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News: 2026

Dr. Kelcie Slaton and Dr. Annette Becker

UNT Special Collections 2026 Research Fellowship Awardee - Dr. Kelcie Slaton and Dr. Annette Becker

Dr. Kelcie Slaton is an Assistant Professor in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality. Annette Becker is Director of the Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas UNT Special Collections 2026 Research Fellowship Awardees Dr. Kelcie Slaton and Dr. Annette Becker Project Title Remembering Fortnight: Oral Histories of Luxury, Culture, and Identity in Neiman Marcus Retail Spectacle Project Description This project documents and analyzes the lived experiences of individuals who attended Neiman Marcus Fortnight events, iconic retail spectacles that blended fashion, culture, and luxury in mid-20th-century Dallas. Using oral history interviews alongside archival materials from UNT Special Collections, the study explores how these events shaped consumer perceptions of luxury, cultural identity, and social meaning. By integrating memory with material archives, the project advances scholarship on retail as a cultural institution and preserves narratives at risk of being lost. Biography Dr. Kelcie Slaton is an Assistant Professor in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality, and Tourism at the University of North Texas, specializing in luxury retailing, consumer behavior, and digital retail strategy. She holds a Ph.D. in Apparel Merchandising and Design from Iowa State University and has industry experience with Neiman Marcus Group, informing her research on luxury consumption and retail innovation. Her scholarship has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Retailing, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, and Sustainability, with her recent work featured as a cover article in the Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research. Dr. Slaton’s research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to examine evolving consumer experiences across physical and digital retail environments. Annette Becker is Director of the Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas and a scholar of fashion history, material culture, and oral history. She earned her Ph.D. in History from UNT, with expertise spanning American fashion, museum studies, and digital history. Becker has curated numerous exhibitions, including projects on Neiman Marcus and the cultural history of fashion, and has conducted and archived oral histories within UNT Special Collections. Her work has been published in journals and edited volumes focused on fashion and cultural production, and she is an active presenter in academic and public history forums. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
Posted: 05/10/2026
ToniAnn Treviño

UNT Special Collections 2026 Research Fellowship Awardee - ToniAnn Treviño

ToniAnn Treviño is an assistant professor of history at the University of North Texas, where she also serves as associate director of undergraduate studies for the Department of History. UNT Special Collections 2026 Research Fellowship Awardee ToniAnn Treviño Project Title Book Chapter: “We Try to Be Good Neighbors: Battles for Community-Based Treatment in a Model City.” Project Description With generous support from UNT Special Collections, Treviño will conduct archival research to develop her book chapter, “We Try to Be Good Neighbors: Battles for Community-Based Treatment in a Model City.” This chapter reveals how ethnic Mexicans in San Antonio, Texas navigated burgeoning resources for drug rehabilitation throughout the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, connecting the emergence of community-based drug rehabilitation modalities in the city’s Mexican neighborhoods to Great Society programs. This research will utilize the Model Cities Program Records (1966-1974) at UNT Special Collections to meticulously trace how San Antonio’s drug treatment modalities developed amid critical federal and state policy transformations. Biography ToniAnn Treviño is an assistant professor of history at the University of North Texas, where she also serves as associate director of undergraduate studies for the Department of History. She is a scholar of Mexican American history, with a focus on the war on drugs, urban history, and policing in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. With funding from UNT Special Collections, Treviño will conduct research to complete her first book, San Antonio After Sundown: The Long War on Drugs and Envisioning Rehabilitation in Mexican Neighborhoods. This historical monograph examines how ethnic Mexicans in San Antonio, Texas experienced overlapping anti-narcotics crusades and crafted community-based responses to drug policing through religious, medical, and social institutions between 1945 and 1979. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
Posted: 05/10/2026
Music Collections

Music Library Announces Two New Collections

Two New Collections: The UNT Music Library is excited to announce two new collections that are being added to the library every week. Two New Collections: The UNT Music Library is excited to announce two new collections that are being added to the library every week: The Chart Library collection features high quality scans of unpublished sheet music from the College of Music’s archive. These jazz big band arrangement hail from previous College of Music alumni and can be found on the digital library to any and all researchers. So far, we have 35 charts available with hundreds more to be added in the coming weeks. The Patch Boy collection features recordings of live music performances that took place in Texas between the 1970’s and 2000’s, with acts that span from local punk bands to early performances of now internationally recognized musicians. This collection is seeing new additions to the Digital Library every week, so please check back often and see what has been added. music_collection_highlight
Posted: 04/29/2026
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Artist Lecture: Cressandra Thibodeaux

