In House

Denton music scene, Athletic Department diversity put UNT in national news

UNT is featured in national media this month.

The Athletic Department management team is prominently included in an article about its philosophy and success in creating diversity, and members are in the cover photo of the April-May issue of Athletic Management magazine, left. Rick Villarreal, athletic director, says that diversity is one of the most important issues in athletics today. UNT won a 2007 Diversity in Athletics Award from the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University. Cinnamon Sheffield, associate athletic director for student services and senior women's administrator, also is quoted.

Pictured, from left: Tawa Dortch, assistant director of student services; Sheffield; Lauren Moser, assistant director of compliance; Villarreal; Brian Bethea, associate director of facilities and logistics.

Denton’s music scene, influenced by students, graduates and faculty from the College of Music, was featured in the New York Times Travel section. The Times suggest that Denton "may be the next Austin."

...

Doctoral student in engineering develops scale to determine brittleness of materials

You drop a plastic cup and a wine glass off a table. The wine glass shatters, but the plastic cup is undamaged. The wine glass is considered to be more brittle than the plastic cup. Thanks to a doctoral student from Corpus Christi, there is now a scale to measure the brittleness of materials

Haley Hagg Lobland's dissertation is the development of a brittleness scale for materials, similar to the hardness scale used by geologists. "The scale is quantitative and is linked to the mechanical properties of a substance, as well as its viscoelasticity. It will be useful as a predictor of material behavior and we can use it to easily compare various materials," Lobland says.

In 2001, Lobland, left, was named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar as a student in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, or TAMS, then later earned a master's degree in materials science at the Mayo Clinic. She then won a U.S. Department of Defense National Science and Engineering Fellowship to apply toward her doctorate in materials science at UNT. In fact, Lobland is the first UNT student to receive that fellowship. Every year, more than 200 doctoral researchers in materials science compete for six scholarships worth about $100,000.

Lobland was among students honored at a dinner April 26 held by UNT's Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarships. James Duban, director, says, "Haley began making significant contributions to the scientific field as a TAMS student. She has predictably distinguished herself as a graduate student and cannot help but remain at the cutting edge of materials science research. The beauty of it all is that she is only at the beginning of her career."

Witold Brostow, right, Regents Professor of materials science and engineering and Lobland's major professor, says she has been an exemplary student. "Haley was already an outstanding research student while in TAMS. Now, as our doctoral student, she is enhancing the reputation of UNT from Brazil to India, with Toluca, Washington D.C., Madrid, Warsaw and Lviv in between," Brostow says.

Lobland received a prize for a student presentation on drag reduction at the POLYCHAR annual conference held in Rio de Janeiro in April 2007. She also won a Young Investigator Prize at a conference on advances in petroleum and gas industry held in Lviv, Ukraine in September 2007....

Faculty honored for nominating, mentoring scholarship candidates

Faculty who served on nominating and mentoring committees for nationally competitive scholarships were honored at a banquet April 26. James Duban,right, is director of the Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarhips.

The Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarships assists undergraduate and graduate students with identifying and pursuing externally funded research and study opportunities. The office provides guidance and mentoring for students who want to compete for such postgraduate awards as Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, James Madison, Harry S. Truman, Andrew W. Mellon, and National Science Foundation scholarships and fellowships.

Faculty committee members for 2007-08 are:

Harry S. Truman Scholarship Nominating and Mentoring Committee
David Molina, associate professor of economics
Peggy Tobolowsky, professor of criminal justice
James Duban, director, Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarhips
Al Hurley, retired UNT president and professor of history
John Books, associate professor of political science
Lisa Dicke, associate professor of public administration

Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Nominating and Mentoring Committee
Richard Ruderman, associate professor of political science
Diana Benet, professor of English
Tom Sovik, professor of music
Duban

Morris K. Udall Scholarship Nominating and Mentoring Committee
Gloria Cox, dean, Honors College
Don Smith, associate professor of biology
Joseph Oppong, associate professor of geography

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Nominating and Mentoring Committee
Elizabeth Bator, associate professor of mathematics
Jannon Fuchs, professor of biology
Sam Matteson, chair and division head, speech and hearing sciences
Sushama Dandekar, lecturer in chemistry

