UNT Insider: President's newsletter

President Neal Smatresk, UNT students and Scrappy

Check out the Frisco Economic Development Corporation's "See Yourself in Frisco" campaign to understand how we are transforming higher education in Frisco, Texas.

Straight from Smatresk

Dear Alum,

We've just wrapped up the best year ever at the University of North Texas. More than 4,800 students received their degrees this month (more below) and now are empowered to enter the workforce and achieve their dreams.

This past year, we set records in everything we do. If you reflect back on this year, we received our largest-ever gift of $30 million from G. Brint Ryan for the College of Business, acquired Inspire Park in Frisco, and we continue to forge valuable partnerships that will extend our national prestige and academic reach. Our partners from the Frisco Economic Development Corporation were kind enough to feature me and UNT in its national "See Yourself in Frisco" campaign. Frisco means business when it comes to education, and I'm proud that UNT at Frisco program offerings continue to grow, in response to industry and student needs.

Our reputation is growing in almost every measurable way, with 72 of our programs ranked in the Top 100, and more students and faculty earning national awards than ever before. This summer, we'll offer even more courses, and our enrollment numbers for fall are surging. Our research funding is at an all-time high, and we are having what looks to be the most successful legislative session in recent years, which should yield gains in funding that will support our academic and research plans.

It has been a big year for campus projects as well, with the opening of the new CVAD building, a beautiful new Welcome Center, a new Soccer and Track and Field Complex, and final preparations for opening Joe Greene Hall and our new Biomedical Engineering Building to welcome students in the fall. We broke ground on a new 750-seat dining hall that will further establish us as national leaders in campus dining, and our Mean Green Athletics' indoor practice facility is moving along quickly. We said goodbye to Fouts Field and will soon add 1,100 parking spaces to the campus footprint, which should meet our parking needs for the foreseeable future.

Good things are on the horizon for UNT, all because of your support. Thanks for helping us move into a new era as a Tier One research university and as a first-choice university for our students.

UNT Proud,
Neal Smatresk
President
@UNTPrez

P.S. If you do any traveling this summer, share photos of your adventures by using the hashtag #EaglesAroundTheWorld. To help you spread the Mean Green pride, I'm giving away personal-sized UNT Battle Flags, like the one shown in the picture above, to 15 lucky winners. Click here to enter the giveaway by June 9.

The Inside Scoop

Coaches Caravan

Seth Littrell, Grant McCasland and Jalie Mitchell

Get the inside scoop on Mean Green sports directly from our coaches, players and Wren Baker, vice president and director of athletics, at the 2019 Coaches Caravan. We'll have a mini pep rally featuring Scrappy, UNT cheerleaders and the Green Brigade, in addition to food, fun and a Mean Green meet and greet. Events are scheduled for June 1 at Texas Live! in Arlington, June 3 in Houston, June 4 in Austin and Aug. 3 at Apogee Stadium in Denton. Tickets are $5 for members of the UNT Alumni Association or Mean Green Scholarship Fund, and $10 for non-members!

CLASS executive dean

Tamara Brown will join UNT beginning July 1 to serve as executive dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, UNT's largest college with 9,000 students and more than 22 academic departments. Dean Brown comes to UNT from Prairie View A&M, where she served as interim dean of the graduate college. She also spent 13 years working as an assistant and associate professor in the University of Kentucky's Department of Psychology. Dean Brown replaces David Holdeman, who has served as CLASS dean since 2014. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She brings a new level of experience to UNT, and I am excited for the students and faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to get to know her.

Read more about
Dr. Tamara Brown »

VP for marketing and
communications

Jim Berscheidt joined the UNT family May 14 as vice president of marketing and communications. Jim's leadership will be critical as we work to strengthen the UNT brand based on a UNT System-funded brand audit and build our reputation as a Tier One research university with nationally prominent academic programs and student experiences. An award-winning industry leader in marketing and communications strategy with nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, Jim previously has served as chief communications and marketing officer at Creighton University in Nebraska, as senior associate vice president of marketing and communications at the Oklahoma State University Foundation, and as associate vice chancellor of university communications at the University of Denver in Colorado.

Learn more about
Jim Berscheidt »

UNT Alumni Families and
Ballpark Nights

UNT alumni family at Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas

Take a moment this summer to join the UNT Alumni Association for a night out at the ballpark or a family-friendly day at Six Flags Over Texas. UNT Day at Six Flags will take place June 8 and for $25 for members and $30 for non-members, you receive all-day park admission and a catered lunch with all your Mean Green friends. Tickets are expected to go quickly, so register now! We'll also host UNT Alumni Night at the Frisco Roughriders game June 15, Houston Astros game July 6 and Round Rock Express game July 13. Make plans now to join your UNT family for summer fun!

Spotlight on Excellence

University of North Texas commencement ceremony

UNT graduates will soar higher

More than 4,800 members of the class of 2019 earned their degrees this month, a century after UNT awarded its first four-year bachelor's degrees. Among the students to graduate were Mason Bynes, a College of Music graduate who didn't let a devastating car accident derail her plans, and Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science grad David Yue. We also said congratulations to Mac Neuroth, who you likely know as Scrappy, our beloved mascot. As NBCDFW reported, Mac's identity was unveiled during the College of Science commencement ceremony when he crossed the stage wearing Scrappy's giant bird feet. Read more about UNT's Great Grads from the class of 2019!

The UNT Hurley Administratino Building illuminated in green at night

Light the Tower for winning seasons

For the first time since 1977-78, Mean Green Athletics this season posted a winning record in every sport. The 2018-19 campaign is the first in school history to have a winning record in all eight sports sponsored by UNT that have win-loss records: men's and women's basketball, football, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball. Watch this video for highlights of our incredible season. The last time North Texas had a winning record in every sport was 1977-78, when the Mean Green did not sponsor volleyball, softball, women's soccer, or swimming and diving. Mean Green teams posted 134 victories this season, the most in the department's history, and had a cumulative winning percentage of 61.6, the highest since 1978-79. Way to go, Mean Green!

UNT Mean Green Brigaade perform with Megan Trainor at a Dallas Cowboys halftime show

Mean Green mentions in pop culture

We all know UNT is a star, and the world of pop culture agrees. Just this week, the four UNT alumni who make up the Eli Young Band earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard's country airplay chart with their song "Love Ain't." Not only have our Mean Green and Super Pit gone viral on social media, but our campus has appeared in Necessary Roughness and videos from the Eli Young Band and EB the Younger — also known as Eric Pulido — of the band Midlake. And another alumnus, Lecrae, mentioned us in one of his songs. Enjoy this roundup of UNT's appearances in pop culture from The North Texan.

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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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