Each year, our amazing staff members work hard to make the UNT community better. News media stories that showcase their dedicated efforts can be found here. Click here for the previous year's archive of news media stories.

Read below for the stories from the 2024-25 academic year.

black lab puppy sitting on a wood floorUNT Police Department's new community service K-9

A new type of K-9 is coming to work with the UNT Police Department. Coming to UNT as a puppy in mid-September, she is a black lab who was chosen for her friendly and calming nature. Her work will be very differt from that of explosives detection K-9 Watson (see below for news coverage on him).

The puppy, who will be named via an open vote from a list of 5 names that the police department liked, will be used by the department's community engagement team. She will be available for UNT community members to visit and interact with during events such as Coffee with Cops, campus presentations, UNT Police Department open house events and more. She will also be available to comfort victims of traumatic crimes who may be more relaxed and able to open up with her in their presence.

Community Engagement Cpl. David Causey will be her handler. Her name will be announced at the Sept. 7 UNT home football game at DATCU Stadium.

Officer Cioffi walking with K9 WatsonMeet K-9 Watson, new to the UNT Police Department

The UNT Police Department retired explosives detection K-9 Keegan in May 2024. With such an important role -- safety checks at UNT home football games and major events on campus, meeting the public and patrolling campus, being on-call to assist other law enforcement agencies -- the department knew they needed to find another K-9 to fill the role.

In June 2024, Ofc. Cioffi was assigned as the next K-9 handler and spent several weeks training with the department's new explosives detection K-9, Watson. Watson is trained in Vapor Wake detection. Rather than wait to be told to search, he is always "on," moving continuously to detect scent.

K-9 Watson has a very calm and friendly demeanor. When he's on duty, he will wear a vest alerting folks to not disturb him while he works. But, there will also be times when he can interact with the community -- he loves giving kisses and smiling at everyone.

items from the Wild Women's time capsule laid out in a gridWild Women of Clark Hall

In 1982, the self-proclaimed "Wild Women" were a group of friends who lived in Clark Hall while attending UNT. They gathered on campus for a reunion during Homecoming 1992 and, to commemorate the occasion, put some sentimental items into a storage bin which they then buried near Clark Hall.

On July 10, 2024, a UNT Facilities work crew was repairing a sanitary waste pipe when they discovered the bin. The items in the bin were dirty and worn from years of being underground, but the inscription  was still intact. A post on social media led to the discovery of the Wild Women and items from the bin have been archived by UNT Libraries.

Please note: UNT does not recommend burying your own time capsules. With the growth our campus is experiencing, digging on the grounds may disrupt utility lines. We do, however, encourage life-long friendships with those you meet while attending UNT!