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Volume 97 | Issue 27
Sunny 69° / 43°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UNT names parking, transportation director Richmond promotes transportation alternatives BY STACY POWERS Senior Staffer
ARTS & LIFE: Professor discusses uses for metallic glass Page 3
SPORTS: Tennis trumps Musketeers Page 6
Transportation veteran Joe Richmond was appointed as UNT’s new director of parking and transportation March 1. Richmond sta rted out in the transportation industr y as a shuttle bus driver for the University of Texas when he was 23 years old. He joined Austin’s Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1985 a nd made his way to UNT in 2003 as the associate d i rector of t ra nspor tat ion services. “I was recruited to develop the shuttle system and alternative transportation programs,” Richmond said. “My job was to get some alternative transportation options out there for the university and to work with the parking office to balance their resources.” R ich mond helpe d st a r t a lter nat ive t ra nspor tat ion initiatives such as the Connect by Hertz rental cars, the E-ride late night ser v ice, t he ride share program and making the campus bike friendly. “I really think that alternative transportation is really necessary for everybody to be able to access the campus,” Richmond said. Ta k i ng on t he d i re c tor position, he said he plans to promote communication and
UNT has elected its former director of transportation services, Joe Richmond as its new director of parking and transportation. customer service. “I want to ma ke sure t hat we can communic ate to t he c a m p u s JOE c o m m u - RICHMOND n it y a l l t he options available, be it where to park or what kind of alternat ive t ra nspor tat ion,” he said.
The hiring process UNT Police Chief Richard Deter asked Deputy Police Chief Ed Reynolds to chair a search committee for the new position last fall. The committee was made up of students, faculty, staff and some members of the UNT Police Department. The committee narrowed the candidates down to the final three — Joe Richmond, Geary Robinson from Clemson University and David Kapalko
Icing on the cake
f rom Sa m Houston State University — and then met with them through video conference, Reynolds said. The members gave feedback to Deter and he made the final decision. “From the committee’s viewpoint, all three candidates had strong qualities,” Reynolds said. “I think the committee felt that based on Joe’s previous experience, [he] was the best choice.” Ryan Ferguson, a radio
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ONLINE: SGA votes for Homecoming change in sixhour meeting
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PHOTO BY BERENICE QUIRINO/VISUALS EDITOR
Phyllis Vaughn, the assistant director of business and personnel for the University Union, and Brenda Dean, a facility worker in the Union, frost a large cake for UnionFest, a celebration of the 63rd birthday of the Union. The processes of making the cake began at 6 a.m. and ended around 10 a.m. It was one of various free treats offered to the students, faculty and staff of UNT throughout the day. The celebration also included games, face painting, free pizza and giveaways.
UNT offers faculty buyout BY M ATTHEW CARDENAS Staff Writer
W i t h p e n d i n g bu d g e t cuts tightening UNT’s belt, administrators are offering faculty the opportunity to accept a pay out and leave. In an email to all faculty members Monday, Provost Warren Burggren detailed a limited separation program offered by the Division of Academ ic A f fa i rs, wh ich would give one year’s annual base pay to faculty members w ho s e a ppl ic at ion s a r e accepted. The program would free up
money for the university, not clear out faculty, said UNT spokesman Buddy Price. “It’s to reallocate funds,” Price said. President V. Lane Rawlins said the program would help redirect resources to make UNT a better research institution. About 350 of the more than 1,500 faculty members qualify for the program, which limits eligibility to those who have completed at least 15 years of continuous service at UNT. Fa c u lt y mem b er s a r e disqua lified for eligibilit y
if they are on development leave between Sept. 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011, or have already been notified that their contracts aren’t being renewed. Wayne Zimmermann has worked at UNT for two years and doesn’t qualify for the program, but considers it a good deal. “If t hey pa id me for a year’s salaray, I’d be gone,” he said. Facu lt y must appl y by April 22. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.
television and film graduate student, was a member of the search committee. He said he was impressed with Richmond’s people skills. “Joe knows how to talk to people,” Ferguson said. “When you talk to Joe you get that he really understands the questions you’re asking him and he really gets to the heart of the answer.”
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TWU student’s threat expedites UNT program BY BEN BABY
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Senior Staff Writer The disgruntled veteran who caused a lockdown at Texas Woman’s University last week is now causing changes to prevent a similar situation from occurring at UNT. Christopher Gillette was charged with making a terroristic threat in a TWU classroom, March 1, after the 30-year-old U.S. Army veteran became upset during class, according to reports. He was released from the Denton County Jail on $25,000 bail. UNT police issued Gillette a criminal trespass warning March 2 after police learned he had participated in events on the UNT campus last fall, authorities said. “It gives us a tool to where, if we have someone on campus that we already determined may pose a threat, we can take immediate action,” said UNT Deputy Police Chief Ed Reynolds of the trespass warning, which is indefinite.
Gillette’s involvement at UNT If Gillette comes to any property owned or controlled by UNT, he will be arrested on a criminal trespassing charge, wh ich is a m isdemea nor punishable with a $2,000 fine, Reynolds said. The charge also carries a possible jail sentence of no more than 180 days. Gillette, a history major at TWU, has been involved with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws at UNT. NORML vice president and philosophy sophomore Nikki Kidd said Gillette came to about
half of the g roup’s m e e t ings last s e m e s t e r. K idd sa id Gillette attended a m a r c h CHRISTOPHER by t h e GILLETTE group last October and a subsequent SGA meeting the group went to. “He was really friendly to us,” Kidd said. “He was on our side.” Kidd said Gillette vocalized his opinions in meetings, and she could tell that he was really passionate about anything he talked about. Gillette also contacted Jacqi Serie, the director of operations for Denton Community TV, about conducting a public access show on the station. Serie said the 15-minute phone conversation took place about two and a half weeks ago. She said Gillette had mentioned somebody getting hurt, and the TWU student wanted to hold up government documents to the camera and ask for the resignation — if not execution — of government officials. “He basically stated that he was angry, and very, very mad at the current government,” Serie said.
U N T u nvei l s program
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Gillette had voiced concerns about the government medical treatment he had received for injuries sustained while serving in the Army, according to reports.
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