University of North Texas 
Happy Holidays 2025! Image by Samantha Reaves, Communication Design: Graphic Design, B.F.A., Class of 2026.
Commencement adds even more joy to the holiday season for our Fall 2025 graduates!
Season's Greetings! Image by Ally Wentworth, Studio Art: Drawing & Painting, B.F.A., Class of 2026.
Welcome to the Friends of CVAD Update!
Message from Dean Hutzel
Dec. 18, 2025
Hello, Friends,
Karen Hutzel, Ph.D., Dean and Professor
This past year gave us so much to celebrate together. CVAD recently earned NASAD reaccreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design for another 10 years. This milestone reflects the talent, dedication, and care of our faculty, staff, and students, as well as the trust and support of our broader community. Because of the generosity of donors, UNT is launching the North Texas Promise Scholarships, and CVAD is launching the Take Flight Scholarships — both for incoming freshmen. These scholarships create new pathways for young artists, designers and scholars to begin their journeys at CVAD.
This month, 183 students crossed the commencement stage and became part of our ever-growing
alumni family. It is a joy to watch our graduates carry their creativity into the
world. This year also marked a moment of gratitude and reflection as we celebrated
the legacy and retirement of Doug May. His years of dedicated service as a professor of graphic design have helped shape
CVAD in lasting ways.
Looking ahead, I am excited about the ways we will continue to come together in 2026.
On March 21, CVAD Celebrates will fill the Art Building and Art Annex with exhibitions, performances, and events
that showcase the remarkable work happening across the college. I hope you will visit
us, bring a friend, and spend time with our students and faculty. This summer, our
Creative U pre-college program will welcome high school students who are just beginning to imagine
futures in art and design. It is a reminder of why this work matters. Registration
begins Jan. 15.
CVAD’s successes and initiatives reflect UNT’s new strategic plan, Look North: UNT 2030. The plan focuses on developing talent, discovering new insights, and using creativity and innovation in the service of the public good.
As the holiday season arrives, I hope you find moments of rest, joy and reflection. Thank you for being part of CVAD’s story and for walking alongside us in so many different ways. I look forward to welcoming you to campus, celebrating with you in the year ahead, and continuing this shared journey into an inspiring and impactful 2026.
Warmly,
Karen Hutzel, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
College of Visual Arts and Design
#UNTCVAD Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
As CVAD's part of the UNT System, our actions, decisions, and approaches to challenges and opportunities are guided by our shared values: Courageous Integrity, Curiosity, We Care, Better Together, and Show Your Fire!
UNT CVAD Hosts 2026 Student Art Competition & Marka27 Exhibitions
Look North 2030: Develop — Nurturing the potential of students and community members.
UNT CVAD Hosts 2026 Voertman Student Art Competition and Marka27 Exhibitions
Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez, artist, creative director, B.F.A., 2003, School of the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Voertman Student Art Competition
The UNT College of Visual Arts and Design presents the 2026 Paul Voertman Student Art Competition, juried by internationally recognized artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, alongside two exhibitions on view this spring. One exhibition showcases selected student work from the juried competition in the Cora Stafford Gallery, while the second features a solo exhibition by Marka27 in the CVAD Gallery.
Voertman Juried Student Exhibition
This exhibition presents selected student work from the 2026 Voertman Student Art Competition, juried by Marka27.
Exhibition: Feb. 3–28, 2026 | Cora Stafford Gallery, Room 100, UNT Art Building
Free | Open to the Public
Award Ceremony and Exhibition Reception: Feb. 5, 5–7 p.m.
Award presentations begin at 5:15 p.m.
Image: Quiñonez stands in front of his mural, "Soul of SW Detroit," located at 1312 Springwells Street in Southwest Detroit.
About the Juror: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is an internationally recognized visual artist whose work intersects contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion design and art activism. His practice spans painting, muralism, drawing, mixed media and large-scale public art. Marka27’s signature “Neo Indigenous” style fuses street and pop culture with Mexican and Indigenous aesthetics, centering narratives of empowerment, representation and cultural identity.
