UNT Insider: President's newsletter

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UNT alums and country superstars Eli Young Band returned to their alma mater March 25 to play an exclusive concert for the UNT community, following our second annual Wingspan Gala. The gala and concert were celebrations of UNT's progress and the excellence of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. The concert was a huge hit -- and the gala and contributions to our National Merit Finalists program generated nearly $1 million to support academic excellence.

Straight from Smatresk

Dear Alum,

As a diverse, globally minded university, we know that having a community of people from all walks of life and from countries around the world enriches our university and our students' education.

I am deeply proud that UNT is one of the nation's most diverse universities, with 7,800 Hispanic students and 5,100 African American students, and that our family of 43,000 students, faculty and staff members includes roughly 2,500 international students from 130 countries.

I am equally proud of the global reach we have through partnerships and study abroad programs. The dean of our College of Information, Kinshuk, and I just returned from a trip to Beijing, China, where we attended the U.S.-China Smart Learning Conference and visited with alumni. We also met with officials from the Ministry of Education (at right) to discuss exchange programs and talked with the founder of NetDragon, a leading innovator in China's online gaming and mobile internet industries, which is expanding into education software. While there, I signed an agreement continuing our partnership with Beijing Normal University to promote collaborative academic and research activities. We're creating a joint research and development laboratory that will be focused on smart learning technologies and intelligent learning environments.

We also just received the 2017 Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award from NAFSA: Association of International Educators for our Heart of Mexico Literary and Visual Storytelling Project. UNT received the only Spotlight Award in the area of Curriculum/Faculty Development.

Launched in 2013 by Thorne Anderson, associate professor in UNT's Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism, and Lenin Martell, associate professor at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Heart of Mexico represents the best of study abroad. For five weeks each summer, students from UNT and UAEM live in small towns in Mexico and produce multimedia narrative storytelling from their field reporting in cross-cultural teams. The project is featured at www.heartofmexicostories.com.

Having a rich mix of people and perspectives enhances learning, research, scholarship and human interaction. And it prepares students to become thoughtful, engaged citizens of the world.

UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
President
@UNTPrez

The Inside Scoop

Chancellor retiring

Lee Jackson, chancellor of the UNT System, will retire this year after 15 years of growth and progress for the System. During his tenure, total System enrollment grew from nearly 28,000 students to more than 43,000 today and the collective number of degrees awarded annually nearly doubled to 9,000 today. As the System's flagship, UNT has driven much of that progress. I've enjoyed working with Chancellor Jackson to ensure our place as one of the leading universities in the North Texas region and appreciate his leadership in elevating all of our sister institutions. The UNT System Board of Regents is conducting a search for the next chancellor.

See highlights of
Jackson's tenure »

New provost

We're excited to welcome our new provost and vice president for academic affairs, Jennifer Evans-Cowley, a UNT alumna who will join us July 1 from The Ohio State University where she currently serves as vice provost for capital planning and regional campuses. She brings unique experience having served in both higher education leadership and city government, and she'll help us continue our momentum as a Tier One university. She replaces Finley Graves who has served as provost since 2015 and will retire in August after 15 years with UNT.

Learn more about
the new provost »

Latest USNWR rankings

Our star continues to rise. We now have 17 programs in U.S. News & World Report's Top 100, according to the newest rankings. And our medical librarianship graduate program, school library media graduate program, public administration (city management/urban policy) master's program, and rehabilitation counseling graduate program all rank 1st in Texas. We have more than 60 academic programs ranked in the nation's Top 100 by various entities. These rankings speak to our academic quality and reputation as a place for top scholars and researchers.

Check out
our rankings »

From Emeritus College to OLLI

Learning never stops, and we do all that we can to promote lifelong learning. We'll go even further now that The Bernard Osher Foundation has named our Emeritus College an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. We are one of 120 programs in the OLLI network, which will help us better serve the 50-and-older population throughout the North Texas region. Choose from more than 100 courses each year at UNT, Robson Ranch, and soon at our New College at Frisco through OLLI at UNT. Or join us for educational trips throughout the year.

Take a course at
OLLI at UNT »

Spotlight on Excellence

More research breakthroughs

From making cancer breakthroughs to problem solving through collaboration, our researchers are pushing progress.

New men's basketball coach

Speaking of being on the rise, we've named a rising star in college basketball, Grant McCasland, as our new men's basketball coach. Coach McCasland joins us from Arkansas State, where he led the team to a 20-win season. He has 18 years of experience, including successful stints at Baylor, Midwestern State and Midland College. We're grateful for Tony Benford's dedication and service to our student-athletes during his five seasons with the program. Coach McCasland joins an athletics program that is rebuilding itself as a national contender across all of our sports programs.

Standout students

Our students are standing out in everything from writing to research to music!

Alumni excellence

I'm excited to see another UNT alum rising to the top of her field. Lanessa Elrod was tapped to lead Louis Vuitton's Americas division, as noted on the WWD website. Ms. Elrod, who earned a degree in merchandising from UNT, joined the company in 2010 and rose through the ranks. She's also worked at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman.

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Connect with UNT

Office of the President

University of North Texas
Hurley Administration Building, Room 201
Mailing Address:
1155 Union Circle #311425
Denton, Texas 76203-5017
940-565-2108

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