University of North Texas 
Division News
Division of Finance & Administration News
Each week, we highlight the work being done in our departments or the people who work hard for UNT. We appreciate the efforts our staff members make that support UNT and make it a great place to learn and work!
Fall 2026 news items
Ready for their close up: Parking and Facilities help with commercial In August, DoorDash was in Denton and on the UNT campus to film two commercials, one
with LSU football coach Lane Kiffin and another with NFL great Reggie Bush.
Two of our departments helped with coordination during the filming on campus. Transportation Services Event Support Coordinator Nahal Mirzaie assisted in finding places to park vehicles for the film crew. Director of Facilities Peter Palacios, Senior Facilities Maintenance Manager Kelly Frailey and Grounds Crew Leader Jeremy Mills watched over Lane Kiffin’s part of the commercial, which involved a background that showed toilet-papered trees on the edge of campus near Fry Street. The Grounds team was able to ensure that trees were properly taken care of and looked their best.
Two of our departments helped with coordination during the filming on campus. Transportation Services Event Support Coordinator Nahal Mirzaie assisted in finding places to park vehicles for the film crew. Director of Facilities Peter Palacios, Senior Facilities Maintenance Manager Kelly Frailey and Grounds Crew Leader Jeremy Mills watched over Lane Kiffin’s part of the commercial, which involved a background that showed toilet-papered trees on the edge of campus near Fry Street. The Grounds team was able to ensure that trees were properly taken care of and looked their best.
The commercial, called "Don't Fan for Free" is available for viewing on YouTube and
fans can spot many Denton and UNT landmarks in the background. It's on YouTube at
this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVgzhHj6CDM.
Updated Aug. 31, 2026
Leadership team hits the road to explore Denton A couple of years ago, our division leadership team and Vice President Clayton Gibson
started an annual tradition to take their monthly meeting outside of UNT to explore
other areas around Denton.
The team has been to the Denton Airport, to the Denton Police Department, and recently to the Denton County Courts Building.
With so much that Denton has to offer, the team looks forward to getting to know Denton
more thoroughly through tours and making connections with those who work at the city,
the county and in private industry. Planning for the success of UNT includes having
a greater understanding of our community.
Updated Aug. 24, 2026
Expanding the UNT One Stop to Discovery Park The Facilities department has been hard at work all summer long to help identify a
space at the Discovery Park campus for the UNT One Stop expansion.
UNT One Stop is a centralized unit that allows students to find information and receive guidance
for admissions, financial aid/scholarships, registration, academic records, student
accounting and student money management questions.
Currently, the One Stop is housed on the main Denton campus in the Eagle Student Services
Center (ESSC). Now, with plans to expand to an office at Discovery Park, the Division
of Enrollment used Facilities to identify the correct space for a satellite location.
Facilities staff, including Kim Nguyen, Neely Shirey, student intern Kathryn Boling,
Madison Lam and (not pictured) Teresa Rogers all worked on securing the space and
designing the satellite office.
Updated Aug. 17, 2026
Summer 2026 news items
UNT Police Department participates in Tip a Cop On July 23, members of the UNT Police Department joined the City of Denton Police
Department, Denton County Sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies at a
local Tip-A-Cop event.
The Tip-A-Cop event is a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics of Texas. The event happens for one night only, typically in the summer, across the state
with several law enforcement agencies participating by greeting restaurant visitors
and helping with some service duties.
Our officers want to thank everyone who stopped by, said hello, and helped make it
a great evening. As a small community police department made up of about 50% UNT alumni,
our officers always appreciate the opportunity to connect with the community.
Updated Aug. 10, 2026
Kudos to Facilities electrical team for campus support
Facilities recently received praise from Chris Foster, Associate Vice President for
Student
Accounting, the Division of Enrollment.
“Jeff Moralde and Jon Shaw responded quickly and courteously to our needs, even when they changed. Their support means that our team can provide a new service delivery model in advance of the start of fall semester,” Foster said.
He finished by adding: “We are grateful for all the work done by Facilities staff because it helps us deliver services to students.”
Accounting, the Division of Enrollment.
“Jeff Moralde and Jon Shaw responded quickly and courteously to our needs, even when they changed. Their support means that our team can provide a new service delivery model in advance of the start of fall semester,” Foster said.