Marka27 has exhibited globally and collaborated with major brands while creating landmark public art across the U.S. He is a Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize winner (2025) and a Right of Return and Art for Justice Fellow (2023, 2024).
Website: Marka27 | Instagram: Marka_27
Exhibition: Marka27, "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá"
CVAD presents "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá" (Not From Here, Not From There), a bold new solo exhibition of painting, street art, and cultural installation by acclaimed artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez. Organized by Boston University Art Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts, and curated by internationally recognized curator Kate Fowle.
Exhibition
Jan. 27–May 1, 2026
UNT Art Building, Room 160 | 1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201 | Map & Directions
Opening Reception
Feb. 5, 5–7 p.m., CVAD Gallery, Room 160 | Free | Open to the Public
CVAD Gallery Hours
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: Noon-5 p.m. | Thursday: Noon-8 p.m. | Sunday,
Monday: Closed
Image: Quiñonez stands in front of his mural, "Soul of SW Detroit," located at 1312 Springwells Street in Southwest Detroit.
Alumni Highlights
Catch up with our alums in the spotlight — even more on our Alumni Profiles page.
Jihye Han
2021, M.F.A., Studio Art: Ceramics
Instructor in 3D Art and Ceramics, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire
Facebook: Jihye Han | Instagram: hjhalice
Website: Jihye Han
Jihye Han's work explores cultural blending through the lens of her experiences in South Korea and the United States, drawing deeply from the symbolic and vibrant imagery of Manhwa, traditional Korean folk art. This aesthetic, rooted in everyday Korean life, embraces bold colors and expressive forms, allowing her to convey a unique cultural perspective that celebrates her heritage while examining themes of home, homeland, and identity. Grounded in personal history, memory, and dreams, her work creates layered narratives that invite viewers to engage with these stories. She is driven by the belief that art can bridge cultural divides and connect people across diverse backgrounds and hopes her work contributes to this essential dialogue of shared human experience.
Allyson Hoffmann
2022, B.F.A., Interdisciplinary Art & Design Studies: Arts Management
La Grange, Texas
Instagram: Hoffmann_art
Website: Hoffmann Art
Allyson Hoffmann, a multi-media artist working primarily in oil and watercolor, was
recently honored with the Muenzenmayer Award, Studio Texas, at the 2025 juried Round
Top en Plein Air Festival in Round Top, Texas. She also earned first place in the
2024 Open Quick Draw Competition at the same festival.
Plein air painting, the practice of painting outdoors, invites spectators to see artists
at work as they respond directly to the landscape. At the Round Top festival, visitors
are encouraged to explore the area and catch glimpses of artists painting along rural
roads, sidewalks and local landmarks — often stopping to connect, ask questions and
even suggest scenes. For a few days each year, the festival transforms a 20-mile radius
around Round Top into an expansive, interactive art studio.
Hoffmann’s work has garnered regional awards and growing recognition through competitive
exhibitions. Her paintings in oil and watercolor, along with drawings in pencil and
ink, have been featured in solo and group shows and are held in corporate and private
collections across Texas and beyond. Her practice is grounded in strong formal training,
shaped through study with several accomplished professional artists.
Known for pieces that balance sensitivity and strength, Hoffmann moves fluidly between
bold, gestural marks and subtle, atmospheric transitions. Her landscapes invite viewers
into richly textured moments shaped by light, place and emotion.
The Muenzenmayer Award, established in honor of artist Ken Muenzenmayer, recognizes
excellence in acrylic painting and celebrates artists who continue to push the expressive
potential of the medium.
The UNT CVAD Studio Art M.F.A. Program: Apply today!
The UNT CVAD Department of Studio Art is now accepting applications for the Master
of Fine Arts program, which starts in Fall 2026!
Why Apply?
- Generous fellowships and financial support for all accepted students
- Your own individual studio space
- Opportunities as teaching assistants, teaching fellows, or graduate student assistants
- A collaborative and interdisciplinary environment where you’ll grow alongside fellow artists
We welcome artists exploring ceramics, drawing and painting, metalsmithing and jewelry, new media art, photography, printmaking and sculpture.
