on continually improving and creating top-quality programs and adapting to the everevolving industry needs so that we can provide a strong workforce not just for today’s needs but for those of the future,” says UNT President Neal Smatresk, who has pushed initiatives such as college-embedded career coaches and “designer degrees” that help students integrate interests to create a tailored academic path.

“We strive to provide a frst class education at an afordable price.”

A CENTER TO LAUNCH DREAMS

TEXT BY JESSICA DELEÓN

A donation from Satish and Yasmin Gupta funds a new Career Center at UNT at Frisco — and empowers students on their journey.

Satish and Yasmin Gupta know how challenging college — and looking for a job — can be.

As a 19-year-old immigrant from India in the late 1970s, Yasmin Gupta was allocated $10,000 for room, board and other expenses at the University of Dallas. To earn more money, she worked full time every weekday as an assistant to the director of the philosophy department — then she would attend classes in the evening.

Her husband, Satish Gupta, was attending college with her at the same time, working multiple jobs in the library and maintenance.

Within a year after moving to the U.S., he had started making plans for his company that would become SB International Inc., a privately held steel company headquartered in Dallas. In 2005, they formed Gupta Agarwal Charitable Foundation, which contributes to organizations to advance education, public health, medical research and cultural initiatives.

UNT at Frisco students are the benefciary of their latest gift — a $3 million donation to support scholarships and establish the Satish and Yasmin Gupta Career Center at Frisco Landing, providing help to college students as they pursue their dreams.

“We had no money,” Satish Gupta says of their early days in the U.S. “So we had to just begin step by step, but with the grace of God, here we are, where we are able to give back and help out others.”

When Yasmin Gupta graduated in 1982, she faced a tight job market. She looked through newspaper ads for jobs and started calling.

She found a position at a bank and quickly climbed the ranks. In 1987, she joined a group of other Indian immigrants and founded State Bank of Texas.

The Guptas chose to help launch a career center because it would help frst-generation students and others from marginalized communities in fnding opportunities.

“The thing I am really excited about for this Career Center is that a young graduate should not feel alone when they graduate,” Yasmin Gupta says. “They should be empowered with the whole network and the staf of the university to help them get placed.”

Above The Satish and Yasmin Gupta Career Center at Frisco Landing.

Left The Gupta family celebrates the new center with President Neal Smatresk.

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Go online to fnd out more about career resources and alumni who are making the most of their careers: northtexan. unt.edu/classroom-to-career Read more about how the Career Center helps students prepare for their job hunt.

Watch a video featuring Tatiana Mendez (’22), director of ticket operations and client services for the Texas Legends basketball team, who speaks to the advantages of utilizing UNT’s career preparation services.

“Insead of jus going into it blindly, UNT does a great job at providing these resources for us so we’re ready.”

—Arsalan Nazari Senior Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences major

Learn how internships helped Amira Linson (’23) get a foothold in the fashion industry.

Learn how alumni launched their careers, from meal delivery services to software engineering. Read up on Oluwakolapo ‘Tobi’ Smith (’17 M.S.), Obianuju Okafor (’19 M.S., ’22 Ph.D.), Pamela Garmon Johnson (’91) and Elizabeth Kilmer (’17 M.S., ’20 Ph.D.).

Photo by Leo Gonzalez

DESIGNING DEGREES

Illustration ©2023 Dean Rohrer c/o theispot

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Listening to student interests and working to understand the ever-evolving demands of industry, UNT constantly searches for ways to drive new and imaginative programs that support a dynamic workforce while incorporating students’ passions.

Programs like project design and analysis, housed at UNT at Frisco, give students opportunities to gain real-world experience and project management skills to face complex challenges in any industry.

Now in his third year of the program, Nazari’s journey to a degree has been as eclectic as his interests. His major?

A Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences with a focus in applied project design and analysis with a concentration in graphic design and a specialty in health studies.

UNT’s career readiness programs are giving him the skills and resources to transform his degree into a roadmap for career success.

Nazari has taken advantage of many of the career resources ofered at UNT at Frisco.

“They’re really great at ofering help along the way

— a class, or even just a meeting to talk with someone about planning for the job market, getting my resume or cover letter ready, or looking for internships,” he says.

“Instead of just going into it blindly, UNT does a great job at providing these resources for us so we’re ready.”

The accelerated program proved to make the biggest diference. Through the program, students focus on real-world problems. Nazari was able to work with the Army and Airforce Exchange Service (AAFES), which provides merchandise and services to active duty, Guard and Reserve members, military retirees and their families at competitively low prices.

“We were given the opportunity to innovate and enhance current channels they ofer, and we noticed they didn’t really have a fully functional app,” he says.

Through the project of optimizing their shopping application to be more user-friendly and intuitive for consumers, he was able to combine two of his interests: technology and design. Nazari and a team of his classmates researched and prototyped a new, more functional app model, collaborating regularly with the leadership and development team from AAFES, including Marissa Carpenter, general merchandise manager and vice president of merchandising. During the meetings, they would share progress and research, and implement feedback from Carpenter and her team.

The new, intuitive and modern app design Nazari and the rest of the project team developed impressed the company so much, engineers at AAFES launched the app for consumer use this summer.

“That was a really awesome experience, and to know your design and work is going to be used with such a large company and customer base — that’s really exciting,” he says.

Brandon Williams (’23), associate project manager at McKesson, is another alumnus of the project design and analysis program who benefted from its unique oferings.

“Project-based learning was a key component that inspired me to look for programs like this,” he says. “Part of my reason for going to college was to learn things I could use in my career, and that instantly sold me. The rest was history.”

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES Across campus, UNT community members are continually creating opportunities for students.

At UNT’s G. Brint Ryan College of Business, the Wilson Jones Career Center is opening this fall to provide even more access and support for students in one of the largest business schools in the nation. Funded by a $5 million donation by former Oshkosh CEO and Denton native Wilson Jones (’85) and his wife, Jane Jones, the

center will focus on internship opportunities that give students the experience and networking opportunities they need to land their frst job.

“Jane and I were both frst-generation students and realize the importance of being prepared to start the career journey. We’re proud to support a robust career center and know it will make a diference for UNT students,” Wilson Jones says.

At UNT at Frisco, a $3 million gift from Satish and Yasmin Gupta established the Satish and Yasmin Gupta Career Center at UNT at Frisco, designed to provide scholarships and programs for cutting-edge research and expanding opportunities to help prepare students for a dynamic and challenging workforce.

Satish Gupta is founder, president and CEO of SB International Inc. and, along with his wife, Yasmin Gupta, leveraged the success of their business to invest in and support organizations in the Dallas area. (Read more about the gift and the generous Gupta family’s philanthropic history on page 35.)

“In the hospitality program I learned you have to be a person who cares about people, who cares about the way people enjoy things. Those lessons have sayed with me.”

—‘Tobi’ Smith (’17 M.S.), co-founder of Adùn, a mealdelivery service that specializes in Nigerian food

Photo by JC Visualz

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“I’m an advocate, I fght for the voiceless. Many who have power are making the decisions when they have no frame of reference or lived experience.”

—Pamela Garmon Johnson (’91), vice president of health equity and national partnerships at the American Heart Association

Photo by SumerLens

“Through our academic preparation and support services, we’re ensuring our students have the resources they need to succeed, especially our frst-generation students who may not have the same support as their peers and the parental understanding of how fast the world is changing,” Smatresk says.

Alumni of UNT’s College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism are demonstrating their skills on an international stage.

