The North Texan - UNT Alumni Magazine - Spring 2015
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Transcript of The North Texan - UNT Alumni Magazine - Spring 2015
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 1nor thtexan.unt.edu
ART IN PUBLIC SPACES
[page 24]
A U N I V E R S I T Y O F N O R T H T E X A S P U B L I C A T I O N F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S
V O L . 6 5 , N O . 1 | S p r i n g 2 0 1 5
Ashleigh Smith [page 16]
Power of Research [page 30]
STEM Innovators [page 32]
Share your campus memories page 5
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UNT researchers are working to protect and clean up the waterways in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area, faculty and students measure the
pollution in surrounding lakes and streams. But they don’t just collect data and make note of problems. Th ey work in local communities to educate the public to bring about needed change.
Th eir work has helped reduce the toxic chemicals polluting our public drinking water — a resource that’s precious to us all. At UNT, research extends beyond the classroom and is the
bedrock of a healthy and informed society.
Watch a video to learn how UN T researchers are helping to preserve water quality at research.unt.edu/water-quality.
RESTORING OURWATERWAYS
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 1
Inside S P R I N G 2 0 1 5
D E P A R T M E N T S
F R O M O U R P R E S I D E N T • 3Workforce of tomorrow
D E A R N O R T H T E X A N • 4 Union Coffeecake ... Share your memories
U N T T O D A Y • 6First choice ... Ask an Expert ... Mean Green ... UNT Alumni Association
U N T M U S E • 1 8Grammy gold ... Happy performance ... Drumming up success ... Upcoming Events
E A G L E S ’ N E S T • 3 7 Swinging success ... Connecting with Friends ... Married and Counting ... Friends We’ll Miss
L A S T W O R D • 4 8John Lovelace (’52) remembers campus in the ’30s and the ’50s.
Art in Public Spaces ALUMNI ARTISTS SHARE THEIR TALENT WITH AUDIENCES IN PUBLIC FORUMS — CITY PARKS, MEMORIALS, AIRPORTS, MUSEUMS AND COMMUNITY CENTERS — WORLDWIDE, CREATING ART EXPERIENCES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE, ENGAGING AND REFLECTIVE. By Margarita Venegas
Cover: Jesús Moroles (’78) at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. Above: Moroles’ Veteran’s Memorial in Albuquerque, N.M. Photography by Ahna Hubnik
24
FEATURES
16 Ashleigh SmithRecent Miss Black Texas’ jazz career launched with prestigious Sarah Vaughan
International Vocal Competition win. By Monique Bird
30 Power of Research With powerful research and industry partnerships, UNT impacts society and the economy.
32 STEM Innovators UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science celebrates 25 years in preparing talented high schoolers for science and tech careers. By Jessica DeLeón
Ahna Hubnik
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Online E X C L U S I V E S
northtexan.unt.edu/online
Connect with us at facebook.com/northtexas.
Follow us at twitter.com/northtexan.
Watch us on youtube.com/universitynorthtexas.
Follow us at instagram.com/unt.
Visit The North Texan online to:• Keep up with what’s happening between
issues of The North Texan• Tell us what you think about our stories• Learn more about your fellow alumni• Write memorials about friends we’ll miss• Enjoy an array of additional stories,
photos, videos and recordings
Interwoven AspirationsIN JANUARY, STUDIO ARTS LECTURER LESLI ROBERTSON LED A WEAVING WORKSHOP WITH LOCAL CRAFTSWOMEN IN KUWAIT AS A FULBRIGHT SPECIALIST AND AT UNT WITH STUDENTS IN HER ADVANCED WEAVING CLASS. LEARN ABOUT THE CREATIVE COLLABORATION THAT ENSUED.
When you see this arrow, join our North Texan community onlineat northtexan.unt.edu.
ONLINE FEATURES
DESIGNING WOMENRead about communication design alumnae who are mak-
ing their mark at top retailers including Ann Taylor, Victoria’s Secret and Fossil.
FEEDING UNTLearn how you can help support the Dean of
Students Offi ce’s new food pantry for students who fi nd themselves without the funds to buy food.
GO MEAN GREEN!Watch our video that captures the spirit of Mean
Green athletic competition, on the fi eld, the court, the track or in the water.
GET CONNECTED
Ahna Hubnik
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 3
F RO M O U R President
The North TexanThe North Texan (ISSN 0468-6659) is published four times a year (in March, June, September and December) 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 offi ces. The diverse views on matters of public interest that are presented in The North Texan do not necessarily reflect the offi cial policies of the university. Publications staff can be reached at [email protected] 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 Relations, Communications and Marketing, 1155 Union Circle #311070, Denton, Texas 76203-5017. The UNT System and the University of North Texas are the owners of all of their trademarks, service marks, trade names, slogans, graphic images and photography and they may not be used without permission.
The University of North Texas does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, political affi liation, disability, marital status, ancestry, genetic information, citizenship, or veteran status in its application and admission process, educational programs and activities, employment policies and use of university facilities. Direct questions or concerns to the equal opportunity offi ce, 940-565-2759, or the dean of students, 940-565-2648. TTY access is available at 940-369-8652. AA/EOE/ADA
Created by the Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing
©2015 UNT URCM 3/15 (15-371)
Workforce of tomorrowOFFERING BEST EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN TEXAS
Michael Clem
ents
UNIVERSITY RELATIONS,
COMMUNICATIONS AND
MARKETING LEADERSHIP
VICE PRESIDENT
DEBORAH LELIAERT ( ’96 M.ED.)
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
KELLEY REESE ( ’95)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DENA MOORE
DIRECTOR
KENN MOFFITT
MAGAZINE STAFF
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
JULIE ELLIOTT PAYNE (’97)
MANAGING EDITOR
RANDENA HULST RAND (’88, ’07 M.J . )
EDITORS
JESSICA DELEÓN
JILL KING (’93 M.S., ’00 M.A .)
ONLINE EDITOR
MICHELLE HALE
ART DIRECTOR
SEAN ZEIGLER (’00)
PHOTO EDITOR
ANGILEE WILKERSON
ADVERTISING
JILLIAN JORDAN (’05)
WES MARTIN ( ’01)
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ERICA BLOUNT
CLAUDIA COOPER (’06)
DONALD WILSON (’01)
DESIGNERS
LAUREN LEBRON
KIT YOUNG (’06)
PHOTOGRAPHERS
MICHAEL CLEMENTS
AHNA HUBNIK ( ’03)
GARY PAYNE (’99)
VIDEOGRAPHERS
CHRISTOPHER BRYAN (’08)
BRAD HOLT ( ’09)
WRITERS
MONIQUE BIRD (’10 M.J . )
ERNESTINE BOUSQUET
NANCY KOLSTI
LESLIE MINTON (’07)
ADRIENNE NETTLES
MARGARITA VENEGAS (’96)
MATTHEW ZABEL
ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS
JESSE GARRISON
NANCY KENT (’94)
ERIC VANDERGRIFF
STUDENT CONT RIBUTORS
CALEB DOWNS
AWO ENI
CRYSTAL HOLLIS ( ’13)
JASON ORTIZ
JOSHUA WILLIAMS
JEFFREY WOLVERTON
AS I LOOK BACK ON MY fi rst year as UNT president, I have a great deal to be thankful for and much to look forward to. UNT has felt like home since Debbie and I fi rst arrived last February, and the UNT community’s “can-do” attitude is fostering change and progress.
To start with, spring enrollment is up and, importantly, more of our students are taking more classes and consistently staying in school — auspicious signs for improving timely graduation success. To sustain this growth and progress, we’re creating new initiatives to make UNT a fi rst choice for the best and brightest, as you’ll see on page 6.
Once here, they fi nd a university with nationally ranked programs, high-quality and caring faculty, and more degree programs — or career choices — than any university in the North Texas region. Th ese are the ingredients that will make them successful college graduates and, in turn, will foster a strong workforce for the region and state. We’re focused on off ering the best educational experience in Texas.
Th is doesn’t just mean being great academically but also being a place of discovery and innovation — a hub of new ideas and solutions. We’re growing as a public research university that is defi ned by the STEAM disciplines — science, technology, engineering, art and math — because the arts are a vital part of UNT’s legacy and of any of these fi elds. UNT is a place where science and art converge, as you’ll read in our cover story about artists creating public art (page 24) and in our coverage on recent research initiatives (page 30).
As we begin to look forward to our 125th anniversary and the years beyond, it’s clear we need to chart a course toward tier one. I invite all of you to get involved to help us advance your alma mater and to help us reach the national prominence you all know UNT deserves.
UNT proud,
Neal [email protected]@UNTPrez
President Neal Smatresk visits with students at a UNT Symphonic Band rehearsal.
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D E A R North Texan gowns were so hot that sweat
was running from head to toe. Presi dent J.C. Matthews, in
his last spring commencement before retiring, said he had what he considered a good speech but it was too hot and there was no way he was going to put us through having to endure his talk. He said, “Congratulations to all graduates.” Diplomas were presented and then everyone ran for the doors.
Linda Romer (’68)Houston
High school trio
I enjoyed the story in the winter issue on the Folk Music Club. At least three of the folks you wrote about, in addition to their history at UNT, graduated from Adamson High School in Dallas — Michael Martin Murphey, B.W. Stevenson and Ray Wylie Hubbard.
Bob Johnston (’62, ’65 M.Ed.)Dallas
Selfless graduate
The Rev. Kyev Tatum (winter 2014) continues to look out for others in very selfless ways. My Brother’s Keeper has been his job since before the program even existed. He is the type of guy who is always looking for
times a year. What a sweet reminder of my college days!
Elaine Wood Lloyd Hildebrand (’72)Bedford
The winter issue refer-enced the coffeecake at the UB. Funny how that scene and the heavenly taste was in me immediately. Where can I get that recipe?
Margaret Brewer Needle (’67)Chandler
Editor’s note: We’re happy to print that recipe again. You also can still find the coffeecake on campus during special events.
Sweating graduation
I noticed in the winter issue (“The Last Word”) that the 1964 graduation ceremo-ny was held in the Men’s Gym due to rain. For the record, the spring 1968 graduation was held in a gym as it looked like rain. It was so hot that everyone was fanning with whatever piece of paper they could find and wiping their faces to remove the sweat. Those of us in the graduation
Let us know what you think about news and topics covered in The North Texan. Letters may be edited for length and publication style.
Sweet treat
There was no better treat than the Union Coffeecake served at the Student Union Building. The North Texan published the recipe many years ago, and my husband and I make it about four
Online: northtexan.unt.edu
(follow the “Contact Us” link)
Phone: 940-565-2108
Fax: 940-369-8763
Email: [email protected]
Mail: The North Texan University of North Texas Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing 1155 Union Circle #311070 Denton, Texas 76203-5017
UNION COFFEECAKE
Cake:½ cup shortening1 cup sugar1 egg2 cups flour
Topping:¼ cup margarine, melted¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder½ teaspoon salt¾ cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon¼ cup flour
Cake: Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk a little at a time, while mixing. Add vanilla. Pour into an 8x8-inch greased pan. Topping: Sift dry ingredients. Pour melted butter over unbaked cake. Sprinkle dry ingredients over top.
Bake in 350-degree oven until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. Do not overcook or topping will crack when served.
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 5
was a senior at North Texas. I was 1A in the draft, so my future seemed uncertain.
Upon graduation, I immediately began looking for a job, but no one would hire me because of my 1A status. After two weeks of pounding the pavement in Dallas, I returned to North Texas and talked with Dr. C.L. Littlefield, my industrial management professor, about my problem.
His words were, “I’ll get you a job,” which he did. I was hired at Consolidated Aircraft in Grand Prairie as a produc-tion planner trainee. If I remained in the training program for the full six weeks, I would be exempt from the draft because I would then be an essential to industry.
opportunities for young people and to bring us up along with him. He knows that our generation is the future of this country and allows young voices to be heard while giving his support and providing his resources.
He is an excellent man, friend and graduate of this university. While he was at UNT, he was very active and involved, adding a lot to programs that we benefit from today on campus.
Ian Campbell, international studies majorFlower Mound
Teacher and friend
The United States was at war in Korea in 1952, and I
However, after two weeks, I was drafted.
I will never forget what a wonderful man, teacher and friend Dr. Littlefield was and what his concern for me meant to me during that time.
I served in the Army, in Germany, for two years, then worked for Exxon for 33 years, took early retirement and bought a hardware store in Tyler. After 20 years selling nuts and bolts, I sold the hardware store last year. I finally retired at age 83 and now spend my time in my woodshop making furniture and toys for my grandchildren.
Thanks for the memories!
James Kirkpatrick (’52)Flint
Tell us about ... you and UNT
What would you put on a list of “125 Things We Love About
UNT”? Or what is your favorite campus memory from your
student days? What was Denton like when you were a
student here? Who was your favorite professor? What was
your favorite class? Do you have a favorite photo from your
time on campus? How did UNT change your life for the
better? Since our founding in 1890 as a private college for
teachers, we’ve grown into a public research university that
ranks as Dallas-Fort Worth’s largest and most comprehen-
sive university and the nation’s 25th largest public
university. Countless people and events helped shape us
along the way, and as we observe our 125th anniversary this
year, we want to remember and celebrate them. We would
especially like to hear your memories and thoughts about
your time on campus and gather up your favorite photos as we work on a special website and an
anniversary issue of The North Texan this fall. Email or write us at the addresses above, and look for
more information about our anniversary events on page 39 and in our summer issue.
@northtexan
We loved meeting #UNT19 and all of our future #UNT students at #UNTPreview. There are so many great students coming our way! #UNT #GoMeanGreen — Neal Smatresk @UNTPrez You know your college is awesome when the president of the college individually tweets to people who get accepted! @UNTPrez #loveithere #UNT — @AshleeRay3 Congrats to #UNT alum Lecrae for winning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance or Song for “Messengers”. — @UNTnews Great talking with #UNT class today about impacting their community. Our city’s students are our best natural resource. — @KevinRoden No lie, it’s pretty awesome to talk football with fellow UNT students. #UNT — @JaredSoto48 I love my school. Forever a proud eagle!! #UNT — @jeannine_vargas Follow us on Twitter. We look forward to staying connected! @northtexan
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Today Top Fulbright producer page 9
UNT IS COMMITTED TO REMAINING A university of opportunity as it attracts new students and enhances the quality of its programs. With an increased focus on student retention, strategic enrollment growth and more targeted recruitment, UNT is seeking to attract and graduate the brightest students, offering them a high-quality education.
“College is a life-changing experience, and a university education can make all the difference in one’s success, especially when that education culminates in a UNT degree,” President Neal Smatresk says. “We want to be the first choice for hardworking, talented students who will in turn lead the workforce in the region and state.”
FIRST CHOICE UNIVERSITY
UNT’s newest enrollment initiatives target the brightest students to create the best workforce.
Learn about university tours and watch
UNT’s virtual tour videos at tour.unt.edu.
Jonathan Reynolds
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From top, Arlington ISD juniors in the top 20 percent of their class receive guaranteed UNT admission as part of Eagle Ad vantage; prospective students attend UNT Preview.
Eagle Express Tuition PlanLearn how UNT’s fixed-rate tuition plan locks in costs and helps students graduate on time at eagleexpress.unt.edu.
Eagle AdvantageRead more about the Eagle Advantage plan and who is eligible at unt.edu/eagleadvantage. Watch a video of the launch of the initiative at Arlington ISD at northtexan.unt.edu/online.