The Cathy N. Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment, the UNT Libraries Special Collections Department, and the Department of Studio Art, Photography Area are pleased to present a lecture by Cressandra Thibodeaux: Native Stories on Social Issues The Cathy N. Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment, the UNT Libraries Special Collections Department, and the Department of Studio Art, Photography Area are pleased to present a lecture by Cressandra Thibodeaux: Native Stories on Social Issues This lecture will take place in room 250H in the Willis Library on the UNT Denton campus. The Cathy N. Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment, the UNT Libraries Special Collections Department, and the Department of Studio Art, Photography Area are pleased to present a lecture by Cressandra Thibodeaux. Her current body of work, Native Climate Refugees, documents Indigenous communities facing forced relocation due to rising seas, coastal erosion, and environmental collapse. The project focuses on the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw and other Gulf Coast communities, often described as the first climate refugees in the United States. Thibodeaux’s photography has been exhibited widely, including solo exhibitions at FotoFest, the Wetlands Museum in Louisiana, and galleries in Houston, as well as group exhibitions at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Houston Center for Photography, Stamps Gallery, and the SE Center for Photography. Her work debuted internationally at Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland. Made possible by The Cathy Nelson Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment with support from the CVAD Department of Studio Art. Lecture is free and open to the public Monday, March 30th,2026 11:30 a.m. 250H Willis Library Artist Website Additional information about this event can be found on the University Libraries calendar digital_libraries_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 03/25/2026
Music Librarianship Interest Tea

Music Librarianship Interest Tea

Curious about a career in music librarianship? Join librarians as we spill the tea on the profession! Whether you’re exploring career options or just want to chat, we’re excited to meet you and answer your questions. March 26, 2026 3:00–4:00PM CT (Zoom) Curious about a career in music librarianship? Join librarians as we spill the tea on the profession! Whether you’re exploring career options or just want to chat, we’re excited to meet you and answer your questions. This event is co-sponsored by the UNT Music Library and the UNT Music Career Center. Registration is required. music_in_the_news
Posted: 03/15/2026
Artist Matthew Magruder

Artist Matthew Magruder to Speak at Rethinking the Codex on March 28

UNT Special Collections is excited to announce that Austin-based artist Matthew Magruder will be the keynote speaker at Rethinking the Codex on Saturday, March 28, in Willis Library. UNT Special Collections is excited to announce that Austin-based artist Matthew Magruder will be the keynote speaker at Rethinking the Codex on Saturday, March 28, in Willis Library. Matthew Magruder is an artist from Austin, TX with a focus on photography, printmaking, design, and integrating these into his book and box structures. He is also the Art Director with HerbalGram magazine, a licensed psychotherapist, and proprietor of Copelo Press. He studied architecture at Texas A&M University and has a master’s in counseling from St. Edward’s University. He currently serves on the board of the Austin Book Arts Center. He has extensive experience teaching photography, printmaking, and book arts workshops across the country. His work is in private and public collections. Learn more about Matthew from his artist statement below, and join us on March 28 to hear firsthand about his work by registering for Rethinking the Codex. Artist Statement “I am a self-taught artist who is motivated to engage in all parts of the process of creating my work. I have always been drawn to the physical act of engaging with materials and tools. My life long artistic and creative pursuits have maintained this tangible physicality through painting, historic handmade photographic processes, printmaking, letterpress printing, and typography, My photography and other 2-D work is a means to share how I distinctly see and experience the world through intimate and expansive points of view. Over decades of photography, I have learned to trust my process of visually wandering and allow what I capture to distill into the work I want to share. I then compile this into coherent narratives or series surrounding how I perceive and experience natural and man-made spaces. My training as an architect informs the precise construction and combination of these series into a finished book. I am drawn to the dichotomy of trusting my intuitive self while photographing and then engaging with my meticulous self through my book and box structure. The work I do as a psychotherapist is also deeply entwined with my artistic endeavors. I believe that creativity is inherently part of each of us and can manifest in boundless ways. The end goal of my work is to connect with the viewer in the act of slow, deliberate engagement, and build on an interconnected relationship that can be brought about through the finished piece.” special_collections_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 03/09/2026
Dr. Kelcie Slaton