After twice earning both the PVH Fashion Forward Scholarship and the Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship in 2021 and 2023, alumna Amira Linson (’23) landed a summer internship in France with the luxury fashion brand Loewe. The scholarships were presented via the Fashion Scholarship Fund, the nation’s foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonproft organization. UNT is among FSF’s 72 accredited member schools in the United States and Canada.

As part of her work, Linson supported the company’s digital marketing eforts and introduced members of its social media team to celebrity

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attendees at its Paris Fashion Week runway shows.

“Seeing how the show comes together in the weeks and months before and during production and postproduction was interesting,” says Linson, who points to the CMHT curriculum’s emphasis on collaborative learning as “one of the things that has helped me to stand out and be able to work efectively within the industry, because the fashion industry is full of group projects.”

COACHING SERVICES Students also fnd plenty of support at the UNT Career Center, which provides opportunities for students and alumni to identify and communicate their transferable skills developed through academic work, leadership, community engagement and other life experiences.

Through the Career Center, UNT’s nearly 47,000 students explore potential career paths with personalized guidance from dozens of career coaches embedded in each of UNT’s 14 colleges and schools across 244 academic programs.

It also houses an employee relations team that works with companies actively trying to recruit, coordinating employer visits to campus, career fairs, interviews and internships. In addition, a student employment team handles training, hiring and equipping students to make sure the students are maximizing their roles.

The Career Center ofers access to jobs, internships and graduate school guidance, as well as help with resumes, interviews and other aspects of the job search. Instructional materials and networking experiences also are available to students throughout their time at UNT and beyond.

“Things like resumes and interviews can be intimidating for students,” says Eric Green, a career coach in the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism.

“Using the Career Center can help with that and boost their confdence so they’re prepared.”

Students also often need help discovering how to turn their passion into a successful career. The Career Center helps more than 25,000 students each year do just that.

That’s where UNT senior Naphtaliy Alexander turned for help his sophomore year when he found himself unsure

Illustration ©2023 Dean Rohrer c/o theispot

about his history major.

“I loved history, but when I came to UNT, I wasn’t sure I had made the right choice for my major. I learned more about it and what I could do with it,” says Alexander, who always has been so enamored with history that he would eagerly learn historical facts and write essays on major world events in his free time — even as a grade-school student. “I also learned how networking could help and how to communicate better with people I didn’t know.”

The Career Center helped him become confdent, proactive and prepared for the job market.

“They got me a job shadowing opportunity in the UNT Music Library. I learned a lot about cataloging, making books, restoring books. They gave me a full day in the life working there. It was fun and something I could see myself doing in my career,” he says.

The guidance provided by the Career Center team is especially benefcial to frst-generation students who may not have family support while they transition from college to the workforce.

“You have someone who truly cares and wants you to succeed,” says Dee Wilson, a career coach in UNT’s College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism. “A lot of these frst-gen students have challenges to even get to school. Knowing they have someone to advocate for them, I hope that helps them to succeed — and even excel.”

UNT College of Engineering “introduced me to the concept of accessibility in programming environments, why it matters and how to achieve it. The more I got into it and realized its impact, the more passionate I became.”

—Obianuju Okafor (’19 M.S., ’22 Ph.D.), software engineer at Microsoft

Photo courtesy of Obianuju Okafor

FUTURE PROOFING “Part of what we’re looking at is trying to understand where the indusry is … and trying to improve the health of the gaming landscape because we know games can be a phenomenal way to build community.”

—Elizabeth Kilmer (’17 M.S., ’20 Ph.D.), licensed clinical psychologist who uses gaming to help clients

With industry workforces evolving faster than ever before, more advanced artifcial intelligence coming into play and an increasingly dynamic — and demanding — job market, UNT strives to remain competitive for today’s industry and business needs while ensuring students have the experiences necessary for their future.

UNT strives to proactively meet the needs of students so they have successful careers — and, ultimately, are successful in life.

As Nazari enters his fnal year at UNT, he is excited and confdent about graduating and transitioning to a career he loves, working in user experience or user interface design for either a medium-sized business in the Dallas area or with a larger company such as Apple or Google.

His advice for other UNT students?

“Schedule that meeting with your college’s career coach. Attend a job fair. No matter how many good ideas you have, only the ones that you put into action will have a lasting efect in your life.”

Photo by Elizabeth Kilmer

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RESEARCH ON THE NANOSCALE text by Heather Noel

Through the highpowered instruments in UNT’s Materials Research Facility — one of the most advanced university research facilities in the nation for materials analysis — faculty members and students from physics to photography are analyzing materials on the atomic- and macrolength scales.

Their work is helping them gain new perspectives on the relationship between humans and nature, nanomedicine, renewable energy and electronics. Enjoy a few photographs and learn more about a handful of research projects that require investigation on the nanoscale.

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D

ornith Doherty, University Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Studio Art, drew inspiration from nature and humanity’s relationship to it for the highly magnifed scanning electron microscope image of phylloxera galls — an insect pest of commercial grapevines — on the previous page. That photo and the one of native grapevine roots (right) are photos in series of stills featured in Doherty’s Roundabout (Circuition), on display earlier this year at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, California. The art installation explores American native grapes’ role in rescuing European viticulture from a blight caused by phylloxera galls. It includes a two-channel video projection of wild and domestic grapevines and roots, along with metal panels displaying the magnifed images of the insect pest printed in a lustrous sepia tone — as a nod to the mid-19th century when photography was invented and the phylloxera blight occurred. “This exhibition brings to light the underlying socio-cultural and environmental questions present when considering human entanglement with botanical biodiversity, and more specifcally, the role of agrobiodiversity in cultivating grapes for wine,” Doherty says.

T

hese thin, tubed nanostructures shown here could hold immense potential for biomedical applications. They are created through a process called self-assembly, facilitated by a small peptide molecule known as diphenylalanine. In her nanomedicine laboratory, Neda Habibi, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is taking a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the applications of these nanotubes, which show promise as drug delivery carriers, specifcally for encapsulating potent anticancer drugs. “By placing these drugs within the nanostructures, they could be efectively transported and targeted to breast cancer cells,” Habibi says. “This targeted delivery system could enhance the efcacy of treatment while minimizing potential side efects.” Additionally, these self-assembled peptides possess the capacity to form 3D networks that can support the growth and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a type of cell in bone marrow that provides the building block for restoring skeletal tissues. This unique characteristic makes them valuable tools for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, as they ofer an optimal environment for the development and diferentiation of MSCs into various cell types.

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R

esearchers in Professor Jingbiao Cui’s Department of Physics lab are fabricating nanowires and nanotubes for possible use in electronic and photonic devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), photodetectors and solar energy harvesting. The transmission electron microscopy image of nanobarcodes with added green and red hues (right) is formed using silicon nanotubes flled with an isolated organic material. “Due to the reduced dimensions, the organic material is expected to have diferent functionalities as compared to the nanowires, thin layers or bulk materials,” Cui says. “We’re working to further the understanding of these nanowires and their potential for being applied in electronics and technologies in the future.”

Cui’s research has garnered more than $20 million in external grants from federal and state agencies. His current research on organic nanowires is supported by the National Science Foundation.

T

he series of images out of Xiao Li’s lab illustrates the manipulation of asymmetric porous nanostructures in thin flm, which can be used as an anti-refective coating to enhance light transmission through glass. Li, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, focuses her research on nanostructure design including the self-assembly of softer materials such as polymers, liquid crystals and elastomers. In this project, her team is exploring gradual changes in the properties of these nanostructures to better understand the fundamental principles of how they can be changed for new applications in the future. “The resulting nanostructural polymer flm can be utilized to mimic moth eyes or squid eyes for achieving optical functionality,” Li says. “We believe this flm we produce could serve as a template to sculpt other classes of materials, such as metal or semiconductors.”

