More than 400 faculty and staff members were recognized at the Service Awards Ceremony and Reception March 3 for their milestone anniversaries in calendar year 2019. Two faculty members from the G. Brint Ryan College of Business were honored as the longest-serving this year.
50 YEARS
Carl Stephen Guynes, Regents Professor of information technology, joined UNT in 1969 after earning degrees
from Texas Tech University. He has been an active member of the Department of Information
Technology and Decision Sciences, chairing numerous committees and serving as course
coordinator, and has published two textbooks and more than 100 journal articles.
He also has worked as a consultant for businesses including Standard Oil and Wells Fargo and developed and taught IT programs for the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He served as an expert witness in a landmark court case, the first criminal case dealing with the valuation of computer software packages in tax shelters.
For his dedication to teaching and higher education, he has received the President's Service Award, the Council of Business Students' Outstanding Teacher Award and Mortar Board Top Prof Awards, among others. He also consistently receives rave reviews from students:
- “Dr. Guynes is an excellent professor.”
- “He wants all of his students to do well in class and in life.”
- “He really knows what he's talking about.”
- “He's one of the best professors I've had at UNT.”
One of his students has placed first in IBM's Master the Mainframe Contest for each of the past three years — an amazing feat given that as many as 25,000 students enter the contest each year. Guynes, who was teaching a class in lieu of attending the ceremony, calls his greatest reward “the recognition my students receive.” He is pictured in the 1971 Yucca yearbook, teaching a noon class in personnel.
40 YEARS
Donna Ledgerwood, who earned her degrees from the University of Oklahoma, first began teaching management
at UNT in 1978. She has earned numerous certifications in human resource management
and was the founder, coordinator and professor for UNT's certification classes offered
by the HR Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management.
She served as president of the Southern Management Association and the Southwest Academy of Management, and she was active in many other professional organizations. Among her publications through the years, she wrote one of the first articles on sexual harassment published in the Labor Law Journal.
Her honors include a record three UNT President's Council Teaching Awards, the 'Fessor Graham Award from UNT students, a Minnie Stevens Piper Award as one of the top 10 teachers in Texas, a National Advisor of the Year Award from SHRM and an Educator of the Year Award from HR Southwest. As a teacher, she also received stellar student reviews:
- “Dr. Ledgerwood really cares about her students.”
- “She is always there when you need a question answered.”
- “She seems passionate about helping students.”
- “She's the best grad professor I've had.”
Although we were celebrating her 40-year milestone at the ceremony, Ledgerwood actually retired last year with 41 years of service. She says it has been a privilege to help others develop themselves personally as well as professionally, and adds, “It is exciting to see individuals become aware of how unaware we are!”