The George and Ruth Christy Award - Nominations Due 4/1

We strive to acknowledge and express appreciation for our employees’ hard work and accomplishments at UNT Libraries. But as carefully as we pay attention, we don’t always catch every good deed or above-and-beyond action that takes place in our Libraries or virtually through our digital resources. And often, it is you, the user, who is the direct witness and beneficiary of exemplary staff service. Nominations are due April 1st. We strive to acknowledge and express appreciation for our employees’ hard work and accomplishments at UNT Libraries. But as carefully as we pay attention, we don’t always catch every good deed or above-and-beyond action that takes place in our Libraries or virtually through our digital resources. And often, it is you, the user, who is the direct witness and beneficiary of exemplary staff service. As a way of celebrating and acknowledging outstanding staff and faculty contributions in the UNT Libraries, we will be rewarding our best and most helpful service employees with a $500 award, funded by a generous endowment created by George and Ruth Christy, long-time members of the UNT community. Users will nominate library staff or faculty members deserving of this esteemed reward. If you have had an exceptional experience with one of our employees and would like to nominate them for this award, please share your story with us! administrative_office_honors_and_awards
Posted: 02/19/2026
arms of people with tattoos

2026 Summer Archives Institute Applications are Open!

UNT Special Collections is excited to announce that applications for the 2026 Summer Archives Institute are officially open. UNT Special Collections is excited to announce that applications for the 2026 Summer Archives Institute are officially open. The Summer Archives Institute is an immersive, career-focused experiential learning opportunity that prepares students for entry into heritage professions by engaging them in hands-on archival work within the UNT Special Collections department. Throughout the program, students receive professional-level training as they arrange and describe a unique archival collection, gaining skills directly applicable to archival and cultural heritage careers. For more information about prerequisites and application procedures, please see the UNT Summer Archives Institute 2026 Call. Questions regarding the institute can be directed to Special Collections Instruction and Engagement Librarian, Meagan May meagan.may@unt.edu special_collections_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 02/12/2026
Dr. Kelcie Slaton

Spring 2026 Special Collections Coursework Development Grant

UNT Special Collections is excited to announce the recipient of our spring 2026 Coursework Development Grant – Dr. Kelcie Slaton, Assistant Professor, College of Merchandising, Hospitality, and Tourism. UNT Special Collections is excited to announce the recipient of our spring 2026 Coursework Development Grant – Dr. Kelcie Slaton, Assistant Professor, College of Merchandising, Hospitality, and Tourism. Dr. Kelcie Slaton is an educator and researcher specializing in apparel merchandising, luxury retail, and consumer behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Apparel Merchandising and Design from Iowa State University, with a focus on developing shopper typologies for Millennial luxury consumers. Her research explores topics such as the secondary luxury market, sustainability, digital product passports, and the integration of physical and digital (“phygital”) retail strategies, with publications in leading journals including the Journal of Retailing, International Journal of Consumer Studies, and Sustainability. Dr. Slaton has presented her work at national and international conferences, frequently addressing innovations in retail technology and evolving consumer motivations. In addition to her research, she teaches courses in merchandising analytics, luxury fashion retailing, and research methods at the University of North Texas and Parsons School of Design, often incorporating industry partnerships and experiential learning. Her professional background includes buying and merchandising roles at Neiman Marcus, as well as consulting in trend forecasting and AI-powered retail strategies. Dedicated to bridging academia and industry, she brings a global, forward-thinking perspective to preparing students for careers in a rapidly changing retail landscape. Partnering with UNT Special Collections to utilize the Dale T. Smith Neiman Marcus Collection, students are provided the rare opportunity to work directly with historic primary sources that exemplify luxury branding in practice. By engaging with the Neiman Marcus Fortnight posters in the Smith Collection, students move beyond textbook definitions of luxury and instead analyze original artifacts that shaped consumer perceptions of global sophistication in the twentieth century. Congratulations, Dr. Slaton! Special Collections staff are excited to work with you and your students this spring! The UNT Special Collections Coursework Development Grant is supported by the Toulouse Archival Research Program Endowment. For more information and questions, please reach out to Special Collections Instruction and Engagement Librarian, Meagan May, at Meagan.May@unt.edu. special_collections_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 01/26/2026
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Rethinking the Codex: A One-Day Book Arts Symposium hosted by UNT Special Collections