FPO caption Ovitiatur aut quaturest, audae prehen imus ium ntifuscicle ma niclae dom tricepult ancietruim.

Insi 44 North Texan | northtexan.unt.edu | Fall 2023

Left Revive 365 – which includes (from the left to right) Josh, Jose, Cameron and Sarah – celebrates their victory on presentation night.

ide O

IN THIS CLASS, INCARCERATED PEOPLE ON A CHILLY APRIL NIGHT, a group of UNT students enter the Bridgeport Correctional Center.

AND UNT STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER TO LEARN ABOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE They line up to sign in and get badges before they are patted down by correctional officers and walk through SYSTEM — AND EACH OTHER. the metal detector.

Text by Jessica DeLeÓn Photographs by Ahna Hubnik & Leo Gonzalez

After they wait in the hallway for clearance, they enter the program hall and greet classmates dressed in regulation beige uniforms — shaking hands with them before the three-hour class starts.

The class is part of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, in which students from UNT attend class with the incarcerated people in the minimum-security prison each week. Led by Haley Zettler (’09 M.S.), associate professor of criminal justice, the UNT students have discovered more about the workings of their future professions and the inside students say they have a new sense of value and purpose.

“It’s more than you can expect as an instructor,” Zettler says. “For some people, it can really mean a shift in how they see themselves.”

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Jose, an inside student with a talkative, friendly manner, says he feels sad when he sees the clock ticking down to when the class ends. “It’s the highlight of my week,” he says. “I’ll be honest, I enjoy feeling like a regular person.

The system — they dehumanize you. To me, it’s a joy working with people who make me feel good.”

FROM ANXIOUS TO AMAZING On the frst day of class, things are usually awkward.

The students sit in a circle and participate in a “wagon wheel” — an icebreaker in which they complete a sentence about themselves, such as “My superpower would be …” Every time, Zettler thinks it won’t work.

By the second rotation, everyone is laughing at each other’s answers.

“This goes from uncomfortable anxiety to, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be amazing,’” she says. Zettler, a former probation ofcer for Denton County who earned her master’s in criminal justice at UNT, read an NPR article about Inside-Out, which began at Temple University and has 150 participating institutions across the country. The program was the frst of its kind in the state of Texas and has reached prisons around the world.

Zettler notes that education can reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for incarcerated people when they are released from prison.

MAKE A DONATION She frst led the program when she TO INSIDE-OUT: taught at the University of Memphis, Go to one.unt.edu/criminal-justice and she saw how it helped students and select “Inside-Out Program” to understand the justice system from help fund books and other needs. another angle. When she interviewed at UNT, she told the hiring committee she wanted to bring Inside-Out to ONLINE EXTRAS: their criminal justice students. After View a slideshow of pictures from delays due to COVID-19, the program presentation and graduation nights, was implemented in fall 2022. and watch Associate Professor of The inside students must have a Criminal Justice Haley Zettler high school diploma or GED, no major (’09 M.S.) discuss the possible disciplinary infractions and a projected release date after the class ends. Zettler connections between childhood interviews them before they are accepted. trauma and substance use in “We stay away from what they did,” justice-impacted populations as Zettler says, adding that they never part of UNT’s know what crime the inside students The Lab series at committed. northtexan.unt.edu/ They meet in a program hall with its white walls, patriotic murals and inside-out. row of vending machines. It looks like any other meeting place except for a wired enclosure outside the window.

During the sessions, the students pass around a small stufed animal — Lucky the albino squirrel, UNT’s legendary good luck charm — that designates when it is

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a student’s turn to speak as they sit in a circle, alternating between inside and outside students.

Each week focuses on a diferent topic, with an interactive or scenario-based project. One week, they discuss the many parts of the criminal justice system, exploring each organization’s mission statement and goals. They talk about restorative justice and victimization. They take part in a reentry simulation, in which they perform a task every 10 minutes, representing a week, for an hour and a half. Tasks include getting their birth certifcates and identifcation and Social Security cards, fnding a job, paying rent, getting transportation, working, reporting to a parole ofcer, taking drug tests and applying for public benefts.

The inside students, many of whom don’t have visitors or family who see them, receive a report card and certifcate upon completion of the class. One inside student was so proud of his certifcate that he had his girlfriend take it with her because he didn’t want it to get damaged.

Zettler received an email from another girlfriend of an inside student about how much the graduation ceremony meant to them both. As part of the event, the couple got to eat their frst meal together in 30 years. “I started, like, bawling,” Zettler says. “This is why we’re doing this.”

PRESENTATION NIGHT For three weeks, the students separated into groups to work on their ideas for a reentry program. Tonight, they will give their presentations while a Shark Tank-style group of judges chooses the best one.

The groups outline their ideas — featured on a posterboard — for a program that would help incarcerated people make the adjustment to living on their own. They ofer car services, insurance and other stipends. One group recommends the online clothing service Stitch Fix, since incarcerated people won’t have any clothes and it’s hard for them to travel, and a “ready bag” flled with items such as shampoo and a razor.

They address gaps, such as pairing them with mentors since many lack connections and may fall back into old bad habits. Many suggest mental health and wellness programs, and other ways to assist them with technology.

After each presentation, other inside and outside students raise their hands and grill them with questions.

Zettler questions one group about their high budget. “I like your optimism, it’s just the realities,” she says.

When the judges are ready to announce the winner, the students all drum their tables. The winner is team Revive 365, which dreamed of big corporate partners and provided bus passes and wellness services for a smooth transition into society.

Sarah, a senior sociology major, says they won because they talked about funding. But Jose likes to give himself

credit. “We had really good speakers,” he says. “I got that commanding, very powerful voice.”

It’s these types of sessions that teach the UNT students what their future careers could be like. Alexis (’23), a criminal justice major, says she was nervous at frst, but the inside students became her friends. “I became very proud of the major I chose,” Alexis says, noting it allows her to focus on meaningful issues. “They tell us, ‘You can advocate for us.’”

Haley, a junior criminal justice major who wants to be a police ofcer, says the program made her see diferent viewpoints. “I think how easy it is to end up in jail,” she says, but as an ofcer she would “take an extra second and think.”

Jef, an inside student with a long white beard, says he learned about restorative justice. “I know I want to give back to the community, and it made me realize how much I took for granted.” Working with the students, he says, “I felt more of a human.”

Right Haley Zettler (’09 M.S.), associate professor of criminal justice, in her ofce at UNT. Below Inside and outside students work together on presentation night.

THE POWER OF EDUCATION A week later, a long table is lined up with chicken fngers, tamales, sheet cake with green frosting, cookies and gallons of tea and lemonade. It’s graduation night.

The presentation begins with inside students Antwan and Tom performing a song Tom wrote, “Story’s Told.” “It allowed me to think about our books, our chapters,” Tom tells the crowd before he sings, “It’s not what you have, it’s who you got, a chapter of healing from inside out/From the inside out, the story’s told.”

During the ceremony, a group of inside and outside students speak about their experiences. Deanna remembers her frst time driving to the prison. “I was kind of terrifed, reading all those rules,” she says. But she recalls the fun conversations she had with others.

“I never expected to leave the building talking about tarot cards and palm reading,” she says. “I was never afraid to be myself. This class forces you to look at vices you hold yourself.”