Apply by Feb. 1! Be part of an M.F.A. program that celebrates diverse practices, fosters deep studio engagement, and prepares you for a lifetime of meaningful contributions to the arts. Read more.
Save the Date for CVAD Celebrates!
Mark your calendar to join us for CVAD Celebrates on March 21, 2026!
The College of Visual Arts and Design faculty and staff invite you to a special open house and celebration of our college. With programs in visual arts, design, art history, art education, and interdisciplinary art and design studies, CVAD now has more than 2,400 students. For this annual showcase event, we welcome our friends, alumni, donors, neighbors, students, educators, family, and art aficionados everywhere to visit with faculty, staff, and students in our beautiful building. Read more.
Guest Contributor: CVAD Faculty
How to Hate AI
Christopher Meerdo, M.F.A., assistant professor, Studio Art: New Media Art and Photography
By Christopher Meerdo
Estimated reading time: 6 to 7 minutes.
One of my favorite quotes about art comes from the late Nam June Paik, the “godfather” of video art. His aphorism goes: “I use technology to hate it more
properly.”
Nothing is quite as prescient as this quip, a historical remnant from the era of subverting
the conventional televisual for performance, installation, and the readymade. Paik
practiced as an artist to rail against the arrival of the home TV, an emergent technology
that carried with it the recursivity of a hegemonic space that excluded folks like
himself: an immigrant to the U.S. originally from Korea. He strapped the TVs with
magnets, disassembled them, and installed them in perpetual screen-burning states
of staring at figures of Buddha.
I like to start my course, New Media Art Topics: Art and AI, now approaching its third
year, with this story of Nam June Paik. Although he was active in the 1960s, the lessons
for those of us interfacing with new technology are still relevant. I implore my students
(and you, the reader), through the wisdom of Paik, not to categorically reject our
moment of emerging media, that of artificial intelligence models, but to use it to
learn how to hate it more properly.
Nam June Paik, Magnet TV, 1965. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
In my course, students learn that all AI systems are simply models — files that can
be downloaded and tweaked to one’s liking. I advocate for this “local” approach to
working with the models compared to paywalled and opaque subscription-based websites.
Much like Nam June opening the back of the TV, or John Cage climbing into the piano for his Prepared Piano pieces, or Sonia Sheridan strategically pulling apart xerox machines as part of her “Generative Systems” rationale,
we are tasked with the same responsibility toward the medium of generative AI. Today,
students must learn how to train, fine-tune, and manipulate models locally, using
a command-line interface and node-based coding processes. This is how we can climb
inside the machine, to use it not as intended, to create poetry and art.
Alongside the deep-dive under-the-hood technical skill-building involved in working
with these models, we spend equal time reading, discussing, and writing about the
ethical implications of this burgeoning new media form. You may have noticed the general
existential lament creatives have towards AI through court filings and online outrage.
It is imperative to address these concerns from the outset, through an art-historical
and art-theoretical lens. I’d like to share two points that often give students a
moment of pause in our conversations concerning plagiarism and environmental harm.
1. Generative AI models are trained on billions of images. But what does this mean?
This incomprehensibly large pool of images becomes what’s known as a dataset, composed
of both images and language. For example, both a photo of an apple and the word apple
help describe the concept to the system. Images and words are translated into numbers.
The model learns the averaged relationships of all of the numbers and can approximate
new versions based on numerical patterns. Most importantly, it is impossible to summon
any original training image back out of the model. The final model file is surprisingly
small and no longer contains the original training data, only the mathematical impressions.
An AI model file is similar to our own brains: a series of pathways and relationships
that do not contain the original, only figments, mirages, and specters of reality.
