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ALUMNUS
Sebastian Munoz ('15)
Former North Texas golfer and Ryan College of Business Entrepreneurship graduate Sebastian Munoz is a winner on the PGA Tour for the first time.
The 2015 North Texas alumnus held on to force a playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship with Sungjae Im on the 18th hole with a 14 1/2-foot birdie putt. Im shot a 6-under 66 on the day to hold the clubhouse lead before Munoz's birdie took him to the clubhouse at 2-under 70 in a playoff.
"I'm so excited for Sebastian Munoz," UNT head coach Brad Stracke said. "Tour winner and a class act. Amazing story. I'm proud of him."
The sudden-death playoff ended after one hole when Munoz holed a par putt after Im had missed his attempt at par. Both Munoz and Im finished the final round at 18-under par before going to the playoff.
Munoz was paired in the final group entering Sunday's final round with former North Texas teammate Carlos Ortiz, who finished the tournament tied for fourth at 16-under par after shooting a 1-under 71 on the final day.
The tournament championship for the 26-year-old Munoz means he is now fully exempt on the PGA Tour through the 2021-22 season, gains entry to The Players Championship, the Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship and nets him 500 FedEx Cup points.
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ALUMNI
Drew Springer Jr. ('88) & Drew Springer Sr. ('66)
At the capitol in Austin, situated among the photos and documents and other various to-do's on Drew Springer Jr.'s desk, sits an Eppy bobblehead. The porcelain replica of the North Texas mascot, now known as Scrappy, once belonged to his father, Drew Springer Sr.
It's just one in a long line of things -- from personality attributes to an affinity for numbers -- that the elder Springer has passed on to his son and, by extension, the rest of his brood.
"That bobblehead has always stayed on my desk, mainly because it symbolizes the spirit of North Texas," Drew Jr. says, "and the tradition that has stayed in our family."
It's a tradition that dates back to 1964, when Drew Sr. arrived at North Texas from Weatherford College with the goal of becoming an accountant. At the time, he never considered he would be the first of many in his family to call the Denton campus home. But since then, Drew Jr. -- like his father -- graduated from UNT with a degree in accounting. Drew Sr.'s other son, Mark, briefly attended, and four of his grandchildren -- including Drew Jr.'s sons Austin and Grant, along with Mark's children Hannah and Jacob -- currently attend.
The elder Springer, who owns Springer Financial Services in Weatherford, also frequently acts as an unofficial UNT recruiter, advising clients whose kids are headed to college to stop by UNT for a quick visit.
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State Farm awarded the Ryan College of Business Department of Information, Technology and Decision Sciences with $16,000 from the State Farm 2018 Enterprise Technology Priority Grant.
Funds from the award will be used to support student organizations with endeavors such as competitions, events and classroom projects. Special thanks to professors Chang Koh and Ram Dantu for putting together the winning proposal that will enhance these student experiences.
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Elizabeth Ahrens qualifies for competitive 2020 Elijah Watt Sells award
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Elizabeth Ahrens, BS/MS audit student, has qualified to receive the highly-competitive Elijah Watt Sells (EWS) award in 2020.
The EWS award is bestowed to top-achieving candidates who earn a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the CPA exam and pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt. Out of more than 86,000 candidates who take the exam each year, only roughly 105-110 candidates (less than 0.2%) qualify for the honor.
“My UNT education helped prepare me for the CPA exam by teaching me almost everything I needed to know for the test,” said Ahrens.
Ahrens also credits her accounting professors at UNT for inspiring her on her academic journey.
“All of my accounting professors have been amazing. They all have a lot of real-world experience and encouraged all of us to take the CPA exam,” explained Ahrens. “They inspired me to start my career in public accounting, because of the opportunity it creates later in your career.”
Ahrens is expected to graduate in December of this year, beginning her new role as audit associate at BKD in January of 2020.
While at UNT, Ahrens interned with two accounting firms—a summer internship with Cornwell Jackson and a spring internship with BKD, supplementing her accounting knowledge in the classroom and on the CPA exam. |
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Society of Industrial and Office Realtors Foundation awards two scholarships to UNT real estate students
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The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) Foundation awarded two of its four 2019 SIOR scholarships to Ryan College of Business students, Daniel Reed (pictured on left with President Neal Smatresk) and Andrei Prunoiu.
Both Prunoiu ('20) and Reed ('21) submitted applications for the awards, detailing their interest in the field of commercial real estate and how a SIOR scholarship would impact their career paths.
