Hurleys honored at UNT Alumni Awards Banquet

The UNT Alumni Awards Selection Committee created an award that was given to Alfred F. Hurley, Chancellor Emeritus of the UNT System and President Emeritus of UNT, and his wife, Joanna, at the Alumni Awards Banquet April 11.

The special On the Wings of Eagles award recognizes and honors the many years of service and dedication the Hurleys have given to the university.

Hurley came to the university on Sept. 1, 1980, to serve as vice president for administrative affairs. In February 1982, he became UNT's 12th president and the second chancellor of the informal UNT System.

After the Board of Regents voted to separate the offices of system chancellor and university president in September 2000, Hurley became the system's first full-time chancellor in October of that year. At the time he left the presidency for duties exclusively as chancellor, he had served as UNT's chief executive longer than any other president in university history.

Hurley is known as a modest man who shares the accomplishments of two decades of progress during his presidency and chancellorship with others. He always acknowledges his wife as an invaluable partner who helped considerably in all of his efforts to advance the university.

During the years of his leadership, UNT achieved a 44 percent increase in student enrollment and become the fourth-largest university in Texas. In addition, the university also successfully completed two capital campaigns, raising nearly $200 million. More than $260 million has been invested in renovation and new construction during Hurley's tenure. In January 2001, the UNT System received recognition as a formal system, making it one of six recognized higher education systems in the state. His major role in these and other accomplishments contributed significantly to the rise of UNT to a prominent position in education in the North Texas region.

Aside from his career at UNT, Hurley also served in the U.S. Air Force. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1950 as a private. Among many military assignments, he was a history faculty member of the U.S. Air Force Academy for 19 years. His Air Force career lasted three decades and concluded with his promotion to brigadier general and retirement in 1980.

BY JAMIE EDINGER paiswri1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Judy Shepard speaks about violence
• Ireland's former head of state to speak at UNT
• State cuts force May 1 benefit changes
• Spring means keeping an eye on the sky
• UNT leads Texas in number of Goldwater scholarship winners
• Staff Council gets campus development report
• New voice mail system to provide users with new and improved services
• UNT expert explains when, how parents should talk to their children about war

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