2. Training and using generative AI models requires electricity (kWh) to run computers
and, at times, water to cool them. The amount of resulting atmospheric impact (CO₂e)
is dependent on the type of power station a data center is connected to. Using AI
is relative to many other human activities: commuting to work, taking a flight, eating
a hamburger, watching short-form videos, or gaming. As of this writing, all data centers
worldwide account for 1–2% of global energy consumption. These data centers are the
entire internet (websites, cloud computing, and software), of which AI is still only
a small portion (less than one-fifth). This means that one-fifth of 1–2% of global
energy consumption is attributable to AI. For comparison:
• An average four-ounce beef hamburger emits 9.73 kg CO₂e.
Generating one Stable Diffusion image ≈ 0.3 g CO₂e.
→ One hamburger = roughly 32,400 images.
• An average U.S. golf course uses ≈ 21.5 million gallons per year.
→ Equivalent to 252,941,176,470 ChatGPT LLM prompts per year.
Helping students understand the impact of AI is an essential component of university
education today. It is urgent that we provide in-depth technical knowledge of AI systems
to prepare our students for a job market increasingly saturated with these workflows.
Artwork by B.F.A. student Cynthia Clyde, Studio Art: New Media Art, from the New Media
Art AI course.
- Open, democratic technical infrastructures rather than corporate black boxes. Community-run models, transparent datasets, and public research that anyone can build on and participate in. Cooperative AI tools that augment labor rather than displacing it. Letting artists, educators, and cultural workers shape how systems function, rather than being dictated by those outside of the creative professions.
- AI used for solidarity, not surveillance: models designed to support social movements, environmental justice, translation, accessibility and community archiving.
- And lastly, artists, poets, and musicians, in the spirit of the Dadaists, must learn these systems deeply so they can question, poison, undermine, glitch, and reimagine how they might serve communities rather than perpetuate systems of inequity.
The nuance of critiquing AI comes from understanding its economic and structural implications,
not by evaluating the surface aesthetics of what it produces. We must keep Paik’s
words close: let’s learn about technology to more adequately criticize it and help
develop the world we want to live in together.
This essay was completed without the assistance of LLM models.
Editor's Note: Email your proposal to contribute an article to cvad.Information@unt.edu.
Faculty Highlights
Faculty Achievements and Research Highlights
Faculty across the College of Visual Arts and Design continue to earn national and international recognition for research, exhibitions and creative scholarship. Recent highlights reflect the breadth of CVAD’s disciplines, from art history and education to ceramics, photography, printmaking and performance-based research. Together, these achievements underscore the faculty’s ongoing impact on contemporary art, design and scholarship.
Art History Department Faculty
Faculty in the CVAD Art History program continue to shape their fields through new
scholarship, publications and international presentations. Recent work ranges from
Kelly Donahue-Wallace’s study of collaborative image-making in 18th-century Mexico to forthcoming and newly
published research by Carey Gibbons on global belief systems, illustration and ethical digital art history practices.
Faculty members Paula Lupkin, Lisa N. Owen, Heidi Strobel and Jennifer Way also advanced their areas of expertise through conference talks, essays and books
that explore subjects including Bruce Goff’s design legacy, global medieval art, the
practice of Mary Linwood and the intersections of craft, care and cultural interpretation.
Together, these achievements highlight the department’s broad intellectual reach and
its sustained impact on art historical research. Read more.
Eliza Au, assistant professor, Studio Art: Ceramics
"Squaring the Circle," Eliza Au's solo exhibition at the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, through March 1, 2026. Au
explores ornament through the built environment, ceramics and design. The exhibition
is a new site-specific installation commissioned by the Crow Museum of Asian Art that
celebrates ornament and pattern.
Andrew DeCaen, associate professor, Studio Art: Printmaking
The Dallas Drawing Invitational 6 included only six artists, including Andrew DeCaen, and his works of drawing, printmaking, and sculpture that examine the space and
time of our meals. The exhibition was held in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery this fall. DeCaen is one of 24 artists selected out of 400
submissions for "The Marks We Make," an international figurative juried exhibition.
The show is open through Jan. 17, 2026, at Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, Texas.