Joseph, an inside student, notes that one student, Raji (’23), has been accepted to Georgetown Law School and another, Sarah, wants to work in mental health. “I hope that you keep helping make the system better,” he says.

Taylor, a junior criminal justice major, says she would always get a negative reaction when she told friends she wanted to be a defense attorney. “To the inside guys,” she says, “I don’t have to search for the good. It’s right there in front of me.” She begins tearing up as she addresses the individual inside students and their attributes — Jeff and his warm smile; Will, who says crickets taste like popcorn. The inside students tell the

outside students their favorite songs, the dogs they want when they get out and what their lives will look like.

The chaplain presents the certifcates, which are enclosed in a black folder. One inside student grabs a tissue after accepting a certificate. Jose raises his arm, “Yeah!” Will struts up to get his certifcate with a big grin on his face. “Obviously, our class clown,” Zettler says.

Zettler then speaks, noting the change from the palpable tension on the frst day to the friendliness of the last day.

“It has reinforced my beliefs in the power of education,” she says.

The ceremony ends with inside students Antwan and Deryl singing, and then the class members eat together with their guests. After the guests leave, the students gather together for one last wagon wheel. “That’s how they met, that’s how they say goodbye,” Zettler says.

“This time it was flled with tears. It comes full circle.”

They know they will likely never see each other again.

The inside students return to their cells. The UNT students rejoin the world.

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EN

Ellie Breaux (’23) is the latest in a line of UNT students and alumni who have won high-profle pageant titles. The reigning Miss Texas and business major is focused on her platform of working to make communities safer as she prepares to compete for the Miss America 2024 crown. Read more at northtexan.unt.edu/crowning-achievement. (Photo by Twila Muzzi)

E AG L ES ’ N E S T

Miss Texas 2023 Ellie Breaux talks about UNT’s long line of pageant winners, advice for incoming students and why she loves UNT.

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EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

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 nes. Send your news to the North Texan at northtexan@unt.edu.

1961

RETHA BOND and CLYDE G. BOND (’62), Gainesville, have been married for 63 years. Retha taught art for Gainesville and Pasadena ISDs and Clyde taught science and coached for Gainesville and Lufin ISDs and then served as principal at Friendswood ISD. When her parents were going to sell their Sanders Jewelry business in Gainesville in 1974, the couple started a new adventure as entrepreneurs.

Retha continued teaching at North Central Texas College and private classes. The Mean Green tradition continues with daughter Gena Bond Thurman (’89), also a teacher; her husband, Kenny Thurman (’88), who works for Red Wing Shoe Company; and granddaughter Jessica Thurman (’15), a teacher.

1967

KIT WILSON, Seattle, directed his 11th flm, Kola, a Native American fantasy. After retiring from a Los Angeles ad agency, he worked as a screenwriter and flm producer/ director of flms. He has written the book Falls City and another 10 feature screenplays.

1972

MAURY FORMAN, Seattle, received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Economic Development from the International Economic Development Council.

1975

MARLENE BRANNON MUDGE (’77 M.M.), Taft, California, received the 2022 Hall of Fame Award for Lifetime Achievement from the California Music Educators Association. She retired from the Taft City School District as a band/choir teacher.

1977 SHIRLEY KRUG MCKAMIE,

Kirksville, Missouri, was named to the emeriti music faculty of Truman State University following a 25-year career teaching piano and upper-level research courses in the philosophy of music. As a piano major, she studied with artist-in-residence Stefan Bardas, and in his performance class she met David McKamie (’77, ’79 M.A.), her husband of 45 years. Their son, Alex McKamie (’22 D.M.A.) teaches violin at Texas Woman’s University.

1983

BEN MARTIN, Dallas, was selected for D Magazine’s 2022 Best Lawyers in Dallas edition. He is the owner of Ben Martin Law Group.

1983

BRIDGET BARRY THIAS (’94 M.J., ’06 M.L.S.), Dallas, has worked as manager of the medical library for Scottish Rite Hospital for Children since December 2018. She is a peer reviewer for The Journal of the Medical Library Association and is on the editorial board of Marketing Libraries Journal.

DOG TALES As a student at UNT, Amy Shank Fiala (’04) took her Great Dane, Kya, with her everywhere, from the greenspace near the Art Building to the foor of Lucky Lou’s.

Now she runs Game Time Dog Services, a dog walking and pet sitting business in Austin. It boasts its own spin-of, A Wedding Tail, in which she and other employees look after pets during weddings – inspired by when she included Kya in her own ceremony.

“I feel like I’m never done learning. I’m a person who never stops. If I hit a goal, I want to set a new one,” says Fiala, a radio, television and flm alum.

She currently has a companion, Bette Davis, an American bulldog. Kya has passed away, but she is not forgotten.

“I have her ashes,” Fiala says. “When my time comes to an end and I go in the dirt, she’s going with me.”

— Jessica DeLeón

Read the full story. northtexan. unt.edu/dog-tales

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

legacy family

A Golden leGAcy

IN MARCH 1970, SAMUEL P. GOLDEN (’74) a recent high school graduate, faced the enviable decision of choosing a college. Multiple schools in Texas and even Stanford University had offered him scholarships. But first, he wanted to meet with a representative from each College of Business.

Only North Texas honored his request. His three-hour visit with fnance professor Nabil Aboufadel proved to be a pivotal moment. This encounter marked the beginning of a remarkable family legacy of unwavering support for the Mean Green, with both of Golden’s daughters eventually graduating from UNT. “While other choices would have undoubtedly provided me with an excellent education, none could have equaled the fulflling opportunity I found at UNT,” Golden refected.

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Golden’s college years included playing as an ofensive guard for the football team.

After graduating with a degree in banking and fnance, he worked at the U.S. Ofce of the Comptroller of the Currency over the next 34 years. After retiring, he founded Alvarez & Marsal Financial Industry Advisory Services LLC and serves as managing director and senior advisor for the frm.

Golden’s contributions to UNT extend far beyond his time as a student. He is a member of the Chilton Society, UNT Foundation Board

of Directors, the 1890 Society and the UNT Alumni Association. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013 and was inducted into the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Hall of Fame in 2019.

His daughters are also lifetime members of the UNT Alumni Association. Jaclyn Golden Malone (‘06) and Janna Golden Reed (‘11) followed in the footsteps of their father, who took up golf at age 36, by joining the UNT women’s golf team. Malone, now associate vice president at The Scion Group Advisory Services, made history in 2002 as the frst Black golfer to represent UNT. “My dad often talked about the fond memories of his time at UNT,” she says. “I was proud to carry on the tradition.”

For Reed, an early childhood educator, playing golf for UNT was an unequivocal choice. When the new golf facility opened in 2021, she made sure to bring her eldest son to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Being an athlete is the best memory I have from attending UNT, and I wanted to share this with my son,” Reed explains.

In 2021, UNT established the biennial Samuel P. Golden Collegiate Invitational Women’s Golf Tournament in honor of the family, with the most recent one taking place this September.

The Goldens support the team through annual operating contributions and an endowed scholarship.

“The least we can do is try to make the path a little easier for these ladies who play the sport that I love and my daughters love,” Golden says. “It’s simply a joy to do it.”

— Erin Cogswell

EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

1985

GILBERT GERST, Dallas, is manager of BOK Financial’s Community Development Banking group. He has been a banker for 35 years, 10 of which have been at BOK. He has served on the boards of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, the State Fair of Texas and the Dallas Black COVID-19 Task Force.

