1968
Jim R. McClellan (BA, Political Science; ’70 MA, History) was awarded the first fellowship of Dundee and Angus College of Scotland. He also was conferred an honorary Doctor of Education degree from Abertay University of Dundee, Scotland, in 2019. He is a professor of history and the dean of liberal arts at Northern Virginia Community College. He received the UTA Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997.
1972
Betsy Price (BS, Biology) received the Great Women of Texas 2019 Legend Award from the Fort Worth Business Press. A UTA Distinguished Alumna, Price is the longest-serving mayor in Fort Worth history.
Mike Rhyner (’81 BA, Radio/Television/Film) retired in 2019. He co-founded The Ticket, North Texas’ first all-sports radio station, in 1994 and was a mainstay on its popular program The Hardline for 26 years. He was named to ESPN’s list of Sports Radio Personalities of the Year in 1997, 1998, and 2003 and was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Dallas Press Club Legends in 2016. Rhyner was named a Distinguished Alumnus of UTA in 2017.
1977
Robert C. Cottrell (MA, History) had two books published this year: All-American Rebels: The American Left from the Wobblies to #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and the Resistance and a reissuance of his book Izzy: A Biography of I.F. Stone. He is a professor emeritus of history and American studies at California State University, Chico, where he taught from 1984-2018. His other recent books include Two Pioneers: How Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson Transformed Baseball—And America; Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Rise of America’s 1960s Counterculture; and 1968: The Rise and Fall of the New American Revolution.
Richard Dickey (BA, History) has retired after a ٣٠-year career as a research librarian, having worked at the University of North Texas, The Dallas Morning News, the Library of Congress, and the executive branch of the federal government.
1981
Carol Brown(BS, Sociology) received the Great Women of Texas 2019 Business Press. She is CEO of Como Lions Heart, a nonprofit organization that supports the programs of the Como Community Center and the Como community of Tarrant County.
Cynthia Franklin (MSSW, Clinical Social Work; ’89 PhD, Clinical Social Work) was named one of the 100 most influential contemporary social work faculty in 2019 by the Journal of Social Service Research. She is the associate dean for doctoral education at the UT Austin School of Social Work and is the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health. She was named a UTA Distinguished Alumna in 2003.
1983
Paul M. Sawyer (BS, Geology) retired from teaching after a varied career that took him around the world. He has worked with oil field equipment and as an assistant arborist, a property tax consultant, and an environmental and property inspector. He was also chair of the STEM programs at Harmony Science Academy and a science teacher at Sunset High School, both in Dallas.
1985
Kathryn Collins (BS, Industrial Engineering) is senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Entergy Corporation. She began her career as an industrial engineer with Texas Instruments before moving to human resources. She also worked at JCPenney, RealPage, Trinity Industries, and Arcosa.
“UTA gave me a great background for continuing my education in dental school. Today, I practice in Arlington and am president of the Texas Dental Association. UTA is where this all started.”
—Charles Miller,
(’77 BS, Biology)
Partner and Pediatric Dentist at Dentistry for Children
1988
Lee Mulcahy (BA, French; ’٠١ PhD, Humanities) exhibited paintings at Redstone, Colorado’s 24th annual community show and Art Basel Miami. His gallery and studio are in Aspen, Colorado.
Donna Rutter (BBA, Accounting) received the Great Women of Texas 2019 Legend Award from the Fort Worth Business Press. She is the executive director of indirect tax services, state and local tax, for EY Financial Services.
1989
Clifford Welch (MArch, Architecture and Environmental Design) has earned Fellow of the American Institute of Architects status. He is a principal at Welch | Hall architects and a past president of the Dallas Architectural Foundation. He has taught graduate-level design at UTA.
1990
Rodney Anderson (BBA, Real Estate) served three terms in the Texas Legislature and is now the Dallas County Republican Party chairman. He is executive vice president and national agency manager of Alliant National Title Insurance Company.
1991
Tom Fox (BA, Photography) was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his breaking news photography of a masked gunman outside a federal courthouse in downtown Dallas in June 2019. Fox is a senior visual journalist at The Dallas Morning News.
1993
Colleen Norton (BM, Music) retired in May 2019 after 26 years of teaching elementary music. She taught at Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, and Crowley school districts. She volunteers with Code Blue and Citizens on Patrol for the Fort Worth Police Department and Code Rangers for Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Office. She participated in the Fort Worth Citizens Fire Academy and the Tarrant County Citizens Prosecutors Academy. Norton also has a jewelry business.
“UTA is a great institution. Working on my PhD in the College of Engineering was well worth the long nights!”
—Maurice Cavitt
(’13 PDH, Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering)
Director of Product Development at Walmart
1994
Katrina McGhee (MBA, Marketing) joined the American Heart Association’s nationwide leadership team as executive vice president of marketing and communications. She will operate from the association’s national center in Dallas, Texas.
Jo Trizila (BFA, Theatre Performance) was reappointed as a city of Dallas cultural affairs commissioner for District 12. She is founder and chief executive officer of Dallas-based TrizCom Public Relations and Pitch PR. She also serves on the board of directors for Heroes for Children and the advisory board of Taylor’s Gift, both nonprofit organizations.