“It is very gratifying to have an organization as large as SIOR recognize my role in the UNT Real Estate Club as a worthwhile endeavor to help provide opportunities, such as this scholarship, to other students,” said Reed. “I can rest knowing that I am more financially secure for this academic year.”
UNT’s representation during the SIOR luncheon, and its reputation in the real estate field, is greatly attributed to the passionate faculty that are dedicated to student success.
“Dr. John Baen has made a significant impact on my academic career here at UNT, as his engaging intro to real estate class was what got me interested in joining the real estate club, and his unending enthusiasm for providing career opportunities to his students is truly inspiring,” said Reed.
The SIOR Foundation was established in 1962 to help give back to the commercial real estate industry through awards, scholarships, grants and programs. |
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UNT competes in ninth IANA competition
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The University of North Texas competed in the ninth Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) Intermodal EXPO Academic Challenge this past September.
Accompanied by Professor Suman Niranjan, Brantley Booe (’20), Bradley Huffman (’21), Phat Phan (’19) and Eleazar Jimenez (’20) traveled to Long Beach, California where they competed against teams from across the country.
Each participating team was tasked with analyzing traffic volumes associated with long-haul truck, international intermodal and domestic intermodal, using historical data going back as far as 2000.
UNT’s team developed a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the case’s growth rate variabilities, which provided valuable insight into intermodal transportation and the logistics industry. While UNT did not place within the top three teams this year, the students took home an inimitable experience that honed their logistics knowledge and application skills.
The team plans to submit a conference paper of their study to the 2020 South-East Decision Sciences Conference.
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President Neal Smatresk gave his annual update during UNT’s State of the University address on September 12. Highlighting the past year’s historical moments (including G. Brint and Amanda Ryan’s record-breaking gift to the college) and the university’s five-year strategic plan, Smatresk outlined his approach to enhance UNT’s footprint through collaboration and commitment.
Watch the full address by clicking the video below:
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Professor John Baen weighs in on property tax processes amid recent changes
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John Baen, UNT real estate professor, explained that property owners are often too far removed from how the process works before property tax bills get sent out.
"Most homeowners have no clue of what all they're paying," Baen said.
The property tax collected includes several different tax rates: the city, county, community college, Parkland Hospital, and any special district that applies.
The Central Appraisal District determines property values by Jan. 1 every year. The office then sends a notice out about the appraisal, which gives the owner time to appeal the valuation. The county receives the appraised valuations by the end of July. A bill gets sent out in October.
John Ames, Dallas County tax assessor collector, said despite the increases, the vast majority of property owners pay their taxes on time. In fact, property collections rose in the past few years. Less than 1.5% were delinquent on their property taxes by June, he said.
"People are paying their fair share of taxes," Ames said.
Ultimately the best way to directly lower a property tax bill is to make sure to file for exemptions, Ames said. He often sees homeowners who forget to file for their homestead exemption, which applies to any home that's a primary residence. Seniors over 65 get another tax cut.
Property owners who appeal their valuations also have a good chance of getting a reduction. Baen said 98% of people who appeal their valuations, which should be based on market value, get them reduced.
But Baen said appeals can be time-consuming. For the typical homeowners, the amount they would get back "may not be worth three days of work."
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PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES AT THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
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$10,000
GENERAL STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND
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Help break down barriers and empower our students to pursue their academic passions by making a gift to the general student scholarship fund. All donations made will be awarded to the most deserving students that apply, elevating the quality of students we not only attract, but also retain. Your gift will have tremendous implications on UNT, while instilling a legacy of opportunity for generations to come
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$5,000
STUDENT COMPETITION
Sponsoring two Ryan College of Business students to compete in one regional competition will help properly award our talented students so that their hard work and critical thinking skills are recognized and on a larger scale by being afforded the opportunity to enhance their educational development and experiences. This funding will cover all student costs for the competition, including meals, registration, air and one night hotel stay.
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$1,000
PROFESSIONAL ATTIRE
A $1,000 gift will enable the Ryan College of Business to purchase professional attire for supplementing its college suit closet. The Ryan College of Business suit closet serves as a source for students to acquire the clothes they need to succeed at their future job interviews and beyond, ensuring they have all of the resources in place for the chance to land their dream job.
Click here or the "Make a Gift" link below to learn more
and solidify your support.
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