Join UNT Special Collections on Saturday, March 28, in Willis Library for Rethinking the Codex. Featuring presentations, workshops, a keynote, and a reception to celebrate the participants and winners of the 14th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition - the day is sure to be a good time for anyone with an interest in the book arts! Join UNT Special Collections on Saturday, March 28, in Willis Library for Rethinking the Codex. Featuring presentations, workshops, a keynote, and a reception to celebrate the participants and winners of the 14th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition - the day is sure to be a good time for anyone with an interest in the book arts! Registration is free, but required, so claim your spot today. Be sure to check back on this page regularly to stay up to date on symposium news including schedule, presenter, and keynote information. We hope you will join us on March 28!       Time Event Room 8am-8:45am Check-in and Breakfast Willis 250H 8:45am-9am Welcome Willis 250H 9am-10am The Artists’ Books of Teel Sale Michael Bartels, President, Triangle Nonprofit Publishing Morgan Gieringer, Head, UNT Special Collections Kathy Windrow, Southern Methodist University Willis 250H 10am-11am The Geography of the Page: Thinking of the Page in Physical Space Alesandra Bell, UT Dallas Willis 250H 11am-1pm Lunch and Japanese Stab Binding Workshop Willis 250H 1pm-2pm Rethinking the Codex Keynote: Matthew Magruder Willis 250H 2pm-3pm Artists’ Book Presentations and Demonstrations Audrey Grizzaffi, Wayward Son, 2025 Lauren Lachausse, Visitation, 2025 Nina Le, Window of Time, 2025 Willis 443 3pm-4pm Reception for the 2025-2026 Biennial Artists’ Book Competition Willis 443 Matthew Magruder Matthew Magruder is an artist from Austin, TX with a focus on photography, printmaking, design, and integrating these into his book and box structures. He is also the Art Director with HerbalGram magazine, a licensed psychotherapist, and proprietor of Copelo Press. He studied architecture at Texas A&M University and has a master’s in counseling from St. Edward’s University. He currently serves on the board of the Austin Book Arts Center. He has extensive experience teaching photography, printmaking, and book arts workshops across the country. His work is in private and public collections. special_collections_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 01/21/2026
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Call for Proposals: Rethinking the Codex

UNT Special Collections invites proposals for presentations, demonstrations, and workshops for Rethinking the Codex, a one-day symposium held in conjunction with UNT Special Collection’s 14th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition to be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in Willis Library. A Biennial Symposium Celebrating the Book Arts Hosted by University of North Texas Special Collections Saturday, March 28, 2026 Willis Library, Denton, Texas UNT Special Collections invites proposals for presentations, demonstrations, and workshops for Rethinking the Codex, a one-day symposium held in conjunction with UNT Special Collection’s 14th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition. The symposium aims to foster dialogue about the book as both an artistic form and a site of inquiry where material, textual, visual, and conceptual practices intersect, and we invite proposals that embrace this year’s theme of Rethinking the Codex through the exploration of sculptural elements, bindings, book structures, materials, and more in artists’ books. Proposal Categories Papers and Presentations 15-minute research-based or reflective presentation exploring historical, theoretical, or contemporary topics related to the book arts. Possible areas include but are not limited to: The book as material, performance, or archive Reading, viewing, and the sensory experience of the book Artists’ books in libraries, collections, and teaching Collaborative and community-based book arts projects Artist Demonstrations A 10-minute demonstration and overview highlighting the creative process, materials, or conceptual development behind the making of artists’ books and related forms. Workshops A 90-minute hands-on or participatory session that will be held during the symposium’s lunch break that explore techniques, technologies, or interdisciplinary approaches to book arts practice, pedagogy, or research. Submission Guidelines Please include: Title of proposal 250 words or less abstract or description Format (presentation, demonstration, or workshop) Any equipment or space requirements Submit proposals by Saturday, January 31, 2026 using the application form Notifications of acceptance will be sent by Friday, February 6, 2026. For additional information, please contact Meagan May, Special Collections Instruction and Engagement Librarian, at meagan.may@unt.edu. special_collections_presentations_and_lectures
Posted: 01/07/2026