Deke Isaac, computer systems manager in microcomputer maintenance by day, stretches his artistic muscle as a jazz musician by night.

Deke Isaac: Making sure UNT's computers are keeping time

Deke Isaac has a hidden talent that makes working at UNT perfect for him.

Isaac, a computer systems manager in microcomputer maintenance, performed as a professional jazz musician for almost 15 years after he graduated from high school. He plays both the upright and electric bass.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Isaac performed with various pop, rock and jazz bands throughout Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Also during this time, Isaac toured with Johnnie Taylor, a famous R&B and soul musician.

In fact, music is what brought Isaac to UNT in the first place. He heard about the university while playing with a jazz band in the mid-1970s and decided to come here to pursue a degree in jazz studies. Once enrolled, Isaac continued to focus on his personal music and slowly stopped working on his degree.

"Having been in the music business for so long, I've learned it's a tough life," Isaac says. To be successful, he says, most musicians have to be entertainers, but he really just wanted to have fun playing his music.

So he decided to concentrate instead on earning a computer science degree and was employed as a student technician in the same department in which he now works. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1988.

Isaac says it is common for musicians to end up with computer degrees.

"Music is a system, and so are computers," he says.

As a computer systems manager, Isaac is in charge of building and maintaining computers used throughout the university. Students perform most of the labor, but every once in a while Isaac will work on a computer with a difficult problem. Recently, he completed his master's degree in computer education and cognitive systems from the College of Education. Since so much student technician training is done in the microcomputer maintenance shop, Isaac thought this degree would be a benefit to the students he trains.

Jim Curry, director of microcomputer maintenance, says Isaac is a valuable asset to the department.

"His calm and confident manner is frequently just what's needed for the panicked PC user whose computer has just crashed," Curry says.

These days, Isaac and his wife play together in a jazz band, The Dana Isaac Quartet. The band tries to meet each week but normally ends up meeting only once a month. The group tends to have a few gigs a year and is mainly just having fun, Isaac says, not trying to make a living at it. He is able to accomplish that through his hard work at UNT.

BY MELODY GILBERT paiswri3@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf keynote speaker at UNT center lunch
• Outcome of Nov. 5 referendum may have impact on UNT
• McTee's Symphony No. 1 to premiere at Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall
• SECC: State employees' gift to other Texans
• UNT symposium to focus on democracy, markets
• Staff members honored at annual convocation
• UNT linguist keeping language, culture of Pacific Northwest tribes alive
• Halloween events planned at UNT

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