University of North Texas

The University of North Texas (informally UNT or North Texas) is a public university located in Denton, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by Joshua C. Chilton as the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute. From its inception to present day, the institution has had its name modified six times to reflect the institution's growth and change. In 1894, the name became North Texas Normal College, followed by North Texas State Normal College in 1901. The institution was known as North Texas State Teachers College in 1923, North Texas State College in 1949, and North Texas State University in 1961, before finally being named the University of North Texas in 1988. With an enrollment of more than 32,000 students, it is now the largest university in the north Texas area and the fourth largest university in Texas.

The university is a member of the Federation of North Texas Area Universities, offering various graduate degrees in coordination with Texas Woman's University and Texas A&M University-Commerce. The Denton campus is the flagship of the University of North Texas System, which also includes University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, University of North Texas Research Park and the University of North Texas at Dallas.

Academics

North Texas confers degrees from ten colleges and schools:

College of Arts and Sciences
College of Business Administration
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Music
College of Public Affairs and Community Service
School of Library and Information Sciences
School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management
School of Visual Arts
Toulouse School of Graduate Studies

Additionally, students in any major may apply to join the Honors College, a course of academic study comprised of students who have access to honors classes and to a wide array of special programs and privileges. Membership is open to undergraduates regardless of their major, and graduates of the College are entitled to wear the Honors College Medallion upon commencement.

College of Music

The University of North Texas is home to one of the largest music schools in the nation. Enrollment figures are similar to Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.

Particularly noted for its world-class jazz program and the world-renowned One O'clock Lab Band, and often highlighted on campus radio KNTU, UNT was the first university to offer a degree in Jazz Studies in 1947. Known for its competitive standards and extremely rigorous coursework, the College of Music boasts excellent programs in compositition, theory, history, performance, and education. Additionally, it hosts an extensive collection of early music period instruments and is supported by a large music library, with thousands of scores, periodicals, books, and recordings. UNT also features a significant wind ensemble and their most successful choir as part of the Collegium Musicum directed by Lyle Nordstrom.

School of Visual Arts (SOVA)

Art has been a vital part of UNT since it was first taught there in 1894, just four years after the institution was founded. Today, with an enrollment of more than 2000 students, SOVA is one of the largest and most comprehensive visual arts programs in the nation. Thirteen degree programs offer both undergraduate and graduate work that leads to the BA, BFA, MA, MFA, and Ph.D. degrees as well as a graduate certificate in art museum education. A nationally and internationally recognized faculty provides students excellent role models upon which to pattern their career. The school advertises that a number of internationally known artists, designers, and scholars are UNT alumni.

College of Engineering

In the spring semester of 2003, UNT opened a College of Engineering at its Research Park campus, in Denton. Bachelor degrees are offered in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and engineering technology (with choices of focus in electronics, mechanical, manufacturing, or construction). Master degrees are offered in computer science, computer engineering, engineering technology, and materials science. Electrical engineering will begin offering a master's degree in 2007. Doctoral degrees are offered in computer science and materials science.

Toulouse School of Graduate Studies

The Toulouse School of Graduate Studies at the University of North Texas offers 114 master's and 49 doctoral programs in all nine colleges listed above plus a Master of Arts and a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Emergency Administration and Planning

UNT offered the first bachelor's degree program for emergency management in the United States in 1983. In the years since, the EADP program ^* has drawn students from throughout the US and internationally from Barbados, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Sweden, and Taiwan. Students in the program often benefit from UNT's close proximity to FEMA's Region VI headquarters (which provides federal disaster assistance to Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) as well as to the dozens of state and local government entities in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Public Administration

The Department of Public Administration offers a Master of Public Administration degree that provides professional education for persons pursuing a management career in government or non-profit organizations. The MPA degree at the University of North Texas is one of the oldest and most respected in the country. In 2004, U.S. News and World Report ranked the UNT MPA program as being the best in Texas and the Southwest in the field of city management/urban policy, and 10th nationally.

Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science

One of the highlights of UNT is the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, an early college entrance program that annually admits 200 gifted students into full-time college studies following their 10th grade year. This program has produced numerous Intel Talent Search finalists and semi-finalists, Goldwater Scholars, and National Merit Scholars.

Athletics

UNT competes at the Division I-A level as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. It is a competitive participant in the following sports:

North Texas firsts

First jazz studies program in the U.S., which is consistently ranked the nation's best.
First emergency administration and disaster prevention program in the U.S.
First peace studies program in the Southwest.
First oil and petroleum accounting program in the U.S.
First patent for silicon-based ultra-sensitive chemical sensor for use in integrated circuit fabrication.
First business computer information systems program in the U.S.
First PhD program in art education in the U.S.
First bachelor's degree in electronic merchandising in the U.S.
First online school library preparation program in the U.S.
First accredited counseling program in the U.S., which still ranks among the nation's best.
First school in the country to offer a degree in Mechanical and Energy Engineering
First college in the South to integrate; Class of 1956 was first integrated graduating class.