Rhodes/Marshall/Mitchell Nominating and Mentoring Committee
Diana Elrod, program coordinator, Trio Center for Student Development
Ishamel Bustinza, retired faculty
Arthur Gionet, retired faculty
Jerry Nash, professor of foreign language and literature
Gloria Cox, dean, Honors College
Mary Beth Butler, assistant director, international studies and programs
Sovik
Duban

Hatton W. Sumners Nominating Committee
Simon Andrew, assistant professor, public administration
Sudha Arikatti, assistant professor, public administration
Abraham Benavides, assistant professor, public administration
Ethan Bernick, assistant professor, public administration
Bob Bland, professor of public administration
Christopher Hawkins, lecturer in public administration
Skip Krueger, assistant professor of public administration
David McEntire,associate professor of public administration
Jack Rozdilsky, associate professor of public administration
James Dendra
Dicke

Wingate Fellowship Nominating and Mentoring Committee
Harlan Butt, professor, College of Visual Arts and Design
Jerry Austin, department chair, College of Visual Arts and Design
Kelly Donahue-Wallace, chair, College of Visual Arts and Design
Duban

...

Joint degree program accredited by Mexican registry

The Mexican Council for Science and Technology, or CONACYT, has accredited the master in teaching English degree at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, or UAEM.

The degree is the Mexican half of a joint program in which UNT and UAEM offer a master’s degree in English as a second language from both universities. Students from UNT and UAEM may enroll at either university to complete the master’s program.

“Besides being recognized as a good quality new program with a professional orientation, being accredited means that the program is promoted nationally,” says Dr. Carlos M. Arriaga Jordán. “Mexican students - and probably other Latin American students - that meet CONACYT requirements will be awarded a grant to undertake their MTE.”

The program is accredited by Facultad de Lenguas in the Programa Nacional de Posgrados de Calidad, or the National Registry of Good Quality Postgraduate Programmes.

In July 2002, UNT and UAEM signed an agreement to collaborate on the academic training of students from both institutions and in research projects in materials science, environmental science, physics and related fields. says Manuel Goel, director of national and international academic cooperation at UAEM. Goel says the collaboration has expanded to include political science, psychology and languages....

Center for Advanced Research and Technology adds equipment to study nanoscale films and features

The Center for Advanced Research and Technology, or CART, has received two new instruments to expand its ability to study nanoscale films and features on ceramics, metals, semiconductors and other materials for electronic, energy and sensor applications.

A scanning Auger nanoprobe and a scanning X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy microprobe, or XPS microprobe, were installed at Discovery Park this past March and are now in operation. J.D. Luttmer, left, director of CART, says the new instruments are being used by UNT researchers from the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry and Physics.

The scanning Auger nanoprobe is used to study the surface of a given material. An electron beam is aimed at the surface of the material and the probe then analyzes the pattern of electrons that are emitted from the surface of the material.

"The electrons that are emitted are known as Auger electrons, and serve as the 'fingerprint' of the specific atoms that make up the material," Luttmer says. Tthe scanning XPS Microprobe can be used "to analyze the chemical bond states as well as the composition of a variety of materials including metals, ceramics and polymers."

The microprobe uses a highly focused X-ray beam to scan the sample surface. It also can be used to determine the elemental composition of surface materials, spot elements that contaminate a materials surface, and assess the uniformity of elemental composition across a given surface.

Luttmer says both new instruments complement the more than two dozen instruments already at CART for advanced characterization and processing of materials.

CART is a university-wide center with an emphasis in the science and engineering disciplines and a concentration in materials characterization. It was established in 2004 and is based at Discovery Park, the home of the College of Engineering.

See "Facilities at http://cart.unt.edu. Or call Luttmer at 940-369-8138.
...

Plan now for 2008-09 parking permits

All faculty and staff may apply now to renew parking permits for the upcoming 2008-09 academic year. To renew your permit online, visit www.unt.edu/transit and under the Parking Permits title click on the link for Faculty/Staff.

Learn more about how to renew your permit, and please note that a permit may not be renewed if there are unpaid citations.

Parking rates for 2008-09 are:
“A” Reserved Permit - $405
“D” Faculty Staff Permit - $180
“G” General Permit - $115
“MC” Motorcycle Permit - $93
“DP” Discovery Park lots 3 & 4 – $36 (Both car and motorcycle permits)

These rates include the first increases since 2004 for faculty and staff. Student rates, which have not increased since 2003, also have been raised.

