North Texan - UNT Magazine - Fall 2022

Welcome Home

UNT’s caring campus community welcomed our newest Eagles — our largest-ever group of new freshmen with more than 6,700 students — to the nest during Mean Green Move-in. Through First Flight Week, students were assigned a leader and participated in small group meetings and career readiness sessions as well as opportunities to bond with fellow students, all to set them up for success this fall.

Photography by Ahna Hubnik

A Community to Succeed

From offering ELEVAR — the first inclusive post-secondary program for students with intellectual disabilities in the North Texas region — to a plethora of support services and programs focused on academic preparedness, well-being and career-readi ness, UNT’s caring and inclu sive campus ensures that every student finds success.

Hollywood Ending Donnie F. Wilson’s (’90) story telling dreams come true as an executive producer for The Queen of Basketball, winner of the 2022 Academy Award for documentary short.

IMPACT

Alumni

Eagles Society

To the Skies and Beyond

Using their curiosity about the vast unknown of space, faculty, students and alumni set sights past the stars to help NASA and other agencies make innovative discoveries.

Boys Club Reboot

Cybersecurity expert and entrepreneur Lola Obamehinti (’13 M.J., ’17 M.S.) earns a spot on the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list for her commitment to diversify ing the tech field.

ONLINE

MINDING HIS BUSINESS

Cameron Allahverdi (’06), a G. Brint Ryan College of Business major, found a niche in the business world by customizing urns. His company, geturns.com, landed on Inc.’s 500 fastest growing companies of 2022.

BATTER UP

Blaine Whitmire (’08, ’21 M.B.A.) has been a sports fanatic from a young age. Now he’s living out his dream as the new southwest regional director of Little League International.

BEST OF THE NEST COOKIE FEST

See the winners and video from UNT’s students, faculty, staff and alumni who showed off their culinary talents and creativity in the university’s first-ever Best of the Nest Cookie Fest. northtexan.unt.edu/online

NEST

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS P.56 Obituaries

PERSPECTIVE P.60

RETROSPECTIVE P.55

Microbiology professor Lee Hughes (’87, ’94 M.S., ’98 Ph.D.) shares advice and encouragement with students in excerpted College of Science commencement speech

FROM OUR PRESIDENT

UNT’s Caring Spirit and Career-Ready Focus Lead to Record-Setting Enrollment

As the most comprehensive university in the North Texas region — and one that has experienced significant enrollment growth while other schools face continued declines — we take seriously the UNT mission of empowering students to thrive in our rapidly changing world. We not only welcomed our largest-ever freshman class of 6,700 students — a record that has been set three times in the last four years — but UNT also leads the North Texas region in four-year graduation rates for Hispanic students. Knowing that society will continue to transform, we’re committed to preparing students for the future by equipping them with the hard and soft skills that will help them adapt and excel as industries evolve and society advances.

UNT offers countless resources and programs to help students succeed, as showcased in our cover story, “A Community to Succeed” (page 36). We work hard to ensure all students are given the inclusive and welcoming space they need to thrive. Our programs are not only concerned with academics, but also bring assistance in areas such as career readiness, financial literacy, and mental and physical health, as well as social and emotional well-being. Whether students dream of building careers in the tech industry like Lola Obamehinti (page 44), conducting society-shaping research in partnership with giants like NASA (page 32), or excelling in their creative pursuits like Oscar-winner Donnie F. Wilson (page 30), we will support them as they achieve their goals.

We pride ourselves in being different than other universities — a place where everyone can be themselves and where we act as a social mobility elevator for our students. With a UNT degree, opportunities are limitless.

UNT proud,

Neal Smatresk President president@unt.edu @UNTPrez

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

MAGAZINE STAFF EXECUTIVE EDITOR JULIE ELLIOTT PAYNE (’97)

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

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

ART DIRECTOR ANGILEE WILKERSON DESIGN EDITOR NOLA KEMP (’92)

PHOTO EDITOR GARY PAYNE (’99)

PROJECT MANAGEMENT JAN CLOUNTZ (’92) HARSH SANGANI

ADVERTISING SHELBY BAHNICK (’17) CHRISTOPHER KNAPP

DESIGNERS

ROBERT BRATCHER CLIFFTON CASTER CIERA SCHIBI

PHOTOGRAPHERS LEO GONZALEZ AHNA HUBNIK (’03)

VIDEOGRAPHERS CARLOS MARQUEZ PAUL SLAVONIK TIMOTHY STEVENS (’13)

WRITERS

ERIN CRISTALES (’11 M.S.)

AMANDA FULLER TRISTA MOXLEY HEATHER NOEL MEREDITH MORIAK WRIGHT (’19 M.S.)

SOCIAL MEDIA MELISA BROWN (’93, ’20 M.S.) ROBYNE HENRY (’21)

ALICIA ZARTMAN (’22)

ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS JACOB KING ERIC VANDERGRIFF STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS SKY ALLEN NABEELA IQBAL JULIA LOPEZ MAECI RAY CRISTINA SANDOVAL ERIKAH WOODWORTH DANIELLE ZACHARIAH

North Texan

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

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

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 (UNT) prohibits discrimination and harassment because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in its application and admission processes; educational programs and activities; employment policies, procedures, and processes; and university facilities. The university takes active measures to prevent such conduct and investigates and takes remedial action when appropriate. Direct questions or concerns to the equal opportunity office, 940-565-2759, or the dean of students, 940-565-2648. TTY access is available at 940-369-8652.

Created by the Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications ©2022 UNT UBSC 9/22 (23-018)

CAMPUS VISIT

My husband and I recently took our kids to the campus for an impromptu tour of “all the fun places Mom and Dad hung out when they went to UNT.” I had to share our “then and now” picture: 2008-2022! Justin is a business teacher at Richardson High School and Camp Gladiator personal trainer, and I’m a senior interior designer with Morgan Farrow Interiors. A lot has changed, but we sure did still enjoy running around campus together!

Kari (’08) and Justin LaRusch (’08) Dallas

LOVE STORY

I wanted to share my own family’s NTSU love story. My parents met at North Texas State in the fall of 1954 when my late father, Dr. Francis (Jim) Thompson (’52), was a grad student there. He had spied my mother, Julia Troeger (’55), “a tall beautiful brunette,” around campus and was most surprised when she walked into

his girlfriend’s apartment to drop off her class notes while he was lounging on the sofa. He later called Julia for a date, but she would not go out with him while he was still dating their mutual acquaintance. So Jim broke the date he and his girlfriend had made for Homecoming that fall and took Julia instead. They married May 29, 1955, just after Julia graduated with a bachelor’s in home economics.

After Jim earned his master’s in 1956, they lived in Plano where both taught in the public schools. My father finished a Ph.D. at Texas Tech in 1970 after they moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, so he could join the history faculty at Western Kentucky University. He continued to teach there until his death in 2003. Julia, age 89, now lives in Lexington, Kentucky, near two of their three daughters. She still loves to peruse the North Texan and stays in touch with many of her beloved college friends and Chi O sorority sisters.

Amy Thompson Columbus, Ohio

MEAN GREEN PRIDE

On this beautiful April day, I am a 92-year-old alum of North Texas reading the spring edition of the North Texan. It is with great pride and enjoyment that I learn of the many wonderful accomplishments, honors and future plans for the great university. The staff of the North Texan does an outstanding job of the editorials, artwork, campus activities and recognizing former students. At the time I was a student, I believe there were 4,000 students. I got a fine education in the school of home economics. My 30-year teaching career in the public schools was very enjoyable and rewarding. My best wishes for all the great things for the Mean Green.

Doretha Faye Casey Gilmore (’51) Mobile, Alabama

EXTRA SPECIAL

What a trip down memory lane it was to read that the filming of Necessary Roughness was 30 years ago! I happened to be taking the class “Acting for the Amateur” during the filming on campus, and we got to be extras in some of the smaller university scenes. I remember being in a scene in the Administration Building where Harley Jane Kozak’s character is talking to Scott Bakula’s character on the stairs. Even though I only ended up being in one small scene, it was really fun, and getting Kathy Ireland’s autograph, and seeing Jason Bateman, Sinbad, Scott Bakula and Harley Jane Kozak in person on the UNT campus was so surreal! I didn’t end up becoming an actor, but I did end up going into music. During my music degree, I got my

Left: Kari (’08) and Justin LaRusch (’08) back in their college days and today, enjoying campus with their children, Brighton, 12; Calvin, 10; and Bridgette, 6.

TELL US ABOUT

start playing in musical theater orchestras as a woodwind doubler right there at UNT with the theatre department. Over 20 years later, I got hired to play in the pit orchestra for their production of Spamalot. It was a real circle of life moment for me! And last fall, some of my best friends and I played in the Alumni Marching Band at Homecoming. It was fun wearing my “NTSU changes to UNT” sweatshirt at the Green Brigade Alumni breakfast that weekend (the switch happened my freshman year). I have so many fond memories from my time at UNT, so it’s great to still visit and be a part of things once in a while! My husband Mike (’91, ’94 M.M.) also is a UNT alumnus, and so is my twin sister Karen Noel (’92) and her husband Mark Noel (’20). Thank you for the memories!

Christy Springer (’92, ’98, ’99 M.M.) Lewisville

Hello, it was fun reading the Necessary Roughness article in the spring issue! My story with the film is pretty fun! I was on the tennis team at UNT, a member of NT40, and a member and president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at UNT. I made my debut as the stunt double for Kathy Ireland. My boyfriend at the time, and now husband, Todd Kerr, who owned The State Club, a UNT staple for many students, took me to the Denton High School football field to teach me how to kick since I was a tennis player. I was able to “try out” with a 30-yard field goal, and got the job! Micheline Mundo (’91) sought me out to “play the role.”

Holly Ricker-Kerr (’91) Dallas

We asked our UNT community: “Take a look at a few of our UNT branded logos over the years. Which one is your favorite?” Here’s what some said.

@Deon_Hunter22

Being a grad. of UNT has always been personal, private & public; but being able to travel the world (2 Dallas Mavs Free Agent Camps, Drafted & Play in the CBA & Play in Argentina) & hear sports announcers say, “from North Texas State Univ.” always brought me tears of joy & pride!

Jacob Thompson

Flying Worm and it’s not even close.

Maria Oneal Hammond

I have to love the one from ’73 since that was when I was there. Many businesses around campus changed their decor to a weird shade of green that was declared to be mean at the same time. My friends and I laughed at all the new mean stuff that was seen both on and off campus. We didn’t come to a school that specialized in music and art (at that time) to learn meanness.

Courtesy of Texas Football

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

1. @messicajesser

Mean Green Friday in the Bahamas

2. @texandrose

Sorry we kind of disappeared for a few days, but @rebekahsummer_ is officially

a high school graduate! We had so much fun celebrating with her this weekend!!

3. @auggie_diane

Swipe to see her face when asked to show her “MEAN Green” face”!

4. @christinaalinnell

Goodbye dinner for Arden before they head off to college on Friday. So glad the family came out in force to support our kid! Look out University of North Texas!

BRILLIANTLY GREEN

UNT’s newest Eagles visited campus throughout the summer for two-day orientation experiences, opportunities to help them acclimate to the university. They met their new classmates, faculty and staff; got a crash course on UNT traditions; received advising to register for classes; and learned how the campus — filled to the brim with support and resources — is ready to help them succeed.

Faculty/Staff Appointments

New Leadership

UNT recently announced several new appointments. Michael McPherson was named UNT’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs. A professor of economics, he joined the UNT faculty in 1992 and has held several leadership posts, which include Faculty Senate chairperson, acting dean of the Mayborn School of Journalism, associate vice provost for faculty success, special advisor to the provost, and vice provost for student success.

Brandon Buzbee was appointed vice president for university advancement, where he’ll work to increase engagement and fundraising. Buzbee previously served in fundraising roles at the University of Denver and the University of California, San Diego.

Angie Cartwright, associate professor of counseling and higher education, was named the inaugural assistant vice provost for faculty success in the Office of the Provost. She has been at UNT since 2015, and will focus on academic policy, faculty programming and DEI efforts.

Teresa R. McKinney was named assistant vice president and director for diversity and inclusion. She previously worked as president for student services and enrollment management at Texas Southern University. Prior to that, she served as assistant vice president for student affairs, health and wellness at UNT, from 2013 to 2019.

Jeff Brown is the new associate vice president for facilities after previously working at UNT from 2009 to 2011, when he served as director of facilities maintenance. He’s since worked more than 20 years at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

IN THE MEDIA

IN A CBS DFW INTERVIEW, recent doctoral learning technologies graduate Tetyana Kucher (’22 Ph.D.) from Ukraine shared how her teacher Regina Kaplan-Rakowski, lecturer in the Col lege of Information, arranged a safe place for her mother to stay in Poland as she evacuated after the Russian invasion of her home country.

SHARON MILLER, assistant professor of audiology, explained in The Hearing Review how a new study at UNT will provide a road map to help customize the hearing aid fitting process to match specific patient needs and increase hearing aid acceptance.

THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION talked with Joanne Woodward, Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access; Kelly Evans, UNT Libraries; and Megan Cunningham, UNT at Frisco, about UNT’s White Accountability Group and the success of these groups in higher education with the ultimate goal of helping to fight racism.

IN AN INTERVIEW IN THE ROOT, Morgan Gieringer — head of special collections in the UNT Libraries — discussed new efforts to digitize recordings from the Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

INCOMING STUDENT JAYLEN WALKER was celebrated in an NBC NEWS story about his acceptance to UNT’s ELEVAR program, a post-secondary education program for young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Read more about the ELEVAR pro gram on page 36.

Non-credit Courses for Senior Adults

OLLI Expands

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is expanding to Dallas this fall. OLLI, which offers non-credit courses for adults 50 and over at seven classroom locations across Denton, Collin and Tarrant counties, signed a three-year partnership agreement with CC Young Senior Living in Dallas. The center’s residents and senior adults in the general public can take classes at The Point on the CC Young campus near White Rock Lake starting this fall.

OLLI courses cover a wide range of topics and are taught by subject matter experts, including both active and retired university faculty. Learn more at olli.unt.edu.

New Regents

Wins to Cheer About

Again, this spring, the North Texas Cheer team brought home the National Cheerleaders Association college championship in Spirit Rally — the first time in school history they’ve earned back-to-back national cheer titles. This year’s win at Dayton Beach, Florida, was especially exciting. Last year, because of the pandemic, they competed virtually.

“This title celebrates getting back to normal,” head coach Tracie O’Neal (’99, ’03 M.Ed.) says, adding that they were able to make the traditional run into the ocean after the win with trophy in hand to celebrate their victory.

O’Neal, who is starting her 12th year coaching the team, has a deep love for the sport and UNT. As a marketing undergrad, she was captain of the North Texas Dancers. After earning a master’s degree in applied training and development, she taught and spent eight years coaching at John Horn High School in Mesquite.

She was awarded the coveted NCA Texas High School Cheer Coach of the Year award in 2008. In addition to leading the North Texas Cheer team, O’Neal is national sales director for Cheerleading.com, a cheer and dance uniform company, and is involved in high school choreography and judging — a role model for hard work and commitment.