Oklahoma Tuition RateLearn how Oklahoma residents can pay about half the cost of out-of-state tuition at oklahomatuition.unt.edu.
Take a tourIf you know someone thinking about college, visit tours.unt.edu. Campus tours are led by students several times a day, Monday through Saturday, most of the year.
Learn more about applying to UNTTo learn about application requirements and deadlines, visit apply.unt.edu/admissions.
More bright students
This spring, UNT launched several initiatives to open up UNT to more college-bound students. Eagle Advantage gives high school juniors in participating school districts who are in the top 20 percent of their class guaranteed admission to UNT upon graduation. Arlington ISD is the first to partner with UNT on the initiative, and the program is expected to roll out across the North Texas region as more districts come on board.
The university also is expanding its reach, finding ways to create a bigger pool of college-educated talent. Starting in fall 2015, Oklahoma residents pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UNT will no longer pay out-of-state tuition. UNT’s new Oklahoma Tuition Rate cuts that cost nearly in half.
In addition to these initiatives, the university has created a new Division of Enrollment and hired a founding vice president, Shannon Goodman, who is leading the university’s efforts to achieve sustainable enrollment growth and expand UNT’s student population in new ways. (Learn more about Goodman on page 12.) The division is charged with improving the quality, quantity and diversity of UNT’s student body through effective enrollment management and strategic enrollment initiatives.
Plan for success
All of this builds on the work UNT has been doing to ensure students continue to get a high-quality, affordable education. Last fall, the university launched the Eagle Express Tuition Plan, a fixed-rate plan that helps students manage their costs and graduate in four years while saving them up to $4,000. With about 4,700 students taking advantage of the plan its first year, Eagle Express is the most popular guaranteed tuition plan in Texas.
UNT also is finding innovative ways to offer more merit- and need-based aid, targeting student populations such as National Merit Scholars and transfer students. UNT annually awards more than $320 million in financial aid, including more than $36 million in scholarships. About 78 percent of UNT students receive financial aid and scholarships. To improve the financial aid process, the university has enhanced the verification process so it’s shorter and more streamlined — changes that will take effect this summer. And more call center representatives will be added to answer financial aid and scholarships questions.
The initiatives are having immediate impacts. Spring enroll-ment is up over spring 2014. Students are taking more classes, and retention is better — all of which is expected to translate into more students graduating in four years.
“Public universities like UNT produce the workforce of tomorrow,” Smatresk says. “The more we do to give students a world-class education, the better off our economy will be.”
Michael Clem
entsAhna H
ubnik
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Today
B R I L L I A N T LY G R E E N
Studying war crimes
Political science professors Kimi King and James Meernik are leading a survey sponsored by the United Nations to study the impact of war on victims
and witnesses of war crimes. The survey is from interviews and court testimonial experi-ences of victims and witnesses from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the U.N.’s first international tribunal for war crime trials.
The study examines what it means to “bear witness” before transnational tribunals and assesses how individuals are coping, if not healing, physically, mentally and socially since the
peace accords in the 1990s.King and Meernik, experts
on human rights, criminal tribunals, transitional justice and post-conflict security, began the work in July 2013. The preliminary findings were presented to top-level tribunal officials at The Hague, Nether-lands, last summer.
Tree Campus USA
The Arbor Day Foundation recognized UNT as a 2014 Tree Campus USA university
for its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. This marks the seventh year in a row UNT has earned this national recognition.
To achieve the status, UNT met the core standards of tree care and community engage-ment, which include establish-ing a campus tree advisory committee, having a campus tree-care plan and instituting a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.
Pass it on: Great things are happening at UNT. Learn about them here and share our successes with your family and friends. • NFL Alumni Career Touchdowns. Brelan Chancellor (’13) and Craig Robertson (’10, ’14 M.S.) are making news in the NFL. Robertson, in his fourth year as a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, was named the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in recognition of his charitable work and excellence on the field. Chancellor, recognized as one of the best all-around offensive players in Mean Green history, made headlines for becoming a 2015 reserve signee with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Go Mean Green!
• Decoding STEM Success. UNT’s one-year-old Code Camp program, started by UNT’s Innovation Greenhouse, received a $20,000 gift from Verizon to build on its mission. Students in UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science and College of Education participate in Code Camp to advance science, technology, engineering and math education. They teach Denton elementary and middle school students about computer coding by playing and customizing the popular video game Minecraft.
• Daytime Talk at UNT. The Ellen DeGeneres Show stopped by UNT in December to tape a festive segment after DeGeneres tweeted for UNT students, faculty and staff to dress like presents for a chance at getting on air. The UNT community made a strong showing with students, faculty and staff and community members dressed as gifts and holding signs at the Library Mall as they talked to DeGeneres live via satellite from her studios in Burbank, Calif.
Ahna Hubnik
Mic
hael
Cle
men
ts
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Distinguished lecture
Gen. Wesley Clark, former presidential candidate and author, spent 38 years of service in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of four-star general as NATO’s supreme allied commander.
Clark spoke at UNT in February as the guest speaker of UNT’s Distinguished Lecture Series, which introduces the UNT commu-nity to the excellence of world-class speakers whose messages enhance student learning outside of the classroom.
Since retiring from the military in 2000, Clark has taken on roles including investment banker, alternative
energy leader, author, network television military analyst and businessman. He shared with the audience his experiences and talked about his latest book, Don’t Wait for the Next War.
Clark’s numerous awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and honorary knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments.
Counseling award
Janice Holden, chair and professor of counseling and higher education, earned the Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person from the
American Counseling Association for her concern for the welfare of others and her passion to fight injustice.
Holden researches the transpersonal perspective in counseling, addressing experiences that transcend the usual personal limits of space and time, and advocates for treatment of people who have had transpersonal experiences.
Her primary scholarly focus has been near-death experiences. She is the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies and served on the board of the International Association for Near-Death Studies for six years, three as president.
U N T P O R TA L H O N O R SThe UNT libraries’ Portal to Texas History has been named one of 30 finalists for the 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The portal, at texashistory.unt.edu, provides access to online materials from more than 280 collaborating partners reflecting the records, history and culture of Texas and engaging a broad public audience. Ten National Medal winners chosen by the institute for exceptional service to the community will be honored at an award ceremony in Washington, D.C., this spring and receive a visit from StoryCorps, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing the stories of Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs. Share your story of how UNT’s Portal to Texas History has touched your life at facebook.com/USIMLS.
Gen. Wesley Clark spoke this spring at UNT’s Auditorium Building as part of UNT’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
U N T P R O U DThe UNT System is
one of the nation’s top research institutions
for Fulbright Scholars this year, according to a review by The Chronicle
of Higher Education, and UNT accounted
for four of the System’s six scholars. Texas’ only representation on the
list was from the UNT System.
Gary Payne
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Today
Basketball, Hall of Famers, Green and White
Find the latest Mean Green news and schedules, and buy season tickets at meangreensports.com.
Phot
os b
y Ri
ck Y
eatt
s
Basketball tribute & Hall of Famers
George Dunham (’88), the voice of
Mean Green athletics for 25 years and a
part of the Mean Green Radio Network for
nearly 30 years, called his final game as
the Mean Green’s play-by-play man Feb.
26 during the men’s basketball win
against Charlotte. Dunham, pictured at
top right, retired from his play-by-play
duties but will continue as co-host of the
morning-drive show on KTCK Sportsradio
The Ticket. In his honor, KTCK broadcast
its afternoon show, The Hardline, from
the Super Pit and then broadcast the
game along with KHYI.
Dunham’s honors continue this spring
as he joins the latest class to be inducted
into UNT’s Athletic Hall of Fame. The
ceremony and banquet take place at
11:30 a.m. April 18 at Apogee Stadium in
conjunction with the Green and White
spring football game. Dunham enters the
Hall of Fame as the winner of the Fred
McCain Award, presented for contribu-
tions that have a major impact on the
athletic program. Also accepting Hall of
Fame honors are, from left, Willie Parker,
football; Judy Buckles Nelson (’80 M.S.),
women’s basketball coach;
Leonard Dunlap, football; and Walter
“Weasel” Johnson (’79), basketball.
For tickets to the induction and
banquet, call 800-868-2366. Admission
to the game, at 2 p.m. April 18, is free.
Hoops highlights
Mean Green men’s basketball was
hot on the court this season, putting
together a five-game win streak in
February before dropping the final home
game against Old Dominion Feb. 28.
The streak was the program’s
longest since March 2011, and the
team’s success was due in part to the
stellar play of the four seniors, Colin
Voss, T.J. Taylor, Armani Flannigan and
Jordan Williams.
The Mean Green entered the
Conference USA Tournament March
11-14 in Birmingham, Ala., as the No. 8
seed with high hopes for more stellar
performances.
The Mean Green women’s basketball
team also brought heat to the court this
season. The team earned back-to-back
wins against Florida Atlantic and Florida
International University in February.
Key players included senior guard
BreAnna Dawkins and junior forward
Acheil Tac. Dawkins’ outstanding play in
the two wins earned her Conference
USA Player of the Week honors.
The team needed a win against UTSA
in the last game of the season to clinch
the 12th and final seed in the
conference tournament, but lost a close
one, 57-54. They ended the season with
the program’s second-best scoring
defense of all time.
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G L O B A L C O N N E C T I O N
>>
Partnerships with Mexico
Two new research partner-ships between UNT and the Mexican federal government will help UNT build on its reputation as a global partner.
In the first partnership of its kind with a U.S. university, Mexico’s General Archives of the Nation — the equivalent of the U.S. National Archives — aims to establish a new Center of Excellence in Research for Archives with the help of UNT’s College of Information.
As the keeper of Mexico’s government and historical documents, the General Archives of the Nation is considered one of the most important in the world. Funded by the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), the archives will house the new center and provide researchers with worldwide access to its archival database.
An education fund for federal employees from the council will help the archives’
students and technical staff pursue a graduate academic certificate in archival studies, leading to a master’s degree in information science from UNT’s College of Informa-tion. The first 15 students will arrive at UNT in September. Faculty from UNT’s Depart-ment of Library and Informa-tion Sciences also will travel to Mexico to research and train with the Mexican staff.
“The new agreement speaks to the quality and relevance of the UNT archival studies program and will strengthen our relationship with Mexico,” says Gabriel Carranza,
assistant vice provost for global engagement at UNT.
Also this spring, a new partnership between UNT and the National Council for Science and Technology of the United Mexican States will allow 14 postdoctoral fellows from Mexico to conduct research at UNT.
The fellows, jointly funded by UNT and CONACYT, will work with UNT faculty researchers. The council’s total contribution to UNT is $350,000 in research support.
I N V E N T O R S F E L LO WRichard Dixon, Distinguished Research Professor of biological sciences, was named a National Academy of Inventors fellow, the second UNT faculty member to earn the honor. The professional distinction is given to academic inventors who “have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.” Dixon’s research includes numerous projects in the area of bioproducts, including inventing a new, stronger plant-based carbon fiber, researching the impact of grape seed extract on Alzhei-mer’s disease, and developing more digestible and cattle-friendly alfalfa and improved bioenergy crops. In 2014, Narendra Dahotre, Distinguished Research Professor of materials science and engineering, was named a National Academy of Inventors fellow.
Gabriel Carranza, UNT’s assistant vice provost for global engagement
Gary Payne
12 T h e N o r t h T e x a n | northtexan.unt.edu | S p r i n g 2 0 1 5
Today
Green Pride
New enrollment VP
This spring, Shannon Goodman, former associate vice president of enrollment and student services at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, was named UNT’s founding vice president for enrollment. UNT’s new
Division of Enrollment — which encompasses undergrad-uate admissions and student financial aid and scholarships — is charged with improving the quality, quantity and diversity of UNT’s student population. He also will oversee the division’s budget, personnel, policies and procedures, and new program development.
Prior to joining UNLV, Goodman was managing partner for STK Consulting.He holds a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree from Northern Arizona University.
New TAMS dean
This spring, Glênisson de Oliveira was named dean of UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.
De Oliveira has a history of enhancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics education from kindergarten
through 12th grade and at the undergraduate level in Rhode Island. His work has been funded through science and education grants from multiple agencies, including a $12.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry from Purdue University and most recently served as director of the Rhode Island STEM Center and as department chair and pro - fessor of chemistry at Rhode Island College.
Show your Mean Green pride on your ride
UNT license plates are one of the great ways alumni, students, faculty and staff can show their Mean Green pride on the go and help support student scholarships.
UNT partners with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to carry UNT-themed plates as part of its specialty plate program. The cost of plates varies depending on how they’re customized.
Kim Wendt (’11), executive director of development, says her personalized Mean Green plate is a way to celebrate the pride she feels for earning her bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences with a 4.0 GPA.
“As a longtime employee of 22 years at UNT, I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to obtain my degree as a non-traditional student,” she says. “My personalized plates, UNT 11, celebrate that degree I earned.”
To buy your own UNT plate and customize its lettering, visit txdmv.gov. Once on the website, follow these steps:• Under Motorists select Specialty License Plates.• Scroll down and select the University of North Texas.• Click Order and you are taken to myplates.com to create and customize your plate.• You can choose plates from a luxury series, custom series or standard design series.When you buy a UNT license plate, a portion of the proceeds from the cost of your plate will benefit student scholarships at UNT.
Share your own photo with your personalized Mean Green license plate to win UNT prizes at [email protected].
Ahna
Hub
nik
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Smart car
How can businesses better understand how people use products and services? Many companies are turning to anthropologists for answers.
Nissan’s Research Center in Silicon Valley, which is researching self-driving cars, asked anthropology students to explore “the social life of the car” and investigate drivers’ behavior. Eighteen students in a class led by Christina Wasson, professor of anthropology, worked with nine study participants in interviews and ride-alongs in the fall.
Also, Susan Squires, assistant professor of anthro-pology, led a class to help Pitney Bowes investigate
people’s move experiences and the types of information that would make the move go smoothly. The 16 graduate students who conducted the research made recommenda-tions to Pitney Bowes to develop a moving mobile app to better meet people’s needs.
Kinesiology grants
Three kinesiology research-ers have received grants from the National Strength and Conditioning Association to study topics that may help athletes and fitness enthusiasts train more effectively.
Jakob Vingren, associate professor of kinesiology, is using a Young Investigator Grant to study how alcohol
consumption affects physiologi-cal processes in the muscles’ ability to recover from exercise.
Adam Venable, a biological sciences doctoral student, received a Doctoral Graduate Research Grant to examine the effectiveness of supplementa-tion treatment with curcumin, a yellow substance in turmeric, after muscle-damaging bouts of resistance exercise.
Danielle Levitt, a biological sciences doctoral and kinesiolo-gy master’s student, is using a Master’s Graduate Research Grant to investigate how alcohol consumption affects women after strenuous resistance exercise. Levitt and Venable are research assistants in the kinesiology program.
S T U D Y I N G H I S PA N I C H E A LT HFor three decades, researchers have pondered the Hispanic Mortality Paradox — why Hispanics in the U.S. tend to outlive non-Hispanic whites by several years, despite having, in general, lower income and educational attainment levels that are associated with shorter lives. Research led by John Ruiz, pro-fessor of psychology, suggests Hispanics live longer due to illness survival and recovery advantages. Researchers showed that Hispanic/Latino patients experienced lower in-hospital mortality and were hospitalized fewer days compared to non-Hispanics, a survival advantage consistent with the His-panic paradox. The study was published in the Journal of Latina/o Psychology.
