October 5, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: Governor reappoints Ray, Pettit, Craft as UNT regents

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Governor reappoints Ray, Pettit, Craft as UNT regents

Three members of the UNT System Board of Regents, including the current chair and vice chair, are beginning new six-year terms on the UNT System's governing body after Gov. Rick Perry recently reappointed them.

Bobby Ray Chair John Robert "Bobby" Ray of Plano and Vice Chair Burle Pettit of Lubbock, both UNT alumni, have served on the board since 1995. Marjorie B. Craft of DeSoto, also a North Texas graduate who was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board in June 2000, will now serve a full term as a UNT regent.

Ray earned his bachelor of business administration degree from North Texas in 1969. He is president of the Goodman Family of Builders, one of the largest homebuilders in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and regional president for its parent company, Hovnanian Enterprises, which is the ninth-largest homebuilder in the nation.

In addition, Ray has served as president of the North Dallas Collin County Homebuilders Association and on the boards of directors for the Greater Dallas Homebuilding Association and the State Homebuilding Association. In 1995, the Dallas Metroplex Home Builders Association presented him with the coveted Hugh Prather Award, given to the builder contributing the most to the betterment of the Metroplex. He has also been involved on many civic boards and commissions, including the Plano Chamber of Commerce, Plano YMCA, Plano Parks Board, Plano Planning and Zoning Board, and Plano Rotary Club. He was named Plano Citizen of the Year in 1993.

Burle Pettit Pettit is editor emeritus of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, a newspaper he served for 40 years. After earning his bachelor's degree in journalism from UNT in 1960, Pettit joined the Avalanche-Journal as a sports writer. He became the lead sports columnist in 1962, the executive sports editor in 1966, the managing editor of the paper in 1973, the executive editor in 1989, and editor in 1995. He retired in January 2000.

Pettit has served as president of the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association and the Texas Sports Writers Association. In 1992, he was named to the UNT Journalism Hall of Fame. And in 1994, UNT honored him with its Green Glory Award for his work on behalf of the university.

He also has served on the UNT Journalism Advisory Board and as chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee.

Marjorie Craft Craft is an independent business development consultant.

After graduating from North Texas in 1968, she became a nutritionist with the Dallas Independent School District and eventually ran its nutrition program. She went on to serve as director of sales for Pepsico/Tricon Global Restaurants in the Pizza Hut Division. As a result of successful endeavors in her 20-year career in the food services industry, Craft was one of only 25 women profiled in Women Who Have Won, a book by Dina Moor that highlights the careers of Dallas businesswomen. She also has received awards for her contributions to the industry, including the International Food Manufacturers Association's Silver Plate Award and the Pacesetter Award from the Roundtable for Women in Food Service.

Craft is involved in a number of community and civic organizations. She serves on the boards of directors at Zale-Lipshy University Hospital and the Dallas Museum of Art. She also is a member of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer in the effort to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to the Metroplex.

Ray, Pettit and Craft will now serve until May 22, 2007; however, the appointments will not be official until the Texas Senate confirms them.