Library sciences honors outstanding alumni

Twenty UNT alumni who graduated from what is now the Department of Library and Information Sciences received awards from the Library and Information Sciences Alumni Society for outstanding professional achievement and service to their communities, states or the nation.

The awards were given in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the academic program at UNT.

Robert S. Martin, who graduated with his master’s degree in library science in 1979, received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Martin is the retired professor and Lillian Bradshaw Endowed Chair in the School of Library and Information Sciences at Texas Woman’s University.

In November, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor conferred by the White House, for his work as director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that provides grants to the nation’s 15,000 museums and 122,000 community libraries. Martin was a member of the National Council on the Humanities and an acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ten alumni who received their degrees before 1999 were recognized with Platinum Star Awards:

• Sara Baron (1996, M.S.), library dean at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.;

• Orella Brazile (1982 M.S., 1991, Ph.D.), library director and professor at Southern University at Shreveport, La.;

• Sharon Carr (1964 B.A., 1989 M.S.), library learning resources administrator for the El Paso school district;

• Nancy Clark (1978 M.L.S.), director of the library network office in the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington;

• Sylvia D. Hall-Ellis (1972 M.L.S.), associate professor in the library and information science program of the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education;

• Cathy Nelson Hartman (1991 M.S.), assistant dean of libraries for digital and information technologies at UNT;

• Lynnette Jordan (1978 M.L.S), global information management services senior adviser for Exxon Mobil Corp. in Dallas;

• Miriam Rodriguez (1997 M.S..), assistant director for public services for the Dallas Public Library;

• Hilda G. Tagle (1971, M.L.S.), U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas — Brownsville Division; and

• Jerilynn Williams (1979, M.L.S.), director of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System in Conroe.

Nine alumni who have received their degrees in the last 10 years were recognized with Rising Star Awards:

• Doug Achterman (2008, Ph.D.), library media teacher at San Benito High School in Hollister, Calif., and adjunct instructor at San Jose State University;

• Susan Chandler (2004, M.S.), coordinator of outreach services at Sterling Municipal Library in Baytown;

• Matthew Cordon (2001, M.S.), professor of law, director of legal research and associate director of the Law Library at Baylor University;

• Maribel Garza-Castro (2003, M.S.), librarian at St. John’s School in Houston;

• Michele A. Lucero (2004, M.S.), library relations manager for West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters in Los Angeles;

• Michelynn McKnight (2004, Ph.D.), assistant professor in Louisiana State University’s School of Library and Information Science;

• Phillip Lee Montgomery (2005, M.S.), archivist and special collections librarian for Rice University’s Fondren Library;

• Michael Stephens (2007, Ph.D.), assistant professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill.; and

• Timothy Stettheimer (2000 Ph.D.), senior vice president and chief information officer for St. Vincent’s Hospital and Ascension Health in Birmingham, Ala.

The alumni were honored at a dinner sponsored by the Library and Information Sciences Alumni Society during the annual Texas Library Association conference in Houston.

Faculty member writes book on monuments

UNT faculty member Dr. Kelly McMichael’s new book, Sacred Memories: The Civil War Monument in Texas, features 68 large-scale Civil War monuments.

McMichael’s book addresses the meaning behind the monuments — the majority of them honoring the Confederate Army — and their role in society.

McMichael is the associate director of UNT’s Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment and Redesign. She began her research while she was a doctoral student in UNT’s Department of History.

UNT names local students with 4.0 GPA

Several Denton County residents were among students named to University of North Texas President’s Honor Roll for the spring semester.

The students included:

• Brian Scott Blankenship, David Michael Preston Bratton, Jason Timothy Bunce, Schaeffer Neal Harris, Danielle Taynette Kelley and Jonathan E. Smith of Aubrey;

• Holland M. Kaplan of Copper Canyon;

• Bethany Dawn Carter and Maria Belen Pugliese of Cross Roads;

• Melissa M. Lampe, Mollie Michele Mathews, Robert W. Monaghan, Kira Alexandra Tipotsch, Lindsey J. Uszler, Ashley M. Westerfeld and Brittany L. Westerfeld of Copper Canyon;

• Thomas Lord Huffman of Krugerville;

• Alle Alissa Hopkins, Courtney Elizabeth Mercer, Emily Laura Nielsen, Vilhelmiina Ruotsalainen, Deborah Ann Slavin, Kathy Kaiqian Wang and Syed Mohammad Zeeshan of Lantana;

• Amanda Courtenay Brough, Andrew Dylan Gaines, Kellie R. Hill and Lindsey Diane Long of Oak Point;

• Suzanne Lee Eskandari, Patti Ann Mullally, Kari F. Routh, Kelli F. Routh and Vanessa Marie Weidner of Ponder;

• Brittany Lynn Bevis and Danielle Taynette Kelley of Providence; and

• Karen A. Lee of Savannah.

To be named to the honor roll, undergraduates were required to complete at least 12 academic hours with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

Kids and grandparents can try out college

The University of North Texas will offer Grandparents University, a multi-generational summer learning experience, for the first time June 25-26.

The program allows children ages 7 to 12 and their grandparents to get a taste of the college experience.

Participants can earn a Grandparents University degree by majoring in two of 10 subject areas: art, music, generational research, astronomy, environmental technologies, graphic design, emergency administration, Spanish, criminal justice and merchandising.

Courses will be taught by UNT faculty and staff members. Participants also will have the option of staying overnight in a UNT dorm during the program.

UNT’s Center for Achievement and Lifelong Learning, which is sponsoring the program, expects 150 participants for the first offering of Grandparents University.

More information about the camp is available at www.unt.edu/call/call_grandparents.html . Registration is still open. To register, call Mary Boydston at 940-369-7293 or e-mail mary.boydston@unt.edu .