He finished by adding: “We are grateful for all the work done by Facilities staff because it helps us deliver services to students.”
Jeff and Jon worked to revise some new electrical plans for one of the student-service
offices, pivoting and being flexible even though time was short. They did this because
it was an important need from one of their customers and shows the spirit of the "We Care" UNT Value.
Updated Aug. 3, 2026
UNT Police and Student Affairs partners receive teamwork award The UNT Police Department’s Crisis Response Team received one of the first Look North
Outstanding Team Awards at the June 10 Staff Lunch with President Keller. What started
as an idea in the department to help them manage mental health crisis calls has grown
to include a full-time counselor with the Division of Student Affairs who accompanies
officers on these calls. The goal is to first get the person undergoing a mental health
crisis the help they need and prevent them from going directly to jail if other, appropriate
help can be found.
Other areas/teams from our division were nominated:
• Facilities staff who have worked with student employees and students in various programs by helping them learn about real-world situations and even having them problem-solve alongside our staff.
Other areas/teams from our division were nominated:
• Facilities staff who have worked with student employees and students in various programs by helping them learn about real-world situations and even having them problem-solve alongside our staff.
• Transportation Services' Customer Service and Data played a transformative role
in improving parking and permit operations that directly support student success by
allowing students to transfer their permit price to their bill so that they do not
have to pay the upfront cost of parking on their first day of classes.
• The Event Safety Committee, which includes members from the UNT Police Department and other areas. This committee discusses events with campus community members hoping to act as hosts, walks them through what is needed and what safety rules to follow before the event.
• The Event Safety Committee, which includes members from the UNT Police Department and other areas. This committee discusses events with campus community members hoping to act as hosts, walks them through what is needed and what safety rules to follow before the event.
Updated July 27, 2026
Transportation Services expands Lot 40 for student commuters
This summer, Transportation Services more than doubled parking in Lot 40, a student
commuter lot next to the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life along Welch Street.
The lot now has 498 parking spaces in a prime location on the east side of campus.
The lot was able to be expanded by removing an empty field.
Parking permits are now on sale for all students, faculty and staff members! Visit
unt.aimsparking.com to log in and purchase your 2026-27 permit. New this year, there
will be no physical permit. Transportation Services will “read” license plates with
cameras that verify your permit. If you have multiple cars, you can list them all
in the permit portal without having to move the sticker between them (one car parked
at a time). The 2025-26 parking permits expire Aug. 16.
Updated article from July 20, 2026.
Risk Management program provided support for FIFA World Cup games FIFA World Cup games and activities took over the news all summer – and UNT had a
role to play in the fun!
UNT was designated as an official 2026 Base Camp.
In Risk Management Services, the Emergency Management and Safety Services team worked with the State of Texas Disaster District Emergency Operations Center to represent colleges and universities; sharing information and working with regional partners to keep our community safe.
Huge events like FIFA bring people together from all over the world.
UNT was designated as an official 2026 Base Camp.
In Risk Management Services, the Emergency Management and Safety Services team worked with the State of Texas Disaster District Emergency Operations Center to represent colleges and universities; sharing information and working with regional partners to keep our community safe.
Huge events like FIFA bring people together from all over the world.
It takes strong teamwork behind the scenes to make sure these events are safe and
successful, and we were happy to be a part of it!
Updated article from July 20, 2026.
Facilities electrician saves UNT nearly $30,000 with self-designed spill kits Facilities Electrician Lou Passantino, shown at left, makes a habit of asking the
right questions when he sees a quote or needs to make a purchase. During one regular
day at work, Lou was asked to get quotes for generator spill kits. These yellow bins
hold materials to help address diesel fuel spills and prevent them from becoming a
hazard.
When Lou priced out pre-made spill kits they were about $1,900 each. That number seemed high to Lou. Working with Trey Wilson in Facilities Stores, Lou was able to get materials to make his own spill kits, at a cost of about $322 each.
Lou’s work helped save UNT $27,000 for the 17 spill kits needed. He used coconut-based absorbent materials that are better for the environment than kitty litter and more effective because it can absorb 15 times more spillage than kitty litter. His work on this project has significant meaning for UNT and is a great example of living our UNT Values.