Anthropology students in the classroom share their fieldwork insights.
U N T P R O U D UNT has been
named a Top School in the 2015 Military Advanced Education Guide to Colleges and Universities, which measures the best
practices in military and veteran education.
Ahna Hubnik
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Today
................................................................................Ask an Expert
Intel talent finalist
Students in UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science made a big showing at the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search competition, the nation’s most prestigious
pre-college science competition.Lily Liu, a second-year
TAMS student, was named a fi nalist, one of only 40 in the U.S. and the only one from Texas. She was recognized for her research investigating transition metals that could help catalyze the degradation of lignin, a substance that makes plants woody and fi rm. Liu conducts her research with Angela Wilson, Regents Professor of chemistry. Liu displayed her research and
competed against other fi nalists March 5-11 in Washington, D.C. UNT had six TAMS students, including Liu, named 2015 Intel semifi nalists, more than any other Texas school. (Read about TAMS alumni on page 32.)
Retail scholarship
Ashley Nudge, a sophomore merchandising and digital retailing major, was one of fi ve students in the U.S. chosen as a fi nalist for the National Retail
Federation’s Next Generation Scholarship, winning a $10,000 scholarship. Th e only fi nalist from a Texas school, she also was recognized at the NRF Founda tion Gala and attended Th e Big Show, the NRF’s annual conference in New York City in January.
Nudge is the fashion show producer for Merchandising Inc., a UNT organization for students who are interested in fashion, home furnishings and digital retailing.
Identity theft is diffi cult to prevent because thieves continually fi nd new ways to commit the crime. Many times identity theft occurs online,
and the thief may even be in another country. UNT police Sgt. Jeremy Polk says people need to know and respond immediately if their identity is stolen and be especially vigilant in protecting fi nancial information.
“Be a little OCD about your fi nances,” Polk says. “A lot of people don’t review their bank statements or they just log on to pay a bill and don’t look closely enough at the activity on their account.”
Polk conducts seminars for student groups on campus and others, off ering tips for preventing identity theft and for responding if it happens.
Protect and prevent• Don’t leave personal information like your Social Security number, date of birth, passwords, personal identifi cation numbers, birth certifi cate or bank account information where others can fi nd it.• Educate yourself about Internet fraud.• Be or befriend a trusty computer geek to help ensure that the information you store in your computer is protected.• Cancel unused credit cards.
Know when you’re a victim• Control your fi nances. Look closely at your bank and credit card statements for unauthorized charges.• Use alerts that banks and credit card providers off er to let you know if a large or unusual charge is made on your account.• Request credit reports regularly at annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to receive a free credit report each year from each of the three reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Stagger those requests so you can receive a report every four months.
Respond quickly• Notify your bank or credit card company immediately if you see suspicious activity on your account.• File reports fi rst online with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint and then with local police. Th e FTC’s online form includes all the information local police will need to make their report, so fi ling that report fi rst can save you time.
— Matthew Zabel
Michael Clem
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How can you protect yourself against identity theft ?
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To join the association or learn more, visit untalumni.com, email [email protected] or call 940-565-2834.
Gary Payne
UNT has a long-standing tradition of recognizing the outstanding achievement, service and support of UNT’s alumni and friends. And as a special celebration of this year’s 50th anniversary of the UNT Alumni Awards, the awards program will move to fall 2015, coinciding with festivities planned for Homecoming and the university’s 125th anniversary celebration. Th e awards ceremony was traditionally hosted in the spring.
Among those honored during the last awards event was Distinguished Young Alumni Award winner Graham Douglas (’05), a top freelance advertising creative director. Douglas said the alumni awards are a “very meaningful” way to be recog-nized by your alma mater.
“North Texas shaped my world view and prepared me well,” he said at the 2014 ceremony.
UNT’s Alumni Awards showcase the high caliber of the university’s alumni and celebrate the depth and breadth of their professional accomplishments and service to the community.
“Th e alumni awards are among the highest honors the university bestows,” Rob McInturf, executive director of the UNT Alumni Association, says. “We want to ensure the accomplishments of our alumni are highlighted at an event where they can receive recognition from their peers while still allowing us the opportunity to celebrate the impact they are making in their communities and around the world.”
For more information about the alumni awards program, contact [email protected] or 940-565-2834.
SKYLIFE RESEARCHWhat’s the best way to drop emergency relief supplies such as wa-ter and cell phone bat-teries by air to people during disasters? UNT’s College of Public Aff airs and Community Service has teamed up with SkyLIFE Technology to identify novel approach-es and determine their potential for success. For the study, UNT stu-dents and faculty from the college’s emergency administration and plan-ning program will travel to the scene of disasters to research the provi-sion of relief, as well as how to mobilize and distribute humanitarian aid to those aff ected by war, terrorism, famine or natural hazards. Theresearch also involves ex-amining new technology developed by SkyLIFE.
Black academy archives
UNT and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters entered into a partnership that will bring even more recogni-tion to the contributions and accomplishments of African Americans in the cultural arts, such as Sarah Vaughan, Ruby Dee and Erykah Badu.
Th e academy’s archives, including posters, photos and recordings, will be housed in the UNT libraries’ special collections, making the infor -mation publicly accessible. Th e partnership gives UNT faculty and students and the public opportunities for research, education and publication.
Association president
Prathiba Natesan, associate professor of educational psychology, was elected president of the Southwest Educational Research Associa-tion, a regional organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of research in education. She initiated a paperless system by off ering the program schedule of the annual meeting as an app instead of a printed publication, and she is one of the founders of the junior faculty mentoring initiative for the association.
Natesan, who also is director of the College of Education’s Offi ce of Research Consulting, will serve as the organization’s president-elect and program chair for 2015-16 and as president for 2016-17.
UNT Alumni Association
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Music alum and recent
Miss Black Texas USA
wins prestigious jazz
competition and enjoys
a career that is sailing
with soulful vocals.
She was two years into a full scholarship in classical music at a Georgia university when a professor challenged her to pursue her true passion — jazz. He recommended UNT’s Vocal Jazz Workshop.
“The workshop was my first thrust into jazz education,” Smith says. “I had figured out things like scatting on my own, but I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was so inspired.”
UNT’s jazz studies professors saw her natural talent.
“Her voice had an interesting sound, reflective of history but with a nod to the future,” says Eckert.
Smith transferred to UNT and trans-formed her music focus in the rigorous jazz studies program. She won three DownBeat awards, one as a soloist and two as a member of the UNT Jazz Singers.
“UNT is the No. 1 school for jazz,” she says. “I knew I needed to be there if I really wanted to perform professionally.”
In her second trip to the Sarah Vaughan competition, the confidence Smith had gained from professional experience combined with her UNT-honed soulful sound to make a subtle difference.
“I was better this time embracing who I was,” she says. “Winning wasn’t my goal. I went in to get better.”
Smith felt confident until her perfor-mance of “Tight” from Betty Carter’s 1976 jazz album, when the accompanying instrumentalists faltered. With her audience, Smith laughed off two restarts, early key changes and a skipped final chorus. She was sure she’d lost. The judges — jazz greats like platinum-selling artist Ann Hampton Callaway, Grammy-nomi-nated Nnenna Freelon and producer Larry Rosen — thought differently.
“They said I handled it like a profession-al,” Smith says, “and I thank my UNT training for that.”
he second time was the charm for Ashleigh Smith (’11), who won the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Compe-tition in 2014 after being named first runner-up in 2012. The contest is designed to propel the career of an up-and-coming female vocalist to new heights.
Presented in November, the award known as the Sassy comes with a $5,000 cash prize and an exclusive recording con- tract with Concord Records. Smith also gets to perform in the highly acclaimed Jazz Roots Concert Series.
As a background vocalist for Grammy- winning R&B artist Chrisette Michelle since 2012, Smith knows how to work the stage with an ensemble or singing solo.
A graduate of the UNT vocal jazz program under the instruction of music professors Rosana Eckert, Jennifer Barnes and Timothy Brent, Smith has sung with The Manhattan Transfer and jazz singer and lyricist Jon Hendricks as a member of the UNT Jazz Singers. She also has performed across the U.S. and Northern Ireland. And as the 2014 Miss Black Texas USA, she promoted the preservation of music education in public schools.
“A lot of the arts are being ripped out of public school programs,” says Smith, who hopes to open a music academy in an at-risk neighborhood one day.
Born in LaGrange, Ga., to a family of music educators and informal musicians, she says music is in her DNA.
“As a baby, you had to sing me to sleep,” she laughs. “And it had to be good.”
by Monique Bird T
AshleighSmith
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Ashleigh Smith (’11)Lewisville
Favorite jazz song: When I was 8, my dad played a
recording of Ella Fitzgerald’s “How
High the Moon.” I was floored at
her voice, realizing she had sung
it on the spot. I learned that song
backward and forward. It was kind
of like love at first listen.
Lessons learned at UNT: My former professors Jennifer
Barnes and Rosana Eckert advised
me to be prepared, be early and
know the music. In this industry,
you never know when your big
moment is going to come. Also,
network and build relationships.
The UNT community is still
monumental to my success. All of
the recordings I have done were
with UNT classmates; even the
recordings I submitted to Sarah
Vaughan. I know anywhere I go,
there will be UNT alumni I can call
for gigs, go to dinner or stay with.
On the Sassy: I am honored to have people think
I was good enough to have an
award with Sarah Vaughan’s name
attached to it. The UNT jazz degree
is no joke. All those years of
singing, exams, juries and having
recital lessons where you couldn’t
get it down. It’s for myself, my
parents, UNT and everyone who
has ever invested in me. The
album from this recording contract
will be my first. I’m excited for
people to hear my sound.
Visit northtexan.unt.edu/
online to read more Q&A.
Kauw
uane Burton
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Muse Check outupcoming eventspage 21
GRAMMY GOLD
UNT alumni and faculty soak in prestigious Grammy Award nominations and wins for
contemporary Christian, jazz and opera.
THE MEAN GREEN SNAGGED GRAMMY GOLD. At the 57th annual Grammy Awards show in March, rapper Lecrae (’02) won for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Messengers,” which he performed with the duo For King & Country. Alumni saxophonist Jeff Driskill and trumpeter Dan Fornero, members of Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band, took the award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Life in the Bubble. And associate professor of voice Jennifer Lane sang on a recording of Darius Milhaud’s L’Orestie D’Eschyle that was nominat-ed for Best Opera Recording.
“It means a lot to me,” Lecrae says. “People are appreciating my music, the craft and the content. I’m really grateful.”
Read more about UNT’s Grammy wins at northtexan.unt.edu/grammy-gold.
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Finding authenticity
Lecrae’s road to the Grammys began his freshman year at UNT, when he visited the Music Building’s recording studio lab.
“It was phenomenal,” he says. “It just lit a fire in me.”From that lab, Lecrae, who attended UNT as Lecrae Moore, began
performing and producing music that he developed into a huge career as a hip-hop artist. His recent Grammy win and two other nomina-tions follow a 2013 win for Best Gospel Album for his work, Gravity. His latest album, Anomaly, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart last year — a first for a Christian hip-hop artist. And he is the co-founder of Atlanta-based Reach Records.
An applied arts and sciences major, Lecrae listened to the One O’Clock Lab Band in the University Union and says living in Bruce Hall gave him inspiration from other creative students.
“If you wanted to wear blue hair, you wore blue hair,” he says. At UNT, he also found the ministry that led to his strong Chris-
tian faith and met his wife, Darragh Moore (’01). He attended Bible study at Plumbline Ministries led by Dhati Lewis (’99), a former Mean Green football player now based in Atlanta, started ministering to his fellow students and volunteered in a juvenile detention hall.
In his song, “My Whole Life Changed,” Lecrae describes his tumultuous childhood and bout with drugs and mentions both UNT and Plumbline. His music is his outlet to express himself.
“I want it to be authentic,” he says. “I never want to be a caricature.” Inspiring one another
For Driskill and Fornero, Los Angeles-based musicians who attended UNT in the 1980s, the Grammy Award marks a big win.
“I still haven’t really ‘owned’ that a band I’m in has won a Grammy,” Driskill says. “It’s so great that the whole band has been recognized.”
The 18-member band has 14 previous nominations for Grammys.Fornero says his reaction can be summed up in one word — “relief!”Driskill has performed with many musicians, including Prince, Josh
Groban and Annie Lennox. He also played for the soundtracks of Toy Story 3 and The Princess and the Frog. He’s a member of the Chris Walden Big Band and the John Daversa Progressive Big Band.
Fornero, a former member of the One O’Clock Lab Band, played with the legendary Woody Herman. He’s played with Tom Jones, Phil Collins and Neil Diamond and played on the soundtracks of The Simpsons Movie, Toy Story 3 and Jersey Boys. He’s a member of the Bob Mintzer Big Band and released his CD, Not So Old School, last year.
Fornero says UNT’s emphasis on sight-reading and high bar of musicality prepared him for the “incredible amount of competition” among freelance musicians. Driskill agrees.
“North Texas is a unique community where musicians inspire one another to greater musical heights,” he says.
At left: Lecrae (’02) at the 2015 Grammy AwardsFrom top: Alumni musicians Jeff Driskill and Dan Fornero, and UNT associate professor of voice Jennifer Lane
Rob ShanahanSheila N
ewberry
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MuseBooks
War storiesIn his latest book, A Mad Catastrophe: Th e Outbreak of World War I and the
Collapse of the Habsburg Empire (Basic Books), history profes-sor Geoff rey Wawro fi lls in a neglected but crucial aspect of World War I: the disastrous di-plomacy, strategy and military performance of Austria-Hun-gary — which caused the war and doomed the German-led alliance by eroding the army’s military eff ectiveness.
Wawro, director of UNT’s Military History Center, has a
personal interest in the subject. “My paternal grandparents
came from Austrian Galicia — today’s western Ukraine — and my grandfather served in the Austro-Hungarian army before immigrating to America before the World War I,” he says.
Cochran tributeEconomics: From the Dismal Science to the Moral Science, Th e Moral
Economics of Kendall P. Cochran (UNT Press) compiles the writings of Cochran, who served as professor and chair of the economics department at UNT from 1957 to 1988.
Th e book was edited by
Susan Dadres, alumna and senior lecturer of economics; Mona S. Hersh-Cochran, Cochran’s widow and a retired economics professor at Texas Woman’s University; and David Molina, chair and associate professor of economics.
Cochran was a popular teacher, winning the ’Fessor Graham award in 1968. Pro - ceeds from the book go to the Melton-Cochran Scholarship Fund, created when Cochran retired to reward some of the best students at UNT.
“Th e theme running through his work is that economists have a moral responsibility to help society and to argue for social change,” Molina says.
Smartphone usageSmartphone users can tell friends and the world about their surrounding
space with apps such as Foursquare, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram and Yelp. Jordan Frith, assistant professor of technical communication, explores their impact in Smartphones as Locative Media (Wiley Books). Frith looks at how these services have changed the way users navigate and engage with the world.
“Th e privacy concerns are very real. Companies know a lot about our location informa-tion,” he says. “But, people fi nd them to be useful.”
Happy performanceTen-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin visited UNT in February to work with jazz
vocalists and the One O’Clock Lab Band.
He participated in question-and-answer sessions where he discussed a variety of topics
— everything from his experience in the music business to the types of microphones he
uses in performances. McFerrin also rehearsed with the One O’Clock Lab Band, sang duets
and rehearsed with jazz vocal students and participated in improvisation activities.