2000
Dora Zapata (BBA, International Business), vice president of corporate philanthropy and community relations at Wells Fargo, received the Community Advocate Award at the 13th annual Minority Business Leaders Awards presented by the Dallas Business Journal. She is a member of UTA’s President’s Hispanic Advisory Council.
2001
Nikola Olić (BS, Computer Science Engineering), a software designer, showcased his photography at Afterimage Gallery in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood.
Emily Williams (MLA) was named chair of the city of Dallas Landmark Commission.
2006
Carolyn Ansley(MEd, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies) was named principal of the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus in Aledo, Texas.
2007
Bradley Ford (MCRP) was named city manager for the city of Waco.
Tracie Palmer (BBA, Management), president of Bounty Minerals, was profiled in a March 2020 Fort Worth Magazine story highlighting women in leadership positions in Fort Worth.
2008
Jonathan Cranz (BS, Management Information Systems) and Christopher Katri (MBA, Finance) were named to Fort Worth Business Press’ annual “Forty Under Forty” list. Cranz is a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP. Katri is senior vice president and senior credit officer at Southside Bank.
“I leverage lessons I learned at UTA every day.”
—Rhonda Swanson
(’83 BA, ’90 MA, English)
Project Manager at Boeing Distribution
2010
Victor Tomanek (BS, Architecture) is the project manager for design and construction at Tishman Speyer and is a development partner for the company’s luxury retirement housing projects in Brooklyn.
2011
Rebecca Vice (MPA) is assistant city manager for the city of Allen. Vice joined the city manager’s office in 2013 and later served as organizational development and employee engagement administrator.
2012
Ricardo Leon (BS, Architecture) displayed works at Enclaces, a reception hosted by the AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture.
MaryAnn Means-Dufrene
(MPA; MS, Human Resource Management), a partner in Collective Growth, was profiled in a Fort Worth Magazine story in March ٢٠٢٠ highlighting women in leadership positions in Fort Worth.
2014
Elizabeth Bailey (BSN) is a clinical supervisor for the observation/COVID-19 unit at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland. A Naval Academy graduate, she is a former Navy helicopter pilot.
Molly Sandlin (MBA, Management) received the Great Women of Texas 2019 Legend Award from the Fort Worth Business Press. She is the founder and president of CAET Project Management Consultants LLC.
David Shilson (MPA) was selected as police chief for the city of Frisco. He has 20 years of law enforcement experience, including 17 years with the Frisco Police Department.
2015
Jimena Fraga (BA, Broadcasting), a producer for KXTX Telemundo39, was part of the team that won a Lone Star Emmy in the Morning/Daytime Newscast category.
Ángel Martínez (’83 BA, Physical Education) was inducted into the Texas Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame. Hired in 2014, he re-established the men’s and women’s tennis programs at Texas Wesleyan University, where he serves as head coach. Martínez has 31 years of coaching experience at the high school level, including 15 years at Grapevine High School and Cedar Hill High School. His high school coaching record of 638-105 includes one state, 19 district, and two area championships.
2016
Zoranna Jones (PhD, Public and Urban Administration) has been appointed as assistant dean for TCU’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Ana Larranaga (BS, Architecture) displayed works at Enclaces, a reception hosted by the AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture. Larranaga received the Public Favorite Award.
2017
Maria Martinez (MPA) is the director of neighborhood services for the city of Mesquite. She directs departments for environmental code, neighborhood vitality, housing and community services, and animal services.
Wanda Jean Streepey (MEd, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies) recently received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. An educator for 13 years, she teaches seventh-grade accelerated mathematics and serves on the instructional leadership team at Highland Park Middle School.
2018
Jehova Azucena (BA, Broadcasting) and Nathalie Palacios (BA, Broadcasting) received National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Lone Star Chapter Awards for work they did while students in UTA’s Hispanic Media Initiative.
Maria Contreras (MArch) displayed works at Enclaces, a reception hosted by the AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture.
Myriam Igoufe (PhD, Urban Planning and Public Policy) is the Dallas Housing Authority vice president of policy development and research. She led the UTA-generated North Texas Regional Housing Assessment analysis, which included 21 cities and housing authorities across the area.
2019
Juan Correa (BA, Broadcasting) and Juana Palmieri (BA, Broadcasting) received National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Lone Star Chapter Awards for work they did as students in UTA’s Hispanic Media Initiative.
Faith Geiger (BSW) was profiled in a March 2020 Fort Worth Magazine story highlighting women in leadership positions in Fort Worth. Geiger, founder of Collective Growth, is pursuing master’s degrees in social work and business administration.
Mark Harcrow (BS, Criminology and Criminal Justice) was named police chief for the Palestine, Texas, Police Department.
2020
David Rettig (EMBA, International Business) was named to Fort Worth Business Press’ annual “Forty Under Forty” list. He is mayor of Northlake, Texas, and director of accounting services at Fidelity Investments.