1991

AMY LOCKE, San Francisco, was named vice president of human resources at Adicet Bio, a clinical stage biotechnology company. Amy previously was at Allakos and also held positions at Natera, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech and InterMune.

1992

CHARLES BRYAN DAWSON (Ph.D.), Jackson, Tennessee, published his single-variable calculus textbook, Calculus Set Free: Infnitesimals to the Rescue. A professor of mathematics at Union University and a citizen of Cherokee Nation, he has been active in mathematics organizations for three decades.

1992

JAMES PARSONS (Ph.D.), Springfeld, Missouri, earned the rank of distinguished professor of music at Missouri State University, where he has taught since 1995. He previously taught at UNT and the University of Missouri at Columbia. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Senior Fulbright Research Fellowship.

1995

ROSILAND DAVIS, Texarkana, completed the Leadership Women America 2021 class. She previously served on the Liberty-Eylau ISD Board of Trustees.

1998

SCOTT BLANCHETTE (M.S.), Nashville, Tennessee, was inducted into the 2022 CIO Hall of Fame for outstanding information technology leaders. Currently the chairman and CEO of the Greenbrier Group Inc., he previously served as chief information ofcer for Healthways, Vanguard Health Systems, Kindred Healthcare, myNEXUS and Compassus. He met his wife, Colleen Hammett Blanchette (’99), at UNT.

1999

STEPHANIE BAIRD (M.S.), Granby, Massachusetts, released the book EMDR Therapy and Sexual Health: A Clinician’s Guide, which helps EMDR clinicians teach their clients who have survived sexual trauma to achieve empowered sexual health through eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. She runs a psychotherapy private practice in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

2000

JOSEPH T. SPANIOLA (D.M.A.), Pensacola, Florida, received a silver medal from the Global Music Awards in the Classical Composition/ Composer category for his composition Uplifted (Wind Ensemble).

His work, Thomas Jeferson: Life Lines (Orchestra and Voices), was honored as a fnalist for the 2020-2021 American Prize in Composition in Orchestra division, and Lincoln’s Lamp was honored as a fnalist in the same competition in the Pops/Light Music division.

2001

JASON MEYER, Irving, is president of Cooksey Communications, a strategic communications frm that he acquired along with partner

CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH Jarred Howard (’95) had a calling.

He wanted a site that would celebrate Juneteenth — and accurately refect the passion and culture of the Historic Southside neighborhood in Fort Worth, his hometown. Now he is CEO of the National Juneteenth Museum, which will commemorate the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned that they were free, two-anda-half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Howard, a marketing alum, was working on this vision while maintaining a career in various corporations.

After planning the museum, which is expected to open in 2025, he’s grateful to see the project become reality.

“It’s exciting to know we are building a space where all Juneteenth can be housed and promoted and refected on,” he says.

— Jessica DeLeón Read more. northtexan.unt.edu/ celebrating-juneteenth

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CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

and CEO Colby Walton. Jason joined Cooksey in 2011 after working in various positions in politics. He served on the board of the logistics program for the G. Brint Ryan College of Business, and as account leader for the UNT at Frisco branch campus launch.

2001

RODRIGO VILLANUEVACONROY (’01, ’03 M.M.), DeKalb, Illinois, received the Fulbright Award with residency in Brazil for teaching and researching his project, “Brazilian Rhythms: Cracking the Afro-Brazilian Rhythmic Code.” He is a full professor at Northern Illinois University, where he directs the NIU Jazz Ensemble.

2002

CARA-LEE MOFFAT ALFORD (’02 M.S.), Mesa, Arizona, was named the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Buckley Space Force Base Military Spouse of the Year and was a fnalist for the Space Force branch.

Her husband, Brandon Alford (’00, ’03 M.S.), has served more than 18 years in the military with both the Air Force and Space Force. Cara-Lee, who has two sons with autism, volunteers with the organization Exceptional Families of the Military.

2002

LEIZA DOLGHIH, Dallas, opened the law frm Dolghih Law Group PLLC. While at UNT, she was captain of the moot court team.

2003 RUSSELL S. MCQUISTON,

Fort Worth, was appointed to the state’s Private Sector Advisory Council. Russell is director of Security and Emergency Services at the Fort Worth and Greenville, South Carolina, Integrated Fighter Group for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company. At UNT, he was a Mean Green football team letterman.

2005

JEF SEVENKER, Coralville, Iowa, self-published the children’s book A Duck Named Jack. His frst book, it was published under the pen name Jef Karena. He has been writing since age 10. While attending UNT, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega.

2005

BRIAN L. SHARP, Acuña, Mexico, provides counseling and clinical supervision services online for clients who identify as LGBTQ. A frstgeneration college student, he holds several certifcations and is a national certifed counselor with the National Board for Certifed Counselors.

2006

DUSTIN GERSTENFIELD (’11 M.Ed.), Nashua, New Hampshire, ran the 126th Boston Marathon to raise money for Massachusetts Bay Community College’s Student Hunger Assistance Fund. He is a PeopleSoft business analyst at MassBay, where he has worked since 2017.

2006

AARON SCHRAYER, Lewisville, practices orthopedic surgery at Orthopedic Associates in Flower Mound and Denton. A team physician for Flower Mound High School, his father is Roger Schrayer (’81) and his sister is Ashley Schrayer Barraza (’03).

2007

MARCI GOLDBERG, Silver Spring, Maryland, was recognized as the 2021 Girls on the Run of Montgomery County (Maryland) Volunteer of the Year. She has been a Girls on the Run coach since 2016, while racing and training for triathlons and marathons.

2007

CARRIE SCARR (M.S.), Des Moines, Iowa, is a writer, illustrator

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LIVING HISTORY When Amanda Cobb-Greetham (’93 M.S.) received a box of her grandmother’s belongings, she says, “It made me feel like I was reaching through time and touching the past.”

It led Cobb-Greetham to help build Native American Studies in academia.

The communications studies alum has written one award-winning book and is at work on another. She led the launch of the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma. This year, she received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and was inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame.

“People in the Chickasaw Hall of Fame – whatever they did was what they needed at that particular time,” the University of Oklahoma professor says. “There was very little written or public history about the Chickasaw people. That was how I stepped up in my lifetime. Everybody has talent and everybody has a way to contribute.”

— Jessica DeLeón

Read the full story. northtexan. unt.edu/cobb-greetham

EN • CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

Mean Green Pride

and YouTuber who published the book Frugal Ways to Save the Planet, which ofers small and cost-efective changes to fght climate change.

2007

1

SARAH TREANOR, Akron, Ohio, hosted a solo exhibition of her photographic series “Still, Life: A Photographic Journey Through Grief,” a project in response to the 2012 death of her fancé, at Up Front Art Space in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

2008

CHARLES HANSEN, San Mateo, California, is chief program ofcer at Peninsula Family Service in San Mateo. He previously served as chief executive ofcer and executive director of YMCAs in Michigan and Nebraska and was executive director of Boys and Girls Clubs of America in Dallas-Fort Worth.

2012

2

1

ABOUT 30 UNT ALUMNI attended the frst meeting of the UNT Taiwan Alumni Association in June in Taipei. Led

by Junnenan Lu (’87), the chapter plans to serve as a contact point for alumni in Taiwan and abroad and meet up for events.

2 BRYANT D. MARION, director of

development for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, enjoyed the UNT Advancement barbecue with his grandson, Koah, then 6 months old, in June.