The 42-member North Texas Cheer team, comprising two equal squads — Coed and All Girl — practices more than 10 hours each week in the fall, aside from traveling and attending games. They put in even more time in the spring, practicing through spring break, during competition season.

“They are truly participating in cheer for love of sport,” O’Neal says.

—Photo courtesy of Photoville

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Lindy Rydman (’72) and reappointed Laura Wright (’82, ’82 M.S.) and Ashok “A.K.” Mago to the UNT System Board of Regents this summer.

Rydman, co-owner of Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods, earned a bachelor’s degree from UNT’s music education program. Wright, who retired in 2013 after 25 years with Southwest Airlines, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in UNT’s five-year accounting program.

She has served on the UNT System Board of Regents since 2015, serving as chair since 2019. Mago is chair and CEO of Mago and Associates Inc. and has served as a regent since 2015.

Andy McDowall, a UNT computer science and engineering major and political science minor, is the UNT System’s new student regent.

As student regent, McDowall, pictured below left, is charged with representing the interests of students, the state of Texas and the UNT System. He will serve through May 2023 and is among eight students Abbott appointed to their respective university system boards.

UNT WELCOMED A RECORD-BREAKING 44,532 STUDENTS TO CAMPUS THIS FALL, INCLUDING THE LARGEST-EVER GROUP OF NEW FRESHMEN — 6,708 STUDENTS.

cOURAGE TO HELP OTHERS

See Moore’s winning self-portrait in the Frame Your Future scholarship contest. northtexan.unt.edu/help-others

Deante’ Moore (’19) knew he had to see a counselor when he lost his scholarship after failing courses during his freshman year in his major, biology. Those sessions he took at UNT changed his life. He now wants to be a counselor to help others.

Moore, who grew up in Pflugerville, went on to earn his degree in psychol ogy and currently is working toward his master’s degree in counseling. When he enrolled in counseling cours es, it was the first time he thought about his mental health and it opened his eyes to what he had been missing.

“I appreciated the guidance and the space and being able to connect with people on a different level,” he says.

His favorite class was Cultural Di versity Awareness Counseling, which he identified with as a Native Ameri can and a Black man.

“I felt seen and represented in dif ferent areas,” he says.

Charmaine Conner (’20 Ph.D.) was his favorite teacher who, like Moore, is Black with native ancestry and shared his love for art, incorporating it into her lessons.

As a member of the Gila River Indian Community Akimel O’odham and Tohono O’odham tribe, Moore first joined the Native American Student Association in 2018 and now is vice president. As an undergrad, he was a member of Active Minds, a mental health organization, and Mixed Greens, which connects students with biracial backgrounds. He now serves on the executive committee of the Coalition of Black Counselors, which promotes mental health resources for the Black population. He’s also served as ambas sador for American Indian Heritage Day in Dallas and as a mentor for the United National Indian Tribal Youth.

Due to Moore’s hard work, he’s earned scholarships from his tribe and he recently won the $6,000 grand prize in the Frame Your Future scholarship contest, sponsored by Church Hill Classics, for his self-portrait using symbols of his Black and Native Amer ican cultures.

His advice for other students?

“Have a lot of courage,” he says. “And don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

— Jessica DeLeón

STar STudenT

OCTOBER

EVENTS

Michelle Zauner, musician behind Japanese Breakfast and the author of the memoir Crying in H Mart, will be inter viewed and sign books as part of this Fine Arts Series event. For tickets, visit untunion tickets.com.

Jazz Studies 75th Anniversary Reunion will celebrate UNT’s program with alumni perfor mances, current ensembles, a celebration of Lyle Mays’ life and more. For tickets, visit jazz.unt.edu/ unt-jazz-75th-anniversary.

CVAD Celebrates will feature the dedication of Matthew Ritchie’s sculpture “Shadow Garden” — on the west side lawn of the UNT Art Building — and the new Art Annex. Visit news.cvad.unt.edu/ cvad-celebrates.

The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, themed “Diary of a Storyteller,” is in a new loca tion in Dallas. To register, visit themayborn.com.

NOVEMBER

The Fine Arts Series presents Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Cen ter Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. at the Mar got and Bill Winspear Performance Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center. For tickets, visit thempac. music.unt.edu.

The Kuehne Speaker Series will wel come Kevin O’Leary, “Mr. Wonderful” on ABC’s Shark Tank. To learn more, visit kuehneseries.unt.edu.

DECEMBER

Celebrate Fall 2022 graduates at this year’s commencement ceremonies. For the schedule, visit commencement. unt.edu/fall-2022-schedule.

MARCH

UNT’s 2023 Equity and Diversity Conference will feature a variety of speakers discussing topics related to equity, diversity and inclusion. To learn more, visit edc.unt.edu.

Job Seeking Advice

DENNIS G. NASCO JR. Management lecturer in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and program director of Coursera B.S. General Business Degree

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced most employees to work from home, it shook the job market. The lockdown prompted many workers to quit or seek better jobs, inspiring the term “The Great Resignation,” as they shift ed to take care of family or re-evaluat ed their lives and careers. As a result, employers have had to adapt — from allowing remote work to implementing new diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, and creating belonging such as the establishment of employee resource groups.

“I think it’s vital that organizations build a strong employer brand that will attract diverse talent so workers feel they can thrive in that organization,” says Teresa McKinney, assistant vice president and director for diversity and inclusion at UNT.

Whether you’re an alumnus who resigned from your position looking for a better opportunity or a recent graduate seeking your first job, you can tap into the Career Center — which provides help with resumes, inter views and other aspects of the job search — at careercenter.unt.edu.

Here, three members of the UNT community discuss the impact of the jobs shift.

“Employers can allow for more autonomy of when and where employ ees choose to work. If a job can be done remotely, then there are virtually no geographic limitations on where the employee lives, meaning companies can expand their recruitment pools beyond traditional regional recruitment. This also may allow for more access to diverse talent.”

MICHAEL CARROLL Professor of economics and director of the Economics Research Group (ERG)

“The increase in labor demand is impres sive in most sectors of the local economy. College-educated workers are especially in demand from these new firms. But the econ omy may be facing a mild recession in the short term, and the strong labor market demand may give younger workers a false sense of security in their employment decisions.”

TERESA MCKINNEY Assistant vice president and director for diversity and inclusion for UNT’s Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access

“Organizational change and disruptions always create uncertainty among employ ees, but for many historically marginalized workers, the question remains as to how these current disruptions will affect their experience, retention and job opportunities in the future. Employers must be sensitive to employees’ perceptions of support, equity and employee well-being.”

GIVING IMPACT

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF THE UNT DIAMOND EAGLES SOCIETY

The UNT Diamond Eagles Society — an innovative giving society that pools indi vidual gifts to fund projects determined by a member majority vote — is cele brating five years of difference-making at UNT. Founded by co-chairs Debbie Smatresk and Cathy Bryce (’91 Ph.D.), the group offers members the oppor tunity to contribute $1,000 and make a $100,000 difference in all corners of campus.

2017 – Diamond Eagles Family Patio

The inaugural Diamond Eagles project nearly doubled the square footage of the UNT Alumni Pavilion, where crowds gather to share their Mean Green spirit and enjoy food and live music.

“Now, we’re seeing between 500 to 700 UNT alumni here celebrating before each and every home football game,” says Daniel Suda, director of affinity programming for the UNT Alumni Association. He says the expansion also allowed for the space to be better utilized for other events, such as an alumni gathering during the Homecoming bonfire and the new Farewell Toast tradition for graduating students.

2018 – Diamond Eagles Student Resource Center

UNT Student Affairs supports those who are facing food insecurity and who do not have professional clothing for job interviews or cannot afford graduation regalia. Funding from the Diamond Eagles allowed the division to combine Mean Green Gowns for Grads, the Suit Up Closet and the UNT Food Pantry Presented by Kroger into one location.

“The Diamond Eagles gift was instrumental in our ability to pull all of these resources together into one location,” says Elizabeth With, vice president for student affairs.

Centralizing the programs minimizes labor costs and allows students to have their needs met with privacy and discretion. And, most importantly, it solves problems that might stand in the way of a student’s well-being and achievement.

2019 – Digitizing the Texas Fashion Collection

The Texas Fashion Collection (TFC), part of the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, has a mission to preserve and present nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments and accessories spanning over five continents and 250 years of fashion history. With funding from the Diamond Eagles, the TFC is working on a digitization project that preserves artifacts, enables research and provides student professional development opportunities.

“We’ve been able to digitize over 5,500 pieces in our col lection,” says Annette Becker, director of the Texas Fashion Collection. “These are incredible examples of fashion history that exist nowhere else.”

2020 – Mean Green Mobile Media

This joint venture of the Mayborn School of Journalism, the Department of Media Arts and Mean Green Athletics allows students to utilize a new mobile studio for live event coverage of UNT and community events. Andrea Miller, dean of the Mayborn School of Journalism, sees the ability to add field pro duction to the list of training UNT can offer as a game changer that creates invaluable, real-world experiences for students in the media arts and journalism programs.

“We’re very excited to be able to give the students another experience, another level of skills that they can take with them when they graduate,” Miller says.

2021 – Diamond Eagles Garden at Mean Green Acres Hydroponic Farm

UNT Dining Services is known for inno vation, and part of its recipe for success is hydroponic gardening — using a water-based natural nutrient solution to grow plants without soil. This increases access to hyperlocal food on campus and allows for a more farm-to-table experience without the challenges of outside conditions.

With Diamond Eagles support, Dining Services will expand and relocate its hydroponic farm, creating the new Diamond Eagles Garden at Mean Green Acres. At the new garden, proven methods that are earth-friendly, forward-thinking and economical will be used to increase the variety and double the amount of produce grown on campus.

“We truly appreciate the support of the Diamond Eagles, and we will carry this forward by producing healthy, sus tainable greens for the entire campus to enjoy for years,” says Cristopher Williams, chef and general manager of Mean Green Café and Mean Green Acres.

Interested in joining the Diamond Eagles Society and helping shape the UNT experience for current students and future generations? Visit one.unt. edu/diamondeagles.

— Amanda Yanowski

Congratulations to UNT’s Soaring Eagles

The following alumni will be honored during Homecoming Week at the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards Nov. 2.

Distinguished Alumni Award

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

Dr. Linda Creagh (’62, ’63 M.S., ’67 Ph.D.)

Frank Morris (’71)

Dr. Victor Rodriguez (’55, ’62 M.S.)

Rising Star Award

Recognizes recent graduates for distinguished achievement that has merited the honor and praise of peers and colleagues.

Mathew Zuniga (’21 M.S.)

Outstanding Alumni Service Award

Presented to individuals who have provided exceptional volunteer service to UNT or their community.

George Esquivel (’91)

Ulys Knight Spirit Award

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

Le’Nore Smith

Generations of Excellence Award

Honors a legacy family that has exhibited extraordinary dedication to higher education at UNT through multiple generations.

Neil (’52, ’57 M.M.Ed.) and Sandra (’54, ’57 M.M.) Davidson and Family

Dr. Scott Davidson (’81)

Bruce Davidson (’84)

Blake Davidson

Shannon Davidson (’17 M.S.)

Kathryn Davidson (’20)

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

Watch a video on the UNT Diamond Eagles Society’s impact on campus.

Above From left, April Becker, assistant professor of behavior analysis, with Carlos Lopez, Ph.D. student

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

Increasing Opportunity

UNT joins Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities.

UNT has joined 20 of the nation’s top research universities in the formation of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities to increase opportunity for those historically underserved by higher education. The universities represent every university that has been both categorized as R1 (very high research activity) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The HSRU Alliance aims to achieve two key goals by 2030: Double the number of Hispanic doctoral students en rolled at Alliance universities and increase by 20% the Hispanic professoriate in Alliance universities.

— Guido Verbeck

A professor in the Department of Chemistry, on technology he helped develop that was licensed by Frisco startup InspectIR and granted Federal Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for use as a breathalyzer detection for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). This is the first UNT-sourced intellectual property to receive FDA approval. Verbeck says the technology could lead to possible non-invasive diagnostics for other diseases, including some cancers.

FUNGAL-DERIVED MEDICINE

Researchers in UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute secured a $1.4 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to explore the potential to cultivate fungal-derived pharmaceuticals like penicillin in plant hosts for more accessible and environmentally sustainable medicine. This first-ofits-kind study will establish a new concept for producing valuable fungal products and may lead to medicines that can be delivered in plant seeds.

“What we’re thinking long-term is that if plants can store medicines in seeds, you eat the seeds, and the medicine is already contained. You don’t have all these factories, and you don’t need any chemicals,” says Elizabeth Skellam, assistant professor of chemistry. Skellam is leading the research team that includes Kent Chapman, director of the UNT BioDiscovery Institute; Ana Paula Alonso, associate professor of biological sciences; and economics professor Michael Carroll.

APHASIA SUPPORT

Researchers in UNT’s College of Health and Public Service are helping people living with aphasia in North Texas get better connected to the support and services that may be available to them.

Aphasia, which can be caused by stroke, trauma and other brain injuries, is a debilitating communication disorder that impairs language abilities. Gloria Olness, associate professor of audiology and speech-language pathology, is working with a group of research speech-language pathologists and Liam O’Neill, associate professor of rehabilitation and health services, to lay the foundation for The Aphasia Collaborative — a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary and interpersonal network to provide help.

Their research is funded by the Josephine Simonson Aphasia Trust Fund at the Southwestern Medical Foundation.

“This is a game changer in the world of biomedical analysis. It’s a paradigm shift.

What InspectIR did to get the first breathalyzer is a shift in how we do point of care.”

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

By the Numbers

Mobility Corridor

UNT partnered with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) to develop an Advanced Regional Mobility Cor ridor that will offer future economic opportunity and growth. The collabo ration will yield a plan for facilitating a multi-modal advanced transportation corridor between the North Texas region and the bordering CNO Reser vation that will leverage progress with emerging transportation technologies, including automated ground vehicles and advanced air mobility, helping to improve the quality of life and health.

“UNT is committed to finding solu tions for transforming mobility and recently announced plans for an out door testing facility — UNT Advanced Air Mobility Test Center — which will significantly increase UNT’s research capacity for unmanned aerial vehicles and other emerging areas of research,” UNT President Neal Smatresk says. “We are excited to partner with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.”

Growing Nanodiamonds

UNT chemistry researchers have discovered a novel way to grow nanodiamonds. The new growth method researched by Hao Yan, assistant professor of chemistry, and his team yields nanodiamonds that are extremely small and uniformly sized. Previously, they were created using explosives and required further modification for consistent sizes. The novel method to produce these tiny diamonds — only a few nanometers wide and used in drug delivery, sensors and quantum computer processors — will allow them to be more easily modified for various uses.

“Many of the applications of nanodiamonds, particularly for drug delivery, depend sensitively on their sizes,” Yan says. “Making them smaller has two benefits. First, a smaller diameter means a larger specific surface area, thus higher capacity as a drug vehicle. Second, the smaller size eases the removal and excretion of these diamond particles and reduces their toxicity.”