McFerrin, the vocal innovator known for his worldwide hit song Don’t Worry Be Happy and
his multi-platinum duo album Hush with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, improvises most of his per-
formed music in a form of scat singing.
“During this residency, our students had a rare and invaluable experience with Bobby
McFerrin, who challenged them all — instrumentalists and vocalists alike — to be truly
present in the moment of music-making and free themselves from many of the usual inhi-
bitions they might feel when it comes to improvisation,” says Jennifer Barnes, assistant
professor and director of vocal jazz. “In every way, he was an inspiration and role model of
this kind of thinking and being, and I know we will all take the lessons learned forward with us, with much gratitude.”
The week culminated with the sold-out Glenn E. Gomez Endowment concert featuring the students and McFerrin. McFerrin asked the 1,000-mem-
ber crowd to sing along and invited audience members on stage to sing and dance along with him. McFerrin’s residency was made possible by the
Glenn E. Gomez International Artists Endowment for Jazz Studies and the Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Art Series.
Mic
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Upcoming Events
Dance and Theatre
Leading role
Sally Vahle, associate pro-fessor of acting and voice, crossed an item off her bucket list — the title role in Medea in a production by the Dallas Theatre Center in February and March.
Vahle, a member of DTC’s Brierley Resident Acting Company, played the
At UNT on the Square, the UNT Painting and Drawing Show will display student work April 3-30, with a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. April 3. In Sushi in Cortez May 6-9, scholars will present poetry, film, photogra-phy and philosophy from fieldwork in the Mesa Verde region, with a public presentation May 9. Learn more at untonthesquare.unt.edu.
The 55th annual Voertman Student Art Competition will present student work in the College of Visual Arts and Design. Sara-Jayne Parsons (’96 M.A.) will serve as juror. The show runs April 7-25, with the reception and award ceremony from 5 to 7 p.m. April 9 in the UNT Art Gallery. Graduate students in the studio arts and design programs will show their work at the M.F.A. Showcase May 21-Aug. 29 at both the UNT Art Gallery and UNT ArtSpace Dallas, 1901 Main Street in Dallas. Visit gallery.unt.edu for more information.
The Fine Arts Series will present the African Culture Festival, featuring percussion professor Gideon Foli Alorwoyie, a tribal chief from the Volta Region of Ghana, West Africa, at 8 p.m. April 11 in the Music Building, Voertman Hall. Organist Daniel Roth, a leading French organ virtuoso, will perform at 8 p.m. April 21 in the Main Auditorium.
The 14th annual Campus Songwriters Competition finalists showcase will feature eight songwriters performing original compositions, with the winning musician receiving an invitation to perform and compete at the Kerville Folk Festival. It takes place at 7:30 p.m. April 28 in the Gateway Center. Learn more at studentaffairs.unt.edu/fine-arts-series.
The Symphony Orchestra and Grand Chorus will perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs at 8 p.m. April 29 at Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center. Members of the voice faculty will sing. The One O’Clock Lab Band and UNT Jazz Singers unite to showcase the Music of Gene Puerling at 8 p.m. April 16-17 at Voertman Hall in the Music Building. The family of the Grammy-winning vocal arranger donated his personal collection to UNT’s Music Library. Learn more at thempac.music.unt.edu.
Visit calendar.unt.edu for more upcoming events.
role in the same semester she is teaching Classical Styles, a UNT acting class that begins with the Greeks.
“I learn from my students every day and am constantly reminded of things that I need to remember in my own work,” she says.
“Because I teach what I live, I am able to develop a curriculum that not only en-hances traditional methods of teaching acting and voice, but also offers students practical current knowledge.”
Drumming up successYears ago, John Wasson
(’80, ’83 M.M.) wrote a big band arrangement of Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” for a band in Missouri. Then, in 2013, a music supervisor called him up to use it for an indepen-
dent film, Whiplash. The movie used the work for its climactic scene and won three Oscars at the 2015 Academy Awards.
“They heard the album from the Missouri band and decided that my version of ‘Caravan’ was the one they wanted,” says Was-son. “I never thought it would end up in a movie.”
The movie, about an abusive jazz professor played by J.K. Simmons who skimps on praise and doles out reprimands and physical punishments, uses Wasson’s work to showcase the main character’s jazz drumming. But Wasson’s own experience study-ing jazz at UNT was far from that traumatic.
“It was a great experience,” he says. “I was part of the One O’Clock Lab Band and we went to Europe twice. ”
Wasson works at his studio in McKinney where he writes music and also works as a church music director.
“This was kind of a good luck thing,” Wasson says. “It was complete happenstance. But I’m grateful for it.”
Mic
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MuseMusic honors
College of Music doctoral students Jason Pockrus and Kimary Fick have earned pres-tigious research awards.
Pockrus, a saxophone per-formance major, received a Ful-bright U.S. Student Program grant to study at the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China, where he will transcribe classical Chinese music using the saxophone to replicate the sound of instruments tradition-al to the country.
Fick, a musicology major, was awarded a fellowship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Service to research German archives re-lating to her dissertation titled “Sensitivity Inspiration and Ra-tional Aesthetics: Music in the Early German Enlightenment.” She traveled to Germany to explore how listening to and performing music were con-sidered necessary for morality during the time period.
Midlake news
Midlake’s members are mak-ing their mark, from the silver screen to Denton’s downtown square. The band, including former music students Paul Alexander, Joey McClellan, Eric Nichelson, Eric Pulido and McKenzie Smith, was the
co-musical theatre teacher at Coppell Middle School North, and his barbershop quartet group, Clutch!, won first place in the Southwestern District’s Barbershop Harmony Society’s quartet championship last fall.
Lotspeich, right, began bar-bershop singing in high school and also performs with Dallas’ Vocal Majority Chorus.
“The support of my won-derful college professors and my barbershop friends fueled my passion for singing and has helped me begin a very fulfilling career,” he says.
Music
Barbershop winner
As a music education major, Charlie Lotspeich (’10) sang up to seven hours a day in Concert Choir, Recital Choir, voice lessons and barbershop performances. Now he works as a head choir director and
subject of the documentary Midlake: Live in Denton, TX by actor Jason Lee that pre-miered at Denton’s Thin Line festival in February.
Nichelson helped co-found the Denton Music Workshop with bandmate Jesse Chand-ler this spring. It began as Midlake’s studio and now also features a music school and rehearsal space for bands.
Smith, who co-owns the popular Paschall Bar on the downtown square, is adding another eclectic restaurant to the square called 940’s that will open this summer. Pulido also has opened the restaurant Bar-ley and Board on the square.
Television and Film
Documentary maker
A new documentary by David Alvarado (’07) has re-ceived critical acclaim. Alvarado served as director and cinema-tographer for The Immortalists, which features two eccentric scientists who want to reverse the aging process and poten-tially never die from old age.
The film has played in more than 20 cities and in some of the top film festivals around the world. The movie, which is available on iTunes and will be on Netflix, earned good reviews
Design for living Loyd Taylor (’59) was named to D Home Magazine’s 50 Best Designers survey — capping a long career as one of Dallas’ top interior designers.
Taylor owns Loyd-Paxton, which he
ran with his partner, the late Paxton Gremillion. Taylor’s love for fine arts and decoration began as a young
child when his mother — who studied to be a fashion designer — taught him to feel the textures of fabrics, study color combi-nations and appreciate fine details and craftsmanship.
His education at North Texas — under such faculty as Ray Gough, Cora Stafford and Ron Williams — further paved his career. He gave back to UNT by donating a large collection of his mother’s and his personal clothing to the Texas Fashion Collection in 2012.
“I believe UNT has one of the best art schools in the United States, but from there, any student must continue to study, keep up with current trends, travel, look at great examples of design-ers’ work, look at great interiors of all periods and use the classics as a reference in all styles for balance, form, arrangements,” he says. “I am continually studying, going to exhibits and lectures, and meeting people of all cultures from around the world.”
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UNT helped David McMahon (’97) become David Chicken.
David Chicken is the children’s music performer who has released three CDs and two DVDs
and won three Emmy Awards from the Lone Star Emmy chapter.
McMahon, who majored in communication design with a minor in radio, television and
fi lm, took many music classes and had written funny original songs that didn’t fi t with the
local bands he was in at the time.
“So I made one CD under the name David Chicken and, much to my surprise, kids and
parents alike loved the music,” he says. “I loved performing it and they say to do what you
love, so I did more of that.”
During his act, his dog Chihuahua Super Joanie performs tricks in between songs. He has
entertained families of U.S. Navy members in Guam, Italy, Japan and Spain. His mother, Jane
McMahon, helped build the show and rapped as “Mama Chicken” before she passed away
last year. She helped foster art and music in McMahon, paying for private lessons and taking
him to many live shows. McMahon recently launched a charity, Mama Chicken’s Kitchen, in
honor of his mother to help provide food and supplies for the homeless in Dallas.
The Dallas resident also co-owns the graphic design fi rm Bottle Rocket, which specializes
in corporate branding and marketing. On most weekends David can be caught singing and
rapping in the Elvis-inspired band Graceland Ninjaz, which performs across the nation.
“UNT instilled a sense of adventure and wonder, and a yearning to achieve big goals,” he
says. “I fi nd that I am one of the few people I know who actually have a career doing exactly
what they went to school for. I credit UNT — and my mom — for allowing that to happen.”
Watch videos of McMahon’s performances at northtexan.unt.edu/online.
from Th e New York Times and the Huffi ngton Post.
“Th e professors and classes at UNT were exactly what I needed to move forward after graduating,” Alvarado says.
Visual Arts
Art meets science
Artists and astrophysicists will come together to collaborate on the newest project by associate professor Ruth West, thanks
Renaissance chicken
to a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for INSTRUMENT: One Antarctic Night.
West will lead the team in producing software that will allow the public to manipulate 300,000 images of the uni-verse captured by the robotic Antarctic telescope CSTAR. Touch screens at a gallery exhibition and a mobile web app will allow participants to “remix” the astrophysics visual and sound data extracted by the team, thereby creating new and unique visuals and sounds.
West’s project blends art and science to help humanity understand the universe in new ways and enables artists
to express data and make it available for everyone to expe-rience and enjoy. Her work was featured in Artweek, Wired’s NextFest, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and galleries and museums worldwide.
Picture perfect
Mariah Tyler (’14) is off to a great start with her career as a photo editor. She is working in the Steven A. Baron Work
Scholar Program at the Aperture Foundation in New York City.
For six months, she will work with photographers, editors and designers on the production and editing of Aperture-published photobooks.
She majored in studio art photography and anthropology, a combination that “had me critical of human storytelling and how photographs have a powerful impact in the way people conceive ideas about the world.”
Her experience writing for a photography blog led her to her position and future aspirations.
“Photo editors are in a position to edit and sort of control visual literacy and how photography is used in publications.”
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Each day, from Texas to Egypt to India to China, back to the United States and at dozens of other worldwide public locales, people experience art created by UNT alumni. Spectators might see a granite monolith reaching for the sky, a metal design twisting its way down a path or photographs of the faces of fellow community members. Alumni who create public art say it should blend in with a community while enhancing it, evoking thought and giving those who live there an appreciation for the shared meaning of art.
“Without art, we’re a cultureless society,” says Jesús Moroles (’78), whose acclaimed public art sculptures contributed to former President George W. Bush awarding him the 2008 National Medal of the Arts, the highest award given to artists by the U.S. president. “It’s good for aesthetics, but you also can tie everything back to it. You can teach mathematics with it. You can learn a lot from art.”
by Margarita Venegas
Art alumni create cultural landmarks for community spaces worldwide that enhance environments, reflect society and activate imaginations
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UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design, considered one of the best art schools in the South and Southwest, has a legacy of notable alumni such as Moroles and other acclaimed sculptors, painters, designers and educators.
In sharing their talent with audiences in a public forum, these artists break down barriers with works worldwide that are acces-sible, engaging, reflective, empathetic and honest.
Moroles, for example, has art in Egypt, China and India and in the White House. At the Smithsonian Institute, his work also includes permanent collection pieces.
“Art is one of the things that might save us, save humanity,” Moroles says. “If we could get people out of their cities, out of their countries and traveling to see art around the world, then we’d all have more of an open mind toward each other.”
SACRED PLACES In presenting Moroles with the 2008 National Medal of the Arts,
Bush noted the alumnus’ “enduring achievements as a sculptor” that “grace America’s landscape.” It was a proud moment for Moroles and for his parents, who attended with him and his daughter, who he says is his greatest achievement.
It also was a long way from Moroles’ childhood along the Gulf Coast of Texas, where his parents sent him to work with his uncle, a master mason from Mexico, during the summers.
“He built hurricane-proof homes and hotels,” Moroles recalls. “I was 13 at the time and my attitude was, ‘If I can make a hur-ricane-proof home, then I can do anything.’ I think that’s how I gravitated to the heavy stuff.”
Moroles’ medium is granite. When he can, he uses locally sourced granite for projects because it’s important to connect art to the com-munity, he says. He prepares and finishes much of his work at his studio in Rockport before shipping it out for installation.
When he arrived at UNT, he had never worked with stone or granite before. The first time he hit the granite, his chisel broke in half. But a bit of research and some additional shopping later, he acquired goggles, ear plugs and a coat to protect him from the debris cloud kicked up by the pneumatic hammer required to cut through the stone.
“When I’m working, I’m in this cocoon,” Moroles says. “That first time I was working on the piece, it was pushing me and I was pushing back. When I turned off the pneumatic hammer and the dust settled, there were 30 other students standing right next to me. That’s when I felt a connection between me and the stone. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and I think everyone around me could see that struggle. They could feel it.”
Moroles’ ability to challenge himself through his sculptures impressed many early in his career. In 1982, he earned a prestigious Awards in the Visual Arts fellowship, and in 1985, he received a National Endowment for the Arts matching grant for an environ-mental installation in Alabama. In 1987, he completed one of his favorite — and likely most viewed — pieces. Lapstrake, a 64-ton, 22-foot-tall sculpture sits in the heart of New York City, just across from the Museum of Modern Art.
“To have a piece of art in Manhattan is a major feat,” says Moroles, who received a UNT Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996. “I feel proud that it was put there so early on in my career.”
One piece that is very meaningful to Moroles is the 1990 Houston Police Officers Memorial, one of his largest-scale single works. Shaped like a cross with one pyramid in the center, it has four outer pyramids inverted that sink into the ground.
“It’s in the vein of work that I’m doing now, creating sacred spaces in the world,” Moroles says. “After I finished it, someone sent me a photo of two daughters of a police officer who died, who were at the memorial. They said it was their favorite place. I want it to celebrate life. I believe these spaces should be used. By being used, they create an energy that celebrates life.”
Jesús Moroles (’78), sculptor and National
Medal of the Arts recipient, has work in public
spaces worldwide, including the Houston Police Officers Memorial.
Barrett DeBusk (’82), sculptor, created The Fat Happies series, located in cities across the country including Santa Fe, N.M.
David C. Iles (’77 M.F.A.), sculptor, created Wildflower
Great Egrets located at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower
Center in Austin.
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Leisa Rich (’07 M.F.A.), fiber artist, creates 3-D installations for traveling exhibitions at airports and universities.
Letitia Huckaby (’10 M.F.A.) used photography and mixed
media for a public installation at Oak Cliff Branch Library in Dallas.
