Cpl. Frank Lozano: Serving and protecting the UNT community

UNT seems to be a recurring theme in Frank Lozano's life.

His mother worked at the university when he was younger, and both his son and daughter are UNT students now. But the corporal in the UNT Police Department began his own days at North Texas in the seventh grade, attending the university's lab school for two years and living only a few blocks from campus.

It was not until years later that he returned to UNT to work as a police officer. After his days in the lab school, he attended Denton High School.

"I married my high school sweetheart and we've been together for 28 years," he says. Lozano and his wife stayed in Denton and Lozano ran his own wrecker service business.

But Lozano was always interested in going into the policing and security field. After his younger brother joined the Denton police force, Lozano decided to make a career out of his interests. He applied for various positions in the Metroplex and took a job as a jailer for the Denton County Sheriff's Department. He later interviewed at UNT and joined the force in 1988.

Lozano is now part of the UNT bike patrol, riding 12-hour shifts, usually with another of the eight to 12 officers who form the patrol. The beat requires physical fitness and bicycles that are extremely well-maintained. Lozano and the other patrol members enforce bike rules on campus in addition to performing police duties. Lozano says he enjoys the bike riding — it allows him to get exercise and maintain a good public image for the police force. Outside of work he still takes pleasure in physical activity.

"I love running, softball, boxing and marathons," he says.

He has run in many marathons, sometimes jogging 18 miles a day to train.

Physical fitness and his skill as a peace officer are not the only ways Lozano benefits the UNT police department. His ability to speak and understand Spanish proves to be an invaluable asset.

"I'm from Mexico originally but was brought up in the U.S.," Lozano says. "I'm bilingual — English is my primary language, but I can speak Spanish well enough to translate."

Both the UNT and Denton police departments have used his skills to help in translations at accident scenes and with students.

Overall, Lozano says he enjoys his work. Everything brings out his enthusiasm — from the students he meets to the faculty he now knows to the campus he rides around. As he puts it, you "can't beat the environment" at UNT.

BY ALISON CLARK paiswri1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Campaign North Texas getting hot, Hot, HOT
• Tailgating coming to UNT
• UNT granted $1.5 million for autism program
• UNT collegiate license plates available
• UNT professor studies remains of Texas colonists
• Leadership Texas scholarship funds available
• UNT doctoral student wins EPA fellowship
• Bobby Inman named TAMS board chair
• Chilean exchange program endorsed

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