11That’s the number of students and faculty members from UNT who earned awards from the prestigious Fulbright Program for the 2022-23 awards cycle. Since 1960, there have been more than 80 faculty named as UNT Fulbright Scholars and Specialists. There have been more than 50 UNT Fulbright Student Award winners since 1949. The most recent faculty members earning awards, and their departments, include: Andrew Torget, history, for the Fulbright Scholar Program; Sarah Moore, social work; and Cindy Watson, Teach North Texas, for the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad to Norway. UNT students who earned Fulbright U.S. Student Program Awards for 2022-23 are Zoe Czarnecki, Alexa DeCarlo, Conner Essex, Samuel Hallerman and Lezli McDaniel for the English Teaching Assistant Awards; and Samuel Gaskin, Megan Kelly and Alexa Skillicorn for Study/Research Awards.

Additionally, Rose Baker, learning technologies, Sian Brannon, libraries, and Dipakkumar Pravin, information technology and decision sciences, were selected for the Fulbright Specialist Ros ter and are now eligible to be considered for a Fulbright Specialist Award.

Established in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program aims to increase the mutual understand ing between the people of the United States and the people of other coun tries through international educational exchange programs.

TAKING FLIGHT

UNT’s Center for Integrated Intelligent Mobility Systems (CIIMS) is paving the way for the future of transportation and mobility — working to accelerate collaboration between manufacturers, logistics professionals and emerging technologies to develop unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous cars and robots.

Learn more about CIIMS and other innovative UNT research. research.unt.edu

Honoring Tradition

Artist finds success with her colorful textiles.

As a weaver, Sarah Zapata (’11) works in textiles, a medium that requires time and concentration. “I think labor for me is to honor the tradition,” she says. “It is a humbling process.”

She relies on her Peruvian and Christian background to fuel her ideas for the challenging format, but her education at the College of Visual Arts and Design has played an important part as well. And her hard work has been rewarded. Zapata’s colorful textiles have been exhibited in museums around the world and gained the attention of The New York Times and New York magazine.

“I’m interested in having a long career,” she says, “and being able to do work I care about that is constantly engaging and moving forward.”

Read more about Zapata’s life in New York City and her work. northtexan.unt.edu/honoring-tradition

Read more about Garza and her journey in writing her novel. northtexan. unt.edu/kimberly-garza

Books The Last Karankawas

Kimberly Garza’s (’19 Ph.D.) dissertation for UNT’s creative writing program began as a collection of short stories.

Now it’s evolved into The Last Karankawas, a novel of interconnecting stories about a community of families living in Texas. It fulfills a lifelong dream for Garza, who honed her work at UNT thanks to Distinguished Teaching Professor Miroslav Penkov.

“I’ll say one of the best pieces of advice he’s given me lately is to be patient with my writing,” she says, “and to remember that the writing is the work — not selling books, not winning awards. The writing is the important part, so take your time and write it the very best way you can.”

Grammy Winners

Alum Lyle Mays and others are recognized at music’s biggest event.

The late Lyle Mays, who attended the College of Music in the 1970s, won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Eberhard. Gary Eckert (’92, ’21 M.A.) and faculty member Rosana Eckert (’95, ’99 M.M.) contributed vocals.

“To me, the piece itself sounds like the incredible arc of his life. It begins and ends meditatively, which is a sound he is known for,” Rosana Eckert says. “We recorded the vocals in about a week. It was an unbelievable experience. Lifechanging, lots of tears and inspiring moments — memories that I will treasure forever. I remember the moment in the studio when we took one final listen to the entire thing front to back with our vocals in it. Though it was never spoken, I knew Lyle wasn’t well. I just had this feeling that this was the last day I would see Lyle Mays. It was a profoundly moving experience.”

Tenor Charlie Kim (’12 M.M.), a member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, was part of the recording, Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ that won Best Choral Performance.

Bassist Daniel Foose performed on the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga album Love For Sale that won for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Foose performed live with Lady Gaga, who gave him a shoutout as he started his solo.

The School for German Brides Aimie Runyan (’10 M.A.)

This historical novel, from the Coloradobased author and UNT graduate in French, depicts two German women, one Jewish, one gentile, in the heart of Berlin facing difficult choices as World War II begins.

Texas Ranger Captain William L. Wright Richard McCaslin

The Texas State

Historical Association

Professor of Texas

History writes about one of the “Big Four”

Ranger leaders in the early twentieth centu ry, who served under seven governors.

Bridging Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence

Mark V. Albert, Lin Lin, J. Michael Spector and Lemoyne S. Dunn, editors

Over 60 coauthors led by a UNT team explain the explosion of AI ability to general audiences, how we can leverage AI for learning, and address the consequences as AI capabilities grow.

Chopped Champ

Jason Blackwell (’07), who earned a criminal justice degree at UNT, started his professional culinary journey after taking a cooking class in Italy. He enjoyed the handson experience so much that once he returned to Texas, he decided to take a chance and go to culinary school.

Now with over 10 years of experience, Blackwell is the head chef of his own catering business, Chef’s Knife Ca tering, where he whips up brunch foods, Cajun dishes and five-star meals for events in the DFW area.

He competed against three other chefs on Food Net work’s No. 1 cooking competition series, Chopped, in May — winning the title of Chopped champion, along with a $10,000 prize, after a four-round competition. Blackwell created rustic chuckwagon dishes in a time crunch.

“Being on the show was amazing but bringing home the win and showing there are cowboys in Dallas was the best feeling,” Blackwell says.

He hopes to show others like himself, especially his children, that dreams can come true.

“Culinary arts has been a driving force for me,” Black well says. “It’s been a good journey; I have no complaints.”

Read more about Blackwell’s journey to becoming a chef. northtexan.unt.edu/chopped-champ

Talent and Tenacity

When Farah Fleurima (’97) arrived in South Korea in 2016, she had come to teach English and fulfill her goal of living abroad.

“Korea seemed like a modern, fun and wondrous place, and I thought I’d fit in well here,” she says.

Now the alumna, who majored in composition and language and mi nored in journalism, is a homepage editor in The New York Times’ Seoul office. Fleurima, a former North Texas Daily staffer, has worked in journal ism for more than 20 years. So, what advice does she give to students who want to work in international news? She says to stick to hard news and become a strong researcher.

“Most of all: Believe in yourself. Working at The New York Times had always been a dream when I was in my 20s or 30s. Not that I’d given up on it, but I surely never thought I’d achieve it in my 40s, and in another country, to boot!” Fleurima, 48, says. “With talent and tenacity, you can achieve anything. UNT will prepare you for excellence, as it prepared me.”

IAA Fellows

Four faculty members will receive a semester off from teaching to pursue their creative endeavors as part of the 2022-23 Institute for the Advance ment of the Arts Faculty Fellows program:

Jon Nelson, professor of compo sition, was inspired by the extreme gravitational pull of black holes to create the composition Toward the Event Horizon, which will stretch and granulate sound recordings to echo the notions of time and sounds during black holes.

Lauren Cross, assistant professor of interdisciplinary art and design stud ies, is curating an exhibition of artists of African descent who work with fiber art traditions. The works will be displayed at CVAD Galleries and her research will be included in the book, African American Women Artists & the Fiber Tradition: History & Impact

Liss LaFleur, associate professor of new media art, and Katherine Sobering, assistant professor of sociology, are working together on The Queer Birth Project, which includes an exhibition and publication about the childbirth experiences of LGBTQ+ people in America.

COLLEGE OF MUSIC ALUMNA CARMEN CUSACK WAS NOMINATED FOR A 2022 TONY AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN THE MUSICAL FLYING OVER SUNSET. SHE WAS PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED FOR BRIGHT STAR IN 2016.

Medal of Honor Winners

UNT alumni Pat Boone and David B. Hooten awarded top honor.

UNT alumni and musicians Pat Boone and David B. Hooten (’87) received UNT Presidential Medals of Honor in April in celebration of their musical talents and undeniable impact on the entertainment industry.

Boone, a celebrated musician, actor and motivational speaker, studied at UNT from 1954 to 1955. He was a soloist for what is now UNT’s One O’Clock Lab Band, and he went on to sell 45 million records with six No. 1 records, 38 “Top 40” hits and 13 Gold Records.

“This is a wonderful confirmation that my life was headed in a good direction when I was here,” Boone says. “I really consider this President’s medal as a pat on the back from God. I received invaluable experience while I was here.”

Hooten, who plays the trumpet, is a multi-Grammy and Emmynominated musician and has released 22 albums and produced or played on over 100 albums from jazz to gospel and classical.

“You can do all of it,” he says of his versatility of genres. “That’s what North Texas gave to me. It taught me how to be a professional player where you can play whatever you’re hired to do, and I did.”

Gaming Duo

College sweethearts create an award-winning video game.

Clarissa “Valerie” Gotcher (’98, ’04 M.A.) and her husband, John “Andy” Gotcher (’98), met at UNT — and the two have been inseparable ever since. Married for 20 years, they combined the skills they learned at UNT to team up on a video game project, “PXLPLAY,” which won second place in the Big Indie Pitch competition in Seattle for games created by indie developers.

Valerie, a child development major who earned her master’s in speech-language pathology, has worked for several human service agencies and founded the nonprofit organization, BIND: Brain Injury Network of Dallas. Andy used his bachelor’s in communication design for a career in branding and advertising before moving to the video game industry as a skilled graphic design artist for games like Words with Friends, Halo Wars and Terminator 3.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he founded Pixel Play LLC, an indie studio that led to “PXLPLAY,” a mobile arcade game with tap-tap gameplay that features bright colors and surprising boosts.

“We truly enjoy working together ... our work ethic, love of learning and sense of responsibility is iron-clad,” the Gotchers say.

Learn more about the Gotchers’ love story and road to gaming success.

northtexan.unt.edu/gaming-duo

Read more about their memories at UNT. northtexan.unt.edu/boone-hooten

Historic Build

UNT alumnus restores 1924 pipe organ on campus.

STORY BY HEATHER NOEL PHOTOGRAPHY BY AHNA HUBNIK

UNT’s Main Auditorium was filled with the sound of construction this summer, but soon the auditorium will be alive with music again following an extensive reno vation to a nearly century-old pipe organ that inhabits the stage walls.

The project has brought a feeling of nostalgia for Roy Redman (’60), who owns Redman Pipe Organ LLC, the Fort Worthbased company tasked with the instru ment’s most comprehensive restoration in more than seven decades.

“It’s déjà vu, because I grew up with this organ in a way,” Redman says, thinking back on his time as a violin student in the College of Music.

In the late 1950s, Redman attended a series of historical organ concerts in the Main Auditorium that jump started his understanding of the instrument. He went on to a career in church music, including 35 years as the choir director at Unitarian Church in Fort Worth. Addi tionally, he combined his love of music and interest in the mechanics of things into his own organ repair business, which has done other work on UNT organs over the years.

“When I was in college at UNT, there was a very important movement going on to discover a more classical way of organ building,” Redman says. “It came to this country partially with Otto Hofmann, who was an organ builder in Austin. Those were very exciting times. As a result, several of my UNT classmates and I eventually became organ builders.”

Beginning in February, Redman and his team of organ repair technicians disassembled the entire instrument and spent several months checking over every moving part of the organ, which was orig inally built by renowned Danish-born or gan builder M.P. Möller and installed on the UNT campus in 1924. It was housed

in UNT’s Auditorium Building, one of the oldest buildings on campus, which once served as the university’s first official administration building.

The pipe organ was thoroughly rebuilt in 1948-49, under the direction of the late UNT organ professor and musicologist Helen Hewitt, to play classical pieces with principal choruses in the great, swell and pedal divisions.

This latest restoration will consider ably extend the pitch range and quality of the organ’s sound, moving it from a III/60 to a IV/78. One of the major enhancements includes additions from a 1931 Opus 5819 theatre organ once housed at the Philadelphia Municipal Auditorium. The organ came to UNT via the University of Oklahoma, which acquired it in 2006 for preservation.

“To renew something that is 100 years old, there’s something extremely gratifying about that,” Jesse Eschbach,

UNT professor of organ, says. “Due to the instrument’s location embedded in the walls on either side of the stage, it has a very mystical and remote sound.”

He says the rebuild led by Redman will “significantly enhance the effect” of the organ.

“The great choir chamber is being dramatically reconfigured to allow more presence of sound in the room,” he says.

“It will be a great asset for our program, especially in playing music from the 19th and 20th centuries.”

UNT will celebrate the organ’s rebuild with a performance by French organist Daniel Roth March 7 in UNT’s Main Audi torium. Check music.unt.edu closer to the concert for details.

See a video and slideshow about the restoration of the organ.

“To renew something that is 100 years old, there’s something extremely gratifying about that.”

— Jesse Eschbach, UNT professor of organ

From left: Jesse Eschbach, professor of organ, and Roy Redman (’60). The 1949 Möller IV/78 in UNT’s Main Auditorium is one of four concert organs on campus, each suitable for playing a different repertoire of music. The instrument, originally built in 1924, is the university’s only electric action organ and one of the oldest working organs in the North Texas area. It includes a special organ stop donated to the university by legendary French organist Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, under whom Eschbach studied in Paris.

Strong Start

With players named to watch lists for skill and integrity, football kicks off in Mean Green fashion.

Momentum is building for the Mean Green football team with great skill and leadership.

Senior offensive lineman Manase Mose has started every game of his career for the Mean Green, playing both center and guard over the course of his four years with the team.

He’s been named to the watch lists for the Outland Trophy and for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry who epitomizes great ability and integrity. Mose helped spearhead what was the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing attack (233.5 yards per game) in 2021.

“Mose is one of our captains and a great leader and an other coach on the field,” head coach Seth Littrell says. “He makes all our calls and he’s invaluable with his experience and the way he works.”

Senior linebacker KD Davis, leading tackler for the Mean Green the last three years, made the watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award.

Also named to watch lists were junior receiver Roderic Burns for the Biletnikoff Award, and senior punter Bernar do Rodriguez for the Ray Guy Award.

“We have a mature football team with a lot of great men and a great culture,” Littrell says. “We’re going to continue to grow stronger and have a great season.”

Find information about Mean Green Football and the Mean Green Scholarship Fund challenging fans to make a Pledge Per Touchdown scored during the 2022 season. meangreensports.com

Unity Plaza

Construction is nearing completion on a new Unity Plaza honoring the men who broke the color barrier in major college football in Texas. Abner Haynes and Dr. Leon King (’62, ’72 M.Ed.) were the first Black players to integrate college football at a fouryear Texas institution.

The pair joined the North Texas freshman team in 1956, moved up to the varsity team the following year, and served as inspiration for many young men that came after them. Both had successful careers — Haynes in the American Football League and King as a teacher, coach and administrator in Dallas ISD — and they have served as wonderful ambassadors for UNT. Unity Plaza is being constructed adjacent to the UNT Athletic Center and the Lovelace and McNatt Families Practice Facility.

Women’s Golf Wins Again

Thanks to teamwork and determination, the UNT women’s golf team overcame a challenging course and two-shot deficit to win its second consecutive Conference USA Championship at PGA National in Florida in April. This year’s excellent performance landed three players on the all-conference team, and sixthyear head coach Michael Akers was named C-USA’s Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The team’s successful season came to an end at the NCAA Regional in Albuquerque May 9-11, where they finished in 10th place.

11That’s how many Mean Green teams had spring 2022 semes ter GPAs over 3.0. The teams were: men’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s soccer, women’s softball, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis, women’s track and field, and women’s vol leyball. The overall UNT studentathletes’ semester GPA was 3.206 — the highest in UNT Athletics history.