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PERSONABLE AND ACCESSIBLE Public art bridges the gap between artist and viewer, says David
C. Iles (’77 M.F.A.). He recalls taking his son, Martin, to museums at a young age so that the youth could appreciate art — but the obvious disconnection bothered him.
“He was 3 and we told him, ‘Put your hands in your back pocket. Don’t touch,’” remembers Iles. “I like public art because it’s more personable. You can touch it. I like the idea that viewers can feel a sense of ownership over the art.”
The path to creating public art sculptures almost didn’t happen for Iles. Originally a painter, he took a class in sculpture after com-pleting his undergraduate degree at Lamar University. He enjoyed it and began to get serious about sculpture while working at the lumber yard owned by his wife’s family, carving pieces of wood.
“When I came to North Texas to get my master’s degree, I had never cast metal; I was only carving in wood,” Iles says. “The profes-sors here were very open to letting us explore and experiment with different media.”
After a brief career working in oil fields, Iles gravitated back toward art and worked for UNT in the metals shop from 1987 to 2000. It was after an encounter with Dallas real estate developer Trammell Crow that Iles realized his dream of working full time as a sculpture artist.
“I had been making a lot of animal skulls, skeletons and mario-nettes,” Iles says. “Mr. Crow asked if I could do some pieces for him so I started creating animals with their flesh on and I liked it.”
Iles’ lifelike grackles, deer, rabbits, ducks, squirrels and other wildlife attracted attention. He has pieces at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Dallas Arboretum and public commis-sions from the city of Denton, the Irving Art Association and others.
At his foundry north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Iles casts his own and other artists’ projects, using UNT students when he can.
“It was a dream come true to work full time as an artist,” Iles says. “It’s important to be involved in public art, nice to do something that so many people get to see and experience.”
UNIVERSAL AUDIENCEWhile completing his master’s degree, Iles taught classes at UNT,
and freshman Barrett DeBusk soaked up everything he could from Iles’ 3-D art class.
“I went straight for sculpture,” says DeBusk (’82). “I put myself through school building houses. I liked the construction part of it.”
When DeBusk started creating metal sculptures, he received en-couragement from the art faculty. He remembers Regents Professor of ceramics Elmer Taylor telling him that his works looked cool and that he should do more of them.
“That was about the best advice from a teacher I’ve received,” DeBusk says, “to keep going.”
DeBusk’s early sculptures led to a series in the 1990s of welded steel structures painted black to look like ink drawings of people engaged in different activities — playing in a band, riding bikes.
DeBusk’s next body of work was what he calls The Fat Happies, playful, brightly colored tubular sculptures that stand on one leg and have the other leg and arms spread out as if dancing.
“Outdoor sculpture needs color, especially if it’s sort of humor-ous,” he says, “and I’ve never been one to be too serious.”
His artwork, which appeals to children and adults, was chosen for Santa Fe’s Art in Public Places program and Art in the Streets in Mesa, Ariz., and is featured at a playground in Washington, D.C., the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and a children’s hospital in Chicago. DeBusk was in college when he visited his first museum and says it’s important to him to reach out to children so they can experience art at a young age.
“Kids will tell you the truth about what they think,” he says, “and if they respond well to your work, you’ve hit a universal nerve.”
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Creating public art also is a way to give back to people, says Letitia
Huckaby (’10 M.F.A.). “I like that you can create something specific to the community,”
says Huckaby, who uses photography and mixed media in her work.She was a documentary photographer when she decided to pur-
sue her master’s at UNT. Right before she started, her father died. The experience made her think about how she’d always wanted to tell others’ stories through her photography but never her own. So, she began to concentrate on stories from Louisiana and Mississippi where her family is from — places she didn’t get to know since she was in a military family that traveled for much of her childhood.
“The work I just finished is a portrait project on a group of nuns in New Orleans,” Huckaby says. “They are an African American order that was started in the late 1800s and is still going strong.”
She printed the images onto fabric, hand-stitched them in traditional quilting patterns and had them framed. Using quilts as a subject is something she learned from observing her husband’s work, a painter who was a great inspiration during her time at UNT.
“My professor, Dornith Doherty, really pushed me,” Huckaby says. “It was kind of odd to be in the photo program making quilts,
“Without art, we’re a cultureless society.
It’s good for aesthetics, but you also can tie
everything back to it. ” —Jesús Moroles (’78)
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but she encouraged me to find my voice and allowed me the space to use mixed media.”
That experience at UNT led her to create public art in Dallas and Fort Worth using photographs and more. At the Trinity River trailhead, her artwork commissioned by Fort Worth nonprofit Streams and Valleys includes black-and-white images of community members printed on porcelain enamel steel. The weather-proof substance allows the art to remain on display year-round. Her most recent public artwork is a photographic installation at Oak Cliff Branch Library in Dallas.
“My family and I went to see the library project after it was installed, and while we were there, we saw a young man walking toward us,” Huckaby recalls. “It was one of the teenagers I had pho-tographed and he got this big smile on his face. That just made me so happy — to see him recognize himself in a piece of artwork.”
Public art also is fulfilling for artists because their artwork is constantly on view, rather than only on display every so often.
“With public art,” she says, “the work is always being engaged by the community.”
REFLECTION OF LIFE Public art can inspire and provoke, says Leisa Rich (’07 M.F.A.).
It can be positive or negative, a political statement or fun, she notes.“It can open up people’s minds in ways they’re not normally
exposed to,” she says. “A good part of the public will never go to a gallery or a museum. I think it is the responsibility of public art to expose those people to creativity.”
That creativity many times comes in the form of contemporary art since it’s often the work of living artists. That is helpful for artists such as Rich, whose artwork has been seen in Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport, at the Los Angeles airport, in the Dallas Museum of Art, in university and public art galleries, museums around the nation and traveling international exhibitions. Rich also is a finalist for a large commission for Fulton County Public Art in Atlanta, Ga., and will exhibit at the Baylor University gallery in fall 2016.
She started as a fiber artist creating 3-D and installations, but lately has branched out to include 3-D printing in her mixed media constructions and environments. Rich notes that having her art in the public domain allows her to reach a diverse audience.
Reaching out to others is important to Rich, who is partially deaf. A confrontation with a clerk who ridiculed her inability to hear firmed up the importance of working through her issues with her disability in her art — something that others responded to as well. In fall 2014, Rich won Crafthaus and Surface Design Association project grants to organize an exhibition and events showcasing works by artists with disabilities who remain positive and creative despite dealing with everything from bipolar disorder to brain injury.
“The majority of artists are doing this to give something of ourselves and to get something back from the viewers,” Rich says. “When you put your artwork on display, you are reaching out to other people. You hope to affect them in some way.”
UNT’S ART ON CAMPUS More than 80 pieces of art are displayed on UNT’s campus, including the works of 13 alumni. These pieces represent media such as sculpture, fiber, painting and drawing, and can be found outdoors and inside buildings on campus. The university’s art collection is complemented by collections held by the College of Visual Arts and Design, the University Union, the University Archives and Judge Sarah T. Hughes Reading Room, the library’s Rare Book Room and the College of Music. UNT has made it a long-standing practice to commission, purchase and accept gifts of artwork. Two of the earliest known works include a mural painted in 1935 that depicts campus life and a cast marble sculpture created in 1940, titled The Student. Go to northtexan.unt.edu/online to see the results of a recent photo scavenger hunt highlighting alumni artwork on campus such as the Diamondback Ruin Totem by Jesús Moroles (’78) in the lobby of the Office of the President; Caged and Confused, a sculpture by Barrett DeBusk (’82) on the lawn at the north-west corner of the Art Building (pictured above); and J.K.G. Silvey and animal sculptures by David C. Iles (’77 M.F.A.) around the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building. And share what your favorite artwork was when you were a student on campus.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES Learn how alumna Jo Williams (’69) has made
a difference in the Denton community as an active watercolor artist and volunteer with the Greater Denton Arts Council for years. Also read about art master’s student Julie Libersat’s recent award from the Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas competition for the app she
designed to explore art in an urban setting at northtexan.unt.edu/online.
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P OW E R O F Research
With creative researchers, state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, UNT is putting an increased focus on each to develop an even stronger research enterprise. This year, UNT is investing in creating Research Institutes of Excellence in areas where there is a critical mass of knowledge and faculty collaborat-ing on research. This not only enhances the educational experi-ence of students by giving them crucial critical thinking and problem-solving skills, but leads to opportunities to connect with industry and business through partnerships, technology transfer and commercialization to support robust economic development in the North Texas region and beyond.
“Increasing UNT’s research enterprise will help us enhance our role in tackling societal problems, finding solutions and making discoveries, while achieving our goal of becoming recog-nized as a top-tier research university,” says Tom McCoy, vice president for research and economic development.
UNT is growing as a public research university by focusing research efforts on
solutions and partnerships.
Read more about UNT Research at research.unt.edu.
Leveraging Strengths
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Brian Sauser, associate professor of logistics and director of UNT’s Complex Logistics Systems Laboratory.
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F A C I L I T I E SUNT’s research facilities and state-of-the-art instrumentation are key to new discov-
eries. Associate professor of chemistry Guido Verbeck’s patented nanomanipula-tor, housed in UNT’s university-managed BioAnalytics Facility, is helping research-ers examine the chemistry of individual cancer cells. And UNT’s Center for Ad-
vanced Research and Technology (CART) provides characterization and computa-
tional methods to analyze new materials, while UNT’s TALON high-performance
computing system calculates big data.
N E W I N S T I T U T E SThis year, UNT will launch three insti-
tutes: the Logistics Systems Institute, the BioDiscovery Institute and the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute. Each builds on UNT’s existing expertise — areas in which UNT faculty are recognized for making signifi cant
impacts. These initiatives create a stron-ger platform for research, federal funding and public-private partnerships. And they give UNT new ways to partner with indus-try and further contribute to the region’s
economic growth.
D E S I G N R E F R E S HVisit the newly redesigned UNT Research website to learn how
UNT researchers are solving real-world issues, such as preserving our drinking water, understanding cancer cells more clearly, creating bio-based products by mimicking
plants’ natural systems, making safer materials for aircraft and solving logistics issues by more effi ciently managing dis-
tribution of goods and services and responding to emergencies quickly. Visit research.unt.edu.
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LLaurie Y. Carrillo’s (’94 TAMS) work has to survive in a tough place — space. As a thermal engineer at NASA, Carrillo creates the calculations so hardware — such as payload experiments on the International Space Station — can withstand the extreme hot and cold temperatures in orbit.
“I get to see the payloads go from a computer screen to the robotic arm installing them on the station,” she says. “It is very rewarding, and also kind of humbling, to see my little piece of the puzzle that I am able to contribute.”
Carrillo can trace her career at NASA to her time at UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. The program that allows gifted teenagers to complete their last two years of high school while working on their first two years of college is celebrating 25 years since graduating its first class.
In 1987, TAMS became the nation’s first accelerated residential program for students to take research-focused university classes while earning the equivalent of a high school diploma, and it since has graduated 4,000 students. These students consistently win and are finalists for the most prestigious competitions for high school students in math, science and engineering — the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, the Intel Science Talent Search and the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.
“One of the most significant opportunities TAMS students have is to be mentored by UNT professors, who are at the cutting edge of their fields,” says Dean Glênisson de Oliveira, who joined TAMS in January. “In this environment, our talented students flourish and go on to make significant contributions as researchers and scientists.”
Carrillo is one of the 85 percent of TAMS alumni who earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in STEM fields. They are solving real-world problems, from designing materials for space to creating better medical devices, practicing high-risk neurosurgery and fighting malaria. And they credit TAMS for provid-ing them with faculty mentors, research projects and scholarship opportunities that paved their way to success.
STEM Innovators
by Jessica DeLeón
UNT’s Texas
Academy of
Mathematics and
Science celebrates
25 years in
preparing the next
generation of
engineers,
scientists
and physicians.
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International Space StationCarrillo remembers lying on her dorm
room fl oor at McConnell Hall, the residence hall dedicated to TAMS students, fi lling out an application for a scholarship sponsored by NASA.
“Th at application,” she says, “really changed my whole life.”
In earning the scholarship and the internship that came with it, she fulfi lled a dream to work for the space agency that was sparked in her childhood when she saw astronaut Sally Ride on Sesame Street.
Th e San Antonio native learned about TAMS during a summer math camp at UNT. While at TAMS, Carrillo partici-pated in two internships that focused on biomedical engineering and geophysics — giving her a taste of industry research. Th e NASA scholarship allowed her to work summers at the Johnson Space Center while she attended Rice University.
After earning bachelor’s degrees in computational and applied math and in materials science and engineering, she was off ered a full-time job at NASA. She worked in aerospace engineering and space operations while earning her master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Rice.
Currently, Carrillo is teaming up with the Japanese space agency Jaxa, which will use its vehicle to replace nickel hydrogen batteries with lithium ion batteries at the space station. She also is working with commercial companies Space X and Orbital Sciences Corp., which launch cargo to the station.
She teaches at Rice and the University of Houston at Clear Lake and often speaks to high school students about her career.
“I never had a female Hispanic engineer-ing professor,” she says. “Now I’m going to be able to share that experience.”
Biomedical advancesChris Bettinger (’99 TAMS) wants to
make it easier for people to take their medicine. He researches biomaterials- based medical devices as an assistant professor of materials science and biomedi-cal engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa.
He says he has liked solving problems ever since he attended TAMS. He worked with Kent Chapman, Regents Professor of biological sciences, to help extract diff erent plant tissues as natural sources of small lipid molecules that could extend the life of fl owers, research which he entered in the Siemens competition. Chapman remem-
bers Bettinger’s “tenacity and staying power,” traits essential in researching new materials, which may not always pan out.
Bettinger earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, master’s in biomedi-cal engineering and doctorate in materials science and engineering at the Massachu-setts Institute of Technology. He was a fi nalist in MIT’s $100,000 Entrepreneur-ship Competition for his part in creating a device that controls the release of drugs around the site of hip replacement surgery.
He’s received several patents for his work in making polymers stretchable, so when seeded in cells, they can grow and be used for wound healing and tissue regeneration. Th ey also can be used as materials for ingestible electronics for smart drug delivery systems or noninvasive biosensing.
“You have to be an eternal optimist,” he says, likening it to baseball players who are more likely to get an out than a hit. “You have to be persistent with risky projects that might fail because the payoff could be a transformative idea or technology.”
High-risk neurosurgeryMany people would see neurosurgery as
an intense fi eld. But siblings Toral Patel (’99 TAMS) and Ankur Patel (’05 TAMS) see it as a way to change lives. Toral, a
Gary Payne
Chris Bettinger (’99 TAMS)Ankur Patel (’05 TAMS) and Toral Patel (’99 TAMS)
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neurosurgeon and researcher, and Ankur, a resident in neurosurgery, both work at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
At TAMS, Toral studied cardiac perfusion at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth and enjoyed the investigative aspects of science.
“TAMS inspired me to not just be a doctor, but to be a doctor who’s constantly questioning and innovating,” she says.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree at UT Southwestern, where she returned last year after a residency at the Yale School of Medicine. Now, she researches nanoparti-cle-based drug deliveries for the central nervous system.
Ankur Patel followed his sister to TAMS and, under the guidance of UNT biology professor Jannon Fuchs, studied primary cilia and their possible signifi cance in neuron formation, diseases and defects.
Th at research led to his recognition as a 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. After TAMS, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his medical degree from UT Southwestern.
