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Congratulations to the following faculty members, who earned the honorary title of Emeritus in recognition of their many years of distinguished service to the University of North Texas.

Samuel Atkinson
Regents Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Science

Dr. Atkinson joined the Department of Biological Sciences as an assistant professor in 1986, rising to the rank of Regents Professor before his retirement in August 2023. He held numerous leadership roles throughout his UNT career, including serving as director of UNT’s Advanced Environmental Research Institute from 2008-2019, chairing the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health from 2002-2004, and serving as acting chair of Biological Sciences in 2007 and again from 2012 to 2014. He excelled in teaching and led UNT’s successful proposal to the THECB for a graduate program in Environmental Science. His achievements in studying human influences on the environment have been widely recognized by UNT and leading professional organizations. He earned UNT’s Decker Scholar Award in 1997, and in 2003, he was the recipient of the National Environmental Excellence Award from the National Association of Environmental Professionals. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to serve two terms on the Environmental Advisory Board for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition to elevating UNT’s national profile, he supported its flourishing research efforts through a remarkable 38 consecutive years of funding — $8.4 million in total — from prestigious organizations including NASA, EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, NSF, and the Trinity River Authority. 

Li-Fen Anny Chang
Associate Professor, College of Visual Arts and Design

For 22 years, Professor Chang was an inspiring and creative designer, teacher, and leader in fashion education at UNT. In her tenure with CVAD, she actively engaged graduate and undergraduate students in her areas of expertise: draping, couture sewing, construction, personal fitting, and patternmaking. Her mentorship was exemplary and consistent, with many of her students finding long-term career success in the fashion design industry. She regularly advised on master’s theses in the M.F.A. program and sponsored more than 200 award-winning students at national and international competitions and conferences. She has exhibited her research and scholarly creative work in more than seventy-five distinguished venues and earned more than 150 individual awards and recognitions. Professionally, Ms. Chang’s excellence in design and technical prowess have been internationally recognized by renowned industry leaders including the International Textile and Apparel Association, the Bridge for Emerging Contemporary Art, and Queen Sirikit Institute of Thailand Sericulture in Bangkok. Her legacy, leadership, and creative contributions can be seen not only in the continued growth and success of UNT’s fashion design program, but throughout the College of Visual Arts and Design. Ms. Chang retired in August 2022.

Shobhana Chelliah
Distinguished Research Professor and Associate Dean, College of Information

Dr. Chelliah retired from UNT as associate dean of research and development in December 2022 after 26 years of service. A remarkably productive scholar-educator in the Department of Linguistics, she published several monographs and edited volumes and approximately 50 articles and book chapters. This is particularly impressive given that the subject of her scholarship — endangered languages in remote areas of South Asia — requires extensive, time-consuming fieldwork. In addition to her traditional scholarship, Dr. Chelliah established a digital archive called the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages (CoRSAL), which collects multimedia materials on low-resource languages from scholars around the world and makes them freely available to scholars and native speaker communities. Her record of outstanding scholarship earned her the designation of Distinguished Research Professor in 2020. Dr. Chelliah also excelled in teaching and was highly rated among undergraduate and graduate students alike, serving as advisor and committee member for many master’s and doctoral students. She secured numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and other national agencies, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies. From 2012 to 2015, she served as program director for the Endangered Languages Program at the NSF. 

Randall Cox
Clinical Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Cox directed UNT’s Psychology Clinic and served as a clinical professor in the Department of Psychology for more than 25 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UNT in 1994 and worked as a staff psychologist for the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center before returning to UNT as a faculty member in 1997. Dr. Cox dedicated his career to training hundreds of future clinical and counseling psychologists as well as providing and supervising vital services to the most vulnerable members of the Denton and North Texas communities. Under his strategic and visionary leadership, the once-struggling UNT Psychology Clinic grew into one of the largest and most-respected training clinics in the country. Dr. Cox served as interim director of clinical training for UNT’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program from 2008 to 2010 and as associate chair from 2010 to 2020. At the national level, he was a two-term member of the Commission on Accreditation for the American Psychological Association, co-chaired the Committee on Diversity Training Issues in the Association of Psychology Training Clinics (APTC) for more than a decade, and received the APTC’s prestigious Jean Spruill Achievement Award.

