The university transformed into the Big Apple during this year's Wingspan Gala -- themed "The Bright Lights of UNT" -- which celebrated excellence in teaching, student success, and the support of alumni and friends. Tony Award-nominated singer and actress Carmen Cusack, who attended UNT in the early 1990s as an opera student, performed at the event where she also received an honorary bachelor's degree. Business alum Jim McNatt ('66) received the Presidential Wings of Eagles Award for the transformative impact his support has made on the university. Art history professor Nada Shabout and recent UNT Honors College graduate Krystin Rodriguez ('17) both received Presidential Excellence awards for their significant accomplishments.

"Wingspan provided wonderful opportunities to celebrate UNT's excellence," President Neal Smatresk says. "We could not be the caring, creative university our students expect and deserve without support from our friends and donors