North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 11, 2010 Page: 1 of 6
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NEWS: Texas' first lady honors Denton
Page 2
AR & ' ^omec''ari M'c^ae' 'an ^'ac'<*° Perf°rm at UNT
VIEWS: Column: Religion not always product of family values
New Seasons
Softball team invades
Mississippi Valley State
Page6
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Volume 95 I Issue 15
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News 1,2
Arts & Life 3
Sports 6
Views 4
Classifieds 5
Games 5
3ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UNT president announces resignation
By Morgan Walker
and Tim Monzingo
Senior Staff Writer and
Contributing Writer
Gretchen Bataille announced
that she will be stepping down
as president of UNT effective
Feb. 28.
The Board of Regents will
meet Friday to consider
Bataille's resignation as well as
the processes for the appoint-
ment of an interim president
and the search for a new pres-
ident.
"She has been an amazing
president and has had a
wonderful vision for the univer-
sity," said Karen Weiler, chair-
woman of the Faculty Senate.
"She was very faculty-, staff-
and student-oriented, and she
will be greatly missed."
Bataille was named UNT
president on Aug. 14, 2006, and
was inaugurated as UNT's first
female president on April 13,
2007.
She also served as senior vice
president of Academic Affairs
for the University of North
Carolina.
Dakota Carter, the Student
Government Association pres-
ident, said he would speak
against Bataille's removal at
the 8 a.m. meeting Friday on
the UNT Dallas campus at 7300
Houston School Road, room
262.
He said he wants to see
students come to the meeting
to show their support.
"I want the students to get
on the agenda to speak on this
issue," he said. "UNT students
UNT President Gretchen Bataille announced in an e-mail to the UNT community that she will resign Feb. 28.
are within their rights to speak
at the meeting."
Carter added that Bataille
has worked to make UNT's
campus more student-
friendly.
"For her to leave with two
week's notice seems fishy to
me," Carter said.
Those who wish to speak
may e-mail the board secre-
tary, fulia Boyce, at Julia.
Boyce@unt.edu to get a spot
on the agenda.
Wendy Wilkins, provost and
vice president for Academic
Affairs, said she believes
Bataille has moved the univer-
sity in the right direction and
that it should continue in that
direction.
"I've been terrifically happy
working for UNT under her
leadership, and I think all of
my vice president colleagues
have been," Wilkins said. "I am
sad. She is my friend as well as
my boss."
Trevor Neal, a music educa-
tion junior, waited outside
Bataille's office Wednesday
to hear more news about her
resignation.
NT Daily staff/File photo
"I really wanted to tell her
good luck with whatever she
plans to do," Neal said.
Neal said he met with Bataille
several times, including the
times he sang at the Emerald
Eagle Ball, an event held to
honor students in the Emerald
Eagle Scholars program.
"She's done fantastic things
to the university especially
considering the shape it was
in before she came here," Neal
said.
Bataille sent a letter to the
UNT community expressing
her appreciation to the univer-
sity and listing the extensive
amount of objectives that UNT
has accomplished.
"We have had many achieve-
ments from increased enroll-
ment and improved student
success of a diverse student
body to expanding the research
funding over 60 percent in the
past two years," Bataille wrote
in the e-mail.
Bataille had ambitions for
UNT, set higher expectations
for everyone associated with
the university and brought a
good deal of energy to her job
as president, UNT Chancellor
Lee Jackson said in a press
release.
Brandon Morton, a biology
senior and intern for the Office
of Sustainability, said his
concern is with sustainability
because all of the new buildings
on campus are LEED certified,
something that's been part of
Bataille's commitment.
He also encourages students
to get involved with the Board of
Regents and show their support
for Bataille and to make it clear
that sustainability and the
environment are what UNT's
all about, he said.
"Anybody who cares about
the environment at UNT should
show concern for the presi-
dent's resignation because
sustainability is a financial
initiative at UNT," he said.
nterns petition or spring
2010 dead week comeback
By Shea Yarborough
Senior StafFWriter
The Student Government
Association's freshman
intern class is leading the
way in an initiative to rein-
state dead week for spring
2010.
The freshman interns
will begin to canvas the
campus Tuesday in a month-
long campaign collecting
signatures from students,
said Andrew Robertson, a
College of Arts and Sciences
senator.
The interns will then take
the signatures to the admin-
istration in an attempt
to affect change for the
students, he said.
"They want dead week
back," Robertson said.
Dead week was replaced
last semester for a single
reading day.
The initiative to restore
began after several
freshman interns heard
what they were missing out
on, he said.
"We are looking for at least
1,000 signatures," Robertson
said.
SGA is the student-led
governmental body of
UNT.