Rebecca Dickstein
Professor, College of Science

Dr. Dickstein served UNT’s Department of Biological Sciences for 22 years before retiring in October 2022, opting for modified service. A leading biochemist, Dr. Dickstein joined UNT in 2000 as a tenured associate professor. Her arrival added a new area of biological research in nodulation to UNT’s Biochemistry program. Over the years, with funding from the NSF, her research resulted in more than 40 publications and one patent. She also contributed to research infrastructure development at UNT via her involvement in Major Research Instrumentation grant submissions to the NSF. Dr. Dickstein was one of the founding members of the Plant Signaling Cluster, which morphed into the BioDiscovery Institute in 2015. She was a tough but beloved teacher who spent hours writing recommendation letters and mentoring graduates and undergraduates. She received numerous awards at UNT, including the Teacher Scholar Award and the UNT McNair Scholars Program Outstanding Service Award. In 2021, she was honored by the Native Plant Society of Texas with a State Board of Appreciation recognition for her advocacy of native plants. Her service at UNT included co-chairing the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women and serving as vice chair and chair of the Personnel Affairs Committee in UNT’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Bonnie Friedman
Associate Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Professor Friedman was already an accomplished writer when she joined UNT in 2008, having published — among other notable works — a hugely influential book on the writing process, Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction, and Other Dilemmas in the Writer’s Life. At UNT, she continued to publish numerous essays and short stories in top venues. She also wrote Surrendering Oz: A Life in Essays, a well-reviewed memoir that formed the cornerstone of her application for tenure in 2014. Professor Friedman was on target for another promotion when she decided to retire in 2020. In addition to being a respected and successful writer, she also was a terrific teacher, evidenced by outstanding SPOT scores and enthusiastic praise from students. The department honored her work in the classroom with the David Kesterson Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in 2015, and she was the 2020 recipient of UNT’s Creative Impact Award, which is given to a faculty member whose publications, performances, or exhibitions in the literary or creative arts have had the greatest social impact. Her new novel has been acquired by the prestigious English publishers Etruscan Editions and is forthcoming in spring 2025.

Kamakshi Gopal
Professor, College of Health and Public Service

Dr. Gopal dedicated 30 years to UNT’s Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, serving with the highest level of commitment to research, service, and teaching. When she began as an assistant professor in 1993, she expanded the audiology clinic to offer the fitting and dispensing of hearing aids and hired the first full-time dispensing audiologist to grow the patient base and clinical revenue. She also garnered funding to purchase important equipment to conduct objective test measures, laying the foundation for the busy and successful clinic which now serves the community and provides clinical practicum experiences for UNT students. Long before it was standard practice, Dr. Gopal enhanced her courses with laboratory components to provide her students with authentic, hands-on learning experiences that would prepare them for career success. She served as a major advisor or dissertation committee member for 49 doctoral students, many of whom contributed directly to UNT’s classification as a Tier One research institution. She served as department chair for the last six years of her career, with notable achievements in mentoring junior faculty, securing the department’s reaccreditation, and building a program lauded for its clinical strengths. Dr. Gopal retired in August 2023 and will continue to work with the department in a modified service capacity.

Bharath Josiam
Professor, College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism

Dr. Josiam served UNT’s Department of Hospitality, Events and Tourism Management for 21 years. He demonstrated excellence in all areas of academia — teaching, research, service, and outreach — and was committed to growing the positive reputation of his department and UNT. A dedicated educator and internationally renowned researcher, Dr. Josiam enhanced UNT’s reputation across the globe with high-impact papers in interdisciplinary and multi-national projects examining consumer behavior in hospitality, tourism, and education. He published 68 articles in peer-reviewed journals, presented more than 100 papers at international conferences, and was frequently invited to give keynote lectures, review dossiers, and serve on committees for professional organizations. His years at UNT were marked by thoughtful leadership, mentorship, and collaboration on research projects with students, faculty, and scholars worldwide. He also made strong contributions to the academic community as a reviewer for conferences, journals, and doctoral dissertations. His passion for his classes, his students, and his field were evident every day. Dr. Josiam retired in 2023 but continues to collaborate on research projects with students and faculty, publishing in journals to ensure that their efforts are recognized.