D permit rates went up $40 more per year, G permits $15 and A permits cost $105 more.

Higher permit rates are needed to cover the costs of providing and operating the parking program, which receives no state funding or direct university funding.

Since Fall 2003, the costs to provide parking have increased significantly. For example:
• asphalt for repaving on average increased more than 74 percent with significant expected continuing increases as oil prices continue to rise in the marketplace
• cement for concrete paving on average increased more than 160 percent with additional increases expected in the short term
• labor and benefits costs increased about 26 percent.

The parking program operates through permits, fines and fees generated by students, faculty, staff and visitors who choose to park on campus. Major uses of parking funds include:
• parking lot maintenance and construction
• parking and traffic activities related to special events management
• police and security-related operations including, post 9/11 and Virginia Tech continuing security enhancements, and operation and enforcement of parking lots in accordance with our parking rules and regulations.

The university encourages the use of the shuttle system, car pools, bicycling, walking and other modes of transportation to save money, time wasted in traffic, reduce vehicle emissions and reduce fuel demand.
...

New amphitheater ready for summertime star gazers

The stars at night are big and bright - and this summer’s visitors to Rafes Urban Astronomy Center will be able to view them from the comfort of a new outdoor amphitheater. What’s special about the center?

A. It’s the first of its kind in an urban area.
B. It has green lighting to help visibility.
C. ET is a regular visitor.
D. Recycled materials were used to build the amphitheater.

The correct answer is A and D. It is the first of its kind in a major metropolitan area in the United States, and the amphitheater was constructed with recycled materials.

Aside from star watching, the center serves academic purposes. More than 9,000 UNT students have used the Rafes facilities. Four telescope huts, each housing four telescopes, were constructed for astronomy student laboratories. The two domes were assembled on site, above, in September 2006.

Ron DiIulio, right, director of UNT's astronomy lab program, says the amphitheater is an important addition to the center. "The outdoor seating area has been part of our long-range plan for community outreach at the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center. It will make our facility more attractive for community groups wanting to hold star parties at the center," he says. More than 100 people come out to the center on the first Saturday of the month to attend similar public events.

DiIulio adds, "We've used recycled materials in the construction of the amphitheater. We chose sturdy, movable benches, allowing our audiences to face specific areas in the sky, or even sit in circular fashion around the center of the amphitheater."

To win a UNT T-shirt gift pack, send an e-mail to InHouse, inhouse@unt.edu , with “Stars” in the subject line by 5 p.m. May 16. The winner will be selected at random from all e-mail responses.

Since the amphitheater was finished a few weeks ago, several scouting groups and two professional organizations have scheduled events at the center. It was built in an area between the two domed telescopes, and features a digital projection system for prepared programs. The amphitheater will be dedicated this fall.

The center, dedicated in April 2007, is named for Richard Rafes, former vice president of administrative affairs, and his wife Tommye, who donated the land for its construction. The amphitheater, which seats 50-60 people, was funded in part by a $25,000 donation from The M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Foundation of Keller. M.R. Hudson was the founder of both Hudson Oil Co. and Fisca Oil Co. The foundation was established in 1992 to further Hudson's lifelong interest in supporting community development, education, medical research, the arts, children's issues and racial and religious diversity.

See the Extended Entry to learn more about what's in the sky.

...

Reception honors retirees

The annual UNT Retirement Reception will be from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m May 13 at the University Union, Diamond Eagle Suite. This event is open to the campus community to congratulate faculty and staff that have retired or will be retiring from the university this academic year. Cake and punch will be served. This year’s honorees are:

• Joan Ackerson
• Ursula Alexander
• Donald Anderson
• Joe Barnhart
• Dianne Berg
• Charles Beverly
• Michael Beyerlein
• Gene Bilney
• Darlene Boles
• James Brown
• Anshel Brusilow
• Sue Bryant
• Anna Clark
• Zoila Claros
• Jeanne Cox
• John David
• Kaaren Day
• William Deering
• Ginger Deussen
• Marty England
• Elizabeth Esterchild
• Doina Farkas
• Mary Finley
• Norris Fox
• Elva Garcia
• Richard Hander
• Onas Haney
• Sylvia Haynes
• Jared Hazleton
• Tommy Hensley
• Aurora Herrera
• Marsha Keffer
• David Kesterson
• Thomas Klammer
• Diane Kohlhase
• Clarice Luce
• Curtis Maner
• Alfredo Melendez
• Judy Morris
• Jerry Nash
• Connie Newton
• Patricia Nordstrom
• Maria Parker
• Leslie Patterson
• Juanita Peters
• Phillip Ramsaroop
• Milan Reban
• Ronald Reynolds
• James Riggs
• Carl Roberts
• Treva Sandefur
• Thomas Schrimsher
• Kay Selby
• Joy Sibley
• Neil Slater
• Leonard Strub
• Jose Toledo
• Johnny Vess
• Rowena Ward
• Charlotte Wixom
• Gay Woods

...

