Marsha Keffer: Former UNT student helping UNT students today

Marsha Keffer sees Kendall Hall not as the home of International Programs and ROTC, but as the place where she lived and worked as a student from 1960 to 1963.

She remembers Kendall Hall as a residence hall, when room and board was $75 a month, her allowance was $5 a month, air conditioning was a luxury and curfew was 11 p.m. during the week and 1 a.m. on the weekends. She became a dorm hostess her sophomore year, which is similar to the position of a resident assistant today. In those days, being a dorm hostess was one of the few on-campus jobs available to students.

"There were community bathrooms and only one telephone on each wing of the dorm," she says. "Meals were served in hour-and-a-half time slots and you could not wear hair curlers in the cafeteria. You couldn't wear pants except on snow days and no boys were allowed past the foyer."

In 1964, Keffer graduated with a bachelor of arts degree with a major in French. She continued her education, earning a master's in counseling and guidance in 1967 from UNT. She spent three years teaching French in Louisiana, then in 1970, she returned to Denton and has lived in the same house ever since. She was a counselor at Lake Dallas High School and taught French at Denton High School before coming back to UNT in 1989 to work in the Texas Academic Skills Program, first as an academic director and now as campus coordinator.

Her office, across Highland Street from Kendall Hall, includes evidence of Keffer's playful side — Disney figurines sitting on shelves and a toy train set. Keffer and her colleagues evaluate all students' TASP status and supervise required remedial programs. The TASP test measures college-level skills in mathematics, reading and writing and is required for all students entering a Texas state college or university, except those who meet certain exemption requirements.

Joneel Harris, interim associate vice president for enrollment management, says Keffer is a dedicated employee who works hard to help students succeed.

"Marsha has been instrumental in working out the details to have North Central Texas College faculty teach developmental math on the UNT campus this fall and provide increased opportunities for our students who need TASP assistance," Harris says.

Keffer has ties to UNT beyond her own education and employment. Her oldest son, Stiles, works in Printing Services; her sister, Lynn McCreary, is the interim registrar; and she is married to Lindsay Keffer, associate director of the Union. They have one granddaughter and a grandson due in August.

Keffer's hobbies include gardening and sewing. She costumes shows for the Denton Community Theater and the Music Theatre of Denton.

Looking back on her experiences with the university, she says UNT has evolved greatly since her undergraduate days.

"Many more programs have been added in the schools," Keffer says. "We have turned into a full-fledged university in these past 42 years."

BY MICHELLE GARCIA paiswri1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Pohl named to lead the Sun Belt Conference for two-year term
• Regents don't change admissions policy
• UNT, NCTC enter concurrent admission agreement
• UNT alum David Layton named executive director of North Texas Exes
• UNT alumnus honored with 2002-03 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship
• Staff Council reps elected
• Faculty Senate elects officers for 2002-03
• UNT community members earn grants for international education programs
• Staff awards presented at President's Staff Sack Lunch
• Neeley nets UNT Honorary Alumnus Award

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