Marijn Kaplan
Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Dr. Kaplan joined UNT as an assistant professor of French in 2002, rising to the rank of associate professor with tenure in 2008 before becoming a professor in 2014. An internationally recognized scholar and researcher in 17th- and 18th-century French literature, Dr. Kaplan published a 2020 monograph with the peer-reviewed academic publisher Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, the only faculty member in her department to do so since 2015, as well as four scholarly editions. She presented her research at 33 conferences around the world, often in a leadership role or as an invited speaker. She also made significant contributions as an educator, teaching 11 different undergraduate courses and five graduate courses, serving on 15 thesis committees, and directing two master’s theses. Her tenure as department chair from 2015 to 2023 was marked by numerous successes, including the addition of American Sign Language and Korean, the reinstatement of Latin, the creation of UNT’s ultra-popular major in Japanese, and the four-time acquisition of the biggest grant in department history — the $90,000 StarTalk grant from the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Kaplan retired in August 2023 and continues her work as a scholar and journal editor.

Daniel Kunz
Professor, College of Science

Dr. Kunz joined UNT as an associate professor in 1987, bringing a wealth of industrial experience at a time when UNT was pushing for increased research activity. He was promoted to professor in 1999. For more than 20 years, Dr. Kunz’s research in cyanide assimilation in bacteria, funded by the NSF and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, has resulted in more than 25 publications, two patents, several presentations at conferences, and 12 successful master’s and doctoral mentees. He also participated in collaborative work addressing the impact of urbanization on water quality in the Trinity River watershed, a project that was funded by the EPA. Dr. Kunz taught numerous courses and provided invaluable research opportunities for undergraduate students, nurturing the next generation of aspiring scientists and researchers. He also provided substantial service to the department and the university, serving as the chair of the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the graduate advisor for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program, and a member of department PACs, promotion and tenure committees, and various faculty search committees. At the university level, he served on UNT’s Institutional Biosafety Committee, Intellectual Property Disclosure Committee, Faculty Workload Committee, and Animal Care Committee. Dr. Kunz retired in XXX 2023.

Melinda Levin
Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

In addition to being a respected documentary filmmaker, Melinda Levin was an accomplished professor of Media Arts at UNT for 27 years. Professor Levin was integral to the creation of UNT’s M.F.A. program in Documentary Production and served as its director for many years, mentoring and providing thesis direction for countless M.F.A. students. She served as chair of the Department of RTVF from 2007 to 2011 and has chaired or served on almost every committee in the department. She is president of the University Film and Video Association. She also co-authored the book POST: The Theory and Technique of Digital, Nonlinear Motion Picture Editing. More recently, she earned a competitive fellowship from the MIT Enterprise Forum in support of her work to design web applications for next-generation location-based reporting and storytelling. Professor Levin has produced, directed, edited, and photographed documentaries around the world, and her works have been screened on PBS and at film festivals, the Museum of Modern Art, and multiple U.S. Embassies. As part of her commitment to global outreach, consulted for NATO on their Science for Peace and Security series and served on the U.S. Department of State’s Speakers Bureau, traveling to northern Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Janelle Mathis
Professor, College of Education

Dr. Mathis joined UNT in 1997 and was a professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration from 2016 until her retirement in 2023. She taught undergraduate courses in literacy and literature as well as doctoral courses, chairing 18 doctoral student committees and serving on numerous other committees. Her research on children’s and adolescent literature and its global impact in areas such as reader response, critical literacy, and sociocultural identities was recognized internationally. Dr. Mathis was selected to serve on six major children’s literature award committees and co-authored two books on critical content analysis that are widely used by scholars to support their work in children’s literature. Her work spanned national and global venues through conferences, published articles, and book chapters. Additionally, she served as president of both the Children’s Literature Special Interest Group and the United States Board on Books for Young People. Dr. Mathis was asked to serve on the Initial Editorial Board for Libri and Liberi, a Croatian research journal on children’s literature that is highly respected in European venues. In addition to representing UNT in her children’s literature engagements, she also served in many roles with the Literacy Research Association, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing lifespan literacies in a multicultural and multilingual world.