Best of the Best

Six new members will be welcomed to the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame this fall. The 2022 induction class — voted in by current Mean Green for Life Letterwinners Association members, Hall of Fame members and the Hall of Fame committee — was announced in August. The new Hall of Fame members are Adrian Awasom, football; Brelan Chancellor, football; Rachel Holden, soccer; Jessica Hulsebosch, volleyball; Rives McBee, men’s golf; and Nick Zuniga, football.

REMAINING 2022 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

OCT. 1 vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC

OCT. 15 vs. LA TECH

OCT. 22 at UTSA

OCT. 29 at WESTERN KENTUCKY

NOV. 5 vs. FIU HOMECOMING GAME

NOV. 12 at UAB

NOV. 26 vs. RICE

The early 2000s Mean Green football teams that won 26 consecutive Sun Belt Conference games, four straight conference championships and played in four bowl games are represented by offensive lineman Zuniga and defensive end Awasom. Chancellor helped UNT to one of the most remarkable seasons in recent history, the 2013 team that went 9-4 and won the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014.

Holden was a leader on a team that won three Conference USA championships and posted a 64-21-4 record. She earned all-conference honors all four years at UNT and ranked in the top five in several statistical categories when she graduated.

Hulsebosch was one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Mean Green volleyball program. She led her team in digs all four years of her career and is still the career leader in that category. She holds every single-match record for digs and has three of the top five all-time best seasons for digs.

Check for the latest ticket information: meangreensports.com

McBee was the No. 1 player for the North Texas golf team in 1959 and again  in 1961 and 1963.  His teams posted a 32-8-3 dual match record, and he won 16 individual medalist titles during his college career. He also helped his team to a third-place finish in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship in 1963.

By the Numbers

HOLLYWOOD ENDING

DONNIE F. WILSON’S TENACITY EARNED HIM A CAREER AS A FILMMAKER. AND IT’S PAID OFF AGAIN — HIS MOVIE, THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, RECENTLY WON AN ACADEMY AWARD.

STORY BY JESSICA DELEÓN

ON HIS WAY TO AN OSCARS WATCH PARTY, Donnie F. Wil son (’90) got the text. The Queen of Basketball, a film for which he served as one of the executive producers, had won the 2022 Acad emy Award in the documentary short category. But Wilson didn’t want to tell anyone else since the category hadn’t yet aired live.

“I was sitting in my car, and I was like, ‘Oh my god,’” he says.

Now everyone knows. His inbox has blown up with messages of congratulations from friends and colleagues. For the radio, TV and film alum, the award is the culmination of a longtime pursuit of a dream for a career in filmmaking that began with determination and some bold risks.

Eventually they called back with another assignment that he heard as Big Shack.

“You want to send me to a barbecue restaurant?” he says.

But they meant Big Shaq — as in basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal. Wilson went to help set up the office and made the con nections that turned into a full-fledged job.

He’s now a partner with O’Neal with Jersey Legends Produc tions, which started in 2020. They co-wrote and produced an ani mated short, Headnoise, about two aspiring basketball players.

And then came The Queen. A few years ago, filmmaker Ben Proudfoot came to Wilson with an idea about Lusia “Lucy” Harris. She played on a college basketball team that won three national championships and was the first woman to score a bas ket in the Olympics and be drafted by an NBA team. Wilson had no idea who she was, but was excited.

Wilson grew up in Dallas and always has been a storyteller — and a playwright at heart — and so the radio, TV and film program at UNT seemed like a good fit.

After college, Wilson interned at WFAA and then took a job as a minority recruitment specialist with the National Marrow Donor Program, where he headed recruiting efforts of all minority groups to the national register for several years. But he was determined to go to Hollywood to become a filmmaker. Wilson’s plan was to save $2,000 before he made the move. But one event after another kept getting in his way. He would get halfway to ward his goal, but a ticket or a flat tire would set him back. Even tually, he realized he was starting to get comfortable with that.

“It dawned on me that I was afraid,” he says. “I only had $500, but I no longer wanted to be controlled by fear.”

He made the trip to Hollywood, bouncing between friends, before he found a place to stay. He worked at temp agencies for people who wanted to work in the entertainment industry. Mostly, he was filing papers instead of networking with people.

One day, the agency told him he was getting a gig with Rob Reiner. Wilson was thrilled to work with a big-name director, but then learned the agency made a mistake. Wilson, calling from a pay phone on Hollywood Boulevard, was crushed. They offered him another assignment to file papers.

“I’m not doing that,” he told them.

“Oh my god, I’m in to support this,” Wilson says. “I felt like I had been cheated of something by not knowing her story. I had no choice but to be a part of it.”

The 22-minute movie is filmed with a close-up on Harris’ face as she tells her story with clips from her basketball days. The film also had the backing of two NBA legends — O’Neal and Steph Curry.

Wilson didn’t get to meet Harris, who died in January. He gave up his ticket to the Oscars ceremony so more of her family members could attend.

Now his company is considering a feature film on Harris. He also hopes to one day complete his dream project, turning the play he wrote — Tearing Down Cabrini Green — into a screenplay.

While Wilson says his resilience has helped him get to this point in his career, he also credits his family and friends.

“What makes me most excited is the love I’m receiving from my hometown and where I come from. It just feels so good,” he says. “I feel like I made my city and school proud.”

Watch the Oscar-winning short The Queen of Basketball.

I only had $500, but I no longer wanted to be controlled by fear.

TO THE SKIES & BEYOND

Story by Jessica DeLeón

WHETHER IT’S STUDYING THE LOGISTICS OF DRONES OR REPORTING THE LATEST DISCOVERIES IN SPACE, THE UNT COMMUNITY IS HELPING NASA AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES REACH THEIR GOALS.

As a high school student in the late 1980s in his native Israel, Ohad Shemmer was fascinated with the stars in the sky. Every night, he would keep track of how they varied in brightness over time and mail the information to the American Association of Variable Star Observers, which collected the data. He knew he was able to fill in gaps for a particular night or target, usually a star or sometimes an active galaxy, for a professional astrono mer who missed that opportunity.

Now, as an associate professor of physics, he studies and measures the mass of black holes — and he’s made signif icant discoveries. In 2019, he was part of a team that found the most remote “cloaked” black hole, thanks to the help of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

“This really is my dream job,” he says. “It’s not only the observation at different wavelengths/frequencies or the study of physics that brings me joy — it’s the excitement of never-ending discoveries.”

Shemmer is just one of several UNT researchers and alumni conducting innovative research with the help of NASA — the space agency that is one of the U.S.’ most beloved institutions. Their research is varied and could have far-reaching impacts. Under UNT’s newly formed Center for Integrated Intelligent Mobility Systems (CIIMS), researchers are creating highways for drones that would allow for more accessible transport of goods, such as delivering organ transplants more rapidly, which would save more lives. Others are using NASA’s satellite images to study farmers’ irrigation techniques, which has the poten tial to reduce water usage.

And several alumni are working for NASA and other space programs, conducting research or spreading the word about its projects. They all share a common bond — a curiosity and love for the vast unknown of space.

Jaclyn Barrientes (’05), who handles social media for the Space Telescope Science Institute, takes great pride in sharing stories about space.

“I’m not the person making the discoveries, but I’m translating them so the public understands,” she says. “I get to do this amazing job with real-world implications.”

Highways in the Sky

Helping solve real-world problems is a specialty of Kamesh Namuduri, professor of electrical engineering and a

researcher for CIIMS. “In five minutes, a drone — or unmanned air ambulance — could get to an accident scene after receiving the call,” he says.

He also is pursuing how life-saving transplants such as donated organs and human tissue can be transported quickly. Namuduri is spearheading two projects to make this a possibility. The first is the Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign, which would create air corridors to shorten the amount of time needed to deliver the organs — or other kinds of cargo.

The air corridors would be like “highways in the sky,” creating ramps in the airspace for drones to fly from point to point. The first corridor is planned to run from Fort Worth to UNT’s Discovery Park, with the first flight expect ed to take place in October. For the test run, researchers will determine what issues and challenges the unmanned aircraft may encounter. They have to consider regulations, safety and how to handle weather, such as hailstorms. They also need to determine how drones “talk” to each other, such as giving the right of way in an inter section.

Namuduri is partnering with Bell Textron Inc., the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), and several cargo com panies and universi ties.

“It is the first air corridor in the country and will cre ate economic and workplace opportunities for

Right Kamesh Namuduri, professor of electrical engineering

the region,” he says. “It’s going to make a huge impact on humanity.”

The second project — funded with a three-year $746,000 grant from NASA — will explore the supply chain logistics of high-volume manufacturing, such as the gaps that need to be addressed to be able to build drones. Namuduri is the principal investigator for the project, which also involves Terry Pohlen and Ila Manuj from the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and Nandika D’Souza from the College of Engineering. They are creating processes for certifica tion of unmanned aircraft systems and components. His research also received funding from the U.S. Air Force and NCTCOG.

“NASA is providing the vision,” Namuduri says. “We are trying to make this a reality by doing a lot of testing, large and simple, so we can understand the big challenges.”

Looking Back to Earth

Back on the ground, the crops in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley are constantly changing the environment. Some methods to measure the changes — such as flux towers collecting data on water vapor and carbon dioxide exchange rates between the earth and atmosphere, and a census of water, assessing its supply and use — may not always be accurate.

“But satellite photos can tell a story,” says Lu Liang, asso ciate professor of geography and the environment, adding that satellite and aerial images cover a broader landscape and allow researchers to see how the sun lies on the fields.

Of the freshwater consumed in the world annually, 70% is used for agricultural irrigation. However, 40% of water used by farmers is wasted through evapo ration as well as poor irrigation and water management.

Liang and Xiaohui Yuan, associate professor of com puter science and engi neering, are examining high-quality satellite and aerial images to see what irrigation techniques farmers in that region are us ing — and to deter mine how techniques have been changed to accurately assess water use efficiency on farmlands. They have received $650,000 in grants from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey and UNT (as a seed grant).

The researchers take the images with each pixel representing 1 square

— Kamesh Namuduri, professor of electrical engineering and a researcher for UNT’s Center for Integrated and Intelligent Mobility Systems (CIIMS)

meter and divide them into small square patches. Using their skill sets and artificial intelligence for model gener ation and processing, they can annotate those patterns on the imagery.

“There are a lot of things NASA does besides looking outside to space — they also look back toward the Earth for discovery,” Yuan says.

Translating the Discoveries

At 3 a.m. this past Christmas, Jaclyn Barrientes (’05) was working in her pajamas in her sister’s house in Carrollton.

But Barrientes enjoyed every minute of it. As social media director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, she gets to report about the Hubble telescope and the James Webb telescope, which is now observing a million miles away. On Dec. 25, she was posting and tweeting about the long-awaited launch of the Webb as people all over the world watched it.

“We thought it would be the worst possible day,” says Barrientes, noting the launch had been repeatedly delayed and staffers were out because of the holiday. But she was pleasantly sur prised. “In the end, I watched the launch of this amazing telescope with my sister and nephew in a living room lit by Christmas lights and presents from Santa under the tree. It ended up being the most magical day.”

Barrientes’ career also was unexpected. When she graduated from the Mayborn School of Journalism, social media barely existed. She worked as a page

It is the first air corridor in the country and will create economic and workplace opportunities for the region. It’s going to make a huge impact on humanity.”

designer for sev eral publications in Charlotte, N.C., before joining sever al nonprofit organi zations in Washington, D.C. She then landed the job at the institute, a government agency based in Baltimore.

She uses many of the skills she learned at the Mayborn — writing, editing and designing graphics. And she’s pored through hundreds of books about galaxies and black holes to learn more about astronomy.

She admits that social media can be a wild place. In March, the Hubble got a massive scoop — it detected lights from a star that was 13 billion years old.

“For the general public, it did not come off as fascinating news,” she says. “They wanted aliens.”

This summer, she got to plan the strategy for the Webb telescope’s extraordinary pictures of some of the farthest galaxies ever seen. She’s living her dream working amid the stars, reminiscent of her years growing up under the big open skies of Brownsville.

“I didn’t know at the time some of the lights were planets and galaxies, but I knew how to find Orion from an early age, thanks to one of my elementary school teachers,” she says. “The same teacher taught me that the gravity on Jupiter could squish the mean boy in my class as if he were made of clay. Even as I grew older, I loved looking out at the sky from the car at night, something I still do when I’m away from the city lights.”

Using His Curiosity

As a young boy growing up in Nigeria, John Femi-Oyetoro (’17 M.S., ’21 Ph.D.) always needed to know things. He was known to tear radios apart to see what was inside them.

“I was curious and I asked questions. ‘Why does this work?’ ‘Why do we look to the sky?’”

Now as a postdoctoral fellow for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, he conducts research and develops infrared detectors for space applications in ground or space telescopes.

Femi-Oyetoro didn’t have connections to NASA when he applied for his job, but his interest in microdevices got

him into the organization. And now he is inspired by the challenge of his work.

“These are devices that have critical applications,” he says. “You cannot afford to have one fail. You have to make sure everything you’re doing makes a very reliable device.”

He says that researchers could spend decades — their whole career — on a project, citing a scientist from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center during the December launch of the Webb telescope who said he had worked on the project for 20 years.

But Femi-Oyetoro is hooked, knowing that he’s making a difference for humankind through his work.

“I’m passionate about this research, which helps form the foundation of technologies crucial for enabling science observations — giving us a better understanding of Earthlike planets, ocean worlds and science measurements that point to potential hubs of life. Space is vast,” he says, “and there is so much to explore.”

Find more about alumni, students and faculty who are working on NASA-related projects.

northtexan.unt.edu/skies-beyond

Above Jaclyn Barrientes (’05), social media director of the Space Telescope Science Institute

Left From left, Lu Liang, associate professor of geography and the environment, and Xiaohui Yuan, associate professor of computer science and engineering

Right John Femi-Oyetoro (’17 M.S., ’21 Ph.D.), postdoc toral fellow for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

A Community to Succeed

STORY BY HEATHER NOEL | PHOTOGRAPHS BY AHNA HUBNIK

he decision about Lauryn Woolfolk’s future came wrapped in a standard envelope. As she tore it open and began reading the letter, her grandma let out a holler of excitement as soon as Woolfolk read the words, “You have been accepted.”

Woolfolk’s reaction took a few more seconds to register. Finally, she lifted her arms above her head in celebration as her family members continued their gleeful screams. And then came the tears of joy and hugs as the news really sank in — she was going to UNT for a true university experience.

Woolfolk, who has an intellectual disability, had almost given up on college.

She first tried a community college after graduating from Cedar Hill High School in 2019. While there, she struggled and found it challenging to comprehend class expectations.

“I would just sit there and look at the paper, not understanding what to do,” Woolfolk recalls.

She was capable of the learning, but she needed one-onone guidance and a dedicated support system to have greater success in the classroom. Woolfolk and her family looked into collegiate programs for students with ID. The options were few — and even fewer if Woolfolk wanted to live on campus and be integrated with the entire university community.

At the time, the closest program was hours away at Texas A&M University in College Station, and others were located outside Texas, even farther from the family’s home in Cedar Hill.