Th e Patels also have collaborated on cases with their older sister, Shivani Patel, an assistant professor of obstetrics and
Debra Endley/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Courtesy Julie Thwing
gynecology at UT Southwestern. Together, they removed a brain tumor from a woman who was 26 weeks pregnant.
Helping high-risk patients is challenging but rewarding. Ankur says he often sees patients, many young and in the prime of their lives, after a bad car accident.
“Some don’t survive their head injuries,” he says. “But, there are other times we can intervene through surgery and save patients’ lives. Th ey walk out of the hospital and go back to their families, friends and jobs. It is those moments that you cherish.”
Malaria initiativesA lifelong love for international work and
her TAMS education helps Julie Th wing (’93 TAMS) fi ght malaria.
Th wing, who grew up in Cameroon where her parents served as missionaries, attended high school in Duncanville. She learned about the TAMS program when a student spoke to her math class.
While at TAMS, she researched the eff ects of low water oxygen concentration with biology professor Tom Beitinger, won a fellowship to study the eff ects of altitude on exercise — and gained the experience and skills to be admitted to one of the country’s most prestigious universities.
“I wouldn’t have made it to Harvard if I
hadn’t been through TAMS,” Th wing says.During college, she took a year off to
volunteer for a public health outreach organization in Cameroon, which inspired her to pursue a career in international health. She attended medical school at Vanderbilt University, completing a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, then worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.
She’s been with the CDC ever since, working for its malaria branch in Atlanta until 2012, when she moved to Senegal to serve with the President’s Malaria Initia-tive. Th wing also has tutored Somali Bantu refugees and traveled to Africa and Haiti to help people battling tuberculosis and HIV.
“I love my job,” she says. “It’s the combi-nation of a fascination with science and the ability to have an impact on the lives of other people.”
Learn about Tiff any Jiang, a TAMS student who
presented her forensic chemistry research at the Texas State Capitol in Austin as part of Texas Undergraduate Research Day at northtexan.unt.edu/tiff any-jiang.
Julie Th wing (’93 TAMS)
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Join us under oak trees & sunshine for the finest jazz in Texas
UNT’s award-winning musicians return to the UNT Showcase Stage for the 35th annual Denton Arts & Jazz Festival. Unwind as various ensembles — including the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band — show off the trademark creativity that makes UNT a mecca for coming-of-age music legends year after year.
Visit dentonjazzfest.com for more information and performance schedules.
unt.edu
Denton Arts & Jazz Festival
Quakertown Park5 –11 p.m. April 2410 a.m.–11 p.m. April 2511 a.m.–9 p.m. April 26
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NestEAGLES’
Save the dates for UNT’s 125th anniversary events page 39
SWINGING SUCCESS
Former Mean Green golfer is voted Web.com Player of the Year and lands spot on the PGA Tour.
Read more about Ortiz’s time as a UNT student-athlete at northtexan.unt.edu/swinging-success.
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CARLOS ORTIZ (’13) HAS ALWAYS LOVED TO play golf. As a boy watching his parents and grandfather play at their local golf club in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, he was inspired to take up the sport. Now, he’s a professional. His career success began with the 2013-14 season on the develop-mental Web.com Tour. His peers voted him the Web.com Player of the Year, and his three tournament wins — at the Panama Claro Championship, the El Bosque Mexico Championship and the WinCo Foods Portland Open — earned him an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour and fully exempt status for the year. Ortiz, who is only the sixth Mexican-born golfer to gain PGA Tour eligibility, says he’s very proud.
“Representing my country is a great honor.”
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C O N N E C T I N G W I T H Friends
EAGLES’ Nest
1936 Anna
McReynolds Guffin, Pacific Grove, Calif. :: cele-
brated her 100th birthday in
December. Her passion for music
led her to study at the Fort Worth
Conservatory as a concert violin-
ist. She also played the organ and
studied voice. She taught for more
than 40 years and earned a mas-
ter’s in school administration from
what is now California State
University at San Francisco.
1963 Janice Stahly Scott, Plano :: is
the namesake for Janice Stahly
Scott Elementary School, opened
in Frisco ISD last year. She retired
from the district in 2010 after
teaching for 18 years and serving
as library media specialist for 15
years. She earned teacher certifica-
tion from North Texas in 1979.
1968
Olivia Masih White (’83 Ph.D.), Falmouth, Mass. :: was
elected president of the New
Comers Club of Falmouth. She
also serves on the boards of the
Cape Cod Council of Churches
and Church Women United. She
taught in UNT’s Department of
Biological Sciences for 20 years,
retiring in 2003.
1969 James H. Jorgensen (’70 M.S.), Boerne :: was named
Emeritus Professor at the Univer-
sity of Texas Health Science Cen-
ter in San Antonio in 2014. Until
partially retiring last spring, he
served as professor of pathology,
medicine (infectious diseases),
microbiology and immunology
and clinical laboratory sciences
and was director of the Clinical
Microbiology Laboratory of Uni-
versity Hospital for 38 years.
Jazz Band and assistant director
and director of the Gator March-
ing Band for many years.
1973
Thomas Allen, Kempner :: published Jenny Kissed Me!, a
historical romance novel extolling
the beauty of Eros as seen from
the perspective of C. S. Lewis.
He retired in 2011 after 25 years
as a professor of philosophy for
Central Texas College in Killeen.
1976
David Tiffin, Coppell :: joined
William Blair & Co., a global
investment and asset management
firm, as a director in the debt cap-
ital markets group. He specializes
in K-12 and community college
finance. He has served as an assis-
tant superintendent and CFO in
the Richardson ISD for 26 years
and had financing roles at RBC
Capital Markets, David Tiffin &
Associates, and Robert W. Baird
& Co. for 12 years.
1978 Jim Durrum, Gilmer ::
retired after 35 years as a parole
and probation officer. He is a
member of the Kappa Sigma
Fraternity. He has been a school
board member at Harmony ISD
for 14 years. He has two children
— Molly (’09) and Will, a
sophomore at UNT.
1970 Darrell Bledsoe, Amarillo ::
was appointed coordinator of
music business studies at West
Texas A&M University in
August. He has traveled the world
as an author and recording pro-
ducer for Simon and Schuster and
McGraw/Hill publishing and has
more than 9,000 production
credits to his name, selling more
than 30 million units.
1971
Lizzy Greene Hargrove, Houston :: is a poet, artist and
collector of nostalgia. At North
Texas, she was the 1968 Home-
coming Queen. She is pictured
with her granddaughters Cam-
eron and Jessica Hargrove.
Gary Langford (M.M.), Gainesville, Fla. :: was inducted
into the Florida Bandmasters
Association’s Roll of Distinction.
He is a Professor Emeritus of
music at the University of Flor-
ida, where he has worked for 38
years, serving as director of the
Keep up with the latest developments in the UNT family and tell your peers what you’ve been up to since leaving the nest. Send your news to The North Texan (see contact information on page 4). Members of the UNT Alumni Association are designated with a .
Read more, share comments and connect with friends
at northtexan.unt.edu.
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 39
Bruce Jor-dan, Fort Worth. ::
published his
third book, En Recuerdo de: The Dying Art of Mexican Cemeteries in the South-west (University of Nebraska
Press). His photographs of the
cemeteries are accompanied by
essays. He is a documentary pho-
tographer and a guest speaker at
photography workshops. He also
has written Texas Trilogy: Life in a Small Texas Town and Early Texas Schools: A Photographic History.
1980
William B. Baun (M.S.), Houston :: contributed two
chapters on workplace health
promotion management for the
textbooks Health Promotion in the Workplace and Corporate Wellness Programs. He also received the
Lifetime Achievement Award
from the National Wellness As-
sociation. He is wellness officer at
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Doyle Dillon, Portland, Ore. :: joined LoanStar as a loan of-
ficer at the Portland branch. He
previously worked in both the
hospitality and transportation
industries and has worked eight
years in the mortgage business.
When he is not working, he
enjoys cycling and exploring
the great Northwest with his
dog. He recently completed his
first triathlon.
Janet McLain, Bend, Ore. ::
was named an Oregon finalist for
the 2014 Presidential Awards in
Excellence in Mathematics and
Science Teaching, the nation’s
highest honors for teachers of
math and science. She has taught
in Oregon since graduation.
Michael J. Truncale (M.B.A.), Beaumont :: a partner at Or-
gain, Bell & Tucker LLP, received
a diploma in international arbi-
tration and was made a fellow
in the London-based Chartered
Institute of Arbitration, a leading
organization for the appointment
of international arbitrators. He
is married to Denise Holland Truncale (’82 M.M.Ed.) and
is the son of the late Joseph Truncale (’47) and the late
Ruth Henderson Truncale (’46, ’47 M.M.)
1981 Lisa
Burkhardt Worley, Flower Mound ::
co-wrote the book If I Only Had … Wrapping Yourself in God’s Truth During Storms of Insecurity (Believer’s Press). She founded
Pearls of Promise Ministries and
previously worked as a sports
reporter for KENS-TV in San
Antonio, HBO’s Inside the NFL, ESPN and the Madison Square
Upcoming Alumni GatheringsMany exciting events are planned to celebrate UNT’s 125th anniversary year. Here are a few events on our calendar:
Green and White Game: The 2015 spring football scrimmage will take place at 2 p.m. April 18 at UNT’s Apogee Stadium. Admission is free. Get season tickets at meangreensports.com.
UNT Kuehne Speaker Series on National Security: Andrea Tantaros, co-host of Outnumbered on the Fox News Channel, is the guest speaker at 11:30 a.m. May 12 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas. The series was established by Ernie Kuehne (ʼ66), an attorney and president and board chair of Kuehne Oil Co., to showcase UNT programs and faculty engaged in issues related to national and human security. To register, visit kuehneseries.unt.edu.
Spring 2015 Commencement: UNT’s inaugural University-wide Commencement ceremony begins at 8 p.m. May 16 at Apogee Stadium. A Jazz on the Green festival from 4 to 7 p.m. ushers in the event, which will include a nationally prominent speaker and will serve as the soft launch of UNT’s 125th anniversary celebrations. Also, Undergraduate College Recognition Ceremonies will take place May 15 and 16 at the UNT Coliseum and Murchison Performing Arts Center, and a Doctoral and Master’s Convocation will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 15 at the UNT Coliseum. For more information, visit unt.edu/commencement.
Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference: The 11th annual conference, hosted by the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, will take place July 17-19 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. Barbara Ehrenreich, author of bestselling memoir Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, will be a keynote speaker. Visit themayborn.com.
Founder’s Day: Save the date for Sept. 16, when UNT will formally kick off its 125th anniversary by celebrating UNT’s Founder’s Day. The first classes of the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute were held Sept. 16, 1890. A highlight of the day will be President Neal Smatresk’s State of the University address.
For more information or to join the UNT Alumni Association, call 940-565-2834 or go to untalumni.com.
Garden Network. She attended
North Texas from 1979 to 1981.
1983
Barry R. Cofer, San Anto-nio :: is the surgeon in chief
at Children’s Hospital of San
Antonio and associate professor
of surgery at the Baylor College
of Medicine. He is board certified
in general and pediatric surgery,
is a fellow of the American Col-
lege of Surgeons and American
Academy of Pediatrics, and is a
member of the American Pediat-
ric Surgery Association.
1985
Lora-Marie Bernard, Hous-ton :: published her first book,
Lower Brazos River Canals (Arcadia Publishing), a pictorial
history of the Texas river. She is
a graduate student in liberal arts
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EAGLES’ NestEAGLES’ Nest
Lost sight, gained insight
When Angie Braden (’97) came to UNT seeking independence, she found opportunities and experiences to help
others. Braden developed glaucoma at the age of 10 and in the next seven years had 14 surgeries, but the disease was too
aggressive. A few months before graduating from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, she lost her sight.
“I was completely devastated,” she recalls.
Braden knew she needed support from her family to help her adjust to her new way of life, but she wanted to learn to
step out on her own. So when a friend offered to room with her at UNT, she jumped at the opportunity.
“I was so unprepared. I didn’t have a cane or any assistive technology,” she says, adding that her grades dropped.
“I became depressed and overwhelmed.”
The next semester she registered with UNT’s Office of Disability Accommodation and sought a counselor on campus to
help her cope with her disability.
“I surrounded myself with positive people who kept me encouraged,” she says, crediting fellow student Cheylon
Brown ( ’99, ’09 M.Ed.), who now is director of UNT’s Multicultural Center, as one of many to help her while at UNT.
“She kept me motivated with pep talks and volunteered to read my textbooks for me.”
Braden’s grades improved and each semester things got better. Earning a degree in communication studies, she now gives speeches on motivation, student
success and living with a disability. She shares her story on blogs and television programs and has been commissioned to speak by groups including the National
Basketball Retired Players Association. A speech teacher at Lone Star College in Kingwood, she recently received the Lone Star College’s Adjunct Faculty Excellence
Award for her exemplary teaching. And she hopes to publish her memoir, Black Sky: Memoir of a Blinding Girl, this fall.
“Success isn’t something you stumble upon,” she says. “It’s a choice to make good decisions, work hard and endure during challenging times.”
— Awo Eni
organization based in Coppell
that raises awareness for organ
donation.
1988
Paul Croteau and Sue Frie-senhahn Croteau (’89), Uni-versal City :: celebrated their
30th anniversary at the site of
their first date — the Bruce Hall
lobby windowsill — on Oct. 1.
The music alumni also came back
to campus for their 25th anniver-
sary. In a 2009 story in The North Texan, Paul says, “The campus
will always be home, pulling us
back like a magnet.”
Nancy K. Gibson, Texarkana :: earned her master’s degree
in education from Arkansas
State University in Jonesboro in
spring 2014.
1989
Geralyn McClure Franklin (Ph.D.), Al Ain, United Arab Emirates :: became dean of the
College of Business and Econom-
ics at the United Arab Emirates
University in Al Ain in August.
She previously served as business
dean at the University of Texas of
the Permian Basin, the University
of South Florida at St. Petersburg
at Harvard University and a
media/outreach consultant for
businesses and nonprofits. She
also is working on a biography of
a Brazos River slave smuggler
and forger.
1986
David Kosofsky (’86 M.S.), Plano :: is the founder and
online marketing director of
GoRVRentals.com, an online
marketplace for RV rentals. The
website launched in September
and allows visitors to find and
compare recreational vehicle,
motorhome, travel trailer, camper
and toy hauler rentals in one
search. David is married to
Rusalyn Erwin Kosofsky (’92, ’92 M.S.), an internal audit
specialist with Oncor for 20 years.
Theresa Morrow Polley, Mineola :: founded Retreat in
the Pines, a yoga and wellness
center for women, in 2004. She
runs it with her daughter, Nina Herndon (’10), left. Theresa,
who earned her degree in jour-
nalism, worked in marketing for
20 years. She teaches yoga and
leads the retreats, while Nina,
whose degree is in entrepreneur-
ship, assists with managing the
business and catering. Nina also
works part-time with Taylor’s
Gift Foundation, a nonprofit
Gary Payne
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and the University of Dallas and
as interim dean at Stephen F.
Austin State University.
Monica Mendez-Grant (’92 M.Ed., ’01 Ed.D.), Valley View :: was named vice president for
student life at Texas Woman’s
University. She was TWU’s
associate vice president for stu-
dent life for 13 years and director
of its Center for Student Devel-
opment and Student Orientation
for seven years.
