Sally Treanor, Assistant to the Director of Marketing & Recruitment

Greetings from Main Street! My name is Sally Treanor and I'm the Assistant to Brenda Fanara, the Director of Marketing & Recruitment. I'm a great source of knowledge for many details about the UCD building, scheduling, and parking information. I'm also the one who gives directions over the phone, validates garage tickets, and sells parking tokens. I'm also available to professors to proctor exams in the UCD office, suite 107.

I came to work at UCD in October of 2007, making me the newest staff memeber, and I have really enjoyed my time here so far. I'm happy to report that this blog was my brain child and so I'm greatly hoping for success in this endeavor.

I'm a graduate student at UNT, studying Library & Information Sciences. My undergraduate was completed at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, with a BA in English Literature.

I love working in Downtown Dallas and have lived in the DFW Metroplex for most of my life. I look forward to working with all of our UCD students. Please know, I'm here to help! You can contact me at 214.915.1901 or by email at sally@ucddowntown.org.

UCD Creates Blog!

The Universities Center at Dallas, in an attempt to give students quick and easy access to the latest UCD information, has decided to experiment in the world of Internet applications. We have created a blog.

It will be a way to notify students of new programs and new classes, it will be a way to give weather reports, it will even be a great way to spread news about recruiting fairs our Director of Marketing and Recruitment has attended, innovated ideas for the UCD, and the Director's occasional announcements to students and instructors alike….

We are quite excited about this experiment and hope for student, staff, and faculty participation.

Thank you.

Professor Spencer Anderson Wins Blazer Excellence Award

North Lake College employees are dedicated professionals who nurture hidden talents and abilities and who motivate and inspire excellence. It is once again that time of year when we recognize those individuals who have demonstrated Blazer excellence. We value family and community, partnerships and collaboration, innovation and agility, diversity and variety, fun and joy! These values are evidenced in the nominations, and I express my gratitude to all who submitted nominations.

The NLC nominees for 2007-2008 awards are: Christan Amundsen, Spencer Anderson, Joe Bishop, Sherry Boyd, Mona Cherri, Frank Childress, Sequetta Desgraves, Ivan Dole, George Driscoll, Lynda Edwards, David Evans, Ulanda Forbess, Sonya Hopkins, Mike Huddleston, Sharon Huston, Shawn Johnson, Dan Joutras, D'Ann Madewell, Al Matthews, Mary Ann McGuirk, Michelle Meyer, Kay Nixon, May Osborne, Brenda Parker, Dottie Phillips, Leigh Poston, Theda Redwine, Kathleen Stockmier, Denise Stone, Patricia Thompson, Shirley Thompson, Jim White, and Jeff Williams.

I extend my sincere thanks to the Committees that reviewed nominations, cast their ballots and selected the North Lake College 2007-2008 award winners. Please join me in congratulating the outstanding employees who very much deserve the honors bestowed and who ignite the spirit of excellence in us all.

Minnie Stevens Piper Nominee and Full-Time Excellence in Teaching Award--Brenda Parker, Dance Faculty, Visual and Performing Arts Center for Teaching and Learning

Excellence in Teaching for Adjunct Faculty-- Spencer Anderson, Art Appreciation Adjunct Faculty, Visual and Performing Arts Center for Teaching and Learning

Innovation of the Year Award-- The Teaching and Learning Team (TLT), Team Representative Sherry Boyd, Humanities Faculty, Visual and Performing Arts Center for Teaching and Learning

Jean Sharon Griffith Student Development Leadership Award-- Kathleen Stockmier, Director of Student Publications, North Lake College Journalism Department

Professional Support Staff Employee of the Year--Jeffrey Williams, Information Systems LAN Support Manager III, Educational and Administrative Technology

Professional Support Staff Part-time Employee of the Year-- Al Matthews, Academic Advisor for Dual Credit Students, Educational Partnerships and Student Recruitment