When Lou priced out pre-made spill kits they were about $1,900 each. That number seemed high to Lou. Working with Trey Wilson in Facilities Stores, Lou was able to get materials to make his own spill kits, at a cost of about $322 each.
Lou’s work helped save UNT $27,000 for the 17 spill kits needed. He used coconut-based absorbent materials that are better for the environment than kitty litter and more effective because it can absorb 15 times more spillage than kitty litter. His work on this project has significant meaning for UNT and is a great example of living our UNT Values.
Updated article from June 1, 2026.
Top Gallup supervisors recognized -- including a perfect score! In May, we recognized our top managers who received excellent scores as part of the
annual Gallup survey.
Assistant Chancellor and Chief HR Officer Alayne Sewick and VP Clayton Gibson presented an award to UNT Police Department's Sgt. Riley Dixon, who made history at UNT by being one of two managers on our campus to receive a perfect 5.00 Gallup score.
Assistant Chancellor and Chief HR Officer Alayne Sewick and VP Clayton Gibson presented an award to UNT Police Department's Sgt. Riley Dixon, who made history at UNT by being one of two managers on our campus to receive a perfect 5.00 Gallup score.
Notably, Sgt. Zane Hagar received the second-highest score for all managers in our
division with a 4.92.
At our annual division meeting, we also recognized other top-performing managers: Custodial Services Supervisor Minerva Morales; Associate Director for Parking Nikki Sparks; Electrical Supervisor Andy Merritt; Assistant Director for Facilities Kathy Neira; Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Polk; Senior Facilities Planning Manager Kim Nguyen; Senior Director for Facilities Hilary Liscano; Director of Asset Management Jimmy Grounds; Director of Environmental Health and Safety Chris Erickson; Police Investigations Unit Lt. Chris Boesch; and Facilities Maintenance Manager Ricky Carney.
Their efforts give their teams support, motivation, proper guidance and show the importance of great leadership across UNT.
At our annual division meeting, we also recognized other top-performing managers: Custodial Services Supervisor Minerva Morales; Associate Director for Parking Nikki Sparks; Electrical Supervisor Andy Merritt; Assistant Director for Facilities Kathy Neira; Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Polk; Senior Facilities Planning Manager Kim Nguyen; Senior Director for Facilities Hilary Liscano; Director of Asset Management Jimmy Grounds; Director of Environmental Health and Safety Chris Erickson; Police Investigations Unit Lt. Chris Boesch; and Facilities Maintenance Manager Ricky Carney.
Their efforts give their teams support, motivation, proper guidance and show the importance of great leadership across UNT.
Updated article from June 1, 2026.
Texas Municipal Clerks Association director receives award In March 2026, Texas Municipal Clerks Association Administrative Director Miriam Sheehan,
pictured at left, received the Award of Excellence from the Dallas Fort Worth Association
Executives, the largest professional society in North Texas serving association professionals
and industry partners.
This recognition highlights the strength of TMCA’s leadership and its influence within
the association community.
TMCA oversees the education and accreditation of municipal clerks from throughout
the state of Texas. TMCA operates as a department of UNT, with a partnership focused
on education and professional development that dates back to 1967. Through UNT, the
Texas Municipal Clerks Certification Program has grown into one of the oldest programs
of its kind in the nation.
Visit their website for more information: https://municlerks.unt.edu/index.html.
Updated article from May 1, 2026.
UNT Budget staff gets tour of new Science & Technology building The University Budget Office staff received a tour of UNT's new Science & Technology
building during the spring 2026 semester. Many times our staff members play a role
in bringing ideas to fruition but they don't get to see an up-close view of how the
end product happens. This tour allowed them to get a better idea of how the building
is progressing and showed the budget staff how their assistance with funding and budgeting
makes big projects such as this possible.
The building, paid for with bonds approved by the state in 2021, will have more modern
research facilities. It will support biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, physics,
data science, computer science and engineering programs.
More information about the project is here: https://research.unt.edu/unt-science-and-technology-building.html
UNT Facilities is also tracking any road/sidewalk closures. Be sure to follow their
Construction Report page for updates on this project and others on or near UNT's campus:
https://facilities.unt.edu/construction/construction-report.html.
Updated article from May 1, 2026.