Design Department: Fashion Design
Fashion Design faculty are thrilled for 23 fashion design students who were invited
as guests of the Dec. 2, 2025, Pierre Cardin Fashion Show in Dallas as semi-finalists
for the coveted 2025 Pierre Cardin Young Designer Competition.
Department of Design: Interior Design
Interior Design faculty welcomed a new slate of members to the Interior Design Advisory Board — all CVAD alumni — with Adelia C. Schleusz, RID, IIDA, as the new chair.
Dornith Doherty, professor, Studio Art: Photography
The 50th Anniversary Moody Gallery exhibitions, Parts I and II, include Dornith Doherty's works, with Part II on view through Dec. 23, in Houston, Texas.
Alicia Eggert, associate professor, Studio Art: Sculpture
Alicia Eggert was selected as the juror for the Meadows Gallery 41st Annual International Exhibition,
University of Texas at Tyler. Read more in an article by "Glasstire Texas Visual Arts."
Laura Evans, associate professor, Art Education and UNT Distinguished Teaching Professor
When Laura Evans published her book, "The Atlas of Art Crime," in September 2024, she didn't expect
a message the following September to hear from the national Clue Awards that she was
a finalist for the Clue Award for Publication: Book of the Year! See the post on Instagram.
Lari Gibbons, professor, Studio Art: Printmaking
"Fiber Under Pressure," an exhibition at the Appalachian Center for Craft at Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, Tennessee, featured works by Lari Gibbons from Sept. 23 to Dec. 2, 2025, highlighting handmade paper and print techniques with
themes of nature and personal identity. Gibbons' new works were also featured at the
"Form Matters" exhibition at the Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, Ohio, and she discussed new and
traditional approaches to printmaking through innovative projects.
Ana Lopez, professor, Studio Art: Metalsmithing and Jewelry
The works of Ana M. Lopez and CVAD M.F.A. alumna Natalie Macellaio were featured in "Overlooked" in the Moudy Gallery of Texas Christian University, Sept. 18–Oct. 16, 2025.
Binod Shrestha, professor and director, CVAD Foundations
With support from the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, three UNT professors will embark on ambitious creative research projects as 2025–2026 IAA Fellows. Among them is Binod Shrestha, CVAD professor and director of the Foundations, whose project bridges performance, memory and visual art on an international stage. Shrestha will create a 30- to 60-minute theatrical production in Kathmandu, Nepal, featuring more than 40 performers and community participants. Read more.
Creative U Pre-College Summer 2026 Program
Creative U: A student and teacher are making paper, a creative and educational craft that promotes sustainability, teaches valuable science/art concepts, and offers a unique way to connect with history and create personalized, meaningful materials.
Attention, high school students, get a head start on your creative future at UNT CVAD!
A group of newly made friends in Creative U show their spirit in "Find me at CVAD" T-shirts.
Get a glimpse of college life and discover your potential in art and design!
Family of Creative U students visit the Art Building to see their students' artworks.
Look North 2030: Discover — Generating new insights and innovations across disciplines.
Creative U Returns to Inspire Young Artists, Designers and Scholars
Enrollment begins Jan. 15, 2026!
CVAD launched its first-ever summer arts program, Creative U, in 2023. This groundbreaking
program, an interdisciplinary collaboration, was a resounding success. Now, we’re
thrilled to announce that planning is underway for the 2026 session, and we invite
you to spread the word to teens or parents who could benefit from this incredible
opportunity!
Creative U offers rising high school freshmen through 2026 graduates a unique pre-college
art experience. Students will participate in activities designed by CVAD faculty,
staff, and graduate students. Each course will foster the development of emerging
artists' creative skills and vision through a variety of art and design projects and
processes.
Students can choose from week-long sessions focused on their specific areas of interest.
Each session is $225, including all supplies.
Book Arts | Fashion Design | Graphic Design | Interior Design
Metalsmithing and Jewelry | Papermaking | Photography | Printmaking
All sessions occur in CVAD’s state-of-the-art, 238,000-square-foot facility, equipped
with cutting-edge resources and technology. It’s the perfect environment to inspire
young minds and nurture their artistic potential. No prior artmaking experience is required — students from all backgrounds are encouraged
to attend and explore their creativity.
