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| Hear UNT President Neal Smatresk outline new affordability initiatives during State of the University, Part II. |
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| Straight from Smatresk |
Dear UNT supporter,
We know our students have a choice when selecting a college, and at UNT, we're focused on increasing access and affordability while continuing to deliver a Tier One education and preparing students to thrive in our rapidly changing world. Spring enrollment records and our recent recognition as a top 10 destination for transfer students by U.S. News & World Report are two of many indicators that UNT's importance for our students, region and state will continue to grow in the years ahead.
As we navigate a new landscape for higher education, we will be nimble as we adapt and innovate to address the challenges our students face, including those related to student debt and college costs. I hate seeing our students struggle to stay in school. We've witnessed that many of them have food and housing insecurities, and we have seen student debt rise nationally. It's crystal clear that for the good of our students, to help transform their lives, to maintain a robust economy in our state and beyond, and for our continued success, we have to reverse this downward financial spiral.
During my State of the University Part II address today, I announced that UNT will not raise tuition for the third consecutive year, and we have reallocated scholarship awards to give more students, especially first-generation students and those with more need, the opportunity to stay in school. I also unveiled six Affordability Initiatives which enable us to act as a social mobility elevator for our students and better serve our UNT family, both students and employees. For additional context about each initiative, watch my 15-minute SOTU address or read the transcript.
- Integrated Student Financial Support Center – We will create an "easy button" Integrated Student Financial Support Center by overhauling processes to provide students with seamless interactions between Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, Student Financial Services, and the Student Money Management Center.
- Affordable Learning Materials – We are calling on all departments and faculty to review their syllabi and replace costly textbooks and materials with Open Educational Resources and low-cost options whenever possible.
- Food and Housing Insecurity – We saw how COVID-19 exacerbated food and housing insecurity for many students, and we plan to expand housing and dining award programs, clarify the housing waiver process for FTIC commuters, establish a short-term emergency housing program, partner with apartment operators to provide intermediate-term housing, provide campus locker access and nap locations, and establish dining donation programs for peer-to-peer assistance.
- On-Campus Student Employment – We will conduct a comprehensive analysis of on-campus student wages and hiring processes to identify opportunities to make campus jobs more meaningful to student career progression, improve the process of finding a good match between student skills and departmental needs, make it easier for departments to hire qualified work-study students, and to improve the quality of the experience for our student employees. We also will assess the impact of increasing student wages.
- Staff Minimum Pay – To ensure all full-time staff are paid a living wage, we will increase the minimum wage to $12/hour March 1 for full-time staff who have worked at UNT for 90 days or more. This is nearly a 30% increase in pay from our current minimum wage for some of our hardest working staff. We'll further analyze compensation of our employees over the next year to develop a plan that continues to support our lowest paid staff members.
- SmartDollar – In addition to our financial commitment to students, we are committed to helping full-time employees achieve financial well-being. Financial management tools and budget coaching through SmartDollar will become available to faculty and staff this summer.
This plan hits a number of our major strategic objectives in significant and measurable ways. It should improve retention, engage our students more deeply, limit or lower their debt, graduate students faster, improve our student-facing processes, and support the financial well-being of students, faculty, and staff members.
As we continue to support the next generation of Mean Green, support from alumni and friends like you make a tremendous difference in our success. We want to make sure all students achieve their goal of earning a UNT degree.
UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
President
 @UNTPrez
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| Smithsonian acquisition |
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A light sculpture created by UNT professor Alicia Eggert has found a forever home in the collections at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The acquisition by the premier museum of American craft and decorative arts marks a career first for Alicia, who is an associate professor of studio art and coordinator for the sculpture program in the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design. The is the second edition of Alicia's "This Present Moment," a sign sculpture that cycles through the statements "this present moment used to be the unimaginable future" and "this moment used to be the future" in a flashing neon pink hue before turning off completely for a short period of time. She chose the words from the book, The Clock of the Long Now, by Stewart Brand, a writer who is best known as the editor of the Whole Earth Catalogue.
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Read more about
Alicia Eggert's artwork » |
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| Diverse storytellers |
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Aspiring UNT student journalists from underrepresented groups will soon participate in NBCUniversal News Group's NBCU Academy, a multiplatform journalism training and development program. UNT's Mayborn School of Journalism is one of 17 NBCU Academy partners and received a two-year $500,000 grant for equipment upgrades, course development, and scholarships. The NBCU Academy will primarily focus on reaching students from underrepresented areas, including those with diverse racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, economic and geographic backgrounds.
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Read more about the
NBCU Academy » |
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| Highly cited researchers |
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College of Science professors Richard Dixon, left, and Shengqian Ma, right, were listed among the top 1% of researchers in their field to be cited by other researchers, according to Clarivate Analytics, a company dedicated to helping companies and universities sort and examine big data and apply it to their research needs. Dr. Dixon, a Royal Society Fellow and Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, is a world-renowned plant scientist. Since 1988, he has been cited more than 80,000 times, 26,212 in the last five years alone. He has published more than 460 papers in national and international journals. Dr. Ma, who joined UNT in the fall as the Welch Chair of Chemistry, has been cited more than 24,000 times and has more than published 230 papers in national and international journals.
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Learn more about Dr. Dixon
and Dr. Ma's research » |
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| OLLI at UNT spring classes |
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The spring semester featuring more than 70 livestreamed courses and events are underway for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNT. OLLI is a lifelong learning program that offers virtual non-credit courses and events designed by and for adults 50 and better. Events are traditionally held face-to-face, but OLLI has adapted its program to a virtual format with delivery via Zoom. Courses cover topics ranging from history and the arts to wellness and finance, and are taught by university faculty or other passionate subject matter experts. Spring semester memberships are available for $50.
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Become a member
of OLLI at UNT » |
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