Tuesday, April 21, 2015

 

Time capsules capture UNT spirit of the day

For this year's University Day, we had the pleasure of opening two time capsules, which I helped dig up. On University Day − celebrating when UNT was elevated from a college to a university − in both 1962 and 1988, students buried time capsules in the front of the Hurley Administration Building so they could be opened in 2015 − the year of our 125th anniversary. These years are notable in our institution's history because 1962 marked the end of our first year as a university and 1988 was the year that we became known as the University of North Texas. The time capsules included letters from a student addressed to students of today, copies of our yearbook and campus newspapers, and taped speeches from the presidents at those times. It was fun to see the relics of the past. The items proved that some things about being a UNT student stand the test of time − pride in our university and optimism about the future, thanks to the great educational experience our students have received for 125 years and counting.

Live On The Ticket from UNT

If you listen to Dallas' favorite sports radio show in the mornings on The Ticket, then you already know that The Musers closed out a weeklong college tour by returning home to UNT for a live broadcast on Friday. I had a great time being on air with alumni George Dunham and Craig Miller, along with head football coach Dan McCarney. It was a blast announcing that George will receive UNT's Presidential Medal of Honor during our May commencement ceremony. We inducted Craig into the "Intramural Hall of Fame" and I really enjoyed presenting Gordon Keith with an "Honorary Doctorate of Gentle Musings."

Educational ties to Mexico

Throughout the years, we've worked closely with the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM) in Toluca to educate students as scientists, musicians and journalists, host a faculty exchange program and have a joint research seed funding program. For instance, Peter Collins, an assistant professor in UNT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, took a handful of students to Mexicali, over spring break. With the help of Denton-based Peterbilt trucks, the group visited the company's Mexico plant to study manufacturing and labor practices. UNT Journalism students and UAEM students regularly take part in the "Heart of Mexico" project in which they work on a student publication through stories they report jointly in Mexico. The experiences are eye-opening, helping the students see each other's countries in a new light. Through these kinds of partnerships and exchanges, our institution benefits from the increased diversity and more global focus and our students benefit from international educational experiences.

Denton ISD and Fort Worth ISD are in!

Denton and Fort Worth ISDs are the latest districts to join UNT's Eagle Advantage, which guarantees admission to high school juniors in the Top 20 percent of their class who are from participating districts. Through the program, we're offering the best students the best in education. The Fall 2015 freshman class will no doubt be one of our most academically talented entering classes thanks to students who opt for the Eagle Advantage.

164 student-athletes make C-USA Honor Roll

I'm proud of our 164 student-athletes who made Conference USA's academic honor roll, which recognizes student-athletes who earned a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher. Forty of our student-athletes had a 3.75 GPA or higher and also received the Commissioner's Academic Medal. Our Mean Green football team had the most honorees, with 31 student-athletes on the honor roll, followed by swimming and diving with 28 honorees. We are focused on making sure our student-athletes are as successful in the classroom as they are in competition so this is great news for both our students and our program.

Korean War vet inducted into UNT's Kappa Sigma fraternity

NBC 5 ran a great story about how Jack Marr was officially initiated as a member of UNT's Kappa Sigma fraternity 63 years after attending UNT. Mr. Marr entered the fraternity in 1950 when it did not yet have a national affiliation and was one its founding members. But duty called, and Mr. Marr went on to serve in the U.S. Army in the Korean War. The Kappa Sigma chapter at UNT proved that being a member means it's a brotherhood for life by initiating him as Class of 2015 Kappa Sigma.

From Sweden to the Mean Green

Kevin Dillman crossed an ocean and half the country to play football, as profiled in a WFAA 8 story. Despite experiencing the highs and lows of player eligibility and college recruiting, Kevin stuck with his dream. Now the Swedish native who has adopted Denton as his hometown is part of the Mean Green. He'll be joining our team this fall as a tight end on a football scholarship, pursuing his dreams of playing college football and hopefully playing for the NFL one day.

UNT purchasing Sack & Save site to expand campus services

We're in the final stages of buying the Sack & Save property, which will allow us to eventually provide services and offices on that side of campus. The I-35E expansion is going to eliminate most of the parking, which made it a good time to pursue a deal that would allow us to take advantage of the remaining portion of the site. We will work with Sack & Save to allow them to remain in the building until we need to start renovating the space.

Items from Dallas police investigation of JFK assassination available online in UNT's Portal to Texas History

The Portal to Texas History was mentioned in The Dallas Morning News story about the city of Dallas now housing all of its municipal archives in the city hall basement. The Portal to Texas History, maintained by UNT, makes about 12,000 digitized items from the Dallas police investigation of the JFK assassination available online − a collection that the city archivist calls the "crown jewel" of the city's collection.

Office of the President

University of North Texas
Hurley Administration Building, Room 201
Mailing Address:
1155 Union Circle #311425
Denton 76203-5017
940-565-2108

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