Encourage the budding artist or designer in your life to join this unique and transformative
experience. Visit the Creative U webpage to learn more and share this information. Together, we can help young creators discover
their potential and ignite their passion for art and design!
Summer Experience Week 1: June 1-5
Morning Sessions: 9 a.m.–noon
Afternoon Sessions: 1:30–4:30 p.m.
Summer Experience Week 2: June 8–12
Morning Sessions: 9 a.m.–noon
Afternoon Sessions: 1:30–4:30 p.m.
Each Session will have a minimum of eight participants.
UNT College of Visual Art and Design | Map to the UNT CVAD Art Building
1201 W. Mulberry St., Denton, TX 76201
CVAD Faculty Stepped Out of the Classroom into the Spotlight
CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition, Fall 2025, CVAD Gallery
CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition, Fall 2025, CVAD Gallery
CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition, Fall 2025, CVAD Gallery
CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition, Fall 2025, CVAD Gallery
CVAD Faculty / Teaching Juried Exhibition, Fall 2025, CVAD Gallery
Discover: Generating new insights and innovations across disciplines.
Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton, M.A., B.F.A., CVAD Galleries Curator and Director
This fall, the exhibition welcomed more than 1,200 visitors. The Oct. 23 reception
with juror Jade Powers drew more than 100 guests for an evening that paired a public
talk with lively discussion.
Powers, the Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art,
spent a full day engaging with our community. She led critiques with CVAD Foundations
students, joined faculty for lunch, conducted studio visits with all third-year M.F.A.
students, and visited the Understanding Art Museums class. She noted her admiration
for the quality of work on view and the depth of conversations she had with students,
faculty and staff.
Throughout the semester, the gallery staff, Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton, director, and Holly Hutzell, art registrar, partnered with the Studio Art Department Lecture Series to host three
artist talks — featuring Alicia Eggert, associate professor, Zak Lloyd, lecturer, and Pecha Kucha presentations by first-year M.F.A. students — adding an
important public dialogue component to the exhibition.
The exhibition also supported curricular engagement. In ART 4940: Understanding Art
Museums, students completed label-writing assignments, a LARP*-style acquisition and
engagement exercise, and visual description and close-looking activities using works
in the show. While formal reports of additional class visits were limited, the gallery
did welcome several groups, and participating faculty offered extra credit for students
who viewed the exhibition.
Thank you to everyone who supported, visited and taught with this year’s Faculty /
Teaching Juried Exhibition. Your engagement helps sustain CVAD’s commitment to showcasing
the creative excellence of our faculty and fostering meaningful connections between
teaching and practice.
*LARP: Live Action Role Playing
In Memoriam
Teel Sale
Teel Sale, an artist, writer, teacher and pioneering creative force whose career spanned national and international stages, died Nov. 3, 2025. She was known for her curiosity, wit and fearless experimentation across drawing, painting, printmaking and performance art.
"Beetle on Head of a Pin" in graphite pencil by Teel Sale, 1990.
Sale joined the UNT faculty in 1975, where she taught drawing, painting and honors courses until 1989. During her tenure, she and colleague UNT Professor Emerita Claudia Webb Betti co-authored "Drawing: A Contemporary Approach" (1980), a groundbreaking textbook that reshaped how drawing was taught in the United States. By centering emotional and spiritual meaning and presenting work from contemporary artists across cultures, the book became one of the most widely adopted drawing texts of its time. Now in its sixth edition, it continues to influence generations of artists and educators.
Born with an instinct for both art and storytelling, Sale paused her own education to begin a family, later returning to complete her bachelor’s degree and M.F.A. She and her husband, UNT Professor Emeritus Richard "Rick" Sale, Ph.D., retired English faculty member, raised three sons together, including 1984 CVAD M.F.A. alumnus Tom, a retired art professor. Her family remained a source of joy and grounding throughout her life and career.