3

3

TIM BURKE (’19) GOT TO SEE THE NATION — including the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco — while serving as swing lighting/audio technician for the touring production of Fiddler on the Roof earlier this year. The technical theatre major visited 30 cities over two months. “It was an incredible learning experience, and I was honored to help backstage and be a part of this beautiful show and production that’s still relevant today,” he says. He also worked as lighting electrician for Disney On Ice in 2022 and spotlight operator for Medieval Times in Dallas from 2021 to 2022.

ARIANNA SMITH, Dallas, was added as an attorney at Brousseau Naftis & Massingill. She previously served as a staf attorney at the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) and as a litigator in private practice.

2012

SPENCER SPEED, Houston, joined the law frm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner as an associate. He previously worked at Houssiere, Durant, Houssiere LLP.

2013

ZAKIYAH JOHNSON, Frisco, launched The Flourish Tribe LLC, a program for Christian coaching, alongside co-founder Kirtna Charavda, who attended UNT from 2003 to 2005. While at UNT, Zakiyah served as president of NT40, vice president of the Coalition of Black Organizations (now the Black Student Union), and

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ALUMNI EVENTS Catch up with your fellow alumni at these events sponsored by the UNT Alumni Association. You can fnd more information at untalumni.com/events.

1 | GAMEDAY GRILLES: Enjoy light food, a cash bar and live music two hours before every Mean Green football home game Oct. 14, Oct. 28, Nov. 4 and Nov. 25 at the Alumni Pavilion.

The events are free for all guests, with no membership requirement.

2 | TAILGATING: If you’re traveling to the Mean Green’s away games, join your fellow alumni for tailgating when they face Tulane Oct. 21 in New Orleans and Southern Methodist University Nov. 10 in Dallas.

3 | HOMECOMING: Outstanding alumni will be honored at the UNT Alumni Awards at 6 p.m.

Oct. 25. Buy tickets at untalumni. com/alumni-awards. Join alumni at the bonfre at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Alumni Pavilion. The game will take place Oct. 28.

At UNT, some graduates get more than a degree.

They also form friendships that last a lifetime.

If you’re still in touch with your pals from your college days, we want to know more about it for a possible story. Email us at northtexan@unt.edu.

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senator for the College of Arts and Sciences in the Student Government Association.

2014

ALLY HANY ALBRECHT, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded the position of jazz trumpet instrumentalist with the U.S. Navy Commodores Jazz Ensemble. The frst female jazz trumpet player to serve in the band, she previously served with the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West at Travis Air Force Base in California. At UNT, she was a member of the One O’Clock Lab Band.

2014

DEBBIE KRUENEGEL-FARR (Ph.D.), Weare, New Hampshire, wrote the parenting book E.N.R.I.C.H. Your Relationship With Your Child, which incorporates aspects of what she learned while pursuing her graduate academic certifcate in parent education and her Ph.D. in educational research - human development and family studies at UNT.

2016

JULIAN CHALON, Columbus, Georgia, works at Columbus State University as an adjunct professor of guitar and an audio technician in its recording studio.

He also plays guitar and bass for the group Wolf & Clover, which specializes in Celtic Roots music and released its second album, twelvemonth and a day.

2016

AMANDA EKERY, Brooklyn, earned an Inaugural Chamber Music America’s Performance Plus Award that funded her third album, Some (more) Short Songs, which followed the release of Keys With No Purpose and Some Short Songs.

2017

LANDON DICKESON (M.S.), Aubrey, is director of clinical services and executive director of Ranch Hands Rescue, a sanctuary for special needs farm animals and counseling center for traumatized youth, and Bob’s House of Hope, the frst safe house in the United States for young men who have been sex trafcked.

2018

GRAYSON MIDDLETON Colombia, serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia in the community economic development sector, working in cooperation with local community and partner organizations on sustainable development projects.

2019

WASHIMA HUQ (M.B.A.), Arlington, executive director of the Texas Trust Gives Foundation, won the 2022 Rising Star Award from the Greater Arlington Women’s Alliance. At the Texas Trust Gives Foundation, she oversees the charitable giving of Texas Trust Credit Union. She has served on advisory boards and committees for numerous organizations.

2019

STEVE RUDKIN, (M.S.), Spicewood, retired in 2021 as a lieutenant from the Pedernales Fire Department after 27 years of volunteer service. He has been in the IT and software business since 1987 and has worked for IBM Security for more than 25 years. He currently serves as its division quality manager. He frst attended UNT in the 1980s and met his wife, Sharon Rudkin (’87), here.

EN • RETROSPECTIVE

RETROSPECTIVE

when they were students

4.

3.

5.

CAN YOU RECOGNIZE THESE FAMOUS ALUMNI FROM WHEN THEY WERE STUDENTS AT UNT? Here are a few clues to their identities. (You can fnd old yearbooks — the source for most of these photos — at digital.library.unt.edu/explore/ collections/UNTY. ) 1. In the early 1950s, this student sang in ’Fessor Floyd Graham’s Saturday Night Stage Shows. A few years later, he

embarked on a career that includes selling more than 45 million records.

2. The young man was sophomore class president in 1953-54, a Campus Chat stafer and president of the Press Club. He later worked for U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson before becoming a journalist for CBS and PBS. 3. This actor was performing on stage in the original production of The Guest in 1969. He

later acted in RoboCop and Buckaroo Banzai.

4. In 1970, this woman was featured in the yearbook as a “Yucca Beauty.” A few years later, she was crowned Miss America and became a sports broadcaster.

5. While playing for the Mean Green football team, this linebacker intercepted a pass and ran 97 yards for a touchdown in 2008.

Today, he’s a musician, artist and actor who has been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Answers: 1. Pat Boone; 2. Bill Moyers; 3.Peter Weller (’70); 4. Phyllis George; 5. Tobe Nwigwe

1.

2.

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FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

unt alumni, faculty, staff and students are the university’s greates legacy.

When members of the Eagle family pass, they are remembered and their spirit lives on.

Send information about deaths to the North Texan at northtexan@unt.edu.

1930s MARYDELL JONES OUTLAW (’39), Boise, Idaho. She taught public school in Robstown and Tyler for over 30 years.

She was 102 years old.

1940s VETA ‘VICKIE’ PERCY (’47), Georgetown. A teacher in Grand Prairie and Midland ISDs, she was a member of the President’s Council since 2003 and was an avid supporter of the College of Education.

MARY ELIZABETH GODWIN MCENTEE BECKHAM (’49, ’70 M.S.), Dallas. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree at the age of 18, majoring in industrial arts, a feld that was rare for women at that time. She worked for Dallas ISD schools for 32 years, teaching drafting, photography and silkscreening and serving as department head.

1950s BETTY LOU CLAY (’52), San Antonio.

She was an academic advisor at the Lackland Air Force Defense Language Institute, teaching around the world for 32 years. At North Texas, she was involved in Green Jackets, the Junior Mary Arden Club and Psi Chi. DON JANUARY (’53), Dallas. He played from 1950 to 1952 on the fnal three of UNT’s four consecutive NCAA Champion golf teams and then went

on to a successful career in the PGA. Don notched 10 PGA Tour victories, including the 1967 PGA Championship.

He earned 23 victories on the Senior PGA Tour and designed golf courses.

The annual Don January Golf Classic, which takes place in the spring, was established in 1980 in his honor to support Mean Green studentathletes. He was a member of the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame and received UNT’s Distinguished Alumnus and Outstanding Alumni Service awards. He also was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. During his time at North Texas, he met his wife, Patricia ‘Pat’ Rushing (’53), a student in his beginning golf P.E. course. He also was president of the Talons and a member of Kappa Alpha and the T Club.

