July 6, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: Former regent, TAMS patron remembered

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Former regent and TAMS patron remembered
E.L. "Buddy" Langley, 76, former vice chair of the UNT Board of Regents, died June 13 in Irving. Funeral services were held June 18.

Langley, retired president of GTE Southwest, served on the Board of Regents from 1989 to 1995. He was a key player in establishing UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, a program that allows talented high school students to complete their first two years of college while earning a high school diploma.

Students enter TAMS following their sophomore year of high school, live in a UNT residence hall and take regular UNT classes for college credit. At the end of two years, the students receive 60 hours of credit and the equivalent of a high school diploma.

In March 1988, Langley organized a fund-raising campaign to support TAMS before it could receive funding from the Texas Legislature. By December 1988, more than $500,000 had been raised to fund TAMS through the 1988-89 academic year, its first operating year.

The Legislature began to fully fund TAMS in 1989, and the academy's first class of 65 students graduated in 1990. This past May, 153 students graduated.

Since TAMS opened its doors in 1988, 15 of its students received Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, considered among the country's most prestigious scholarships awarded to students planning careers in mathematics, science and engineering. In addition, 20 students were named semifinalists and six students were named finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, the nation's premier recognition for high school student research in science, mathematics and engineering.

"The donors recognized that you cannot bring every school up to the level of students who are right for TAMS, but these students need to be challenged," Langley told The North Texan, UNT's alumni magazine, in 1998. "Today, you can't talk to any prominent business person in Texas and have him or her not become enthused about TAMS."

Langley served as chair of the academy's advisory board from 1989 until his death. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by UNT in 1989. He and his wife, Dottie, were also named honorary alumni of UNT in 1997 and of TAMS in 1998.

Langley served on the board of directors of San Angelo National Bank and as campaign chair of San Angelo United Way. He was named the 1987 Citizen of the Year by the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce.

During is retirement from GTE, he served as chair and chief executive officer of Universal Service Telephone and as president and chief operating officer of Rico Telephone.