Her legacy is preserved, in part, through the Teel Sale Collection at the University of North Texas Libraries. The physical collection includes more than 200 works on paper — from linocuts and embossed prints to drawings, collages, artist’s books and research materials — created between 1972 and 2020. A digital collection, curated from this broader archive, ensures continued access for scholars, students and admirers.
Teel Sale leaves behind a profound record of a life propelled by imagination, discovery and a belief in art’s power to shape how we see the world. Her influence endures in her work, her writing, her students and the countless viewers who found insight and laughter in her art.
Support CVAD with a Year-End Donation
Thanks to generous donor support, CVAD awarded more than $307,500 in scholarships
and fellowships this year. This holiday season, please consider contributing to the
UNT College of Visual Arts and Design.
UNT and CVAD Add New Scholarships!
NORTH TEXAS PROMISE PROGRAM
The North Texas Promise Program is a campus-based program that guarantees the full cost of tuition and fees for eligible students to be covered through a combination of federal, state, and institutional funding.
The following is the general criteria of the program.
- Texas Resident graduating from a Texas high school.
- Meet the Deadlines
- Admitted to UNT as a first-time freshman for Fall 2026 by Feb. 15, 2026.
- Completed the 2026/2027 FAFSA by Feb. 15, 2026.
- Have a total family income of $100,000 or less and financial need.
- Ranked in the Top 25% of the high school class or be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant.
CVAD TAKE FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS
CVAD is excited to announce that our donors have made it possible for CVAD to offer a new scholarship: Take Flight Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen.
To qualify: Students must be entering undergraduate freshmen in any major within the College
of Visual Arts and Design. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.75 and rank in the top 50 percent of their
high school class.
Applications are now open. The priority submission deadline for consideration is Feb.
1, 2026. Visit the Scholarships and Financial Aid and How to Apply webpages for more information.
Non-Texas residents who receive a UNT competitive scholarship of at least $1,000 for
the academic year may be eligible to pay in-state Texas resident tuition for the fall
and spring semesters and the following summer term.
Ways to Make an Impact!
Please donate art supplies, books or a monetary gift today to inspire the next generation of creatives. Visit the CVAD Giving webpage to support other areas of need. Every contribution, large or small, helps provide resources and support to creative and grateful students.
If you would like to donate, Senior Associate Dean Eric Ligon would love to connect with you. Contact him at Eric.Ligon@unt.edu or 940-565-4001.
Thank you for helping us foster creativity, innovation and a spirit of giving!
OUR STUDENTS SUCCEED BECAUSE A COMMUNITY STANDS BEHIND THEM!
On the Calendar
CVAD Upcoming Events | UNT Events Calendar | Gallery Exhibitions
Dec. 23 at noon–26, Dec. 29–Jan. 2, 2026: Winter Holiday Break — campus closed
Jan. 5–11: Art Building opens, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.
Jan. 12: Spring classes begin
Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday — campus closed
Jan. 21–Feb. 1: “Call me what you like,” group exhibition organized by Bailey Veytia, undergraduate,
Studio Art: Drawing and Painting, Paul Voertman Gallery
Jan. 27–May 1: "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá" (Not From Here, Not From There), solo exhibition by acclaimed
artist Víctor “Marka27” Quiñonez. Opening Reception: Feb. 5, 5–7 p.m., CVAD Gallery,
Room 160
March 29, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m.: CVAD Celebrates!
June 1–5: Creative U Precollege Summer Experience Week 1
June 8–12: Creative U Precollege Summer Experience Week 2
Tag us using @UNTCVAD so we can add your post to our social media stories! Be sure to follow us at #UNTCVAD.
CVAD News and Views
A publication of the CVAD Marketing Office, Administrative Affairs, Office of the
Dean
Questions, comments or suggestions? Contact us.
E: cvad.Information@unt.edu | P: 940-369-5249
Mailing address: 1155 Union Circle #305100, Denton, TX 76201
Physical address: 1201 W. Mulberry St., UNT Art Building, Room 101, Denton, TX 76203-5017