“I didn’t want to be so far if I needed help from my family,” Woolfolk says.

Her college dreams went on hold until her grandma discovered a new program being developed at UNT. UNT ELEVAR, which stands for Empower, Learn, Excel, enVision, Advance and Rise, officially debuted in Fall 2021 as the first inclusive post-secondary program for students with intellectual disabilities in the North Texas region.

It was the option Woolfolk had been looking for, and this fall she’s joined eight other students in ELEVAR’s second cohort.

“I am so excited because this program is going to help me be better and do better,” Woolfolk says. “If I had to go back to another school that doesn’t have the support I need, it wouldn’t work.”

Those sentiments are similar to the ones felt by her ELEVAR classmates and their families. College was a path they never imagined they could take, but the tide is changing.

As one of the university’s newest programs, ELEVAR is giving educational access to a population that has been historically excluded from higher education, and it’s uniting faculty and staff across campus to bring the students wellrounded support and experiences.

It’s part of UNT’s mission to give all students the inclusive and welcoming space they need to thrive — through programs and initiatives that not only focus on academics, but also on career readiness, financial literacy, mental and physical health, and social and emotional well-being.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Inclusive education for students with disabilities is widely available in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, but once students age out of high school programs, opportunities to continue education drop significantly. Lack of educational access can build disparities in the workforce as well as decrease the quality of life for these individuals.

The state of Texas has the second-highest population of individuals with disabilities in the U.S. North Texas K-12 public and charter schools serve nearly 23% of the state’s students with a primary diagnosis of ID, yet before ELEVAR there was no inclusive post-secondary option in the region for this population.

That reality didn’t sit well with Brenda Barrio (’06, ’08 M.S., ’13 Ph.D.). The three-time UNT College of Education alumna has spent her career as a champion for students with disabilities, especially those from underrepresented communities. She started her career as a bilingual special education teacher in Denton ISD and, for almost 10 years, she has served as a special education professor in higher education. In 2019, when a position opened up in UNT’s Department of Educational Psychology, it seemed like kismet. She was thrilled at an opportunity to come back to her alma mater, but if she were to return, she had a very specific goal in mind.

“In my interview, I shared my plan to create an inclusive program for individuals with intellectual disabilities here on campus,” Barrio says. “I knew it was ambitious, but the

UNT OFFERS FIRST INCLUSIVE POST-SECONDARY PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN THE NORTH TEXAS REGION.

Left ELEVAR student Lucas Archibald (right) moves into Legends Hall on the UNT campus in August 2021 with the help of community members.

need is great for this population. They deserve the chance to go to college, pursue a career of their choice and live independent lives.”

Barrio started a similar program for students with ID at Washington State University, but at UNT she hoped to build a more university-wide program, giving these individuals access to the comprehensive academic options the university had to offer. The efforts would extend off campus by partnering with local school districts to offer training for special education professionals and resources for their middle and high school students with ID.

To set things in motion, Barrio gathered expertise from across campus, including that of faculty members Melissa Savage and Jean Keller in the College of Education; Chandra Carey, Brandi Levingston and Elias Mpofu in the College of Health and Public Service; and Lucy Gafford, director of the UNT Workplace Inclusion and Sustainable Employment program (UNT WISE).

In 2020, the faculty group earned a $2 million seed grant from the U.S. Department of Education to officially begin development of ELEVAR, which also means “lift, soar and rise” in Spanish, a nod to the program’s goal of empowering young adults with ID and UNT’s designation as a HispanicServing and Minority-Serving Institution.

TRUE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

ELEVAR welcomed its inaugural students in Fall 2021. The group of five students, affectionately dubbed the “fab five,” were able to take classes in subjects of their choice, live together in a residence hall, work campus jobs and plan for their future careers. In its first year, the influence of the program is already visible both in the personal gains of its students and engagement from the UNT community and beyond.

“They really grew throughout the entire year from becoming more independent to being great advocates for themselves,” Barrio says. “They’ve even established their own identity within the university and got involved in student organizations and campus life in general.”

Alex Bartolo and other ELEVAR students joined the Disney Club along with traditional UNT students. The student-led group gathers weekly for movie screenings and activities. As an avid Pixar fan, Bartolo can name all the studio’s movies in order of their release dates. Those who spend any amount of time with him will probably be treated to his impressions of characters from Veggie Tales, SpongeBob SquarePants and other shows.

One day, Bartolo hopes to become a professional voice actor and he’s beginning his preparation for that career by taking classes in UNT’s Department of Media Arts, including a voice acting class this fall.

“People who do animated movies are not appreciated enough,” Bartolo says. “Maybe one day I can be the next Rob Paulsen, who played Pinky in Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.”

Lourdes Rahn’s son Noah is part of ELEVAR’s first cohort, too. The changes she’s seen in him over the last year have been significant.

“At first, he was a little leery,” Rahn says. “He would still use me as his ‘dial a friend’ when he needed help, but gradually the calls became fewer and fewer and he flourished in a way I’ve never seen before.”

Rahn says Noah has enjoyed being part of the UNT community — attending sporting events, working as the manager of the men’s basketball team and getting involved in student activities — so much so that he didn’t want to come home during school breaks.

In addition to the growth in his independence and confidence, Noah, who has apraxia of speech, has made tremendous improvements in his verbal and written communication. Before, his texts might be fragmented and difficult to decipher, but now he communicates in full sentences and is able to better articulate what he wants to say.

His fellow ELEVAR classmates have become friends and have encouraged him to try things he never thought possible.

“He came home this summer and was insistent that he wanted to learn to drive,” Rahn says. “That’s a direct influence of seeing that some of his other ELEVAR classmates were driving. He told me: ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t think I could, but if they can do it, I can do it.’”

ENGAGING COMMUNITY

An added benefit Barrio had hoped would come from ELEVAR is taking root — increased inclusivity in the broader campus community and even outside Denton.

Last fall, the UNT ELEVAR Peer Ally group launched with nearly 60 students signed up to participate in the first month. Kenzie Duwe, an undergraduate student in special education, reached out to Barrio about making it an official student organization, which took place in February. The student-led group facilitates social activities for ELEVAR and traditional students each week.

The impact of ELEVAR on campus really hit home for Barrio in May during the program’s end of the year celebration. UNT faculty and staff, along with ELEVAR students and their families, filled a conference room in Matthews Hall to reflect on the inaugural year.

“The number of people that showed up from across campus — it was just incredible,” Barrio says. “That really demonstrates how we aren’t a siloed program. We are connected with people and programs across the university.”

Those connections have reached beyond campus. Through ELEVAR’s collaborations with school districts in Corsicana, Decatur, Denton, Fort Worth and Irving, it’s making professional development in special education more accessible through monthly virtual education sessions and an annual summer institute. UNT pre-service teachers in the College of Education also lead virtual coaching sessions about life and career planning for middle and high school students with ID from these districts.

Stories about ELEVAR on local NBC and ABC affiliate television stations as well as the national NBC News have helped the program earn recognition in communities across the state and nation. The media coverage has prompted other Texas colleges and universities to inquire with Barrio about how they can

start similar programs at their institutions. It’s also caught the attention of parents who have children with ID.

Traci Walker heard about ELEVAR from a story NBC DFW aired in February 2021. It gave her hope that her son Jaylen could fulfill his goal of going to college and eventually culinary school.

Jaylen was born prematurely and diagnosed with an intellectual disability, a speech impediment and hearing loss. When he was a baby, doctors said he may never walk, talk, feed himself or even learn. Now, he does all of those things and has joined UNT this fall in ELEVAR’s second cohort along with Woolfolk and seven other students from around the U.S.

“His motto is, ‘If I can do it, you can do it,’ and so that’s our goal just to keep pushing him and supporting him, allowing him to be the best

Above ELEVAR students including Wynter Hill (left) and Pilar Rivera (right) work through an activity together during orientation in July. Wynter and Pilar are part of ELEVAR’s second cohort, which includes students from all over the country.

person that he can be,” Traci told NBC DFW in April as the TV station covered a celebration of Jaylen’s college acceptance at his high school.

Opening doors for students like Jaylen and Lauryn is exactly what ELEVAR is designed to do. In this next year, ELEVAR will especially focus on further building the career piece of the program — a key ingredient for students’ future success, Barrio says.

“They really want to seek that career development and are excited to see what their future looks like,” Barrio says. “ELEVAR removes the barriers and gives them the foundation in skills and knowledge to launch them into their life and career.”

hen first-generation student Fatima Macias Ortiz enrolled at UNT, she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. She wasn’t even certain how she would navigate college, but she knew she had to be successful and that she had to be an example for her younger sisters.

“I always knew that I wanted to go to college and have a career,” says the freshman theatre major. “But I didn’t exactly know what I wanted. Everyone thinks that everyone in college is prepared, but some people are just trying to figure it out.”

The support network she discovered at UNT helped her utilize the resources and coaching she needed.

“I found myself throughout the journey of the first year,” Macias Ortiz says. “I always think of my little sisters and that I kind of like paving the way for them so they don’t have to struggle.”

Around 41% of UNT undergraduates self-identify as first-generation students. Fulfilling needs and inquiries from these students whose parents did not earn a four-year college degree prompted the opening of the UNT FirstGeneration Success Center in Spring 2021. In collaboration with departments and groups across campus, the center hosts programs and workshops that address areas such as financial aid, navigating grad school, leadership development and community resources.

“As a first-generation student, you don’t know what you don’t know,” says Desiree Padron (’09, ’13 M.P.A.), director of the First-Generation Success Center, who was herself a firstgeneration student. “That’s why we’re here to help them find academic resources, show them how to engage in class and network with peers and faculty, explain what the financial aid process looks like and the dates and deadlines they should know, and identify opportunities for career development. Sometimes people just want to know that they’re supported, that they can do these things and that they have somebody who is rooting for them.”

It’s not just first-gen students like Macias Ortiz who need guidance and access to resources along the way. For all UNT students, being the best they can be — at UNT and in their life beyond the university — takes a kaleidoscope of support and programs.

Even before students step on campus, UNT works to ensure they are ready for the academic rigor of college.

Above Traci Walker (left) gives an Eagle Claw with son and ELEVAR student Jaylen during the 2022 Mean Green Move-In.

UNT PROVIDES THE RESOURCES AND PROGRAMS TO ENSURE STUDENTS’ SUCCESS AND WELL-BEING THROUGHOUT THEIR TIME ON CAMPUS AND ENTERING THE WORKFORCE.

Watch a video showing a celebration of Jaylen’s acceptance to UNT.

Changes the pandemic has brought to learning and standardized testing over the last few years have made a significant impact on incoming students. In 2021, the Texas Legislature enacted a law requiring all of the state’s public higher education institutions to determine college readiness in reading, writing and math through the Texas Success Initiative program.

Through UNT’s TSI Math Summer Bridge Program, the university helps admitted first-year students meet those academic standards. The program, both inperson and online, gives students the extra assistance they need in math so they are ready to jump into their college courses in the fall. Residential participants in the inaugural cohort this summer successfully finished the program and are on track with their peers.

STAYING ON TRACK

Once the semester begins, juggling all the dates and deadlines in college can be overwhelming at first.

Through Navigate, UNT’s comprehensive student success system, students can stay on top of their schedules with personalized to-do lists, campus event reminders, class schedule and campus resources accessible from their phone, tablet or computer.

Students also can connect with their classmates in study groups or schedule appointments with advisors, tutors and career coaches.

“It’s a one-stop shop for student information for us advisors as well,” says Parker Ellis (’16 M.Ed.), a senior academic counselor in the College of Health and Public Service. “It’s made it easier for us to schedule appointments and get students the answers they need without having to open up another program or send them walking across campus.”

And with up to 400 students to advise at any given time, having all the information he needs right when he needs it is vital. Since UNT began using the Navigate app a few years ago, he’s noticed students are being more proactive about messaging him to schedule their advising appointments. In 2022 alone, there were more than 60,000 appointments created in the system.

“In Navigate there will be a pop-up message saying, ‘Parker Ellis would like to schedule an appointment with you,’” Ellis says, “and then they can schedule their appointment from the app.”

Working hand in hand with the Navigate app is NestBuilders, another student success platform that keeps first-time-in-college students on track while offering financial awards to those who participate in activities.

For completing tasks such as an appointment with an advisor, attending financial coaching or joining tutoring sessions at the Learning Center, students can earn small awards to apply toward their financial aid for the following year. The average awards students earn each academic year are about $400, and the highest amount they can earn is $1,000.

“We’re such a resource-rich campus, and it’s hard for a first-time-in-college student to know what’s available without some direction,” says Stacey Polk, student success program manager in UNT’s Division of Planning. “I think that’s the real gift of this kind of program.”

The platform gave a boost to Valerie Tonn, a junior journalism major with a concentration in public relations from Pflugerville. Tonn says she likely wouldn’t have stayed up to date with required tasks her first year if it weren’t for NestBuilders.

“College is expensive, so it was good to be able to earn money toward financial aid,” Tonn says. “Using NestBuilders was a great way for me to get more engaged on campus, especially since I came here during COVID and there weren’t as many people here.”

FIRST IN FLIGHT

From challenges to triumphs, watch a video and read about the experiences of two firstgen students — Fatima Macias Ortiz (left) and Arath Herrera (right) — as they navigate the ins and outs of UNT, determined to realize their dream of earning a degree.

Following her first year, Tonn started serving as a student success guide, informing students about the evolution of NestBuilders and raising awareness about the platform.

“We’ve curated more personalized experiences for students and provided more one-on-one support,” Tonn says. “I’m a people person, so I’ve really enjoyed getting to connect with other students through this work.”

FINDING SUPPORT

Excelling in the classroom can be greatly influenced by factors beyond teaching and learning.

Through UNT’s Student Money Management Center, students can learn how to be financially responsible; the Student Health and Wellness Center provides medical and health education services; and Counseling and Testing Services offers comprehensive psychological care to all students.

MODELS FOR SUCCESS

UNT’s living alumni network is 476,000 members strong, including 324,000 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As a comprehensive university, our alumni are making strides across many industries and fields. Their expert knowledge and experience are a valuable resource for our students who are just beginning to build their professional network and understand the career pathways that make sense for them.

Many alumni are giving back by sharing their college and career advice with students as Mean Green Mentors, a program of the UNT Alumni Association and the UNT Career Center. Learn more and sign up to get involved at meangreenmentors.unt.edu.

Through the video series Find Your Flight Path, the UNT Alumni Association partnered with UNT Advising Services to showcase some of our outstanding alumni who are using their majors in unique ways. Watch the videos at vpaa.unt.edu/ aservices/exploring-majors.

Learn about more ways to support students at giving.unt.edu.

For students facing food insecurity, the UNT Food Pantry Presented by Kroger is an accessible on-campus food source. Serving thousands of students in need each year, it works to alleviate the barriers and challenges associated with food insecurity and hunger, so students can remain in school and, ultimately, earn degrees that will help them lead successful lives. The pantry is part of the Diamond Eagles Student Resource Center, which also houses UNT’s Suit Up Closet for professional clothing and Mean Green Gowns for Grads program. (Learn more about the Diamond Eagles Society on page 16.)

Centralizing resources makes it easier for students to get what they need, when they need it, which fueled a few new initiatives on campus.

