Before Roy Orbison was topping the charts, he was studying geology at North Texas State. His stay was brief; he is absent from the school’s yearbooks, but his time in Denton did a great deal to launch his career as a singer, particularly where a well-known rock ‘n’ roll classic is concerned: Unbeknownst to most… Read more »
The Eagle Park and recreation grounds area on the North Texas campus occupied land on what was formerly Scoular Hall (originally the Journalism Building), Stovall Hall, the Willis Library, and a number of other structures. The recreation area extended beyond what was replaced with the Laboratory School (now known as the Music Annex) to the… Read more »
Fry Street, a home away from home for many North Texas alumni, has always been a place for students to pass time, share meals, or browse area shops for books, supplies, and gifts. Of all the businesses located in this lively collegiate hub, none is as quintessential as Voertman’s Book store. The Voertman family opened… Read more »
In addition to its strengths in jazz and western art (i.e. classical) music, UNT’s College of Music also boasts one of the country’s largest early music programs. For the uninitiated, early music in this context refers to the study and practice of historical performance techniques, using primary (treatises, contemporary accounts, original manuscripts and editions) and… Read more »
A central place to rest, meet friends, and have fun was the wish of students for many years. This wish was delayed due to the Great Depression and the Second World War. Following the war the UNT campus entered a building boom to better serve the increased enrollment due to the returning soldiers. A union… Read more »
You may hear her work every day and not even know it: Julia Smith composed the University of North Texas’ alma mater, “Glory to the Green,” which rings out from the clock tower every day at noon. Born in the town of Caldwell in Burleson County, Texas on January 25, 1905, young Julia Smith took… Read more »
Walk by the fountain of the Environmental Education, Science and Technology building, and you will encounter a bronze figure sitting on the side of the pond. You are coming face to face with “Doc” Joseph Kean Gwynn Silvey, a nationally and internationally recognized limnologist and a former UNT faculty member who served as the chair… Read more »
During President McConnell’s tenure (1934-1951) the campus needed to expand due to the growing enrollment. Development was held back by a shortage of funds due to the Great Depression. Starting in 1933, with the passage of the New Deal program the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, funds became available. By 1935 the program was… Read more »
In the first twenty-two years of collegiate presence, North Texas State Normal College operated without a mascot; the students were coined the “Normalites.” During this time, the college was preparing to transition its name to North Texas State Teacher’s College. With the name change groundwork in process, the college’s administration also recognized an imperative need… Read more »
Abner Haynes and Leon King became symbols of “North Texas integration and ambassadors of good will” in 1956 when they were the first two African-American football players to play for the University of North Texas football team. Abner Haynes grew up the son a well-known Denton minister and attended Lincoln High School in Dallas where… Read more »
