Division News | Division of Finance and Administration

Welcome to our division news page, where you can find the latest division news and learn about our departments and staff! Each year we have a division-wide meeting and you can find information about it and related news on the Division Meeting page.

Division stories

Division staff Adopt-a-Block to keep UNT clean

Clockwise from top left, Stephanie McDonald, Nadia Guevara, Margarita Venegas, Justin Stewart, Tennie Jones and Diana Nellessen are helping keep UNT clean! Keeping the campus beautiful is important to staff members in Administration Services and Risk Management Services. In spring 2019, they decided to team up and take that commitment to a block on the edge of UNT.

It is all part of the Adopt-A-Block program which promotes a beautiful and cleaner campus, giving students, faculty and staff to the opportunity to participate directly in this initiative.

The committed departments volunteered to clean up once a month in the area surrounding Clark, Honors and Rawlins Halls, including the parking lots. In order to help create a clean environment and promote community togetherness.

“We decided to help because we know that the Facilities department will appreciate the collaboration and it’s a way we can show our sense of pride in the community – we hope that volunteer projects like this catch on because it’s important to show students and others that we want to take time to care about our community,” said Brandi Renton, Associate Vice President for Administrative Services.

The Adopt-a-Block program lasts one school year but it can be renewed at the end of the summer semester. If your department wants to help create a better environment, sign up can be found here. Questions about the program? Contact Ashlyn Medina, Ashlyn.Medina@unt.edu.

--Story by Elena Corres

UNT Facilities promotes unplugging to save energy, money

The UNT Facilities Unplug Campaign promotes unplugging energy vampires such as computers, chargers, video game consoles and coffee makers when community members are away from UNT for a couple of days.

UNT Facilities is asking the university community to partner with them on an initiative that is simple but will help the university conserve energy and is a fiscally responsible action.

“We are asking those who plan to be away from campus for more than a couple of days to take a few minutes to unplug electronics that use electricity, even when they are turned off,” said UNT Facilities Energy Engineer Josh Lukins.

TVs, computers, electronics chargers, coffee makers and video game consoles are common “energy vampires.” An article by the U.S. Department of Energy notes that these appliances can waste up to $200 worth of electricity in the average home. This Berkeley Lab page takes that information one step further to describe common energy wasting appliances and how much energy they waste.

“If everyone at UNT actively works to curb energy waste then we can not only have a positive environmental impact, but we can save the university some money,” said Lukins. “Unplugging these devices takes mere minutes, but the impact is extremely significant.”

UNT Facilities works on new campus entryway

The new campus entryway at Hickory and Avenue C is expected to be done in spring 2019. An artist's rendition shows the new welcome sign, trees and landscape that are part of the project.

UNT is reinforcing its commitment to a beautified, walkable campus and installing a new entryway on the north side at Avenue C and Hickory Street. When complete, there will be two monuments at the Avenue C entry, and updated landscaping, sidewalks and irrigation.

The project was timed to occur while the city is working on Hickory Street from Avenue C to Avenue B so that there would be no extra delay to pedestrians and vehicle traffic. The city’s project includes replacement of damaged concrete, removing old asphalt from Hickory Street and installing new asphalt. The city project is expected to be completed in spring 2019.

The new UNT entryway is on a similar timeline. During this time, there will be gas powered machines and trucks in use. There may be some noise during concrete removal. The area will be closed off with construction fencing. The project cost is $85,106.