Administrator of the Year-- Dan Joutras, College Director, Athletics and Recreational Programming, Math/Science/Sports Sciences Center for Teaching and Learning

History of UCD

The Universities Center at Dallas (UCD) was established in 1994 as the Dallas Education Center (DEC) and is located in the former Joske’s Department Store building at 1901 Main Street in downtown Dallas. The UCD was the first Multi-Institution Teaching Center (MITC) for higher education in Texas and was established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to provide access to public higher education at the upper division and graduate levels to citizens who live, work and find it convenient to take their education in downtown Dallas. The City of Dallas, the business community, and the Alliance for Higher Education partnered to provide opportunities for such access by establishing the DEC, which became the UCD.

Enrollment steadily increased from 23 students in the summer of 1994 to 2188 students in the fall of 2000. Currently, UCD enrollment ranges each semester between 1,000 to 1,200 students. The Federation of North Texas Area Universities assumed direct operations of the DEC in the fall of 1997. The Federation is a consortium of three universities that has been in business for over 30 years. Its original membership (Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Woman’s University, and the University of North Texas) has been supplemented by four affiliate members; The University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Dallas, Midwestern State University and the Dallas Community College District (DCCCD). The Federation of North Texas Area Universities was established in 1968 to coordinate graduate programs among the three member universities and to promote inter-institutional cooperation. This is accomplished through a Federation Council, a Committee of Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Graduate Deans and numerous program committees.

In October 1997, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the Center’s request for two bachelor degrees, in addition to the MBA, that may be completed entirely downtown: a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science degree in Legal Information Management (now via distance education) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice.

In the spring of 1998, the DCCCD became the owner of the building and in the summer of 1998 the name of the Center was changed to the Universities Center at Dallas to better reflect the nature of the operation. Two additional degree programs were approved by the Coordinating Board at its October 1998 meeting including the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Science in Criminal Justice.

In the spring of 2000, the Coordinating Board approved the Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Media degree and the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree. Many additional courses and degree programs have been offered including Interdisciplinary Studies (Elementary Education), Management Information Systems, Social Work, a Master’s in Human Resource Development, a Master’s in Health Care Administration, and courses toward a Doctor of Education degree in Higher Education Administration. Additional programming includes a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Future programs and courses have been proposed in the fields of graduate Real Estate, Counseling and Accounting.

Regarding the UCD’s technical advancement, the University of North Texas installed a university computer laboratory and a two-way videoconferencing facility in the spring of 1998 to enhance the academic support services provided to students at the Center. The UCD obtained foundation grants to install two additional videoconferencing facilities in the fall of 1998 and 1999, thereby tripling the distance education capability of the Center. Texas A&M-Commerce installed a fourth distance learning facility in the fall of 1999. When the DCCCD became the proprietor of the building, it invested $1.3 million (including $500,000 from the City of Dallas) during the summer of 1998 in the refurbishing of the exterior, the ground floor, and selected classrooms of the Center, installing a language laboratory, two computer laboratories, and an executive training center. Most recently, an additional grant was obtained in 2003 to attain wireless functionality for the building and all students and faculty members.

Four out of seven floors of the building have been refurbished. The fourth floor was refurbished in the fall of 2000 at the cost of $2.8 million (including $2.5 million from the downtown TIF). The Dallas Independent School District moved into offices and classrooms in spring 2002 to house DISD staff/teacher training. In 2004, representatives from the University of North Texas System also occupied office space on the fourth floor of the UCD. Additional faculty and staff offices will be occupied in 2006 in conjunction with several of the Federation’s member institutions. Universities Center at Dallas now has expanded to six video-conference facilities and three general access computer labs. In the summer of 2006, The Hillcrest Foundation enabled the renovation of two classrooms located on the second floor with a gift of $50,000 toward furniture and equipment. Expansion will continue as programs are developed at the Center. These are exciting days for the UCD, with further program and student population growth anticipated.