Solved cold case shows how UTA students serve the community
By Jennifer Cowley, president of the University of Texas at Arlington for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
University of Texas at Arlington faculty member Patricia Eddings was aiming high when she first proposed that the Arlington Police Department allow her criminal justice students to dive into unsolved homicide cases.
Eddings, who also directs our university’s program in forensic applications of science and technology, said she hoped UTA students would find new leads so officers could pursue justice for victims and their loved ones. Our Mavericks did even better.
Police announced Nov. 17 that they have made an arrest in the 1991 homicide of an Arlington woman whose body was found on a rural stretch of road in Johnson County. And they credited our students for cracking the case. Without Eddings and our UTA students — and the dedicated work of Arlington police — this case would have remained cold. “I just want them to love their careers as much as I love mine,” Eddings says of her students.
Closing a cold case is an enormous win for our community. It also represents why a university like ours should be considered essential civic infrastructure — a shared investment and public good that benefits the entire region.
Through experiential learning opportunities like this cold case partnership with Arlington police, we strengthen the connection between classrooms and careers to build a strong workforce and make a positive impact on civic life. Nearly all of the 15 students in Eddings’ class say they intend to pursue careers as forensic scientists, crime scene investigators or law enforcement officers. In a few years, you’ll see them in labs, testifying in court, or patrolling our streets.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said his department “put trust into these young men and women who will be our future leaders.”
The University makes Dallas-Fort Worth stronger by teaching and training well-educated, workforce-ready graduates who are sustaining and transforming our local economy. With more than 280,000 alumni, 79% of whom remain in Texas, UTA graduates can be found in just about every company, nonprofit organization and government agency in the region. In every corner of our campus, you’ll find examples of UTA preparing career-ready graduates to improve their lives and strengthen our economy and communities, including in fields with critical workforce shortages. We work with area employers to create talent pipelines for indispensable roles that yield profound societal benefits.
Every year, our nursing program — the largest in Texas — sends hundreds of future nurses into local hospitals and health facilities so they can get hands-on experience caring for your loved ones. Our College of Education will send about 160 student teachers into area classrooms in spring 2026. Those students will eventually lead classrooms in Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, Mansfield, Irving, Grand Prairie and Hurst-Euless-Bedford — all top employers of our education majors.
We have broadcast communication students who have developed promotional videos for area nonprofits. Landscape architecture students have worked with municipalities to protect coastlines from floating garbage. Social work students volunteer at the Salvation Army for course credit. This is valuable extracurricular coursework that prepares students for employment.
As president of UTA, I am clear-eyed about perceptions that challenge the roles of institutions of higher education, both here in Texas and across the country.
Those perceptions don’t describe the UTA I know. There are no ivory towers here — just smart faculty and hardworking students learning valuable knowledge, making impacts during their time at UTA and gaining experience so they can launch meaningful careers that advance our region.
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2025, The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of the thriving Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation’s top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.