Master's degree graduate receives scholarship, stipend at Yale

Bianca Mercado, who received a master’s degree in history on May 9, received a five-year doctoral fellowship from Yale University to continue research about Chicana and Chicano history.

Mercado, a San Antonio native, will receive free tuition and fees at Yale for five years, which amounts to more than $40,000 a year, plus an annual $25,000 stipend. Roberto Calderón, associate professor of history, says this is probably the highest doctoral fellowship, in monetary terms, ever offered to any student who has graduated with a master’s degree from the Department of History.

Mercado says she probably would not have gained acceptance to Yale if she hadn't received support from UNT faculty and her family. She was rejected to master's programs at three universities because I didn't know what to expect with graduate programs. "But my professors at UNT helped me hone my writing skills, find a research focus and become a better historian. When I applied to Ph.D. programs last fall, I was ready and knew exactly what I wanted to do," says Mercado.

Mercado says she was accepted to three master's degree programs at Texas universities. She chose UNT because of the research of Calderón, who focuses on Mexican-American studies, and two other faculty members: Aaron Navarro, assistant professor and specialist in Latin American history, and Elizabeth Turner, associate professor and specialist in women and gender in the 20th-century South.

...

Research team ready to work with colleges, schools, departments

Ruthanne Thomas and Kenneth W. Sewell, associate vice presidents for research, have identified academic areas that the two will support as members of UNT’s new research development team.

The team, formed earlier this year by Vish Prasad, left, vice president for research and economic development, was created to allow greater interaction with colleges and schools and further UNT’s goal of being a student-centered public research university.

Thomas and Sewell join Reata Busby, associate vice president for research, to be a full-service research support office, says Prasad.

Sewell's appointment to the half time position was announced May 5. He was appointed chair of the Institutional Review board in 2007, and has overseen the ethical review process for the more than 500 research projects involving human subjects that UNT investigators conduct each year.

"Sewell's IRB leadership has demonstrated his communication and coordination abilities across a wide range of disciplines, and has also thoroughly familiarized him with UNT"s research infrastructure," says Prasad.

Thomas and Sewell are responsible for working with deans, chairs and faculty interested in grantsmanship, as well as with sponsors, funding agencies, collaborating organizations and institutions to enhance UNT’s research profile, says Prasad.

The research development team’s mission is to advance research, scholarship and creative endeavors across the university. They will work closely together and be available as a source of support and facilitation for faculty from all UNT departments, to share perspective, expertise or resources.

UNT departments will have a primary point of contact within the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. These are:

Thomas
• College of Engineering
• College of Business Administration
• School of Library and Information Sciences
• Libraries
• College of Arts and Sciences (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics, Physics)

Sewell
• College of Public Affairs and Community Service
• College of Education
• School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• College of Music
• College of Visual Arts and Design
• College of Arts and Sciences (Aerospace Studies, Communication Studies, Dance and Theatre, Economics, English, Foreign Languages and Literature, History, Journalism, Philosophy and Religion Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Radio, Television and Film, Speech and Hearing Sciences)

Thomas and Sewell
• Both will be available to address needs associated with any non-departmental units such as centers, institutes and interdisciplinary programs. The associate vice president most familiar with that unit will respond.
• Both will work with a soon-to-be-formed proposal development team to develop processes to enhance the effectiveness of the faculty’s grant-seeking efforts.

...

Congratulations to winners of last weeks Fun Fact and In-House give-aways

Congratulations to these randomly-selected winners in last week’s Fun Fact and InHouse random drawings. Each will receive a UNT T-shirt gift pack.