GLORIA JEANNE SPANGLER WILSON (’53), Chesterfeld, Missouri. She was a homemaker and volunteer who was active in her church. At North Texas, she was a member of Delta Gamma and the Mary Arden Club and president of Phi Gamma Kappa. She was a member of the UNT Alumni Association.

MARILYN EDITH LUECKE RYNEARSON (’55), Dallas. After 39 years of working at Baylor Hospital, Marilyn retired from her job as a medical technologist. She was active in her church and enjoyed playing the piano, sewing and quilting.

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MARLEN WALLS WALKER (’57), Richardson. She worked for several businesses in Dallas and was a member of Delta Gamma. She is survived by her husband, Ross Walker (’57), whom she met at North Texas.

SUE FRANCES WILKS GRAY (’59), Denton. She was a teacher, service coordinator, volunteer and active church member.

1960s WILLIAM BORTH (’60 M.Ed.), Denton.

During his 34-year career as a teacher, principal and administrator at Denton ISD, he organized its frst summer school program and opened Hodge Elementary School.

BOBBY ‘BOB’ BURGOON (’61, ’65 M.Ed.), Canyon. He was a widely respected teacher, principal and educator in the New Mexico and West Texas area. He was a member of Phi Delta Kappa.

RICHARD FARRIS SR. (’62), Palestine.

While at North Texas, he was a football player, where he was named All American as a junior. After playing for the Los Angeles Rams, he ran a family real estate business in his hometown of Palestine.

NORVA ANDREWS LOYD (’62), Columbus, Ohio. She taught in Richardson and San Antonio, then served for 31 years as a civilian employee at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

EN • FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

JESSIE MACK SMITH (’64), Hooks.

At North Texas, he was president of Delta Sigma Phi. He had a 31-year Navy career in which he served in the Vietnam War and provided logistics support in the Gulf War. After being stationed around the world, he retired from the Pentagon as a commander.

MARIE ROBERT FISHER (’65 M.A.), Dallas. She was a long-time member of the President’s Council and the namesake of UNT’s very frst endowed professorship, the Marie Robert Fisher Professorship. She taught high school English in Carrollton.

DAVID L. JOHNSON (’65), Oregon, Illinois. He taught jazz studies in Byron, Illinois, for 35 years. He was a trumpet player and music arranger for many big bands and small groups.

JESSE JOSEPH LOPEZ (’69), Dallas.

He was a singer who performed at the State Fair of Texas, major hotels, on The Mike Douglas Show and for 25 years on the Carnival Cruise Line. At North Texas, he was a member of Delta Sigma Pi.

1970s JAMES E. HEALER (’71), Greenville.

He served as band director for various schools in Texas and as a minister of music and education for churches in Ohio and Texas. He also was a corporate trainer and quality control analyst for Accenture.

1980s DONNA ‘CAROL’ GERMANY COFER (’83), Pampa. She and her husband, Bill (’55), were known for their generosity, establishing the Bill and Carol Cofer Scholarship for graduates of Pampa High School. Carol worked for various companies and was a volunteer.

ANGELA M. CLEVELAND (’84), Dallas.

She was an artist who once sold one

of her paintings to Michael Martin Murphey while living in Park City, Utah.

She then worked for Delta Air Lines, traveling around the world until retiring in 2020.

1990s DOUGLAS D. DUNLOP (’92, ’97, M.A., ’04 M.S.), Dallas. He was a graduate teaching assistant at UNT. He worked as a librarian and adjunct professor in Florida. From 2008 to 2019, he worked as a metadata and digital image librarian at the Smithsonian Libraries, where he co-curated the exhibition Fantastic Worlds: Science and Fiction 1780-1910.

GERALD JIMMY (’94), Fort Worth.

He was a science educator at Dallas ISD and Tarrant County College. He presented collaborative work at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s national conference. He was a former health care worker and had served in the U.S. Air Force.

2000s COURTNEY HEINTZ TERRILL (’02), Richardson. She loved her children, friends and pets, as well as trash TV, jewelry and makeup.

KILLIAN STRÖMM (’05), Dallas. He was a musician — playing guitar, banjo and mandolin — with the band Die Strömms. Their latest album was Vinum, Et Domina Canticum. He attended UNT under the name Kane Kelly.

HUNTER SCOTT BROWN (’07 M.S.), Little Elm. After serving as a full-time caregiver to his parents, he pursued a career in counseling. He spent the next 15 years helping people fnd healing, focusing his counseling practice on addiction recovery.

2010s

musician, composer and educator.

Teaching jazz arranging and saxophone, he was an assistant professor in North Carolina Central University’s Department of Music and director of its jazz studies program and the NCCU Jazz Ensemble. He worked professionally for 20 years, from touring with numerous jazz greats to composing for documentaries and projects for Spike Lee.

2020s ISABELLA GONZALES (’22), Rockwall.

She was known for her passions for gymnastics, cheerleading and her faith.

She was a competitive gymnast who earned several state titles. She also was a part of the UNT Cheer team — and mat captain and assistant choreographer — that won back-to-back College Cheer national championships.

NICHOLAS BRAUN, Plano. He was a sophomore in the College of Visual Arts and Design.

SERGEY BURLAKOV, The Woodlands.

He was a freshman majoring in psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Originally from Russia, he could speak three languages.

SIERRA MCCORVEY, Warren, Ohio.

An opera singer, she was a doctoral student in the College of Music and employed in the Department of Student Services.

BILAL MOHAMMED, Plano. He was a junior biology major who was hoping to pursue a career in medicine. He was active in UNT’s Muslim Student Association.

LONDYN TIPPETT, Hurst. She had fnished her junior year at UNT, where she majored in journalism. She recently started working with KNTU, UNT’s radio station, as a reporter and public afairs director.

BRIAN HORTON (’17 D.M.A.), Kinston, North Carolina. He was an inspiring

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University Community KENNETH TYRONE BALLOM, Frisco.

He came to UNT in 1995 as assistant dean of students and then served as dean of students from 1998 to 2008.

While at UNT, he spearheaded the establishment of the volunteer center and served on boards overseeing construction of Sorority Row, the Waranch Tennis Complex and the Pohl Recreation Center. He later was associate vice chancellor and dean of students for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

DIANA BRACKEN, Lewisville. A lifelong artist, she served as senior designer and then creative director from 1997 to 2007 at what is now University Brand Strategy and Communications at UNT. She worked on many of the North Texan issues as well as other university publications and marketing materials.

Throughout her career, she also served as a photojournalist, custom printer, prepress coordinator, graphic designer and brand manager.

SUSAN DADRES (’84, ’86 M.S.), Plano.

The principal lecturer in economics began working at UNT in 2004 and developed the Department of Economics’ frst online courses — receiving the Outstanding Online Teacher and Course Award — and co-wrote textbooks and student workbooks for macroeconomics and microeconomics. Her teaching career spanned more than 35 years.

ROBERT DESIDERATO JR., Denton.

The Professor Emeritus of chemistry, who worked at UNT from 1966 to 2004, initiated research in X-ray studies of compounds to elucidate chemical structures. He frequently conducted research at the Oak Ridge Science Center.

At UNT, where he was known as “Dr. D,” he was active in Alpha Chi Sigma and served as the Beta Eta chapter advisor for more than 30 years.

LEA R. DOPSON, Pomona, California.

