Students on campus
Straight from Smatresk

Dear UNT supporter,

It's award season at UNT. In addition to internal celebrations for students, faculty, staff and their achievements, this is the time when external awards start pouring in as our students compete in case competitions and so much more. Through our students' academic and extracurricular activities, they gain valuable experiences that help them hone the marketable soft skills that will empower them to succeed in the workforce.

A team of undergraduates from the College of Engineering and College of Visual Arts and Design placed second in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. The work our team did to design The Eagle's Nest — a net-zero energy building to house graduate engineering students — placed second in the multifamily category. We love to see our students rise to the top, especially when they're collaborating across colleges to complete projects that mimic those executed in the workforce.

Our Speech and Debate team had an incredible year, finishing the season with 137 awards as the second-ranked debate program in the nation! The team, which has traced debate teams on campus back to our 1901-02 school year, continues to rise in the National Forensic Association rankings, moving from No. 11 in 2020 to No. 2 in 2022.

We also celebrate back-to-back national titles for UNT Cheerleading, three undergraduate logistics students who won the 2022 Intermodal Association of North America's Academic Challenge, and two College of Engineering students who won the world's largest federated hackathon after launching a weather balloon — and the first non-fungible token (NFT) — into space.

Our students also achieve success by innovating to make our world a better place. Four biomedical engineering seniors created a device that helps provide upper-body support to a 6-year-old boy who has an extremely rare neurodegenerative disease. By combining different areas of expertise and interest in mechanical engineering, biomechanics, orthopedics, materials science, and 3D printing, they created an orthosis intended to help the child lift and move his arms when they become too weak.

The work done and accomplishments earned during a student's time at UNT lead to positive change in their life and community. Meaningful experiences like the snapshot I shared serve as a launchpad for all they will accomplish in their post-UNT pursuits. Thank you for your continued support of UNT.

UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
President
twitter @UNTPrez

The Inside Scoop
Presidential Medal of Honor
UNT alumni and musicians Pat Boone and David B. Hooten ('87) recently were awarded UNT Presidential Medals of Honor in celebration of their musical talents and undeniable impact on the entertainment industry. Pat, a celebrated musician, actor, and motivational speaker, studied at UNT from 1954-55. He's sold 45 million records with six No. 1 records, 38 "Top 40" hits, and 13 Gold Records. David received a B.A. in music education from UNT and is a multi-Grammy and Emmy nominated musician who has released more than 20 albums and produced or played trumpet on over 100 albums.
 
 
 
 
Watch a video of the
Medal of Honor presentation »
UNT Cookie Contest
Bake up delicious treats in your kitchen using winning recipes from UNT's first-ever Best of the Nest Cookie Fest. UNT alumna Deyonna Davis ('05, '09 M.B.A.) claimed top prize in the Delicious and Decorative category with her Vanilla Almond Buttercream Sugar Cookies. Frances Perkins from the Department of Media Arts won the Simply Delectable category with Chewy White Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies, and Alexandria Abbrat, a master's student and TRIO program staff member, won the UNTraditional category with Mean Green Stained Glass Shortbread Cookies. Read more about our wonderful finalists and watch this video recapping the contest.
 
 
Explore the winning
Cookie Fest recipes »
Spotlight on Excellence
UNT In the News
  • The FDA recently provided emergency use authorization for the first breath-based test for COVID-19, which is possible because of UNT-sourced intellectual property. Chemistry professor Dr. Guido Verbeck's research efforts have long focused on detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) on human breath to quantify use of drugs, such as opioids and cannabis. When COVID hit the U.S., Dr. Verbeck worked with his partners from Frisco-based InspectIR to create a non-invasive test for COVID-19. News of the FDA approval was shared nationwide, appearing in outlets like Time, NBC News, CNN, The New York Times, and Forbes.
  • Acceptance letters have gone out for UNT ELEVAR, our inclusive postsecondary education program for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and you can view happy reactions from our 10 incoming students on the ELEVAR Twitter page. One of our newest students, Jaylen Walker, found out about the program after an NBC5 story about our original cohort aired. ELEVAR faculty lead Dr. Brenda Barrio, members of the UNT Spirit Squads, and NBC5 recently celebrated Jaylen's UNT acceptance at his Mansfield high school. Jayden's story was picked up by a national NBC News reporter, and shared across the country.
  • UNT's Texas Fashion Collection is home to more than 300 pieces designed by Hubert de Givenchy including an evening dress of cream colored chiffon and cape with ostrich feather plumes, which is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. NBC5 spoke with Texas Fashion Collection Director Annette Becker about the piece's relevance to The Met's new exhibit, "In America: An Anthology of Fashion." It also was featured on Glasstire and EXBulletin.
  • Thanks to a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission, UNT Libraries is digitizing and digitally preserving the audio and video recordings from the archive of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas. KERA and The Root reported on this important preservation effort.
  • Yahoo! News picked up a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article where education professor Stephen Waddell called the number of superintendent resignations taking place across Dallas-Fort Worth "alarming."
Women's golf tees up back-to-back conference champions

Thanks to teamwork and determination, the UNT women's golf team overcame a challenging course and two-shot deficit to win its second consecutive Conference USA Championship at PGA National in Florida. This year's excellent performance landed three players on the all-conference team and sixth-year head coach Michael Akers was named C-USA's Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. The team heads to the NCAA Regional in Albuquerque May 9–11, for the third time in program history. We can't wait to see what the team achieves!

Celebrating faculty achievements

Incredible faculty pour into their students, inspiring a passion for research, service, and lifelong learning. We celebrated this dedication and achievement at our annual Salute to Faculty Excellence Awards Celebration. Numerous faculty were recognized for their contributions to student learning, research, scholarship, university service, and more. The most distinguished honorees of the evening were the five winners of the UNT Foundation Awards, which are some of the university's highest faculty awards. Dr. James H. Kennedy, Regents Professor of Biological Sciences and director of the Elm Fork Education Center and Natural Heritage Museum, received the Eminent Faculty Award. Watch this video to learn more about Dr. Kennedy's career accomplishments and impact on students. Also celebrated were Dr. Christy Crutsinger, merchandising and digital retailing, Faculty Leadership; Leslie R. Roberts, J.D., public administration, Outstanding Lecturer; and Dr. Camilo J. Ruggero and Dr. Jennifer L. Callahan, psychology, Community Engagement.

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