For 16 years, Chancellor Alfred F. Hurley has provided a voice for UNT, and in more recent years the UNT System, among the Metroplex's giants of business, industry, education and government.

In 1985 Hurley began service with the North Texas Commission, a group initially organized to promote the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that has gone far beyond its original mission. Today, it works to provide leadership and acts as a catalyst for regional cooperation within the Metroplex. Hurley was recently recognized by the commission, not only for his 16 years of membership, but also for the three years he served as vice chair and chair of the commission's board of directors.

Hurley says he wanted to serve the commission because its mission and the mission of the UNT System are so similar.

"Both are focused on advancing the region. If you look at the mission statements of both organizations, the spirit of those statements is the same," he says. "I wanted also to serve because it gave me a marvelous way to involve the university in regional matters."

Hurley cites the creation of UNT's Texas Logistics Education Foundation Center for Logistics Education and Research as the direct result of the university's involvement with the commission.

"We were encouraged (by the commission) to take a lead and develop Texas' first academic program in logistics, which is well supported by the industry today," he says.

But Hurley says his involvement with the commission has been not just good for UNT, but also good for him personally.

"You can't be in that organization for long and not begin to see yourself as a citizen of the whole region, not just the part in which you live," he says. "It helped me to better understand how the region works. My service with the commission has been very satisfying, and I consider it one of the highlights of my time with the university and the system."