• Andrea Garner, administrative services officer, Office of Admissions
• Tara Roby, service representative, Office of Undergraduate Admissions

You can’t win free stuff if you don’t read InHouse, the electronic newsletter that is always online and is regularly updated with news about events and strategic activities at UNT. The formatted version is e-mailed to faculty and staff each week, usually on Wednesdays. Mailing may be delayed a day or two to include significant news.

InHouse photos and graphics should be clearly visible in your Outlook e-mail. If you are still using GroupWise, be sure to set the View command (top bar>View>HTML) to HTML to see the newsletter’s color and photos, then click on headlines, which link to continuous postings.

You’ll find opportunities to win a UNT T-shirt gift pack, free tickets to concerts, sports and other campus activities. Tickets and prizes are generously provided by event sponsors and departments. Winners are randomly selected from all e-mail respondents....

Art Wear 2008 features student designs

College of Visual Arts and Design students created one-of-kind fashions for the ArtWear annual fashion show on May 3. About 250 garments from 41 seniors were judged; the top 120 garments were exhibited. Judges included Vincent Falsetta, professor of design. See a list of judges and student participants. (Photos by Vanessa Mendoza)

...

Doctoral student one of 500 chosen to attend lectures by Nobel Prize winners

Gavin Williams, left, third-year doctoral student from Texarkana, will attend the 58th Meeting of Nobel Laureates June 29-July 4 in Lindau, Germany. He is among 500 students from around the world selected to attend a meeting and series of lectures given by Nobel laureates, which he says is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Since 1951, Nobel Prize winners have met in Lindau to lecture about their fields of expertise. The three natural sciences represented among prizewinners - physics, chemistry, and medicine (biology) - rotate from year to year. The laureates give presentations on topics of their choice. Top students and young researchers from around the world apply, and a committee selects attendees based on recommendations from professors and universities.

In addition to the lectures, laureates hold discussions with student attendees. The week will end with a boat cruise on nearby Lake Constance and a reception in a castle courtyard. Students from more than 80 countries have attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate lectures. Donors or sponsors help to pay for students to attend the lectures.

Williams says he learned about the meeting from Angela Wilson, right, associate professor of chemistry and his advisor. Wilson nominated Williams to attend the conference, with the backing of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.

Williams says, "The meeting I will be attending is on physics. I wanted to branch out from chemistry and learn about what sort of research is underway in physics, and in small group meetings with other students I will be able to broaden the scope of my knowledge."

After graduation, Williams hopes to do further research in the biomedical field. Learn more at http://www.lindau-nobel.de

...

New Department of Lilnguistics and Technical Communication to emerge from Department of English

At the start of the fall 2008 semester, the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication will emerge from the Department of English. The new department will place UNT in a better position to compete with the nation’s top programs in these fields, according to Brenda Sims, professor of English and director of technical communication for the Department of English since 1986. Sims will become chair of the new department, which will be located in the Auditorium Building.

The Department of English’s master’s degree programs in technical writing, English as a Second Language and linguistics will be moved to the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication. The new department will also administer the undergraduate certificate in technical writing, the undergraduate minor in technical writing and the graduate certificate program in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

The Department of English will continue to administer bachelor’s degrees in English with concentrations in linguistics and technical writing in cooperation with the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication. It will also continue to offer master’s and doctoral degrees in English and a master’s degree in creative writing, and the bachelor’s degree in English with concentrations in composition, creative writing, language arts and literature.

Sims and David Holdeman, chair of the Department of English, jointly worked on the proposal to create the new department, which they say will bring more visibility for the linguistics and technical writing programs while allowing the English department to better cultivate the strengths of its literature, creative writing and composition programs.
According to the proposal, the linguistics and technical writing programs serve an average of 1,600 undergraduate students each semester. During the fall 2006 semester, a total of 45 students were enrolled in the master’s degree programs in linguistics, English as a Second Language and technical writing, while more than 50 were in the graduate ESL certificate program.

...

Street, water repairs to affect campus traffic

Maintenance work will affect traffic and travel around three campus areas beginning May 12:

• West Oak Street will be closed from Fulton to Bonnie Brae Street May 12 to about Aug. 31, says the city of Denton. Parking will not be allowed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Work crews will reconstruction the street in three phases: Fulton to Jagoe Street, Jagoe to North Texas Boulevard and North Texas Boulevard to Bonnie Brae. Vehicles remaining in the street will be towed to a nearby location. Homeowners and local businesses will have limited access to their driveways. Contact Bill Murdock, city operations manager, 940-349-7160.