This fall, UNT will launch a website that gathers wellness resources scattered across the university into one place online. Similarly, UNT brought together details about its support programs for neurodivergent students through the creation of the Neurodiversity Network, a set of programs suppporting students who “think and do” differently than their neurotypical peers. Not only do students now have the access to these programs in one place, the Neurodiversity Network also allows for collaboration among representatives from these programs and other offices that work with this population.

“We need to rethink how we are supporting these students outside of the classroom, and the Neurodiversity Network is helping us gather expertise and resources to better improve that assistance,” says Lauren Mathews, clinical associate professor in the College of Health and Public Service and program coordinator for UNT EPIC, which provides organized social, philanthropic and learning opportunities for neurotypical and neurodivergent adults over age 18.

Also, earlier this year, UNT launched the Program for Counseling Diverse Students.

Lilliesha Grandberry (’08, ’11 M.Ed.) joined UNT as associate director for the program, which specializes in developing more intentional and culturally representative counseling and wellness programs for students who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color.

“As UNT has moved into the designations of being a Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving Institution, we are having more students who are coming on campus with varied life experiences and needs related to mental health,” Grandberry says. “We’re specifically targeting our BIPOC students to provide culturally appropriate care that’s going to help them succeed academically and retain them at the university to graduation.”

The program is working to combat the stigmas of mental health as well and to empower students to help shape the care they need. Through informal meet-andgreet events Grandberry calls “Let’s Talk,” counselors meet students in areas such as residence halls or the Multicultural Center. Grandberry says the program will host an annual Black Mental Health Week and has plans to start a similar mental health event series for Latinx students in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month this fall.

“We want to give our students of color more of a voice in what mental health services look like on campus and provide them with that safe space where they can come and talk to therapists who look like them,” says Grandberry, who is recruiting this fall for a student advisory council for the mental health program.

PLANNING A CAREER

Thinking back on her time as a college student, Elsita Dean (’17, ’19 M.B.A.) realizes it was as much about the journey as the destination.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, and later an M.B.A. in business management, from UNT. Now, as one of the university’s new career coaches, she’s using that background to help psychology,

anthropology and sociology students navigate career planning.

Ensuring that all students have the tools they need to achieve their career goals and take on a job following graduation is a priority for UNT, so the university continues to grow its career-readiness resources and services.

“Our motto is ‘Career readiness is life readiness,’” says Eileen Buecher, who was hired in January as UNT’s new assistant vice president of student affairs and career success. “I want students to trust themselves and be confident decision makers when they graduate.”

In her first months at the university, Buecher has overhauled UNT’s career services, fostering more collaboration with employers, alumni and partners across the university as well as planning better ways to engage students throughout their time on campus.

Through the new Career Readiness First Year Seminar, career planning is integrated in an undergraduate student’s journey as a required online course. The incoming Class of 2026 is the first to go through the program, which will grow with students as their own college journey unfolds at UNT.

Students begin with self-discovery assessments and career exploration, then advance to cultivating professional communication skills, developing their personal brand and resume, and learning tips for engaging in networking and professional relationship building. In the years that follow, the curriculum will progress toward securing internships, mapping majors to career paths, job searching and preparing for interviews.

Career coaches like Dean who are embedded in UNT’s colleges, schools and programs will act as a guide along the way, providing students with more personalized advice to better understand career opportunities and the skills they’ll need to excel in their fields of interest.

“I had one student who told me, ‘This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,’” Dean says. “So, those moments when students feel affirmed and confident they are going in the right direction and feel they are prepared to seize whatever opportunities come their way, that’s exactly why we are here.”

CLUB REBOOT

BACK IN FEBRUARY 2021, LOLA OBAMEHINTI (’13 M.J., ’17 M.S.) was featured in a Wall Street Journal article headlined “No Hoodie and Allbirds for These Women in Tech.” If the title’s not enough of a hint, the story focuses on a handful of groundbreaking ladies who are delightedly dispatching the stereotypes that often plague the digital workplace. Call it a system reset.

Scroll to about the halfway mark of the article, and there’s Obamehinti pictured in a vibrant yellow dress — perhaps a knowing nod to the fact that, early in her career, a manager labeled the yellow pants she was wearing “inappropriate.” And while reshaping the tech industry’s largely white, masculine landscape is no doubt a trying task, Obamehinti is all smiles. At just 30 years old, she’s taken on plenty of roles, but this is the one she was born for.

“There’s not a lot of representation in the technology industry — there aren’t a lot of women, there aren’t a lot of Latinx or indigenous peoples, and in Silicon Valley-based companies, only 1-3% of employees are Black,” Obamehinti says. “My long-term goal is to bridge the gap and create more opportunities in the tech field for historically excluded individuals.”

In the short term, she’s accomplished plenty too, establishing an impressive reputation. In 2021, the journalism and information science alumna was named to Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list. She was noted for cultivating inclusive environments via her previous work as business ethics officer and global information security training and communications lead at eBay — and through her founding of Nigerian Techie, a social media brand-turned-business through which she provides technology solutions and consulting services for individual and corporate clients.

“One client of mine was already working in tech, but felt like her career was stagnant,” says Obamehinti, a former model and TV host (she was signed to agencies in New York City and Philadelphia) who also has served as a keynote speaker at various companies including Salesforce, Twilio and Cybercrime Magazine. “I helped her revamp her resume, we did some interview prep, and she eventually secured a higher paying position as a data scientist. The accolades are great, but helping people succeed in this industry is what I care about the most.”

That affinity for outreach includes inspiring the next generation of tech titans. In October, she spoke about cybersecurity career opportunities as part of the College of Information’s CODE (Career Opportunities Direction Exploration) Series, which illuminates potential job paths for UNT students.

Obamehinti — who in 2016, received the college’s Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award — believes that it’s important to open students’ eyes to the many facets of the tech industry, and that it’s not always necessary to be an expert coder or programmer to excel in cybersecurity. Tech is a small ecosystem, she says. All you really need to do to be successful is network — and hustle.

“There are so many aspects to tech,” she says. “You can come from any background and really elevate your economic status by entering the tech industry.”

— Photography by Kauwuane Burton

Read a Q&A with Obamehinti for tips on how individuals and businesses can protect themselves from cyberattacks. northtexan.unt.edu/lola-obamehinti

HER COMMITMENT TO DIVERSIFYING THE TECH INDUSTRY EARNS CYBERSECURITY EXPERT AND ENTREPRENEUR LOLA OBAMEHINTI (’13 M.J., ’17 M.S.) A SPOT ON SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL’S 40 UNDER 40 LIST.

STORY BY ERIN CRISTALES

My long-term goal is to bridge the gap and create more opportunities in the tech field for historically excluded individuals.

EAGLES’ NEST

Students took part in UNT’s Ring Ceremony and Eagle Ring Dive in May. The university tradition held each semester at the Library Mall fountains gives students an opportunity to celebrate their class rings, cementing their lifelong connection to the Mean Green Family. Hosted by the UNT Alumni Association, the fall semester event will be Dec. 2. Watch a video to hear why students hold this tradition close to their hearts.

CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

CLASS NOTES

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

1977 SHARON NELSON BARNHILL, Denton, played Louise Seger in Theatre Denton’s first postCOVID 19 pandemic live show, Always, Patsy Cline, at the historic Campus Theatre in 2021. She has appeared on many Denton area stages and made her stage directorial debut in 2020 when she co-directed These Shining Lives at Texas Woman’s University. She has worked in several film projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and was a champion on Hollywood Squares.

1978 HOWARD A. PAGE, Fairfield, Ohio, wrote the song “This is My Home Now” to raise awareness and change perceptions of the homeless. The song has now been posted on numerous social media channels and blogs for organizations that help the homeless. The retired music teacher also performed it at a livestreamed concert for the National Coalition for the Homeless in November 2020.

1983 BRET ADAMS, Austin, works as business continuity and risk manager for the Texas Office of the Attorney General with plans to retire in 2025. A guitarist who performed at coffee shops before the COVID-19 pandemic, he hopes to play more gigs after retirement and attend more Mean Green football games. While at UNT, he was a member of the Talons and the Clark Hall Dorm Association.

1984 PHILIP POOLE (M.A.), Spanish Fort, Alabama, retired after more than 40 years working in public relations, most of it in higher education administration. He taught public relations at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He recently began serving as vice chair and executive officer for the Public Relations Society of America’s College of Fellows. He was named a life member of the Baptist Communicators Association.

1990 DEREK CREWS (’93 M.B.A.), Pottsboro, wrote the book Mastering Human Resource Management (Flatworld), which can be used as an undergraduate textbook in human resources and for professional development. He is associate professor of management at Texas Woman’s University and is currently writing Principles of Talent Development

1990 TIM McMILLEN (M.M.), Sulphur, Louisiana, was appointed as the Performing Arts Consultant for the Calcasieu Parish School System in Southwest Louisiana. He previously served as director of Sulphur High School Bands.

1992 JEFF MILLER, Dallas, is now vice president of human resources for the Texas Rangers. He previously worked in the oil and gas industry in Houston. “This role is a dream come

WOMAN POWER

Ever since she was a child, Michelle Green-Ford (’83) knew she wanted to pursue a career in business. She was always around business owners in her community and had a sense that she wanted to go into the field.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration at UNT, she earned her M.B.A. in 2017 from Amberton University in Frisco. After more than 30 years of working in the business industry, from running her own leadership development and training program to leading equity and diversity at JPS Health Network, Green-Ford is now taking on a new role — the first woman to be elected as the president and CEO of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce.

“As the first woman to uphold this title,” she says, “I’m honored to serve in this expanding capacity and assist indi viduals within my community by helping their small businesses flourish.”

— Danielle Zachariah

Read the full story. northtexan. unt.edu/woman-power

THREAd THAT cOnnEcTS

way to Denton to study biology and perform with the Jazz Singers, his brothers soon followed. They all say the university gave them opportunities they would not have found elsewhere.

“I was doing professional singing as soon as I was a freshman,” says Blake, referring to experiences singing “God Bless America” at Dallas Mavericks games. “That’s the weight that this school’s name carries.”

While all three brothers are musically gifted, and Blake continued to sing professionally — appearing on programs like America’s Got Talent and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon — their time at North Texas was not all about music. On being ad mitted to dental school, Scott credits his education.

“The sciences here are very good, too,” he says. “I passed my admissions test and went straight into dental school.”

Scott’s daughters followed — Shannon (’17 M.S.) earning a master’s degree in taxation and Kathryn (’20) earning two bachelor’s degrees in flute performance and vocal music educa tion. Like music, UNT is woven deep into the fabric of the Davidson family.

a piano teacher first planted the idea of north texas state teachers col lege in Sandra Davidson’s (’54, ’57 M.M.) mind, but when she heard Neil Davidson (’52, ’57 M.M.Ed.) — her future husband and a student at the school — sing at a wedding, she was so impressed by his talent that she immediately knew where she wanted to study. When they were students, Sandra would accompany Neil on the piano during voice lessons. But neither of them knew they were beginning a three-generation legacy at the university.

“We just felt such a closeness with the school, and the music school in particular,” Sandra says. After earning their bachelor’s degrees, the cou ple married. Then Neil spent time in the U.S. Navy before both he and Sandra returned to North Texas as master’s students. When Neil and Sandra were raising their three sons, Scott (’81), Bruce (’84) and Blake Davidson — who would all go on to study at then North Texas State Uni versity — they filled their house with music and encouraged the boys to sing in school, church and competition choirs. Eventually, they formed the Davidson Brothers Trio and put out three albums. The Davidson children did not feel pressure to attend their parents’ alma mater, but they felt a pull toward the university. After Scott made his

“We have this thread that goes through the generations,” Kathryn says. “It connects us all to the school and to each other.”

The family, who will return to cam pus in November to accept the Gener ations of Excellence Award at the UNT Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Awards, also has made it a priority to give back to the university and the College of Music.

“Our parents have had success, and they want other people to share it,” Bruce says. “They want them to have the same joy we had at North Texas.”

— Amanda Yanowski

legaCy family

Davidson family (from left to right): Sandra (’54, 57 M.M.), Kathryn (’20), Shannon (’17 M.S.), Scott (’81), Blake and Bruce (’84)

true — especially if you know me and my family’s love for the game and my ‘why’ in life for helping others,” he says.

1993 RYAN BOVERMANN, Dallas, has been named the chief technology officer of Leonardo247, which provides remote monitoring software of onsite multifamily housing operations. In his 15 years in business and technology, he has created technical and product road maps for different platforms, including TechGenies, DirectScale and Mary Kay.

1994 CONNIE TRIMBLE CORONA, Austin, is the deputy executive director of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. She started her first job with the PUCT in 1997 as a policy analyst and later advanced to the positions of director of electric policy analysis and chief program officer. She also worked as director of regulatory affairs of the company NRG Energy before returning to the PUCT.

1994 BOBBY GRIFFIN (M.B.A.), Milwaukee, was appointed vice president of human resources and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer of Rockwell Automation Inc. Bobby has served at Fortune 500 companies in various positions, specifically in diversity and inclusion, for more than 25 years. Before his new position, he worked at CBRE as vice president of diversity and inclusion.

1995 ROSILAND DAVIS, Texarkana, was elected to the LibertyEylau ISD Board of Trustees. Rosiland worked in special education for more than 14 years. She has served in many local and state leadership roles including the Kappa Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.; Twin

Cities Chapter of Jack and Jill of America Inc.; and PTA.

1997 GEORGE FOWLER (’98 M.S.), Van Buren, Arkansas, became the Crawford County Library System director in Crawford County, Arkansas, in December 2020. He runs a system of five branches in the county and manages the Van Buren branch.

1997 LAURA STOUT, Austin, has been named associate superintendent of secondary schools for Austin ISD. In this role, she will oversee the district’s middle and high schools; athletics; and alternative, career and technical education. Her 20 years in education include working in Corpus Christi, Coppell, Dallas and Grand Prairie ISDs. She also has been a school counselor and teacher.

1998 MICHAEL CONSTANTINE MCCONNELL (’03 M.A.), San Marcos, has earned his Ph.D. in education at Texas State University. He is cofounder and the first editor of the only peer-reviewed publication in Texas for developmental education.

1998 RICHARD ZICCCHINO, Dallas, has been appointed chief financial officer of Shiftsmart Inc. Richard is an executive with more than 20 years of experience in the software and technology industry and joined Shiftsmart in 2018 as chief operating officer.

1999 TYSON CHARLSON, Dallas. After working as a graphic designer and art director in the advertising field for 10 years, Tyson has found a new calling: making his own jams and jellies. His company, Fruipeno, was born in

ALUMNI EVENTS

Many exciting events are planned this fall for alumni to reunite.

1 | GAMEDAY GRILLES: Meet up with fellow alumni at the Mean Green football games for a full buffet, music and local craft beer and UNT Alumni wine available for purchase. The events will take place two hours before kickoff for the home games Oct. 1 and 15 and Nov. 5 and 26 at the Alumni Pavilion. Admission is free for Alumni Association members and one guest and children 12 and young er. General public passes are $10. untalumni.com/events.

