Harlan Butt
Regents professor of art Harlan W. Butt knew metalsmithing would be his field when he took a class in college.
“There's something about the material - flexible but rigid,” he says. “My personality was in sync with how metal works.”
Butt is retiring after 40 years of teaching at UNT. Throughout his career, he's made boxes, reliquaries and other vessels that often feature scenes of nature and incorporate text, including his own poetry. One series of works includes vessels that were inspired by his trips to a dozen national parks. Butt created the work when he had a semester off from teaching as a Faculty Fellow from UNT's Institute of the Advancement of the Arts. He also had an artist-in-residency at the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Denali in Alaska.
“Every vessel is an extension of my pursuit to understand nature,” he says. “These vessels document that pursuit.”
Randolph Campbell
Since Sept of 1966, the current Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association, Randolph Campbell, has taught history at the University of North Texas. After completing his bachelors, masters and Ph.D from the University of Virginia, he accepted the first offer to teach and moved to Denton. An accomplished published author and co-author eight times, Campbell's favorite subject is Texas Politics.
“Nothing worthwhile in life is free," Campbell often says. "Pick your game and pay your price.”
There is no doubt that Campbell has enjoyed his time teaching at UNT.
"Teaching at North Texas has been a positive experience and it has never been dull," he says when asked about his favorite moment at UNT. "I wish I could repeat all the years that I've spent here."
Harland Hagler
Harland Hagler is an associate professor in the History Department, where he has taught for 50 years. He attended the University of Mississippi at Oxford, earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1959. Hagler found a love for history, and earned his master of arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1962. He continued at the University of Missouri, working on and ultimately earning his PhD in 1968, focusing on Agrarian Ideology of the 1800's.
Soon after, he joined the UNT faculty where his major area of research and interest focuses on early U.S. history, including slavery and the ideologies of the “Old South.”
Through his long and successful career as an author and educator, Hagler has established himself as an expert in his field, and still finds time to share his knowledge of U.S. history by giving lectures and leading discussions at local events.
Don Little
Donald C. Little has spent the past 44 years teaching full-time at the university level and is celebrating his 40th year with UNT.
Little is Regents Professor of Tuba, whose students hold prestigious teaching and performance positions throughout the world. He is retired Principal Tuba of the Dallas Opera Orchestra and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and has performed and recorded with orchestras across the world.
He is active in the International Tuba Euphonium Association where he has served in many roles including president, vice president, secretary-treasurer and currently is a member of the Board of Directors and Honorary Advisory Board.
Little has transcribed, arranged, edited and composed numerous published works for the tuba, euphonium and brass ensembles that are performed regularly throughout the world.
Leroy Theriot
For more than 50 years Leroy Theroit has been part of the UNT family. He joined the university as an assistant professor in 1965 when the university was was still North Texas State. He soon worked his way up to associate professor and then in 1980 he was named a professor, a title he has held ever since.
Theriot himself studied at four universities -- the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Tulane, Harvard and the University of Texas.
Throughout his time at UNT, Theroit has contributed to dozens of published articles and spent years working on funded research. Currently he's teaching three Context of Chemistry classes, as well as a Seminar for Doctoral Candidates.