Residence Halls

Students living on campus have the choice of residing in the following UNT dormitories:

Mascot

The university as a whole still uses the eagle mascot it adopted in 1922. The costumed eagle character, Scrappy, appears at sporting and university events, though he didn't always go by that name; in 1974, students who felt "Scrappy" was too warlike dubbed the bird "Eppy," and he kept that name until 1995.

In recent years, however, many of UNT's athletics programs (especially football) have adopted the name Mean Green. The name is associated with football star and 1969 NTSU graduate "Mean" Joe Greene, a legendary member of the famous Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers; however, stories about the actual origins of "Mean Green" vary.^*

In the spring of 2002, the school's chapter of the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society attempted to make the group's namesake the school's secondary mascot. The student body narrowly rejected the measure; if it had passed, it would have made North Texas the nation's second university to have a secondary mascot.

Traditions and symbols

The Spirit Bell is a 2,000-pound bell brought in from Michigan in 1891 to signal class changes and curfew. Members of the Talons spirit group later began running it up and down the field at football games; it was retired to the University Union in 1982 after it developed a crack. A 1,600-pound Spirit Bell is currently in use at games.
McConnell Tower, the clock tower atop the Hurley Administration Building in the center of campus, is bathed in green light for each victory by a UNT athletic team. It appears on the official class ring with two different times on its faces: 1:00 (for the One O'Clock Lab Band) and 7:00 (the 1892 curfew time for Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute students).
The eagle claw hand gesture is made by curling the thumb, index and middle fingers forward, leaving the ring finger and pinky closed against the palm.
A bonfire is assembled by members of the Talons spirit group and lit on the Friday night of Homecoming week (when a burn ban is not in effect).
Boomer the Cannon

“Boomer” the cannon has been used to signify scores by the Mean Green since the late 1960’s. As a true black powder muzzleloader cannon, which is rarely seen at the college level today, it is operated and maintained by the university sanctioned spirit organization TALONS. It's resounding thunder can be heard with each score in certain periods of play for all home football games, and for special events on campus and in the Denton, Texas community whenever called upon.

Sand-casted by metal technology students on campus in 1959, the original tube was mounted on a tow-behind trailer that had been the rear frame and axle of a Willis army jeep.

During it's introduction, the rare-style-of-play, high scoring aerial attack of Steve Ramsey and Ron “The Shank” Shanklin kept the gun very active during games, and “Boomer” gained recognition. It was during this era that the cannon was given the now familiar moniker in a post game interview of North Texas and NFL Hall of Famer “Mean” Joe Greene who remarked “... that thing is some kind of boomer...”; and the name was born.

“Boomer” received a facelift in 1988 when TALON students Ricky McKinney B.B.A ‘90, Keith Swartz B.B.A ‘91, and Alex Balic M.B.A ‘89, hand-tooled the carriage used today. Additional help was provided by Dr. Phillip Foster of the Industrial Technology Department to mill the axle, and Dr. David Iles of the Art Department assisted with the trail. White oak was chosen for its ability to stand the test of time. The carriage was built 2/3rd scale to replicate the 6 pound Smoothbore M1841 muzzleloader that was used throughout the Mexican War and into the mid 19th century. Although not fully completed, the carriage was ready for use in the summer of 1989. The original tube was retired in 1996 and replaced by the TALONS. The tube was purchased from Dixie Gun Works of Tennessee a company that has maintained many of the original sand castings that were often used by metal shop classes of the 50’s and 60’s. Amazingly, the new tube was a 98% replica of the original.

Starting in August of 2003, “Boomer” received the second major refurbishment in what actually became the completion of the original project from 13 years earlier. “Boomer” was fitted with new wheels, an axle, and a full complement of handcrafted steel banding and implements that were common among 19th century muzzle-loading cannons. Completion occurred in August 2004.

Alumni Ricky McKinney, Keith Swartz, and Alex Balic presented the new “Boomer” to the University of North Texas on September 11th, 2004. .

The Talon car, aka the "Green Machine", is a green Ford Model A Tudor Sedan built in 1931 that is driven by members of the Talons Cannon Crew at home football games and special events.
"In High Places", a 22-foot-tall bronze statue of a flying eagle created by Gerald Balciar, is a popular landmark and meeting place, and is often decorated in green for school spirit. It was dedicated during the university's centennial celebrations in 1990.

Student media

The Aerie, student yearbook
KNTU (88.1 FM), campus radio station with a primarily jazz format
The North Texas Daily, student newspaper published Tuesday-Friday during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer
NTTV, 24-hour cable television station featuring student-produced and student-centered programming

Notable alumni

Sun Belt Conference | University of North Texas | Music schools in the United States | Universities and colleges in Dallas