2 | NETWORKING EVENTS: The UNT Alumni Association will host several Scrappy Hours around the state. Houston alumni are invited to a casual gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 6 at Highline Park, 600 N. Shep herd Dr., Suite 499. The Denton Chapter will host a fun social –including a reunion for former members of the UNT Alumni Association Board of Directors — from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 14 at Marty B’s, 2664 FM 407 in Bar tonville. And the Austin chapter will enjoy drinks and networking from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27 at Punch Bowl Social at The Domain, 11310 Domain Dr., Austin. untalumni.com/events.

3 | TAILGATING: Root for the Mean Green as they take on the University of Texas at San Antonio with a tailgating party from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at Smoke BBQ+SKYBAR, 501 E. Crockett St., San Antonio. untalumni.com/events

CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

Head Start

LAURA HAYES (’86 M.Ed.) knew she wanted to transform the next generation of students just like she was impacted as a child.

She decided to come to UNT while she was a teacher in hopes of becoming a principal or superintendent so she could make that impact through a leadership position.

“My ultimate goal has always been to positive ly affect the lives of children and families, espe cially in under-served communities like where I grew up,” say Hayes, president of the board for Head Start Greater Dallas Inc., which is a finalist for D Magazine’s Organization of the Year

Her parents enrolled her in what she would later realize was the first program for Head Start, which serves preschool-age children in low-income areas throughout Dallas County. There, Hayes was exposed to new experiences and learning skills like reading and taking field trips.

“That ‘head start’ literally situated me for my entire academic career. I skipped classes in elementary school, took accelerated classes in middle school, honors and AP classes in high school and graduated magna cum laude from college,” Hayes says.

She went on to graduate with a master’s de gree in secondary education at UNT and became a principal at Dalworth (now Daniels) Elementa ry, which is where she attended school as a kid.

She held other positions with Dallas ISD and several organizations before getting involved as a board member for Head Start in 2014. She served on two committees and was elected vice president of the board of directors of Head Start in 2019 before being elected president in 2020.

“My parents were very focused on education and saw it as the great equalizer,” she says. “So, it was important to me to get my degree and go back and help others in my community.”

— Danielle Zachariah

2010 and offers 16 flavors with or without hot sauce. “The faculty, staff and departments at UNT made me the person I am today,” he says. “Without them, I wouldn’t be jammin’ today.”

2002 CLAUDETTE RUSHING (’20 M.Ed.), Seattle, is an attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Education. She previously served as a state hearing officer for the Vermont Department of Education.

2005 CAROL BULLMAN (M.A), Dallas, wrote a picture book, Your Nursery Is an Everywhere (Blue Whale Press). In it, a mother’s boundless love for her new baby transforms one little nursery into the whole beautiful world, full of dreams waiting to come true. Carol studied creative writing at UNT.

2007 BRYAN CRUZE, Fort Worth, is a firefighter and emergency medical technician who graduated with his master’s degree in emergency management from Arizona State University and will pursue his doctorate at Liberty University.

2008 DANNY KOERBER, Los Angeles, moved to Los Angeles seven years ago and has been working in the entertainment industry as a reality television producer for shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, World of Dance, The Biggest Loser and Wipeout.

2010 REBECCA HAND (’17 M.P.A.), Plano, received the Exemplary Leadership Award from Volunteer Alive for her service as the volunteer resources coordinator for the city of Plano and involvement as the communications chair for the Texas Volunteer Management Conference. Hand’s mentor, Corina Sadler (’07), nominated her for the award.

alumni profile

Mean Green Pride

1 UNT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Assistant coach Durmon Jennings, left, and head coach Jalie Mitchell (’02), right, stop to take in Seal Beach while on a recruiting trip to California.

2 CALVIN SIMS, third-year lecturer in psychology, visited Edinburgh Castle in Scotland as part of a multicultural psy chology class he led for a UNT Study Abroad trip to the United Kingdom.

3 TEXAS STATE SEN. JANE NELSON (’72) received the Presidential Medal of

Honor at a football game last fall “for improving the lives of Texans, exhibiting resolute leadership and valiantly serv ing nearly three decades in the Texas Legislature.” Read more about Nelson, who is retiring from the Senate in Janu ary, at northtexan.unt.edu/jane-nelson.

4 STEVEN PETTIT (’02) and son Cannon, 7, attended the Feb. 26 UNT basketball game. “He loved painting his face,” Steven says. “Hours later, Cannon, was doing snow angels in the confetti after the Mean Green had clinched the conference title.”

5 ARLAND ALBERTS (’97 M.S., ’22 Ph.D.) and son John Alberts (’21) graduated just one semester apart. She came back to UNT in 2004 and earned her doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology on a part-time schedule. “My goal has always been to earn my doctorate,” she says. “It was never smooth sailing, but I wanted to accomplish this at UNT. Dedication and persistence kept me moving forward with my family and UNT support con stantly by my side.”

CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS

REcORdSETTInG RUnnER

ANGELA TORTORICE (’89) NEEDED SOME THING TO HELP HER GET THROUGH HER DIVORCE. She took up running as a way to work through the challenges that come with life. When she learned her former husband, John Tortorice, had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she decided to train for her first marathon.

And after completing that one, she kept going with what would become a 25-year journey of running marathons and raising money to find a cure for MS. It led to her Guinness World Record for “Most Marathons Calendar Year – Female” (129) and something even more incredible, when she became the first woman in the U.S. to com plete 1,000 marathons.

“I have met so many lifelong friends along the way, and the accomplishment ... was just an add ed bonus,” says Tortorice, who pursued a degree in accounting at UNT.

Along with learning about taxes, auditing, internal controls and studying for her certified public accountant exam, she played tennis with members of the UNT tennis team and was a member of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. In 1989, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree and became a certified public accountant. She is currently an accounting specialist for TXU Energy, where she’s worked for over 25 years.

Throughout her career, she has continued a routine to train for marathons — from waking up at 5 a.m. to get in a run before work to work ing out during her lunch break.

“The key is making it a habit by doing it at the same time every day,” Tortorice says.

She also organized a biking team at TXU En ergy that has raised over $1.3 million for MS, and she personally has raised over $170,000.

It was at the Irving Marathon on April 2 that Tortorice completed her 1,000th marathon, crossing the finish line at the Toyota Music Factory. According to the world mega marathon list, she’s not only the first woman in the U.S. to reach this achievement, but also the youngest woman in the world to do it.

“I think it is pretty nifty that I earned the re cord for the most marathons calendar year in the female category, and I am super proud to lead the ladies in the USA,” she says.

— Danielle Zachariah

2011 CONNIE MARIE PARKERROHLFS, Tokyo, got her love of UNT from her mother, Cynthia Marie Wil son-Parker (’76). Both were members of the Alpha Phi Sorority. Connie is a full-time mother of three children. She is married to Kyle Rohlfs (’11), who is currently serving in the U.S. Air Force at the Yokota U.S. Air Force base near Tokyo, Japan. Cynthia is an award-win ning art teacher who retired after 30 years.

2015 BRIANNA FLOWERS, Dallas, is one of the three women in the all-female ’90s R&B trio, Kom plete. Komplete started as a short film concept by producer Derrick Dixon a.k.a., $unny Dee. The trio has released two singles, “Change My Mind” and “Passions,” and two albums, 1995 and 1996 (Chopped). She also is a thirdgrade teacher who plans to further her education at UNT in child psychology.

2016 LACY PULLIAM (M.Ed.), Tulsa, Oklahoma, has joined the GableGotwals law firm as an associate. She earned her law degree at the University of Tulsa College of Law, where she served as articles and research editor for the Tulsa Law Review and won numerous awards.

2019 JARED WILLIAMS (Ph.D.), Fort Worth, was elected to the Fort Worth City Council, representing District 6. He has been a member of the board of directors for numerous organizations and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and Leadership ISD. He is an adjunct professor of biology at Tarrant County College. His district director, Kendyll Locke, is a student at UNT.

UNT DAY AT THE CAPITOL in Austin presents a bold opportunity for alumni, students and friends to increase public and legislative support for the University of North Texas. Mark your calendar for FEB. 21, 2023, and email alumni@unt.edu for more information.

HAIL THE qUEEn

she pursued her fashion and modeling careers. Her talents led to her being crowned Miss Texas USA 2022, the first Filipino American woman to earn the title.

“The feeling still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Gabriel says. “When I heard my name, I was on cloud nine!” While at a photo shoot, a stylist encouraged her to compete in the Miss Texas USA pageant. When the COVID pandemic began, she decided to go for it and started to observe other contestants while undergoing training.

“I had interview lessons four times a week, learned how to pageant walk and had lessons on how to do my hair and makeup,” Gabriel says. “I was also working out and eating healthy, watching the news and formulating opinions on certain topics and issues.”

at 15, r’bonney gabriel (’18) began sewing, constructing her own designs and showcasing them at fashion shows in her hometown of Houston. After earning her bachelor’s in fashion design with a minor in fibers at UNT,

She also applied her fashion design skills to construct her own outfits for the pageant.

“I thought this would be a good way to push for sustainability in the beauty industry,” Gabriel says. “I’m not afraid to experiment.”

She spent many days sewing and constructing her outfits, bringing her designs to life. One of those outfits included her own traditional Filipiniana dress, known as a Maria Clara gown. And she’s not just using her skills for the pageant. She is the lead sewing instructor for the nonprofit design house Magpies and Peacocks, in east downtown Houston, helping domestic violence survivors in the area. She said she was

inspired to help after reading the book Think Like a Monk by famous life coach Jay Shetty.

“Life is more purposeful when helping others,” Gabriel says. “When you’re doing something for the greater good, it’s a fuel for life.”

Representing Houston, she came into the Miss Texas USA competition, her first pageant, feeling ready. She gained confidence by listening to motivational speeches from Kobe Bryant, Oprah Winfrey and Les Brown.

As the reigning Miss Texas champion, she will go on to represent Texas in the Miss USA pageant Oct. 3. She plans to continue bringing awareness to sustainability in the fashion industry by constructing more outfits to wear for the pageant.

Beyond the pageant world, she hopes to reach a larger scale with her independent clothing brand, R’Bonney Nola, continue her modeling career and expand her teaching. She wants to inspire others like herself to find their purpose in life.

“I want to encourage others to find their uniqueness — to apply themselves in life and find what makes them special,” Gabriel says.

— Danielle Zachariah

alumni profile

Beloved traditions turn 100 years old

CHARLES LANGFORD, A STUDENT AT NORTH TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE from 1920 to 1923, became a yell leader after being sidelined by a football injury. According to the Campus Chat, he was not content with the songs being used at the time.

So, in 1922, he wrote the words to “Our College Song,” with such lyrics as, “Down the corridor of years, we’ll forget the joys and tears, but the Normal, the Normal, we love!”

“You will be proud of it in the days to come,” the Chat told its readers.

The newspaper was right. That song, now known as “Glory to the Green and White,” was adopted as North Texas’ alma mater and is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It has been sung at the end of athletics events, commencement ceremonies and other occasions through the years. The words have been updated to reflect North Texas’ name changes, but the sentiment remains.

The music was composed by Julia Smith (’24), a talented

musician whose father was a math professor at the college. Smith gained fame as a composer and concert pianist. Langford became a football official and businessman.

The year 1922 was a big one for UNT traditions, as that’s also the year the Eagle was selected as the mascot. Students voted for it, almost unanimously, over such choices as dragons, hawks and lions.

“The keen eye, the speed and endurance, the aggressive ness, the beauty, the strength and the independence of the Eagle typify similar qualities found in our teams and in our school,” the Yucca yearbook proclaimed.

While the name of our mascot has changed — from Scrappy to Eppy to Scrappy again — the Eagle has perse vered. There have been real live eagles and even a human mascot named Mr. Eagle. Today, with spirited antics at campus events or immortalized on a bench outside the University Union (a favorite for graduation pictures and for students to put on their ’gram), Scrappy is ever present on campus.

Left

After the Eagle was chosen as mascot, this illustration appeared in the 1922 Yucca

Top middle Student Charles Langford wrote the original lyrics to the alma mater.

Bottom middle Student Julia Smith composed the music for the song.

Right

“Our College Song,” today known as “Glory to the Green and White,” was adopted in 1922.

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

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

1950s

WILLIAM ‘BILL’ FOXWORTH KING (’51), Denton. He was a radiologist, earning his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 1955, and served in the U.S. Army. He ran a general family practice in Pueblo, Colorado, before working in Oklahoma and North Texas. While a biology and pre-med student, he was a member of Phi Alpha Tau, the debate team and many other organizations. He met his wife, Eugenia Ruth McKinney (’52), at North Texas.

DONNA MILLER WIEHE (’51), Cedar Park. She was a music educator who taught and performed for 50 years at schools in Highland Park, Beeville, Big Spring, Denton, San Marcos and Brazosport. After retiring, she led the children’s music ministry at her church and choirs and singalongs at her retirement centers. She met her husband, the late Douglas Wiehe (’51, ’55 M.A.) at North Texas.

JOHN ALLEN LOVELACE (’52), Dallas. He was a writer and editor for newspapers in Sherman, Tyler and Madison, Wisconsin, and, after earning a master’s in religious journalism from Syracuse University, worked for religious publishers in Texas and Illinois. He also taught at Oklahoma Baptist University. While at North Texas, he was editor of the 1952 Yucca, sang in the A Cappella Choir and was a member of Phi Alpha Tau and other organizations. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Reynolds Lovelace (’52).

JIM N. MCDONALD (’52), Corsicana. He made his way from farming in Iowa Park to earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration while working two jobs and raising a family of three. He worked in insurance for 61 years, establishing his own insurance brokerage firm, Risk Consultants, and forming his own company, McDonald & Company, while also working for other firms. He was married to Sharron Daniel Green McDonald (’74).

EDDIE ‘MAC’ MCMILLAN (’57), Cisco. He served as a staff sergeant and engine specialist in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, where he was awarded the Korean Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and the United Nations Service Medal. After his service, he came to North Texas, where he played football and was a member of the Geezles. He worked at T&P Coal and as a State Farm Insurance agent until his retirement.

WILLIAM LEE CREEL (’58), Round Rock. He spent more than 35 years working with State Farm Insurance Co. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea in 1953. While at North Texas, he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity.

1960s

DONALD W. CLARK JR. (’62 M.B.A.), Dallas. He served as vice president of investment and investment advisor at Wells Fargo, and he was active in his church.

CLAIRE ANN MCLENNAN (’62), Avoca. She earned her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University; taught at schools in Red Oak, Abilene and Houston; served as associate director of grants and special projects at the Region 14 Education Service Center in Abilene; and worked as a professor in the Department of Human Service Studies at Cornell University.

DONALD ‘DON’ CHESTER HUFSTEDLER (’64, ’65 M.Ed.), Springtown. He was a member of the President’s Council and raised money for the Mean Green football team. A lifelong athlete, Don majored in kinesiology and history and went on to coach football and baseball, teach history and serve as principal through five decades at schools in Pampa, Marlin and Azle. While at North Texas, he was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma and led the intramural sports program. He is survived by his wife, Kathy (’66).

WILLIAM ‘SONNY’ OATES (’64, ’65 M.Ed.), Dallas. He was a member of the Chilton Society alongside his wife, Marilyn. Together, they established The William D. and Marilyn B. Oates Endowment in the Department of Management. He began his career at Eastman Kodak before establishing several successful businesses.