She was an associate professor and chair of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management from 2001 to 2014, joining UNT from the Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University. She created UNT’s joint master’s degree program in international sustainable tourism with CATIE in Costa Rica. She also established the Dr. Lea R. Dopson Endowed Scholarship for Graduate Education in Hospitality and Tourism Management and was a member of the President’s Council. She returned to the Collins College in 2014 as dean and James A. Collins Distinguished Chair.

FRANK DUDOWICZ, Denton. He was a member of the UNT Foundation Board of Directors and the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board. He worked in marketing, business development and branding before establishing Kwik Kar Auto Service in Denton and Aubrey. He and his wife, Marta, established the Marta and Frank Dudowicz Endowed Scholarship for student-athletes in graduate business programs. They also were founding members of the Diamond Eagles Society. Memorials may be made to the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Communications Support Fund.

JOHN P. ‘JACK’ EBERTS, Temple.

He was a member of the President’s Council for the donations he and his wife, Joyce (’60), made to the Gamma Nu chapter of Delta Gamma, where she was a member. He was a radiologist during the Vietnam War, worked for Scott & White and served on the faculty at the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

JOHN PAUL EDDY, Denton. The Professor Emeritus of counseling, development and higher education taught at UNT from 1978 to 2000. In his early 20s, he was a missionary in the

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Philippines and studied at the Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. He was a campus minister with the Wesley Foundation, which led to his involvement with the civil rights movement, including hosting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at his church and attending the March on Washington. In 1965, he began his career in higher education.

He was a mentor to doctoral students and was a frequent speaker and writer.

VERNON FISHER, Fort Worth. A Professor Emeritus of art and a nationally renowned artist, he was considered one of the leaders of post-modern painting.

His work has been displayed at the Whitney Biennial, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, as well as internationally. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He taught at UNT from 1978 to 2009, where he was a Regents Professor known for mentoring and inspiring his students.

A documentary about his life and work premiered this spring (see page 23).

CLARA ANNE BUTTAFUOCO GEORGE, Lewisville. She was a licensed vocational nurse who worked at UNT from 1989 to 2006. After retiring, she loved being at the lake and spending time with her family.

CORY JOHNSON, Denton. He was a food service specialist who had worked for Dining Services at Eagle Landing for more than two years. He’s remembered as someone who was kind, generous and open-hearted to everyone.

HENRY JAMES MACKEY, Gulfport, Mississippi. The Professor Emeritus of physics worked at UNT for 36 years.

In 1967, he and professor Jim Sybert received the physics department’s frst

EN • FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

research grant funded by an outside agency — the U.S. Department of Defense — for their study of electron conduction in metals. He also was involved in laser research at UNT’s Center for Applied Quantum Electronics. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marycarl, who worked in the Student Health and Wellness Center. Survivors include his son Kevin (’85, ’87 M.S.).

SHARIFA KARIM MASWOOD, Berlin, Connecticut. She was a President’s Council member who established the Syed Imran Maswood Memorial Fund in Materials Science and Engineering in memory of her son, Syed Imran Maswood (’95, ’00 M.S.), who died in 2011. She was a professor of social sciences at Dhaka Tejgaon College in Bangladesh.

SOLVEIG OLSEN, Denton. The Professor Emerita taught German in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures for 37 years and served as department chair. She also founded the UNT chapters of the foreign language and German honor societies and directed an annual exchange with the University of Luneburg.

She was named an Outstanding Honor Professor and received the President’s Council University Teaching Award.

After retiring in 2005, she established the department’s Edist/Solveig Olsen Scholarship and the Martha A. Olsen Memorial Scholarship.

BURLE PETTIT (’60), Lubbock. He was editor of the Campus Chat as a North Texas student and began working for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 1960.

He climbed the ranks there as sports editor, managing editor, executive editor and editor, retiring in 2000. He was known for his gift as a storyteller and his focus on being accurate and objective. He served on the UNT System Board of Regents from 1995 to 2007, was a lifetime member of the UNT Alumni Association and was inducted into the UNT Journalism Hall of Fame.

He also received the Green Glory Award

in 1994. He was preceded in death by his wife, Clara Frances Pettit (’60).

PARIS MILTON RUTHERFORD III, Dallas. The Professor Emeritus of jazz studies was pivotal in elevating jazz education at UNT from 1978 to 2009.

He was named a Regents Professor in 2008. He began playing piano at age 4 and as a young adult played the trombone in the 4th Army Band and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. At UNT, he taught instrumental arranging, led The Commercial Singers, and founded and developed the vocal jazz degree.

For 30 years, he coordinated vocal jazz studies and directed the award-winning UNT Jazz Singers. He was a President’s Council member with his wife, Lynne (’86), and after retiring continued to write and produce new arrangements for Hal Leonard Publications. Memorials may be made to The Jazz Leadership Scholarship established in his honor in 2009.

HOWARD SCHULTZ, Dallas. He was a Chilton Society member and one of the establishing donors of the Schultz Family Scholarship in Jewish Studies.

His daughter and son-in-law, Jaynie Schultz and Ron Romaner, established The Howard H. Schultz Scholarship in Jewish Studies on his behalf. He was an entrepreneur and philanthropist.

J.B. SPALDING, Denton. He taught business statistics from 1970 to 2005 as an associate professor of information technology and decision sciences.

He also served as associate dean for student afairs in what is now the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. In 1986, he won the ’Fessor Graham Award, given by the student body to outstanding faculty members. His specialty was statistical analysis of data. But he earned his reputation as “The Count,” dressing up as a vampire to encourage blood donations at campus drives.

JOE GLENN STEWART (’71 Ed.D.), Denton. At UNT from 1971 to 1998, he was associate director of housing,

dean of students and vice president of student afairs. In 1995, he helped spearhead a one-stop service for students, soon known as the Eagle Student Services Center. He and his late wife, Judy (’84), received UNT’s Continuing Academic and Professional Service Council Award in 2003 and UNT’s Outstanding Alumni Service Award in 2004. He was a life member of the UNT Alumni Association, served on the association’s board and was a member of the Mean Green Scholarship Fund and the Chilton Society. The Stewarts established the Dr. Joe and Judy Stewart Scholarship in 2001.

ROSS VICK JR., Dallas. He and his wife, Fran, who was a co-founder of the UNT Press, established the UNT Press Endowment Fund and the Al and Joanna Hurley Graduate Endowment for graduate students focusing on military history. He was a lifetime member of the UNT Alumni Association and a member of the Kendall Society. He also was known for being one of the best fast-pitch softball players of his time and was inducted into the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Hall of Fame in 2015. He had a career in banking.

SHIRLEY WOOD, Decatur. She and her husband, James F. Wood, were members of the UNT President’s Council for their generous contributions throughout the years. The Woods built James Wood Motors facility in Decatur and the James Wood AutoPark in Denton.

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.

Fall 2023 | northtexan.unt.edu | North Texan

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PERSPECTIVE

MEOW WOLF IS KNOWN FOR ART AS DISTINCTIVE AS ITS NAME. So it’s ftting that several alumni from UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design are featured artists at Meow Wolf’s newest immersive experience, which opened this summer at Grapevine Mills. View the work of (clockwise from top left) Carmen Menza (’99), Brooke Chaney (’12), Alexander Revier (’13), Dan Lam (’10), Adam Palmer (’11 M.F.A.) and Loc Hong Huynh (’20 M.F.A.). Read more at northtexan.unt.edu/ meow-wolf. (Photos by Kate Russell)

60 North Texan | northtexan.unt.edu | Fall 2023

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