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‘He restored order’ Roy Busby, a longtime UNT journalism professor, said Hurley’s military background defined his leadership, in a good way. “At the time he came in, the university had gone through some chaos,” Busby said. UNT had gone through four leaders in three years. State lawmakers had looked into allegations that some UNT officials had misused private donations to a university foundation. No one was indicted, but one president resigned before he was to testify before lawmakers, according to news reports at the time. Hurley became UNT’s president in 1982 after two years as a vice president. “His legacy is he restored order,” Busby said. “You always got the feeling with President Hurley that he was very much in control, and that he thought everything out before he did anything in a very military way.” Chancellor Lee Jackson, who succeeded Hurley, said that Hurley’s efforts laid the groundwork for what the modern university looks like. The two had worked together before Jackson joined UNT, and he recalled that Hurley was fair and thoughtful, and always offered helpful advice as Jackson transitioned into the position. “I knew and respected and liked Dr. Hurley, even before I came to UNT, and I felt that I was filling very large shoes,” Jackson said. “He was widely respected in the region and the state and on campus, and was always very gracious to me.” Colleagues said Hurley also built strong relationships with regents, lawmakers, community leaders and others. That ability, they said, helps explain how Hurley kept his job for so long. In a public letter Sunday, UNT President Lane Rawlins wrote, “Dr. Hurley personified all that is good about UNT — always putting in a hard day’s work, always demanding excellence, and always pushing onward and upward. His impact can be felt in every part of our university and it will far outlive the time that we had with him.” read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130610-former-university-of-north-texas-president-alfred-hurley-remembered-for-bringing-stability-to-school.ece