January 11, 2002 UNT Inhouse publication: Former UNT regent named to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

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Former UNT regent named to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Jerry Farrington

Back when UNT was North Texas State University, Jerry Farrington stepped on campus in the early 1950s as a bright-eyed student, full of anticipation. Admittedly, he didn't expect to one day become chair of the UNT Board of Regents or an October 2001 appointment to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

"I'm very excited about the appointment," Farrington says. "I was very fortunate to go to North Texas and would like to do what I can to help those who come along in the future to have as good an education as I had." Farrington served on the Board of Regents from 1988 to 1999; he spent 10 years as chair.

"Seeing the faces of all those graduating classes made you very proud to be a regent. There were a lot of good things that happened during that time, and serving on the board with good, solid members was a privilege," he says.

His appointment comes as the coordinating board begins its "Closing the Gaps" initiative – a comprehensive plan for higher education through 2015. The provision includes adding 50,000 students to rosters at Texas universities; increasing the number of degrees granted by 50 percent; focusing more heavily on research; and increasing the number of nationally recognized programs.

Farrington says UNT's recent purchase of the Texas Instruments plant in Denton and a 202-acre land acquisition in south Dallas to create UNT at Dallas is in keeping with the initiative's goals for accessibility and excellence at institutions throughout the state.

"I am very proud of UNT," Farrington says. "The university in south Dallas will grow and someday be a major campus. The TI plant opens all sorts of economic opportunities, not to mention meeting the space demands of the university."

Farrington received both a bachelor of business administration degree in 1955 and a master of business administration degree in 1958 from UNT.

He is chair emeritus of the board of Texas Utilities Co. and a member of the Presbyterian Healthcare Resources board. Farrington is former chair of the Edison Electric Institute, U.S. Council for Energy Awareness, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Association of Electric Companies of Texas.

Out of all the corporate positions and boards on which he has served, Farrington says he has been most fulfilled watching UNT bloom.

"To watch the academics and size of the university grow, and to see the academics improve, I think is a wonderful accomplishment," he says.