Hurley announces he will step down at fiscal year's end

Saying, "The time has come for me to seek new challenges and pass the UNT System baton to another leader," Chancellor Alfred F. Hurley announced his intention to step down Aug. 31 when this fiscal year ends.

In morning meetings on Jan. 25, Hurley began informing UNT System, university and Health Science Center administrators (some who have worked at his side in the cause of advancing the university and the UNT System for nearly 20 years) of his decision.

"The Board of Regents and I have devoted considerable thought to succession planning and to the time when someone will replace me. As a result, it's clear that it's time to start the search for my successor. My hope is that my replacement will be an individual who will continue to lead the system to top-tier status," he said.

Hurley also mentioned his desire to explore opportunities for his long-delayed ambitions outside the realm of system and university administration.

"I am exploring new roles that combine my many areas of interest, including possibilities of leadership in public service, consulting work in higher education and the renewal of more of my scholarly work in military history — which is my area of academic research and teaching," he said.

UNT System Board of Regents Chair Bobby Ray said, "Thanks in large measure to Dr. Hurley's leadership, the UNT System and its institutions are stronger than ever and are well positioned to rise to new heights of excellence. He is an acknowledged champion for all issues that support quality higher education."

Hurley joined the university as vice president for administrative affairs on Sept. 1, 1980. Less than 17 months after his arrival, in February 1982, he became UNT's 12th president and the second chancellor of the informal UNT System. He held the university presidency longer than any other chief executive in UNT's history.

The wide-ranging respect for Hurley's leadership makes it difficult for some to believe that presiding at UNT has been his second career. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 as a private. He aspired to become a pilot, but the Air Force detected a talent for navigation and trained him accordingly. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy history faculty for 19 years. His distinguished Air Force career lasted 30 years, ending with his promotion to brigadier general and retirement in 1980.

Hurley plans to spend the remainder of his time as chancellor "working at full speed every day."

"I hope to bring the capital campaign to its stated goal of $150 million, and I expect that we will continue to make progress in all that is required to position our system as a recognized, major force in meeting the ever-growing teaching, research and public- service demands of our North Texas region and the state of Texas," he said.

In a letter to the system community, Hurley said he hopes the work he and his wife, Joanna, will conduct in their final round of service tothe system will provide the couple with a chance to say how much they appreciate the accomplishments, friendship and loyalty of the system community members.

Major progress during Hurley's tenure as UNT president and system chancellor from February 1982 to October 2000:

• An overall 44 percent increase in enrollment — from 18,782 in 1982 to 27,132 in 2000 (UNT's enrollment in Fall 2001 was 27,858)
• Endowment growth from $850,000 in 1982 to more than $45 million in 2000
• Transformation of the UNT campus — more than $130 million in renovation and construction
• Increased nationwide recognition for many of UNT's academic programs
• Transformation of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine into the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth in 1993
• Establishment of the UNT Office of Postgraduate Fellowships in 1993 to help students seeking scholarship and research opportunities
• Raising $43.7 million — between 1987 and 1992 — to exceed the $35 million goal of UNT's first capital campaign
• A change in the university's name from North Texas State University to the University of North Texas in 1988
• Establishment of the Texas Academy of Math and Sciences and admission of the first TAMS students in 1988
• Opening in Spring 2000 of the UNT System Center at Dallas — the first step toward establishing the University of North Texas at Dallas

Major progress during Hurley's tenure as full-time UNT system chancellor from October 2000 to the present:

• The UNT System achieved formal system status from the Texas Legislature, with the support of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, making it one of six recognized higher education systems in Texas on Jan. 1, 2001
• Unanimous approval by both the Texas Senate and House of Representatives of legislation that statutorily established the University of North Texas at Dallas — which will become the first public university in the city of Dallas
• A city of Dallas gift of approximately 202 acres in southeast Oak Cliff for the development of the University of North Texas at Dallas campus
• Raising $115 million toward the university's current capital campaign goal of $150 million; the campaign was launched in April 2000

In addition, Hurley:

• was the first university chancellor/president and the first person from Denton to chair the North Texas Commission
• was the first Denton member of the Dallas Citizen's Council Board of Directors
• played a leadership role in the establishment of the P-16 Council for the North Texas region
• was the first Denton member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
• was chair of the Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors from 1987 to 1989
• is the Second Vice President of the Texas Philosophical Society
• is co-chair of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities

Progress on the UNT campus during Hurley's years as president and chancellor:

• Firmly established the Regents Professorships
• Firmly established faculty developmental leave and modified service programs
• Founding of the Staff Council
• Establishment of the Commission on the Status of Women
• Establishment of the employee fee waiver grant
• Creation of the staff sack lunch programs
• Creation of student coffee sessions
• Creation of the Student Ethnic Enrichment Center
• Refocusing of student affairs operations into the Division of Student Development

To read the letter Hurley distributed to UNT System community members, click here. To read the original news release announcing Hurley's decision to step down, click here.

BY RODDY WOLPER rwolper@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Search process for new UNT System chancellor is under way
• Campaign North Texas tops 75 percent
• UNT enrollment up 7.2 percent for spring
• Club at Gateway Center opens for spring
• UNT professor says Sept. 11 exposed vulnerability of cities as commercial centers
• UNT's Black History Month celebration under way
• UNT program participates in TRIO Day observance
• Two TAMS students named semifinalists in national Intel contest

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