EDWARD SUPINA (’65, ’68 M.Ed.), Denison. He was a member of the Mean Green football team but, in 1963, he suffered an injury that ended his college football career and worked as an offensive line coach for the freshman

football team. He also was a member of the Geezles. He became a teacher on the adolescent unit and activity director at Timberlawn Psychiatric Hospital in Dallas. He then worked in director positions in therapeutic recreation for the city of Dallas.

CANDACE ELLEN SMITH (’66), Denton. While at North Texas, she enjoyed her time as a Delta Gamma. She had a 30-year career in marketing support with IBM, working in Shreve port, Houston, Dallas and Palo Alto, California. She was known for her lively parties and loyal friendship.

JAMES DELLIS SWANSON (’69), Bonham. He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years in the 1950s, then earned his bachelor’s degree in English, taught elementary school and oversaw rental properties. Survivors include his wife, Jackie Wilson Swanson (’89 Ph.D.).

1970s

BARBARA ELLEN MARS YOUNT (’72), Fort Worth. She served four years in the U.S. Navy after graduating with a degree in English.

WILLIAM ‘BILL’ DERRYBERRY (’73), Cedar Park. He served as chief special projects financial officer for the city of Austin and was instrumental in helping to establish the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, among other projects. After retirement, he worked for Travis County. He met his wife, Shirley Ohlhausen Derryberry (’74) at North Texas, where he served on the Student Government Association’s Supreme Court, earned a bachelor’s in history and worked on an M.P.A. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1970.

PHILECE SAMPLER (’75), North Hills, California. She appeared as a regular on such TV shows as Another World, Days of Our Lives and Rituals, and guest starred on B.J. and the Bear, Fantasy

Island and The Incredible Hulk. She also did voiceover work for animated series. She was a 1974 Yucca Beauty and acted in many campus productions.

1980s D. SCOTT BLANKENSHIP (’85), Tomball. He worked as a stockbroker in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix, Arizona. He served as deacon at his church and contributed to many overseas missions. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. Scott is survived by his college sweet heart, Melinda Meyer Blankenship (’87).

DEBRA DEE DOLLIVER (’85, ’01 Ph.D.), Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She taught chem istry at Southeastern Louisiana Univer sity and the University of Alabama. She was part of a team that was granted a patent for an anti-cancer compound that could prevent the growth of human breast, lung and colon cancer cells. She is survived by her husband, Artie McKim (’99 Ph.D.).

1990s

JAMES B. GILES (’90), McKinney. James served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps and Reserves. An art major at North Texas, he worked as a registered pharmacist for 52 years. He earned his degree in printmaking at UNT in hopes of becoming a medical illustrator.

JAMES KEVIN CULBERSON (’91, ’94 M.A., ’03 Ph.D.), North Richland Hills. He was a teacher at Covenant Christian Academy, using his doctorate in modern European history to help shape the cur riculum. A former Eagle Scout, he was a Scoutmaster and active in his church.

2000s

JARED SHERMAN (’05, ’12 M.S.), Garland. He worked in the College of Engineering’s Computer Systems Re search Laboratory from 2010 to 2013,

then worked as an engineer at Raytheon Technologies. He volunteered his tech nical and musical skills for his church and was an avid sports fan.

2010s

BURLYCE LOGAN (’11), Denton. In 1956, she was one of the first Black freshman students to attend North Texas. She left two years later – but returned and earned her bachelor’s in applied arts and sciences at age 73. She had worked in California and Oregon as a banker and secretary before return ing to Denton in 1996. She worked in various places, including as an adminis trative assistant in UNT’s internal audit department from 2001 to 2002.

NIKEETA SLADE (’11), Syracuse, New York. Originally from Killeen, Nikeeta moved to Syracuse for her master’s in Africana studies at Syracuse University and remained active in the community. She organized rallies as a prominent Black Lives Matter leader.

2020s

MICAH JAMES BRUE, Amarillo. He was an incoming freshman planning to pursue a degree in music before losing a battle with leukemia. He served in the Amarillo Boy Choir for five years and played the piano.

ESHWARAWARIGE HEYLI FERNANDO (NISALA), Denton. An international graduate student from Sri Lanka, he was a teaching assistant in chemistry.

MEGAN KATHERINE LABRUM, Den ton. She was a sophomore pursuing a degree in ecology and environmental studies. Prior to transferring to UNT, she attended Texas Tech University, majoring in horticulture.

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

University Community

TED DONALD COLSON, Oklahoma City. He was Professor Emeritus of communication studies who helped develop the KNTU radio station. He worked at UNT from 1956 to 1993, also serving as head of radio and TV studies in what was then the speech and drama department. He received the Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award and in 1995 was named an Honorary Alumnus by the UNT Alumni Association.

SANDRA J. ‘SANDI’ COMBEST, Denton. She was Professor Emerita of dance and shaped the dance program in her work at UNT from 1966 to 2001. She brought dance from the physical education department to an accredited academic program in what is now the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. She directed the implementation of the B.A. and B.F.A. in dance and the M.A. in interdisciplinary studies in dance, and was chair of the Department of Dance and Theatre from 1993 to 2001.

ANTHONY ‘TONY’ DAMICO, Denton. He was Professor Emeritus of foreign languages and the classics, working at UNT from 1966 until 2001. He served as the head of the Latin and Honors programs and was instrumental in orga nizing Latin and Greek classes at UNT.

JOHNNY DILLON, Denton. As assis tant groundskeeper in Facilities, he had worked at UNT since 2016 with landscaping and mowing.

BRYAN ROY GALLOWAY, Denton. He worked with UNT System IT Shared Services in the telecommunications department from 1996 to 2013. Before joining UNT, he was a central office equipment installer for Verizon (former ly GTE) for 30 years.

DOTTY GRIFFITH, Denton. She had taught food writing at the Mayborn School of Journalism since 2016. She worked for The Dallas Morning News for 36 years, editing the food section and serving as the dining critic. She also wrote a dozen cookbooks and has been credited with helping usher in modern Texas cuisine and establishing Texas as a serious food region.

MARILYN HAYNIE, Denton. She helped establish the John and Marilyn Haynie Trumpet Scholarship with her husband, the late John Haynie, Professor Emeritus of music. She met John at the University of Illinois, where she attended school, and served as principal flute in Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra. Marilyn traveled alongside John, playing piano during his trumpet performances, and helped recruit students for his UNT trumpet studio.

BARBARA JUNGJOHAN, Denton. She was an administrator who advocated for accessibility for people with disabilities. She began working at UNT in 1970 and retired in 1998, directing services such as student employment and services to mature and disabled students. She also served as dean of students and associ ate vice president for student affairs. In 1981, she received a Governor’s Citation from the Texas Rehabilitation Commis sion for her outstanding contributions to those with disabilities.

BARRY G. KING, Denton. He was Professor Emeritus of accounting who served as acting dean of what is now the G. Brint Ryan College of Business from 1971 to 1973. He began teaching at UNT in 1970 and retired in 1995. King, who also served as chair of the accounting department and as the director of grad uate business programs at North Texas, conducted some of the university’s early oil and gas accounting research.

JOE KIRVEN, Dallas. He served on the UNT System Board of Regents from 1989 to 2001. He owned a successful office cleaning and maintenance busi ness, and a commercial real estate in vestment company. He helped establish the Blue Ribbon Committee at UNT in 1995 in order to help the Black Student Alliance in their requests for change on campus.

KENNETH KOELLN, Tulsa, Oklahoma. An economics professor from 1992 to 2007, he researched topics such as health care spending by the elder ly, health care access and alternative financing options for health care.

ELVA LUCILLE HERSHBERGER LAYNE (’91), Denton. She worked in the biology department as a senior secretary in the 1980s. She was a member of the President’s Council and generously donated to several scholarships. She was preceded in death by her husband, Douglas Layne (’49, ’50 M.A.).

MARK LUENSER (’91), Coppell. As senior food service manager for UNT Dining Services since 2015, he oversaw The Corner Store, WhichWich and Jam ba on campus. He previously worked in supervisory positions at various compa nies. He also had been a loan officer for the Small Business Administration and director of visitor services for the Dallas Zoological Society.

R. SHELDON NEWMAN, Denton. He was a supervisor in the facilities depart ment for 20 years and a local counter culture icon in the 1960s and 1970s. While enrolled in the mid-’60s at UNT as a library science student, he was elected president of the campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society. He returned to UNT in the 1980s and ’90s as a custodial supervisor.

GENE QUALLS, Denton. He was a long time clerk in the Registrar’s office who worked at UNT from 1979 to 2003. He was active in his church and known for sporting his 1967 Impala around town and wearing bright suits and ties. He at tended North Texas in the 1950s, where he became a friend of Pat Boone’s.

PATRICIA ‘PAT’ ANNE CARROLL ROB ERTS, Houston. As a program specialist manager in the Center for Continuing Education and Conference Management at UNT, she worked with the Elderhostel program and managed many confer ences and workshops on campus. She was married to James Andrew Roberts, a longtime UNT physics professor, for 64 years before his death in 2019.

NORMAN THOMAS, Denton. His contributions to Denton most benefited the College of Music with The Rain bow-Froehlich Community Outreach and Scholarship Fund. He worked for the Environmental Protection Agency for 32 years.

LOIS ‘BUNNY’ THOMSEN, Dallas. She donated generously to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. She and her late husband, Tommy, were members of the Chilton Society. She founded Lois Luhnow Interiors, design ing homes in Dallas.

DOLORES VANN, Denton. A member of the President’s Council, she and her husband, J. Don Vann, Professor Emer itus of English, established the Vann Victorian Endowment Fund in 2004 to purchase books for the Vann Victorian Collection in the UNT Libraries’ Special Collections. She was an activist for the preservation of historic homes in Denton, spearheading the creation of the Oak-Hickory Historical District. The Vanns welcomed many decades of UNT students to their historic home on Oak Street for numerous events.

NANCY ELLEN WARNELL (’15), Fort Worth. She was a medical laboratory technologist in the Student Health and Wellness Center from 2006 to 2021. She served as lead technologist for three years and played a critical role in the center’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients. Although she retired in 2021, she returned as a part-time employee to assist with drive-through COVID-19 testing for new student orientations. She previously worked at various hospi tals around the Fort Worth area.

REG WESTMORELAND (’47, ’56 M.A.), Denton. The Professor Emeritus of journalism steered national accredita tion for the journalism department. He was a reporter and editor for The Dallas Times-Herald and taught at Abilene Christian University. He worked at UNT from 1964 to 1994, with a two-year break in which he served as associate dean at Pepperdine University. He was director of news and publications at UNT for two years, then taught fulltime. He helped establish the journalism graduate program and was chair of the department for more than a decade.

LAWRENCE ‘BUD’ WHEELESS, Den ton. The Professor Emeritus of commu nications began teaching at UNT in 1993 and retired in 2004. He previously was chair of the communications depart ment at Marshall University and taught at many other schools. He became known for his research in interpersonal and instructional communication. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Wheeless, who was associate vice president and special assistant to the chancellor for planning, and director of the university planning office at UNT.

LEROY WHITAKER (’50, ’52 M.S.), Dal las. He was a chemist who was a mem ber of the McConnell Society for endow ing The Dr. Leroy Whitaker Scholarship. He was a research chemist before

becoming a patent attorney and head of the patent department for Eli Lilly and Company, an advisory board member for UNT’s Department of Chemistry and the former College of Arts and Sciences. He also led efforts to endow a chemistry chair and served as CAS chairman for a university-wide capital campaign. He received the UNT Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015 and the Outstanding Alumni Service Award in 2001.

DON WINSPEAR, Dallas. He gave generously to UNT’s College of Music, following the path of his parents, Margot and Bill Winspear, whose contributions led to the naming of The Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center. He served as a market research consultant for his company, Crescent Research, which he founded in 1977.

JERRY YERIC, Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Professor Emeritus of political sci ence, who taught at UNT from 1970 to 2002, was named an Honors Professor and in 1983 received the ’Fessor Graham Award — the highest honor bestowed by the student body — for his outstand ing service to students. He researched the effects of the media on politics and the impact of public opinion on the government.

MEMORIALS

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

fULfILLInG

dREAmS

i want to begin by saying how special a place UNT is to me. This is where I earned all my degrees. It is where I met my wife, and it is where my children attended col lege. I come from a small town in the Texas Panhandle where my father was an auto mechanic and my mother a beautician. When I came to North Texas State University, I was the first person in my family to attend college. As an undergraduate, I majored in English with a Spanish minor. I know that this is not the typical first step you would expect for someone who would eventually become a university biology professor, but it just illustrates that there are many ways to reach your goals.

My first full-time job was at UNT as an admissions recruiter, but after a few years, I realized that my interest lay in science. So, I entered graduate school to study biology. That decision led me back to this stage twice more, once when I

earned my master’s degree in biology and again when I completed my Ph.D. in microbiology.

I had the good fortune to soon join the Department of Biological Sciences as a full-time faculty member. Along with my love of microbiology, I found that I also had a passion for educating students. One of the things that I am most proud of is the Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Sciences, or PHAGES, program here at UNT. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that infect bacteria. The program is part of a national effort supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to give undergraduate students an early research experience.

This program gives freshman stu dents a full-year experience working on a research project on bacteriophages while earning credit toward their labo ratory course requirements. Each stu dent collects a soil sample and isolates a virus that infects the host bacterium that we use in our lab. They learn all the basic skills needed to do this lab research during the first semester and get to name their isolated phage. The students purify the DNA from their phages, and we send some of the sam ples off to be sequenced. In the second semester, the students learn how to use bioinformatics tools to determine the locations and functions of the genes in the genome of the virus.

Their completed work is published in GenBank, a database of genome information used by scientists around the world. More than 600 students have participated in PHAGES since we es tablished the program in 2009, and they have isolated 649 different viruses and published over 150 genome sequences.

For many, it is the first time that they actually see themselves as scientists. Just like I enjoy seeing this transforma tion in the freshmen, I also find joy each time I attend commencement. When you started your degree, you probably thought of yourself as an aspiring math ematician or scientist. Yet today, you are mathematicians and scientists.

Many graduates in biology knew my late wife Roxana Bejarano Hughes (’97 M.S.), who I lost last year. She coordi nated the microbiology laboratories and also taught parasitology in the summer. She was my biggest cheerleader, and I know that she would be proud to see me giving this address today. Likewise, I want you all to remember with love and joy how important your success would be to those who started this journey with you but who did not get to see its end. We honor their memories by continuing to reach for our goals.

You can’t predict the future, but you can make choices that define your path.

By completing your degree, you have fulfilled a dream for both yourselves and your loved ones. Be proud of what you have accomplished as you share this day with the cheerleaders in your lives. Wherever your future takes you, I can assure you that your UNT degree will serve you well on your journey just as mine has done for me.

Learn how to contribute to the Roxana Bejarano Hughes memorial scholarship. cos.unt.edu/news/unt-biologyestablishes-roxana-bejarano-hughesmemorial-scholarship

“You can’t predict the future, but you can make choices that define your path.”

— Lee Hughes (’87, ’94 M.S., ’98 Ph.D.), University Distinguished Teaching Professor of microbiology, speaking to College of Science graduates at Spring 2022 commencement

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