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Important division updates

The 2018 Division Wide Meeting has been scheduled for May 23, 2018. Please mark your calendars. More information can be found on the Division Meeting page.

Division stories

UNT Police captain graduates from FBI National Academy

A UNT Police captain recently had a rare opportunity to participate in an elite 11-week FBI training program that reinforced and expanded his community policing skills.

Capt. David Owen said the training he received at the FBI National Academy addressed many aspects of policing, from cyber crimes and social media to best practices from the 2015 report on 21st Century Policing.

“The program is academically rigorous,” said Owen, who earned five undergraduate and 12 graduate level credits. “I had to write papers as part of my coursework. We had tests that were graded. Everyone there was chosen because they are leaders in their departments so we each made of it what we wanted. We chose to put in our full effort and to push ourselves.”

The program was physically challenging, too, ending with a 6.1-mile course that included obstacles such as scaling walls and running through woods and rough terrain.

The FBI National Academy began offering this program for police officers in 1935. Owen was one of 221 who attended this year. It is both a professionally prestigious honor to be selected as well as an opportunity for UNT’s accredited police department.

“We are focused on professional development of our employees and the FBI National Academy is the pinnacle for law enforcement training,” said Chief Ed Reynolds. “This aligns with our community policing focus and will benefit our entire department with the skills that Capt. Owen brings back to share with our officers.”

Owen has worked for 10 years on the administrative side of department but on Jan. 8 he began a new position overseeing the police operations division, which includes the patrol officers. The focus of the academy – reducing crime while also reinforcing trust and collaboration with one’s community – is also the focus of the police operations division.

“I’m looking forward to this new opportunity and I’m glad I was able to participate in the academy leading up to this new job,” said Owen. “As a public safety leader, the FBI National Academy allowed me to dive deep into topics and it gave me some new tools and skills to further develop.”

UNT track & field, soccer complex aiming for summer 2018 completion

Construction has begun on a new track & field and soccer stadium complex at the University of North Texas.

The $13.6 million sand-based soccer field and eight-lane track will be located in Mean Green Village near the Waranch Tennis Complex. It is expected to be complete by August 2018.

Several proactive efforts are being made to mitigate construction issues, and to maintain consideration for the surrounding community.

During construction, work hours will be limited from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The soil will be watered during excavation to minimize dust and a silt fence will be used to mitigate soil erosion. A 6-foot chain link fence has been installed around the site for public safety.

Other efforts include:

Traffic/parking

• Main entrance will be off Walt Parker to minimize traffic on Willowwood.
• The existing lot adjacent to Waranch Tennis Complex will be expanded to accommodate 114 spaces.

Lighting

• LED stadium lighting will use customized optics to minimize off-site light spill and glare.
• Parking lot lighting will have cut-offs to prevent light spillage into the neighborhood.
• Pedestrian lighting will be on the west, more than 600 feet from neighborhood, and also will meet cut-off requirements to reduce light pollution.
• Field events only occur during the day so there will be no lighting in that area.

Noise

• Field events are usually less noisy so these will be placed closest to the neighborhood.
• Grandstands face west so spectator noise will be directed away from the neighborhood.
• The track and soccer field will be at a lower elevation than the field events for further sound and visual buffer.
• Many of the trees and landscape remain to serve as a natural noise buffer. Additional trees will be added. Some landscape berms were added at the eastern edge.
• The facility will be secured to limit unauthorized use during the evening.

Visual

• A minimum of 400 feet will be maintained between the site and the eastern neighbors.
• Public areas of the field house will be located on the west side of the building, furthest from neighborhood.
• Intramural recreational fields originally planned for this site will be moved to a different site, further from the neighborhood.
• Landscaping adjacent to the neighborhood will be designed to have the original golf course appeal and appearance.

Business Development Director receives recognition for community support

Steven Hill has spent nearly a decade supporting the connection between the University of North Texas and the Denton community. One way Hill is involved with the community is through the Denton Black Chamber of Commerce’s annual Denton Blues Festival. 

This year, UNT was recognized for its sponsorship of the local festival, but to Hill’s surprise President Neal Smatresk handed the award back to him as a tribute to all of Hill’s hard work. While grateful for this gesture, Hill acknowledged that he was not the only university member to volunteer time.   

Hill’s role in the coordination of the Denton Blues Festival is just the start of his efforts to connect UNT with the Denton community.  “We really can’t do enough to support the local community,” Hill said. 

As the UNT Director of Business Development, Hill assists minority businesses in becoming Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) certified vendors. This certification helps establish a fair share of business for the vendors which Hill has actively pursued for the past two years. 

“I am always looking for the opportunity to increase university HUB use, and increase business for our HUB vendors,” said Hill. 

Business Development Director Steven Hill holds an award from the Denton Blues Festival, one of the many community activities in which he participates. Story by Ryan Shivers.

UNT Facilities team wins award for Child Development Lab project

One of the most challenging projects that UNT Facilities Construction Manager Cheryl Smith has faced in her career recently ended with a positive outcome when the university received the 2016 Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting.

“We learned there had been a fire years ago, before UNT owned the building,” Smith recalled of the property that now houses UNT’s Child Development Lab. “Over the years, people kept adding to the exterior facades to the point where we found windows in the walls.”

In accepting the award from Gordian, a construction data and software company, Associate Vice President of Facilities David Reynolds, thanked Smith and her team for sticking with the project which was on land that once housed horse stables, a gym with a pool and had plumbing that was disintegrating.

The Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence has been given out for 10 years and is judged by peers in the construction industry. Next year, Smith will be among the judges for the following year’s projects.

“The fact that it was judged by my peers makes me excited and proud to receive this award,” Smith said of the project that took just under a year to plan and construct. “This was a project that was a challenge to our team because every time we turned a corner there was another issue. But, we worked together to finish it.”

Pictured from left, Helen Bailey, Director of Facilities Planning and Design Construction, Cheryl Smith, Construction Manager, and David Reynolds, Associate Vice President of Facilities, were among those from UNT in attendance when Gordian representatives presented Smith with an award for work done constructing the Child Development Lab.

AITS IT Manager Alan Garrison graduates from Supervisory Building Blocks

For the past two years, UNT has participated in the Supervisory Building Blocks program, which supports supervisors throughout the campus.

It’s a program designed to help supervisors with goals, defining responsibilities and by providing them with resources, noted Bob Brown, Vice President for Finance and Administration.

In this year’s graduating class, one new division manager found that support very beneficial. 

“The Supervisory Building Blocks classes have provided me with a solid foundation and good templates to use in my new role,” said Alan Garrison, IT Manager with Administrative Information Technology Services.

Garrison, who was promoted to a supervisory role in May, attended 30 hours of training with supervisors from around campus. Courses center around four topics: foundations of supervision, performance management, employee relations and operational services.

UNT, along with UNT HSC and UNT-Dallas, have participated in this program since 2015 and, to date, 200 supervisors have graduated from the program.

Pictured above: Alan Garrison, IT Manager with Administrative Information Technology Services, received his certificate for completing the Supervisory Building Blocks program.