Karen Elledge Walker (’95 M.Ed., ’14 Ed.D.), Murphy ::
received the Texas Association for
the Education of Young Children’s
Teacher Educator of the Year
award. She is a charter member of
the Zeta Sigma chapter of Kappa
Kappa Gamma. She is in her
second year of teaching at Texas
A&M University at Commerce
and is the co-president of the Dal-
las Association for the Education
of Young Children.
1990 Victor Sower (Ph.D.), Hunts-ville :: has written his latest
book, Statistical Process Control for Managers (Business Expert
Press). He is a Distinguished
Professor Emeritus of manage-
ment at Sam Houston State
University.
1991 John Venable, Los Angeles ::
has been performing on the
national tour of the show
Defending the Caveman for two
years and is now one of the
Cavemen performing the show
inside Harrah’s at The Improv
on the strip in Las Vegas.
1993
Lt. Col. Paul Berg (’95 M.B.A.), Fort Leavenworth, Kan. :: was promoted to assistant
professor at the U.S. Army Com-
mand and General Staff College
at Fort Leavenworth. He also was
selected battalion commander for
the1-223rd Aviation Regiment at
Fort Rucker, Ala. He and his wife, Tanya Anderson Berg (’94),
who met as resident assistants at
UNT, have two children, Kaela
and Logan. At a pre-command
course, he met Col. John L. Smith (’90), left, who will com-
mand the 128th Aviation Brigade
at Fort Eustis, Va.
S. Sheridan Stancliff, Colo-rado Springs, Colo. :: founded
the website novelexpressions.com, which offers thousands of fully
released images for the genre
fiction market.
David Toney, Houston
:: has completed training to
become an American Arbitra-
tion Association arbitrator. He
is a partner and construction
team leader for the Houston law
firm Adams and Reese, which
Married and Counting
Alumni Pat Dwyer and Stephen Mosher met in the green room of
UNT’s drama department in fall 1985. It was love at first sight, and the two,
who now live in New York, have been together ever since.
The 2013 documentary Married and Counting, directed by Allan Piper
and narrated by George Takei, followed Dwyer, right, and Mosher, left, as
they celebrated 25 years together and embarked on a journey to get
married in all the states that had legalized same-sex marriage — Vermont,
New Hampshire, Iowa and Massachusetts, and on the steps of the
Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.
“Though we couldn’t gain equality under the law in every state, we
wanted to seek the maximum protection we could get,” Dwyer says.
The documentary also follows the couple to their homes in Texas where
they visit their families and make a stop at the RTVF building on campus.
Many of the friends they made at UNT are still in their lives, and they plan
to have a reunion if or when same-sex marriage becomes legal in Texas.
“Our friend Christine Stinson Wetzel insisted she host a ceremony in
her home,” Mosher says. “It will be a party of epic proportions.”
Mosher has been a photographer for 34 years and also is a personal
trainer and a columnist for Edge magazine. His love of photography began
at UNT, where he taught himself as he photographed friends.
Dwyer is an actor working on the stage, performing on television and
recording voice-overs. He recalls UNT’s entry into the American College
Theatre Festival with a production of Children of a Lesser God.
“Being bound together as a company was a magical time,” he says.
Dwyer says that Married and Counting brought the couple closer
together and helped them realign their lives with their true selves. They
plan on resuming the weddings in the spring.
“Married and Counting was all about love and showing the world that
our love is the same as anyone else’s,” Dwyer says.
“If that’s activism, then we are activists,” adds Mosher.
— Awo Eni
Mar
ried
and
Coun
ting
colle
ctio
n
42 T h e N o r t h T e x a n | northtexan.unt.edu | S p r i n g 2 0 1 5
EAGLES’ Nestthan 13 years of experience in
public relations, including work
with the Mans field ISD and
Nolan Catholic High School in
Fort Worth. He is president of
the Greater Fort Worth chapter
of the Public Relations Society of
America.
2000 Mendy Landreth (’02 M.Ed.), Keller :: launched a new website,
youjustgave.com, that provides
parenting, spirituality and health
information and donates money
from advertising sales to charity.
She studied child development
and family studies and worked as
a professional counselor.
Paul Mar-tinez (’03 M.Ed.), Den-ton :: was
named the
new principal at Calhoun Middle
School in Denton. He has worked
in the Denton ISD for 14 years
and previously served as assistant
principal at Denton High School.
He is married to Anyah Mar-tinez (’99, ’04 M.S.). John Woolley and Brett Allen (’00), Fort Worth :: opened their
second location of Woolley’s
Frozen Custard in August 2014.
The new store is on Heritage
Trace Parkway in Fort Worth.
The original store, which is on
North Beach St. in Fort Worth,
opened in 2003. Their menu
includes the Mean Green concrete
(vanilla with mint and oreos).
2001
Emmitt Jackson, Dallas :: is a lieutenant who, in his 12
years in the Dallas Police
Department, has never failed to
decorate offices and cubicles with
a splash of green. He is pictured
with fellow Dallas police officers
and UNT alumni Sgt. Jason Gindratt (’99), left, and Sgt. Dexter Ingram (’91), center.
Adam Knox, Irving :: released
his third novel, the ebook Dyed in the Wool, a psychological
thriller about serial killers in East
Texas in the 1970s. His first two
novels, co-written with Austin Wright (’10), are part of an
action adventure series that con-
tinues this year. The covers for all
three of his released novels were
designed by his fiancée, Sarah Tapp (’11). 2002
Raven Oak (’05 M.S.), Seattle, Wash. :: published her
first novel, Amaskan Blood (Grey
Sun Press) and is following it up
this year with two science fiction
books, The Silent Frontier and
Class-M Exile. She is a former
Denton ISD teacher.
he joined in 2008 to help lead
its construction and real estate
litigation practice. 1994
Bryan Gaskill, Houston ::
joined Pierpont Communications
as vice president of marketing.
He has more than 20 years of
experience in marketing, brand-
ing and communications, work-
ing with clients such as Shell Oil
Co., Halliburton, Dell, Domino’s
Pizza and others.
Tim Rolen, Lewisville ::
retired last year after 23 years of
service with the city of Euless.
He was certified as a playground
inspector, pool operator and
aquatics facility operator.
1995 Paula Waggoner-Aguilar (M.S.), San Antonio :: was
awarded the 2014 Best CFO for
private medium companies by
The San Antonio Business Journal. At her firm The Energy CFO,
she works as an energy CFO
for entrepreneurs and start-ups
across South Texas and Houston.
She and her husband, Roland
Aguilar, share their home with
three rescue dogs.
1996
Jeff Hemphill (’96 M.S.), Dallas :: was
named assur-
ance partner with BDO USA
LLP. He has more than 14 years
of management and supervisory
experience in accounting and
auditing and is a frequent guest
lecturer for local university inter-
nal audit departments.
Ben Patterson, Austin ::
serves as a preparedness section
administrator for the Texas
Division of Emergency Man-
agement, where he oversees the
organization’s training, technical
hazards and exercise units. He
previously was a recovery section
administrator and has served
as state coordinating officer
for several disasters. He has 17
years of experience in emergency
management and grant admin-
istration.
1997 Gene Woodard III, Arling-ton :: established the Gene M.
Woodard Jr. Memorial Schol-
arship Fund Inc., a nonprofit
organization named after his
father that provides scholarship
grants to music students in the
Fort Worth ISD. Tobi Jackson (’85 M.S.), a former teacher and
administrator who serves on the
Fort Worth ISD board of trust-
ees, and Andrew Woodard, a
former TAMS student at UNT,
serve as board members.
1999
Richie Escovedo, Fort Worth :: was named an account
director and public relations
specialist for the Balcom Agency
in Fort Worth. He has more
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L E G AC Y Families
Read about other UNT legacy families at northtexan.unt.edu/ legacy-families and share the story of your own UNT legacy.
Four generations of bright and talented Harvill men have attended UNT.
“North Texas is a great school,” says 83-year-old John Bowman Harvill Jr. (’55, ’57 M.S.), alumnus and former adjunct math professor whose father, son and now grandson have all attended UNT.
John Bowman Harvill IV is a student in UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathemat-ics and Science, a two-year residency program for gifted high school students with an interest in math and science.
“It is pretty neat that I’m going here,” says Harvill IV, who will graduate in May. “My dad brought me to UNT when I was younger to show me where my grandpa worked. I also love math, and TAMS was a way to explore it more in depth.”
The first of the Harvills to attend UNT were Marion Madge Donnelly Harvill and John Bowman Harvill Sr. (’30), who was the oldest of 10 children. From Forestburg in Montague County, he took summer courses in the late 1920s to earn his degree while working in the winter as a school teacher.
“My father became a certified teacher of a rural one-room school and he wanted a college degree,” Harvill Jr. says.
His father earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Texas in 1930, going on to earn a master’s degree in education from Southern Methodist University. He became the school superintendent of Deport and later worked as an attorney in Paris, Texas.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Harvill Jr. studied at North Texas from 1949 to 1950 before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1951. When the Korean War ended, Harvill set his sights on returning to Denton to finish his UNT degree.
“I joyfully returned to North Texas in 1954 and used the G.I. Bill to complete my degrees in mathematics,” says Harvill, who rented a room from a family living on Hickory Street to pursue his studies.
He remembers dedicated professors Herbert Parrish, J.V. Cook and George Copp, and says they helped make UNT’s math department highly reputable.
“After I graduated, I was hired on the spot during my first job interview with Texas Instruments,” he says, adding that he also served as an adjunct professor in the math department, teaching digital computer programming and numerical analysis classes for four years.
“Being at North Texas was one of the best times of my life,” he says. “I loved that my parents had the same experiences. ”
He was thrilled when his son, John Bowman Harvill III, began taking classes at UNT during his junior year at Denton High School in the early 1980s. Harvill III says high school students with a high enough SAT score could take college courses, so he signed up for math and computer courses at UNT. The courses helped hone his interests, says Harvill III, who is a database administrator at Dell computers in Austin.
Harvill Jr. later in his career taught at SMU and Lamar University, but he says his fondest teaching memories are those from UNT.
“UNT was full of great teachers and mathematicians,” he says.
— Adrienne Nettles
Courtesy of the Harvill Fam
ily
FOLLOWED FOOTSTEPS
From left, John Bowman Harvill Jr. (’55, ’57 M.S.); John Bowman Harvill III holding a portrait of his grandfather, John Bowman Harvill Sr. (’30); and John Bowman Harvill IV.
EAGLES’ Nest
Climb to heights
A love for the environment and childhood education has shaped
Christine Kallstrom’s (’72 Ph.D.) teaching career. Kallstrom, who
earned a doctorate in early childhood education, is director emeritus of
Treetops-in-the-Forest, a nonprofit organization that provides environmental
education for children of all ages and encourages them to explore the
connections of nature to the arts, sciences, social studies and math.
The school, founded in 1989 as an extension of the Treetops School — a
charter school in Euless that Kallstrom helped found — sits on 20 pine-cov-
ered acres in the Davy Crockett National Forest. Kallstrom calls it “a live-in
museum for the harmonious convergence of human and nature.”
Kallstrom, whose late husband, James (’61), and children Kathy (’76)
and Dwight also attended UNT, taught elementary education early in her
career. She formed home school groups when home-schooling her children
and, as the groups grew, helped start a school that could provide the best
education possible for all children. The Treetops School began in the 1970s
as an alternative school, where she realized that both gifted students and
students with learning disabilities benefit from individualized education.
“It’s not about just teaching students to use their strengths and
weaknesses,” she says. “It’s about teaching individuals and finding a way
to stir their interests and realize their potential.”
The school later was a co-op before it became a charter school and
bought the land to start the forest camp. Kallstrom’s hope is that the
students there are able to climb to heights that are not just their own.
“I want students to explore the world that is around them and that is
within them — to get an education not just found in textbooks,” she says.
As a Ph.D. student, Kallstrom remembers going to the office of Velma
Schmidt, her early childhood professor, with 4-year-old Dwight. Schmidt
gave him three shiny rocks to play with while they discussed class.
“Dr. Schmidt taught me that we talk to our children too much,” she says.
“A gesture is more powerful than words.”
— Awo Eni
Gary Payne
William Matthew Quinn, Combine :: was accepted to the
graduate studies program at The
King’s University at Gateway in
Southlake and will be starting in
fall 2015.
Marin Riegger (M.M.), Blacks burg, Va. :: joined the
Graduate School at Virginia
Tech as child care coordinator.
She previously owned and di-
rected Paper Moon Playgroup in
Brooklyn, N.Y., which she began
in 2009 as an early childhood
education program for children
ages 2 to 5.
2003
Jason Lim (M.M.), Denton :: won second place nationally
in the professional orchestra
division of The American Prize
competition for conductors. He
is the music director for Odys-
seus Chamber Orchestra in
McKinney and Frisco. He won
two third-place awards last year.
2004
Scott Lindsey, Denton ::
founded Audacity Brew House,
the first brewery in Denton, with
Doug Smith. Audacity, which
opened in October, also has a
fully functional bar that serves
their craft beers on tap.
2006
Hal Hilliard, Wantagh, N.Y. ::
received the Highly Commended
Applied Paper Award at a Cor-
porate Communication Interna-
tional conference in Hong Kong
for his paper on the rebranding
of the Associated Press. He
recently earned a master’s in cor-
porate communication from the
Weissman School of Arts and
Sciences and is a senior design
manager in the AP’s corporate
communication department.
Howard Sherman (M.F.A.), Houston :: has artwork fea-
tured on the cover of the book
Texas Abstract: Modern + Con-temporary as an example of the
future of contemporary art in
Texas. An essay about him and
photos of some of his other
works are included in the book.
His artwork also is featured in
museums, at the Houston Bush
Intercontinental Airport and at
Houston City Hall.
2007
April Kelly, Bronx, N.Y. :: studied cheetah physiology and
ecosystem management with the
Cheetah Conservation Fund in
Namibia last summer. A flight
attendant at United Airlines, she
took the graduate course in pur-
suit of her master’s from Miami
University’s Global Field Program.
Charles Luke (Ed.D.), Lipan ::
was appointed to the Child Wel-
fare League of America’s Faith-
Based Advisory Committee. He
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 45
Nick
Marino (’10)
surprised Halie Gibbs, an
integrative
studies major
and Honors
College junior,
with a marriage proposal on the NBC Today show Feb. 9.
Nick is director of social change for the app TangoTab,
which feeds people in need in your community when you
use a deal or check in at a partner restaurant. Halie is the
North Texas Coalition coordinator for Drug Prevention
Resources Inc., and the two have started the nonprofit
Unconventional Hope to help those affected by suicide,
depression and mental illness. As Nick said in his proposal,
“We were meant to change the world together.”
In February, media such as The New York Times and
CNN covered a unique performance by the jazz band
Animation, led by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Bob Belden (’78) — unique because it also was covered by the
Tehran Times and Al Jazeera. Part of the 30th Fajr Interna-
tional Music Festival in Tehran, the concert marked a
cultural breakthrough as the first by American musicians in
Iran since the 1979 revolution. Animation includes Roberto Verastegui (’11) on keyboards, Pete Clagett (’12 M.M.) on trumpet and senior jazz studies major Matt Young on
drums. A CD and LP of the concert are due out this summer.