Dan Peak
Professor, G. Brint Ryan College of Business

A UNT alum, Dr. Peak joined the faculty in the Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences in 2001 and was promoted to the rank of professor in 2017. His research is characterized by a spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty and doctoral students, with an extensive publication record including conference proceedings, book chapters, and more than 70 articles in top industry journals. Dr. Peak has taught a variety of courses at undergraduate and graduate levels in addition to numerous directed studies courses for undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. He has supervised several doctoral students and served on more than 25 dissertation committees. His introductory business communications course has earned a reputation among RCOB students as one of the most enjoyable and impactful classes at UNT. In 2013, Dr. Peak received the 2013 College of Business Teaching Innovation Award. He has remained an active leader at both the university and college levels, serving on the UNT Faculty Senate, the Senate Executive Committee, the UNT Graduate Council and the Union Advisory Board. He also served as the director of the UNT Innovation Think Tank and as the faculty advisor for the RCOB Professional Leadership Program. 

Nancy Spears
Professor, G. Brint Ryan College of Business

Dr. Spears’ 22 years in the Department of Marketing were characterized by servant leadership and a deep commitment to student success. She was a McNair Scholars mentor and supervised two Honors College theses, chaired eight successful doctoral dissertations and served on 15 doctoral committees. In 2005 she was recognized with the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Council of Business Students. Her Ph.D. students have earned placements in prestigious schools around the world. Widely recognized as an expert in advertising and consumer behavior, Dr. Spears has elevated UNT’s research profile through her prolific scholarship, authoring a total of 53 peer-reviewed articles — the majority of which focused on advertising, consumer decision making, and behavior and branding — and delivering more than 42 presentations at national and international conferences. Dr. Spears has been recognized nationally and internationally for contributions to the body of thought in the field of advertising. In 2008, she was rated 16th out of 1,566 authors in terms of contributions to the industry’s top three journals: Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. 

Murali Varanasi
Professor, College of Engineering

Dr. Varanasi joined UNT in 2004 as the founding chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Drawing upon his extensive experience, he devoted tremendous effort to establish and nurture the nascent department and elevate UNT’s rapidly growing College of Engineering. Dr. Varanasi’s visionary leadership guided various initiatives, from recruiting talented faculty and crafting an innovative, project-oriented curriculum to designing state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories. He cultivated a robust research team that excels in diverse areas and industrial applications while grounding the department in basic theory and engineering practices. This vision was supported by the new curriculum and grants from the National Science Foundation, including “A Project and Design-Oriented Electrical Engineering Curriculum,” for which he served as co-PI, and the Center for Wireless Sensor Networks, a Research Experience for Teachers program he led as principal investigator. Dr. Varanasi is a fellow of the premier professional organization in his field, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — a distinct recognition as IEEE has a stricter review process for fellow nominees than most professional engineering organizations. He also received the Richard E. Merwin Distinguished Service Award and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal. 

MaryAnn Venner 
Associate Dean , UNT Libraries

MaryAnn Venner served as a librarian at UNT for 22 years. The broad expanse of the Libraries’ services as seen today was greatly defined by her work and influence. As associate dean for public services — a role she held for seven years — Ms. Venner was assiduous in her work to serve our university’s communities, bringing information about UNT’s collections and services to students, staff and faculty and improving access to the resources they need to support their learning, teaching and research. She was instrumental in moving the opening hours of Willis Library to 24/7, improving accessibility for students with disabilities, creating a series of study periods and seminars for graduate students working on their dissertations; providing book delivery to faculty offices, improving UNT’s interlibrary loan system, and removing a system of prohibitively expensive fines for overdue materials. In her last two years at UNT, Ms. Venner was deeply involved with the Frisco Program Planning Committee, and her influence can be found in every detail of Frisco Landing’s beautiful, efficient library and complementary makerspace. She mentored dozens of public services librarians during her career and always prioritized the student experience.