• The city of Denton will replace a water main on Maple Street, from Avenue D in front of the Coliseum to Welch Street. The work will be during the day, but the street should be passable each evening. This project will last about a month, and the closure will occur block by block.

• The city will also will replace a sewer line on Chestnut Street - UNT's Parking Lots 2 and 3 - from Avenue C to street’s end in front of Hurley Administration Building. The work will be on the north side of the street (westbound traffic). This work will be on the north side of the street (westbound traffic) and is anticipated to last for about three weeks.

• A storm water drain enhancement on the Fouts Field parking lot near gate 10 will cause minor rerouting of bus service for about two weeks....

The UNT System Board of Regents is meeting today (May 8) and May 9 on the UNT campus.

The UNT System Board of Regents is meeting today (May 8) and May 9 on the UNT campus.

While conducting its quarterly meeting, the board is expected to consider the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Recommendation for UNT, as well as for the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth and the UNT System. The budgets are based on the spending plans submitted and approved during the February 2008 quarterly meeting. The board also will consider an update of the UNT five-year strategic plan 2008-2013, which will include refined measurements.

Board members also are expected to consider approving tenure for 33 faculty members and will consider awarding tenure to four new faculty appointees, who will join UNT with tenure from other institutions.

The holiday schedule, which includes 15 holidays, is part of the board’s consent agenda. The FY2009 holidays will include Labor Day, which is possible this year because July 4 falls on a Saturday and will not require use of a holiday by UNT. When July 4 returns to a weekday, UNT will need to use one of its 15 holidays to observe that day. The holiday schedule also continues to feature a floating holiday for employees to use at their discretion, as well as the Monday of spring break week.

See Extended Entry for a complete list of the proposed FY 2009 holidays and more Regents' business.

...

Certificate to be offered in game programming

Building on a program established in 1993, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering will offer a certificate in game programming starting this fall.

The certificate requires a four-course sequence and may be taken as part of a bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering or information technology. The courses include two classes in game programming, a class on game math and physics, and a game development class that will allow students to pursue specific projects on specific topics.

Ian Parberry, professor of computer science, says over the last 15 years roughly four dozen alumni have gone to work for a variety of computer game companies, including Terminal Reality, Paradigm Entertainment, Mumbo Jumbo and Barking Lizards.

Parberry says, "Many universities have since developed game programming certificates, but at UNT we were among the first in the country to offer the programming classes."

The Laboratory for Recreational Computing, or LARC, was established at UNT in 1993 as a crucible for research and education in game programming in an environment that encourages group activity and cooperative learning.

Parberry says, "LARC is dedicated to providing educational and research opportunities in game programming to graduate and undergraduate computer science and engineering students. After studying in an interdisciplinary environment with students in the College of Visual Arts and Design, LARC alumni are well prepared to enter the game industry."

Contact Parberry at 940-565-2845.

"With Dr. Parberry's expertise, this game programming certificate program will permit UNT to cement its leadership in educating and training expert game developers," said Krishna Kavi, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
...

Questions answered about web site registration due May 31

All web sites and web applications that comprise UNT’s web presence are now required to be registered through a central site registration system at https://web3.unt.edu/siteregistration. Site registrations will be updated annually and new web sites or redesigned web sites will be registered and approved before they are made public. Registration is required by May 31.

The web registration process, required for all university web sites and web applications, takes only a few minutes, says Kenn Moffitt, director of online communications and creative services. Registration:
• collects basic information:
• identifies the site’s URL
• provides contact information for responsible parties
• identifies audience(s) served
• identifies web forms and the types of information the forms are designed to collect

Please ensure that all web sites and web applications within your school, college or division are registered no later than May 31, says Moffitt, 940-369-3476 or Moffitt@unt.edu.

Frequently asked questions

Since the announcement of the registration requirement, these questions regularly have been asked, says Moffitt:

Q. I’ve never had to register a web site before, why now?
A. The university has an ongoing initiative to improve the quality of the entire web presence. The first step is to discover the full scope of what exists. UNT audiences’ dependence the web has changed in recent years, the university’s processes have not always kept up. So now is the time to improve the quality of the web experience and to use available resources and technologies to help UNT faculty and staff with their web sites. Through this first step in a formal discovery process, we hope to be able to determine if and what problems exist and what resources are necessary to improve the experience for all our web users.