For Devin Axtman, a
freshman intern, dead week
is nothing but second-hand
information he has heard
from upper classmen. He
said getting ready for finals
with only a single day of
preparation was difficult.
He was concerned for
his wavering health while
juggling assignments that
were due the week before
finals and studying for final
exams.
"I want to plant
the seed in hopes
that someone
will come along
and water it."
—Jamaal Sanders
Student Government
Association vice president
ANDREW JAMAAL
ROBERTSON SANDERS
"There was no room for
down time," Axtman said. "It
would be much easier if we
had a week to prepare."
Under the old dead week
policy, professors were not
allowed to introduce new
material, give quizzes or add
to students' academic load
during the week leading into
final exams.
Student organiza-
tions were also banned
from holding meetings or
promoting activities.
The activities ban was not
lifted when dead week was
abolished, and Robertson
said the interns want to
know why.
"The professors can do
whatever they want, but
students can't? That's a
contradiction," Robertson
said.
Jamaal Sanders, SGA vice
president, said he feels his
job is to look out for the best
interest of the students.
"Give the students what
they want," he said.
The question of why dead
week was replaced has yet
to be answered by admin-
istration, but the beliefs are
that the faculty members felt
limited and wanted more
freedom with how they run
their classrooms, Robertson
said.
He then said SGA members
have been told by their
constituents that they want
dead week back.
"Personally I like dead
week," Robertson said.
"It gives more time than
reading day."
In other business, Sanders
introduced an initiative to
begin research on handicap
accessibility to buildings
and walkways on campus.
He is a senior and said he
doesn't feel he will see the
fruit of his labor, but his goal
is to get the ball rolling.
"I want to plant the seed
in hopes that someone will
come along and water it,"
Sanders said.
The SGA members also
appointed a new senator.
Patrick Hopkins, a political
science and sociology soph-
omore, assumed the seat
as senator for the College
of Community Service and
Public Affairs.
"I love UNT, and I want to
be a part of SGA," Hopkins
said.
Photo by Ryan Bibb/Photographer
The land on which the new stadium is to be built is being leveled. The new stadium is expected to be completed in 2011,
and will be a LEED certified building.
UN hires ündraising chair
By Eric Johnson
Senior Staff Writer
As bulldozers chew up the
ground to clear space for the new
UNT football stadium, athletic
director Rick Villarreal can watch
from his office window as his
vision comes to life.
Now focus shifts to fund-
raising for the new stadium, and
with half of the $78 million being
paid by student fees, UNT will
look to alumni to help stir up
support and donations.
The bulk of the work will
fall on the shoulders of Cooper
Jones, UNT's new chairman of
advancement. Jones spent the
last three years at the University
of Louisville as assistant athletic
director for major developments/
gifts. He will take over as the
Mean Green's senior fundraiser
Monday.
"The stadium will be a nice
front porch for the university,"
Jones said. "We are going to be
aggressive and target alumni and
non-alumni who are passionate
about football, and these will be
our key contributors."
Jones has more than a decade
of experience in fundraising, and
he will face high expectations
at UNT.
"He will have a big job ahead
of him," UNT President Gretchen
Bataille said. "Cooper will be
expected to turn that trend
around and increase donor gifts
to a high level."
UNT plans to bring in money
from stadium-naming rights,
club seats, concessions and
alumni contributions.
"Our goal is to raise both
private and corporate funds," said
Diane Crane, UNT's campaign
director for the Division of
Advancement. "Visibility is a
strong motivator, and with the
project taking shape, excitement
is starting to build, which will
only help with our fund-raising
efforts."
The new stadium will replace
Fouts Field, which was built in
1952. The stadium has deterio-
rated during the last decade, with
stands that are falling apart and
patch-work grandstands in each
end zone.
"During my time here it has
become harder and harder to
be proud of Fouts Field," Bataille
said. "There are three A's of a
great university: academic, arts
and athletics, and this is an
opportunity for us to upgrade
all three."
The new stadium has already
had an impact on the football
team's recruiting, with the Mean
Green adding 22 new recruits
on Feb. 3.
"I am not naive enough
to believe that our win-loss
record has not had an impact
on recruiting, but the thought
of a new stadium has definitely
helped grab the attention of some
of these recruits," head football
coach Todd Dodge said.
It was nearly nine years ago
that Villarreal was hired, and
one of his first statements was
a promise that UNT would have
a new stadium. That idea was
discarded by most, because it
had been said before but never
accomplished.
"Everyone kind of laughed and
said, 'I will believe when I see it,"'
Villarreal said. "Now it is actu-
ally happening, and it is so satis-
fying to be able to look outside
and know that we were able to
accomplish something no one
thought we could."
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 11, 2010, newspaper, February 11, 2010; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145769/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.