Honorees
Joe Greene ('69)
"Mean" Joe Greene, born Charles Edward "Joe" Greene of Temple, Texas, is arguably the University of North Texas' most famous football legend, playing for the team from 1966 to 1968.
Greene was named to the Associated Press All-Conference team as a junior and senior, and in 1968 he was the first North Texas player to earn a consensus All American honor. He led the football program to a 23-5-1 record during his three seasons, anchoring a defensive unit nicknamed the Mean Green.
Upon his graduation from UNT, Greene played for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers for 13 seasons, winning four Super Bowls. He is a member of the UNT, College Football and Pro Football halls of fame. Greene was the first African American to be named to the UNT System Board of Regents and the first African American to be named a UNT Distinguished Alumnus.
Roy Orbison
Singer, songwriter and rock 'n' roll legend Roy Kelton Orbison learned to play the guitar at age 6. In high school, he formed a country-music band called the Wink Westerners. He played with the band until 1954 when, as a student at North Texas, he thought they would achieve more success as a rock 'n' roll act. Re-invented as the Teen Kings, the band grew in popularity, playing throughout North and West Texas.
Sun Records in Memphis soon took notice, and Orbison recorded his first hit, "Ooby Dooby," a song written by two fellow North Texas students, for Sun in 1956. Despite that initial hit, Orbison and the Teen Kings struggled. The group disbanded, and Orbison signed a solo deal in 1959 with Monument Records. Throughout the 1960s, he wrote and recorded his greatest hits with Monument, including classics such as "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Blue Angel" (1960), "Running Scared" (1961), "Blue Bayou" (1963), "It's Over" (1964) and "Oh Pretty Woman" (1964). Elvis Presley called Orbison "the greatest singer in the world."
In 1980, Orbison recorded the Grammy Award-winning duet "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" with Emmylou Harris. In 1987, the movie Blue Velvet included his hit "In Dreams" on its soundtrack, and Orbison was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The next year, he taped a television tribute to his music, performing with many of his fellow rock legends and fans. He also released an album, The Traveling Wilburys, Volume One, with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, which won a Grammy Award. Orbison was initiated into the second class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The same year he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Rolling Stone placed Orbison at number 37 on their list of The Greatest Artists of All Time, and number 13 on their list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Orbison died in December 1988.
Mary K. Suhm ('74 M.S., '84 M.B.A.)
Mary K. Suhm is serving her seventh year as city manager for the city of Dallas. She is responsible for the city's daily operations and manages a staff of about 13,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $3 billion.
During her three decades in municipal government, Suhm has earned a national reputation among public administrators for creativity and innovation. She got her start at UNT, earning master's degrees in library science and business.
Suhm has won numerous awards from her peers. In 2009 she was honored by the Dallas Historical Society with the Jubilee History Maker award for her work in building a strong business environment to create growth and excellence for the Dallas community. In 2008, she received the YMCA Metropolitan Dallas Centennial Award, which honors women who have had the most significant influence on the city during the past century. She was named Public Administrator of the Year of North Texas in 2007 and Woman of the Year by the Women's Council of Dallas County in 2006. She was the 1995 recipient of the Linda Keithley Award for Women in Public Management.