University of North Texas

William Allen Luker, 81, died June 25 in Denton.

Luker retired in 1991 as a dean of the School of Community Service.

He was an instructor in the School of Business Administration from 1957 to 1961 and associate registrar from 1961 to 1963.

After teaching at Texas A&M University from 1963 to 1968, Luker returned to UNT as an associate professor in the Department of Business Analysis and Research. He also was the founding director of the Center for Economic Education and executive director of the Texas Council on Economic Education. Both centers focused on the teaching of economics in Texas schools.

He was a dean of the School of Community Service in 1984. He helped create a master’s degree program in behavior analysis and other academic programs that generated an 83.7 percent increase in student enrollment in 1986-87, according to university public affairs records. An endowed fund for student scholarships was established in his name in the school.

Luker was chair of the committee that planned the UNT Centennial Celebration in 1990, and received the President’s Award for his contributions to the university. 

In 1994, Luker received the Hiram J. Friedsam Faculty Community Service Award from UNT. 

Luker published articles in Business Studies, Research Papers in Economic Education, Southwestern Journal of Social Education, and Community College Social Science Quarterly, among others.

Luker received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, and master’s and doctoral degrees from then-North Texas State University.

He was a U.S. Army veteran.

Survivors include son, Bill Luker, Jr., brother, grandson, nieces, nephews.