Samra Bufkins (’87 M.J.), social media expert
and lecturer in UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism, was a
contestant on the Feb. 28 broadcast of National Public
Radio’s news quiz, Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! After host
Peter Sagal commented on her name, which he said
sounded like “a character from Game of Thrones or a curse
in Harry Potter,” she correctly answered three out of three
questions on homeland security, Hillary Clinton and the
latest theory on the cause of the Black Death — gerbils. She
also managed to plug UNT and share some public relations
advice. Her winning prize is scorekeeper emeritus Carl
Kasell’s voice on her home answering machine.
. . . . . . I N T H E / / Newswill be part of a national group of
faith leaders who will help the
league expand its work into the
faith arena. He currently serves
as executive director of the Tar-
rant County Spiritual Care Net-
work in Fort Worth.
Jeffrey Mitchell (M.S.), Albu-querque, N.M. :: graduated cum
laude from the University of
New Mexico with a juris doctor-
ate and M.B.A. He also passed
the New Mexico Bar and has
joined the firm of Doughty,
Alcaraz & deGraauw in Albu-
querque as an associate attorney
specializing in litigation and
election law.
2009
Jeff W. Kline, Oklahoma City :: was named to the “Forty
Under 40” list of community and
business leaders by the Oklahoma Gazette and OKC Biz Journal. He
also earned a spot on the “Thirty
Under 30” list by Ion Oklahoma
Online. He is an associate attor-
ney at Bays Law Firm PC, where
he assists clients in family law
matters, bankruptcy, adoptions
and criminal defense cases.
2011 Lauren Gay, Carrollton ::
received the 2014 Innovations in
STEM Teaching Award from the
Texas Instruments Foundation,
given to secondary math and
science teachers who demonstrate
high-quality instruction and
build student achievement. She is
a math teacher at Richardson
ISD and an alumna of the UNT
Teach North Texas program.
2013 Kevin Smith, Flower Mound :: won a position in the first
violin section of the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra — mak-
ing him one of the youngest
graduates to win such a position
with a major orchestra. He joins
Madeline Adkins (’98), who
serves as the orchestra’s associate
concertmaster.
2014
Janae Graves, Hutto ::
began serving as a secondary
education English volunteer for
the Peace Corps in Rwanda in
September. She spent her first
three months living with a host
family to learn the local language
and culture and will spend the
next two years of service teaching
middle and high school students.
Sarah Wright, Fort Worth :: is
now working
as junior art
director at the Balcom Agency, an
advertising firm in Fort Worth.
She previously had internships at
Balcom and at White’s Chapel
United Methodist Church in
Southlake and The Karma
Group in Green Bay, Wis. As a
student, her awards included a
Silver Addy at the national level
of the 2013 Student American
Advertising Awards.
Cour
tesy
of T
oday
46 T h e N o r t h T e x a n | northtexan.unt.edu | S p r i n g 2 0 1 5
F R I E N D S W E ’ L L M I S S
UNT’s alumni, faculty, staff and students are the university’s greatest legacy. When members of the Eagle family pass, they are remembered and their spirit lives on. Send information about deaths to The North Texan (see contact information on page 4).
Read more, write memorials and connect with friends at northtexan.unt.edu.
University Community
Edmond ‘Ed’ Daniel DeLatte, 84,
who served as
an associate
professor of theatre in the Depart-
ment of Dance and Drama from 1984
until his retirement in 1995, died
Feb. 12 in Dallas. He founded the
Dallas Repertory Theatre in 1969.
Throughout his career he directed
70 plays and musicals. He was a
member of Actor’s Equity and the
Screen Actors Guild for more than
40 years and appeared in dozens
of films and commercials. While he
was at UNT, he received the Service
Learning Award, and the Ed DeLatte
Musical Theatre Scholarship was
established in his honor. He earned
his bachelor’s degree at Texas
Christian University, a master’s de-
gree in religious education and dra-
ma from Brite Divinity School and a
Master of Fine Arts in theatre from
Southern Methodist University. Do-
nations may be made in his memory
to UNT’s Ed DeLatte Musical Theatre
Scholarship or Department of Dance
and Theatre.
Andy Everest, 90,
died Dec. 21 in
Arlington. He
was assistant
head football coach for the Mean
Green under Hayden Fry from 1973
to 1978 and athletic director from
1979 to 1981. He was inducted into
UNT’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004
for his work, which included helping
coach the Mean Green to some of
the best seasons in program history
and raising money for new athletic
facilities. He served as head coach
at the University of California at
Santa Barbara and held positions
at Southern Methodist University,
Stanford, Foothill College and the
University of Utah, as well as with
the Italian professional league and
the New Orleans Saints. He was
inducted into the All-American Foot-
ball Foundation Hall of Fame in 1997.
He served in the U.S. Navy during
World War II before attending the
University of Texas at El Paso, where
he was a star football player.
Clark ‘Corky’ Nel-son, 75, one of
the winningest
coaches in
1940s Mary Keith Stephenson (’41), Denton :: She graduat-
ed magna cum laude with a
degree in Spanish and a minor in
English. She taught for a year in
Mirando City and worked as a
codebreaker at the National
Security Agency from 1943 to
1947 in Washington, D.C. Her
family had a dairy farm in Canton
for 12 years and a floral shop in
Jacksonville for 20 years. She is
survived by five children,
including William H. Ste-phenson (’73) and Debra M. Stephenson Landis (’73), and
a niece, Rita Joyce Stephenson Lokie (’73). Nell Chandler (’43, ’47 M.S.), Fort Sumner, N.M. ::
She spent her career teaching in
New Mexico, and many of her
students attribute their careers as
teachers to her motivation. She is
a member of the New Mexico
Teacher Hall of Fame.
Polly Sweet Wagner (’44),
Silver Spring, Md. :: She
worked for the Pentagon,
NATO, the Veteran’s Adminis-
tration and the Food and Drug
Administration. She was an avid
cook and gardener, and a fan of
animals, art, jazz and opera. Her
aunt was longtime faculty
member Mary Sweet.
1950s William C. Pinson, Little Rock, Ark. :: He attended
North Texas in 1954. He served
as a musician in the U.S. Navy
and later worked in petroleum
sales, teaching and performing
music on the side. His wife of 51
years, Marguerite Swilley Pinson (’78 M.M.), who died
in 2013, also attended in the
1950s and returned to earn her
master’s degree in voice. She
taught music at elementary
schools and universities and was
a painter in her later years.
Ralph L. ‘Buddy’ Cole Jr. (’55), Pilot Point :: He was a
member of Kappa Alpha at
North Texas. He worked in
banking and served as a Denton
County commissioner and judge.
A hunter and fisher, he was a
Texas Master Naturalist and
wrote outdoors columns for the
Denton Record-Chronicle and the
Pilot Point Post Signal.
EAGLES’ Nest
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Send memorials to honor UNT
alumni and friends, made payable
to the UNT Foundation, to Univer-
sity of North Texas, Division of
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
development.unt.edu/givenow. For
more information, email giving@
unt.edu or call 940-565-2900.
Memorials
Mary Kay Herring Eddings (’55), Burnet :: She taught
school and earned a master’s
degree at UT-Permian Basin
while raising her family, who
sometimes called her “FEMA”
because of her busy schedule of
service. She was a charter
member of the Delta Gamma
fraternity and a member of Phi
Gamma Kappa and the Future
Teachers of America.
Floyd D. ‘Jack’ Krodell Jr. (’57), Fayetteville, Ark. :: He
belonged to the Delta Sigma Phi
fraternity, served in the U.S.
Army, worked as manager of the
General Adjustment Bureau in
Little Rock for 35 years and sang
in the Singing Men of Arkansas.
Survivors include his wife,
Carolyn Krodell (’58). Donald Ray ‘Don’ Smith (’58), Grapevine :: He
attended North Texas on a
football scholarship and later
worked in law enforcement,
serving for many years as a
probation officer and director for
the Dallas County Juvenile
Department and as director of
adult probation in Tarrant
County. Survivors include his
brother C. Dan Smith (’62).
1960s John F. Clouse Jr. (’64), Azle :: He worked for the Texas
Workforce Commission for 30
years. He was a member of the
National Rifle Association and
the Bass Anglers Sportsman
Society, and he was an alumni life
member of the FFA and recipient
of the Lone Star Farmer Degree.
Survivors include his wife,
Earlene Slate Clouse (’67). Gloria LaVonne Wright Russell (’64), Houston :: She taught English in the Dallas
ISD and worked as a legal
secretary. She was passionate
about genealogy and was a
20-year member of the Houston
Genealogical Forum, which she
served as president for four
terms.
1980s David Gish (’84), San Marcos :: He was a member of
the Texas State University
athletic training staff since 1990
and served as head athletic
trainer since 1998. He was
serving as president of the
executive board of the Southwest
Athletic Trainers’ Association.
He received an award from the
National Athletic Trainers’
Association in 2010 for his
service to the profession.
2010s Anita Eugster, Sanger :: She
began working at UNT in 2003
and was classified as a senior in
the College of Business, where
she majored in real estate. She
retired as a student services
specialist in the Office of the
Registrar last fall.
Joseph Nedbalek, Pasadena :: He was a radio, television and
film major and Honors College
student while at UNT from
2010 to 2013. He was a member
of the National Society of
Collegiate Scholars, Alpha
Lambda Delta and Golden Key.
Jaclyn Moehring (’14), Plano :: She was a student in
the College of Public Affairs and
Community Service. Her
bachelor’s degree in applied arts
and sciences was awarded
posthumously in December.
Candice M. Tunnell, Double Oak. :: She was a senior
working on her teacher certifica-
tion in the College of Education
and was known for her love of
children and of teaching.
North Texas football history, died
Nov. 17 in Temple. He was head
football coach from 1982 to 1990
and also served as athletic director
in 1990. He was inducted into
UNT’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013
after bringing order to Mean Green
football in the 1980s. His teams
won the Southland Conference
championship in 1983, when he
was named conference coach of the
year, and went to the Division I-AA
playoffs three times. After playing
football at Texas State University,
he began his coaching career at
the high school level and also
coached at Baylor University and the
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
He is survived by his wife, Judy Buckles Nelson (’80 M.S.), former women’s basketball coach
at UNT.
Charldean Newell (’60,
’62 M.A.),
75, Regents
Professor
Emerita of public administration,
died Nov. 22 in Denton. She retired
from UNT in 2002 after 37 years on
the faculty. She served as chair of
the political science department,
as associate vice president for
academic affairs and as assistant to
the chancellor for planning. She was
a mentor to hundreds of students
and colleagues. Even after her
retirement, she wrote textbooks,
taught courses for the Interna-
tional City/County Management
Association and served in a number
of charity efforts. She also was the
founding director of special projects
for the Federation of North Texas
Area Universities. She earned her
North Texas degrees in journalism
and government and a doctorate in
government from the University of
Texas in 1968.
48 T h e N o r t h T e x a n | northtexan.unt.edu | S p r i n g 2 0 1 5
T H E LAST Word
GENERATIONS OF GROWTH
by John Lovelace (’52)
MY PERSPECTIVE ON growth and change at UNT comes in two parts. One is from summers in the mid-1930s when my dad, William True Lovelace (’38, ’40 M.S.) was completing first a baccalaureate and then a master’s degree in education at North Texas.
We lived near campus, and I spent lots of time playing on those shaded grounds, admiring, from afar, the President’s Home, hearing ’Fessor and the Aces outdoors (weather permitting), enduring organ recitals in the Main Auditorium and skating on curvaceous sidewalks.
I remember attending Demonstration School where my dad was the principal, having lunch at the boarding house where he and my mother, the former Cleo Wayne Crandall, had met, and enjoying the serenity of a pre-war campus.
In 1949, when I returned as a mid- semester freshman, the post-war building boom had produced or was producing the all-male Quads and a new Journalism Building. Talk of a new gym was in the air. The golf team won the NCAA championship four years in a row, and, as editor of the 1952 Yucca, I broke tradition by opening the sports section with a double-page wire service photo of my classmate, Billy Maxwell, winning the 1951 U.S. Amateur golf title.
Football, featuring a darn good running back named Ray Renfro (later with the Cleveland Browns), came next, then basketball, track and field.
With encouragement from faculty advisor J.D. Hall, the Yucca spent extra
bucks that year hiring a Dallas-based fashion photographer, Max Plake, to shoot the student-elected “beauties.” The beauties’ gowned full-page vertical pictures continue to dazzle me each time I look through the book. The Who’s Who pages likewise benefited from Max’s keen on-campus individual portraiture.
By 1952, local chapters of national fraternities and sororities were on the scene, urged there, I’ve been told, by Dean Imogene Bentley as an antidote to the historic local groups. The Campus Chat was honing the skills of rapidly employ-able journalists like Bill Brammer, subsequent author of a novel about a not-too-disguised Lyndon B. Johnson, and an international news service reporter named Ray Moseley.
Music majors like Monte Hill Davis, Ivan Davis, Dale Peters and Juanita Teal (later Mrs. Dale Peters) were setting high pre-professional standards, the Great Chorus was singing with the Dallas Symphony and Frank McKinley’s A Cappella Choir was about as good as it gets at the collegiate level.
My dad said that in the summer of 1937 Dr. Wilfred C. Bain organized some
of the sizable number of music teachers and singers on hand into the first a cappella choir. My dad was in it and, through the years, spoke proudly of it. In doing so, he unwittingly set a goal for me. And in the fall of 1950 I tried out with Frank McKinley and made it! The choir toured as far away as southern Illinois that year and recorded a Bach double motet and other choice vocalise at a studio in Dallas. The aforementioned Juanita Teal, by the way, was also in the choir.
Yearbook duties, courtship opportuni-ties and, of course, occasional homework filled my senior year, 1951-52, so I had just the one year in the choir.
From my parents’ days there in the 1920s and ’30s to mine and my wife’s in the 1940s and ’50s, North Texas outgrew its “teachers college” status and began the ongoing march to international recogni-tion as a multi-sited, multi-purpose university that, by the way, still harvests a mighty fine crop of school teachers. Lovelace earned a master’s in religious journalism from Syracuse University and retired as editor of The United Methodist Reporter, a national weekly newspaper.
Michael Clem
ents
John Lovelace has been married for 62 years to the former Mary Ellen Reynolds (’52), “the jewel of all my years at UNT.”
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800-UNT-2366 | 940-565-2527meangreensports.com
Buy your tickets now and cheer the Mean Green to victory!
— KATHLENE STRUNK, MEAN GREEN CENTER FIELDER
Senior center fi elder Kathlene Strunk is well-adjusted to success as a star player on the winningest softball team in UNT history. With the fourth most runs batted in ever for the Mean Green, Strunk was named Conference USA’s Newcomer of the Year last season — the first UNT softball student-athlete to receive the award.
Success of this kind does not come overnight. It takes hard work and an environment of committed players and coaches. Strunk says college ball gave her a renewed love of the sport and she has discovered what she’s capable of as an individual and as part of a dedicated team with the attitude to win.
S p r i n g 2 0 1 5 | northtexan.unt.edu | T h e N o r t h T e x a n 1
UNT’s Cape Horn Field Station and Omora Ethnobotanical Park in the UNESCO Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in South America was the site for the International Association of Bryology World Conference in January. Hosted by UNT’s Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program and Center for Environmental Philosophy with the Chilean Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity and the University of Magallanes, the conference marked the fi rst time environmental philosophers and ecologists from across the world have converged at Omora’s Navarino Island to share their perspectives and discuss research on mosses and lichens.
The North Texan U N I V E R S I T Y O F N O R T H T E X A S Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing1155 Union Circle #311070 Denton, Texas 76203-5017
P A R T I N G S H O T
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