Q. After registering a web site, what can I expect?
A. All web sites in the registration system will be evaluated. With hundreds of web sites already registered, it might take a bit of time before you hear from anyone. We will use the information provided to look at quality and compliance issues and contact you if there are any issues that need to be addressed. The web sites with issues or that have the most visitors will be contacted first.

Q. Which web sites need to be registered?
A. Any web site that is part of the unt.edu domain (contains unt.edu in the web address). Plus, any web site that is not hosted on UNT resources but still serves UNT’s audiences as a part of daily business at UNT. While some departments have chosen to have an outside provider host their web site, the site will still need to be registered if it serves a UNT audience and is linked from the UNT web site.

Q. Who has to actually register the web site?
A. In most cases, the person who maintains the web site on a daily or weekly basis. If you created the web site, hired someone to create the web site or are responsible for updating content on the web site, this is probably you. A web site can be registered by anyone that has accountability for the web site, from a dean or vice president or the manager who directs the web developers. We ask for three levels of contact when a site is registered. In the case of some of the larger colleges and schools, there are multiple people who maintain multiple web sites for the academic area. The person best able to log in and make corrections on a daily basis would be the person that we want to register the site and provide contact information.

Q. Do faculty have to register their own web sites?
A. If a faculty member is responsible for the creation of an academic or departmental site, including a center or institute web site, the site needs to be registered by that faculty member. If a web site is maintained for a faculty member by dedicated staff in a larger college or school, the departmental staff should register the site.

For more information about web site registration, and about the university's graphic branding; web accessibility, quality of content and search engine visibility issues, contact Moffitt at 940-369-3476 or Moffitt@unt.edu.

...

Fun Fact: Course on comic book heroes offered Fall 2008

A graduate-level course examining the superheroes of the movies Iron Man,left, and The Dark Knight will be offered at UNT. At what other universities can you earn a degree studying comic book heroes?

A. Texas A&M University - College Station, Texas
B. University of Edinburgh - Edinburgh, Scotland
C. Bowling Green State University - Bowling Green, Ohio
D. University of Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland

The answers are C and D. Bowling Green State University is the only institution in the nation to have a Department of Popular Culture. Both a bachelor of arts and a master of arts degrees are offered.The University of Zurich offers a bachelor of arts in social sciences with a popular culture studies major. Both programs train students to think analytically with respect to culture, literature and the media.

Shaun Treat, right, assistant professor of communication studies, will offer a graduate-level course, Mythic Rhetoric of the American Superhero, in Fall 2008. The state of modern superheroes and how they are portrayed is very different from the superhero of the 1950s. Treat says that 70 to 80 percent of movies have some elements of comic books. Therefore, in the course students will explore the flawed antiheroes of this summer’s Iron Man and The Dark Knight movies as well as watch V for Vendetta, the X-Men movies and Road to Perdition.

To win a free UNT T-shirt gift pack send an e-mail to inhouse@unt.edu with “comic book” in the subject line by 5 p.m. May 9. The winner will be selected at random from all e-mail responses.

Treat said that since comic books often reflect American politics, culture and attitudes, his students will read various comic books and graphic novels, including Superman: Red Son, an alternative universe DC Comics story that has Superman growing up in the communist Soviet Union and eventually becoming powerful enough to unseat Joseph Stalin.

“It’s a fun way to introduce students to rhetoric and philosophy," he says. He added that his students will study the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche alongside common superhero themes of power, leadership, redemptive violence and vigilante justice - which are reflected in both Iron Man and The Dark Knight movies.

Iron Man, aka wealthy inventor Tony Stark, creates weapons for the U.S. government through his company, Stark Industries, but is forced by America's enemies to create weapons for them. Instead, he creates armor laden with technological devices, escapes and returns home, and launches a secret identity as the crime fighter Iron Man.

"While Superman's only weakness was kryptonite, Iron Man says that he feels responsible for creating the weapons, and he fights to fix what he's done. His weaknesses are internal. He also becomes an alcoholic," Treat says.

Treat's class will use The Myth of the American Superhero, a scholarly nonfiction book, as its textbook. Treat's class this fall is open to only 15 students, but he plans to make it a larger, undergraduate class beginning in 2009.

To talk to Treat about the superheroes in this summer's movies, call 940-565-2588 or shauntreat@unt.edu.

...