Gretchen Bataille

Gretchen Bataille said Wednesday her health is fine and she hasn’t taken another job, but she still would not say why she resigned suddenly as University of North Texas president last week. “I’m not ill, I don’t have another job lined up and I’m not looking for another job,” she said. Speaking at a quarterly UNT employee luncheon, Bataille said her resignation is in the best interest of the university, regardless of public speculation on the subject, including tension between her and UNT system Chancellor Lee Jackson.

For The Dallas Morning News/Rex C. Curry

University of North Texas President Gretchen Bataille presents the finance plan for the university to the UNT Board of Regents during a meeting on Thursday in Dallas.

DALLAS — Gretchen Bataille’s sudden resignation as president of the University of North Texas will be expensive. Regents with the UNT system agreed Friday to pay Bataille $723,000 for the remainder of her contract, which runs through August 2011, and up to $20,000 in legal fees.

Gretch Bataille

University of North Texas President Gretchen Bataille addressed the Board of Regents for the first time Thursday, after she abruptly resigned Wednesday. But the reason for her resignation, which takes effect Feb. 28, remained a mystery. When she was asked why she resigned, Bataille, 65, shook her head, saying she was unable to comment. The board is scheduled to discuss and formally accept her resignation today, but not without a fight from students.

Dr. Gretchen Bataille

University of North Texas President Gretchen M. Bataille offered no clues Thursday morning as to the reason for her abrupt resignation that was announced Wednesday. The UNT Board of Regents are expected to accept Bataille’s resignation during their quarterly meeting, which is being held today and Friday in Dallas. Bataille is also scheduled to make a presentation to the regents, proposing increases in tuition at the university. When approached at the meeting for comment as to why she is resigning mid-year, with only a few weeks’ notice, Bataille only shook her head, making it clear she did not want to discuss her reasons for leaving.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Ducks swim, wade and waddle around the University of North Texas duck pond on Tuesday. The water level has been lowered to ease the construction of a spillway that will regulate and direct runoff, which could prevent flooding of structures near the pond.

Jennifer Wilcox points at the oversaturated ground in her backyard and the once-green St. Augustine grass that is now brown from being waterlogged. She said she’s had the problem since the University of North Texas started building an athletic complex on turf once designated as the university’s golf course.

DRC/Al Key

Katheryn Shi and Peter Hu, both students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas, are two of 40 U.S. finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search 2010.

Two Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science students are finalists in a national science competition with a $100,000 scholarship at stake. In March, Peter Hu, 18, of Denton and Katheryn Shi, 16, of Sugar Land will be two of 40 finalists from across the nation traveling to Washington, D.C., for the Intel Science Talent Search 2010.

DRC/David Minton

University of North Texas students Robert Mitchell Burke, James Pascoe and Daniel Hooper will compete in the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest in Harbin, China, this week.

As Robert Mitchell Burke looked over one of the practice problems, trying to figure out a pattern, he stroked his chin. “You could divide it by tails of length of 100 and then divide it by tails of smaller lengths,” he suggested. His two teammates — James Pascoe and Daniel Hooper — thought about it for a moment and laughed. Apparently, computer science problems can be hilarious.

DRC/David Minton

Steve Wiest, associate professor in the Jazz Studies Division of the University of North Texas College of Music, directs the One O’clock Lab Band during rehearsal Wednesday at UNT.

Tonight is billed as “music’s biggest night.” The hottest names in the recording industry will be there — Bon Jovi, Beyonce, Bocelli, to name a few. Decked out in tuxedos and sequins, nail-biting hopefuls will wait for their names to be called. Among them will be the University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band.

Texas Woman’s University officials recently finalized budget plans for the upcoming summer semester that would trim an estimated $700,000 from expenses, compared to last year.

The $4.2 million budget allocated for the summer semester reflects increased enrollment caps on courses, fewer classes and salary savings from the elimination of vacant faculty positions, said Kay Clayton, TWU provost and vice president of academic affairs.