Editor's Note: This article was first reported in the North Texas Daily.

Members of the governing board and other divisions of the UNT System will formally announce their relocation from Denton to the Universities Center in downtown Dallas on Friday evening in the center's lobby.

The UNT System consists of the UNT campus in Denton, the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, The Universities Center in Dallas and the UNT Dallas campus.

Administrators and employees with the Board of Regents, chancellor's office, general counsel's office and some planning offices had moved to 1901 Main St. in Dallas in August to create a central, neutral location for all the campuses, officials said.

"Having a system office on the Denton campus, there was probably not a neutral feeling for the rest of the campuses, so we just centralized it with a location for everybody to come to," said Cynthia Hall, director of UNT's system and external relations. "With the growth, it just became a logistics thing to move to downtown Dallas."

The switch to a location away from the main campus is different from how other major universities in Texas place their governing bodies.

The University of Texas' Board of Regents meets in Austin, the Texas A&M University System is in College Station and the Texas Tech University System is based at its main campus in Lubbock.

UNT Chancellor Lee Jackson said it was more convenient for business meetings to be off campus and in business-like surroundings.

"I have had an office here [in downtown Dallas] since 2003 or 2004," said Jackson, who served as Dallas County judge from 1987 to 2002. "We are raising UNT's visibility in the heart of the Dallas business community."

Mary Suhm, Dallas city manager and a UNT alumna, was excited about the development and said she is always excited when any headquarters moves to downtown Dallas.

"For alumni, UNT is becoming more apparent in the region," Suhm said. "We are proud of the growth of the UNT Dallas campus and hope to keep building it up in the future."

Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs said he believes the change could have an adverse effect on UNT and the city.

"The heart of the eagle has just been moved to Dallas," Burroughs said. "After 120 years, it's not a positive step, and I have grave concerns with it."

Burroughs was also concerned about the lack of notification that the public and the city received on the move and has attempted to contact the chancellor's office.

"It was not brought in on any discussions about the implications that this move might have on the city of Denton," he said.

Hall, however, said the move has never been a secret since they had to seek approval from the Board of Regents, but she couldn't recall if any formal notification was sent to the Denton City Council.

"We [Denton and UNT] have long shared a common identity," Burroughs said. "It is clearly an intent to shift the main campus from Denton to Dallas."